Shelton Benjamin Recalls How His 2017 WWE Return Came About

– During a recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho, AEW Tag Team Champion Shelton Benjamin spoke about how his latest run in WWE came together in 2017. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Shelton Benjamin on his latest return to WWE: “When I went back to WWE, I had bigger expectations. One, in my head, I always felt like if you had ever done anything worth memory in WWE, there’s always a chance you’ve gotta go back. So in my head, I always felt like I was going to go back. I didn’t know it was going to take six or seven years, but in my head, I always knew I was going to go back.”

On when he knew he was going back to WWE: “First, I got a call from William Regal and he asked me a very odd question. I didn’t quite see the writing on the wall at the time when he asked me because he asked me, he basically said that he’d been asked to contact me and ask me if I were brought back, am I willing to help other talent get over or do I want more. I remember going, well, of course I’m gonna want more, that had been what I was doing before I left, helping other talent get over at the cost of my own career. I didn’t get it.”

On getting the call from talent relations: “A few months later, I spoke with Mark Carrano. He said, ‘We’re gonna bring you back.’ He made an offer but I felt like that offer was lowballing me but I was like, again, I’m thinking ten years before, Johnny [Ace] used to always say, ‘It doesn’t matter what the downside is as long as you’re on everything.’ I didn’t realize the business had changed now, the downside matters because no matter what I was making before, no matter what my downside was, I always made more. When they gave me [the new offer], I was like, ‘That’s low, but if I’m working, I’ll be fine.’”

On what happened after he returned to WWE: “Then I get there and it’s like, oh no, we’re not based on touring anymore, we got TV deals and things like that, your downside is your downside. I was like, ‘Oh, you didn’t tell me that part.’ Also, I never had an agent, which again, I shot myself in the foot. It wasn’t the money and what was described to me, but I always said no matter what, I can’t change or affect anything from the outside. So, I accepted the offer and went back.”

Shelton Benjamin joined AEW last year. Earlier this week on AEW Dynamite, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley beat Private Party to become the new AEW Tag Team Champions.