AEW's Shelton Benjamin Addresses 'Humbling Experience' Going To ROH From WWE

When Shelton Benjamin was released by WWE in 2010, he took his talents to the independent scene and developed a brand new following in major companies like NJPW, NOAH, and Ring Of Honor. ROH was Benjamin's first port of call, and during a recent appearance on the "Energis" podcast, the current AEW star admitted that the move from WWE to a smaller company like ROH was something of a culture shock that would end up benefiting him greatly in the long term.

"It was humbling," Benjamin said. "I went straight from college to the biggest pro wrestling company in the world, working with the biggest names in the world and...it was like everything is like 'wow' and grand. So then when I first went to Ring of Honor which didn't have a fraction of the budget that WWE has, it was, again, it was humbling, and it was for me, it was like parts unknown. Luckily for me, my partner Charlie Haas, he had done the independent scene before his WWE journey, and so he was coaching me because I didn't know how to market myself. I didn't know how to get myself booked, I didn't know if we had an autograph session, I don't know what to sell an 8x10 for you know what I mean?"

Benjamin rounded off by saying that his time in ROH, as well as the wider independent scene and even Japan, gave him a whole new respect for the wrestling business and the people working within it as he saw the sacrifices people had to make that he didn't because he was fast-tracked to WWE at such a young age. He also noted that not all the best wrestlers are signed to WWE as he was able to work with a number of people who have since gone on to dominate the modern landscape of professional wrestling.

Please credit "Energis" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.