There are several WWE Superstars that come from all sorts of athletic backgrounds to varying degrees of success. Chad Gable was an Olympian, King Corbin was an amateur gold glove boxer and even played for the NFL as part of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints in 2009. One WWE Superstar was an All-American in amateur wrestling in college, and Kurt Angle thinks he could’ve gone further had he wanted to pursue it beyond college.
On the Kurt Angle Show, Angle talked about Shelton Benjamin and believes he could have become an Olympian in amateur wrestling. He noted that Benjamin got a late start in wrestling and quickly rose to greatness in it. He goes on to say that he feels Shelton could’ve gone to the Olympics for it, but he chose the WWE.
“Shelton Benjamin, without a doubt. That kid is extremely gifted. One of the best athletes I’ve ever been in the ring with. I’ve actually wrestled with him a little bit, amateur, we didn’t really go live, we drilled. He was a late bloomer. This is a kid who didn’t start amateur wrestling until his junior year in high school.”
“He won State both years. Went to Minnesota, became a two-time All-American in college with just three years of experience. If he would have continued on, I think he would have become an Olympian. He was starting to mature by the time his senior year in college came around. So, I think his best years were ahead of him, but he skipped that and went straight to WWE.”
Benjamin has had success in the WWE and in the industry outside the WWE. but Angle believes he could have done even more had he pursued amateur wrestling a little longer.
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