Mark Henry: As Soon As He Got Released, I Told Tony Khan He Needed To Sign Shelton Benjamin

Mark Henry wanted to see the Gold Standard shine for AEW.

In 2023, Shelton Benjamin was released from the WWE for the second time in his career. Many touted for Tony Khan, the CEO and Co-Owner of All Elite Wrestling to find a way to get on the phone with him and get them a contract. One of those men who told Khan was Mark Henry, the WWE Hall of Famer who was with AEW before departing this past year.

“The first day that Shelton got let go, I went to Tony and I said, ‘Tony, you got to pick him in. Bring him in. Let me work with him. Anything. He’s the guy,'” Henry said. “Nothing happened. I’m glad that they’ve seen the error of their ways and they got him on board. Shelton is special, you’ve got to use him like he’s special. It’s only going to be good for everybody in the long run.” Henry said on Busted Open Radio.

Benjamin has since signed with AEW and made his in-ring debut against Lio Rush. Benjamin is set to go one-on-one with former AEW World Champion, Swerve Strickland on AEW Dynamite on October 30.

H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.

Want to discuss wrestling further? Join our Discord community by clicking here! 

If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.

You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Twitch, Apple, Google, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.

Follow me on X: @WhoElseButRami
Follow us on X: @BodyslamNet