Shelton Benjamin v. Trevor Murdoch

[Guest Jack Potts]

I know this was discussed in the OAO Raw thread, but I think the topic needs it's own room to grow and fester.

 

I was flipping back between Monday Night Football and Raw, and had the misfortune of catching nearly all of this abomination. Although I'll cheer a good match, I rarely waste the breath to curse after a match. This one had me cussing a blue streak.

 

In Shelton Benjamin the WWE has a photogenic, well-built wrestling prodigy with impeccable amateur wrestling credentials; high-profile wins over HHH; and the youth, energy, skill and look to carry their company for the next several years. In Trevor Murdoch, the WWE has a slovenly, pasty, semi-comedy wrestler who looks like he was pulled from some indy show in an American Legion Hall.

 

Who would you push? I guess because Vince busts a stitch over hillbilly gimmicks, he's got to push the wrong guy! Disgusting!

 

There are so many ways the WWE could have gone with Shelton Benjamin since his jump to Raw, and at nearly every juncture, they've picked the wrong one.

 

Is there something going on backstage that we don't know about? There's no good reason to hold this guy down! He's no worse than Chris Masters on the mic and infinitely more skilled than that 'roid freak in the ring. Lacking sufficient credible reasons for holding Benjamin down, sadly I'm forced to come to to other conclusions. I'll go ahead and say it: Is it because he's Black? Has he "sassed" The Undertaker? Did he get "uppity" to JBL? Did Steph make an offhand comment about the size of his package to HHH?

 

I don't know whether any of these absurd scenarios is true, or if Shelton did ANYTHING wrong. To be fair, everyone has their favorite guy who gets overlooked by WWE management and writers, but I think nearly everyone can also agree that a wrestler with Shelton's talent and charisma deserves better. In a WWE rife with politics and petty vendettas over arcane breaches of etiquette, sadly it's become the norm to undermine the direction and future of the company to exact childish retribution.

[cabbageboy 0]

I dunno for sure, but I too pondered the idea that HHH caught him banging Steph or something.

[Guest Coffey]

Shelton is black. I don't think you have to look much farther than that. Not only that but he's not 6'6", 300lbs. So, it writes itself in WWEland.

 

Outside of the Rock, whom is half-Samoan (and we know the Afa ties to WWE), can you name a former WWE Champion that's black?

[jwpeer 0]

There's nothing but truth here.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I think Murdoch shows charisma, and could be used as a midcarder or tag wrestler for a long time. He shouldn't be going over Benjamin, but he's more than "a slovenly, pasty, semi-comedy wrestler".

 

Charisma > Buff body.

 

and to reiterate: I don't think he should be going over Benjamin.

[Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0]

I've never really commented on this, but Trevor Murdoch getting a push is damn awesome, if not just for the fact that he wrestles different basically, and has a way different look than anyone on that roster. Wrestling needs mor Trevor Murdochs and less of those faceless muscleheads elsewhere on the roster.

[Guest Coffey]

Yeah, Adrian Adonis was a favorite wrestler of mine and he certainly didn't have the "right build."

[Matt Young 0]

He's an uppity negro.

 

But seriously, I've been wanting some answers myself. The dude got wins over HHH and a long (albeit unmemorable) reign as IC champion, but now he rarely even makes Raw. He should have been ELEVATED after dropping the belt, not demoted.

[Slayer 0]

I've seen pictures of him and think he's at least a good throwback to the days when a lot of wrestlers looked like regular beer-guzzling guys from down the street.

[hyperchord24 0]

It had me wondering why this match was booked. I guess they wanted to showcase Murdoch and shelton was the only available face.

 

But I swear, there must be a running joke in the the WWE that every heel MUST go over shelton by holding the tights. I really don't understand what's going on here.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I'm guessing Shelton is in the doghouse for reasons not yet known besides racism.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Too bad Murdoch doesn't wrestle like he looks.

 

I mentioned this in another thread, but it wouldn't surprise me if the dude is getting a mini-pushed because he doesn't look like he takes roids, which is the WWE sending the message that they don't push you based on your look. This is, of course, hilarious for many reasons. One, the main event had Angle, Cena, and Masters in it. Two, any push they give Murdoch will be half-assed and will probably amount to him challenging for the IC title and, if he's very unlikely, he'll win it. Three, while the WWE should send the message that their wrestlers don't have to be from a certain look (which, as mentioned in One is counter-acted by who they are actually pushing in prominent spots), the stronger message should be they push based on skill, aptitude, and hard work. In other words, they push the guys who deserve it. Murdoch, while very charismatic, blows ass in the ring. In other words, the WWE is still very looks-oriented, and performance doesn't really mean a thing.

[nl5xsk1 0]

It had me wondering why this match was booked.  I guess they wanted to showcase Murdoch and shelton was the only available face.

 

But I swear, there must be a running joke in the the WWE that every heel MUST go over shelton by holding the tights.  I really don't understand what's going on here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Murdoch called out Flair post-match. They probably wanted a mid-level face for him to go over to give his calling out the IC champ a bit more credibility.

[jwpeer 0]

I guess I should adD I have nothing wrong with/even enjoy Trevor Murdoch. But he's REALLY got nothing on Shelton and should never get a win over him...

 

 

How many times has Shelton lost with his tights being pulled. Maybe he should come out in a new outfit that can't be pulled to gain an advantage or something, sheesh

[Guest Fiscusalicious]

Man,

 

I thought people were finally starting to notice it from the Raw thread last night..but it looks like those people arent the same people posting in this thread.

 

I thought it was fairly obvious why Shelton has gone so far down the card. He choked under pressure. Ever since he did that dive to the outside of the ring and got caught up on the ropes, he has consistently blown a good 75% of the highspots he has been allowed to do. It's getting rediculous. I wanted to believe that the guy is a wrestling prodigy as much as the next person, but I would say that it is becoming fairly obvious that he was overrated and is still young..trying to learn the ropes of timing and such. I'm not saying that he wont be great in time, but consider for one minute that the WWE doesnt want to push a guy based on his athleticism if he can't hit all of the athletic moves in his repetoir cleanly and crisply.

[Guest Jack Potts]

I've seen pictures of him and think he's at least a good throwback to the days when a lot of wrestlers looked like regular beer-guzzling guys from down the street.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I was actually going to work that into my original post. Murdoch is a throwback to old-school wrestlers, and I appreciate that, but there's just something about him that screams "indy wrestler." Eugene and William Regal have relatively normal builds that harken back to the early days of wrestling, but without Murdoch's unhealthy, fishbelly pallor.

[nl5xsk1 0]

thought it was fairly obvious why Shelton has gone so far down the card. He choked under pressure. Ever since he did that dive to the outside of the ring and got caught up on the ropes, he has consistently blown a good 75% of the highspots he has been allowed to do. It's getting rediculous. I wanted to believe that the guy is a wrestling prodigy as much as the next person, but I would say that it is becoming fairly obvious that he was overrated and is still young..trying to learn the ropes of timing and such. I'm not saying that he wont be great in time, but consider for one minute that the WWE doesnt want to push a guy based on his athleticism if he can't hit all of the athletic moves in his repetoir cleanly and crisply.

 

Yeah, a wrestling company shouldn't push a legit credible wrestler because he can't hit high spots off the top.

 

O-kay.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Would Murdoch even be on tv if his father wasn't on the booking team?

[Dandy 0]

Ummm, are you saying that he is Dusty's son and Dustin's brother?

 

That was a gimmick. He went by Trevor Rhodes at one point, but he is not Dusty's kid.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Wait: do people actually think he's Dusty's kid? Or is that some inner-circle joke that I wasn't in the WWE folder for?

[Guest Jack Potts]

Man,

 

I thought people were finally starting to notice it from the Raw thread last night..but it looks like those people arent the same people posting in this thread.

 

I thought it was fairly obvious why Shelton has gone so far down the card.  He choked under pressure.  Ever since he did that dive to the outside of the ring and got caught up on the ropes, he has consistently blown a good 75% of the highspots he has been allowed to do.  It's getting rediculous.  I wanted to believe that the guy is a wrestling prodigy as much as the next person, but I would say that it is becoming fairly obvious that he was overrated and is still young..trying to learn the ropes of timing and such.  I'm not saying that he wont be great in time, but consider for one minute that the WWE doesnt want to push a guy based on his athleticism if he can't hit all of the athletic moves in his repetoir cleanly and crisply.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yeah, I noticed that botched sunset flip, and winced. Murdoch did cover well.

 

I think the problem is that Benjamin's trying to be something he's not. As athletic as he is, I don't think he's a natural high-flyer. Everytime he takes to the air, I cringe a little inside, and can't help but think, "Elix Skipper probably could do that better." Benjamin should remain a mat wrestler. He was awesome with the Haas as The World's Greatest Tag Team. If he wants to expand his moveset, he should throw in some more kicks or suplexes, but he should definitely stay more grounded.

[hyperchord24 0]

Yeah, I noticed that botched sunset flip, and winced.  Murdoch did cover well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was botched? What was supposed to happen?

[Guest Jack Potts]

Yeah, I noticed that botched sunset flip, and winced.  Murdoch did cover well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was botched? What was supposed to happen?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Murdoch seemed mildly surprised, but you may have a point. Even Torrie Wilson can hit a sunset flip off the turnbuckle.

[qdes 0]

Poor Shelton

[hyperchord24 0]

Yeah, I noticed that botched sunset flip, and winced.  Murdoch did cover well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was botched? What was supposed to happen?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just thought it was part of the match and he was supposed to miss. I'm such a silly smark.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Murdoch did a great job covering for it, but I think they have to share the blame on the move not hitting. It was a combination of Murdoch moving too close to the turnbuckle and Shelton not having the time to avoid overshooting it. Just a miscommunication between two guys who'd never worked together trying to rush a match between commercial breaks.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I like Shelton, alot, but...I have no problem with Murdoch beating him. Murdoch has potential in my eyes, and I've thought so since he showed up with Cade, just as a no-shit taking ass kicker type of guy.

 

Shelton is capable of amazing things, but he DOES botch things fairly regularly. That Sunset Flip was completely messed up, and the only reason the fans didn't catch onto it and boo, was because of Murdoch's smart cover. If anything, that shows how good of a worker Murdoch is compared to all the other people WWE has brought up. A lesser worker would have stumbled back into it anyway, making it look completely and utterly stupid. Murdoch turned around and dropped an elbow. Simple, yet effective.

 

I'm not saying Shelton sucks, but out of all the people he's jobbed to lately? Trevor is far from the worst.

[Guest Trecko]

 

I love how even in my being black, I can't even see how some of you think the reason Shelton is being "held down" is because of being black. If that was the case, he wouldn't have been given the opportunity to do shit to begin with. They would've let him be the K-Kwik-like, stereotypical black wrestler, all on some hip hop type shit, and that would've been it. He's BLAND. He doesn't have a LOOK. He sucks on the MIC. Has an annoying, nasal voice when he IS on the mic. There's no "it" factor for him to be anywhere near being an important member of this company for years to come. He's good in the ring. That's it. And anywhere else but WWE he'd get pushed to the moon, but he needs more than that. Accept it. CHRIST, all of you, accept it.

 

GAWD I miss having the chance to shit on him. I can't possibly express over the internet how hard I was laughing when Murdoch beat him. Absolutely hilarious.

[razazteca 0]

Why did WWE breakup Benjamin & Haas as a tag team? Shelton is perfect for the tag team division since he brings the workrate the only thing missing is a partner to do the talking.........so what is Goldust doing? Or better yet why not have Jonathan Coachman be his manager so they can play up the racism angles. Hey if Coach & Benjamin could fuse DBZ style maybe they can make one entertaining Stu Scott/Carlton Banks character....the only thing they need to do is give him one bad contact lense and have him dance to Kerwin White's theme music.

[Guest Trecko]

  Or better yet why not have Jonathan Coachman be his manager so they can play up the racism angles.  Hey if Coach & Benjamin could fuse DBZ style maybe they can make one entertaining Stu Scott/Carlton Banks character....the only thing they need to do is give him one bad contact lense and have him dance to Kerwin White's theme music.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>