“He Kind Of Reminds Me Of Randy Orton”

One of the all-time wrestling greats, Shelton Benjamin, has massive praise for a top WWE star.

Benjamin appeared on the Kurt Angle Show and heavily praised WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, a man he compares to another WWE legend, Randy Orton. He says that when he first saw GUNTHER he wasn’t too impressed, but didn’t pass judgment because there were plenty of talents who he didn’t see appeal in that turned out to be great.

We were on different shows, so I never really got to work with him. I hung around with him, we met and chatted, and he seems like a really cool guy. He kind of reminds me of Randy [Randy Orton], to be honest. Just in his demeanor, his movements and even his build, to some degree. The first time I saw Gunther, he was like a hundred pounds heavier and I didn’t see the appeal, but I haven’t seen the appeal in a lot of people who turned out to be phenomenal.

Benjamin later compliments GUNTHER on cutting down on weight, adding that he really proved he could be a top guy with the run he’s had as Intercontinental Champion.

When he finally made it to WWE and started trimming down, you start to realize, this guy is leveling up so he can belong here. What they’ve done with him, what he’s managed to do, his look is straight out of a comic book. He looks the part. I don’t know him well enough to comment on his personality, but he’s always been nice enough and kind and I think he’s doing a phenomenal job. Yeah, I do feel like I need to go end that title reign, but that’s a different story [Laughs]. What he’s doing is great, but of the 2010s, I’m still the man. You can’t take the from me. I’m the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 2010s. Live with it, hate it, be mad, there is only one thing you can do and that’s deal with it.

Elsewhere in the interview, Benjamin spoke about his time coaching Brock Lesnar, even recalling their early sessions which didn’t go over quite well. You can read about that here.

(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)