Shelton Benjamin Talks About Offers He Turned Down, Explains Why He Decided To Sign With AEW

Shelton Benjamin is #AllElite.

But he didn’t have to be.

The Hurt Syndicate member recently spoke with Gabby LaSpisa for a Gabby AF interview, during which he spoke about offers he had outside of WWE in addition to the offer from AEW, which he ultimately decided to choose.

“I did have a few offers,” Benjamin said. “MLW was very interested. I was doing a lot of international things and exploring other options, in and out of pro wrestling. Acting is one of them. Even things like real estate and things not related to wrestling. It basically boiled down to, I like to put myself in the best possible position to succeed.”

Benjamin continued, “When the door closed at WWE, I really thought long and hard about where I wanted to go. IMPACT was a very tempting place to go. What it boils down to is, I want the biggest possible audience. Outside of WWE, there is nowhere bigger than AEW. I don’t have as much time as lot of guys, as far as in-ring. Not that I’m going to retire anytime soon, but for the time I have left, I want to reach the biggest possible audience. What better place than AEW? There is no better place.”

Check out the complete interview at Apple.com.

(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.)