Tony Khan Officially Announces Shelton Benjamin's AEW Debut Match
Shelton Benjamin officially became "All Elite" at the fifth-anniversary edition of "AEW Dynamite" on October 2, and the identity of his first opponent in AEW has officially been revealed.
AEW President Tony Khan took to his X account to announce that on the October 16 episode of "Dynamite" in San Jose, California, Benjamin will make his in-ring debut against Lio Rush.
#AEWDynamite
This WEDNESDAY, 10/16
San Jose, CA
8pm ET/7pm CT, TBSShelton Benjamin w/ @The305MVP vs @IamLioRush
After Lio's announcement that he's back signed with AEW was interrupted by The Hurt Syndicate, @Sheltyb803 makes his @AEW debut vs Lio Rush on TBS,
THIS WEDNESDAY! pic.twitter.com/HNr3WHGB80— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 14, 2024
The match spawned out of a backstage segment that took place on the day of the WrestleDream pay-per-view where Rush announced that he had signed a new multi-year deal with AEW, making him a full-time member of the roster for the first time since 2022. Benjamin and MVP interrupted Rush as they were looking for the AEW President, but when Rush fired back for having his big moment taken away from him, Benjamin threatened him before MVP calmed him down and asked Rush if he was available on Wednesday. Rush said he was, and MVP smiled before leaving to go and look for Khan.
Benjamin almost got physical at AEW WrestleDream during Swerve Strickland's return segment when he shoved Prince Nana. But MVP once again allowed cooler heads to prevail before anything could get out of hand. Benjamin has remained active throughout 2024 thanks to his domestic and international appearances on the independent scene in companies like The Crash, PROGRESS, and DEFY.
Elsewhere on the show, Mercedes Mone will defend her AEW TBS Championship against Queen Aminata, Adam Cole will appear live for the first time since his return from injury, and AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will be a wanted man following the aftermath of his victory over Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream.