Tommy Dreamer & Bully Ray Discuss WWE Mistake In Letting AEW's Shelton Benjamin Go

A year out from his WWE release, Shelton Benjamin is now a member of the All Elite Wrestling roster, with his in-ring debut taking form against Lio Rush on this week's episode of "AEW Dynamite." On "Busted Open Radio." ECW legend Tommy Dreamer and WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray weighed in on Benjamin's triumphant debut. In doing so, they also circled it as a reminder of the mistake they believe WWE made in releasing Benjamin from his contract.

"I watched that, and I was just like, 'Man, I can't believe WWE let Shelton go,' because this is the quality of matches that this guy is still performing at," Dreamer said. "And you listen to the reactions. And I was just like, 'God.' These are all things that if it's a trade or free agency or you just release a guy [like] Baker Mayfield, he's doing great in Tampa and you're just like, 'Man, but he was on this team and that team, how did he not fit?'

"I watched [Benjamin's match] and I just thought it was such a high-level performance. And that's why, for me, I was okay with it going longer than I'm sure that you felt it should have."

As Bully Ray points out, despite how WWE used, or sometimes failed to use, Benjamin in his latest run, the "Busted Open" crew has continued to praise his in-ring work. That praise has now extended to AEW, where Ray says Benjamin and MVP are presenting a more believable version of their stable previously known as The Hurt Business.

"Maybe he got a little bit of a shine in The Hurt Business [in WWE], but [it was] really not what Shelton Benjamin is truly capable of," Ray said. "We saw him in singles matches, like that singles match with Shawn Michaels. We saw him in the tag team with Charlie Haas. So this re-debut of Shelton Benjamin now in AEW with a more realistic version of what I believe The Hurt Business should have been."

Regarding Benjamin's AEW debut match against Lio Rush, Ray took special note of the competitors' physical differences. "[Benajmin] is against Lio Rush, a guy that is more than half his body weight; Lio's half of Shelton Benjamin. And I remember watching them circle last night. I was like, 'Holy s***, what a size difference in these two.'"

Benjamin's initial AEW appearance came on the October 2 episode of "Dynamite," in which he and MVP confronted Swerve Strickland's manager, Prince Nana. Recent reports suggest that the AEW arrivals of MVP, Benjamin, and the impending Bobby Lashley were done in an effort to re-form The Hurt Business under a new name, specifically The Hurt Syndicate.

Benjamin's latest run in WWE spanned six years, with three reigns as WWE 24/7 Champion and one as WWE Raw Tag Team Champion alongside his former Hurt Business comrade, Cedric Alexander.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.