Mark Henry Assesses Reason For AEW's Shelton Benjamin Never Winning A World Title

It's safe to say that Shelton Benjamin's in-ring debut for AEW last week couldn't have gone better, with Benjamin picking up a dominant win over Lio Rush, while also earning rave reviews for his performance. The match has led to Benjamin receiving his flowers since then, as well as questions as to why the former WWE, Ring of Honor, and New Japan star never found himself as a World Champion, despite his one of a kind athletic ability.

That was a question asked on "Busted Open Radio" Monday morning, when a fan called in to ask Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry why Benjamin never took that next step. A co-worker of Benjamin's for years, Henry was quick to dismiss the idea that Benjamin's mic work, something he was frequently criticized for, or racism were the reasons keeping him from being a World Champion.

"It was not because of him being black," Henry said. "It's not a racial issue. It's the fact that in pro wrestling, a lot of times, [the] squeaky wheel gets the oil. Shelton is not a squeaky wheel. Shelton never complains, he just shows up, performs, comes up with ideas for other people. He's a community sharer of his abilities."

Henry believes Benjamin should be more selfish, comparing it to when Henry received his own main event push in 2011.

"Tommy Dreamer will tell you it got to the point where they'd be like 'Nah, I don't even want Mark to take a bump,'" Henry said. "'I want him strong, and I want him over as hell.' And that was the mandate. And when you saw me wrestle people, I didn't give them a bunch of stuff. I beat on them. I grinded on them. I whaled on them. And I beat them. That's what Shelton needs."

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