Shelton Benjamin Assesses AEW Debut Opponent Lio Rush

AEW star Shelton Benjamin recently had his first match in the promotion, walking away with a victory over Lio Rush. So far, several veterans have only had good things to say about the contest, praising Benjamin's performance, but on "Gabby AF," Benjamin himself instead focused on his opponent, praising Rush's ability.

"He was a great opponent," Benjamin said, before commending Rush for stepping up to him backstage despite being significantly smaller than both him and MVP. "No matter what people say about his size, that's a grown man, and he conducted himself like a grown man should." Benjamin further noted that Rush taking on the challenge made him gain a lot of respect for his opponent. He then quoted John Witherspoon's character from the 1995 film "Friday" to seemingly motivate Rush. "Like Pops from Friday said, 'You win some, you lose some, but you live to fight another day.'"

In response to some criticisms of the match length, Benjamin simply described it as a "lion playing with his food." Despite this, he still shot down the notion that Rush could be a pushover, and praised him for conducting himself as a fighter. "If I would've went in there and just walked through him, like, it makes me look good but how entertaining is that for the fans?" Benjamin explained. The "Gold Standard" expanded on this, simply saying that it's not entertaining to just watch one guy beat up another guy. "Lio put up a fight, it doesn't matter if you think it should have gone longer or shorter."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Gabby AF" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.