Shelton Benjamin Partners With Chad Gable

Shelton Benjamin made a surprise return to WWE during yesterday’s SmackDown LIVE.

The former Intercontinental Champion was introduced by Daniel Bryan as Chad Gable’s new tag team partner – something many fans had envisioned, but perhaps didn’t expect to actually happen.

Benjamin commented on Twitter that it was good to be back home:

Back Home Sweet home. #SmackDownLIVE pic.twitter.com/clfNJbrXuL

— Shelton J. Benjamin (@Sheltyb803) August 23, 2017

The former multi-time tag champ was originally set to return to the company in July last year, but before a contract was signed he suffered a torn rotator cuff injury. He was cleared to wrestle earlier this year, but it seems they only recently decided to re-pursue the opportunity.

The new American Alpha will make their debut together on next week’s SmackDown from North Little Rock, Arkansas.

RAW’s General Manager Kurt Angle reacted to Benjamin signing with SmackDown on Instagram:

I tried to get Shelton Benjamin on MY show. Oh well. #teamangleforever #damnyoudanielbryan

A post shared by Kurt Angle (@therealkurtangle) on Aug 22, 2017 at 6:08pm PDT

Of course, Benjamin made his WWE debut with Charlie Haas under the tutelage of Angle as Team Angle and the World’s Greatest Tag Team. American Alpha were inspired by Haas and Benjamin, which also explains why WWE saw Angle and Jason Jordan as a natural fit.

Enzo Amore Confronts Neville

Enzo Amore made his 205 Live debut last night by confronting Neville. Amore is now a permanent member of the ‘cruiserweight’ roster and will no longer be featured significantly on RAW.

.@WWE205Live is now The #RealestShowInTheRoom, because @real1 just made his #205Live DEBUT! HOW U DOIN'?!? @WWENetwork @WWENeville pic.twitter.com/4Gxd2fvPDs

— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2017

While some will consider this a demotion for the charismatic Superstar, who allegedly has backstage ‘heat,’ it could also be viewed as the company believing Amore has the talent to increase 205 Live’s viewership.

Big Cass Out For 9 Months

Ironically, Enzo and Big Cass were broken up to give Cass a huge push on RAW. However the latest news is that Cass will need at least 9 months off to recover from a torn ACL.

“It looks like he has an ACL tear, possibly a medial meniscus tear, but we’re going to wait for the radiologist to evaluate the MRI and give us their full report,” WWE ringside physician Dr. Chris Robinson told WWE.com on Tuesday.

“A typical ACL tear takes about nine months [to recover from],” Robinson said.