AEW: Shelton Benjamin on Potentially Joining AEW, Britt Baker on “Can’t Wait” to Make AEW Return, Bryan Danielson on Not Seeking Out AEW Title Run

Shelton Benjamin Comments on Potentially Joining AEW in Future

As noted before, Shelton Benjamin has been in recent talks with AEW for potential appearances and/or contract in the company.

Monopoly Events held a recent interview with Benjamin. One of the topics discussed included Benjamin’s thoughts about his interest in potentially joining AEW in the future.

“Honestly, (Kazuchika) Okada, while I’ve worked alongside him in New Japan, we never actually had a match, so I would love to work with Okada. Obviously, I would love to work with Will Ospreay because I think that guy’s phenomenal. I’ve been watching him for years and you know, people call me athletic but I mean, he does stuff that I couldn’t even — it would put me in traction to even try some of the moves he does but I would love to work with him. I think it could be a lot of fun so, those names are at the top of my list but obviously, I enjoy what I do, I love what I do and I can pretty much mesh with anybody. So, it’s just a matter of what they think but, as far as AEW goes, that door’s open — my door is open. I haven’t eliminated any possibilities as of yet.”

Benjamin also gave his thoughts about the idea of him making an appearance for AEW at their All In 2024 event at Wembley Stadium this August.

“It could be (AEW All In could be on his radar). Again, the ball’s really in their court. But like you said, it’s pro wrestling so, you never know what’s gonna happen.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

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Britt Baker Comments on “Can’t Wait” to Get Back in the Ring & Cut Promos in AEW

Britt Baker has been noticeably absent from AEW programming since this past September. During her time away from the company, Baker has helped take care Adam Cole while he recovers from an ankle injury and was most recently backstage at AEW’s Revolution 2024 event earlier this month.

A recent AEW-themed panel at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) convention featured Baker among the speakers. One of the topics discussed included Baker’s thoughts about her current plans for her career in 2024.

“Yeah, I do. Just growing as a wrestler and performer and learning what works and what doesn’t work. With all the new talent coming in and new talent I get to work with, and new coaches and new people coming over from WWE, new brains and minds we get to pick. You’re really doing yourself a huge disservice if you’re not constantly asking everybody around you for help. The help in AEW is growing and growing. For me personally, I can’t wait to get back in the ring, have [a mic] in my hand and cut some promos. Stay tuned.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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Bryan Danielson Comments on Reason for Not Seeking Out AEW Title Run

A recent AEW-themed panel at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) convention also featured Bryan Danielson among the speakers. One of the topics discussed included Danielson’s reasons why he has not been seeking out an AEW title run during his time in the company.

“I don’t use the ‘r-word’. I already had to do that once and I don’t wanna do it again. I wanna leave it open to be able to wrestle when I’m 75 if I so choose. When I came to AEW, CM Punk had just debuted several weeks before and he had talked about wanting to help the younger talent, all that kind of stuff and I watched his interview and I was like, ‘That’s what I was gonna say.’ So then, when they asked me about it, ‘What’s your goals here in AEW?’ I was like, ‘Ah, I’m gonna come in here and kick everybody’s heads in. I don’t care about pushing younger guys to the top, all that kind of stuff. I’m just gonna stomp them in the face and show them that I’m the best.’ But that’s actually not the reality as somebody who’s 42 years old and who has two kids. One of the things that I loved about AEW and just the idea of it is just that it made the pro wrestling industry healthier and so when I look at that, how do I make this industry that I’ve loved since I was a child — how do I make it healthier? And the idea is to pass on the stardom that I’ve been given to try to pass that on to the younger wrestlers… I’ve had some people ask me or say things to me like, ‘Oh Bryan, you should be champion or you should’ve been champion’ or you should’ve this or you should’ve that and the reality is to me, no, the champions that we’ve had have been great. Hangman (Adam Page) was a great champion, MJF was a great champion and it elevated these younger people to where now these people are stars and you put Hangman on TV now and he draws a rating. You put MJF on TV, he draws a rating. It would be easy to just take stars of the past and make them your champion and make them your top guy. That’s the easy way. It’s much harder to take somebody like MJF who hadn’t been on national television and turn him into a star that draws ratings… That was my bigger goal is to transfer stardom from one generation to another.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com