Tag: Shelton Benjamin

CM Punk once picked fights with Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin on a plane

The Undertaker recalled a story of CM Punk claiming he could submit Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin on a plane.

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Throughout his long and storied career in pro wrestling, CM Punk has experienced many ups and downs that have been well documented. From participating in a career-defining match with John Cena at Money in the Bank to being fired by AEW earlier this year, various events have unfolded that shaped his past two decades.

Punk left AEW because of his infamous backstage incident with Jack Perry at All In. However, there was another, somewhat less serious backstage incident that had occurred in his past.

On his Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker said the Straight Edge Superstar once picked fights with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley backstage. It’s safe to say neither fight worked out in his favor (h/t Fightful for transcription).

We’re drinking, everyone is carrying on. Somehow or another, the discussion comes up. I don’t know if Vince instigated this one or not. Bradshaw was on this flight too. The topic comes up as we’re on the way over. CM Punk, he fashioned himself as a jiu-jitsu practitioner. Someone broached the question, ‘You did jiu-jitsu. How long do you think you could last with one of these two wrestlers?’ It was Bobby Lashley, who wrestled for the Army, and Shelton Benjamin, who wrestled at Minnesota. Two high-level amateur wrestlers. To Phil’s credit, he said, ‘I’ll tap them out.’ That was about all it took. Now, the pot begins to really get stirred. Shelton, at this time, he didn’t drink at all. I remember Vince pouring a styrofoam cup full of wine, and Shelton just gulps it down. I honestly can’t remember who went first. There is not a lot of room. It’s tight, but there’s enough room. I want to say the first match lasted about 47 seconds. The other one was sub-40, where they had taken them down and pinned him. He didn’t back down, but my goodness, it was like blood in the water and two great white sharks circling. They could not wait. They didn’t disappoint. That was another fine case of Vince McMahon shit disturbing.

It seems Punk made the wrong decision — a very wrong one. He couldn’t last a total of two minutes in his fights, which is understandable given that Lashley went on to compete in MMA, although Punk also dabbled in the Octagon, but to negative results.

Nonetheless, this eye-opening experience offered a glimpse into the 45-year-old’s wild career. Surely, this was memorable for Undertaker and others to take in.

WWE Raw results 06/19/23: Logan Paul is Money (in the Bank)

Logan Paul revealed his next match, and Finn Balor took our Seth Rollins early during WWE Raw in Cleveland.

With all due respect to Grayson Waller for borrowing his catchphrase, Logan Paul is someone who has quite the effect on the WWE Universe. Some fans can’t stand him. Others grudgingly admire the way he has shown unusual aptitude inside the ropes for someone so relatively inexperienced.

And, yes, we’re sure there are fans who genuinely like him as well. No matter which group you fall into, you have to admit some curiosity as to what’s next for Paul after he turned in another stellar performance at WrestleMania 39. WWE is promoting the idea that we’ll find out during tonight’s show in Cleveland.

Maybe we shouldn’t, but we’re assuming that Paul is not showing up to accept Seth Rollins‘ open challenge to defend his title on Raw. If that assumption is correct, that means a big spotlight on someone else on the roster, and it will be fun to see who might shine under it.

There’s a few things to be settled in the women’s division as well. Fighting Rhea Ripley is a tough task for any competitor who’s at 100%, but Natalya hardly would say that even about herself lately. She’ll have to make one heck of a rally not to get flattened by the Women’s World Heavyweight Champion.

And there’s still one spot up for grabs in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match in London. Raquel Rodriguez will take on Trish Stratus to fill it, and you have to figure one Becky Lynch will have a very vested interest in the outcome.

Let’s see what we’ve got, shall we?

WWE Raw results from Cleveland:

  • The usual singalong greets Seth Rollins as he hits the ring, but he’s quickly attacked from behind by Finn Balor, who gets the best of the champ and even hits the Coup de Grace off the steps and the announce table just as referees and officials look like they have everything settled down; Balor hits a third for good measure just before the show breaks for commercial

  • Rollins rants about Balor backstage as officials try to get him some help, but all that gets is Finn attacking him again
  • The Miz is in the ring, upset because he was going to accept Rollins’ open challenge, so he issues his own open challenge instead … and it’s answered by a returning Tommaso Ciampa

  • Tommaso Ciampa def. The Miz by pinfall
  • The Judgment Day brags about all the winning they’re planning on doing at Money in the Bank, warns Cody Rhodes to keep Dominik Mysterio’s name out of his mouth, and taunts Cody to find “two other guys” to fight a united Judgment Day

  • A video package shows the final segment from SmackDown with the events that set up the Bloodline Civil War
  • Kevin Owens chafes at Sami Zayn being asked about The Bloodline, to which Sami tells Kevin he has an anger problem; Zayn says if Owens can go the whole night without another outburst, he’ll leave the Bloodline situation alone, then apologizes to Byron Saxton for having to see it
  • A selection of TikToks is shown that feature Chelsea Green raging out in a number of different ways
  • Katana Chance and Kayden Carter def. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville by pinfall
  • Cathy Kelley brings out Cody Rhodes, who accepts the challenge from Dom and says “two guys” shouldn’t be hard to find
  • Indus Sher def. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin by pinfall
  • Someone bumps into KO backstage and spills cold water on him, and KO manages not to blow up; Matt Riddle almost gets him to explode with some movie suggestions
  • Logan Paul sits atop a ladder in the ring, and says the best people in the world come from Cleveland, but of course he turns it around and runs down its citizens for a bit before announcing that he’s in the Money in the Bank Ladder match; Paul is joined by Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight and Santos Escobar, all of whom say they’re going to win MITB, whereas Butch just goes right after Paul, who ends up doing a somersault plancha before climbing the ladder and showing how he plans on grabbing the briefcase in London

  • Matt Riddle def. Ludwig Kaiser by pinfall. but Gunther helps Kaiser get some payback after the bell, stomping on Riddle’s left ankle several times
  • Riddle walks gingerly backstage with help from some officials; meanwhile, Kaiser and Gunther visit Owens and Zayn, and while KO threatens to come unglued at their threats, Sami gets a text message and says they have to leave

  • If you ever wanted to see what an Alpha Academy training session looks like, there’s a peek
  • Viking Raiders def. Alpha Academy by pinfall
  • Balor and Damian Priest promise Rhea Ripley they’re on the same page, and Rhea heads out for her own match
  • Natalya says this is a second chance to prove to Rhea, and more importantly, to herself, that she still belongs
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya never happens as Ripley beats Nattie down before the bell and hits her with a Riptide before referees and officials pull her away
  • Raquel Rodriguez says what Rhea did is not OK, and she doesn’t back down, even when Ripley shows up in the flesh

  • Akira Tozawa volunteers to be Cody’s partner tonight, but he gets a better offer from Owens and Zayn, and KO is especially excited that he gets to punch people in the face
  • Trish Stratus def. Raquel Rodriguez by disqualification in a Money in the Bank qualifying match after Becky Lynch arrives to attack Zoey Stark at ringside, then inadvertently takes out Stratus when she goes out to the floor to intervene
  • Bron Breakker is told Rollins might not be able to compete on NXT, but Breakker says surely Seth won’t use what happened to him tonight as an excuse … and also he’s going to hurt Rollins really “freakin'” bad

  • Lynch tells Saxton says she screwed herself … or did she, because now she gets a shot at Stratus in a match at ladders, and she’s either going to win MITB or go down in a blaze of glory, taking Trish and Zoey with her
  • Bronson Reed def. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall, with Ricochet also getting involved in the match
  • Speaking from the hospital, apparently, Rollins says he’ll be at NXT tomorrow to face Breakker with his title on the line, and he welcomes back “the guy who beat me seven years ago”

  • Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes def. The Judgment Day by pinfall when Rhodes pins Priest

WWE Raw results 06/05/23: Rollins still golden, 2 more women in MITB

Get all the details on WWE Raw from Hartford, with Seth Rollins making his first World Heavyweight title defense and a pair of MITB qualifiers.

The Seth Rollins Era begins in earnest tonight on WWE Raw from Hartford, so have your singing voices ready.

Even before winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions, Seth Rollins promised to be the kind of champion we could look up to, one that would inspire others and push pro wrestling forward. That’s lofty talk, and if we’re being honest, not something over which he has full control.

But he also made it clear that a big part of it was simply being available to defend the title on a regular basis, and that begins with his faceoff with Damian Priest tonight. Why Priest? Good question! It’s because of an open challenge, ostensibly, but it’s not like he’s totally undeserving, and as The Judgment Day was the established, self-declared power on Raw, it does track that one member of the group would step up to try to topple Rollins.

And it wasn’t going to be Prison Dom.

The other big focus for tonight is a pair of Money in the Bank qualifying matches in the women’s division. After Becky Lynch battles Sonya Deville and Natalya goes up against Zoey Stark, we’ll have half the field set for the women’s Ladder match.

There’s also a common thread between these bouts, and it’s that Trish Stratus has a vested interest in both: ensuring Lynch loses and Stark wins. It would be surprising indeed if she didn’t show up and try to affect the outcomes in some way.

WWE Raw results from Hartford:

  • Seth Rollins gets his singalong to kick off the show, and says since it’s been nearly two years since there was a world title match on Raw, he wanted one tonight; Rollins says he’s psyched to take on Damian Priest tonight, and he comes out with Finn Balor but says he can take Seth on his own — and Rollins suggests he prove it by leaving The Judgment Day in the back, which Priest accepts though Balor seems unamused by the whole exchange

  • Becky Lynch def. Sonya Deville by pinfall in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, with Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark watching intently from the ramp
  • A video recaps the highlights of the Bloodline drama from this past week’s SmackDown
  • Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens don’t want to say “I told you so” and also say the Bloodline isn’t their problem any more … but their current problem, Imperium arrives, and KO is bothered enough by Gunther vowing to teach him discipline that he wants to fight right now
  • A vignette plays again to promote Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
  • Gunther def. Kevin Owens by pinfall after a wild match that saw KO have to deal with the other members of Imperium and Gunther take advantage by rolling Owens up for the pin
  • Matt Riddle says he’s tired of Gunther cheating week after week, and Ludwig Kaiser gets in his face … but it’s Giovanni Vinci who ends up feeling Riddle’s wrath
  • Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler say it was destiny for them to be tag team champions together and invite anyone to take them on; coincidentally, Carter and Chance step up, and after some ridiculing, the champs accept their challenge

  • Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler def. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance by submission
  • Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura trade some trash talk and decide to settle it in the ring; also Bronson Reed says hi
  • A video hypes the return of Johnny Gargano sometime soon

  • Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ends in … a no contest, probably? Reed invades and starts beating up both men, including a Tsunami on Ricochet
  • Alpha Academy tries to get Maxxine Dupri ready to take on Valhalla, but she needs to change into something more suitable for training first

  • Cody Rhodes joins The Miz to trade quips, innuendos and other fun stuff, but they’re soon joined by surprise guest Dominik Mysterio and his mami, Rhea Ripley; Dom insults Cody as a deadbeat dad, but the American Nightmare gives better than he takes, and Dom ends up slapping him and hiding behind Rhea, and Rhodes ends up knocking out The Miz as well

  • Zoey Stark def. Natalya by pinfall in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, with some help from a Stratus cheap shot from th floor
  • Paul Heyman invites viewers to SmackDown to see Jey Uso make his historic choice, which Heyman says will be to stand by his brother, Solo

  • Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin never starts as Indus Sher destroys Benjamin before the bell
  • Seth Rollins def. Damian Priest by pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, despite some attempted assistance for Priest (who didn’t seem to want it) from Balor
  • Rollins and Balor had a staredown as the show went off the air

WWE Raw results: Bad Bunny talks softly, carries a big (kendo) stick

A new World Heavyweight Championship was also unveiled tonight.

When you’re Bad Bunny, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Try your hand at WWE? Of course. Get involved in a dramatic WrestleMania match between father and son? Sure, if you want. It’s just that there might be consequences even for the biggest music star in the world if you do that, some of which might still be playing out on this week’s episode of WWE Raw from the greater Chicago area.

See, The Judgment Day wasn’t too crazy about Bunny ensuring Dominik Mysterio didn’t cheat to beat his dad in L.A., and was even less enthused about him smacking the taste out of Dom’s mouth a few weeks later. That led to Damian Priest putting the music megastar through an announce table, which naturally kept him out of commission for a bit.

He’s back tonight, however, and probably looking for some payback against old “friend” Priest. And he, meanwhile, has a match against Rey Mysterio. That, friends, is what we call synergy. Could all these elements break out into a big Judgment Day vs. LWO scuffle with Bad Bunny on the side of the LWO? That seems likely.

Also of interest for tonight, Triple H is scheduled to make some sort of announcement. The buzz is that it’s about a title — either a new physical belt of some sort or an honest to goodness change to a championship of some sort. Or it could be something else altogether, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

WWE Raw results from Chicago:

(click on any match or segment with a link for more details)

  • Cody Rhodes reflects on the “humiliating” beatdown he got from Brock Lesnar and the time he wrestled with a torn pec, but he’s not down with Finn Balor and his invitation to join The Judgment Day … but he’s medically cleared to face Finn tonight
  • The Bloodline (The Usos and Solo Sikoa) def. The LWO (Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) by pinfall
  • Damage CTRL tells Bianca Belair she can pick any two partners she wants to take them on tonight, and she’s down with that
  • “You made your choice … and like it or not, I made my choice too.” Sami Zayn drops in on Jey Uso and questions what will happen to Jey if The Usos fail to get the tag team titles back after dedicating the match to the Tribal Chief, but Jey tells Sami not to worry about him any more
  • A video replays the recent words and actions of Trish Stratus, who then insists that Becky Lynch is absent because she can’t handle the pressure of being a top star and a mom at the same time
  • Street Profits def. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin by pinfall
  • Triple H announces that wherever Roman Reigns is drafted to, he will take the Universal Championship with him, but there will also be a new World Heavyweight Championship, with the inaugural titleholder crowned at Night of Champions
  • Priest and Dominik Mysterio say Bad Bunny can watch Damian take out Rey Mysterio later tonight
  • “You can’t talk to Sami, Uce.” Jey expresses some self-doubts to Jimmy Uso, who blows up when he hears it’s because Jey talked to Sami
  • Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Damage CTRL
  • “Are you lazy and don’t want to work, or are you scared?” Austin Theory mocks the idea of the new title going to someone besides him while he has two powerful challengers at Backlash; Bobby Lashley joins him in the ring and wonders why Theory doesn’t welcome every opportunity to fight for the U.S. title …
  • … but Bronson Reed joins them as well when they start to brawl, and he’s the one left standing at the end
  • Chad Gable tries to explain the WWE Draft to Rick Boogs, but Maxxine Dupri is ready to fight for Otis, and Mustafa Ali thinks everyone needs to have a more positive attitude and is willing to back it up in the ring
  • Mustafa Ali def. Chad Gable by pinfall
  • Jimmy Uso confronts Zayn and tries to make him feel doubts about Kevin Owens
  • Cody Rhodes def. Finn Balor by pinfall
  • “This is an opportunity to have a World Heavyweight Championship that’s about more than politics and part-timers.” Seth Rollins says something bigger than Omos has caught his eye, but he’s not looking past the Nigerian Giant either
  • Matt Riddle is wearing out KO’s patience, and Owens is flabbergasted that his friend still cares about The Usos, and Riddle surprises Zayn with some actually helpful perspective
  • Rey Mysterio def. Damian Priest by DQ when Priest uses a chair on him, and Bad Bunny arrives to attack Priest with a kendo stick … and reveal that they’ll be facing off in a Street Fight at Backlash