WWE vs. TNA 3.4.07: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Sabin

The Pre-Match Warm-up:

Category 1: Strengths

Shelton Benjamin: When Shelton debuted as part of Team Angle, he was just a new face coming up from OVW. However, once people could see what he could do in the ring, they realized he had great potential to do great things. He went 36-6 in the University of Minnesota, and was a multiple Tag Team Champion in OVW along with Brock Lesnar and Rodney Mack. Once he got called up to WWE, he was part of Team Angle with Charlie Haas, who later changed their name to The World’s Greatest Tag Team. With Haas, he was a two time Tag Champ, and in singles he was a three time IC Champion. As of lately, he has been reunited with Haas and “tearing it up” on Heat. And while Shelton may never get a good push, you can’t take away his many strengths, namely athleticism. As previously stated, Shelton was not only a star at amateur wrestling, but also track, field, and football. In order to excel in such sports, one needs to be fit and athletic, which are two traits Shelton has. He has been flying around the ring since his original tag team days, and since then has only improved. In order to explain this thoroughly, I am going to reference the MitB ladder matches. In these matches, Shelton stole the show. Shelton showed no regret for the pain he put his body through, and wound up putting on one heck of a show. Credited as the MVP for both matches, Shelton would dive over the ropes onto the opponents on the floor. One thing about the athleticism of Benjamin is his agility. He can evade opponents in the nick of time, and can maintain his balance and composure when at great heights. One of the most memorable moments in Wrestlemania 21 was when Benjamin propped the ladder against the ropes, and then RAN up it and leapt onto the opponents below. This showed great will power and athleticism on the part of Shelton because not only did he run up the ladder; he did it without any hesitation whatsoever. Many superstars nowadays can be seen contemplating their moves or wavering, but SB rushed headfirst into this daring move, and it paid off. He also set up the ladder against another ladder, ran up that one and speared someone as they were reaching for the briefcase. These are just a few examples of why Shelton Benjamin is one of the greatest athletic wrestlers in the WWE today, not to mention wrestling in general. Pile that onto his amateur background and ring presence, you have yourself a great all-around wrestler. If they were to meet up, it wouldn’t be unlikely to see Shelton throwing himself around the ring to try and gain the upper hand.

Chris Sabin: Chris Sabin is one of the many talented in ring performers of TNA, and has been one of the key components in the X-Division. Similar to Benjamin, Sabin is a high-flying athletic performer who has been known to take high risks. Sabin was trained by Scott D’Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School. He has wrestled in various indy promotions, along with TNA and ROH. As I said before, Sabin is known for his in ring performances. And while Benjamin has the Money in the Bank match, Sabin has the Ultimate X. He has competed in SEVEN of the eleven matches, and has won three times. He has no remorse for his body as he is often seen putting his well being in jeopardy. He has performed hurricanranas off of the wires, and done dropkicks while hanging from the wires. He has used the metal frames as weapons as well, climbing those to get the upper hand and some extra leverage. This veteran of the Ultimate X takes some sick bumps, too. On numerous occasions he has taken breath-taking plunges from high places, and on several occasions gotten the bad end of said plunges. However, with all these misses, Sabin has been able to perfect his skill, and learn his limits. He is currently the X-Division Champion, and has been able to retain it against such competitors as Chris Daniels and Jerry Lynn. Also, Sabin doesn’t need to be in high risk matches to display his athleticism. He performs springboard maneuvers, tornado DDT’s, and planchas. On great display of his athleticism is his Hesitation Dropkick. He ties his opponents in a tree of woe, and then goes to the opposite corner. He then runs, leaps from about halfway across the ring and plants his opponents in the face with a brutal dropkick. For a smaller wrestler, though, he uses several power moves. One of his primary moves is the crucifix bomb, which he often uses while running. He has been known to use powerbombs and German Suplexes as well. All in all, if these two were to meet up, Sabin should try to capitalize with his strength game just as much as with his athletic game.

Category 2: Fighting Styles

Chris Sabin: As I said before, Sabin is small, athletic performer who can take control with cruiserweight style moves as well as power moves. His primary fighting style is clearly high-flying, though. He goes for high style risks, such as NO HAND springboard plancha suicidas, which is baffling to how anyone could possible do those without slipping. In order to perfect something like this, someone would need tons of grace and balance, which Sabin has. He also LEAPS over the top rope to splash onto his opponents, clearing the ropes by a least a foot. This style of his comes in handy in the many X-Division matches he has been a part of. He can use his athleticism to gain the upper hand by being able to leap onto the wires to get an extra advantage, and can use his balance and agility to prevent his opponents from grabbing the belt, such as by spears, dropkicks, powerbombs, or anything else that he could use to stop them from winning. Also, in situations such as ladder, cage, or Ultimate X, Sabin can use his surroundings to enhance his ability to fly all over the ring. He can scale the side of a cage in nothing flat and leap onto opponents, and also has the intelligence to use his surroundings as weapons. Along with his obvious athleticism, his power game is just as useful. If the opponent is becoming accustomed to Sabin’s high flying style, he can bust out some of his brute force moves. He tossed his smaller opponents around like rag dolls, with moves such as running powerbombs to the middle turnbuckle and suplexes. All things considered, his athleticism is his clear primary arsenal. He needs to focus on what he knows best when facing an equally nimble opponent such as Benjamin, and he could definitely take Benjamin to the limits with his aerial risks.

Shelton Benjamin: Although Shelton Benjamin is normally seen flying around the ring, he got his start in the amateur style of wrestling. He had winning records in both high school and college, and it is easy to se why he did so well. He wears down his opponents, and works over their head/back area. He takes his opponents down with arm drags, headlock takeovers, Samoan drops, and German suplexes. Along with such takedowns, Shelton can weaken his opponents with headlocks and armbars, and also Boston Crabs. Needless to say, Benjamin has been able to master the style of wrestling that got him noticed and incorporate it into his style nowadays. He can take his amateur background and translate it into a winning combination with his more quick and agile style. His agility, as I mentioned before, is one of the key reasons he was a fan favorite and MitB MVP. He always went for the gold and pushed himself the with the extra effort to capitalize with the maneuvers that got him so close to winning the ladder matches on several occasions. He is well trained with his feet, as he can punish opponents with dropkicks, roundhouses, and his beautiful spinning Dragon Whip kick. Along with his educated feet, he can take it to the top ropes and plant his opponents with crossbody splashes and leaping clotheslines. Aside from jumping off the top turnbuckle, Benjamin also soars over the top rope onto unsuspecting victims. For the most part, you can see the effect that Benjamin’s amateur background on his wrestling today, but it doesn’t overwhelm the athleticism that he possesses. If Benjamin tangled with Sabin, he should work over Sabin in a methodical fashion to weaken and slow him down before catching him with a series of high impact moves.

Category 3: Finishers

Shelton Benjamin: Once Shelton evolved to a singles wrestler, he adapted the T-Bone Suplex as his finisher. In the T-Bone, he grabs his opponents as in an exploder, lifts them off of the mat, and then slams them down in a powerslam. This move is not only devastating because of the force behind it, but because of the fact that it can be hit suddenly. He also uses his quickness to nail his opponents in the face with a well timed Superkick, which can also be hit out of nowhere. I think Shelton would work over the back/neck area of Sabin with moves like German suplexes, powerslams, and Samoan drops. Once the area is properly weakened, he should capitalize with a T-Bone for the win.

Chris Sabin: While Sabin uses several high-impact moves, there has only been one finisher that Sabin has called his own: The Cradleshock. In this move, Sabin has his opponent in a fireman’s carry position, and holds onto their neck. He then pulls on the neck and flips then off of his shoulders and drives them to the mat, with most of the force being on the upper back. Sabin should try to soften up and slow down Benjamin with a series of quick moves, the slow it down with his stronger moves to weaken him sufficiently. Once he is weak, Sabin can hit the Cradleshock for the win.

The Final Result:

I appreciate the athleticism of both men, and I can bring myself to picking. You can make you picks though. Vote or Die!

I’m out. Make sure to send your feedback on this column or any past column, some ideas for the future, or just some questions. Peace out.