Shelton Benjamin would gladly erase one angle he was apart of in WWE as a clip from 2009 resurfaced.
Back then, ‘The Gold Standard’ was in full-heel mode for the revamped ECW and awaited a debuting opponent in Yoshi Tatsu. Tatsu was positioned as a likable babyface on the rise and to get heel heat, Benjamin was directed to go for the low hanging fruit. With Tatsu being Japanese, Benjamin mocked Yoshi with a horrible and condescending Japanese accent. It happened to be 15 years since Tatsu made his debut and so OTD_In_WWE X account posted the polarizing clip.
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Shelton happened to see the clip online and expressed his embarrassment at being involved in such an angle, noting how racist and offensive the bit was.
“If I could erase one thing in my career this is it. I’m completely and utterly disgusted by this racist shit. I’m glad the ending was my character getting kicked in the head and losing.”
With Vince McMahon steering the ship, WWE would often position an Asian talent in a stereotypical role and the same trend would go to wrestlers of middle-eastern descent. Since Triple H has taken over as Chief Content Officer, that dynamic has changed as a lot of talent, no matter what their ethnic background may be puts more of a focus on the particular talent’s personality or athleticism.
During an interview back in May, Benjamin noted how he’d be a fool not to want to go back to WWE after he was released from the company in September of 2023.
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