Stuart "Stu" Bennett is an English professional wrestler and former bare knuckle boxing champion who is now contracted to World Wrestling Entertainment. He left the WWE in 2016 after electing to take a break from wrestling to concentrate on his acting career. Before joining the WWE, Bennett worked for Frontier Martial-Arts College as Josh Bennett where he trained students in martial arts and wrestling.
Bennett started his professional wrestling career in 2001 at the age of 21, working mainly for British promotion International Championship Wrestling (ICW). In 2002, he joined World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s developmental territory, the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he was trained by Vince McMahon himself. After two years with FCW, Bennett was drafted to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he became one of their biggest stars during the ECW era. During his time in WWE, Bennett won six championships including the WWE World Heavyweight Title once.
After leaving WWE in 2009, Bennett went back to wrestling in ICW where he held the heavyweight title twice before signing with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 2011. There, he captured the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title before returning to Europe where he worked for various companies including New Wave Pro, Westside Xtreme Wrestling and Progress Wrestling.
Bennett returned to North America in 2015 when he signed with Major League Wrestling (MLW).
Stu Bennett is potentially single, according to our data. Stu Bennett was formerly involved with Rachel David (2014) and Victoria Crawford (2010). Stu Bennett, 39, is a British wrestler. He has worked for both World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
He originally came to attention when he competed in the 2004 World Tag Team Championship tournament where he lost to The Hurricane and Matt Hardy. However, he would later go on to form a successful tag team with Chris Jericho which lasted until 2008 when they had a match at WrestleMania XX8 during which time Jericho turned his back on Bennett. Since then, they have not spoken and are considered by many to be finished as a team.
Bennett's first marriage was to Leilani Bennett (née Saari) in 2001; they had one son together named Tyler Bennett who died in 2003 after falling into a swimming pool at their home in Florida. His second marriage was to Jennifer Hathaway in 2005 and it ended in divorce in 2009. Bennett's third marriage was to Jessica Levant in 2011 and it also ended in divorce in 2014.
Bennett currently lives in Orlando, Florida with his mother and two of her other children. He has three sisters.
Shelton James Xavier Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is a WWE professional wrestler who currently competes on the Raw brand. Along with MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Cedric Alexander, he was a member of The Hurt Business (2020–2021). Before joining WWE, Benjamin worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2009, where he competed under the ring name Shelton Benjamin Jr.. He is the son of former champion Shelton Benjamin and the brother of David Benjamin.
Before becoming a professional wrestler, Benjamin was a football player at Florida State University. He started two games as a freshman in 1994 before being sidelined by an injury. After recovering from his injury, Benjamin returned to play as a reserve defensive end in 1995 before leaving school after one season. He signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent but was released during training camp.
In January 1996, Benjamin began working on his wrestling skills at Frontier do Combat in Brazil. His trainer there was Rigan Machado, who would later become known as Rey Mysterio. In 1998, Benjamin came back to America and joined the WCW system. There, he gained attention for his work against wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Tajiri, and Billy Jack Haynes. In 2000, he moved to the WWF and became best known for his time on Monday Night Raw, where he usually participated in matches involving his father Shelton Benjamin Sr..
He now competes for New Japan Pro Wrestling as Shelton X Benjamin. He is primarily recognized for his stint with WWE, although he also worked for Ring of Honor from 2010 to 2013. Benjamin began his wrestling career with Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he remained from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, he went to Florida Championship Wrestling, which was the developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). There he met Triple H, who recruited him for his new organization, World Wrestling Federation/WWF/Entertainment (WWF/E).
In 2004, Benjamin made his in-ring debut for WWF/E at the age of 26, teaming with Chris Benoit to defeat Mike Knox and Matt Morgan. He became known for his work with Benoit, forming a tag team that was considered one of the best in the company. They were collectively called The Dream Team, and they achieved great success during their time together. In 2005, Benjamin won his first championship when he defeated Shawn Michaels to win the World Heavyweight Title. This made him only the second rookie to do so after Bret Hart in 1985. However, due to injuries, Benjamin was forced to relinquish the title later that year.
After this accomplishment, Benjamin was drafted to the main roster in November 2006. At this point, he decided to change his ring name to The Sandman, because he felt it represented him better than "Shelton" did.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
