Former Intercontinental Champion Returning To SmackDown?

Shelton Benjamin, who is set to return to WWE, was spotted near Brooklyn on Monday (where Raw took place and where SmackDown LIVE takes place tonight) according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com.

It’s quite possible that Benjamin will make his return to WWE on tonight’s episode of SmackDown LIVE. According to Johnson, there was talk over the weekend that he is joining SmackDown soon.

The former Intercontinental Champion was set to return to WWE last year when the company announced their brand extension. Vignettes aired on WWE television hyping his return, however, plans were nixed after a shoulder issue was found while taking the company’s physical.

Benjamin underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff last fall. He was cleared to return in late March and has been working on the independent scene since then.

Benjamin, who worked on the main roster from 2002 to 2010, initially came up on SmackDown with Charlie Haas as Team Angle, underlings for Kurt Angle. The pair eventually split from Angle, rechristening themselves The World’s Greatest Tag Team. During their run, they held the WWE Tag Team Championship twice.

In the 2004 WWE Draft, Benjamin was sent to Raw. He quickly got a singles push, scoring a win over Triple H, but would not capitalize on the momentum. Benjamin would go on to win the Intercontinental Championship on three occasions and the United States Championship once before being released in April 2010. He was also named Most Underrated Wrestler by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

After being released by WWE in 2010, Benjamin renewed his partnership with Haas in Ring of Honor and worked for New Japan, among other promotions.