The pitch was suggested by Benjamin.
The amateur and pro wrestling careers of Shelton Benjamin were documented during his appearance on The Kurt Angle Show.
Along the way, they deep dove into Benjamin’s first run in WWE. He stated that prior to the ‘Mama Benjamin’ character being introduced, he pitched the idea to do a skit where Vince McMahon would show up to his home for a dinner and meet his entire family.
Benjamin said he was going to play every member of his family except his mother, adding that it was akin to what Eddie Murphy did in The Nutty Professor.
Before Mama (Benjamin) was introduced, I actually wrote a whole skit, where Vince (McMahon) actually comes to my house and meets Mama. We have dinner, but I think I had Nutty Professor vibes in my head. So, I was gonna play all my family members except for Mama. That’s what I wrote, and they liked it. Obviously, we didn’t do it but, like I said, I had so much fun with that and it was such good TV and it really — on one hand, I can understand how fans said that gimmick set me back but on the other hand, I’m like, it set me back because it was unfinished. You created this image and then, next thing, I remember I showed up to work and they just said, ‘Okay, Mama’s not gonna be here anymore. You’re now gonna be the Terrell Owens of WWE’ and I was like, ‘What!?’ Last week, I was cowering to my mama. This week, you want me to be this flamboyant… No transition whatsoever. Just, bam, this is what you are now. I was dumbfounded.
Throughout Benjamin’s combined time in WWE, he’s been Tag Team Champion on three occasions and has held the United States, Intercontinental and 24/7 Championships.
If the quote in this article is used, please credit The Kurt Angle Show with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcription.
