Chicago Sun-Times: Benjamin stuns HHH -- and WWE

Not since the 1-2-3 Kid pinned Razor Ramon on "Raw" many years ago has there been an upset as big as the one pulled off by Shelton Benjamin against HHH on Monday.

It appeared as if Benjamin had dug his own grave when he insisted on a match with HHH on his first "Raw" program, but from the beginning of the match, one-half of the World's Greatest Tag Team seemed to have the former champ's number.

The key for Benjamin was to avoid the Pedigree -- and he did just that. The moment Hunter was distracted by a ringside altercation between Chris Benoit and Ric Flair, Shelton saw his opening and splashed and rolled up HHH for the improbable win.

At the exact second the referee's hand fell for the third time, the future of the WWE was changed. First, the "Raw" brand had discovered a new star; Benjamin had a clean slate after leaving "SmackDown" and is 1-0 with a pinfall win over HHH. But of much greater significance was the statement made by HHH. The No. 1 man took a fall for an up-and-coming star and backed up the notion this is a new start for the WWE.

When the WCW was beating the WWE every week, it became clear the way to make fans happy is to develop new talent. In the next few months, HHH, Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind, The New Age Outlaws, The Godfather, Kurt Angle, Kane and dozens of others were launched, and the new WWE was on its way. We may very well look back at the night HHH took one for the team against Shelton Benjamin as the night wrestling became important again.

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