Shelton Benjamin opened up in a new WWE interview about dedicating his RAW Tag Team Championship win to Shad Gaspard. Shelton says he knew what he would do back at Shad’s funeral earlier this year, and talked about how important it was for him to celebrate Shad’s life and his legacy.
“Knowing that I had gone in there and dedicating this moment to Shad. When I attended his funeral, I made a promise to myself that if I won a title—especially a tag team championship—because I know Shad and JTG worked hard even though they never actually got a chance to wear a title. I made a point then that no matter what title it was going to be, it was going to be dedicated to Shad.”
“So, I wear this title, I won this title and there was no question. I had never dedicated a title win to anybody and I think this was so significant, so important, just for him and for his son. Part of the reason is, I want his son to know just how great a guy that his dad was. Just what a big influence and what a big impact he had on myself and the world.”
Shelton said Shad would probably be cracking jokes about the win, something to make him laugh, but Shad would also be the first to congratulate and uplift him.
“Shad’s legacy as a person, first and foremost, a hero. He left this world doing something that I think every man and every parent, pretty much every decent human being would do for a child, much less their own child. His legacy is that he’s a hero dad. First and foremost, I think of him as a hero.”
