Shelton Benjamin opens up about relationship with Brock Lesnar

Veteran WWE superstar Shelton Benjamin recently appeared on Lilian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast to discuss his life, career and aspirations. He also talked about the time he spent after his first tenure with the WWE.

One name that continuously appeared throughout the conversation was that of current WWE champion Brock Lesnar. If you were unaware, the two have quite the history.

Shelton and Brock wrestled long before WWE

The pair initially met back in their amateur wrestling days where, if you can believe it, they wrestled in the same weight class. Needless to say, things didn't go to plan for Benjamin:

“The first time I wrestled Brock I grabbed his leg, he thrusted and I flew half way across the room!”

But Benjamin, who would go on to earn an outstanding amateur wrestling record, was full of praise for the man that would become known as the Next Big Thing:

“When I met Brock, instantly I liked the guy. He was just a big fun loving dude.”

At the same time, the former Intercontinental champion was also clear that Lesnar was not a man to be messed with:

“If he likes you, he’ll give you the shirt off his back. If he doesn’t, you’ll know.”

Benjamin, who spent time living with Lesnar in their early WWE days, still considers him to be a good friend - despite their apparent falling out in the Royal Rumble where Lesnar unceremoniously eliminated his former partner in a sneak attack.

Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion

But while the two stars came through the WWE ranks at roughly the same time, including time spent at developmental in OVW, Benjamin was quick to put to bed any comparisons that have or could be made between the two, or any other superstar for that matter:

“We’re pretty good friends. Career paths have split us a bit.... For me, it was a situation where he’s doing his thing and doing very well at it, but I need to focus on me.”

“When I look at Brock I don’t compare myself to Brock. Brock’s a different animal, you don’t compare the lion to the Jaguar... Honestly? I wouldn't limit myself to compare myself to Brock... Brock, Randy, Batista, Cena. That was my class."

If you'd like to watch the full interview, covering a whole host of other wrestling-related topics, you can find it at Lilian Garcia's official YouTube channel below: