Here are the (Smackdown) Tag Team Champs:
SHELTON BENJAMIN
Height: 6 foot 2
Weight: 248 pounds
From: Orangeburg, S.C.
Career Highlights: WWE Tag Team Champion
How's this for a contingency plan? A charter member of Team Angle - the group responsible for having Kurt Angle's back -- Shelton Benjamin is a
collegiate All-American in track and a four-time All-American in wrestling. Rumor has it, he was the only man capable of taking down Brock Lesnar.
Luckily, the two were on the same team, competing for the University of Minnesota.
It seems like a no-brainer that Benjamin would come to WWE and align himself with Angle. The Superstars have two of the best amateur backgrounds in
WWE history. Although Benjamin may not have an Olympic gold medal like Angle, he was one of South Carolina's finest high school athletes. He starred
in wrestling (heavyweight state champion his junior and senior years), track (state 100 meter champion) and football (two-time All-State selection).
He then went on to Lassen Community College in Susanville, Calif., where he again starred in wrestling (1996 NJCAA Champion) and track (100 meter
junior college champion), before he transferred to Minnesota. After graduating, he spent two seasons at Minnesota as an assistant coach for the
wrestling team, where he trained Lesnar, among others.
Benjamin could have continued his amateur wrestling career - perhaps trying for the Olympic team. But, as a lifelong WWE fan, he jumped at the
opportunity to become a Superstar. So today, instead of training to become an Olympic gold medalist, he's protecting one.
And his Partner:
CHARLIE HAAS
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 242 pounds
From: Edmond, Okla.
Career Highlights: WWE Tag Team Champion
Charlie Haas� inclusion in Team Angle should come as no surprise. Like 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Haas has an impressive amateur wrestling
background. A former state champion high school wrestler, Haas earned a full athletic scholarship to Seton Hall University, becoming a four-year
starter and a two-time Big East Champion. But his abilities aren�t limited to the wrestling mat. Haas was an Academic All-American while competing for
the Pirates, and even worked for a time as a Goldman-Sachs stockbroker before signing with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Charlie had hoped to enter the WWE spotlight alongside his twin brother Russ. The two once formed a potent tag team combination in the independent
wrestling world, competing side by side as the Haas Brothers. Russ� untimely death in November 2001 forced Charlie into the singles ranks. The desire
to honor his brother�s memory by realizing their shared dream of becoming WWE Superstars drives Charlie each time he steps into the ring.