Michin discusses Shelton Benjamin’s help in tough times and WWE career
WWE star Michin opened up about her childhood, the impact of her parents’ divorce, and how a friendship with Shelton Benjamin helped her through one of the darkest periods of her life.
Michin poured out her life story on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon. She detailed her friendship with Benjamin, how it grew over the past couple of decades and credited him for helping her navigate through a challenging chapter in her life.
“I’m not sure how it got to the relationship we have now where we just insult each other all the time. It felt natural and from the jump I felt like he, watched my match with Mickie and immediately was like ‘Oh, she actually cares about this, she’s doing this because she loves it and not because she wants to be on the cover of magazines or whatever, she’s actually passionate about this.”
“He knew I wanted to be in WWE, so he made sure to tell me about the psychology of my matches, why did I do this, why didn’t I do this and kind of make sure that I was TV ready.”
“In my head I’m like, I don’t care, let me gig. And now I’m talking to the younger generation and I’m telling them the same thing. I always text Shelton, like ‘Thanks Shelton, your advice helped once again and now it’s reflecting off me to them.’”
“He’s been in my life almost two decades now, my family loves him, he is my family. We’re tight. I always say that’s my big brother, my family loves him. My dad tried to get him and my sister to get together. They got Big E.”
Michin also discussed how sports, particularly wrestling and volleyball, provided an outlet for her school and teen years, helping her cope with the challenges she faced.
She signed with NXT in 2018 following her performance in the Mae Young Classic. Barely three years later she was released from WWE but returned in 2022 to join AJ Styles and The Good Brothers in their feud with The Judgment Day.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.