Leon Slater Reflects On Facing Shelton Benjamin In PROGRESS, 'It Was An Incredibly Special Moment'

Leon Slater recalls wrestling Shelton Benjamin.

Back in May, Leon Slater and Shelton Benjamin clashed in a first round matchup of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament. This bout was huge for Slater, as Benjamin was one of his idols and favorite wrestlers while he was growing up.

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Benjamin quickly defeated Slater in the first round bout, allowing him to advance to the second round. Slater didn't hang his head in shame though, as he instead soaked up an emotional moment with Benjamin after the bout.

While speaking to Anthony Jordan and Nico Lurot of Ministry Of Wrestling for a new interview, Slater said that facing Benjamin was the most special and emotional moment of his career.

“Honestly, it was very very — I don’t have the words to describe it, surreal would be the closest thing I could say. Obviously, growing up watching Shelton. I grew up without a father figure in the home, so to have someone like that to look up to and inspire to be like was incredible. Lucky for me, my life has taken me on a journey to the point where I’m getting to work with my heroes now. To get that match with Shelton in home turf at PROGRESS in front of all of the PROGRESS fans and in front of my mom, my girlfriend, and my sister, it was an incredibly special moment. That promo after the match, was not a promo. That was me speaking from the heart, I’m sure you can tell, I was nearly in tears. I will always be so thankful for Shelton coming back out through the curtain after he beat me to share that moment with me. It’s definitely the most special moment in my career so far emotional wise, and it’s definitely something I hold near and dear to my heart.”

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