In 2007, he started wearing gold attire and dyed his hair blond. He also began referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". Benjamin won the WWE United States Championship after he defeated then-champion Matt Hardy at the 2008 Great American Bash. Benjamin was released from the WWE on April 22, 2010 along with Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J, Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill.