Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (/bəˈnwɑː/ bə-NWAH; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in the United States of America, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan, and Stampede Wrestling in his native Canada.
| Chris Benoit | |
|---|---|
Benoit in 2006 | |
| Birth name | Christopher Michael Benoit |
| Born | May 21, 1967 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 24, 2007 (aged 40) Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chris Benoit The Pegasus Kid Wild Pegasus |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Billed weight | 229 lb (104 kg) |
| Billed from | Atlanta, Georgia Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Trained by | Bruce Hart Stu Hart Mike Hammer Tokyo Joe Tatsumi Fujinami New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| Debut | November 22, 1985 |
In a three-day double-murder and suicide, Benoit murdered his wife in their residence on June 22, 2007, killed his 7-year-old son on June 23, and committed suicide on June 24. Subsequent research undertaken by the Sports Legacy Institute (now the Concussion Legacy Foundation) suggested that depression and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition of brain damage, from concussions that Benoit had sustained during his pro-wrestling career were likely contributing factors of the crimes.
Bearing the nicknames The (Canadian) Crippler alongside The Rabid Wolverine throughout his career, Benoit held 30 championships between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, ECW and Stampede. He was a two-time world champion, Benoit having reigned as a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death. Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the seventh WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the second of four men in history to achieve both the WWE and the WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the 2004 Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels and preceding Edge as one of the three men to win a Royal Rumble as the number one entrant. Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event match of WrestleMania XX in March 2004.
Due to his murders, Benoit's legacy in the professional wrestling industry is heavily debated. Benoit has been renowned by many for his exceptional technical wrestling ability. Prominent combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer considers Benoit "one of the top 10, maybe even [in] the top five, all-time greats" in professional wrestling history. Benoit was inducted into the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2003. His WON induction was put to a re-vote for WON readers in 2008 to determine if Benoit should remain a member of the WON Hall of Fame. Ultimately, the threshold percentage of votes required to remove Benoit from it was not met.