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Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit
Benoit in February 2006
Birth nameChristopher Michael Benoit
Born(1967-05-21)May 21, 1967
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedJune 24, 2007(2007-06-24) (aged 40)
Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Spouse(s)
Martina Benoit
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 1997)​
​
​
(m. 2000; died 2007)​
Children3 (2 living; 1 died 2007)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Chris Benoit
The Pegasus Kid
Wild Pegasus
Billed height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Billed weight229 lb (104 kg)[1]
Billed fromAtlanta, Georgia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Trained byBruce Hart[2][3][4]
Stu Hart
Mike Hammer
Tokyo Joe
Tatsumi Fujinami
New Japan Pro-Wrestling[5]
DebutNovember 22, 1985[6]

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, but is notorious for murdering his wife and youngest son.

Bearing the nicknames The (Canadian) Crippler alongside The Rabid Wolverine throughout his career, Benoit held 30 championships between World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW – all United States), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW – Japan), and Stampede Wrestling (Canada). 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;[7][8] he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death.[9] 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.[10] Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event triple threat match of WrestleMania XX in March 2004.[11]

In a three-day double-murder and suicide, Benoit murdered his wife in their residence on June 22, 2007, and his 7-year-old son the next day, before committing suicide on June 24.[12][13] The tragedy profoundly shocked and changed the professional wrestling industry and drew intense mainstream media criticism regarding brain injuries, substance abuse, and the long-term health of athletes in contact sports. 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 multiple concussions that Benoit had sustained throughout his pro-wrestling career were likely contributing factors of the crimes.[14]

Due to his murders, Benoit's legacy in the professional wrestling industry is heavily debated.[15][16] 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.[17] Benoit was inducted into the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2003.[18] His WON induction was put to a re-vote in 2008 to determine if Benoit should remain a member of their Hall of Fame. The threshold percentage of votes required to remove Benoit was not met.[19]

  1. ^ a b Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ^ Randazzo V, Matthew (2008). Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry. Phoenix Books. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-59777-622-6.
  3. ^ McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  4. ^ Hart, Bruce (2011). Straight From the Hart. ECW Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
  5. ^ "Erased! The Tragic Story of Chris Benoit". Wrestling Examiner. February 9, 2017. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2017. Benoit began training at the legendary New Japan Dojo, and began wrestling for NJPW
  6. ^ "Chris Benoit Results Archive". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "Inside WWE > Title History > WCW World Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on May 22, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  8. ^ "Inside WWE > Title History > World Heavyweight Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Oversight and Reform – Interview of: Stephanie McMahon Levesque (p. 81)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009. Ironically, Mr. Benoit was supposed to become ECW champion that night, and he didn't show up at the [Vengeance: Night of Champions] pay‐per‐view because he was dead.
  10. ^ "TV Shows > Royal Rumble > History > 2004 > Rumble Match". WWE. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  11. ^ "Full WrestleMania XX Results". WWE. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  12. ^ "Wrestler Chris Benoit Double murder–suicide: Was It 'Roid Rage'? – Health News | Current Health News". FOXNews.com. June 27, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  13. ^ "Benoit's Dad, Doctors: Multiple Concussions Could Be Connected to murder–suicide – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. September 5, 2007. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  14. ^ Chris Benoit murder-suicide full documentary, no commercials, archived from the original on July 21, 2022, retrieved May 1, 2021
  15. ^ Williams, Ian (May 8, 2020). "The Horrific Crime That Changed WWE Forever". Vice. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Your e-mails: Reaction to Chris Benoit deaths". CNN. June 26, 2007. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "Benoit's Public Image Hid Monster". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall Of Fame". Wrestling-Titles.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, 2003". Profightdb.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.

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