Bio
Chris Benoit (May 21, 1967 – June 25, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler who performed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment.
On June 25, 2007, Benoit was found dead in his home in Fayetteville, Georgia, along with his wife, Nancy Daus, and his 7-year old son, Daniel.
Career
Certainly deserving of his nickname “The Rabid Wolverine,” Chris Benoit was one of the toughest, most aggressive competitors in WWE.
Benoit’s intensity and no-nonsense attitude earned him the respect of many WWE Superstars, and his in-ring ability earned him several championships around the world.
Benoit was no stranger to tough battles, having trained with Stu Hart in his legendary “dungeon” in Calgary. The dungeon produced numerous other superstars, such as Bret Hart, Owen Hart, the British Bulldog and Chris Jericho to name a few.
Prior to joining WWE, Benoit wrestled in Japan, ECW and WCW. He won his first major championship in Japan, defeating the legendary Jushin “Thunder” Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1990.
After moving to ECW, Benoit earned the nickname “The Crippler” when he broke Sabu’s neck. During his two years in ECW, Benoit won the ECW Tag Team Championship with good friend Dean Malenko.
Moving to WCW in 1995, Benoit became a member of the legendary Four Horsemen, standing alongside Ric Flair and Arn Anderson.
During that time, he had one of the most intense and rivalries in WCW history with Kevin Sullivan before beginning a long-running rivalry with Booker T.
The two traded the WCW Television Championship a few times before eventually beginning an historic Best-of-Seven Series for the gold. Benoit also held the United States Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship twice each before leaving WCW.
On his final night in WCW, Benoit appeared to win the WCW Championship at Souled Out, but the decision was reversed the next night.
In early 2000, Benoit jumped from WCW to WWE along with Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. Calling themselves “The Radicalz,” they debuted on RAW in January 2000.
Benoit was immediately successful, capturing the Intercontinental Championship just two months after his WWE debut at WrestleMania 2000. He would go on to hold that championship twice more that same year.
A major setback in Benoit’s career occurred in 2001; shortly after winning the World Tag Team Championship with Chris Jericho, a major neck injury caused the Rabid Wolverine to have neck surgery, which put him out of action for an entire year.
Upon returning, Benoit set his goal on reaching the top. Drafted to SmackDown! during the 2002 brand extension, Benoit found himself teaming with hated rival Kurt Angle.
The two won the WWE Tag Team Championship together in October 2002, and would go on to have a memorable match for the WWE Championship at the 2003 Royal Rumble.
One year later, Benoit entered the 2004 Royal Rumble Match as the No. 1 entrant and defeated 29 other Superstars to win the match. In an unprecedented move, Benoit used a loophole and jumped to RAW to fight for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX.
In another memorable WrestleMania match, Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match to win the championship, making Triple H tap out to the Crippler Crossface.
After the match, then-WWE champion and best friend Eddie Guerrero celebrated in the ring with Benoit as the show went off the air in a WrestleMania moment.
A month after WrestleMania, Benoit became a double champion when he and Edge won the World Tag Team Championship from La Resistance.
Shortly after Benoit lost the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, he and Edge won the World Tag Team Championship a second time, even after Edge walked out on the match.
The reign was short lived, as Edge turned on Benoit soon after, allowing La Resistance to reclaim the gold.
In June 2005, Chris Benoit returned to SmackDown! as the brand’s first draftee during the 2005 Draft Lottery. He immediately set his sights on JBL, and eventually onto JBL’s former Chief of Staff, then-United States Champion Orlando Jordan.
At SummerSlam 2005, the Rabid Wolverine made history when he defeated Jordan for the gold in just 25.5 seconds – the fastest United States Championship victory in the celebrated 20-year history of the prestigious title.
In the following weeks, Benoit made a habit of defeating Jordan in a series of rematch, all of which were over in under a minute.
Eventually, former rival and then friend Booker T stepped up as the No. 1 Contender. On the Sept. 14, 2005 edition of SmackDown!, Booker defeated Benoit with Sharmell’s assistance to become United States Champion.
Benoit confronted Booker about the interference, but the new champion refused to believe the accusation; finally, weeks later, Booker attacked Benoit, revealing he knew all along about Sharmell’s participation.
This led to a bitter rivalry with Booker over the championship. After a controversial finish to a rematch in November 2005, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long held up the United States Championship and ordered another Best-of-Seven Series between the two men to determine the undisputed champion.
In the series, Booker took a quick 3-0 lead, but Benoit battled back to win the fourth match at Armageddon. Booker then suffered a groin injury, forcing him to find a substitute to continue the series.
He chose Randy Orton, and after Benoit battled back to tie the series, Orton won the seventh and deciding match on the Jan. 13 edition of SmackDown! to give Booker the championship for the fourth time.
For nearly a month, Booker tried to avoid Benoit by claiming his groin was still hurt. Finally, after Benoit won a No. 1 Contender’s Match, Theodore Long gave Booker an ultimatum: defend the gold against Benoit at No Way Out or forfeit the Championship.
Booker chose the former, but in the end, Benoit regained the gold by making Booker tap out to the Crippler Crossface.
Once Booker was out of the picture, Benoit found JBL as his first challenger to the championship. Their issue began on the Feb. 24 edition of SmackDown!, when Benoit broke JBL’s hand during a Six-Man Tag Team Match.
With JBL unable to wrestle in the following weeks, the two took turns trying to get into one another's head; after JBL attacked Benoit with a beer cooler on March 17, Benoit prevented JBL from running away from Stone Cold the next night.
Finally, at WrestleMania 22, JBL was cleared to wrestle, and they met for the United States Championship.
In the end, Benoit had JBL locked in the Crippler Crossface, but the "Wrestling God" rolled Benoit onto his back and grabbed the ropes for leverage, getting the winning pin while still locked in Benoit's finisher.
Two weeks later, on the April 14 edition of SmackDown!, Benoit invoked his rematch clause, and General Manager Theodore Long made the match a Steel Cage Match. At one point, Benoit had JBL tapping out, but Jillian's distraction prevented the referees from seeing it.
Later, as Benoit tried a German suplex, JBL gave him a mule kick and scampered out the door to win the match and retain the gold.
On the May 5 edition of SmackDown!, Chris Benoit lost to Finlay in a King of the Ring tournament opening-round match. It was the third straight week that Benoit and Finlay had a confrontation; on the April 21 edition of SmackDown!, Benoit teamed with Bobby Lashley to defeat Finlay and Orlando Jordan, and the following week, the Rabid Wolverine ran off Finlay and Booker T, saving Gunner Scott from their 2-on-1 attack.
Finally, Benoit defeated Finlay in a good old-fashioned fight at Judgment Day, making the Irishman tap out to the Crippler Crossface.
Death
On June 25, 2007, Benoit, his wife Nancy Daus, and their son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home at around 14h30.
It was first reported to fans of WWE on their WWE Mobile Alerts Service and posted to their official website soon after. Exact details are not yet known, and an investigation is ongoing.
On their website, World Wrestling Entertainment released the following statement:
"World Wrestling Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that today Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. There are no further details at this time, other than the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities.
"Tonight’s Raw on USA Network will serve as a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy."
WWE canceled the scheduled three hour long live RAW show on June 25, and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to his life and career, featuring his past matches, segments from the Hard Knocks DVD and comments from wrestlers and announcers.
Fayette County, Georgia police are investigating Benoit's house following the discovery of the bodies. Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department reported to ABC News that sheriffs entered his home on a "welfare check" after missing several appointments, leading to concerns.
Pope also stated the police are not searching for any suspects outside of the house, as the instruments of death were located at scene of the crime.
The same day Detective Bo Turner of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told television station WAGA-TV that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, and the station reported that investigators believe that Benoit murdered his wife and son over the weekend and commited suicide sometime on Monday.