| Chris Benoit |
| Chris Benoit Height: 5'11" Weight: 220 lbs. Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Pro debut: November 22, 1985 Finishing move: Crippler Crossface, The Sharpshooter Favorite quote: "Prove me wrong!" Other aliases: Pegasus Kid (Japan), Wild Pegasus (NJPW), The Crippler, The Rabid Wolverine Career highlights: Stampede International Tag Team Champion (4), Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champion (4), WWE/UWA World Light Heavyweight Champion, Super J Cup Tournament 1994 Winner, ECW World Tag Team Champion (w/Dean Malenko), WCW TV Champion (3), WCW World Tag Team Champion (3), WCW/WWE United States Champion (5), WWE Intercontinental Champion (4), WWE Tag Team Champion (w/Kurt Angle), WWE World Heavyweight Champion, WWE World Tag Team Champion (3) Trained by: Stu Hart WWE profile: Certainly deserving of his nickname “The Rabid Wolverine,” Chris Benoit is known as one of the toughest, most aggressive competitors in WWE. Benoit got his start training with Stu Hart in the 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. Earlier in his career, Benoit wrestled in Japan, ECW and WCW. It was in ECW that Benoit earned the nickname “The Crippler” when he broke Sabu’s neck. Benoit was part of a group of Radicalz who jumped from WCW to WWE in early 2000 along with Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. Benoit was immediately successful capturing the Intercontinental Championship within months of his debut. A major setback in Benoit’s career occurred in 2001 when Benoit had to have neck surgery which would put him out for an entire year. Upon returning, Benoit would set his goals on reaching the top. At this point in Benoit’s WWE career, Benoit had never held WWE or World Championship gold. That would soon change after Benoit won the 2004 Royal Rumble. In an unprecedented move, Benoit found a loophole in his contract and jumped to RAW to fight for the World Championship at WrestleMania XX. In a memorable night, Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match when he made Triple H tap out to win the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, WWE champion and best friend Eddie Guerrero celebrated in the ring with Benoit as the show went off the air in a WrestleMania moment. Chris Benoit returned to SmackDown! as the first Smackdown draftee during the 2005 Draft Lottery promising to shake things up. And within 2 months of this return, the “The Crippler” did just that – making sports entertainment history at the 2005 SummerSlam, when he defeated Orlando Jordan for the US Championship in just 17 seconds – the fastest US Championship victory in the celebrated 20 year history of the prestigious title. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On June 25, 2007, Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia home. Police investigators have ruled that Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son and then hanged himself. |
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