Benoit, along with Brain Pillman, Owen Hart and The Dynamite Kid, was one of the best high flying wrestlers to come out of the Stampede Area. While Hart and the Kid gained massive fame in the WWF, and Pillman made inroads in the WCW, Benoit never quite achieved early success. Everyone believed he was a great talent, but he didn't click with the American audience, not until long into his career.
    Benoit formed a popular tag team in Stampede with Lloydminster native Biff Wellington and they were part of the Hart family stable in Stampede. He was partially trained by Stu Hart in the  Dungeon and honed his trade in Japan as the Pegasus Kid. Later, he earned a reputation as a no-nonsense, brutal wrestler during his stint in ECW stateside, where he broke the back of Sabu. He then became known as "The Canadian Crippler". Benoit was one of the top stars in WCW, a member of the Four Horsemen and a multiple holder of the WCW TV and Tag Belts. His style is both serious and thrilling at the same time. He is one of the best known wrestlers to come out of the Stampede area.
    Benoit is currently wrestling in the WWF. He is one of only a handful of men to win titles in the WWF, WCW and ECW.

Vital Statistics:

Real Name: Chris Benoit
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 220 lbs
Hometown: Edmonton, AB, Canada
AKA: Wild Pegasus, Black Pegasus, The Canadian Crippler, The Rabid Wolverine

Acheivements:

4 Time Stampede Mid-Heavyweight Champion
4 Time Stampede Tag Team Champion
UWA WWF Light Heavyweight Champion
CWA Tag Team Champion
IWPG Junior Heavyweight Champion
ECW Tag Champion
3 Time WCW TV Champion
2 Time WCW Tag Champion
WCW US Champion
WCW World Champion
4 Time WWF Intercontinental Champion
WWF Tag Team Champion
WWF Smackdown Tag Team Champion
Top of the Super Junior Champion (1993 and 1995)
Super J Cup 1994 Champion

PWI Rankings:

Best PWI Ranking: 3 (2000)
All Time PWI Ranking: 69

Chronology

1985:
Benoit begins training with Stu Hart in Calgary.
December: Benoit debuts in Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, teaming with  Rich Patterson to beat Karl Moffat and Mike Hammer.

1986:
March: Benoit and Ben Bassarab beat "Rotten" Ron Starr and Honkytonk  Wayne for the Stampede Tag Titles. Wayne and the Cuban Assassin win  the belts back later on in the month.
May: Benoit and Keith Hart beat Wayne and the Assassin for the Tag Titles.  They lose the titles to Kerry Brown and Duke Myers later in the month.
Summer: Benoit leaves the Stampede area for the New Japan promotion.

1987:
January: Benoit debuts in Japan.
Fall: Benoit returns to the Stampede area. He teams with Johnny Smith  during this time.
Winter: Smith turns on Benoit.

1988:
March: Benoit beats the Great Gama for the Stampede Mid-Heavyweight belt.
June: Benoit drops the title to Johnny Smith. Benoit regains the title  from Smith a week later. Smith takes back the title two weeks afterwards.
October: Benoit and Lance Idol beat the Cuban Commandos (The Cuban Assassin and "Champagne" Jerry Morrow) for the Stampede Tag Titles. The Commandos regain the titles later on in the month.

1989:
January: Benoit beats Johnny Smith for the Mid-Heavyweight belt.
April: Benoit and Biff Wellington beat Mahkan and Vohkan Singh for the Stampede Tag Titles.
June: Benoit and Wellington lose the titles to Kerry Brown and Bulldog Bob Brown.
July: Benoit loses the Mid-Heavyweight Title back to Smith. Benoit regains the
title a day later.
August: The Great Gama beats Benoit for the Mid-Heavyweight Title.
Fall/Winter: Benoit teams with Davey Boy Smith against his idol The Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith, who go by the name The British Bruisers.

1990:
February: Benoit returns to Japan under a mask as The Pegasus Kid
August: Benoit (as the Pegasus Kid) wins the highly touted IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title from Jushin "Thunder" Liger in Japan. Benoit is only  the second westerner to hold the belt, the first being fellow Stampede standout Owen Hart.
November: Benoit loses the title back to Liger.

1991:
December: Benoit and David Taylor win the Catch Wrestling Association Tag Titles from Miles Zrno and Franz Shulman in Germany.
March: Benoit beats Villano III for the UWA WWF Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico.
April: Benoit loses his mask to Jushin Liger in Japan. He changes his name to Wild Pegasus.
September: Villano III regains the belt from Benoit.

1992:
June: Benoit and Taylor vacate the CWA Tag Titles due to Taylor's injury and Benoit's stay in Japan. Benoit reunites with his Stampede partner Biff Wellington in an NWA Tag Team tournament in the USA, representing Canada. They lose to Jushin Liger and former Stampede star Brain Pillman.

1993:
January: Benoit signs a contract with WCW, but he spends most of his tenure in New Japan.
May/June: Benoit participates in the Top of the Super Junior Tournament in Japan. He beats El Samurai in the final to win the tournament.

1994:
April: Benoit beats The Black Tiger, Gedo and The Great Sasuke in the same night to win the Super J Cup Tournament.
Spring/Summer: Benoit wrestles briefly in the WWF, joining Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation, but leaves quickly.
August: Benoit loses to 2 Cold Scorpio in the first rounds of a ECW/NWA Title Tournament. Benoit joins the ECW and faces Sabu in his first match there.
November: Benoit becomes known as "The Canadian Crippler" after injuring Sabu's spine in a brutal match. He also injures The Public Enemy's Rocco Rock during the same match.

1995:
February: Benoit and Dean Malenko beat The Tasmaniac and Sabu for the ECW Tag Titles.
Spring: Benoit joins Malenko and Shane Douglas, forming the first veriosn of the Triple Threat in ECW.
April: The Public Enemy beat Benoit and Malenko for the ECW Titles in a three-way match also involving The Tasmaniac and Rick Steiner.
June/July: Benoit wins the Top of the Super Junior Tournament, beating Shinjiro Otani in the final match.
September: Benoit and Malenko enter the WCW.
Winter: Benoit joins the Four Horsemen with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. He begins a violent feud with Kevin Sullivan.

1997:
January: Woman, the real life wife of Kevin Sullivan, begins to manage Benoit.
September: After the War Games incident involving new Horseman member Curt Hennig, Ric Flair disbands the Horsemen.
Fall/Winter: Benoit begins feuding with the Raven's Nest.
December: Benoit beats Raven in an Anything Goes match at Starrcade.

1998:
February: Benoit, Raven and Diamond Dallas Page begin feuding over the WCW US Title. Benoit never wins the title during this stint.
April: Benoit beats Booker T for the WCW TV Title.
May: Booker T and Benoit swap over three days in May. Benoit wins the TV Title once more during this time. Booker T and Benoit begins their notable Best of Seven series to determine a number one contender spot for the TV Title, which Booker T had lost to Fit Finlay.
June: Booker T wins the series at the Great American Bash.
September: Arn Anderson reforms the Four Horsemen. The members are Benoit, Malenko, Steve McMichael and Ric Flair. Arn serves as an advisor to the group.

1999:
February: Benoit and Malenko lose to Barry Windham and Curt Hennig in the finals of the WCW Tag Team tournament.
March: Benoit and Malenko beat Windham and Hennig for the Tag Titles.
April: Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio Jr. beat Benoit and Malenko for the titles.
June: Benoit splits from the Horsemen and joins a group of younger stars: Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn and Buff Bagwell. Benoit and Saturn beat Diamond Dallas Page and Bam Bam Bigelow to win the WCW Tag Team Belts. They lose them back to Page and Bigelow three days later.
August: Benoit joins with Malenko and Shane Douglas to form the Revolution. He beats David Flair for the WCW US Belt.
September: Benoit drops the US Title to Sid Vicious. Benoit beats Rick Steiner two days later for the WCW TV Title, the third time he has held this belt.
November: Rick Steiner beats Benoit to regain the WCW TV Title. Benoit advances to the finals a 32 man tournament final for the WCW World Title (beating Jeff Jarrett in the semi finals), but loses to Bret Hart in the final.

2000:
January: Benoit beats Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Title, after the title was vacated due to an injury to Bret Hart. One day later, the decision was reversed since Benoit was having contract troubles with WCW and Sid had his feet under the ropes. Benoit becomes a WCW Triple Crown Champion. Benoit then leaves WCW a day later, then appears with fellow WCWers Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn and Eddy Guerrero on WWF Raw is War two weeks later. They are dubbed The Radicals
March: Benoit beats Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle in the first fall of a three-way two fall match to win the WWF Intercontinental Title. Benoit becomes one of a handfull of men to hold titles in ECW, WCW and WWF.
May: Benoit loses the Intercontental Title to Chris Jericho, then regains it a few days later.
June: Benoit get his first World title shot in the WWF and feuds with The Rock.
November: Benoit wins his third Intercontinental Title, beating Billy Gunn.

2001:
January: Benoit loses the Intercontinental Title to Chris Jericho in a ladder match at the Royal Rumble.
Februar: Benoit loses a four-way match with Chris Jericho, Eddy Guerrero and X-Pac at No Way Out. Jericho pinned X-Pac to win the match.
April: Benoit loses to Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania X-7.
    Benoit beats Kurt Angle at Backlash in an ultimate submissions match, winning 4-3 in overtime.
May: Benoit beats Kurt Angle at the UK PPV Insurrextion, taking 2 straight falls in a best 2 out of 3 falls match.
    Benoit and Chris Jericho begin teaming up, they win the WWF Tag Team Titles from Steve Austin and Triple H.
    Benoit loses to Kurt Angle at Judgement Day in a best two out of three falls match.
    Benoit and Jericho win a seven-team tag team gauntlet match at Judgement Day, last pinning Edge and Christian.
June: Benoit and Jericho lose the WWF Tag Team Titles to The Dudley Boys
    Benoit and Jericho face Steve Austin for the WWF Title in a handicap match at King of the Ring. Austin retains. Benoit injures his neck and is forced out of the ring.
Summer: Benoit undergoes neck surgery.

2002:
June: Chris Benoit returns to the WWE from neck surgery.
July: Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero lose to Bubba Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley in an elimination tables match at Vengeance.
    Benoit beats Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Title.
August: Benoit loses the Intercontinental Title to Rob Van Dam.
September: Benoit beats Kurt Angle at Unforgiven.
October: Benoit forms a reluctant tag team with Kurt Angle.
    Benoit and Angle win the Smackdown Tag Titles from Edge and Rey Misterio Jr. at the No Mercy PPV.
    Benoit and Angle beat Eddie and Chavo Guerrero at Rebellion.
November: Benoit and Angle lose to Eddie and Chavo at Survivor Series in a three way match that also involved Edge and Rey Misterio Jr.
    Benoit and Angle lose the Tag Team Titles to Edge and Rey Misterio Jr.

2003:
March: Chris Benoit and Rhyno lose a three-way match at Wrestlemania XIX to Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Russ Hass). The match also involved Eddie and Chavo Guerrero.

Links:

Official Site: http://www.chrisbenoit.com/
Slam Wrestling Site: http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBenoit/home.html