Canadian professional wrestler and murderer (1967–2007) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher Michael Benoit (May 21, 1967 - June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was first noticed in the United States when he started wrestling for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1994. He would later go to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) the next year. Within a year, he became a member of the Four Horsemen (with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Brian Pillman). He joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later renamed WWE) in January 2000. In January 2004, Benoit won the 30 man Royal Rumble match which allowed him to main event WrestleMania. He would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004.[7]
| 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) | Martina Benoit
(m. 1988; div. 1997)Nancy Benoit
(m. 2000; died 2007) |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chris Benoit The Pegasus Kid Wild Pegasus |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 229 lb (104 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Atlanta, Georgia Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Trained by | Bruce Hart[2][3][4] Stu Hart Mike Hammer Tokyo Joe Tatsumi Fujinami New Japan Pro-Wrestling[5] |
| Debut | November 22, 1985[6] |
On June 24, 2007, Chris Benoit committed suicide by hanging after murdering his wife and son (murder–suicide). Their dead bodies were found on June 25. Benoit's father, Michael Benoit, says that Benoit had brain damage.[8] Benoit was also believed to have been on several different medications to aid his in ring performance, sleep, and pain. According to ESPN, "Benoit's body contained 10 times the normal level of testosterone, as well as amounts of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone, authorities said. The testosterone, a synthetic version of the primary male sex hormone, is considered an anabolic steroid. The state's top medical examiner said it appeared to have been injected shortly before Benoit died." It is a speculation which Benoit may have dealt with Roid-Rage, and this could have set him off the rails along with other trauma issues to the brain as well. A study of Benoit's brain by the Sports Legacy Institute showed that he had depression and severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[9] Another test also revealed that Benoit's brain was so badly damaged that it "resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient".[10] This is what caused Benoit to kill his family. Because brain damage can be caused by concussions, WWE no longer allows wrestlers to hit each other in the head with steel chairs.[11] Mentions of his name were also banned thereafter (although his name is still listed in title histories on WWE's website, and he is still shown in their video library on Peacock/WWE Network).
1His reign with the championship is not officially listed by the WWE. Reigns before December 1997 are not listed by the promotion.
2The hall of fame held a special recall election in 2008 because of the double murder–suicide of his wife and son. 53.6% supported the decision but it was under the 60% threshold needed to remove him.[45]
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