R.I.P. Chris Benoit

I can't believe I'm writing about another pro wrestler dying way too young. It's a very sad day for wrestling fans and the pro wrestling industry. WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and son Daniel were found dead today at their home in Atlanta. No cause of death is known yet. Benoit was 40 years old. Of course most fans know that Nancy was Woman in WCW and that's where they met. He cancelled his appearance at Sunday's WWE PPV saying he had to go home for a family emergency. This is horrible as Benoit was widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers ever.

Chris Benoit was born May 21, 1967 in Montreal and grew up in Edmonton. He was a big Stampede Wrestling fan and idolized Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington. At age 18, he went to Calgary to train with the legendary Stu Hart. He made his debut in Stampede Wrestling in 1985. After his apprenticeship there, Allen "Bad News Allen" Coage recommended him to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1989. Benoit trained in the New Japan dojo and became a big star as the masked Pegasus Kid. It was also at this time that he met best friend Eddie Guerrero. After a brief 1992 appearance in WCW, he returned to Japan and eventually would go back and forth between New Japan & ECW.

Benoit signed with WCW in late 1995 and was made a member of The Four Horsemen. He was also involved in an angle where he was feuding with Kevin Sullivan and having an affair with his wife Nancy. Life imitated art when the two fell in love for real and eventually married. He had a very successful run in WCW especially his series of 1998 matches with Booker T. But in Jan. 2000, Benoit along with Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn threatened to leave to protest Kevin Sullivan's promotion to head booker. All four signed with the WWF.

After being out for a year with spinal fusion surgery, Benoit returned to action. The biggest night of Chris Benoit's career was at Wrestlemania XX Mar. 14, 2004 when he won the World Heavyweight Championship from HHH. His best friend Eddie Guerrero was already the WWE Champion and the two celebrated together in the ring. It was one of the most memorable nights in recent WWE history. The above picture is from that celebration. Benoit run as champ wasn't that good because he wasn't booked very well. He lost the title to Randy Orton at SummerSlam Aug. 15, 2004.

Though many wrestling fans perceive Chris Benoit as an all time great main event wrestler, in recent years the WWE seemed to perceive him as midcard talent. That's disappointing to fans but his recent feud with MVP showed that he still could deliver great matches when called upon. He was recently moved to the ECW roster and was supposed to have a title match last night. We don't know what happened yet but I have to figure that the recent wrestler death toll has taken its toll on Chris Benoit. First there was Eddie Guerrero and more recently his long time mentor Allen Coage. And yesterday Benoit's Stampede Wrestling tag team partner Biff Wellington died at age 42. I don't believe in coincidences. Chris Benoit's death is very shocking and he will be missed by all wrestling fans. R.I.P. Chris Benoit.