Chris Benoit

Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Chris Benoit was not all that much unlike other kids. He was a well-behaved child, with a passion for sport, mostly football. That all changed, however, when he was taken to his first-ever wrestling live event. It was there that Benoit witnessed the Dynamite Kid in action. At that instant, Benoit realized what he was meant to do with his life - he was supposed to be a professional wrestler.

In 1979, Benoit was given his first weightlifting set. This was his first step to becoming a mat warrior. He knew that he had to have an impressive physique to be successful in the ring, much like his new idol, the Dynamite Kid. Chris began weight training with friends, but when they did not notice immediate results, they quickly dropped the activity. Not Chris, however. He was dedicated to his dream, realizing that the commitment he must make was a long-term one.

In addition to a rigorous workout routine, Benoit attended wrestling live events every weekend. After a while, he became known as a regular at the arena. In fact, his face became so familiar that he was asked to help set up the ring prior to the events. This eventually escalated to being invited backstage. Before long, he was rubbing shoulders with the wrestlers he watched every week from the stands.

Knowing he had to get the proper training, Benoit introduced himself to the legendary Hart family of Calgary. Stu Hart, the patriarch of the family, was responsible for training such greats as Chris Jericho, Brian Pillman, Lance Storm, and Bret and Owen Hart. It was under Stu that Benoit began to truly understand the sport of professional wrestling. Eventually, he would recognize Hart for creating Chris Benoit the wrestler, claiming "everything this industry has given me and my family, I owe to Stu."

While training in the Hart Dungeon (Stu Hart's training facility), Benoit was able to perform matches in front of many local crowds. These matches prepared Benoit for his big break in Japan. Benoit competed under a mask and used the name The Pegasus Kid while in Japan. As the Pegasus Kid, Benoit began to emulate many of Dynamite Kid's signature moves, including the snap suplex and the diving head butt. Perhaps Benoit's biggest accomplishment in Japan came when he defeated Jushin Liger for the IWGP Light Heavyweight Championship in August 1990.

Eventually, Benoit would lose the mask in a Mask vs. Mask Match. With the loss came a level of insecurity. Benoit didn't necessarily want to lose his trademark mask or his identity; however, he took the loss in stride and began to mold a new identity and a new name - the Wild Pegasus. Benoit was nervous about competing without the mask, but it wasn't long before the Wild Pegasus was equally successful, eventually winning the prestigious J Cup in April 1994.

Despite gaining an enormous amount of respect and success in Japan, Benoit accepted an invitation by Paul Heyman to work for his Philadelphia-based ECW promotion. Ironically, Benoit was not the only wrestler from Japan to accept work with ECW. Two other wrestlers left for ECW at the same time. Those men were Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko. This was a move for all three men that proved to be just one of many they would make together (all three eventually went to WCW and jumped to WWE together).

As a member of ECW, Benoit had finally begun to gain recognition in North America. Wins were not hard for Chris to come by in ECW. In fact, it wasn't long after entering the promotion that he found himself in many high-profile matches. Despite the victories, however, Benoit was lacking the character development that many North American fans need to relate to. Then in a match against Sabu, Benoit dropped his opponent on top of his head, breaking his neck. From that point on, Benoit had become known as "The Crippler," a name that still sticks today. Benoit credits The Crippler persona to Paul Heyman. Immediately after the match with Sabu, Heyman told Benoit about the idea of The Crippler - a man that can break an opponent with his bare hands.

By the time 1995 rolled around, visa problems prevented Chris Benoit from continuing his ECW career. At that point, Benoit thought of heading back to Japan. Before packing his bags, however, he was given three tryout matches with WWE. His opponents: Adam Bomb, Bob Holly and Owen Hart. Benoit impressed the WWE brass - so much so that they wanted him to be a member of their roster. This was news that Benoit clearly wanted to hear, but he also wanted to hear that he could work for Japan at the same time. Benoit's request was denied by WWE.

At the time of Benoit's futile contract negotiations with WWE, WCW and New Japan inked an agreement that would allow the two promotions to swap talent. Benoit signed with WCW shortly thereafter.

Problems between Benoit and WCW began almost immediately. The company was not allowing him to compete with New Japan, despite the fact that this was one of the major reasons he signed with the Atlanta-based promotion. In addition, he felt that the creative direction of the company was lacking. An example of Benoit's frustration came when he was invited to join the legendary Four Horsemen. While it was a huge honor for Chris to be mentioned in the same breath as Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, the faction was pushed to the backburner just as quickly as it was reassembled, leaving Chris to wonder what the WCW was thinking.

Finally, Benoit's frustration was too much. It got to the point where he didn't enjoy coming to work every day. As a result, Benoit told WCW management that he was unhappy with his position in the company. Management quickly put him in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Sid Vicious, hoping it would silence him. It didn't. Even though Benoit defeated Vicious for the championship, he had already decided that he was done with the company. A mere two weeks later, Benoit, along with longtime friends and WCW wrestlers Malenko, Guerrero and Perry Saturn appeared on WWE RAW.

The rest, as they say, is history. Since entering WWE in January of 2000, Benoit has once again regained the fire that once burned inside a wide-eyed teenager from Edmonton. Again, professional wrestling defines who Chris Benoit is. And without it, there is no Chris Benoit as we know him. Needless to say, the move to WWE was a wise one for Benoit. However, if you asked him if he thought he was making the right move just prior to his debut, he would admit that he was nervous. He would also tell you that he feared the possibility of politics running WWE's locker room as it did WCW's.

Luckily for Benoit, his skill in the ring has led to much success with WWE. His first taste of gold came just four months after making his jump to WWE when he defeated both Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle for the Intercontinental Championship on April 2, 2000 at WrestleMania XVI.

Benoit's WrestleMania victory caused a domino effect. Soon he was a permanent fixture in WWE main events and title matches. He eventually went on to capture the Intercontinental Championship two more times (defeating Jericho and Billy Gunn), and tag team gold with Y2J (World Tag Team Championship) in 2001 and Kurt Angle (WWE Tag Team Championship) in 2002.

Benoit's WWE Tag Team Championship reign with Kurt Angle was especially meaningful, as it came after the Rabid Wolverine was forced to sit out of action for a full year following serious neck surgery.

The team of Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle ended up losing the WWE Tag Team Championship to the team they beat for them, Rey Mysterio and Edge. While the defeat seemed bad at the time, it allowed Chris to focus on his singles' career and capturing the World Championship. It seemed like only a matter of time before Benoit would be at the top of the sports-entertainment mountain, but with the exception of a shot at the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, Benoit's chances for greatness were few and far between in 2003.

The following year, things changed immensely for Chris Benoit. At the Royal Rumble, he entered the ring as the No. 1 participant, outlasted 29 other WWE Superstars, and went on to win the event. Only one other man in history was able to go wire to wire (Shawn Michaels). With the Rumble victory in his back pocket, Benoit was cemented to take on the champion on the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania XX.

At the time of his Royal Rumble win, Benoit was property of SmackDown! However, finding a legal loophole in his contract, Benoit chose to jump ship to Monday Night RAW to battle the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania, rather than take on the SmackDown! brand's WWE Champion.

The move proved to be a clever one, as The Crippler was instantly forced into one of the biggest rivalries in sports-entertainment history - Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H. At the time, HBK and The Game were immersed in a bitter battle that appeared to be heading towards a WrestleMania main event. But seeing as Triple H was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, he was forced to defend the title against the winner of the Royal Rumble. In the end, Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin announced that all three men would be battling in a WrestleMania first - a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

March 14, 2004, proved to be the biggest night of Chris Benoit's career. That was the night that all his dreaming as a teenager, training in Stu Hart's Dungeon, competing in Japan and putting up with the politics of WCW finally paid off. It was on this night that Chris Benoit became immortalized, forcing Triple H to tap out to the Crippler Crossface, en route to capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.

At Taboo Tuesday, Benoit and Edge faced off against Rob Conway and Sylvain Grenier for the World Tag Team Championship. Halfway through the match, however, Edge walked out on his partner. Benoit managed to rally and win the title singlehandedly. He lost it the following week when Edge distracted the referee long enough for Benoit to get hit by an Au Revoir.