Editing Chris Benoit (section)

{{short description|Canadian professional wrestler (1967–2007)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{use Canadian English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
| image       = BenoitInTheRing.jpg 
| alt         = 
| caption     = Benoit in 2006
| birth_name  = Christopher Michael Benoit
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1967|5|21}}
| birth_place = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2007|6|24|1967|5|21}}
| death_place = [[Fayetteville, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_cause = [[Suicide by hanging]]
| spouse      = {{plainlist}}
* {{marriage|Martina Benoit|1988|1997|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Nancy Benoit]]|November 23, 2000|June 22, 2007|end=[[Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide|died]]}}
{{endplainlist}}
| children    = 3 (2 living; 1 [[Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide|died]] 2007)
| height      = 5 ft 11 in<ref name=Encyclopedia>{{cite book|title=WWE Encyclopedia|last1=Shields|first1=Brian|last2=Sullivan|first2=Kevin|page=[https://archive.org/details/wweencyclopediad0000shie/page/61 61]|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley|DK]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7566-4190-0|url=https://archive.org/details/wweencyclopediad0000shie/page/61}}</ref>
| weight      = 229 lb<ref name=Encyclopedia/>
| billed      = [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<br />[[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], Canada
| trainer     = [[Bruce Hart (wrestler)|Bruce Hart]]<ref name="hell51">{{cite book |title=Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry |last=Randazzo V |first=Matthew |page=[https://archive.org/details/ringofhellstoryo0000rand/page/51 51] |publisher=Phoenix Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-59777-622-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ringofhellstoryo0000rand/page/51}}</ref><ref name="pain214-15">{{cite book |title=Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling |last=McCoy |first=Heath |pages=214–215 |publisher=[[ECW Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-55022-787-1}}</ref><ref name="Bruce130">{{cite book |title=Straight From the Hart |last=Hart |first=Bruce |page=130 |publisher=[[ECW Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-55022-939-4}}</ref><br>[[Stu Hart]]<br>Mike Hammer<br>[[Mr. Hito|Tokyo Joe]]<br>[[Tatsumi Fujinami]]<br />[[New Japan Pro-Wrestling]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wrestlingexaminer.com/erased-the-tragic-story-of-chris-benoit/ |title=Erased! The Tragic Story of Chris Benoit |date=February 9, 2017 |quote=Benoit began training at the legendary New Japan Dojo, and began wrestling for NJPW |publisher=Wrestling Examiner |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922020739/https://wrestlingexaminer.com/erased-the-tragic-story-of-chris-benoit/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| debut       = November 22, 1985<ref name="archive">{{cite web |url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/ResultsArchive/Wrestlers/benoit.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624074945/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/ResultsArchive/Wrestlers/benoit.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2015 |title=Chris Benoit Results Archive |work=Slam! Sports |publisher=[[Canoe.com|Canadian Online Explorer]] |access-date=February 8, 2019}}</ref>
| ring_names  = Chris Benoit<br />The Pegasus Kid<br />Wild Pegasus
}}
'''Christopher Michael Benoit''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ə|ˈ|n|w|ɑː}} {{respell|bə|NWAH}}; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]]<!-- don't include "murderer" or similar, per [[Talk:Chris_Benoit/Archive_7#Request_for_comment]] -->. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for [[Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide|killing his wife and youngest son]].

Bearing the nicknames '''The (Canadian) Crippler''' alongside '''The Rabid Wolverine''' throughout his career, Benoit held 30 [[Professional wrestling championship|championships]] between
[[WWE|World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment]] (WWF/WWE), [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW – all United States), [[New Japan Pro-Wrestling]] (NJPW – Japan), and [[Stampede Wrestling]] (Canada). He was a two-time [[Professional wrestling championship#World championships|world champion]], Benoit having reigned as a one-time [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship|WCW World Heavyweight Champion]] and a one-time [[World Heavyweight Championship (WWE, 2002–2013)|World Heavyweight Champion]] in WWE;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wcwchampionship |title=Inside WWE > Title History > WCW World Championship |publisher=WWE |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522014656/http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wcwchampionship/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight |title=Inside WWE > Title History > World Heavyweight Championship |publisher=WWE |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312192029/http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight |url-status=live }}</ref> he was [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Book|booked]] to win a [[ECW World Heavyweight Championship|third world championship]] at a WWE event on the [[Vengeance: Night of Champions|night of his death]].<ref name="oversight">{{cite web |url=http://oversight.house.gov/images/stories/documents/20081231140942.pdf |title=U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Oversight and Reform – Interview of: Stephanie McMahon Levesque (p. 81) |access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203033324/http://oversight.house.gov/images/stories/documents/20081231140942.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2009 |quote=Ironically, Mr. Benoit was supposed to become [[ECW World Heavyweight Championship|ECW champion]] that night, and he didn't show up at the [[Vengeance: Night of Champions|[Vengeance: Night of Champions]]] pay‐per‐view because he was dead.}}</ref> Benoit was the twelfth [[Triple Crown (professional wrestling)#List of WWE Men's Triple Crown winners|WWE Triple Crown Champion]] and the seventh<!-- BRET HART AND GOLDBERG BECAME WCW TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY, MAKING BOTH EIGHTH. --> [[Triple Crown (professional wrestling)#List of WCW Triple Crown winners|WCW Triple Crown Champion]], and the second of four men in history to achieve both the WWE and the WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the [[Royal Rumble (2004)|2004 Royal Rumble]] winner, joining [[Shawn Michaels]] and preceding [[Edge (wrestler)|Edge]] as one of the three men to win a [[Royal Rumble#Match|Royal Rumble]] as the number one entrant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/1988118/mainevent |title=TV Shows > Royal Rumble > History > 2004 > Rumble Match |publisher=WWE |access-date=July 9, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611160405/http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/1988118/mainevent/ |archive-date=June 11, 2010 }}</ref> Benoit headlined multiple [[pay-per-view]]s for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship [[Card (sports)#Main event|main event]] [[Professional wrestling match types#Non-elimination matches with three competitors|triple threat]] match of [[WrestleMania XX]] in March 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/20/results |title=Full WrestleMania XX Results |publisher=WWE |access-date=November 15, 2012 |archive-date=November 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123063229/https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/20/results |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a [[Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide|three-day double-murder and suicide]], Benoit murdered [[Nancy Benoit|his wife]] in their residence on June 22, 2007, and his 7-year-old son the next day, before killing himself on June 24.<ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite news |date=June 27, 2007 |title=Wrestler Chris Benoit Double murder–suicide: Was It 'Roid Rage'? – Health News &#124; Current Health News |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286834,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605232337/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286834,00.html |archive-date=June 5, 2010 |access-date=July 9, 2010 |publisher=FOXNews.com}}</ref><ref name="abcnews.go.com">{{cite web |date=September 5, 2007 |title=Benoit's Dad, Doctors: Multiple Concussions Could Be Connected to murder–suicide – ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=3562665&page=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612050932/http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=3562665&page=1 |archive-date=June 12, 2010 |access-date=July 9, 2010 |publisher=Abcnews.go.com}}</ref> The incident profoundly shocked and changed the professional wrestling industry and drew intense mainstream media criticism regarding brain injuries, substance abuse, and the long-term health of athletes in contact sports. Subsequent research undertaken by the Sports Legacy Institute (now the [[Christopher Nowinski#Concussion Legacy Foundation|Concussion Legacy Foundation]]) suggested that [[Depression (mood)|depression]] and [[chronic traumatic encephalopathy]] (CTE), a condition of [[brain damage]], from multiple [[concussion]]s that Benoit had sustained throughout his pro-wrestling career were likely contributing factors of the crimes.<ref name="bitchute.com">{{Citation |title=Chris Benoit murder-suicide full documentary, no commercials |url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/edFICJCRKRLS/ |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721172804/https://www.bitchute.com/video/edFICJCRKRLS/ |archive-date=July 21, 2022 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref>

Due to his murders, Benoit's legacy in the professional wrestling industry is heavily debated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-horrific-crime-that-changed-wwe-forever/|title=The Horrific Crime That Changed WWE Forever|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|first=Ian|last=Williams|date=May 8, 2020|access-date=February 7, 2022|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107174923/https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7gyj4/the-horrific-crime-that-changed-wwe-forever|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/06/27/benoit.deaths.feedback/index.html|title=Your e-mails: Reaction to Chris Benoit deaths|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=June 26, 2007|access-date=February 7, 2022|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122005934/https://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/06/27/benoit.deaths.feedback/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Benoit has been renowned by many for his exceptional [[technical wrestling]] ability. Prominent combat sports journalist [[Dave Meltzer]] considers Benoit "one of the top 10, maybe even [in] the top five, all-time greats" in professional wrestling history.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=068f9b38-4b0a-4b26-9e30-2867f415d514&p=2 |title=Benoit's Public Image Hid Monster |website=[[Calgary Herald]] |access-date=February 1, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404115632/http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=068f9b38-4b0a-4b26-9e30-2867f415d514&p=2 |archive-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref> Benoit was inducted into the [[Stampede Wrestling#Hall of Fame|Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame]] in 1995 and the [[Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame]] in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/ab/stampede/hof.html|title=Stampede Wrestling Hall Of Fame|website=Wrestling-Titles.com|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=September 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926233451/http://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/ab/hof.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His WON induction was put to a re-vote in 2008 to determine if Benoit should remain a member of their Hall of Fame. The threshold percentage of votes required to remove Benoit was not met.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.profightdb.com/halls-of-fame/wrestling-observer-newsletter-hall-of-fame-2003-19.html|title=Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, 2003|website=Profightdb.com|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213080829/http://www.profightdb.com/halls-of-fame/wrestling-observer-newsletter-hall-of-fame-2003-19.html|url-status=live}}</ref>