Chris Benoit | |
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Benoit at a house show in Thailand in 2007
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Born |
Christopher Michael Benoit May 21, 1967 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Died | June 24, 2007 Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S. |
(aged 40)
Spouse(s) |
Martina Benoit (m. 1980; div. 1997) Nancy Benoit (m. 2000; their deaths 2007) |
Children | 3 |
Ring name(s) | Chris Benoit The Pegasus Kid Wild Pegasus |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
Billed from |
Atlanta, Georgia Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Trained by |
Bruce Hart Frank Cullen New Japan Pro Wrestling |
Debut | November 22, 1985 |
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit (French pronunciation: [bəˈnwa]; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler.
During his 22-year career, Benoit worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Industry historian Dave Meltzer considered him "one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats".
Benoit held 22 championships between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, and ECW. He was a two-time world champion, having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death. Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and sixth WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the second of five men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the 2004 Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels as the only two men to win a Royal Rumble as the number one entrant. Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for WWE, including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event match of WrestleMania XX in 2004.