Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit
Statistics
Real name	{{{realname}}}
Ring Names	Chris Benoit Pegasus Kid Wild Pegasus
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	234 lb (106 kg)
Date of birth	May 21, 1967
Place of birth	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date of death
Place of death
Resides	{{{resides}}}
Billed from	{{{billed_from}}}
Trainer	Stu Hart New Japan Dojo Frank "Chic" Cullen
Current federation(s)	{{{current_efeds}}}
Previous federation(s)	{{{previous_efeds}}}
Win/Loss Record	{{{winloss_record}}}
Debut	November 22, 1985
Retired	{{{retired}}}

Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit (born May 21, 1967) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for several major promotions, including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and WWE for Extreme (WWEFE). Currently, he is signed to WCF: Total Extreme (WCF:TE), where he is the reigning WCF World Heavyweight Champion. Benoit is recognized by WWE as a record-tying five-time WCW/WWE United States Champion, having held the championship twice in WCW, and three times in WWE. He is also recognized by the organization as a three-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time World Heavyweight Champion, with the latter two reigns represented by the Big Gold Belt. This renders Benoit one of two men to have held the belt in both WCW and WWE, alongside Bill Goldberg.

In addition to championships, Benoit also won the 2004 Royal Rumble, joining Shawn Michaels as one of two men to win the match as the number one entrant. Described by WWE as "a favorite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability", Benoit is widely regarded as one of the most popular, respected and gifted technical wrestlers in history.

Professional wrestling career

Stampede Wrestling (1985–1989)

During his childhood and early adolescence in Edmonton, Benoit idolized Bret Hart and the Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington, later one-half of WWF tag team champions the British Bulldogs). After viewing countless pirated tapes of Dynamite's legendary matches from Japan against Tiger Mask, Benoit soon decided to join his idol in the wrestling profession. When Benoit was fifteen he met Dynamite for the first time, flexed his biceps, and proclaimed he wanted to be just like him. Michael Benoit, Chris's father, though not a wrestling fan, nonetheless encouraged his son by buying him a set of weights for strength training and muscle development and, later, by allowing him to drive to Calgary, some three hours away, to train in the Hart family "Dungeon". After years of strenuous training under Bruce Hart, and later under Stu Hart himself, Benoit began his career in 1985, the year Hart promised to make him wait, as it was the year he finished high school, in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion. It was during this time that Benoit would grow close to Bret Hart, referring to him as a "role model". In subsequent years, Benoit looked up to and emulated Bret, along with Billington.

From the beginning, the similarities between Benoit and Billington were uncanny, as Benoit adopted many of his moves such as the diving headbutt and the snap suplex; the homage was complete with his initial billing as "Dynamite" Chris Benoit. According to Benoit, in his first match, he attempted the diving headbutt before learning how to land correctly, and had the wind knocked out of him; he said he would never do the move again at that point. His debut match was a tag team match on November 22, 1985 in Calgary, Alberta, where he teamed with "The Remarkable" Rick Patterson against Butch Moffat and Mike Hammer, which Benoit's team won the match after Benoit pinned Moffat with a sunset flip. The first title Benoit ever won was the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship in 1986 against Gama Singh. During his tenure in Stampede, he won four International Tag Team and three more British Commonwealth titles, and had a lengthy feud with Johnny Smith that lasted for over a year, which both men traded back-and-forth the British Commonwealth title. In 1989, Stampede closed its doors later that year, and with a recommendation from Bad News Allen, Benoit departed for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

New Japan Pro Wrestling and independent circuit (1986–1994)

Upon arriving in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Benoit spent about a year training in their "New Japan Dojo" with the younger wrestlers to improve his abilities. While in the dojo, he spent months doing strenuous activities like push ups and floor sweeping before stepping into the ring. He made his Japanese debut in 1986 under his real name. In 1989, he started wearing a mask and assuming the name The Pegasus Kid. Benoit said numerous times that he originally hated the mask, but it eventually became a part of him. While with NJPW, he came into his own as a performer in critically acclaimed matches with luminaries like Jushin Liger, Shinjiro Otani, Black Tiger, and El Samurai in their junior heavyweight division.

In August 1990, he won his first major championship, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, from Jushin Liger. He eventually lost the title in November 1990 (and in November 1991, his mask) back to Liger, forcing him to reinvent himself as Wild Pegasus. Benoit spent the next couple years in Japan, winning the Best of the Super Juniors tournament twice (1993 and 1995). He went on to win the Super J Cup Tournament in 1994, defeating Black Tiger, Gedo, and Great Sasuke in the finals.

Benoit also wrestled outside of New Japan occasionally to compete in Mexico and Europe, where he won a few regional championships, including the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. He held that title for over a year, having many forty-plus minute matches with Villaño III.

World Championship Wrestling (1992–1993)

Benoit first came to World Championship Wrestling in June 1992, teaming up with fellow Canadian wrestler Biff Wellington for the NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament; they were defeated by Brian Pillman and Jushin Liger in the first round at Clash of the Champions XIX.

He did not return to WCW until January 1993 at Clash of the Champions XXII, defeating Brad Armstrong. A month later, at SuperBrawl III, he lost to 2 Cold Scorpio, getting pinned with only three seconds left in the 20-minute time limit. At the same time, he formed a tag team with Bobby Eaton. After he and Eaton lost to Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell at Slamboree, Benoit headed back to Japan.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994–1995)

In 1994, Benoit began working with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in between tours of Japan. He was booked as a dominant wrestler there, gaining notoriety as the "Crippler" after he put Rocco Rock out of action, and proceeded to behave in a cold, calculating, uncaring way towards his opponents. At November 2 Remember, Benoit accidentally broke Sabu's neck within the opening seconds of the match. The injury came when Benoit threw Sabu with the intention that he take a face-first "pancake" bump, but Sabu attempted to turn mid-air and take a backdrop bump instead. He did not achieve full rotation and landed almost directly on his neck. After this match Benoit returned to the locker room and broke down over the notion he might have paralyzed someone, demanding that he go to see Sabu to make sure he was alright; Paul Heyman, the head booker of ECW at the time, came up with the idea of continuing the "Crippler" moniker for Benoit. From that point until his departure from ECW, he was known as the "Crippler" Chris Benoit. However, when he returned to WCW in October 1995, WCW modified his ring name to the "Canadian Crippler" Chris Benoit. Heyman had commented in the book version of The Rise and Fall of ECW that he planned on using Benoit as a dominant heel for quite some time, before putting the company's main title, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, on him to be the long-term champion of the company.

Benoit and Dean Malenko won the ECW World Tag Team Championship from Sabu and The Tazmaniac in February 1995, Benoit's first American title. After winning, they were initiated into the Triple Threat stable, led by ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Shane Douglas, as Douglas's attempt to recreate the Four Horsemen, as the three-man contingency held all three of the ECW championships at the time (Malenko also held the ECW World Television Championship at the time). The team lost the titles to The Public Enemy that April at ECW's Three Way Dance. Benoit spent some time in ECW feuding with The Steiner Brothers and rekindling the feud with 2 Cold Scorpio. He was forced to leave ECW after his work visa expired; Heyman was supposed to renew it, but he failed to make it on time, so Benoit left as a matter of job security and the ability to enter the United States. He toured Japan until WCW called.

World Championship Wrestling (1995–2000)

New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had a working relationship, and because of their "talent exchange" program, Benoit signed with WCW in late 1995 along with a number of talent working in New Japan to be a part of the angle. Like the majority of those who came to WCW in the exchange, he started out in as a member of the cruiserweight division, having lengthy matches against many of his former rivals in Japan on almost every single broadcast. At the end of 1995, Benoit went back to Japan as a part of the "talent exchange" to wrestle as a representative for New Japan in the Super J Cup: Second Stage, defeating Lionheart in the quarterfinals (he received a bye to the quarterfinals for his work in 1995, similar to the way he advanced in the 1994 edition) and losing to Gedo in the semifinals.

Benoit with a fan during his time in WCW.

After impressing higher-ups with his work, he was approached by Ric Flair and the WCW booking staff to become a member of the reformed Four Horsemen in 1995, alongside Flair, Arn Anderson, and Brian Pillman; he was introduced by Pillman as a gruff, no-nonsense heel similar to his ECW persona, The Crippler. He was brought in to add a new dynamic for Anderson and Flair's tormenting of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in their "Alliance to End Hulkamania", which saw the Horsemen team up with the Dungeon of Doom, but that alliance ended with Dungeon leader and WCW booker, Kevin Sullivan feuding with Pillman. When Pillman abruptly left the company for the WWF, Benoit was placed into his ongoing feud with Sullivan. This would come to fruition through a dissension between the two in a tag team match with the two reluctantly teaming with each other against The Public Enemy, and Benoit being attacked by Sullivan at Slamboree. This would lead to the two having violent confrontations at pay-per-views, which led to Sullivan booking a feud in which Benoit was having an affair with Sullivan's real life wife and onscreen valet, Nancy (also known as Woman). Benoit and Nancy were forced to spend time together to make the affair look real, (hold hands in public, share hotel rooms, etc.). This on-screen relationship developed into a real-life affair off-screen. As a result, Sullivan and Benoit had a contentious backstage relationship at best. Benoit did, however, admit having a certain amount of respect for Sullivan, saying on the DVD Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story that Sullivan never took undue liberties in the ring during their feud, even though he blamed Benoit for breaking up his marriage. This would continue for over the course of a year with Sullivan having his enforcers apprehend Benoit in a multitude of matches. This would all culminate in a retirement match at the Bash at the Beach, where Benoit defeated Sullivan; this was used to explain Sullivan going to a behind-the-scenes role, where he could focus on his initial job of booking.

In 1998, Benoit had a long feud with Booker T. They fought over the WCW World Television Championship until Booker lost the title to Fit Finlay. Booker won a "Best-of-Seven" series which was held between the two to determine a number one contender. Benoit went up 3 to 1 before Booker caught up, forcing the 7th and final match on Monday Nitro. During the match, Bret Hart interjected himself, interfering on behalf of Benoit in an attempt to get him to join the New World Order. Benoit refused to win that way and told the referee what happened, getting himself disqualified. Booker refused that victory, instead opting for an eighth match at the Great American Bash to see who would fight Finlay later that night. Booker won the final match and went on to beat Finlay for the title. This feud significantly elevated both men's careers as singles competitors, and both remained at the top of the midcard afterward.

In 1999, Benoit teamed with Dean Malenko once again and defeated Curt Hennig and Barry Windham to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship. This led to a reformation of the Four Horsemen with the tag team champions, Anderson, and Steve "Mongo" McMichael. The two hunted after the tag team championship for several months, feuding with teams like Raven and Perry Saturn or Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio, Jr. After a falling out with Anderson and McMichael, Benoit and Malenko left the Horsemen; he won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship before bringing together Malenko, Perry Saturn, and Shane Douglas to form "The Revolution". The Revolution was a heel stable of younger wrestlers who felt slighted (both kayfabe and legitimate) by WCW management, believing they never gave them the chance to be stars, pushing older, more established wrestlers instead, despite their then-current questionable worthiness of their pushes. This led to the Revolution seceding from WCW, and forming their own nation, complete with a flag. This led to some friction being created between Benoit and leader, Douglas, who called into question Benoit's heart in the group, causing Benoit to quit the group, thus turning face, and having his own crusade against the top stars, winning the Television title one more time and the United States title from Jeff Jarrett in a ladder match.

Despite having many good moments on the undercard of WCW, Benoit had enough of the company's political atmosphere backstage, where he could not thrive at the top of the company. One last attempt in January 2000 was made to try and keep him with WCW, by putting the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship on him by defeating Sid Vicious at Souled Out. However, due to disagreements with management and to protest the promotion of Kevin Sullivan to head booker, Benoit left the company the next day alongside his friends Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn, forfeiting his title in the process. He spent the next few weeks in Japan before heading to the WWF.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2000–2007)

The Radicalz (2000–2001)

Main article: The Radicalz

Benoit was disqualified from the 2000 King of the Ring for using a chair against Rikishi.

Along with Guerrero, Saturn, and Malenko, Benoit debuted in the WWF as a stable that became known as The Radicalz. After losing their "tryout matches" upon entry, The Radicalz aligned themselves with WWF Champion Triple H and became a heel faction. Benoit quickly won his first title in the WWF just over a month later at WrestleMania 2000, pinning Chris Jericho in a triple threat match to win Kurt Angle's Intercontinental Championship. It was also in this time period that Benoit wrestled in his first WWF pay-per-view main events, challenging The Rock for the title at Fully Loaded in July and as part of a fatal four way title match in at Unforgiven in September. Both times, Benoit appeared to have won the WWF Championship, only to have the decision reversed by then-WWF commissioner Mick Foley due to cheating on Benoit's part.

Benoit simultaneously entered into a long-running feud with Jericho for the Intercontinental title, having the two meet on PPV four times in nine months, exchanging the title back and forth and culminating in Jericho defeating Benoit in a ladder match at the Royal Rumble. Benoit won the Intercontinental Title three times between April 2000 and January 2001.

Teaming with Chris Jericho (2001)

In early 2001, Benoit broke away from The Radicalz (who had recently reformed three months earlier) and turned babyface, feuding first with his former stablemates and then with Kurt Angle, whom he wrestled at WrestleMania X-Seven. The feud continued after Benoit stole Angle's cherished Olympic Gold Medal. This culminated in a match at Judgment Day where Angle won a two out of three falls match with the help of Edge and Christian. In response, Benoit teamed up with his former rival Jericho to defeat Edge and Christian in that night's Tag Team Turmoil match.

The next night on RAW in San Jose, California, Jericho and Benoit challenged WWF Tag Team Champions Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for their title. Jericho and Benoit ended their reign and used the win as a springboard to challenge Austin for his world title. Benoit got two title matches the following week, first losing in a manner similar to the Montreal Screwjob in Calgary and then just barely losing to Austin in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton. Unfortunately, Benoit suffered a neck injury in a four-way TLC match that required surgery with Dr. Lloyd Youngblood. Despite this, he continued to wrestle until the King of the Ring, where he was pinned in a triple threat match versus Austin and Jericho. Benoit missed the next year due to his neck injury, missing the entire Invasion storyline.

Raw and SmackDown! (2002-2003)

Chris Benoit, performing for the Coalition troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq.

During the first WWE Draft, he was the third superstar picked by Vince McMahon to be part of the new SmackDown! roster, although still on the injured list. However, when he returned, he did so as a member of the RAW roster. On his first night back, he turned heel again and aligned himself with Eddie Guerrero, and he feuded with Steve Austin briefly. He and Guerrero were then moved to SmackDown! during a storyline "open season" on wrestler contracts, with Benoit taking his newly won Intercontinental championship with him. Rob Van Dam defeated Benoit at SummerSlam and returned the title to RAW.

After returning to SmackDown! in October, he was crowned the first winner of the WWE Tag Team Championship, alongside foe and partner Kurt Angle. They became tweeners after betraying Los Guerreros.

Angle won his third WWE Championship from The Big Show at Armageddon, and Benoit faced him for the title at the 2003 Royal Rumble. Although Benoit lost the match, he received a standing ovation for his efforts. Benoit returned to the tag team ranks, teaming with the returning Rhyno. At WrestleMania XIX, the WWE Tag Team Champions, Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin), put their belts on the line against Benoit and his partner Rhyno and Los Guerreros in a triple threat tag team match. Team Angle retained when Benjamin pinned Chavo.

Benoit then feuded with John Cena and the Full Blooded Italians, teaming with Rhyno occasionally. In June 2003, the WCW United States Championship was reactivated and renamed the WWE United States Championship, and Benoit participated in the tournament for the belt. He lost in the final match to Eddie Guerrero at Vengeance. The two feuded over the title for the next month, and Benoit went on to defeat the likes of A-Train, Big Show, and Brock Lesnar by submission. General Manager Paul Heyman had a vendetta against Benoit along with Lesnar, preventing him from gaining a shot at Lesnar's WWE Title.

World Heavyweight Champion (2004–2005)

When Benoit won a qualifying match for the 2004 Royal Rumble against the Full Blooded Italians in a handicap match with John Cena, Heyman named him as the number one entry, but Benoit swore victory. On January 25, 2004 Benoit won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Big Show, and thus earned a world title shot at WrestleMania XX. As a result of the long-standing Royal Rumble tradition that the winner receives a shot at the world champion at WrestleMania, and with Benoit being on the SmackDown! brand at the time it was assumed that he was going to compete for the WWE Championship. Benoit, however, exploited a "loophole" in the rules and appeared on RAW the following night to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. This "loophole" clause has become standard storyline practice, with the Royal Rumble winner being free to choose the title for which he will challenge. Though the match was originally intended to be a one-on-one match, Shawn Michaels, whose Last Man Standing match against Triple H at the Royal Rumble for the World Heavyweight Championship ended in a draw, thought that he deserved to be in the main event. When it was time for Benoit to sign the contract putting himself in the main event, Michaels superkicked him and signed his name on the contract, which eventually resulted in a Triple Threat match between Michaels, Benoit, and the champion, Triple H.

Benoit, with close friend Eddie Guerrero, celebrating their respective World Championships at WrestleMania XX.

On March 14, 2004, at WrestleMania XX, Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship by forcing Triple H to tap out to his signature submission move, the Crippler Crossface, marking the first time the main event of a WrestleMania ended in submission. After the match, an emotional Benoit celebrated his win with the then-reigning WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. The rematch was held at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton. It was Michaels who ended up submitting to Benoit's Sharpshooter, allowing Benoit to retain his title. The next night in Calgary, he and Edge won the World Tag Team title from Batista and Ric Flair, making Benoit a double champion.

The three months following his victory at Backlash, Benoit and Edge engaged in a rivalry with La Résistance for the World Tag Team Championship, which saw a series of matches, while simultaneously having confrontations with Kane over the World title. Benoit wrestled in two matches at Bad Blood in his respective rivalries; he and Edge failed to regain their World Tag Team title while he successfully defended the World title against Kane.

On August 15, 2004, Benoit was defeated by Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Benoit then feuded with Edge (who had turned into a crazed heel with severe anger management problems), leading to Taboo Tuesday where Benoit, Edge, and Shawn Michaels were all put into a poll to see who would face Triple H for the World Heavyweight title that night. Michaels received the most votes and as a result, Edge and Benoit were forced to team up to face the then tag team champions, La Résistance, in the same night. However, Edge deserted Benoit during the match and Benoit was forced to take on both members of La Résistance by himself. He still managed to win the World Tag Team title. At Survivor Series, Benoit sided with Randy Orton's team while Edge teamed with Triple H's team, and while Edge was able to pin Benoit after a Pedigree, Orton's team won.

The Benoit-Edge feud ended at New Year's Revolution. The feud stopped abruptly, as Edge feuded with Shawn Michaels, and Benoit entered the Royal Rumble. The two then continued to have matches in the following weeks until the two of them, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, and Christian were placed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21. Edge won the match by knocking Benoit off of and smashing his arm with the ladder. The feud finally culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash, which Edge won with a brick shot to the back of Benoit's head.

SmackDown! and United States Champion (2005–2006)

On June 9, Benoit returned to SmackDown! after being the first man selected by the SmackDown! brand in the 2005 Draft Lottery and participated in an ECW-style revolution against the SmackDown! heels. Benoit appeared at One Night Stand, defeating Eddie Guerrero. At the end of the night he delivered a flying headbutt to his former WCW boss and former RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff.

Benoit in September 2005 as the United States Champion

On July 24 at The Great American Bash, Benoit failed to win the WWE United States Championship from Orlando Jordan, but he faced him in a rematch at SummerSlam. Benoit defeated Jordan in 25 seconds with the Crippler Crossface to win the title. On the next two editions of SmackDown!, Benoit defeated Jordan by submission in 23.4 seconds and 22.5 seconds, respectively. Two weeks later, Benoit defeated Jordan by submission in 49.8 seconds. Benoit then started wrestling Booker T in some friendly competitions, but it was all a ploy, as Booker and his wife, Sharmell, cheated Benoit out of the US title on an episode of SmackDown!.

After controversy surrounding a US title defense against Booker T, Theodore Long set up a "Best of Seven" series between the two. Booker T won three times in a row, due largely to his wife's interference, and Benoit faced elimination in the series. Benoit won the fourth match to stay alive, but after the match, Booker suffered a legitimate groin injury, and Randy Orton was chosen as a stand-in. Benoit defeated Orton twice by disqualification. However, in the 7th and final match, Orton defeated Benoit with the help of Booker T, Sharmell, and Orlando Jordan, and Booker captured the US title. Benoit feuded with Orton for a short time, only to compete against Booker for the US title. Benoit was given one last chance at the US title at No Way Out and won it by making Booker submit to the Crippler Crossface, ending the feud. Soon after, Benoit defeated Orton in a No Holds Barred match on SmackDown! via Crippler Crossface.

The next week on SmackDown!, Benoit kayfabe broke John Bradshaw Layfield's (JBL) hand (JBL actually needed surgery to remove a cyst). A match was set up for the two at WrestleMania 22 for Benoit's title, and for the next several weeks, they attacked each other. At WrestleMania, JBL won the match with an illegal cradle to win the title. Due to the official vacation of all WWE titles, JBL was stripped of the U.S. title that night. Benoit then entered a tournament to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Mark Henry by disqualification, but losing to Kurt Angle in the finals. Benoit took some time off to deal with nagging neck issues.

ECW and return to SmackDown! (2006-2007)

Benoit returned to WWE in June as a part of the new ECW brand. He entered a brief feud with ScottyJC. On the June 13, 2006 edition of ECW, Benoit challenged for the Hardcore Championship in a losing effort against X-Pac. On the June 20 edition of ECW, Benoit failed to earn a shot at the ECW Television Championship, losing to Faid. Benoit would take some more time off.

Benoit returned in February, wrestling one televised match on the February 2, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, losing cleanly to The Punisher. Benoit was later released from WWE under suspension of steroid abuse.

WCF: Total Extreme (2008)

Benoit returned to wrestling as a part of the rebuilt WCF: Total Extreme, competing on the debut episode of Mayhem against Blaze, forcing Blaze to tap out and becoming the inaugural WCF World Heavyweight Champion. His reign would't last more then two weeks, he managed to make Jack Swagger tap out to the Crossface, the following week he teamed up with Kurt Angle to defeat The Hood by submission. WCF would come to a sudden stop, taking some time to find some new talent.

Personal life

Benoit was born in Montreal, Quebec to Michael and Margaret Benoit, but grew up in Edmonton, Alberta from which he was billed in ring introductions throughout the bulk of his career. Benoit spoke both English and French fluently. In an interview with Larry King on CNN, Michael Benoit mentioned in passing that Chris had a sister living near Edmonton.

Benoit became good friends with wrestler Eddie Guerrero following a match in Japan, when Benoit utilized an Enzuigiri kick and knocked him out cold. He is also close friends with Dean Malenko as the trio traveled from promotion to promotion together putting on matches, eventually being dubbed the "Three Amigos" by commentators. According to Benoit, the Crippler Crossface was borrowed from Malenko and eventually caught on as Benoit's signature hold.

Benoit's lost tooth, his top-right lateral incisor, was usually attributed to training or an accident early on in his wrestling career. It actually resulted from an accident involving his pet Rottweiler: one day while playing with the dog, the animal's skull struck Benoit's chin and his tooth "popped out."

Benoit married twice, having two children by his first wife, Martina: David and Megan. By 1997, that marriage had broken down and Benoit was living with Nancy Sullivan, the wife of WCW booker and frequent opponent Kevin Sullivan. On February 25, 2000, Chris and Nancy's son Daniel was born; on November 23, 2000, Chris married Nancy. It was Nancy's third marriage. In 2003, Nancy filed for divorce from Benoit, citing the marriage as "irrevocably broken" and alleging "cruel treatment"; she claimed that he would break and throw furniture around. She later dropped the suit, as well as the restraining order filed against her husband.

In wrestling

Benoit with the Crippler Crossface (Arm trap crossface) on MVP.

Benoit performing a diving headbutt on Rikishi at King of the Ring 2000.

• Finishing moves
  • Bridging dragon suplex – 1992–1998; used as a regular move from 1998–2007
  • Crippler Crossface (Arm trap crossface)
  • Diving headbutt
  • Kneeling belly to belly piledriver, sometimes from the second rope – 1989–1994; used as a regular move thereafter
  • Sharpshooter – 1998–2007
  • Wild Bomb (High speed release powerbomb), sometimes from the top rope – 1994–2002; rarely used as a regular move thereafter

• Signature moves
  • Back body drop
  • Backhand chop
  • Dragon screw
  • Figure four leglock
  • Forearm smash
  • Headbutt
  • Lariat
  • Multiple suplex variations
    • Belly to back
    • Bridging Northern Lights
    • Exploder
    • German
    • Gutwrench
    • Hat Trick (Triple rolling Germans)
    • Slingshot
    • Snap
    • Super
    • Three Amigos (Triple rolling verticals) – used as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero
  • Shoulderbreaker – 2001–2003
  • Spinebuster – 1991–1994
  • Springboard clothesline – 1994–1998
  • Suicide dive

• Managers
  • Arn Anderson
  • Ted DiBiase (During his WWF tryout matches in 1995)
  • Shane Douglas
  • Miss Elizabeth
  • Shane McMahon
  • Terri Runnels
  • Woman

• Nicknames
  • "The Rabid Wolverine"
  • "The Crippler"
  • "The Canadian Crippler"

• Entrance themes
  • "Shooter" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E)
  • "Whatever" by Our Lady Peace (WWE) (WCF)

Championships and accomplishments

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Future Legend Award (2002)

• Catch Wrestling Association
  • CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dave Taylor

Benoit's five United States Championship reigns (two in WCW and three in WWE) are tied for the most in history.

Benoit is recognized by WWE as a two-time world heavyweight champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-time World Heavyweight Champion, with both reigns represented by the Big Gold Belt.

• Extreme Championship Wrestling
  • ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dean Malenko

• Universal Wrestling Association
  • WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Super J Cup (1994)
  • Top/Best of the Super Juniors (1993, 1995)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Feud of the Year (2004)vs. Triple H
  • PWI Match of the Year (2004)vs. Shawn Michaels and Triple H at WrestleMania XX
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year (2004)
  • PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004

• Stampede Wrestling
  • Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
  • Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ben Bassarab (1), Keith Hart (1), Lance Idol (1), and Biff Wellington (1)
  • Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame

• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Dean Malenko (1) and Perry Saturn (1)
  • WCW World Television Championship (3 times)

• World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
  • World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kurt Angle
  • WWE United States Championship (3 times)
  • WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (4 times)
  • WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Jericho (1) and Edge (2)
  • Royal Rumble (2004)
  • Twelfth Triple Crown Champion

• WCF: Total Extreme
  • WCF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 5 Star Match (1994) vs. Great Sasuke at Super J Cup
  • Best Brawler (2004)
  • Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Triple H and Shawn Michaels
  • Best Technical Wrestler (1994, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2004)
  • Most Underrated (1998)
  • Most Outstanding Wrestler (2000, 2004)
  • Match of the Year (2002) with Kurt Angle vs. Edge and Rey Mysterio
  • Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1997, 2000)
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003)

¹Benoit's reign with the championship isn't officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment. No reign prior to December 1997 is recognized by the promotion.