R.I.P. Chris Benoit:

Chris Benoit
1967-2007

My friend James called me earlier tonight and asked me if I was sitting down. After I said I was, he broke the bad news: Chris Benoit had died. The police found him, his wife Nancy and his youngest child Daniel dead in their home in Georgia.

Chris Benoit is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, right up there with Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and The Dynamite Kid (who was Chris Benoit's hero). The first time I heard of Chris Benoit was in the early 90's; he was The Pegasus Kid, the masked wrestler who was having classic matches with Jushin Liger, reminding people of the Dynamite Kid-Tiger Mask classics.

I was so intrigued to see this man wrestle, and it wasn't until he was in E.C.W. a few years later that I finally got to see him more often than not. I just remember thinking - everything I heard about this man was true, and then some. He was one of the most amazing wrestlers I had ever seen. First time I saw a powerbomb from the top rope, it was done by Chris Benoit. The most vicious "regular" powerbomb I ever saw was done by Chris Benoit. Tombstone piledriver from the turnbuckles - Chris Benoit. Every time he did a snap suplex, a smile would cross my face because he did it just like his hero Dynamite Kid.

As the years went by, Chris Benoit became the best wrester to have never won a world championship. He finally won the WCW world title in January 2000 by beating Sid Vicious, but politics led to him leaving WCW the very next day.

He moved to WWE (then WWF) a short time later, and 4 years later he finally won the WWE World Title at Wrestlemania XX. And every old school, hardcore wrestling fan had a smile on their face that day as he and Eddie Guerrero both finally wore world title gold.

It's so sad that both he and Eddie are both gone from us now. Dean Malenko is the only one left from those three close friends and it's just painful thinking about it.

Chris, Rest In Peace. Thank you so much for giving this 31 year old who has been a wrestling fan since 5 years old so many memories.