Coordinates	42°52′30.8″N112°26′50.2″N
Name	Dean Malenko
Names	CiclopeDean Malenko
Height
Weight
Birth date	August 04, 1960
Birth place	Irvington, New Jersey
Resides	Lutz, Florida
Billed	Tampa, Florida
Trainer	Boris Malenko
Debut	1979
Retired	August 9, 2001 }}

Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960) is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Considered by many to be one of the most technically gifted professional wrestlers of all time, Malenko's in-ring talents would earn him the nickname, "The Man of 1,000 Holds". He was also known as "The Iceman" for his cold and calculating demeanor.

In the WWF, he was a 2-time Light Heavyweight Champion. In WCW, he was a 1-time United States Champion, a 4-time Cruiserweight Champion and a 1-time World Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit. In ECW, he was a 2-time Television Champion and a 1-time Tag Team Champion with Chris Benoit.

Career

Early years (1979–1994)

Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father Boris Malenko was a prominent wrestling figure. He started out as a referee in the Tampa area and even worked briefly as a referee for the WWF in the mid-1980s. He has wrestled all over the world and has spent much time wrestling in Mexico and Japan. He wrestled with his brother Joe from 1988 to 1992, forming a tag team, until his brother retired. On January 24, 1992, Malenko defeated "The Superstar" for the Suncoast Pro Wrestling (SPW) Southern title in Palmetto, Florida. Malenko defeated Jimmy Backlund for the ICWA Light Heavyweight title on March 12, 1992, in Tampa.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994–1995)

The Shooter (1994)

He later joined Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994, as a heel participating in a professional wrestling tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Osamu Nishimura in the quarterfinals before he ended up losing to the eventual winner Shane Douglas in the semifinals. Douglas would later rename his ECW title, the ''Extreme'' Championship Wrestling World Title after throwing down the NWA World Title, and the promotion was also renamed ''Extreme'' Championship Wrestling. He became known as "The Shooter" Dean Malenko and was given a gimmick similar to an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter (due to his resemblance to Royce Gracie). On November 4, 1994, he defeated 2 Cold Scorpio to win his first ECW Television Championship.

Triple Threat and feuding with Eddie Guerrero (1995)

In the beginning of 1995, Malenko formed a faction called the Triple Threat with Chris Benoit and Shane Douglas. On February 25, 1995, Benoit and Malenko defeated Sabu and Tazmaniac for the ECW Tag Team Championship, making Malenko a double champion. A month later, Malenko dropped the Television title back to 2 Cold Scorpio. On April 8, he and Benoit lost the tag titles to The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock).

In the summer of 1995, Malenko feuded with TV Champion Eddie Guerrero, culminating in a match on July 21 where Malenko defeated Guerrero to win his second ECW Television Championship. Only a week later, Malenko dropped the title back to Guerrero. The two continued to battle over the Television Title and fought a series of matches that led to them being offered a WCW contract. His last ECW match was a two out of three falls match against Guerrero, which took place on August 26. The match ended in a draw as the last fall had both men's shoulders on the mat. This would be both men's last match in ECW and they both gave—and received—an emotional farewell goodbye to the fans.

World Championship Wrestling (1995–2000)

Cruiserweight Champion (1995–1996)

In September 1995, Malenko and Benoit joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he continued to be a villain. Malenko came to be known in WCW as "The Iceman" Dean Malenko because of his cold, calculating demeanor and was also given the nickname of "The Man of 1,000 Holds". On May 2, 1996, Malenko defeated Shinjiro Otani for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in Orlando. He held the title for two months, making successful defenses against the likes of Brad Armstrong, Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Disco Inferno before losing the title to Mysterio on the July, 8 edition of ''Nitro''. He defeated Mysterio Jr. for his second WCW Cruiserweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 1996.

After a successful title defense against Psychosis at World War 3 1996, Malenko lost the Cruiserweight title to Ultimate Dragon (Último Dragón) at Starrcade 1996 where Dragón's J-Crown Championship was also on the line. Malenko defeated Dragón on January 22, 1997 edition of ''Clash of the Champions'' to win his third WCW Cruiserweight Championship. He would hold the belt for nearly a month before losing it to Syxx at SuperBrawl VII.

Return to Cruiserweight Division (1997–1998)

At World War 3 1997, Malenko participated in a 60-man, three-ring battle royal won by Scott Hall. At Starrcade 1997, he challenged Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title but ended up losing the match. In mid-1998, Malenko engaged in a heated feud with Chris Jericho. To better Malenko's claims, Jericho boasted that he was "The Man of 1,004 Holds" and the two had a final showdown at Uncensored 1998 for the Cruiserweight title. After a long match, Jericho forced Malenko to submit in an angled Liontamer. After the match, the otherwise collected Malenko was left in an unusual fit of frustration. Gene Okerlund then confronted Malenko post match, aggressively citing his many losses in the past several months and asking where he would go from this point. Dejected and worn down, Malenko replied simply, "Home," and would not be seen on WCW TV for two months.

At Slamboree 1998, Jericho held a Battle Royal for a shot at his Cruiserweight Championship. Malenko entered the battle royal dressed as masked wrestler Ciclope and won the match, after Juventud Guerrera shook his hand, and eliminated himself. He then unmasked, revealing himself to the crowd following his win. Malenko went on to defeat Jericho for his fourth and final WCW Cruiserweight Championship, thus becoming the first-ever wrestler to win the Cruiserweight title four times. Malenko was stripped of the title, however, as he did not earn the title shot as himself. At The Great American Bash 1998, Malenko and Jericho faced each other in a match for the vacant Cruiserweight title. Malenko lost by disqualification, making Jericho the champion. At Bash at the Beach 1998, Malenko interfered in Jericho's title defense against Rey Mysterio, Jr. allowing Mysterio to pin Jericho for the title. The title was returned to Jericho, however, because of interference by Malenko. Malenko was fired in storyline, but returned at Road Wild 1998 as the special guest referee during Jericho's defense against Juventud Guerrera. Juventud won the match and the title.

Four Horsemen and The Revolution (1999–2000)

In September 1998, Malenko became a part of the final incarnation of Ric Flair's Four Horsemen faction. They feuded with the New World Order (nWo), particularly Eric Bischoff. Malenko and Benoit also battled the West Texas Rednecks (Curt Hennig and Barry Windham) during this period. At SuperBrawl IX, they lost to the Rednecks in the finals of a tag team tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship. At Uncensored 1999, however, they defeated the Rednecks in a lumberjack match to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later, they lost the titles to Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman.

After the Horsemen were finally disbanded in May 1999 due to Flair's abuse of power, Malenko joined up with Shane Douglas' faction, The Revolution, which was formed in July 1999. They feuded with David Flair, Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon. At Bash at the Beach 1999, Malenko challenged David for the US title but lost the match. They battled many teams throughout the year including West Texas Rednecks, First Family, Filthy Animals and Varsity Club. Malenko's last WCW match was a "catch-as-catch-can" match with Billy Kidman at Souled Out. Early on, Malenko instinctively left the ring to regroup and was disqualified under the match stipulations because his feet hit the arena floor.

World Wrestling Federation (2000–2001)

The Radicalz and Light Heavyweight Champion (2000)

After being granted his release from WCW the night after his last WCW match, Malenko signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and debuted on January 31, 2000 edition of ''Raw Is War''. Malenko first appeared in the crowd with the infamous Radicalz – himself, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Eddie Guerrero – who all made exits from WCW at the same time. While not having as much success in the WWF, Malenko was a force in the promotion's light heavyweight division. Along with Benoit, Saturn, and Guerrero, he had some measure of success as part of The Radicalz. On the March 13 edition of ''Raw Is War'', Malenko defeated Essa Rios for his first WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. In April 2000, he feuded with Scotty Too Hotty who was the new challenger for his Light Heavyweight title. He dropped the title to Scotty on April 17 edition of ''Raw Is War'' before he won his second WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty on April 27 edition of ''SmackDown!''. At Backlash 2000, Malenko successfully defended the title against Scotty, thus ending the feud between the two.

Later that year, with Benoit having drifted away from the group, Malenko engaged in a feud with Guerrero and Saturn which stemmed from Guerrero's on-screen relationship with Chyna and a number of losses suffered when working as a tag team with Saturn. The feud led to a triple threat match at Judgment Day 2000 where Guerrero retained the WWF European Championship against both Malenko and Saturn. After a brief absence from TV, Malenko returned to reform The Radicalz with Benoit, Guerrero, and Perry Saturn. Around this time, Malenko briefly became known as "Double Ho Seven", a parody of the fictional character, James Bond. The gimmick was born out of a match with The Godfather, who offered one of his female escorts to Malenko instead of wrestling him. Malenko gladly accepted his opponent's offer. As Double Ho Seven, Malenko competed for the affections of Lita and feuded with her tag team the Hardy Boyz. He even offered Lita a title match for his Light Heavyweight Championship, but under the condition that if she lost she would be obliged to go on a date with him. Lita accepted and almost caught Malenko by a few nearfalls throughout the match, but in the end lost the match by submitting to his signature Cloverleaf.

Reunion with Perry Saturn and retirement (2001)

Malenko's feud with Hardy Boyz and Lita continued in early 2001, culminating with Lita pinning him (with some assistance from Matt Hardy) in a match on February 19, 2001 edition of ''Raw Is War''. He also briefly feuded with Jacqueline and Ivory, who were disgusted by his lecherous ways. A title feud with Crash Holly would begin after Crash interfered in a two-on-one intergender handicap match between Malenko, and both Jacqueline and Ivory, costing him the match. After holding the Light Heavyweight Championship for nearly twelve months, Malenko lost the title to Crash on March 18 edition of ''Sunday Night HEAT''. After both Benoit and Guerrero drifted away from the Radicalz, Malenko teamed with Saturn for a few weeks before quietly disappearing off television as the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline began in summer 2001.

Retirement and WWE appearances

Malenko's final wrestling match took place at 4th Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in August 2001. In his final match, Malenko teamed with longtime friend Perry Saturn and defeated Raven and Justin Credible. Malenko appeared in the ring along with other legendary wrestlers during a segment of the WWE Homecoming edition of Raw on October 3, 2005. His friend Eddie Guerrero died on November 13, 2005 and Malenko made a special appearance on the November 14 edition of ''Raw'' alongside Chris Benoit, speaking about Eddie's death and talking about the memories they had shared together. The following Friday on ''SmackDown!'', Malenko once again appeared after a match between Chris Benoit and Triple H, and the three embraced. After the 2006 Royal Rumble, he was seen congratulating Rey Mysterio on his Rumble victory. At Vengeance 2007, he appeared in a backstage segment watching Chavo Guerrero. On the Chris Benoit memorial episode of Monday Night Raw, he talked about the life of Chris Benoit. He was very sad since two of his close friends, Eddie and Benoit, both died, but said he was happy that they were together again. Dean then made an appearance on the March 31, 2008 edition of ''Raw'' to join The Four Horsemen and other WWE superstars in a farewell tribute to Ric Flair. He made an appearance on the June 28, 2010 edition of Raw congratulating Ricky Steamboat on his DVD release. He and all the others in the ring were attacked by the Nexus.

Personal life

Simon is Jewish, and is married. The couple has 3 children. Their first child, a daughter, was born on December 25, 1997.

On November 22, 2010, it was reported that Simon had recently suffered a heart attack, but within days was already back working with the WWE.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Texas Cloverleaf'', sometimes preceded by a powerbomb

Signature moves

Backbreaker, sometimes into a submission

Boston crab

Brainbuster

Cross armbreaker

Double leg takedown

Dropkick, sometimes from the second rope to an opponent sitting on the top turnbuckle

Drop toe-hold

Figure four leglock

Fireman's carry gutbuster, sometimes from the second rope

Head scissors

Kneebar

Leg lariat

*Multiple suplex variations

*Belly to back, sometimes from the top rope

*Bridging cradle

*Double underhook

*Dragon

*German

*Northern Lights

*Snap

*Super

Powerbomb

Single leg Boston crab

Sitout double underhook powerbomb

Slingshot catapult

Spinning heel kick

Spinning toe hold

STF

Surfboard

Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker

Managers

*Asya

*Debra

*Terri

Nicknames

*"The Man of 1,000 Holds"

*"The Shooter"

*"The Iceman"

*"Double Ho Seven"

*"The Professor"

Entrance themes

*"Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica (ECW) 1995

*"Black Knight" (WCW) 1995–1998

*"Four Horsemen theme" (WCW) 1998–1999 (used while part of the four horsemen)

*"The Iceman theme" (WWF) 1999-2001

Championships and accomplishments

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Television Championship (2 times)

ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Benoit

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #1 in the PWI 500 in 1997

PWI ranked him #161 in the PWI Years in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Benoit

World Wrestling Federation

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1995) vs. Eddie Guerrero

*Best Technical Wrestler (1996, 1997)

Other titles

*ICWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*SPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

See also

List of select Jewish professional wrestlers

References

External links

WWE Alumni profile

Profile at the Online World of Wrestling

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Jewish professional wrestlers Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Professional wrestling executives

da:Dean Malenko de:Dean Malenko es:Dean Malenko fr:Dean Simon it:Dean Simon nl:Dean Malenko ja:ディーン・マレンコ pt:Dean Malenko

Coordinates	42°52′30.8″N112°26′50.2″N
Name	Chris Benoit
Names	Chris BenoitPegasus KidWild Pegasus
Real height
Real weight
Birth date	May 21, 1967
Birth place	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Death date	June 24, 2007
Death place	Fayetteville, Georgia, United States
Billed	Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaAtlanta, Georgia
Trainer	Stu HartNew Japan DojoFrank "Chic" Cullen
Debut	November 22, 1985 }}

Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit () (May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide. During his professional wrestling career, Benoit worked for such major promotions as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE).

Among other accolades, Benoit is a four-time world champion: a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion (tied for third longest reign in history), and two-time (though unofficial) WWF Champion. Both of his official world title reigns were represented by the Big Gold Belt: Benoit is one of three men to have held the Big Gold Belt in both WCW and WWE, alongside Bill Goldberg and Booker T. He is also a record-tying five-time WCW/WWE United States Champion, having held the championship twice in WCW, and three times in WWE.

In addition to championships, Benoit won the 2004 Royal Rumble match, 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 was widely regarded as one of the most popular, respected, and gifted technical wrestlers in history.

Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son on June 22, 2007 and subsequently hanged himself on June 24, 2007. Since Benoit's suicide, numerous explanations for his actions have been proposed, including concussions, steroid abuse, and a failing marriage. Benoit last performed for WWE on their ECW brand. Paul Heyman, head of the original ECW promotion, intended to book Benoit to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in 1995 but did not renew his United States Work Visa in time; twelve years later, Benoit was booked by WWE to win the title in one of three world championship matches at pay-per-view event Vengeance: Night of Champions, which again did not come to fruition due to his death that night.

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".

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 July 1991 in Japan and in November 1991 in Mexico, 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. In ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' book, Heyman commented 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. 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. On May 1999 on ''Nitro'' in Kansas City, Missouri, Benoit wrestled Bret Hart as a tribute to Owen Hart, who had recently died due to an equipment malfunction. Hart defeated Benoit by submission, and the two received a standing ovation, and an embrace from guest ring announcer, Harley Race.

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)

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. On May 21, 2001, Jericho and Benoit ended their reign and as a result of the win, Benoit aided Jericho in becoming the fourth Grand Slam Champion when he captured the WWE title later in December.

The pair 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)

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!'' on October 20, 2002, he was crowned the first winner of the WWE Tag Team Championship, alongside foe and partner Kurt Angle. In this, Benoit consecutively helped to crown the fifth Grand Slam Champion, as the tag title was the only remaining title Kurt needed. 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.

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. A month later at Vengeance, Benoit retained the title against Triple H.

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.

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!''.

On November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room. The following night, ''Raw'' held a Guerrero tribute show hosted by both ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown!'' superstars. Benoit was devastated at the loss of his best friend and was very emotional during a series of video testimonials, eventually breaking down on camera. The same week on ''SmackDown!'' (taped on the same night as ''Raw''), Benoit defeated Triple H in a tribute match to his fallen friend. Following the contest, Benoit, Helmsley, and Dean Malenko all assembled in the ring and pointed to the sky in salute of Guerrero.

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. Benoit used his rematch clause two weeks later in a steel cage match on ''SmackDown!'', but JBL again won with illegal tactics. Benoit then entered the King of the Ring tournament, only to be defeated by Finlay in the opening round, after Finlay struck Benoit's neck with a chair and delivered a Celtic Cross. At Judgment Day, Benoit gained some revenge by defeating Finlay with the Crippler Crossface in a grudge match. On the following edition of ''SmackDown!'', Mark Henry brutalized Benoit during their match, giving him (kayfabe) back and rib injuries and causing him to bleed from his mouth. Benoit then took a sabbatical to heal nagging shoulder injuries.

On October 8, Benoit made his return at No Mercy, defeating William Regal in a surprise match. Later that week, he won his fifth United States Championship from Mr. Kennedy. Benoit then engaged in a feud with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero. He wanted answers from the Guerreros for their rash behavior towards Rey Mysterio, but was avoided by the two and was eventually assaulted. This would lead to the two embarking on a feud with title implications at the coming two pay per views. The feud would culminate with one last title match as a No disqualification match, which was also won by Benoit. Afterward, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), who claimed that he was the best man to hold the US title, challenged Benoit for the title at WrestleMania 23, where Benoit retained. Their rivalry continued with similar results again at Backlash. At Judgment Day, however, MVP gained the upper hand and won the title in a two out of three falls match.

ECW (2007)

On the June 11 edition of ''Raw'', Benoit was drafted from SmackDown! to ECW as part of the 2007 WWE Draft, after losing a match to Bobby Lashley. Benoit won his ECW debut match teaming up with CM Punk and defeating Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von by disqualification. On June 19, Benoit wrestled his last match, defeating Burke in a match to determine who would compete for the vacated ECW World Championship at Vengeance. Benoit missed the weekend house shows, telling WWE officials that his wife and son were vomiting blood due to food poisoning. When he failed to show up for the pay-per-view, viewers were informed that he was unable to compete due to a "family emergency" and he was replaced in the title match by Johnny Nitro. Nitro won the match and became ECW World Champion. Stephanie McMahon later indicated that Benoit would have defeated Punk for the championship had he been present for the event.

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. This started a friendship that lasted until Guerrero's death in late 2005. He was 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.

Death

On June 25, 2007, police entered Benoit's home on a "welfare check" after several missed appointments, leading to concerns. The officers discovered the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel at around 2:30 p.m. EDT. Upon investigating, no additional suspects were sought by authorities. It was determined that Benoit had committed the murders.

Over a three day period, Benoit had killed his wife and son before he hanged himself. His wife was bound before the killing. Benoit's son was drugged and likely unconscious before Benoit strangled him. Benoit then committed suicide with a weight machine.

WWE canceled the scheduled three hour long live ''Raw'' show on June 25, and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to his life and career, featuring his past matches, segments from the ''Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story'' DVD, and comments from wrestlers and announcers. However, once the details of the murder–suicide became apparent, WWE quickly and quietly began distancing itself from the wrestler by removing merchandise and no longer mentioning him. The June 26 episode of ''ECW'' began with Vince McMahon addressing the television audience about the circumstances and announcing that there would be no mention of Benoit that night other than his comments. There was no mention of Benoit at all the following Friday on ''Smackdown''.

Toxicology reports released on July 17, 2007 revealed that at their time of death, Nancy had three different drugs in her system: Xanax, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, all of which were found at the therapeutic rather than toxic levels. Daniel was found to have Xanax in his system, which led the chief medical examiner to believe that he was sedated before he was murdered. Benoit was found to have Xanax, hydrocodone, and an elevated level of testosterone, caused by a synthetic form of the hormone, in his system. The chief medical examiner attributed the testosterone level to Benoit possibly being treated for a deficiency caused by previous steroid abuse or testicular insufficiency. There was no indication that anything in Benoit's body contributed to his violent behavior that led to the murder–suicide, concluding that there was no "roid-rage" involved. Prior to the murder–suicide, Benoit had been given illegal steroids not in compliance with WWE's Talent Wellness Program in February 2006. Benoit received nandrolone and anastrozole. During the investigation into steroid abuse, it was revealed that other wrestlers had also been given steroids.

After the double-murder suicide, former wrestler Christopher Nowinski contacted Michael Benoit, father of Chris Benoit, suggesting that years of trauma to his son's brain may have led to his actions. Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient." He was reported to have had an advanced form of dementia, similar to the brains of four retired NFL players who had suffered multiple concussions, sank into depression, and harmed themselves or others. Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioral problems. Benoit's father suggests that brain damage may have been the leading cause of the crime. He also confirmed that his son was quietly cremated, but what was done with the ashes is not public knowledge.

In wrestling

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

* 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

* New Japan Pro Wrestling

** "Jump" by Van Halen

** "Woman from Tokyo" by Deep Purple

* Extreme Championship Wrestling

** "Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith

** "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple

* World Championship Wrestling

** "Scattered"

** "Coast"

** "Replica B"

** "Too Much Information"

* World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

** "Shooter" by Jim Johnston (2000–2002)

** "Whatever" by Our Lady Peace (2002–2007)

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club

* Future Legend Award (2002)

'''Catch Wrestling Association

CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dave Taylor

Extreme Championship Wrestling

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

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

PWI ranked him #69 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

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

Universal Wrestling Association

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

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)

WWF Championship (2 times)²

* Royal Rumble (2004)

* Twelfth Triple Crown Champion

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)³

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. ²Unofficial reigns. Won the title at Fully Loaded and Unforgiven in 2000, but the decision was reversed on both occasions by then-WWF Commissioner Mick Foley. ³Benoit underwent a special recall election in 2008 due to the double murder–suicide of his wife and son. The recall was supported by a majority of 53.6% of voters, but was below the 60% threshold necessary to remove him.

Notes

References

SLAM! Wrestling — Chris Benoit

The Sun — Over the Top Rope: Why TNA appalls Chris Benoit

Metro — 60 Seconds: Chris Benoit by Andrew Williams

Wrestling Digest: Technically Speaking, wrestler and sports entertainer Chris Benoit

External links

Chris Benoit on OWW

WrestleView.com — Chris Benoit FAQ

The Fifth Estate: Fight To The Death

Review of ''Ring of Hell'' at Letters On Pages

Category:1967 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Canadian expatriate professional wrestling people in the United States Category:Canadian football offensive linemen Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian murderers Category:Canadian murderers of children Category:Canadian professional wrestlers Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Familicides Category:Franco-Albertan people Category:Murder–suicides Category:Filicides Category:People from Edmonton Category:Professional wrestlers who committed suicide Category:Sportspeople from Alberta Category:Suicides by hanging in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Wikipedia controversial topics

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Coordinates	42°52′30.8″N112°26′50.2″N
{{infobox wrestler|name	Último Dragón
Names	Último DragónUltimate DragonYoshihiro AsaiSecond TigerSaigon DragonTiger Dragon
Height
Weight
Birth date	December 12, 1966
Birth place	Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Billed	Mexico City, Mexico
Trainer	Antonio InokiYoshiaki Fujimara
Debut	May 13, 1987
Retired	}}

, (born December 12, 1966), better known as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor. In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the "Asai Moonsault".

Asai holds a record as the professional wrestler with the most concurrent championships. On October 11, 1996, he won the J-Crown, a unification of eight junior (lightweight) division titles from various international promotions. At the time, he already held the NWA Middleweight championship; during this reign he also became the WCW World Cruiserweight champion, making him the most decorated wrestler in recorded history. From December 29, 1996 through January 27, 1997 he was the active reigning and defending champion of ten titles, a record which still stands. Asai speaks Spanish fluently, and resided in Mexico for several years.

Professional wrestling career

The name "Ultimo Dragon", which means ''"Last Dragon"'' in Spanish was initially used as a gimmick of Asai claiming to be the final student taught by legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, whose nickname was "The Dragon". The gimmick was later forgotten, but the name remained.

Early years (1987-1996)

Asai graduated from the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in 1987, but left the promotion after he struggled to battle his way up towards mid-card status. He moved to Mexico where he joined the Universal Wrestling Association and subsequently won the UWA World Welterweight Championship in 1988. In March 1990, he joined the Universal Wrestling Federation in Japan. He also competed in the Universal Lucha Libre promotion founded by his mentor Gran Hamada.

In 1991, he signed with the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion where he first adopted the Ultimo Dragon mask and persona. During the same period, Asai also signed with the Japanese WAR promotion, and due to co-promoting, he was able to wrestle for NJPW. In Japan, he became IWGP Junior heavyweight champion twice, and in Mexico, he held various titles. In later years, he would wrestle for AAA.

World Championship Wrestling (1996-1998)

Asai made his American debut for the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion in 1996 initially under the translated name ''The Ultimate Dragon''. He was referred to by this name for several months in WCW until they reverted to using his Spanish ring name. He quickly was pushed into the lime-light of the WCW Cruiserweight division with Sonny Onoo as his manager. He was instantly a heel based upon the fact he was Japanese and Sonny Onoo was his manager. He made his WCW pay-per view debut in 1996's Hog Wild against Rey Misterio, Jr. for the WCW World Cruiserweight title but lost. He got back the win at WCW World War 3 when he returned to WCW as the J-Crown champion. He then feuded with Dean Malenko for the WCW World Cruiserweight title which he won at Starrcade 1996.

Dragon later dropped the World Cruiserweight title back to Malenko but his stock was rising as he won the WCW Television title from Prince Iaukea but lost it to Steven Regal. He then turned face by dropping Onoo as his manager and won back the Television title from Regal before losing to Alex Wright at the last Clash of the Champions. He would then win the WCW World Cruiserweight title one last time from Eddie Guerrero, before losing the title on the first WCW Thunder to Juventud Guerrera. He then suffered an arm injury in 1998 that required surgery. The operation was botched, causing nerve damage. It was thought that this would force an end of his career and he announced his retirement.

Toryumon (1997-2003)

In 1997, Asai then became a trainer where he trained three classes of students, "Toryumon Japan", "Toryumon 2000 Project" (T2P), and "Toryumon X". His first class of students which included Don Fuji, Dragon Kid, Magnum TOKYO, CIMA and SUWA worked for WCW early in their career. In 1998, Asai began co-promoting Grupo Internacional Revolución (IWRG) based out of Mexico, where he trained several of the top young wrestlers. In 1999, a promotion named Toryumon opened, with the vast majority of the roster having been trained by Asai. Toryumon was later renamed Dragon Gate, and Asai parted ways with the promotion. He continued to train students at his gym.

In 2002, Asai underwent another surgery to repair the damage done to his arm in hopes of returning to wrestling. In late 2002 Ultimo Dragon was in talks with World Wrestling Entertainment for another shot at a United States run. To get back into ring shape he returned to action for his T2P and Toryumon Mexico promotions. On November 26, he teamed with former WCW wrestlers Norman Smiley and Perry Saturn in a win against Masaaki Mochizuki, Keni'chiro Arai and Touru Owashi for T2P. On December 7 he teamed with Mochizuki and Dragon Kid in a win over the team of Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio, Jr. and El Duende for Toryumon Mexico.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2003-2004)

In the spring of 2003, he signed with World Wrestling Entertainment as the ''Último Dragón'', seeking to realize his two lifelong goals of competing in Madison Square Garden and performing at WrestleMania. He was brought in on the heels of the signing of Rey Mysterio on the belief that he would make as big of an impact as Mysterio did upon his WWE debut. Asai made his WWE debut in dark match victories against Rico, Crash Holly and Shannon Moore as they debuted a series of video packages hyping the debut of Dragon on ''SmackDown''. He made his WWE television debut at Madison Square Garden on the June 26, 2003 episode of ''SmackDown!'' in a match with Shannon Moore, where he debuted his finisher, the Asai DDT to the American wrestling audience.

Throughout the summer he floundered around having matches in the WWE United States Championship tournament beating Jamie Noble but losing to future winner Eddie Guerrero. He quickly rebounded by beating Kanyon in a ''Heat'' match taped before Vengeance. He then wrestled on ''Velocity'' for the next few weeks until he had a match with Rey Mysterio on ''SmackDown''. Dragon won the match only after Tajiri interfered and showed respect to Dragon due to their Japanese heritage. The next week Dragon teamed with Mysterio to take on Tajiri and Nunzio. From there he was not seen on ''SmackDown'' for months until the build for the Cruiserweight Open at WrestleMania XX. He then faced Chavo Guerrero and Nunzio for his last WWE matches. His contract expired in 2004.

Back In Japan and Mexico (2004-present)

Since leaving WWE, Asai quickly picked up a New Japan tour in May 2004. He has occasionally wrestled for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. He also took part in the short lived Japanese independent promotion Dragondoor, ran by one of his students Noriaki Kawabata using mostly T2P and Toryumon X graduates. He would wrestle in matches against Último Guerrero and various other stars who wrestled in Mexico or Japanese based lucha libre promotions. Since the fall of Dragondoor he went back to Mexico to run another class of the Toryumon school, which has led to some standouts in Hajime Ohara, Kazuchika Okada, and Pequeño Ninja. The rest of the Toryumon students along with Asai joined the Tatsumi Fujinami promoted Dradition promotion in Japan. In 2006, Asai began promoting the annual "Toryumon Mexico: Dragon Mania" wrestling show. He also wrestled at UWA Hardcore Wrestling based outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has wrestled against Sonjay Dutt, M-Dogg 20, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Jushin Liger, and Black Tiger all in the UWA. Since then he has been working in Japan for various independent promotions such as Pro Wrestling KAGEKI, and Michinoku Pro. He has also been to Mexico as well as been working in Spain for Nu Wrestling Evolution.

Movie career

Ultimo Dragon starred in two films in 2008. The first was ''Bloodstained Memoirs'', also starring Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Mick Foley and Keiji Mutoh. Ultimo Dragon's scenes were filmed in the UK and Italy. The other was ''Ultimo Dragon''. Little is known about this film, other than Ultimo Dragon stars, and it is a heroic martial arts story.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Asai DDT'' (Standing shiranui) – innovated

''Cancún Tornado'' (Corkscrew moonsault)

''Dragon Bomb'' (Running sitout powerbomb / Running slingshot sitout powerbomb)

''Dragonsteiner'' (With the opponent seated on the top turnbuckle, Dragon stands behind the opponent, twists around and performs a frankensteiner)

''La Magistral'' (Arm wrench inside cradle)

Signature moves

''Asai Moonsault'' (Springboard moonsault onto a standing opponent outside of the ring) – innovated

*Dragon screw

Dragon sleeper

*Giant swing

*Jumping belly to belly piledriver

Kick combo

*Multiple suplex variations

*''Aztec Suplex'' (Straight jacket)

**Dragon

*Tiger

*Rolling sole butt

*Tiger feint kick

*Top rope head stand evasion followed into a double foot mule kick

**''Atlantinda backbreaker''(**Kneeling Argentina Back breaker, sometimes preceded by a spin)

*Single Leg Boston Crab

Manager

Sonny Onoo

Entrance themes

* "Separados" by Luis Miguel

* "Dragon" by Jim Johnston

Championships and accomplishments

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

:*NWA World Middleweight Championship (2 times) :*Suzuki Cup (2007) - with Kensuke Sasaki & Marco Corleone

Michinoku Pro Wrestling

:*British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*Tohoku Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jinsei Shinzaki

New Japan Pro Wrestling

:*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) :*J-Crown (1 time) :*British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ::*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ::*NWA World Welterweight Championship (2 times) ::*UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 times) :*WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ::*WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ::*WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

:*PWI ranked him # 12 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1997 :*PWI ranked him # 61 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

Toryumon

:*Differ Cup: 2003 :*NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*Yamaha Cup: 2008 – with Yutaka Yoshie

Universal Wrestling Association

:*UWA World Middleweight Championship (5 times) :*UWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)

World Championship Wrestling

:*WCW World Cruiserweight Championship (2 times) :*WCW World Television Championship (2 times)

Wrestle And Romance / Wrestle Association R

:*WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) :*WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nobutaka Araya and Genichiro Tenryu

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

:*Best Wrestling Maneuver (1996) Dragon Bomb :*Most Underrated (2003) :*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)

Notes

References

External links

Official Blog (Japanese)

The Official Website of Ultimo Dragon

Ultimo Dragon's MySpace

Category:1966 births Category:Japanese professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Nagoya Category:Professional wrestling coaches and trainers Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Professional wrestling executives

da:Último Dragón de:Yoshihiro Asai es:Yoshihiro Asai fr:Yoshihiro Asai it:Yoshihiro Asai nl:Yoshihiro Asai ja:ウルティモ・ドラゴン fi:Último Dragón

Coordinates	42°52′30.8″N112°26′50.2″N
Name	Billy Kidman
Names	Billy KidmanKid FlashKidmanEl Technico
Height
Weight
Birth date	May 11, 1974
Birth place	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Billed	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Trainer	Afa Anoa'i
Debut	September 11, 1994 }}

Peter Gruner (born May 11, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, trainer, and wrestling producer, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. Kidman is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and his current workplace of the WWE throughout the late 1990s, early to late 2000s, and now into the early 2010s. He trained the likes of Wade Barrett in Florida Championship Wrestling.

He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ultimately gained fame as a key member of several strong wrestling factions. In addition to being a member of Raven's Flock, he also was a member of the Filthy Animals and later New Blood. As a member of these factions, Gruner participated in memorable rivalries with top WCW names, including Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Rey Mysterio. Kidman wrestled for WCW for many years and won tag team gold with partner and real life friend Mysterio. After leaving the group, he won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship three times. Gruner also met his former wife Torrie Wilson while the two were working in WCW.

Upon WCW's purchase by World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Kidman became a member of the WCW/ECW Alliance faction, and later a successful champion in WWE's Cruiserweight and Tag Team divisions.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Gruner was trained by Afa Anoa'i, one half of the Wild Samoans, and wrestled his first match on September 11, 1994 in Hellertown, Pennsylvania against "Wild Thing" Dan Kallis independent circuit as "Kid Flash". He formed a tag team with Ace Darling known as "Shooting Stars" and they would win the ECWA Tag Team Championship and USWA World Tag Team Championship.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–2001)

Gruner first started wrestling as Billy Kidman for WCW in mid 1996, spending over a year as a cruiserweight jobber with no gimmick. Finally, he was added to Raven's Flock in 1997 as a disheveled street junkie with a gimmick of a heroin addict, constantly scratching his arms, and named his shooting star press maneuver the "Seven Year Itch" to further tie in with the gimmick. Kidman found little personal success with the group and aided Perry Saturn in defeating Raven in a match, thus disbanding the group.

Kidman shed his grungy attire and began performing as a babyface, eventually pinning Juventud Guerrera to win his first Cruiserweight Championship. Guerrera won the belt back a few weeks later, but Kidman regained it at World War 3. Kidman eventually lost the title on an episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'' to Rey Mysterio, Jr. They had a rematch at Spring Stampede, where Mysterio was victorious.

Following this, Mysterio asked Kidman to be his tag team partner in a match for the World Tag Team Championship. Kidman at first declined, as a previous attempt at a tag team between the two did not reach any level of success. The two, however, faced Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko for the titles and succeeded with unwanted aid from Raven and Saturn. The three teams feuded for several weeks, which ended in a three way tag team match for the titles. Chris Kanyon's interference led to the victory for Raven and Saturn. Kidman spent the next several months in assorted feuds. He won the Cruiserweight Championship one more time from Prince Iaukea at a house show, but lost it back to Iaukea 24 hours later. Kidman also defeated Psicosis in a hair vs. mask match, and came close to defeating Jeff Jarrett for the United States Heavyweight Championship. He then entered a short feud with Vampiro.

During this time, Kidman was a part of the WCW face faction, the Filthy Animals, with Mysterio, Konnan, and Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero left the group when he left WCW, and Kidman left the group when they became a heel faction. He later rejoined them when they were faces once more in the last few months of WCW.

Following his first departure from the Filthy Animals, Kidman joined Vince Russo's New Blood faction, taking another heel turn. His gimmick was a young hotshot not wanting to be held back by wrestlers beyond their prime. This led to his biggest feud to date with Hulk Hogan, defeating him in three matches in a row. After the New Blood split up, Kidman became a face once more by entering a feud with Shane Douglas for the affection of his on-screen girlfriend, Torrie Wilson. During the feud, Wilson turned on Kidman. Kidman was legitimately injured in a match at New Blood Rising in August 2000, when in a strap match, Douglas hung Kidman from the neck using the strap, and was forced to take several weeks for to recover.

Following the Douglas feud, Kidman began teaming with Mysterio again. They entered the Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship tournament, but lost in the finals to Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo. On the final episode of ''Nitro'', Kidman and Mysterio won the titles from Skipper and Romeo. That night, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) purchased WCW and Kidman's contract was picked up by the WWF.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2001–2005)

When the WWF purchased WCW, the contract of Gruner (who was still wrestling as Billy Kidman) was one of twenty-five contracts involved in the purchase. When The Invasion storyline commenced, Gruner appeared on WWF television as a tweener for the WCW Alliance faction. In July 2001, Gruner won the Cruiserweight Championship from Gregory Helms in the first televised WCW match on ''SmackDown!''. Kidman then defeated the WWF's Light Heavyweight champion at the time, X-Pac, after a Shooting Star Press at InVasion 2001. Kidman was later sidelined with an injury during the Invasion angle and thus did not have as big of an impact as other WCW superstars. On the October 11 edition of Smackdown, Kidman won the Cruiserweight title back after losing it to X-Pac on an episode of Raw is War in late July.

Kidman turned face after the WCW/ECW Alliance broke up. He was drafted to SmackDown! as part of the brand extension, and in his return match he defeated Tajiri to win his first Cruiserweight Championship under the WWE brand. Tajiri reclaimed the title at Backlash. At Rebellion 2002, Kidman and his real life girlfriend at the time, Torrie Wilson defeated John Cena and Dawn Marie in an intergender tag team match. After the match Torrie and Kidman kissed. Kidman then went on to capture the Cruiserweight Championship for the seventh time (making him the record holder for most Cruiserweight Titles at the time), by defeating Jamie Noble at Survivor Series. Kidman lost the title three months later to Matt Hardy at No Way Out. He spent the next few years as a star attraction in the cruiserweight division, relying solely on his in-ring work and no real gimmick. Later, Kidman was placed with a new tag team partner, Paul London. The team went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from The Dudley Boyz on July 8, 2004. Proving the win was not an upset, they went on to win a rematch for the titles.

The championship run of this face team came to an abrupt end after Kidman turned his back on London. The heel turn played off of a legitimate injury which occurred on an August 24, 2004 taping of ''SmackDown!'', when Gruner's Shooting Star Press had unintentionally caused Chavo Guerrero to suffer a concussion and be taken to the hospital. The next week, Kidman was on the top rope ready to hit the Shooting Star Press, but hesitated, climbed down the turnbuckles, and slowly walked backstage overwhelmed with guilt after injuring Guerrero. London and Kidman fought at No Mercy 2004, where Kidman injured London with a shooting star press, while London was strapped to a stretcher. This completed Kidman's heel turn, blaming the fans for wanting him to be more brutal with his in-ring style. Kidman and Guerrero ended their feud upon Chavo's return, the latter being victorious in the final match. Kidman then competed against London over the Cruisweight title in the coming months. At the start of 2005, Kidman suffered a broken orbital bone, which sidelined him for three months.

Gruner was released from his WWE contract on July 6, 2005. It was rumored that the reason behind his release was the lack of crowd reaction and unintentional injuries he caused, but Gruner later stated in an interview with the UK newspaper ''The Sun'' that it was because he argued with management over their decision to stop booking wrestlers on first class flights overseas. Recently, he has become a trainer for developmental talent in World Wrestling Entertainment's official territory Florida Championship Wrestling, making appearances as a wrestler but as of yet has not rejoined WWE in an official wrestling role.

Independent circuit (2005–2010)

During his first tour of the UK since leaving WWE, Kidman would make a few appearances in independent British promotions. Other than his notable Frontier Wrestling Alliance 3-way match with Jody Fleisch and Jonny Storm, Kidman would also wrestle British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside in a losing effort during a British rules match to determine the first Real Quality Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He also competed in Wales for Alan Ravenhill's Welsh Wrestling at Maesteg Town Hall.

In 2007, Gruner made his International Wrestling Association debut in a match for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ray Gonzalez, which he lost. Gruner also took part in the East Coast Australian "International Assault II" Tour from June 1–3, 2007 wrestling Australian superstars TNT and Mark Hilton, and pinned Bryan Danielson to win the WSW World Heavyweight Championship on the 3rd night in Newcastle.

On July 8, 2007, Kidman teamed up with Sean "X-Pac" Waltman as part of a triple threat match in McAllen, Texas to crown the new NWA World Tag Team Champions. The title was previously vacated by Team 3D after TNA Wrestling officially pulled out of the National Wrestling Alliance. They would lose the match to Karl Anderson and Joey Ryan.

Return to World Wrestling Entertainment (2010-present)

He is currently a trainer for Florida Championship Wrestling, the official training ground for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is now the trainer for Florida Championship Wrestling along with being one of Friday Night Smackdown's and Monday Night Raw's Producers. John Cena mentioned Kidman as a producer on the November 22, 2010 episode of ''Raw''.

Personal life

Gruner grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region, where he graduated from Parkland High School. Gruner was a banker before he started training to be a professional wrestler, and was good friends with Chris Kanyon, whom he met at the Wild Samoan training center in Pennsylvania. Gruner is the cousin of fellow professional wrestler, Mikey Batts.

After being together for four years, Gruner married former WWE Diva, Torrie Wilson on July 11, 2003. They lived together in Tampa, Florida when not traveling. The couple divorced in 2007.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''BK Bomb'' (Lifting sitout spinebuster, sometimes from the second rope)

''Kid Krusher'' (Jumping inverted double underhook facebuster)

Shooting star press (WCW / WWF/E / Independent circuit) / ''Seven Year Itch'' (WCW)

Signature moves

*DDT

Diving bulldog while running up the ring ropes

*Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

Fireman's carry neckbreaker

*Frankensteiner, sometimes from the top rope

''Kid Factor'' (Sitout facebuster, often used as a powerbomb counter)

*Moonsault

*Sidewalk slam

*Slingshot leg drop

*Spin-out powerbomb

*Wheelbarrow suplex

With Rey Mysterio, Jr.

''619'' (Tiger feint kick) by Mysterio into a Shooting Star Press by Kidman

Baseball slide to the groin by Kidman into a Bronco buster by Mysterio

*Catapult by Kidman into a diving hurricanrana by Mysterio

*Double sitout chokeslam

''Nutcracker Suite'' (Kidman holds the opponents legs while Rey performs a ''Droppin' Da Dime'' to their groin)

*Wheelbarrow facebuster (Kidman) / ''Droppin' Da Dime'' (Mysterio) combination

Managers

*Raven

Torrie Wilson

*Tygress

*Dawn Marie

*Lacey Von Erich

Nicknames

:*"The Master of the Shooting Star Press" (WCW / WWF/E)

Entrance themes

*"Rock The World" (WCW)

*"Destroyer" (WCW)

*"Kid Krusher" (WCW / WWF/E)

*"Kidman's Theme" by Jim Johnston (WWE)

*"You Can Run" by Jim Johnston (WWE)

Championships and accomplishments

East Coast Wrestling Association

ECWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ace Darling

ECWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #92 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in PWI 500 in 2004

Revolution Xtreme Wrestling

RXW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Trans–World Wrestling Federation

TWWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)

United States Wrestling Association

USWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ace Darling

World Championship Wrestling

WCW Cruiserweight Championship (3 times)

WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Mysterio, Jr.

WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rey Mysterio, Jr. (1), Konnan (1)

World Series Wrestling

WSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul London

WWF/E Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Worst Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Hulk Hogan

References

External links

Billy Kidman at Bodyslamming.com

WWE Alumni Profile

Billy Kidman on Twitter

Category:1974 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Jewish professional wrestlers Category:Jewish sportspeople Category:Living people Category:Parkland High School (Allentown, Pennsylvania) alumni Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:People from Allentown, Pennsylvania Category:Professional wrestling trainers

da:Billy Kidman de:Billy Kidman es:Billy Kidman fr:Billy Kidman it:Peter Gruner nl:Billy Kidman ja:ビリー・キッドマン pl:Billy Kidman pt:Billy Kidman

Coordinates	42°52′30.8″N112°26′50.2″N
Name	Arn Anderson
Names	Arn AndersonSuper OlympiaMarty Lunde
Height
Weight
Birth date	September 20, 1958
Birth place	Rome, Georgia
Resides	Charlotte, North Carolina
Billed	Minnesota
Trainer	Ted Allen
Debut	January 1982
Retired	August 25, 1997 }}

Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958) better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW. He currently serves as the senior producer for WWE's Raw brand.

Career

Early Career

Lunde began his career in early 1982, spending much of the year wrestling in various independent wrestling companies across the United States. By the middle of 1983, he made his way to Southeastern Championship Wrestling, an NWA affiliated promotion operating out of Tennessee and Alabama. Taking the name of "Super Olympia", Lunde soon became a member of Ron Fuller's Stud Stable before the year was out. Lunde saw success in the tag team ranks by winning the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship three times with Mr. Olympia and once with Buddy Rose throughout 1984. By the end of the year, however, Lunde left the company and joined Mid South Wrestling based out of Shreveport. Lunde's time in Mid South was coming to an end and during a TV taping the Junk Yard Dog mentioned to Bill Watts, the owner of Mid South Wrestling, that Lunde looked like an Anderson. Watts called Jim Crockett and convinced him to book Lunde.

Jim Crockett Promotions / National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1988)

Becoming an Anderson (1984–1985)

Lunde made his way to Jim Crockett, Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling based in the Virginias and the Carolinas. By this time, the company extended its range into Georgia after rival promoter Vince McMahon purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling. There was a strong physical resemblance between Lunde and Ole Anderson, who had achieved legendary status in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic territories as a tag team wrestler. Ole noticed that Lunde's style was a no nonsense approach in the ring and specialized in working over a part of an opponent's body throughout the match, much like Ole himself. Anderson agreed to work with Lunde, helping to hone his capabilities, and re-formed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Lunde replacing Gene Anderson and taking on the name of Arn Anderson. The team quickly became a force in the territory by capturing the NWA National Tag Team Championship in March 1985. Arn and Ole defended the titles throughout the year, with their highest profile match being part of the card for Starrcade '85 on Thanksgiving night. The Crew successfully defended the titles against Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Jack Haynes.

The Four Horsemen (1985–1988)

In the latter half of 1985, the Andersons formed a loose knit alliance with fellow heels Tully Blanchard and Ric Flair, as they began to have common enemies. The foursome frequently teamed together in six and, sometimes, eight man tag matches or interfered in each other's matches to help score a victory or, at least, to prevent each other from losing their titles. The alliance quickly became a force within the territory, working in feuds against some of the biggest stars in the company like Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., the Road Warriors and the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Anderson also saw success as a singles wrestler on January 4, 1986 by winning the vacant NWA Television Championship. Simultaneously, Anderson was still one half of the NWA National Tag Team Champions and, even though Crockett promotions abandoned the National Tag titles in March, Anderson's success as a duo champion elevated his status within the territory. It was also during this time that the Andersons, Blanchard, and Flair began calling themselves Four Horsemen with James J. Dillon serving as the group's manager. Anderson also had a tremendous ability to do interviews to further the storylines he participated in. His ability to improvise in interviews allowed him to coin the "Four Horsemen" moniker for the stable, as he likened their coming to wrestle at an event and the aftermath of their wrath as being akin to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the name stuck. Anderson continued his reign as NWA Television Champion for most of the year, holding the championship for just over 9 months before losing it to Dusty Rhodes on September 9, 1986.

The first real setback with the Horsemen occurred at Starrcade '86 after Anderson and Ole lost a Steel Cage match to The Rock 'n' Roll Express, with Ole getting pinned. The subsequent storyline positioned Ole as the weak link within the team, possibly attributed to his age. Ole's position with the group was only further weakened after he decided to take two months off after Starrcade. After Ole's return in February 1987, the other Horsemen turned on him and threw him out of the group, resulting in Ole incurring numerous attacks over the next several months. Afterwards, Ole was replaced with Lex Luger and the Horsemen resumed their dominance of the company.

Teaming with Tully Blanchard (1987–1988)

As a member of the Horsemen, Anderson continued to be involved in high profile angles within the company. By mid 1987, Anderson and fellow Horsemen Tully Blanchard began regularly competing as a tag team and rose quickly through the tag team ranks. The duo faced the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the NWA World Tag Team Championship on September 29, 1987 and were victorious. This win further solidified the group's dominance in the company as Lex Luger was the reigning NWA United States Heavyweight Champion and Ric Flair spent most of 1987 as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, losing it to Ron Garvin in September, only to regain it at Starrcade '87 on Thanksgiving night. Anderson and Tully continued to feud throughout the rest of the year and first few months of 1988 with the Road Warriors, the Rock 'n' Roll Express and the Midnight Express being their most frequent rivals.

By December 1987, Luger had defected from the Horsemen and began a heated feud with the group, with Ric Flair especially. In early 1988, Luger formed a tag team with Barry Windham and began challenging Anderson and Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The bigger, stronger team of Windham and Luger were eventually successful, winning the titles on March 27, 1988. The reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson and Blanchard regained the titles less than a month later after Barry Windham turned on Luger during their match and joined the Horsemen. Though Anderson and Blanchard were two of the biggest stars in Crockett's company, they were frequently in dispute with Crockett over their pay. Despite the fact that the two, along with the Horsemen, were helping to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the company, they considered themselves to be underpaid. Their last contracted match with the company took place on September 10, 1988 when they dropped the NWA World Tag Team Championship to the Midnight Express before leaving for the WWF.

World Wrestling Federation (1988–1989)

Anderson and Blanchard left Crockett's company to join Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. Upon being named the Brain Busters, the team took Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as their manager and quickly began rising through the tag team ranks, eventually coming to challenge Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship. On July 18, 1989, the Brain Busters won the titles, ending Demolition's historic reign of 478 days; the match would air on the July 29 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. Although they would lose the titles back to Demolition just over three months later, the Brain Busters continued to be a force in the WWF's tag team division.

Return to World Championship Wrestling (1989–2001)

Return (1989–1990)

In December 1989, Anderson left the WWF and went back to his old stomping grounds. Crockett's company was now called World Championship Wrestling and was under the ownership of billionaire mogul Ted Turner. Anderson helped to reform the Horsemen and he quickly found success in the company, winning the NWA World Television Championship an January 2, 1990. Anderson remained the champion almost the entire year before dropping it to Tom Zenk. Zenk's reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson regained the title, having been renamed the WCW World Television Championship on January 14, 1991. His third reign with the title was also considered successful as he held the title a little more than five months before dropping it to "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton on May 19, 1991. Afterwards, Anderson entered the tag team ranks of WCW.

Return to the Tag Team Division (1991–1993)

In the summer of 1991, Anderson formed a tag team with Larry Zbyszko and they called themselves The Enforcers. After competing for several months and moving up in the tag team ranks, they successfully captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship on September 2, 1991. The reign would be short lived, however, as they lost the titles roughly two and a half months later to Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. Anderson and Zbyszko went their separate ways shortly afterward. Anderson quickly rebounded from his split with Zbyszko and formed a tag team with Beautiful Bobby Eaton, a long time friend and best known for his time as one half of the Midnight Express. At this point, they were members of Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance. They quickly moved up the tag team division and were soon a threat to Steamboat and Rhodes. Anderson and Eaton quickly won the titles on January 16, 1992 and defended the titles against all comers for the next four and a half months before losing the titles to The Steiner Brothers in May.

Four Horsemen revival (1993–1994)

In May 1993, Anderson joined Ole Anderson and Ric Flair to re-form the Four Horsemen. Blanchard, who was originally scheduled to be part of the group, failed a drug test and was released from the company. As a replacement, the Horsemen introduced Paul Roma as their newest member. Although athletic and a skilled in-ring competitor, Roma had spent much of his career as a jobber in the WWF. As part of an interview segment for the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD, Triple H stated that he thought the addition of Roma made the membership the weakest in the history of the group, and Arn himself referred to Roma as "a glorified gym rat". Although Anderson and Roma won the WCW World Tag Team Championship in August, the group quickly split and was seen as a dismal failure by WCW.

End of the Line (1994–1997)

Anderson remained a regular, on screen performer in WCW over the next few years. He rejoined Col. Rob Parker's Stud Stable in 1994 with Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck, "Stunning" Steve Austin and Meng. The Stud Stable feuded heavily with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until late 1994 when Terry left. In early 1995, Meng left (eventually to join the Dungeon of Doom).

Anderson played the First Masked man to attack Hulk Hogan at ''Clash of the Champions''.

Anderson went to rejoin Ric Flair. Anderson's last championship run began on January 8, 1995 after winning the WCW World Television Championship. Anderson helped restore the prestige of the title, which he held for just over six months before dropping it to The Renegade. He briefly feuded with long time friend Flair, and was assisted by Brian Pillman in his efforts. However, it was a swerve to reunify the Horsemen with Flair, Anderson, Pillman, and a partner to be named later (who ended up being Chris Benoit).

By the end of 1996, Anderson rarely competed in the ring as years of wear and tear on his body finally started to catch up with him. On the August 25, 1997 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', Anderson formally announced his retirement from the ring. While standing in the ring, surrounded by Ric Flair and newest Horsemen members Steve McMichael and Benoit, Anderson declared that his last official act as the "Enforcer" for the Four Horsemen was to offer his "spot" in the group to Curt Hennig, as he was forced to retire due to extensive neck and upper back injuries. He would work one or two tag matches officially since then, including teaming with David Flair on an episode of ''WCW Thunder'', but his physical involvement was extremely limited in those bouts.

On the September 14, 1998 edition of ''Nitro'', alongside Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit, Anderson ceremoniously reintroduced Ric Flair to WCW after his 12-month hiatus. In doing so, they reformed the Horsemen who then feuded with WCW President Eric Bischoff. Flair would win the presidency of WCW from Bischoff at Uncensored '99 and turn heel in the process. Anderson remained Flair's right-hand man during this time as he attempted to keep Flair's delusional hunger for power at bay.

In 2000, Anderson was a member of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws. Led by Terry Funk, the group of veteran wrestlers battled the revived New World Order. WCW would be purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, ending Anderson's tenure there.

Post retirement

Not long after the closing of WCW, Anderson became a road agent for WWF, renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. He occasionally appears on WWE television trying to, with the help of other WWE management, pull apart backstage brawls. Soon after the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline, Anderson took up color commentary for a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and Buff Bagwell as well as a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match with Billy Kidman and Gregory Helms, which would be his only appearances as a commentator in WWE. He made an appearance on ''Raw'' in 2002 delivering a video to Triple H before he was supposed to renew his wedding vows to then-heel, Stephanie McMahon. Anderson was also assaulted on ''Raw'' by the heel gimmick of The Undertaker leading up the Undertaker vs. then-babyface, Ric Flair match at WrestleMania X8. During that bout, Anderson made a brief in-ring appearance, delivering his signature ''spinebuster'' to The Undertaker. He would later turn heel once again by helping the heel gimmick of Ric Flair in his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, leading to Austin literally urinating on him. Several months later he became a face once again and attempted to help a then-babyface, Flair gain (kayfabe) sole ownership of WWE during a match with the heel gimmick of Vince McMahon, but backed down from a confrontation with Brock Lesnar, who entered the ring to assist McMahon.

Anderson made a special appearance at the October 2006 ''Raw'' Family Reunion special, in which he was in Ric Flair's corner for his match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad. Anderson was in the corner of Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and Ron Simmons at Survivor Series 2006, where the four faced the Spirit Squad, but was ejected from the arena during the match.

On the March 31, 2008 ''Raw'', Anderson came out to say his final goodbye to Ric Flair and thank him for his career. In October of that year, at the No Mercy event, he was backstage congratulating Triple H for retaining the WWE Championship in a match with Jeff Hardy.

During a backstage segment between DX and Guest Host Dusty Rhodes on the August 31, 2009 ''Raw'', Anderson made a brief appearance as the man behind the voice of the skit of the Shockmaster, who was later revealed to actually be Santino Marella. Anderson ran off-camera when he realized he had been spotted by Triple H.

On June 28, 2010 edition of Raw, Anderson came out with Michael Hayes, Mike Rotunda, and Dean Malenko to congratulate Ricky Steamboat because a DVD highlighting his career was to be released the following day. However, the group, along with Jerry Lawler were attacked brutally by the Nexus faction. The next week on the July 5, 2010 edition of RAW, Anderson spoke with WWE Champion Sheamus backstage. Sheamus refused to get involved in the fight with the Nexus or help any of the WWE locker room as he saw them all as threats to his title. He was quoted as saying (referring to the Nexus invasion storyline): "If you don't get together with some of these guys in the locker room and stop the bleeding; a month from now you may just be a great white shark patrolling around an empty mudhole." Sheamus initially laughed off Anderson's advice, but looked to consider it after Anderson left.

Anderson also appeared at the old school Raw, talking to John Morrison with Dean Malenko before the former was attacked by Sheamus. He reappeared two weeks later, congratulating Jerry Lawler for at last getting a shot at the WWE Championship, which he stated was long overdue. Anderson is set to appear in WWE '12, alongside long-time rival Ricky Steamboat.

Personal life

Anderson and his wife Erin have two sons, Barrett Anthony (born 1985) and Brock.

Although he was billed as such at various times, Arn is not related to Gene Anderson, Lars Anderson, Ole Anderson, C.W. Anderson or Ric Flair. He was given the Anderson name and was originally billed as Ole's brother, and then later billed as Ole's nephew, because of his resemblance to Ole in appearance and wrestling style and billed as Ric Flair's cousin. Flair is not related to any of the Andersons, but he is a longtime friend of Arn.

In 1993, Anderson was involved in a brutal stabbing incident during a WCW tour of Europe. On October 26, 1993, in Blackburn, Lancashire, Anderson and Sid Eudy were involved in an argument at a hotel bar. After being sent to their rooms by security chief Doug Dillinger, Eudy later attacked Anderson with a chair leg. A pair of safety scissors was introduced into the brawl by one of the participants, with Eudy receiving four stab wounds and Anderson receiving twenty, losing a pint and a half of blood. The fight was broken up by WCW wrestler Too Cold Scorpio, who was credited with saving Anderson's life. Neither man pressed charges against the other, and British police declined to do so since both men were leaving the country. Eudy was later fired over the incident.

As stated in his biography, in a match in 1994, Arn was thrown into the ring ropes. The top rope broke from the turnbuckle, but he was able to land on his feet. Six months later, the same event happened again, but this time he landed full-force on to the concrete and hit his head, neck, and upper back. He never took time off to heal. As time passed, with no down time, the injuries worsened. In his biography, Anderson states that the first sign of problems was, during a match, his left arm suddenly went numb and unresponsive. Later on, they found a rib, possibly torn away from the spine during the accident, was popping in and out of joint, causing shoulder discomfort and weakness.

Upon seeing his chiropractor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and consulting medical experts in Atlanta, Georgia, the damage was found to be much more severe and surgery was deemed the only option to keep his left arm functioning at all. Surgery occurred in Atlanta in late 1996 (resulting in a left posterior laminectomy of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th cervical bones and a fusion of the 7th cervical and 1st thoracic bones) and was successful in repairing most of the damage, but there does remain some muscle weakness, loss of fine motor control, and loss of muscle mass in his left arm. He spent many weeks in the hospital during that time, crediting his recovery to his wife, his physical therapist, and the fact he did not want his children to be fatherless. However, he would be readmitted in March 1997 with symptoms akin to cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure, but was released soon afterwards.

In July 1997, while working out, a friend saw him at a gym and gave him a hearty slap on the back (he recounts this in his retirement speech). He dropped the water bottle he was carrying and could not regain use of his left arm for several hours. He realized that to step back in the ring and take another injury to the neck could leave him paralyzed or worse. Hence, his retirement and subsequent speech on WCW programming.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

DDT

Spinning spinebuster

Signature moves

*Chinlock

Figure four leglock

''Gourdbuster'' (Inverted suplex slam)

*Hammerlock

*Jawbreaker

*Knee drop

*Left-handed knockout punch

*Snapmare

With Tully Blanchard

*Spike piledriver

Nicknames

"Double A"

"The (Original) Enforcer"

Managers

*Ole Anderson

*Nancy Daus

*James J. Dillon

*Paul Ellering

*Ron Fuller

*Jimmy Hart

*Michael Hayes

*Bobby Heenan

*Paul Heyman

Col. Robert Parker

Championships and accomplishments

Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling

NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ole Anderson

NWA ''(Mid-Atlantic)''/WCW World Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Tully Blanchard (2), Larry Zbyszko (1), Bobby Eaton (1), and Paul Roma (1)

NWA/WCW World Television Championship (4 times)

'''Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*PWI ranked him #8 of the 500 best wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991.

*PWI Feud of the Year (1987) Four Horsemen vs. Super Powers and the Road Warriors

*PWI Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Tully Blanchard

*PWI Tag Team of the Year (1991) with Larry Zbyszko

*PWI Stanley Weston Award (1997)

PWI ranked him #62 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Jerry Stubbs (3) and Pat Rose (1)

World Wrestling Federation

WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tully Blanchard

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*5 Star Match (1992) with Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko vs. Nikita Koloff, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes (May 17, WarGames match, WrestleWar)

*Best on Interviews (1990)

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Ric Flair, Meng, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta and The Ultimate Solution vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, WCW Uncensored, Towers of Doom match, Tupelo, MS, March 24

References

Books

Autobiography: Anderson, Arn. ''Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain''. Kayfabe Pub Group, 1998

External links

Arn Anderson Tribute Site

WWE Alumni profile of Arn Anderson

Category:1958 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Rome, Georgia Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Survivors of stabbing

da:Arn Anderson de:Arn Anderson es:Martin Lunde fr:Arn Anderson it:Martin Lunde nl:Arn Anderson ja:アーン・アンダーソン pt:Arn Anderson simple:Arn Anderson