Please note that this biography was initially written around 2001.


Benoit was the master of the flying headbutt and is known just about everywhere as the
Canadian Crippler.  He also uses the devastating Crippler Crossface submission hold.  
Benoit stands 5’10’’ and hails originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  He trained for his
professional debut in Stu Hart’s famous “Dungeon” in Calgary and made his debut early in
1986.  For several years, he wrestled in the Stampede Organization with trips to both Japan
and Mexico.  Benoit beat Johnny Smith for the British Commonwealth Title in Calgary on
January 13, 1989.  In April, he teamed with Beef Wellington to win that region’s International
Tag Title in his hometown with a win over Makhan and Vulkan Singh.

Benoit’s career took a turn when he was involved in an automobile accident on July 4th in
Jasper, Alberta.  Benoit suffered an injured right knee.  Showing his true grit, he wrestled
several days later in Grand Prairie.  Wrestling with injuries would prove to be a constant in his
career and he has always been praised for his actions.  Benoit regained the Commonwealth
Belt from Smith on July 8th, but lost it nearly a month later on August 4th to Gama Singh in
Calgary.

He ventured to the Orient and donned a mask as the Pegasus Kid.  Shortly after his arrival,
Benoit made history when he beat Jushin Liger for the IWGP World Junior Title.  The match
was held in Tokyo on August 19, 1990.  He teamed with Bad News Brown on October 25th in
Maebashi to beat Mr. Saito and Osamu Kido.  On the first of November, Liger regained the
Junior Title at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo.  Benoit’s high-flying abilities and technical
knowledge was very well respected overseas.

During the ’80s and early ’90s, Benoit’s scientific abilities and those wrestlers who shared
much of the same ability were finding it hard to land a top notch in a major U.S. wrestling
promotion.  Those organizations were basing their rosters basically on size and not skill.  On
July 4, 1991, Benoit lost a mask vs. mask contest to Liger in Fukuoki, Japan at the Gym.  The
Pegasus Kid was revealed.  In December 1991 and into early 1992, Benoit was back in
Calgary trying to restart the Stampede Promotion with other regional and continental stars.  
He also would have a short stay in WCW before returning to Japan as the Wild Pegasus.

On April 16, 1994, he won the Super Junior Cup Tournament Final over Great Sasuke in
Tokyo’s Sumo Hall.  Many of his matches during that tournament were bragged about
through many of wrestling’s “insiders.” Tapes were traded based on those words.  During the
summer, Benoit traveled to Philadelphia and signed with the National Wrestling Alliance’s
Eastern Championship Wrestling.  The NWA World Heavyweight Title had laid dormant since
September 1993.  Tod Gordon, ECW President, in accordance with the remaining Alliance
Promoters decided that on August 27, 1994 in Philadelphia, an eight-man tournament would
determine a new champion.

Benoit was one of eight men assigned to the single-elimination tourney.  With him were Dean
Malenko, Shane Douglas, 911, Doink the Clown, 2 Cold Scorpio, Tazmaniac and Osamu
Nishimura.  He locked up with Scorpio in the first round.  Benoit wrestled a clean match, but
was beaten and eliminated.  Scorpio went to the finals and lost to Douglas.  After the final bell
rang, Douglas was handed the NWA Championship Belt.  During his acceptance speech, the
new champion altered the course of history.  Douglas declared the Alliance dead and
pronounced himself the first Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion.  
ECW had separated from the NWA and become it’s own respected entity.

Benoit entered a feud with a feared competitor, Sabu.  On October 1, 1994, Benoit beat
Sabu after the referee stopped action.  A rematch was scheduled for November 5th in
Philadelphia.  An estimated 1,000 fans watched the highly touted bout turn into one of the
sport’s most horrific moments.  Sabu nearly broke his neck executing a move after only
several minutes of quick wrestling.  The match was stopped and he was carried from the
ring.  2 Cold Scorpio went to the ring as Benoit’s new opponent.  The two battled to a double-
countout.  Sabu did not suffer any real serious damage and returned almost immediately.  
The “Crippler” label was attached to Benoit’s name.

On January 7th, Benoit teamed with Dean Malenko and Public Enemy in a loss to 911, Sabu
and Taz at the ECW Arena.  He met another technically sound athlete, Al Snow on February
4th and won by pinfall.  Benoit found a stable tag partner in Malenko and the two directed
their talents towards the ECW World Tag Title.  On February 25, 1995, the duo won the belts
from Tazmaniac and Sabu.  They lost the title on April 8th at the ECW Arena to Rocco Rock
and Johnny Grunge.  The match was a special three-way dance which also included Taz and
Rick Steiner.

Benoit had the honor of wrestling on both nights of the Pyongyang Sports Festival in North
Korea on April 28th and 29th.  He lost to Hiroshi Hase on the first night before 150,000 fans
and than beat 2 Cold Scorpio on the second before 170,000 fans, the two largest audiences
in pro-wrestling history.  Benoit went to Japan and participated in the Super Junior Cut
Tournament.  On June 13, 1995, he beat Shinjiro Ohtani to win his second straight
tournament.

Later in the year, Benoit signed with World Championship Wrestling along with several other
top mat names.  In fact, all of them went from ECW to WCW.  The list of names included
Benoit, Malenko, Sabu and Eddy Guerrero.  Upon arrival, Benoit was recruited into the Four
Horsemen with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman.  He lost to Jushin Liger during the
Starrcade pay-per-view on December 27th in Nashville.  Despite the loss, the Horsemen had
a banner night.  Flair beat Randy Savage to regain the WCW World Title.  On January 1,
1996, Benoit lost to Lord Steven Regal after missing a headbutt from the top rope.  Anderson
also dropped a match on the card and afterwards, Pillman had words for both.  The group
nearly came to blows with the Dungeon of Doom, a heel group led by Kevin Sullivan.  Benoit
joined Anderson and Pillman in their attack of Hulk Hogan during the latter’s main event
contest with Flair for the World Title.  Flair retained and the Horsemen escaped intact.  Benoit
took an important victory from Alex Wright on January 8th.

During the February 5th edition of Nitro, he saw Woman walk to the ring with Randy Savage.  
By the end of the bout, Woman was back in the Horsemen’s corner.  Benoit did lose the
match by disqualification, but the Horsemen had the last laugh.  During the spring, Pillman
left the organization and the team of four were down to three.  Benoit was forced to team with
a longtime rival, Kevin Sullivan in the Lethal Lottery Tag Team Tournament on May 19th in
Baton Rouge.  The two were defeated by the Public Enemy in the opening round.  Their
teaming culminated into a brutal feud.  Benoit beat Sullivan during the Great American Bash
on June 16th in a special falls-count-anywhere match.

It was a big win, but the war was not yet over.  Later in the night, former Chicago Bear NFL
Star, Steve McMichael proved to be the new fourth Horsemen by turning on his tag partner.  
Benoit was on hand when Arn Anderson was attacked by the Outsiders on July 29, 1996,
backstage during a live Nitro broadcast.  While tending to the downed athletes, Benoit nearly
got into a scrap with Meng.  At Hog Wild, he battled a former tag partner, Dean Malenko on
August 10th in Sturgis.  The two went to a draw before officials allowed the contest to
continue.  Benoit beat his opponent after Woman interfered.  Prior to the Clash in Denver on
August 15th, he signed to meet the largest man in the promotion, The Giant.  Benoit lost to
the former WCW Champion by pinfall.  Several days later on August 19th during Nitro, he
wrestled and beat Earl Robert Eaton.

Benoit met Chris Jericho on September 15th at Fall Brawl and got another victory, continuing
his hot streak.  The next night on Nitro, Benoit teamed with McMichael against Lex Luger and
Sting, who failed to appear and forced his partner to wrestle solo.  He was caught in Luger’s
torture rack prior to Anderson and Flair’s attack.  Anderson DDT’d Luger and the Horsemen
once again left their mark.  Benoit began to team more and more with McMichael.  At the
MGM Grand in Vegas on October 27th, the duo beat Meng and the Barbarian in a tag
match.  Woman began accompanying Benoit to the ring.  He wrestled Jeff Jarrett, a
newcomer to the organization, and lost to him at Starrcade.  Sullivan ran out and attacked
him with a chair, helping Double J get the victory.  The feud was reignited.

Dissension within the Horsemen came to a head on January 13, 1997 during Nitro.  Benoit
was wrestling Jarrett in a rematch when he was mistakenly hit by a briefcase wielded by
McMichael.  Afterwards, the two had words and Anderson had to step in to break them up.  
Debra McMichael also had strong words for Woman.  Later in the night, Benoit failed to
support Anderson in his bout with Rick Steiner.  The Horsemen, a group based on unity and
strength in numbers, was now fractured possibly beyond repair.  Benoit wrestled Sullivan
during the January 20th Nitro and was beaten.  Two nights later at the Clash in Milwaukee, he
gained some revenge with a falls-count-anywhere victory.  The two wrestled once again at
the SuperBrawl PPV in February.  Benoit beat Sullivan in a special San Francisco Death
Match.

For War Games on March 16th, he joined McMichael, Jarrett and Roddy Piper against Team
NWO and Team WCW.  It was a wild match, but the Horsemen were not victorious.  On April
6th in Tupelo, Benoit received a U.S. Title Match with Dean Malenko.  He lost the match and
Sullivan was there once again, this time with a weapon.  The battle continued, even where it
seemed like it shouldn’t.  The hatred was boiling over once again.  They even took their war
overseas to Japan.  On April 12, 1997 in Tokyo, Benoit pinned Sullivan.  At the May pay-per-
view back in the U.S., Benoit wrestled Meng and lost when he passed out while locked in a
nervehold.  On June 15th, he beat Meng in a return bout by submission.  Benoit finally put
the long-lasting feud with Kevin Sullivan to rest when he forced him to retire on July 13th at
the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL.  He received some outside help from Jacquelyn to
win the retirement match.

In Sturgis at Road Wild, Benoit and McMichael teamed to beat Jarrett and Malenko in a
special elimination match.  Anderson retired during the fall and asked Curt Hennig to replace
him in the Horsemen.  Hennig agreed and the group stood as Flair, Hennig, McMichael and
Benoit.  The four were scheduled to meet the members of the New World Order in a War
Games contest on September 14th in Winston-Salem, North Carolina…Horsemen Country.  
Hennig showed his true colors when he turned against the Horsemen and helped the NWO
win.  Benoit was handcuffed inside the cage along with McMichael by Hennig as Flair’s head
was slammed with the steel door.  Flair bled profusely and the Horsemen had once again
been stabbed in their collective hearts.

Benoit wrestled Eddy Guerrero on October 28th in Phoenix on Nitro.  Debra and Steve
McMichael joined Woman at ringside for Benoit during the contest and Steve used his silver
suitcase to bash Guerrero in the ribs.  Benoit scored the winning pin and the group walked
out victorious.  In early December, Benoit wrestled Steven Regal during the U.S. Title
Tournament.  The December 2nd match in Dayton saw Regal busted open early on and
eventually get pinned.  He gave an interview with Arn Anderson and Debra and Steve
McMichael.  Benoit was later eliminated from the tourney.  On January 5, 1998 in Atlanta,
Perry Saturn and Scotty Riggs upset Benoit and McMichael before a large crowd.  Later in
the month at Souled Out, Benoit wrestled Raven in a match which saw the Flock banned from
ringside.  He won by submission, forcing his opponent to tap out to his crossface.  Members
of the Flock attempted to attack him afterwards, but Dean Malenko ran out and made the
save.

Scott Norton, who was accompanied by Vincent, pinned him on March 19th in Terra Haute.  
Benoit teamed with Dallas Page to beat Raven and Saturn on March 25th in Baltimore.  He
called for Rick Rude to come down to the ring area in Colorado Springs on April 20th before
his match with Curt Hennig on Nitro.  Rude did and eventually interfered, causing Hennig’s
disqualification and his victory.

Benoit won his first WCW championship on April 30th in Augusta.  During Thunder, he beat
Booker T for the World Television Title.  The win began a streak of wins and losses for the
TV Title.  On the other hand, it also began a scientific feud with Booker which would captivate
audiences all across the country.  Benoit lost the belt the next night in Greenville, but
regained it from the former Harlem Heat member on the 2nd of May in Charleston, South
Carolina.  Booker won it back on May 3rd in Savannah.  The next day on Nitro, Dave Finlay
took the belt from the champ in Indianapolis, ending the war over the title.  The battles
between Booker and Benoit were going to continue, though.  On May 11th in Kansas City,
Benoit brawled with Booker after Finlay defeated an opponent and retained the TV Title.

J.J. Dillon quickly ran out and announced that both Benoit’s and Booker’s singles matches
for later in the night were cancelled.  Also that they were going to fight each other, to a finish
and that the winner would face Finlay at Slamboree for the belt.  Benoit beat his foe and
gained the future title shot.  On May 17th in Worcester, Finlay beat him and retained the
crown.  The Crippler engaged in a best-of-eight series with Booker to finally determine the
number-one contender to the TV Title.  The two fought gallantly through six matches with a
final set for June 11, 1998 in Buffalo.  Prior to the final match, Eric Bischoff and Bret Hart
invited Benoit to join the NWO Black and White.  Hart reminded him that he helped train
Benoit in Calgary and about his father Stu, the Dungeon and the Hart Family.  The stroll
down memory lane did not faze Benoit.  He walked past the two to the ring and fought the
final match with Booker.  During the contest, Bret Hart used a steel chair on Booker behind
the ref’s back.  Hart left the ring only to see Benoit inform Nick Patrick to what had
happened.  Booker was awarded the match by disqualification and he had seemingly lost his
chance at the TV Title at the Great American Bash on June 14th.  Officials rematched Booker
and Benoit at the Bash to finally settle the dispute.

Booker T went on to beat Benoit and eventually regained the TV Title.  The next night on
Nitro from Uniondale, Benoit forced Finlay to submit before calling Booker down to the ring.  
Gene Okerlund was there with a microphone to record their conversation.  Benoit told Booker
that he respected him and held up his hand in victory over their great series of eight
matches.  Before the scene was over, Stevie Ray, Booker’s brother, had attacked him.  
McMichael ran out to make the save and Benoit reconfessed his loyalty to the Four
Horsemen.  Benoit and McMichael teamed in Orlando on June 24th to beat Alex Wright and
Disco Inferno.  Earlier in the card, Benoit had a taped discussion with Arn Anderson about
the current status of the Horsemen.

At Souled Out on January 17, 1999 in Charleston, Benoit forced Mike Enos to submit to his
crossface.  Also in early 1999, Benoit reformed a tag team with Dean Malenko and entered
the vacant WCW World Tag Title Tournament.  On Sunday Night, February 21st at
SuperBrawl, Malenko and Benoit wrestled Curt Hennig and Barry Windham.  One of the two
teams was going to leave the arena as the new champs in the special double-elimination
tournament.  Malenko forced Windham to submit to his Texas Clover Leaf, but the two would
be matched again in a second bout because it was only Windham and Hennig’s first loss.  
Windham pinned Malenko immediately after the thirty seconds between the two matches and
won the belts.

Benoit and Malenko gained revenge on March 14th in Louisville by winning the title at
Uncensored before an estimated 15,000 fans.  Later in the month, Rey Misterio Jr. and Billy
Kidman won the championship in Toronto during Nitro.  Benoit and Malenko beat Perry
Saturn and Raven on April 11, 1999 in Tacoma during the Spring Stampede show.  The duo
entered a three-way match for the tag straps on May 9th in St. Louis against Raven and
Saturn and Kidman and Misterio Jr.  Raven and Saturn took the belts.  A partnership with
Saturn grew during the summer and the two won the WCW Tag Title on June 10th from the
Triad.  They lost the belts three nights later at the Great American Bash, back to Dallas Page
and Kanyon.  Later in the summer, Benoit, Malenko and Saturn joined Shane Douglas to
form the Revolution and although it seemed that the group would be headed for nothing but
gold, the quartet struggled for the limelight.

Benoit did win the U.S. Heavyweight Title from David Flair in Nampa, Idaho on August 9th
during Nitro.  Sid Vicious beat him for the belt on September 12th before an estimated 5,000
fans in Winston-Salem, NC.  He didn’t fall too far down the ladder.  The next night he won his
third TV Title from Rick Steiner in Chapel Hill.  Benoit gave Steiner a rematch in Vegas at
Halloween Havoc and dropped the belt after Dean Malenko interjected and helped the
challenger.

He wrestled Bret Hart in a special “Owen Hart Memorial” match on October 4, 1999 in
Kansas City, Missouri at the Kemper Arena.  Owen Hart had died several months earlier in
the same arena.  The match was an instant classic and was heralded as one of the best of
the last decade.  Benoit was forced to submit while caught in Hart’s sharpshooter.  A week
later in Biloxi, Benoit teamed with Hart against Rick Steiner and Lex Luger.  

During the winter of ’99, the WCW World Heavyweight Title was declared vacant and a
tournament was sponsored to determine a new champion.  Benoit entered and successfully
made it to the semifinals on pay-per-view at Mayhem.  The date was November 21st in
Toronto and Benoit wrestled and beat Jeff Jarrett to advance.  His finals opponent was none
other than Bret Hart.  The two competed in another classic.  Hart pinned him and won the
belt.  Scott Hall was unable to defend his claim to the U.S. Title against Benoit on December
19th in Washington DC at Starrcade.  Officials declared the title vacant and arranged for it to
be put up in a ladder match between Benoit and Jarrett later in the night.  He beat Jarrett in a
memorable contest and won the title.

The next night in Baltimore, he dropped the title in a rematch with Jarrett.  He soon put aside
his aspirations to be the United States Champion and began to look towards the World Title.  
The top tier of WCW seemed to be crumbling down and injuries were playing a big part.  The
Goldberg-Hart situation was getting more and more confusing.  Finally, in January 2000,
Benoit and Sid Vicious were named the top two contenders to the World Title.  The two
battled on January 16th in Cincinnati at Souled Out for the vacant championship.  Benoit
forced Vicious to submit and won his first World Heavyweight Title.

The following day on Nitro, he decided not to appear and left WCW for the WWF.  Fans were
stunned.  Benoit was not the only one to leave.  Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry
Saturn joined him on January 31st in Pittsburgh during a live edition of Raw.  The four
“Radicals” sat ringside and it wasn’t long before they were throwing punches with the WWF’s
athletes.  On the first match of the telecast, the four were surprisingly attacked by Jesse
James Armstrong, co-holder of the WWF World Tag Title along with Billy Gunn.  The New
Age Outlaws had been facing Al Snow and Steve Blackman in the ring.  Benoit and his mates
jumped the barrier and battled both Armstrong and Gunn.  Instead of sitting back down to
enjoy the show, the group walked to the dressing room area and later stated that they had
been invited to the show by Mick Foley.  Each of the four newcomers would soon be making
big waves in their new environment.

Benoit, Malenko and Saturn lost a six-way contest to Too Cool and Rikishi on February 27,
2000 in Hartford.  It was their first WWF PPV.  On Sunday, April 2nd at WrestleMania, Benoit
wrestled Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle for the latter’s two belts.  Angle was holding both the
Intercontinental and European Titles simultaneously when officials scheduled him in the three-
way dance with both titles on the line.  He pinned Jericho to capture Angle’s I-C Title and
Jericho pinned Benoit for Angle’s European Title.  Benoit lost the Intercontinental Title in
Richmond on May 2nd to Jericho, but he regained it six days later in Uniondale.  Triple H had
been the special referee for the return match and it had been Jericho’s third match that
evening.

Benoit beat Jericho by submission on May 21st in Louisville at Judgment Day.  On May 25th,
he appeared in Cincinnati for the 3rd Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Card and wrestled
Steven Regal.  The two put on a spectacular wrestling performance and was the highlight of
the show.  The Benoit-Regal contest is still talked about today.  Rikishi upset him for the
Intercontinental Title on June 20, 2000 in Memphis.  He entered the King of the Ring and
successfully advanced through the bracketing to the quarterfinals on pay-per-view.  Benoit
wrestled Rikishi on June 25th in Boston but went crazy on his opponent and was disqualified.  
He forced the WWF World Champion, The Rock to submit on July 10, 2000 during Raw.  
Shane McMahon, who had attacked the original referee and put on the official’s shirt,
stopped the match.  After a wild brawl, the match was thrown out.  Some fans were
astonished by Benoit’s wrestling ability and pegged him to be the next World Champ.

Many of the sport’s pundits shook their heads in agreement.  Benoit beat Jericho in a two-of-
three-falls match on August 27th at SummerSlam.  He took the first fall by submission and
then the third by pin.  At Unforgiven in Philadelphia, Benoit entered a four-way match for the
WWF World Title.  The Rock pinned him to retain.  During the bout, Benoit thought he had
won the WWF Title after pinning the Undertaker and actually had left the ring area with the
belt.  The match was forced to continue.  Benoit lost a classic match to Hunter Hearst
Helmsley on October 22nd at No Mercy.  The next night, he beat Jesse James Armstrong by
submission with his crossface.  The Radicals reteamed in a Survivor Series match at the
annual show in Tampa on November 19th against the New Age Outlaws, K-Kwick and Chyna.  
Benoit remained at the end along with Saturn to win the bout.

The WWF ventured overseas and sponsored a pay-per-view on December 2nd in Great
Britain.  Benoit wrestled and lost to the Undertaker.  Upon return back to North America,
another televised pay broadcast was held on December 10th entitled Armageddon.  Benoit
challenged Billy Gunn for the Intercontinental Title.  It was that night he beat the champ by
submission and won his third I-C Championship.  Jericho was named the top contender and
received a shot at Benoit during the Royal Rumble.  The two competitors wrestled an
amazing bout.  Benoit was beaten and the title was lost.  On February 25, 2001, Benoit met
Jericho again, but this time in a four-way match for the belt.  Jericho prevailed.  Eddy
Guerrero and X-Pac were the other contestants.  Benoit entered a lengthy feud with Olympic
Gold Medallist, Kurt Angle.

On April Fools Day ’01 in Houston, nearly 70,000 fans packed the Reliant Astrodome for
WrestleMania XVII.  Benoit wrestled Angle in the first of several PPV matches they would have
during the year and it was a scientific classic.  Angle beat him by pin but both were praised
for their efforts.  In Chicago on April 29th, round two was held.  It was a special Iron-Man
Submission Match.  Benoit and Angle wrestled more than 30-minutes and ended with four
wins for Benoit to his opponent’s three.  The two dueled again with two-of-three-falls as the
stipulation on May 20th in Sacramento.  Benoit won the initial, but lost the second and then
the final.  Edge and Christian appeared and helped Angle get the victory.  The Canadian
Crippler also teamed with Chris Jericho in the Tag Team Turmoil Tournament.

After beating X-Factor and the team who interfered in his singles bout, Benoit and Jericho
became the number one contenders to the WWF World Tag Title, which was being held by
Steve Austin and Triple H.  The next night in San Jose, fans witnessed one of the biggest
upsets of the year.  To others, they witnessed the rise of two of the organization’s hardest
working wrestlers.  Benoit and Jericho beat Austin and Helmsley for the WWF Tag Title.  
Because of the win, both athletes were elevated into the top tier of the WWF.  It wasn’t long
before they were challenged by every tag team in sight.  Christian and Edge, The Hardy Boys
and The Dudley Boys joined Benoit and Jericho in a special tables, ladders and chairs match
on May 24th.  During the brutal contest, Benoit used his patented headbutt from inside of the
ring out.  Instead of hitting his intended target, he went through a table and laid motionless.  
Paramedics rushed the scene and carried him from the match.  His partner was forced to go
it alone.  Benoit did return, and commentators noted that he had suffered broken ribs.  
Despite the injury, he was there for the fight and in the end, he was able to retrieve the gold
and the champs retained.  It was another amazing performance by Benoit and as a team with
Jericho, they were fast proving that they could not be stopped no matter what the
circumstances.

In Calgary on May 28th, Benoit and Jericho both announced that they wanted a shot at
Steve Austin’s World Title.  Vince McMahon agreed to give one of them a shot, but they had
to first compete in a qualifying match.  The wrestler who performed the best would receive the
opportunity in the main event.  Benoit would be wrestling former ECW World Champion,
Rhyno and Jericho would be wrestling the Hardcore Champion, Big Show.  In his bout, Benoit
won by submission.  Jericho beat Show and won the Hardcore Title, but immediately
afterwards, he was attacked by Rhyno and lost the title.  McMahon picked Benoit and the
match was scheduled for later in the show.  An obviously biased Canadian Crowd cheered
their man as he walked to the ring for introductions.  The man who had training Benoit was
also in the audience, Stu Hart, as well as members of the legendary Hart Family.  McMahon
joined Austin in his corner.  November 1997 in Montreal seemed like a distant memory to
some, but everything came back to the forefront that night in Alberta.  The bout was filled with
controversy and McMahon had a say in the finish, as he called for the bell after Austin had
locked Benoit in a crossface.  Benoit hadn’t given up,  but it didn’t matter as in the books it
would forever read “Austin by submission.” Benoit and Jericho had the last laugh and gave
the fans something to cheer about as they applied their finishers on both Austin and
McMahon in the ring.  The two heels clearly gave up.

The next night during a Smackdown Taping, Benoit received a second match with Austin.  
Seemingly on schedule, McMahon joined he fracas, but it was Austin who caught Benoit off
guard and scored the victory.  For the second time in two nights, he has lost his chance to
become the ninth man in history to win both the WCW and WWF World Titles.  Throughout
the month of June, the Jericho-Benoit-Austin feud heated up, preparing the fans for a three-
way encounter at the King of the Ring.  The WCW Invasion was also beginning, as several
members of that organization did run ins at various times.  On June 14th, Benoit and Jericho
successfully defended their tag straps against Christian and Edge on a taped Smackdown.

A six-man tag team main event was scheduled to headline the June 18th Raw in Tampa.  
Benoit teamed with Jericho and Spike Dudley to beat Austin and the Dudley Boys.  Austin
was forced to submit to a crossface and a victory was awarded.  The following night across I-
4 in Orlando, the Dudley Boys captured the WWF World Tag Title.  Austin once again
appeared and ended up costing Benoit and Jericho the belts.  The King of the Ring pay-per-
view was held the following Sunday on June 24th.  Both Benoit and Jericho challenged Austin
for the WWF World Title.  Commentators remarked that rumors were circulating that possibly
if Benoit or Jericho won, they would defect to World Championship Wrestling with the title.  
Austin pinned Benoit to win.  Booker T, an old Benoit foe, interjected in the contest by
attacking Stone Cold on the outside of the ring.

After the show, Benoit was announced with having a serious injury.  He had sustained a
blocked nerve in his C7 vertebrae and would need immediate surgery.  Benoit would be out
for an extended period of time.  The WWF was losing another one of it’s top stars.  In July
and into August, WCW formed an alliance with ECW in an attempt to run the WWF off the
map.  Benoit had ties in both renegade organizations and many speculated just where he
was going to go once he returned.  Maybe it was time to remind everyone that he never lost
the WCW World Title.

In November 2001, the “Alliance” was defeated and the WWF thrived on.  Benoit joined
several others a few months later to promote a future tour of Asia.



Championships and accomplishments from Wikipedia

* Cauliflower Alley Club
    o Future Legend Award (2002)
* Catch Wrestling Association
    o CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dave Taylor
* Extreme Championship Wrestling
    o ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dean Malenko
* New Japan Pro Wrestling
    o IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    o Super J Cup (1994)
    o Top/Best of the Super Juniors (1993, 1995)
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    o PWI Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Triple H
    o PWI Match of the Year (2004) vs. Shawn Michaels and Triple H at WrestleMania XX
    o PWI Wrestler of the Year (2004)
    o PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004
    o PWI ranked him #69 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
* Stampede Wrestling
    o Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
    o Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Ben
          Bassarab (1), Keith Hart (1), Lance Idol (1), and Biff Wellington (1)
    o Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
* Universal Wrestling Association
    o WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* World Championship Wrestling
    o WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
    o WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    o WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Dean Malenko (1) and Perry
          Saturn (1)
    o WCW World Television Championship (3 times)
* World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
    o World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    o WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kurt Angle
    o WWE United States Championship (3 times)
    o WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (4 times)
    o WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Jericho (1) and Edge
          (2)
    o Royal Rumble (2004)
    o Twelfth Triple Crown Champion
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
    o 5-Star Match (1994) vs. Great Sasuke at Super J Cup
    o Best Brawler (2004)
    o Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Triple H and Shawn Michaels
    o Best Technical Wrestler (1994, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2004)
    o Most Underrated (1998)
    o Most Outstanding Wrestler (2000, 2004)
    o Match of the Year (2002) with Kurt Angle vs. Edge and Rey Mysterio
    o Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1997, 2000)
    o Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003)






Research by Tim Hornbaker
Chris Benoit Wrestling History
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