Chris Benoit - WikiHQ

Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler who worked for various promotions during his 22-year career. Despite his accomplishments, he is more generally known for murdering his wife and youngest son before committing suicide.

Bearing the nicknames The (Canadian) Crippler alongside The Rabid Wolverine throughout his career, Benoit held 30 championships between the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW – all United States), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW – Japan), and Stampede Wrestling (Canada). Benoit was a two-time world champion, having reigned as a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was booked to win the ECW World Championship at Vengeance: Night of Champions, which was held the night of his death. Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and the seventh WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the second of four men in history to achieve both the WWE and the WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the 2004 Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels and preceding Edge as one of the three men to win the Royal Rumble match as the number one entrant. Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for WWF/WWE, including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event of WrestleMania XX in March 2004.

In a three-day double-murder and suicide, Benoit murdered his wife in their residence on June 22, 2007, and his 7-year-old son the next day, before killing himself on June 24. The incident profoundly shocked and changed the professional wrestling industry and drew intense media criticism regarding brain injuries, substance abuse, and the long-term health of athletes in contact sports. Subsequent research undertaken by the Sports Legacy Institute (now the Concussion Legacy Foundation) suggested that depression and advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition of brain damage, from repeated legitimate strikes to the head that Benoit had sustained throughout his pro-wrestling career were likely contributing factors of the crimes. Benoit has been renowned by many for his exceptional technical wrestling ability. Prominent combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer considers Benoit "one of the top 10, maybe even [in] the top five, all-time greats" in professional wrestling history. Benoit was inducted into the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2003. His WON induction was put to a re-vote in 2008 to determine if Benoit should remain a member of their Hall of Fame. The threshold percentage of votes required to remove Benoit was not met. While arguments have been made by a number of pro-wrestling fans and industry alumni for Benoit to one day enter the WWE Hall of Fame on account of his in-ring work, the overwhelming opinion from the majority of industry veterans is that the nature of Benoit's death disqualifies him from a posthumous induction.

Early life

Benoit was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Michael and Margaret Benoit. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, from where he was billed throughout the bulk of his career.

During his childhood and early adolescence in Edmonton, Benoit idolized Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington and Bret Hart; at twelve years old, he attended a local wrestling event at which the two performers "stood out above everyone else". 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, and with a recommendation from Bad News Allen, Benoit departed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1986–1999)

Upon arriving to 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 matches with luminaries like Jushin Thunder 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 Thunder 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,

At November to 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 possibility that he might have paralysed someone.

This onscreen relationship developed into a real-life affair offscreen. As a result, Sullivan and Benoit had a contentious backstage relationship at best, and an undying hatred for each other at worst. 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 continued for over the course of a year with Sullivan having his enforcers apprehend Benoit in a multitude of matches. This culminated 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.

thumb|right|upright|Benoit in 1999

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. One last attempt in January 2000 was made to try to 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 WCW the next day alongside his friends Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn, forfeiting his title in the process. However, the WWF recognized Benoit's title win, and Benoit's title reign is still listed in the title lineage at WWE.com. Benoit spent the next few weeks in Japan before heading to the WWF, who acknowledged his WCW World Heavyweight Championship win and presented him as a former world champion.

World Wrestling Federation / Wrestling Entertainment (2000–2007)

The Radicalz (2000–2001)

thumb|upright=1|Benoit was disqualified from the [[2000 King of the Ring for using a chair against Rikishi.]]

Benoit joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) near the end of its Attitude Era. Along with Guerrero, Saturn and Malenko, Benoit debuted in 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. At WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, Benoit pinned Chris Jericho in a triple threat match to win Kurt Angle's WWF Intercontinental Championship. In Benoit's first WWF pay-per-view main events, he challenged The Rock for the WWF Championship at Fully Loaded on July 23 and in a fatal four-way match at Unforgiven on September 24. On both occasions Benoit appeared to have won the title, only to have the decision reversed by then-WWF commissioner Mick Foley due to cheating on Benoit's part. Benoit simultaneously entered into a lengthy feud over the Intercontinental title with Jericho, who he defeated at Backlash on April 30, Judgment Day on May 21 and SummerSlam on August 27. The feud culminated in Jericho defeating Benoit in a ladder match at Royal Rumble on January 21, 2001. Benoit won the title three times between April 2000 and January 2001.

In early 2001, Benoit broke away from the Radicalz (who had reformed three months earlier) and turned face, feuding first with his former stablemates and then with Angle. Benoit lost to Angle at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, but defeated him in an "Ultimate Submission" match at Backlash on April 29. The feud continued after Benoit stole Angle's cherished Olympic gold medal and World Wrestling Championships gold medal, with Angle defeating Benoit at Judgment Day on May 20 in 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 to become the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship.

The next night on Raw Is War, Benoit and Jericho won the titles from Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. On the May 24 episode of SmackDown!, Benoit suffered a legitimate neck injury in a four-way TLC match. Benoit challenged Austin for the WWF Championship on two occasions, first losing in a manner similar to the Montreal Screwjob in Calgary on the May 28 episode of Raw is War and then losing in a close match in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton on the May 31 episode of SmackDown!. Despite the neck injury, Benoit continued to wrestle until the King of the Ring on June 24, where he was pinned by Austin in a triple threat match for the WWF Championship also involving Jericho. Benoit missed the next year due to his neck injury, missing the entire Invasion storyline.

Championship pursuits and reigns (2002–2003)

thumb|upright=0.75|Benoit at the [[WWE Tribute to the Troops in 2003]]

During the first WWF draft, Benoit was the third wrestler picked by Vince McMahon to be part of the new SmackDown! roster, although still on the injured list. However, when Benoit returned, he did so as a member of the Raw roster, turning heel by aligning himself with Eddie Guerrero. Benoit and Guerrero lost to the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and Spike) in an elimination tables match at Vengeance on July 21. The following week on Raw, Benoit defeated Rob Van Dam to become Intercontinental Champion for the fourth and final time. Benoit and Guerrero were then moved to SmackDown! during a storyline "open season" on wrestler contracts, with Benoit taking the Intercontinental Championship to SmackDown!. Van Dam defeated Benoit at SummerSlam on August 25 and returned the title to Raw.

Benoit defeated Kurt Angle at Unforgiven on September 22. Benoit was then paired with Angle in a tournament to crown the first-ever WWE Tag Team Champions, defeating Edge and Rey Mysterio in the finals at No Mercy on October 20. Benoit and Angle made their first successful defense against Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo) at Rebellion on October 26. Benoit and Angle lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Edge and Mysterio on the November 7 episode of SmackDown! in a two-out-of-three falls match. At Survivor Series on November 17, Benoit and Angle were the first team eliminated in a triple threat elimination match for the titles against Edge and Mysterio and Los Guerreros. Shortly after, the team split when Angle became the number one contender to the WWE Championship, turning Benoit face. Benoit defeated Eddie Guerrero on December 15 at Armageddon.

After Angle won the WWE Championship at Armageddon, Benoit feuded with Angle and his Team Angle stablemates Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. On January 19, 2003, at the Royal Rumble, Benoit failed to win the title from Angle. At No Way Out on February 23, Benoit and Brock Lesnar defeated Team Angle in a handicap match. At WrestleMania XIX on March 30, Benoit and Rhyno failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Team Angle in a triple threat tag team match also involving Los Guerreros. They teamed with Spanky in a loss to John Cena and The Full Blooded Italians at Judgment Day on May 18.

In June, the WCW United States Championship was reactivated and renamed the WWE United States Championship, and Benoit participated in a tournament for the title. Benoit lost in the finals to Eddie Guerrero at Vengeance on July 27 after Rhyno turned on Benoit. Benoit failed to win the title in a fatal four-way match at SummerSlam on August 24 and defeated A-Train at No Mercy on October 19. At Survivor Series on November 16, Benoit eliminated Lesnar as part of a Survivor Series elimination tag team match between Team Angle against Team Lesnar, a match Team Angle would win. As a result, Benoit challenged Lesnar for the WWE Championship on the December 4 episode of SmackDown!, but lost after passing out to Lesnar's debuting Brock Lock submission hold. At the Royal Rumble on January 25, Benoit won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Big Show, earning a world title shot at WrestleMania XX and becoming the second person to win the Royal Rumble as the number one entrant after Shawn Michaels. Michaels, whose Last Man Standing match for the title against Triple H at Royal Rumble ended in a draw,

thumb|Benoit with his [[Real life|real-life best friend Eddie Guerrero, celebrating their respective world championship victories at WrestleMania XX]]

At WrestleMania XX on March 14, Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship after Triple H submitted to his signature submission move, the Crippler Crossface, marking the first time the main event of a WrestleMania ended in submission. After the match, Benoit celebrated his win with then-reigning WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. At Backlash on April 18, in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, he successfully defended the title in a rematch after Michaels submitted to Benoit's Sharpshooter. Benoit simultaneously feuded with Kane, and Benoit and Edge lost the titles to La Résistance on the May 31 episode of Raw. On June 13, at Bad Blood, Benoit and Edge failed to regain the World Tag Team Championship (winning by disqualification when Kane interfered), while Benoit successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Kane later that night. Benoit again defeated Kane to retain the title on the June 28 episode of Raw.

At Vengeance on July 11, Benoit successfully defended the title against Triple H. At SummerSlam on August 15, Benoit lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton, ending his reign at 154 days. Benoit failed to regain the title the next night on Raw. Benoit and William Regal defeated Batista and Flair at Unforgiven on September 12.

Benoit then feuded with Edge, who had turned into an arrogant and conceited heel. At Taboo Tuesday on October 19, Benoit, Edge and Michaels were all put into a poll to see who would face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship that night. Michaels received the most votes, and Edge and Benoit were forced to face World Tag Team Champions La Résistance in the same night. Despite Edge deserting Benoit during the match, they regained the World Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles in a rematch on the November 1 episode of Raw. At New Year's Revolution on January 9, 2005, Benoit and Edge competed in the Elimination Chamber match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship, but both lost. Benoit entered the Royal Rumble as the second entrant on January 30, lasting longer than any competitor before being eliminated by Flair. Benoit competed in the inaugural Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21 on April 3, which was won by Edge after he knocked Benoit off the ladder by smashing his arm with a chair.

United States Champion (2005–2007)

On June 9, Benoit was drafted to the SmackDown! brand after being the first man selected by SmackDown! in the 2005 Draft Lottery and participated in an ECW-style revolution against the SmackDown! heels. Benoit appeared at ECW One Night Stand on June 12, defeating Eddie Guerrero.

thumb|left|upright=0.75|Benoit as [[WWE United States Championship|WWE United States Champion in September 2005]]

On July 24, at The Great American Bash, Benoit failed to win the United States Championship from Orlando Jordan, but won it in a rematch at SummerSlam on August 21 in 25 seconds. At No Mercy on October 9, Benoit successfully defended the title against Booker T, Christian and Jordan in a fatal-four way match.

On November 13, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room. The following night, Raw held a Guerrero tribute show hosted by both Raw and SmackDown! wrestlers. Benoit was devastated at Guerrero's death and was very emotional during a series of video testimonials, 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 Guerrero, after which they and Dean Malenko assembled in the ring and pointed to the sky in salute of Guerrero.

After controversy surrounding a United States Championship match against Booker T on the November 25 episode of SmackDown!, Theodore Long set up a "Best of Seven" series between the two. Booker T won three times in a row at Survivor Series on November 27, the November 29 SmackDown! Special and the December 9 episode of SmackDown!, due largely to Sharmell's interference, and Benoit faced elimination in the series. Benoit won the fourth match to stay alive at Armageddon on December 18, However, in the seventh and final match, Orton defeated Benoit with the help of Booker T, Sharmell and Jordan, awarding Booker T the United States Championship. At No Way Out on February 19, Benoit won the title after making Booker T submit to the Crippler Crossface, ending the feud. At WrestleMania 22 on April 2, Benoit lost the title to JBL, who used an illegal cradle to win. Benoit entered the King of the Ring tournament, but lost to Finlay in the first round after Finlay struck Benoit's neck with a chair and delivered a Celtic Cross. At Judgment Day on May 21, Benoit defeated Finlay. On the following episode 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 surprise return at No Mercy, defeating William Regal. Later that week, Benoit defeated Mr. Kennedy to win his fifth and final United States Championship. Benoit engaged in a feud with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero, seeking answers from them for their rash behaviour towards Rey Mysterio, but was avoided by the two and eventually assaulted. Benoit successfully defended the title against Chavo at Survivor Series on November 26, Armageddon on December 17, and in a no disqualification match on the January 19, 2007 episode of SmackDown!. Benoit's next feud was with Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), teaming with the Hardys (Jeff and Matt) to defeat MVP and MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) at No Way Out on February 18. Benoit successfully defended the title against MVP at WrestleMania 23 on April 1 and Backlash on April 29, before losing it to MVP in a two-out-of-three falls match at Judgment Day on May 20.

ECW (2007)

On the June 11 episode of Raw, Benoit was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the 2007 WWE draft after losing to ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley. In his debut on the ECW brand, Benoit teamed with CM Punk to defeat Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von. On the June 19 episode of ECW, Benoit wrestled his final match, defeating Burke in a match to determine who would compete for the vacated ECW World Championship at Vengeance on June 24. Since Lashley was drafted to Raw, he had vacated the title.

right|thumb|The diving headbutt (seen here at [[WrestleMania 23 in April 2007) was blamed as one of the primary causes of Benoit's death.]]

Benoit missed the weekend house shows, informing close colleagues that his wife and son were vomiting blood due to food poisoning. When he failed to show up for Vengeance, 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, who defeated Punk to become ECW World Champion. The crowd spent the majority of the match chanting for Benoit. It would be revealed in the following days that Benoit had murdered his wife Nancy and son Daniel before committing suicide.

WWE executive Stephanie McMahon later indicated that Benoit would have defeated CM Punk for the ECW World Championship had he been present for Vengeance.

Professional wrestling style

Benoit, known for his high-impact technical style, included a wide array of submission holds in his move-set and used a crossface, dubbed the Crippler Crossface, and a sharpshooter as finishers. He also used a diving headbutt, which saw him leap off the top rope and land head first on his opponent; this move was partially blamed for the head trauma that caused Benoit to commit his crimes. Another of Benoit's trademark moves was three rolling German suplexes. This move would later be mimicked by multiple other wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar who uses it as Suplex City.

Former WWE rival Kurt Angle said in a 2017 interview that "he has got to be in the top three of all time."

Professional wrestling games

{|class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Notes

| 1997

| WCW vs. the World

| First Western video game appearance

| 1997

| WCW vs. nWo: World Tour

| 1997

| Virtual Pro Wrestling 64

| Only released in Japan

| 1998

| Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden 3

| Only released in Japan

| 1998

| WCW Nitro

| 1998

| WCW/nWo Revenge

| 1999

| WCW/nWo Thunder

| 1999

| WCW Mayhem

|Last WCW video game appearance

| 2000

| WWF No Mercy

|First WWF/E video game appearance

| 2000

| WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role

| 2001

| WWF With Authority!

| Cover athlete <hr> Online game

| 2001

| WWF Road to WrestleMania

| 2001

| WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

| 2002

| WWF Raw

| 2002

| WWE WrestleMania X8

| 2002

| WWE Road to WrestleMania X8

| 2002

| WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

| 2003

| WWE Crush Hour

| 2003

| WWE WrestleMania XIX

| 2003

| WWE Raw 2

| 2003

| WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain

| 2004

| WWE Day of Reckoning

| 2004

| WWE Survivor Series

| Cover athlete

| 2004

| WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw

| 2005

| WWE WrestleMania 21

| Cover athlete (PAL version)

| 2005

| WWE Aftershock

| Cover athlete (PAL version)

| 2005

| WWE Day of Reckoning 2

| 2005

| WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006

| 2006

| WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007

| Last video game appearance

Personal life

Benoit spoke both English and French fluently. He married twice, and had two children (David and Megan) with his first wife, Martina. By 1997, that marriage had broken down, and Benoit was living with Nancy Sullivan, the wife of the WCW booker and frequent opponent Kevin Sullivan. On February 25, 2000, Chris and Nancy's son Daniel was born; on November 23, 2000, Chris and Nancy married. 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 she had filed. After Guerrero died in November 2005, Benoit acquired a diary in which he wrote grief-stricken personal entries to a deceased Guerrero as a coping mechanism.

Benoit's lost tooth, his top-right lateral incisor, was commonly misattributed 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 head struck Benoit's chin, and his tooth "popped out".

Death

On June 25, 2007, police entered Benoit's home in Fayetteville, Georgia, when WWE, Benoit's employers, requested a "welfare check" after Benoit missed weekend events without notice, 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 committing suicide. Benoit then committed suicide by hanging himself on his lat pulldown machine.

WWE cancelled the scheduled three-hour-long live Raw show on June 25 and replaced the broadcast version with a three-hour tribute to Benoit's life and career, featuring his past matches, segments from the Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story DVD, and comments from wrestlers and announcers. Once the details of Benoit's actions became apparent, WWE made the decision to remove nearly all mentions of Chris Benoit from their website, future broadcasts, and all publications.

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 behaviour that led to the murder-suicide, concluding that there was no "roid-rage" involved. Prior to the murder-suicide, Benoit had illegally been given medications not in compliance with WWE's Talent Wellness Program in February 2006, including nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, and anastrozole, a breast cancer medication which is used by bodybuilders for its powerful antiestrogenic effects. During the investigation into steroid abuse, it was revealed that other wrestlers had also been given steroids.

After the double-murder suicide, neuroscientist and retired professional wrestler Christopher Nowinski contacted Michael Benoit, Chris's father, 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 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 behavioural problems.

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)
Super Grade Junior Heavyweight Tag League (1994) – with Shinjiro Otani
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Feud of the Year (2004)
Match of the Year (2004)
Wrestler of the Year (2004)
Ranked No. 69 of the top 500 greatest wrestlers in the PWI Years in 2003
Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1995)
Universal Wrestling Association
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
World Championship Wrestling
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)