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Walking the Trail of a Rabid Wolverine
Foley pushed strongly for HHH and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley to sign the four to contracts, and opened the door for the perfect heel turn when The Radicalz turned on Mick to ensure their spots in the company. Though Guererro enjoyed being "one of the good guys" for a time along with Chyna, Benoit remained heel for 2 more years, being dubbed "The Rabid Wolverine" by J.R.
Currently "The Canadian Crippler" is enjoying this teaming with fellow Canadian Jericho, as are the fans. Their tour through Canada has seen the duo challenge Austin for the Heavyweight belt both in Calgary and Edmonton, which as you would expect has driven the "hometown" fans wild! I personally look forward to future battles between Benoit and Stone Cold for the belt as Benoit seems to bring out the best in Stone Cold and Vice Versa.
I guess what I have taken away from my research into this column is simple. Like anything else in life, with patience, determination and a hell of a lot of hard work, even the most improbable dreams can be accomplished. As a Canadian, I was proud to see Chris in the WWF, but I have found a whole new level of respect for the man. I want to wish "The Rabid Wolverine" the best of luck in the future, and I'll be here cheering him on! I would like to point out that I have only BRIEFLY touched on Chris's career thus far and feel strongly that his story is worthy of a more in depth review. I would also like to credit the following sites for providing the information necessary for this column: Chris's home page at www.chrisbenoit.com The Crippler's Domain at www.vvm.com/~dlaw/crippler.html and of course MGoose at Absolute Wrestling http://absolute_wrestling.tripod.com
Finally I would like to leave you with a comment made by Chris' idol:
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This brings us to the part of the story I hate to mention. When I made the decision to profile wrestlers I made the conscious choice to, whenever possible, exclude their personal lives. Unfortunately just as in our lives, there are moments when personal lives cross over into our professional lives. This is a case of just that happening. Long story short, Chris Benoit's wife Nancy happens to be Kevin Sullivan's ex-wife. You have to believe that this was at least one of the reasons that Chris made the jump to WWF. At Souled Out 1999 Chris wrestled Sid Vicious for the WCW World Title and walked away victorious. He asked for and received his release from WCW. The very next night on Nitro the belt was stripped from him.
This brings us to Benoit's official entrance into the WWF along with Eddy Guererro, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, "The Radicalz". On January 31, 2000 Mick Foley pointed the four out as they sat at ringside. WWF fan's instantly "marked out"! It was obvious that Vince had another winner!
WWF fans have been treated to some amazing matches since Benoit's debut. He has faced Rikishi along with 2cool, the Hardy Boyz, Test, Stone Cold Steve Austin(in one of the better matches I have seen Stone Cold wrestle in years!), and my personal Favorite KANE. But his most memorable matches were those against Jericho, Kurt Angle, and of course the Rock.
In a triple threat match at Wrestlemania on April 2, 2000 Chris took on Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho for the European Title and the Intercontinental Title. The first fall was for the IC belt, which Benoit won. During his time in the WWF, he has also held the European Title and is now in possession of the Tag Team Titles along with long time rival Chris Jericho.
Chris Benoit is perhaps the best all around wrestler in the business. He has managed to learn a great deal from every experience he has had, and he brings that knowledge to the ring every time he goes out. If you don't agree with me why don't YOU "Prove him Wrong!"