He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his year career, but is notorious for murdering his wife and youngest son. He was also the Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels and preceding Edge as one of the three men to win a Royal Rumble as the number one entrant.
In a three-day double-murder and suicide , Benoit murdered his wife in their residence on June 22, , and his 7-year-old son the next day, before killing himself on June Subsequent research undertaken by the Sports Legacy Institute now the Concussion Legacy Foundation suggested that depression and chronic traumatic encephalopathy CTE , a condition of brain damage , from multiple concussions that Benoit had sustained throughout his pro-wrestling career were likely contributing factors of the crimes.
Due to his murders, Benoit's legacy in the professional wrestling industry is heavily debated. 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.
The threshold percentage of votes required to remove Benoit was not met. 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 [ 21 ] [ 22 ] and Bret Hart ; [ 22 ] [ 23 ] at twelve years old, he attended a local wrestling event at which the two performers "stood out above everyone else".
In-ring, Benoit emulated both Billington and Bret Hart, [ 21 ] [ 23 ] cultivating a high-risk style and physical appearance more reminiscent of the former [ 21 ] years later, he adopted Hart's own " Sharpshooter " hold as a finishing move. Benoit began his career in , in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion. From the beginning, similarities between Benoit and Billington were apparent, 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.
