Chris Benoit used his wrestling finisher move to kill his son on the weekend of his double-murder suicide of his family and then himself. This tragic occurrence happened on the weekend of June 24, 2007, when benoit wa supposed to be facing CM Punk for the ECW Championship at Vengeance 2007.
The former World Heavyweight Champion was beloved across the wrestling world prior to the horrific events on June 24th, 2007. The bodies of the Benoit family were discovered that night, including Chris, Nancy and their son Daniel. The deaths sent shockwaves across the wrestling world, while tributes poured in from all corners of the world.
At first, their death was suspected as a break in and murder. WWE accepted these as fact, running a “Chris Benoit Tribute Show” on Monday Night Raw the next night. This included interviews with Benoit’s fellow WWE Superstars, as well as a compilation of his best matches from the WWE. Sadly, this show will never be shown.
After the truth came out about what really happened to Chris Benoit that night, they quietly scrubbed it from the records and never mentioned him again.
Chris Benoit Killed His Son With His Finisher
Chris Benoit was said to have killed his son Daniel with his famous finishing maneuver, “The Crippler Crossface”. It was a submission hold that aimed to strangle your opponent by grabbing across their face and wrenching their head back. This cranked back on the head and neck of his opponent, while also stretching his arm back and crushing it between his legs.
It was a simple finishing move, but one Chris Benoit had mastered. He used the move to force Triple H to tap out in the main event of Wrestlemania XX to win the World Heavyweight Championship, as well as in numerous other wrestling matches in WWE, WCW and ECW (and some incredible bouts in Japan as well).
Chris Benoit also used the Sharpshooter and flying headbutt as a finisher in the past, although these were not mentioned in relation to the murder of his son or wife. He was most known for his Crippler Crossface finishing move, which proved to be the most infamous move in wrestling history after his death.
He was reported to have strangled his from behind with a cable to kill her, which is much different than the report into his sons’ death. Daniel Benoit was only 7 when he was murdered by his father and is one of the saddest murder cases you’ll ever see.
District Attorney Scott Ballard reported that, “A choke hold was used, rather than hands. There’s no bruising consistent with strangulation by hands.”. This could imply the use of Chris Benoit’s finisher, but does not confirm it.
However, famed wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer weighed in on the controversy to give his verdict on the murders, based on the evidence given to him so far.
The Wrestling Observer writer reported that there was “bruising consistent” with Chris Benoit’s finisher on Daniel’s face and arm, which would imply use of the move when killing his son.
However, due to the size difference, it is likely that the wrestling hold was applied differently to than inside the ring.
“There was bruising consistent with the Crippler Crossface on one arm and Daniel’s face. There were no bruises on his neck. But police don’t believe, because of the size difference, that the hold was applied exactly as in a wrestling match.
In the ring, the Crippler Crossface involved placing an arm of a floored opponent between Benoit’s legs, locking his hands around their face and pulling back to stretch their neck.”
Dave Metlzer on Chris Benoit using his finishing move to kill his son
Why Is Chris Benoit Called The Crippler?
The Crippler Crossface is a crossface submission hold and was given the “crippler” name after Chris Benoit.
The Canadian wrestler had many nicknames over his career, with the most common being “The Rabid Wolverine”. However, he was also known as “The Crippler”, starting during his time under Paul Heyman in ECW
During a match with Sabu at November to Remember 1994, Chris Benoit broke Sabu’s neck inside the ring. He threw the former ECW Champion into the air with a regular suplex move, but overdid the throw and sent him flying. Sabu then crashed to the ground head first, breaking his neck.
Whilst he was not paralyzed, Benoit was anointed the nickname of “The Crippler”. This added another layer to his character and portrayed him as a dangerous man in the ring. He was not to be messed with and his now-named Crippler Crossface was one of the most deadly moves in all of wrestling.
I grabbed him by the leg and launched him in the air. He was supposed to come down on his belly but I guess midway in the air he decided he wanted to come down on his back.
He didn’t have enough time to get his head up and came right down on his head. That was the very first time it hit home for me – “you know what, this guy could be paralysed”. It was very scary for me
Chris Benoit on breaking Sabu’s neck in ECW
Since the death of Chris Benoit, his son and his wife, neither of the family have been mentioned on WWE TV. His Royal Rumble win, which saw Benoit last from number one all the way to the end (last eliminating Big Show) has been scrubbed from the history books, with Shawn Michaels and Edge being the only men named to have acheived such a feet.
While he murdered one of his sons (Daniel), Chris Benoit’s son from his first marriage is still alive and well, constantly threatening to enter the wrestling business to continue on the legacy of his father. David Benoit is endeavoring to get into the business to wrestler under the name “Chris Benoit Jr”, having already had tights made up in a similar style to his fathers.
David Benout, as Chris Benoit Jr, almost made his debut in wrestling recently, despite not having any training. Chris Jericho found out about this and quickly stopped the match, and as of the time of writing, he has still yet to make his debut in professional wrestling.
Click here to learn more about Chris Benoit’s son’s attempt to get into the pro wrestling.
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