Chris Benoit’s Last Match Highlighted How Far Gone His Brain Was

Hamish Woodward

Chris Benoit is one of the most infamous wrestlers of all time, with his entire reputation changing in one single moment.

In an instant, he went from a fan-favorite and one of the world’s most respected grapplers, to a villain whose name will never be mentioned on TV again.

Inside the ring, there was nobody finer than Chris Benoit.

His technical style, inspired by his hero The Dynamite Kid, mixed with his hard hitting style and incredible work ethic, made him a star in Japan and the United States.

He rose to the top in every company he wrestled for, including winning the 2004 Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX.

However, what he did outside the ring in his final days ruined any legacy he had created for himself in wrestling.

On June 25 2007, Chris Benoit murdered his wife, Nancy, and son, Daniel, before hanging himself in his own home.

The news shocked the wrestling world and forced WWE to cancel Vince McMahon’s funeral on RAW, and the year-long “Who killed Vince McMahon?” storyline.

With such a high-profile and monstrous end to his life, you’d think fans would remember what Chris Benoit was doing in WWE toward the end of his run.

While you may know he was set to face CM Punk for the ECW Championship at Vengeance 2007, you probably don’t remember Chris Benoit’s last match in WWE.

Here is the last Chris Benoit match before his death on June 25 2007.

Chris Benoit’s last match

chris benoit's last match ecw
Chris Benoit before his last match in WWE

Chris Benoit’s last match ever was against Elijah Burke on ECW on June 19 2007.

The pair wrestled in the semi final of the ECW Championship Tournament, after the title was vacated by Bobby Lashley when he was drafted to RAW.

It was a short match that opened the episode of ECW. The match lasted a little over five minutes, and was a fairly even match given the stature of both men in WWE.

Benoit took control early on with some stuff chops and some intricate holds, while Burke beat him down later on and looked close to defeating the former World Heavyweight Champion.

Chris Benoit’s last match ended in victory, when he forced Elijah Burke to tap out to the Sharpshooter, the submission move made famous by fellow Canadian Bret Hart. With the victory, Benoit moved on to the finals of the ECW World Championship tournament.

Chris Benoit was booked to face CM Punk at Vengeance 2007 in a match for the ECW Championship.

It was revealed the Benoit was booked to win the title at the pay-per-view, but due to his double-murder suicide of himself and his family, he missed the match.

Instead, Johnny Nitro (later known as John Morrison) took his spot in the match and won his first ECW Championship against CM Punk.

It was an unmemorable last match for Benoit. While it doesn’t compare to the likes of Ric Flair’s last match, or the Undertaker vs AJ Styles at Wrestlemania, it was never going to.

This was not planned as a grand final outing for one of the best wrestlers of all time. Nobody knew he would not wrestle at the pay per view and kill himself days later.

Chris Benoit’s last match is not one to go back and watch. Not just because the horrific things he did makes it hard to watch. It simply just wasn’t that good.

Elijah Burke Commented On Being Chris Benoit’s Last Opponent

In a recent interview with Wrestling Epicenter, Elijah Burke spoke about what Chris Benoit said to him during his last match.

The former WWE Superstar claimed that Benoit talked about his memory issues during the match.

Given the fact he was diagnosed as having the “brain of an 80-year-old with Alzheimer’s” after his death, it made total sense why he was struggling to remember.

“One thing Chris was big on, and hindsight is 20/20 on this if I could say, ‘oh, that kind of makes sense’, is just the fact that he said, ‘talk to me out there. I might forget.’”

“So, after everything that happened, when it came back that he had like the brain of an 80-year-old with Alzheimer’s. That was like, ‘hmm, that is interesting’.”

“In this business, I was always taught that we should communicate in rings. So, I didn’t think anything of it. That could have been a sign. Chris Benoit asking me to talk to him?”

Will Ospreay recently paid tribute to Chris Benoit during his match with Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door.

What did you think of Chris Benoit’s last match? Let us know in the comments or click below to read more.

Leave a comment

Privacy Policy