Chris Benoit, a WWE heavyweight ex-champion, murdered his wife, Nancy, on the night of June 22, 2007. Be the first one to comment on this story. Wrestler Deaths. At 4:00 p.m. on June 25, the police arrived at the scene of the crime. Compounding the . Another wrestler dies and the news would practically be swept under the rug. [11] The reports determined Daniel was sedated with Xanax and likely unconscious when he was killed. [107] After news of the early death notice reached mainstream media, the anonymous poster accessed Wikinews to explain his edit as a "huge coincidence and nothing more. After Vince McMahon had gathered the wrestlers together to tell them that Chris, Nancy and Daniel had all died, WWE canceled the scheduled three-hour-long live Raw show that had been scheduled for a few hours later on the night of June 25 (which, coincidentally, was supposed to be a memorial for the Mr. McMahon character, who, on the June 11 episode of Raw, "died" in a limo explosion) that was scheduled to take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to Chris Benoit's life and career, featuring past matches, segments from the Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story DVD, and comments from wrestlers and announcers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. photo:youtube.com. During this time, Benoit also called and left a voicemail for an unknown friend. He was found dead in his hotel room in Tampa, Florida. This website exists to acknowledge deceased professional wrestlers, many of whom died young. While Benoit's matches began to appear again, his name would not appear in any descriptions of the event and searching with his name would yield no results. The Canada native, who worked with WWE from 1984 to 2000, died following a cardiopulmonary arrest caused by hypertension at age 61. He was starting to help give the WWF an edge at the time of his unexpected death. Over the course of the next four years, Warren recorded several songs for the WWF (now known as WWE). Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Chris Warren weighed 228 lbs (103 kg . He held numerous mid-card titles and finally reached the top of the WWE when he won the World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels and Triple H at Wrestlemania 20. [12][13] Daniel's body had also just started to show signs of decomposition but was not as far along as his mother's body. Jim Cornette called the hotel he had been staying at, and it was they who informed Cornette and the WWF that they had found him dead in his room. When Waxman's staff interviewed Dr. Tracy Ray, a physician contracted by WWE, Ray claimed there was "shadiness in almost every [TUE] case that I've reviewed. Det. [93] This followed eleven wrestlers that were announced in a Sports Illustrated steroids investigation that began March 2007, which included Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio, Jr.), Adam Copeland (Edge) and Gregory Helms, with Copeland receiving a high amount of steroids. On September 5, 2007, Julian Bailes, the chief of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, conducted a news conference in New York City to announce the results of Benoit's postmortem brain examination. The AJC claimed the source was a recently released report from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.[41]. Andrew "Test" Martin - Dead at 33. What other deaths in the wrestling world were shocking? At both events, the band performed DX's entrance music live. The short answer is thatthis is more or less a tribute website. Police added that the death is not being treated as suspicious. Pictured here, The Ultimate Warrior in 1989. Angelo Poffo - Dead at 84. He always took great pride in his performance, and always showed respect for the business he loved, for his peers and towards his fans. WrestleMania 30, which took place in New Orleans on Sunday 6 April, saw the return of Hulk Hogan to presenting duties and the end of the Undertaker's winning streak. RIP https://t.co/ak8pvdQf4K. Shell-shocked, the survivors looked on: mother Alice, father Warren, sister Dawn, brother Antonio and D.R. WWE extends its deepest condolences to Warrens family, friends and fans. No BS. Andy Kaufman - Dead at 35. What happens when youre an injured wrestler and cant perform? She accomplished some big goals before this. Umaga dead at 36 from a drug overdose. I, unlike the WWE, can talk. She stated that the medical examiner who examined Benoit's body stated he had only ten more months to live due to an enlarged heart. The wrestler, whose real name was Tommy Billington, had been suffering . Visit Sony LIV to sign in or sign up and enjoy WWE's premium content. Bro-Kin, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Warren_(musician)&oldid=1148247013, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with topics of unclear notability from June 2016, All articles with topics of unclear notability, Music articles with topics of unclear notability, Articles needing additional references from December 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2008, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 00:07. Toffoloni also stated that Benoit was contemplating retiring and opening a wrestling school, but decided to continue wrestling due to being in one of the main events at Vengeance for the ECW World Championship. Several members of the stable which will forever be linked to his voice followed suit on social media: Saddened to hear of Chris Warren's passing. edition of that week, McMahon released another statement indicating that the related events of the tragedy were not known at the time. Kerry Von Erich, perhaps the most famous of the brothers, was also the most popular. We take a look at five. In any case, her medical examiner saw no evidence that she was sedated as her son had been when he was killed. Wrestle through injuries by numbing them with drugs and alcohol. Other high profile names posted messages of condolence on social media when they heard the news. The end or decline of a wrestlerslivelihood. Chris Warren was born in Silver Spring, MD. Full Super Mario Bros. Movie Illegally Uploaded on Twitter: With Over 9 Million Views? [76] The show aired less than two months after the incident, but no reference was made to the taping date of the episode in question. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Raw results, April 24, 2023: Bad Bunny challenged Damian Priest to a Street Fight at WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico! Like him or not, journalist Phil Mushnick hit the nail on the head in 1997 when he said sadly, the early deaths of professional wrestlers is treated much like the deaths of cartoon characters they cant be real people, so they cant die real deaths.. He committed suicide on April 12, 1987, after an overdose of tranquilizers, dying at the age of 23. Read about our approach to external linking. The autopsy would later reveal that the cause of death was heart failure due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Pictured here: Curt Mr. In Dr. Eisenstat's opinion, Chris Benoit died as a result of hanging himself. Fans of the sport are aware of the controversial and tragic circumstances following Benoit's final days alive. The deaths were first reported to fans of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on their WWE Mobile Alerts Service[citation needed] and posted to its official website soon after. Depressed due to the death of his brother Mike, Chris Von Erich continued the family curse when he shot himself in 1991. It also states the only thing he researched on his computer in that time period was that of the Prophet of Elijah and the resurrecting of a dead boy. Wrestlers and bookers always have disputes, and unfortunately, this one literally turned deadly. Dr. Eisenstat noted that the lack of significant trauma, along with the furrow around Chris Benoit's neck, supports the manner of death as a suicide, "Former WWE VOD reveals the directive when it came to removing links to Chris Benoit", United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Professional wrestler Chris Benoit and family found dead, Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found, Chris Benoit mystery editor confesses: claims "terrible coincidence", List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "Wrestler Chris Benoit Double Murder-Suicide: Was It 'Rump Rage'? Injuries indicated that Benoit had pressed a knee into her back while pulling on a cord around her neck, causing strangulation. But are these headlines surrounding deceased wrestlers warranted? 10 WWE Stars Who HATED Their Own WrestleMania Matches, CM Punk Turns Up Backstage At Another Major Wrestling Company, WWE Announces Additional Draft Picks Between SmackDown And Raw, 4 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Rampage (April 28), Hall Of Famer Says WWE Should Introduce "Television Championship" For Women, AEW Star Was On "Handshake Deal" During Debut, Ranking Every Night One WWE 2023 Draft Pick From Worst To Best, 7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 28). There have been many wrestlers who died young like Ravishing Rick Rude (40) and Eddie Guerrero (38). Authorities are investigating, but no other details are available at this time. My sincerest condolences go out to The Warrior's family," said Daniel Bryan. So far, no details were released regarding the cause of his "sudden" death. But being a former NFL player, he was extremely agile and athletic. First WWE World Heavyweight Champion Revealed? It's hard to argue against that since so many of the members passed away before living long, fruitful lives. Arnold Skaaland - Dead at 82. Pillman's probably more remembered for his 'Loose Cannon' persona and his run with the Hart Foundation in the mid-1990s. Is climate change killing Australian wine? You risk losing your spot industry jargon for your storyline being scrapped by the creative team. Her smile, infectious. His heel gimmick of executing several sports acts perfectly is one of the best of all time. His death came at a time when many reports on steroids and its users were coming out and one from Sports Illustrated that came out in 2007 listing Guerrero as one of the many athletes who had used HGH or versions of steroids. "[16] Despite Jericho's initial statements regarding Daniel, he later stated in his 2011 book Undisputed, "It turned out that Daniel didn't have fragile X, but at the time it made sense because I was grasping at straws. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The authorities are undergoing an investigation. Ashley Massaro - Dead at 39. A photo posted by Paul "Triple H" Levesque (@tripleh) on Jun 15, 2016 at 6:26am PDT, I'm so sorry to hear that! After discovering the bodies, the police notified WWE around 4:15p.m. (CDT), informing them that they had discovered three bodies at the Benoit home and the house was now ruled as a "major crime scene". "I'd like to think we had the best entrance in Wrestling because of Chris Warren. After learning about the full details of his and his family's deaths, WWE quickly distanced itself from Chris Benoit: Numerous individuals in professional wrestling, past and present, commented on the deaths and their aftermath: When the news was released about Benoit's death, most mainstream news outlets covered the story, including MSNBC and Fox News Channel. [10] Daniel's exact time of death is unknown. Ballard said Benoit was found hanging from the pulley cable. Within a few months, blood was severely toned down, which returned WWE's product to its pre-1997 rule on prohibiting deliberate blading in matches. Brody died hours later while Gonzalez was acquitted of the alleged murder, claiming self-defence. Guerrero then replied with "All right man, if you need to talk, I'm here for you". [citation needed] Warren was employed by Local 638 NYC as a steam fitter for many years. Michael Benoit agreed to have his son's brain analyzed by the same neurosurgeons. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com. He was having great matches with everyone and was one of the top stars in the business at the time. [100] Benoit also tested negative for blood alcohol. He was, however, unable to replicate his father's success, eventually being released from the company. He is best known for being the lead singer in The DX Band (sometimes referred to as The Chris Warren Band), a group who performed entrance themes for many stars and shows of professional wrestling over the years. Ravishing Rick Rude dead at 41. Twas a happy moment seeing her win Tough Enough. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. He was 33 years old. The voice behind a host of iconic theme has died, aged 49. As reported by WWE, Warren's screeching voice and his distressed rendition of WWE theme song "Break It Down" remains one of the sports entertainment's best wrestling themes. Shortly after the program aired, many of the aired comments were posted on WWE.com. [44], On Friday, June 29, 2007, before the SmackDown! If we take a look back to the early 90s, WWE owner Vince McMahon stood trial for various steroid-related charges. Art Barr - Dead at 28. [118] Journalists and fans compared their removals to the scale of Benoit's, though Snuka and Hogan would eventually have these actions be reversed and both would be reinstated into the Hall of Fame with Hogan being inducted a second time for his work with the NWO in 2020. Anthony Durante - Dead at 36. He died unexpectedly on June 12, 2016 at the age of 49. Please enter a valid email and try again. Reasons for his actions have been widely speculated about ever since the incident. She said that over the weekend, the search history on Benoit's computer showed he had researched "the quickest and easiest way to break a neck". Nikolai Volkoff - Dead at 70. WhatCulture is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. When was Chris Warren born? Antonio Inoki - Dead at 79. Kamala - Dead at 70. [citation needed] The performance was never released on home video and was edited out of the recent WWE Network version of the show. He was very artistic and was a singer for the band Bro-kinChristopher is survived by his mother, Barbara Spector, his three brothers, Steven (Lena) Spector, Andrew (Jill) Spector and Danny (Margit) Spector and his sister, Laura Spector. He also recorded the Superstars theme from 1997. Savage was one of the most colorful figures in the sport's history. The singer impressed WWEs head of music during the Attitude Era, Jim Johnson, with his work on D-Xs distinctive theme and was hired to work on several projects with the company, including Triple H's My Time and X-Pacs Make Some Noise. Pro wrestlers will likely never be as publicly respected as baseball and football players, yet they took even bigger physicalrisks (and often for a much smaller paycheck). As some more time progressed without any contact from Benoit, WWE called the Fayetteville, Georgia, police for a welfare check at the Benoit household. The wife's feet and hands were bound and she was asphyxiated, not beaten to death. Then, on the evening of June 24, Benoit killed himself in his weight room, when he used his lat pulldown machine to hang himself. Concerning those who had publicly stated that they had no knowledge of Daniel having the condition, Jericho said, "If Chris had decided that he wanted to keep it to himself, you wouldn't have been able to pry that out of him with anything. Chris Warren is 55 years old. Wrestlers diagnosed with CTE in postmortem research include Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, Jimmy Snuka, Mr. Fuji, and Ron Bass. Years spent trying to keep up with the rest of the business have everlasting effects beyond the initial use of the drug. Eddie's death had hit both fans and industry personnel alike. Austin revealed that the heart disease was the same thing that had killed Pillman's father. Have any suggestions or corrections? The DX Band singer behind many of WWE's rock themes was born Christopher P. Warren in Huntington, Long Island, New York on May 27, 1967 to Christopher J. and Barbara Warren. We have now confirmed multiple concussions are part of his medical history, along with clinical symptoms associated with CTE. ), PPVs and DVDs worldwide. Dutch Court Bans Sperm Donation to Father of Over 550 Children. It is also known as heart and circulatory disease. Itno longer takes an Incredible Hulk physique for a guy to be passedthe torch to main event status guys like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan are prime examples of this. Sign up for the [9] Daniel had internal injuries to the throat area, showing no bruises. A lot of the times in the past, wrestlers have relied on either painkillers or drugs to help them cope with injuries. [119], There have been discussions about whether or not Benoit would ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. His final days took place in Puerto Rico before he was scheduled to face Dan Spivey in a match. [90][95] Gary I. Wadler, who served on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List and Methods Committee, and its Health, Medicine, and Research Committee agreed stating that "that was a premeditated act and that's not rage". Watch every Premium Live Event and get unlimited access to WWE's premium content - available to you anywhere, anytime, on any device. 2023 BBC.