As a child of the Hulk Hogan era, I grew up watching wrestling. It’s hard to find someone my age that doesn’t have memories (fond for some, crushing for others) of the Ultimate Warrior defeating Hulk Hogan at Wreslemania VII. Memories of the early Hogan and Macho Man battles, Hogan and Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake the Snake, the list goes on an on.
Gradually, those characters gave way to the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash (then Diesel), Scott Hall (then Razor Ramon) on the way to Triple-H, The Rock, and simultaneously in WCW, Chris Jericho, the Steiners, Sting, Ric Flair, and the likes of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit.
Between Mankind’s WWF debut and the debut of The Outsiders in WCW, I didn’t watch much wrestling. After seeing Hogan lose at Wrestlemania, seeing the Undertaker lose the night after Wrestlemania XII was too much for this guy, and I went away from it for a while. Then The Outsiders came along, and I started to gain an interest in WCW. The first WCW pay-per-view I ever watched featured a Retirement Match between Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan. Of course the outcome was pre-determined, but the match was electric. The makings of a new favourite were born in me.
As the NWO storyline progressed, and as I started to watch WCW almost exclusively, Chris Benoit emerged as one of the most exciting and talented wrestlers around. The great nicknames: Canadian Crippler, Rabid Wolverine; the great finishing moves: Crippler Crossface, Swandive head butt; add it all up, and you’ve got a great wrestler.
In today’s era of wrestling, when microphone skills are often more important than ring skills, Benoit was a throw-back. He performed with an intensity and charisma that kept old-time fans watching, and cheering for him. Perhaps the greatest testament to Benoit’s abilities is the fact he often played the role of the bad guy. In doing so, he often had a menacing demeanor, but through the façade, wrestling fans saw nothing but greatness.
Regarded as one of the greatest technical wrestlers of the era, Benoit was involved in so many classic matches in the last 15 or so years, the news of his death Monday sent shockwaves through the wrestling world that won’t recede any time soon.
So here’s to Chris Benoit. You were one of the best, and we’ll all miss you.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment