1 00:00:05,050 --> 00:00:08,250 My name is Dennis Fagan. I run the security for World Wrestling, and one of 2 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:09,990 wrestlers that lives down there is missing. 3 00:00:10,250 --> 00:00:11,250 Okay, and what's his name? 4 00:00:11,610 --> 00:00:12,810 Chris Benoit. 5 00:00:13,290 --> 00:00:16,550 Chris Benoit was considered by many of us in the business as being one of the 6 00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:19,590 greatest workers in wrestling. He was nicknamed the rabid wolverine, the 7 00:00:19,590 --> 00:00:22,950 Canadian crippler. They tried to reach his wife, Nancy. She doesn't answer. 8 00:00:22,950 --> 00:00:26,510 tried to call his house. I plan on ruling the wrestling world. 9 00:00:26,890 --> 00:00:30,630 She was in love, more in love than I'd ever, ever seen her in my life. This was 10 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:33,850 during Chris and Nancy's wedding. Daniel was the best man, of course. 11 00:00:34,510 --> 00:00:37,790 All right, we'll go ahead and send somebody out there to check on it. While 12 00:00:37,790 --> 00:00:41,710 wrestling world in shock today, former champion Chris Benoit found dead in his 13 00:00:41,710 --> 00:00:45,370 Atlanta home along with his wife and young son. Police now treating the 14 00:00:45,370 --> 00:00:47,470 discovery as a double murder -suicide. 15 00:00:47,750 --> 00:00:53,530 On June 25, 2007, Chris Benoit's brutal murder of his wife and son dominated the 16 00:00:53,530 --> 00:00:56,130 news cycle, leaving the world searching for answers. 17 00:00:56,430 --> 00:01:00,470 Going over it in my mind, like, why did this happen? How did it happen? Could it 18 00:01:00,470 --> 00:01:01,179 have been stopped? 19 00:01:01,180 --> 00:01:05,800 Authorities say Benoit strangled his wife and suffocated his son before 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:06,960 himself in their home. 21 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,560 The term has been being thrown around everywhere, roid rage. 22 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,360 When you look at Christopher Benoit's brain, it is in fact shocking. 23 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:19,100 For over a decade, those closest to the killings have been left traumatized and 24 00:01:19,100 --> 00:01:20,100 desperate for closure. 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,580 For the first time, friends and family have come together to tell the story in 26 00:01:24,580 --> 00:01:25,559 their own words. 27 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:30,260 Chris was just this gentle giant, and I could never have imagined that he could 28 00:01:30,260 --> 00:01:31,219 hurt someone. 29 00:01:31,220 --> 00:01:33,780 He was probably the greatest wrestler that's ever lived. 30 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,600 And to have that same person who murdered your family, that's not an easy 31 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:39,020 statement for me to make. 32 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,720 That's not the Chris that I knew. There's so many details, it's so crazy 33 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,520 understand. I need to talk about this. If you don't want to hear it, if you're 34 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,880 going to give me shit about it later and say I'm glorifying a murderer, stop 35 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:50,880 listening now. 36 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:03,960 All right. 37 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,280 All right, you ready? 38 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:07,579 Let's rock. 39 00:02:07,580 --> 00:02:08,429 All right. 40 00:02:08,430 --> 00:02:09,990 So first, can you tell us who you are? 41 00:02:10,610 --> 00:02:13,310 I'm David Benoit, son of Chris Benoit. 42 00:02:14,430 --> 00:02:17,450 He's one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, I believe. 43 00:02:18,550 --> 00:02:25,550 That was just his job. As soon as he got 44 00:02:25,550 --> 00:02:26,870 off the road, he was just dad. 45 00:02:27,210 --> 00:02:29,150 That was it, no matter what. 46 00:02:31,770 --> 00:02:34,810 My grandfather took him to his very first show in Edmonton. 47 00:02:35,990 --> 00:02:37,390 And then he saw the Dynamite Kid. 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,420 Against the Dynamite Kid, also 214 from Liverpool. 49 00:02:43,460 --> 00:02:45,760 And then he's like, yep, that's what I want to do. 50 00:02:46,220 --> 00:02:50,100 My dad, he looked up to him. That was his idol. 51 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,740 He emulated him. His work ethic, nothing like it. 52 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,920 And then he would do his signature flying headbutt. 53 00:02:59,820 --> 00:03:05,920 He would climb up to the top rope, jump off Spread Eagle, and connect. 54 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,140 Busted his ass in the ring every single night. Gave it 120 % no matter what. 55 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:22,460 I got my very first Nintendo, and I had WCW Mayhem, and I played as him. 56 00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:27,840 Chris Van Wall is on the radar as a pro wrestler since, gosh, the 80s. 57 00:03:29,220 --> 00:03:31,760 I'm Jim Ross, got into wrestling in 1974. 58 00:03:32,580 --> 00:03:36,300 I'm now the senior advisor to AEW. 59 00:03:37,140 --> 00:03:41,060 I'm a wrestling fan, so if you're a wrestling fan, how could you not be a 60 00:03:41,060 --> 00:03:42,060 Chris Benoit's work? 61 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:46,160 He's always considered one of the best workers ever, even when he's young. He 62 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:47,160 was just a natural. 63 00:03:48,340 --> 00:03:49,600 My name is Chris Jericho. 64 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,280 I've been wrestling for a long time, almost 30 years. 65 00:03:52,740 --> 00:03:56,080 Watching Chris Benoit was one of the reasons why I really enjoyed Stampede 66 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,160 Wrestling and why I started really thinking, maybe I can do this. 67 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:03,240 Benoit's a rookie, but he does have the moves. 68 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,080 If you watch Stampede Wrestling, you can tell that the guys were... 69 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,420 The smaller guys, they were not as tall as the giants that you could find in the 70 00:04:10,420 --> 00:04:16,860 WBF. I thought, wow, they're kind of my size. So in that aspect, someone like 71 00:04:16,860 --> 00:04:19,160 Chris Bemel was kind of an early influence on me. 72 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:27,520 The most intense and believable performer I've ever been in the ring 73 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,280 with. He could see things that would happen before they happened. 74 00:04:32,170 --> 00:04:36,550 His first job was wrestling, and his last job was wrestling. All he ever did 75 00:04:36,550 --> 00:04:39,230 wrestle. The only thing he ever got a paycheck from was wrestling. 76 00:04:41,530 --> 00:04:44,170 I was a huge fan of Chris right off the get -go. 77 00:04:44,470 --> 00:04:46,390 He's the ultimate performer. 78 00:04:47,170 --> 00:04:52,890 D -Maleka. I wrestled for ECW, WCW, and of course WWF slash WWE. 79 00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:58,150 Chris was a very quiet, very reserved, you know, very serious guy, and kind of 80 00:04:58,150 --> 00:04:59,150 like into his own. 81 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,260 Little world at times, but when the red light went on and that bell rang, Chris 82 00:05:03,260 --> 00:05:04,440 Benoit was a whole other person. 83 00:05:05,060 --> 00:05:08,080 Extremely focused, probably one of the most focused individuals I've ever seen 84 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:09,640 in any sport, for that matter. 85 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,640 Chris took nothing less than being perfect. 86 00:05:16,490 --> 00:05:20,690 I did a few tours with Benoit over in Japan, and we had a match. I gave him a 87 00:05:20,690 --> 00:05:23,750 spin kick, and I didn't hit him in the head with it, nor should you. It's 88 00:05:23,750 --> 00:05:27,750 wrestling. You work together to put on a show. He felt like he took it the wrong 89 00:05:27,750 --> 00:05:31,930 way. He felt that he exposed the business with his ineptitude. Meanwhile, 90 00:05:31,930 --> 00:05:35,310 you nobody noticed anything because a quick kick goes by. You take a bump. 91 00:05:35,310 --> 00:05:36,330 not on TV. Who cares? 92 00:05:37,090 --> 00:05:38,090 He cared. 93 00:05:42,250 --> 00:05:45,730 I found him in the back doing hack squats, like Hindu squats where you just 94 00:05:45,730 --> 00:05:47,410 up and down. One, two. 95 00:05:48,250 --> 00:05:52,150 And I go, what's wrong? He's like, I messed up that kick and I have to do 96 00:05:52,150 --> 00:05:53,490 now. I'm like, why? 97 00:05:53,970 --> 00:05:57,950 Who told you to do squats? Are you in trouble? No, I'm just doing them on my 98 00:05:57,950 --> 00:05:59,810 own. I screwed up. I'm doing 500 squats. 99 00:06:02,230 --> 00:06:05,870 That was him. It's like he had to purge himself and punish himself for making 100 00:06:05,870 --> 00:06:09,610 this minor mistake that to him was everything. 101 00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:11,510 And Eddie was like that too. 102 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,740 Wrestling fans, of course, all know who Eddie Guerrero is. To many in the 103 00:06:17,740 --> 00:06:22,620 wrestling world, he's considered as one of the absolute best wrestlers of all 104 00:06:22,620 --> 00:06:23,620 time. 105 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,440 I'm Chavo Guerrero Jr., third -generation professional wrestler from 106 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:29,540 legendary Guerrero family. 107 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:34,960 When Eddie was about 18, he started really training for wrestling, started 108 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,100 wrestling all over Mexico, and then transitioned into Japan and became one 109 00:06:39,100 --> 00:06:41,560 their top stars and was called Black Tiger. 110 00:06:42,570 --> 00:06:48,110 He was this tall Mexican guy with long hair and cowboy boots and pants that 111 00:06:48,110 --> 00:06:51,990 tight, and I loved his ass, and I thought he was the most gorgeous guy. 112 00:06:53,150 --> 00:06:59,930 My name is Vicky Guerrero. I am a former WWE superstar, and I fell 113 00:06:59,930 --> 00:07:00,930 in love with Eddie. 114 00:07:01,410 --> 00:07:06,650 He loved wrestling. He ate it. He dreamt it. He was always doing promos in the 115 00:07:06,650 --> 00:07:07,650 bathroom mirror. 116 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,140 He was always showing me, hey, can I try this move on you and tell me if it 117 00:07:12,140 --> 00:07:15,900 hurts. Those were kind of fun days in the bed. I mean, I'm not going to lie. 118 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:17,240 Those were good times. 119 00:07:18,740 --> 00:07:22,960 Super nice, very friendly, would give you the shirt off his back, like 120 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,600 literally. Like you could just tell the sweetness just exuded from this guy. 121 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,140 A little bit crazy as any wrestler. 122 00:07:30,780 --> 00:07:34,780 can be, especially from that generation. Very small, though. When we were in 123 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:38,460 Japan, the referee, Hattori, used to call him the Mexican Flamingo. 124 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,460 Big, big upper body, small leg. 125 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,020 I think Chris and Eddie first met in Japan, if I'm not mistaken. 126 00:07:48,980 --> 00:07:52,940 They would beat the shit out of each other, almost like they owed each other 127 00:07:52,940 --> 00:07:53,940 lot of money. 128 00:07:57,180 --> 00:07:58,940 Eddie would call me and be like, yeah. 129 00:07:59,710 --> 00:08:03,710 I can't stand this asshole. Like, he's such a prick, and, you know, I can't 130 00:08:03,710 --> 00:08:05,490 believe I have to work with him for the next week or two. 131 00:08:08,190 --> 00:08:14,190 I think even in today's world of wrestling, every company out there, they 132 00:08:14,190 --> 00:08:15,310 back and watch those matches. 133 00:08:17,150 --> 00:08:19,170 Those guys were, like, way ahead of the time. 134 00:08:20,110 --> 00:08:24,250 I really wanted to be like those guys, you know? Like, that's why my name was 135 00:08:24,250 --> 00:08:25,590 Lionheart for so long. 136 00:08:29,450 --> 00:08:31,670 Because I wanted to be an animal like those guys. 137 00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:33,669 Eddie was Black Tiger. 138 00:08:33,970 --> 00:08:36,230 Chris was Pegasus Kid, Wild Pegasus. 139 00:08:37,890 --> 00:08:40,470 Those two just saw things differently. 140 00:08:40,990 --> 00:08:43,789 And that was part of what made them so great. 141 00:08:44,650 --> 00:08:48,430 The more they fought, I think the more that they started, you know, respecting 142 00:08:48,430 --> 00:08:52,810 each other, they hit it off. And they ended up just, you know, being the best 143 00:08:52,810 --> 00:08:53,810 friends. 144 00:08:57,710 --> 00:09:03,850 These particular earrings are a pair that my sister wore as a woman on WCW. 145 00:09:04,410 --> 00:09:09,210 I decided that I would wear what she thought would look good on camera. 146 00:09:09,730 --> 00:09:15,530 My name is Sandra Toffoloni, and I am the only sibling of Nancy Benoit. 147 00:09:17,070 --> 00:09:20,490 My sister Nancy just married right out of high school. 148 00:09:20,690 --> 00:09:24,770 Her first husband was a huge wrestling fan and got her to go into the matches, 149 00:09:24,810 --> 00:09:26,090 and she really liked it. 150 00:09:27,370 --> 00:09:31,410 There was a moment where I don't know if it was a promoter or another manager 151 00:09:31,410 --> 00:09:32,910 that picked her out of the crowd. 152 00:09:33,370 --> 00:09:35,250 You know, she's a beautiful woman. 153 00:09:35,450 --> 00:09:39,710 The first time it was just kind of like a weekend thing, and then it turned into 154 00:09:39,710 --> 00:09:40,710 something else. 155 00:09:41,550 --> 00:09:44,630 She met Kevin Sullivan in Florida Championship Wrestling. 156 00:09:47,730 --> 00:09:53,510 He's probably one of the greatest promoters and bookers that's ever worked 157 00:09:53,510 --> 00:09:54,510 wrestling. 158 00:09:54,540 --> 00:09:58,520 Kevin Sullivan, who was the Satanic character, and he was Satanic because he 159 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,100 shaved an X into his chest hair and put makeup on, you know. 160 00:10:03,020 --> 00:10:07,200 That was about the extent of his Satanism, you know. He would wear a 161 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:13,280 And they had an instant connection as friends, and then not shortly after that 162 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:18,040 were falling in love. She was already in the process of divorcing her first 163 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:19,040 husband. 164 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,140 To Kevin, he had this... 165 00:10:22,460 --> 00:10:28,300 idea in his head to grow this gimmick of he's the prince of darkness and he has 166 00:10:28,300 --> 00:10:34,820 this army of darkness behind him and nancy by his side as the fallen angel 167 00:10:34,820 --> 00:10:39,120 welcome to polynesian pro wrestling i'm angel your co -host and here's my master 168 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:44,940 kevin sullivan no angel you've done a fine job the name fallen angel came from 169 00:10:44,940 --> 00:10:51,200 your riot heap album and the cover of it had this Beautiful woman in a leather 170 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:57,060 -ish bikini with feathers and a sword. And she looked at that cover and said, 171 00:10:57,180 --> 00:10:58,480 man, that's a gimmick. 172 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:03,380 She was good at what she did. Probably one of the first that really understood 173 00:11:03,380 --> 00:11:06,640 the art of being a valet or second, so to speak. 174 00:11:07,980 --> 00:11:12,140 She's the instrumental part in getting heat, as we like to say. 175 00:11:12,860 --> 00:11:17,720 People would stop her. They recognized her. They believed she was possessed. 176 00:11:19,060 --> 00:11:21,980 She'd be getting gas and they would come over and like, we're just going to lay 177 00:11:21,980 --> 00:11:24,060 hands on you and pray, pray for your soul. 178 00:11:24,420 --> 00:11:29,920 And she loved it because she knew if they hate me, I'm absolutely doing my 179 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:35,240 Because she wasn't a wrestler, but she was very valuable as a ringside 180 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:40,080 performer. And that's a lost art. Now there's no such thing, right? Every girl 181 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:41,420 in the business has to be a wrestler. 182 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,120 She wasn't that, but she probably knew the business better than most. 183 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,300 She did Kevin's makeup. She did her own makeup. 184 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:51,860 She did everything, the hair, the staging, the clothes. 185 00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:55,580 Guys would break their tights. Nancy would be there with thread and needle. 186 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,140 We had duffel bags full of boa constrictors all around the house. 187 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,640 In the beginning, how would you describe their dynamic, like what they saw in 188 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:03,640 each other, do you think? 189 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,520 Nancy and Kevin's? Yeah. Oh, man. 190 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,820 You know, he worshipped her, and she was all in with him. 191 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,780 She was in love, and their dynamic was awesome. 192 00:12:13,770 --> 00:12:15,610 So they moved to WCW. 193 00:12:15,850 --> 00:12:19,670 It was a big step up, obviously, from what they were doing. 194 00:12:23,870 --> 00:12:27,250 WCW, where the big boys play. 195 00:12:29,310 --> 00:12:32,650 Dean Malenko, Crispin Waugh, and Eddie Guerrero were the three amigos. 196 00:12:33,010 --> 00:12:35,490 All three of them came to WCW together. 197 00:12:35,710 --> 00:12:38,190 What did they call this guy up north, the Canadian Crippler? 198 00:12:40,460 --> 00:12:44,900 Did you see that? Kevin was a booker at the time, booking productions, booking 199 00:12:44,900 --> 00:12:46,680 talent for storylines. 200 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,300 Everyone kept talking about this really great technical wrestler that was coming 201 00:12:51,300 --> 00:12:55,700 out. I knew he was new to the company, and I know that my brother -in -law 202 00:12:55,700 --> 00:12:56,700 wanted to book him. 203 00:12:57,300 --> 00:12:59,780 I just knew Nancy is the fallen angel character. 204 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,480 Then getting to WCW, she was woman. 205 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:05,020 I am woman. 206 00:13:05,420 --> 00:13:08,040 So men, look at it. 207 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:09,940 Wish you had it. 208 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,240 And eat your heart out. Woman was the one character she was attached to 209 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,180 it was most like her actual personality. 210 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,720 I'm going to watch your every move, Ric Flair. 211 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,780 I'll see you at the class, big boy. 212 00:13:24,140 --> 00:13:27,500 She's independent. She takes nothing from anyone. 213 00:13:28,020 --> 00:13:30,260 And got to help you if you get in her way. 214 00:13:31,380 --> 00:13:33,200 This one's for you. 215 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,620 I know Kevin really, really liked Chris. Really enjoyed working with him. 216 00:13:38,090 --> 00:13:44,550 And at that time, Kevin was booking Chris and himself into matches, and 217 00:13:44,550 --> 00:13:48,130 kind of became a part of it. Things were kind of happening a little weird, but 218 00:13:48,130 --> 00:13:53,050 nobody really knew what was going on. Kevin Sullivan, it started out as you 219 00:13:53,050 --> 00:13:58,550 I, and then you brought Nancy into it. The joke in the business is always that 220 00:13:58,550 --> 00:14:00,130 Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce. 221 00:14:00,990 --> 00:14:05,050 It's funny to a point, and then it's kind of not funny at all, because I'm 222 00:14:05,050 --> 00:14:07,370 certain that it was not meant to happen. 223 00:14:16,330 --> 00:14:23,010 Starting in WCW, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, who all came in 224 00:14:23,010 --> 00:14:26,550 together, they loved it. They were happy when they were, you know, getting some 225 00:14:26,550 --> 00:14:32,110 props because even them being smaller in a sense, they were the workhorses. You 226 00:14:32,110 --> 00:14:33,130 could always count on them. 227 00:14:33,490 --> 00:14:34,830 Benoit takes flight. 228 00:14:35,270 --> 00:14:37,430 He is on tour with a swan dive. 229 00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:43,410 So Kevin Sullivan, the booker, the story maker, writes the story and has this 230 00:14:43,410 --> 00:14:44,990 idea to have... 231 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:51,480 Woman, who is Nancy, leave Kevin's side and start going with Kevin's arch rival, 232 00:14:51,660 --> 00:14:58,240 who is Chris Benoit. What's it feel like losing the most important thing that 233 00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,240 you ever had? 234 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,240 WCW would film vignettes with Chris and Nancy being intimate together. 235 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:08,620 I'll tell you what, it sure feels great gaming. 236 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,960 What they didn't plan for is that that really happened. 237 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,340 Nancy left Kevin Sullivan to go with Chris Benoit. 238 00:15:19,380 --> 00:15:23,840 Kevin was used to her always being there and kind of being his right -hand 239 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:28,140 person. And with her focusing on her own career, I think there were strains 240 00:15:28,140 --> 00:15:33,040 there. There were a couple of physical altercations in the house, fights that 241 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:38,360 escalated. Nancy would reach out to Chris whenever she would have a bad 242 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,640 with Kevin. And Chris was her safe haven, you know, where she would go 243 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:43,640 he was at. 244 00:15:43,770 --> 00:15:47,610 Chris was going through problems with his wife at the time, so two people kind 245 00:15:47,610 --> 00:15:50,770 of gravitating toward each other because they're, you know, having difficulties. 246 00:15:52,630 --> 00:15:59,610 So I got a call from my husband telling me that Nancy had some problems and 247 00:15:59,610 --> 00:16:01,030 could I help her. 248 00:16:02,050 --> 00:16:07,010 I was working in a psychiatrist's office and Chris brought her in to see me and 249 00:16:07,010 --> 00:16:11,890 she came in and removed her sunglasses and she had a huge black eye. 250 00:16:12,810 --> 00:16:17,490 She told me Kevin had done that to her, and I just told her that I'm going to 251 00:16:17,490 --> 00:16:19,950 help you in any way we can. We need to document this. 252 00:16:21,530 --> 00:16:24,810 I was really hoping to try to help her get out of that abusive relationship. 253 00:16:25,270 --> 00:16:28,570 I just thought it was going to blow up. 254 00:16:30,230 --> 00:16:34,070 Bash at the Beach was in Daytona Beach at the Ocean Center. 255 00:16:34,510 --> 00:16:37,530 It was Kevin Sullivan going against Chris. 256 00:16:38,250 --> 00:16:39,250 It was a great match. 257 00:16:39,390 --> 00:16:41,590 I thought it looked super realistic. 258 00:16:42,030 --> 00:16:46,730 And then at one point, Chris and Kevin really started exchanging blows. 259 00:16:47,350 --> 00:16:52,870 Chris hit Kevin really hard on the side of the head, and it broke his eardrum. 260 00:16:54,990 --> 00:16:58,750 The match ended, but the fight continued backstage. 261 00:17:00,250 --> 00:17:02,470 And I was called out to go backstage. 262 00:17:03,410 --> 00:17:05,109 I started to watch towards Kevin. 263 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,960 And Chris is like, no, no, don't do that. 264 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,880 And Kevin's yelling from the other end of the hallway, come on, come on, come 265 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,140 with me, come with me, we're leaving. 266 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,540 Chris handed me the phone, and it was my sister on the other end. She's like, 267 00:17:16,579 --> 00:17:17,940 Sandra, get out of there. 268 00:17:18,180 --> 00:17:19,960 Come home. Come to the condo. 269 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:21,900 Just go with Chris. 270 00:17:22,339 --> 00:17:23,619 Do not go with Kevin. 271 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,660 And I always do what my sister says, so that's what I did. No explanation 272 00:17:27,660 --> 00:17:28,660 needed. 273 00:17:29,820 --> 00:17:34,360 I went to the condo, and my sister came out to talk to me, and she was visibly, 274 00:17:34,380 --> 00:17:35,380 physically hurt. 275 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,360 She explained to me that her injuries were from Kevin and that Chris had 276 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,640 her and that she was leaving Kevin. 277 00:17:43,140 --> 00:17:45,400 I told her she had to. 278 00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:57,340 Chris was a nice person and all I knew about him was that he helped my sister 279 00:17:57,340 --> 00:18:02,320 a time that she really needed it. So for that, he instantly had my thanks and my 280 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:03,320 admiration. 281 00:18:03,580 --> 00:18:04,600 And she was... 282 00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:07,970 More in love than I'd ever, ever seen her in my life. 283 00:18:08,410 --> 00:18:11,510 The way they looked at each other, we're like, oh, yeah, it's going to work. 284 00:18:11,750 --> 00:18:13,870 And Nancy and I became master friends. 285 00:18:15,150 --> 00:18:19,490 Chris decided that he wanted to push his career forward a little bit, and then 286 00:18:19,490 --> 00:18:25,270 she just really, really, really wanted to focus on building the house and 287 00:18:25,270 --> 00:18:26,270 starting a family. 288 00:18:26,790 --> 00:18:29,810 And then all of a sudden, Daniel was born. 289 00:18:30,530 --> 00:18:33,490 I have never seen Chris so... 290 00:18:33,820 --> 00:18:36,620 beyond himself, just excited. 291 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:43,800 This is my favorite page because this was during Chris and Nancy's wedding, 292 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,740 Daniel was the best man, of course. 293 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,080 This is the love that Chris and Nancy always had. 294 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:57,640 And then here's them feeding Daniel after they got married, and Nancy being 295 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:58,720 princess that she was. 296 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,960 And David was there, too, Chris's oldest. 297 00:19:03,550 --> 00:19:06,490 David is the son of Chris Benoit from Chris' first marriage. 298 00:19:07,310 --> 00:19:10,290 Nancy, she treated me like I was her own kid. 299 00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:14,470 We didn't use the word step in our family, you know. 300 00:19:15,810 --> 00:19:21,030 We were family. We went and had fun, went to Chuck E. Cheese with Daniel and 301 00:19:21,030 --> 00:19:23,890 Nancy, and, you know, it was good times. 302 00:19:24,650 --> 00:19:28,670 This is my very favorite photo of David and Daniel. 303 00:19:30,450 --> 00:19:31,730 It's flippin' adorable. 304 00:19:32,380 --> 00:19:34,300 I mean, that's what siblings are. 305 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,600 You hang on to one another and hope for the best for each other. 306 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,260 He'd look up to me, you know? 307 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:43,000 I loved him. 308 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:44,340 I protected him. 309 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:46,880 We wanted to be tag team champions. 310 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,760 That's what we wanted to do, be the tag team champions of the world together. 311 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,420 So in WCW, there was definitely a ceiling. 312 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:02,920 that you would reach. 313 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,600 The bigger guys were getting all the TV spotlights. 314 00:20:07,820 --> 00:20:11,260 If you weren't like seven foot tall and huge muscles, you know, you didn't get 315 00:20:11,260 --> 00:20:12,420 the main event. 316 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:19,400 Chris was getting a little irritated about the situation with happening at 317 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,560 at the time and never seeing herself in the main event spot because we kept 318 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:23,419 getting pushed down. 319 00:20:23,420 --> 00:20:25,360 So we decided to take a walk. 320 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:26,760 I cannot believe this. 321 00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:31,280 Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko on WWF Raw. 322 00:20:31,630 --> 00:20:35,530 They walked out, WWF picked them up in one second, and the rest is history. 323 00:20:37,950 --> 00:20:44,230 But all three of them got to WWE, then you really saw the strengths. 324 00:20:47,870 --> 00:20:53,290 Their intelligence for the business and their view of the business and seeing, 325 00:20:53,310 --> 00:20:54,550 like, we see this, they saw this. 326 00:20:55,410 --> 00:20:58,750 Eddie became one of the best characters of all time as well as being one of the 327 00:20:58,750 --> 00:20:59,930 best in -ring champions. 328 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:05,220 And Benoit became just this killer, you know, no -nonsense Clint Eastwood 329 00:21:05,220 --> 00:21:06,540 performer. It was like Dirty Harry. 330 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,460 Go ahead, make my day. Benoit, he's a rabid wolverine. 331 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,300 Chris Benoit's been a main eventer for years. 332 00:21:15,860 --> 00:21:17,940 It wasn't a matter that he was too short. 333 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:20,000 Perceived as too short. 334 00:21:20,380 --> 00:21:21,380 Imagine that. 335 00:21:21,540 --> 00:21:24,360 Benoit's a magnificent, extraordinary athlete. 336 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,840 I always thought, man, getting Benoit here, it's going to create these great 337 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:29,580 matchups. And it did. 338 00:21:30,090 --> 00:21:31,170 It was a no -brainer. 339 00:21:32,190 --> 00:21:37,870 But also, Chris was always very much a great father, you know, very much about 340 00:21:37,870 --> 00:21:38,709 his family. 341 00:21:38,710 --> 00:21:41,230 His kids were always high up on his list. 342 00:21:41,870 --> 00:21:45,150 When Daniel got a little older, Chris would bring him to the ring. 343 00:21:45,850 --> 00:21:49,750 And of course, any time when Chris brought the kids around, we'd all play 344 00:21:49,750 --> 00:21:50,709 him. 345 00:21:50,710 --> 00:21:55,010 It really pained him when he had to miss certain things. I remember at one 346 00:21:55,010 --> 00:21:58,360 point... I said something along the lines of, like, I got to be home on 347 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,300 Halloween. He's like, oh, man, I wish I could go home for Halloween, but I got 348 00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:01,839 to work. 349 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:06,240 And I miss Father's Day, too. I'm like, as we do, we'll just get those days off. 350 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:12,500 And it's almost like he didn't want to ask for days off because, you know, 351 00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:16,380 sacrificing for his art, I guess you would say. 352 00:22:16,620 --> 00:22:21,240 And there's a similarity between Chris and Eddie in that both of them 353 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:22,580 a lot for their art. 354 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,180 Chris and Eddie basically gave their life for pro wrestling. 355 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:40,100 For Eddie, wrestling was everything. God was first, and then family and 356 00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:41,620 wrestling were a close second. 357 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,300 You know, sometimes we'd be in the locker room, and Eddie's naked in the 358 00:22:46,300 --> 00:22:50,220 room reading scripture to other wrestlers and telling them about God. 359 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,420 Chris wasn't religious at all. 360 00:22:52,890 --> 00:22:56,070 And Eddie was the one that started introducing him about God. 361 00:22:57,090 --> 00:23:01,770 And Chris was very receptive, and he always listened to Eddie. And Eddie had 362 00:23:01,770 --> 00:23:03,510 even given him a Bible one Christmas. 363 00:23:04,570 --> 00:23:08,130 And Chris always had that on him, and that was something that meant a lot to 364 00:23:08,130 --> 00:23:14,010 Eddie, to always be a witness to Chris, you know, and to help him try and find 365 00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:15,010 his higher power. 366 00:23:15,170 --> 00:23:19,610 Chris was very quiet, very reserved, and it took a while for him to trust 367 00:23:19,610 --> 00:23:23,510 somebody. Eddie would be his go -to guy. He'd go and talk to him about certain 368 00:23:23,510 --> 00:23:27,810 things, whether it be marriage problems or family or professional problems. 369 00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:31,350 They'd always confide in each other, and that's what their friendship was. And I 370 00:23:31,350 --> 00:23:33,130 know that Chris didn't have that with a lot of people. 371 00:23:34,510 --> 00:23:38,070 Chris, he was blowing up. He was getting bigger as a wrestler. 372 00:23:38,810 --> 00:23:42,570 And to have Nancy behind him, he was really happy. 373 00:23:43,150 --> 00:23:47,970 She was the driving force and motivation, sort of taking care of. 374 00:23:48,410 --> 00:23:50,950 everything else that wasn't related to wrestling. 375 00:23:51,790 --> 00:23:55,770 She wanted him to be happy and to be successful and to be with his best 376 00:23:56,930 --> 00:24:01,890 Eddie was injured a lot. He had a lot of pain and a lot of injuries that he 377 00:24:01,890 --> 00:24:03,330 couldn't get operations for. 378 00:24:05,150 --> 00:24:11,170 And as a wrestler, you never say that you need time off because... 379 00:24:11,660 --> 00:24:15,160 As soon as you're off TV for four or six months, you know, someone else is going 380 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,220 to come and replace you. And that was something that was always in Eddie's 381 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:20,720 You know, I was like, I can't stop now. 382 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:27,480 Everything he did was wrestling, even to the point where I know he was in a lot 383 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,240 of pain, but he still wanted to wrestle. That's what he does. That's what he 384 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:32,240 did. That's who he was. 385 00:24:32,660 --> 00:24:35,680 And there was also a lot of, I mean, let's be honest, we're adults. We all 386 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:37,700 the same shit. There's a lot of drinking. There's a lot of drugs. 387 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:43,220 But the more that Eddie was trying to hide his injuries with the drugs and the 388 00:24:43,220 --> 00:24:46,300 alcohol, it was just getting to a downward spiral. 389 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,360 You know, I thought Chris several different times to make sure that Eddie 390 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:56,240 tucked in bed okay, you know, and put on his side so he wouldn't throw up on 391 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:57,199 himself. 392 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:02,500 But then Eddie started getting DUIs and crashing his car and, you know, having 393 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:04,280 overdose problems. 394 00:25:08,270 --> 00:25:12,050 There were three ODs that Eddie did in our house. The first two, I called the 395 00:25:12,050 --> 00:25:15,230 ambulance. And all they did was release him the next afternoon. 396 00:25:15,450 --> 00:25:16,710 They just sent him home. 397 00:25:17,950 --> 00:25:21,730 The third time, I just let him lay there. 398 00:25:24,010 --> 00:25:28,990 I actually left and took the girls to school and just told God, if you're 399 00:25:28,990 --> 00:25:33,430 to take him, just take him now because it was a bad place in my life. 400 00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:41,550 A lot of Russ's were dying from substance abuse issues. And in the back 401 00:25:41,550 --> 00:25:45,230 mind, always you're like, man, is Eddie going to be one of those? Is he going to 402 00:25:45,230 --> 00:25:46,230 be a statistic? 403 00:25:46,650 --> 00:25:51,430 Eddie showed up to work high one day where he was in bad shape. And I think 404 00:25:51,430 --> 00:25:54,850 when they saw that and Eddie couldn't perform, that's when he said, we're 405 00:25:54,850 --> 00:25:58,410 to go ahead and let you go. He called me and said, well, I got fired. 406 00:25:59,070 --> 00:26:04,030 I finally was like, well, thank God. I mean, because now the worst that could 407 00:26:04,030 --> 00:26:05,110 ever be imagined. 408 00:26:05,740 --> 00:26:06,739 is happening. 409 00:26:06,740 --> 00:26:12,440 They sent him to rehab, lost everything, and had to go from the depths of hell 410 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,580 and work his way up the system again. 411 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,340 Little by little, he started changing his life to get clean. 412 00:26:20,180 --> 00:26:23,640 After that, his wife came back, his family came back, his life came back. 413 00:26:24,060 --> 00:26:29,500 And that's where Eddie got rehired from WWE, and things were great. He was in 414 00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:30,640 the best shape. 415 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,300 WrestleMania 20, the fans knew the history of Eddie and Chris. 416 00:26:37,260 --> 00:26:40,140 So the night in New York, it's the right time for both of these guys. 417 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,320 Me and Nancy were watching from the skybox. 418 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:48,180 We were jittery and we were nervous and we were excited and we were stressed too 419 00:26:48,180 --> 00:26:51,300 because we didn't know, you know, if they were going to win or what the 420 00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:52,300 was. 421 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,440 When Eddie won, it was pure joy. 422 00:27:03,940 --> 00:27:06,480 See my dad in the ring? 423 00:27:07,060 --> 00:27:08,060 He was my hero. 424 00:27:10,980 --> 00:27:13,320 I remember it like yesterday, man. 425 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,460 Jumped up after he won the belt. 426 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,900 Nancy and I were crying, and the girls were excited. 427 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,360 And, of course, you see the confetti and, you know, all the fans just on 428 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:27,360 feet. 429 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,680 And then I got to see Eddie Guerrero go out there. 430 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:30,960 Best friend. 431 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:32,440 What a moment. 432 00:27:32,740 --> 00:27:34,080 I'll never forget that. 433 00:27:36,620 --> 00:27:40,480 And that's why that's one of the best moments in not just wrestling history, I 434 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:41,480 think TV history. 435 00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:45,040 It was the happy storybook ending of WrestleMania. 436 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:49,780 You know, thank God the office finally saw those guys for what they were. 437 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:55,980 It was my favorite time, my favorite match. 438 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,120 I wish those two just retired right after that, to be honest with you. 439 00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:16,940 I have never, ever seen a closer relationship or friendship between 440 00:28:16,940 --> 00:28:23,000 two wrestlers as I did between Chris and Eddie. It was an actual, real, no 441 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,020 bullshit, out of the ring, caring relationship. 442 00:28:28,330 --> 00:28:31,170 So there's a super show in Minneapolis. 443 00:28:31,590 --> 00:28:35,130 We got a flight to Minneapolis. It was a few hours, so Eddie's sitting there 444 00:28:35,130 --> 00:28:40,110 talking to me, and then he kind of just, he kind of passes out, sleeps. And I'm 445 00:28:40,110 --> 00:28:43,370 like, well, I didn't know that this had been happening to Eddie. He started 446 00:28:43,370 --> 00:28:47,610 talking to people and passed out in the middle of the sentence. 447 00:28:49,090 --> 00:28:52,850 So we get off the plane in Minneapolis, check into our hotel that we always go 448 00:28:52,850 --> 00:28:55,890 to, and we had seen Chris in the lobby also. 449 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:57,880 Say, I'll see you down in the morning. Okay. 450 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:02,480 It's 7 o 'clock, and we're going to go work out. You know, three of us 451 00:29:02,660 --> 00:29:03,660 This is the way it was. 452 00:29:04,220 --> 00:29:05,740 Eddie goes to his room. I go to my room. 453 00:29:06,900 --> 00:29:10,240 Next morning, I get a call about 5 .30. 454 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:11,800 It's the front desk. 455 00:29:12,340 --> 00:29:13,340 Something's wrong with your uncle. 456 00:29:14,340 --> 00:29:16,880 What do you mean something's wrong with my uncle? So I get a knock on my door. 457 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:18,520 Security guard. 458 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,000 He's taking me into Eddie's room. I go, what's going on? 459 00:29:22,420 --> 00:29:24,040 He goes, well, your uncle didn't. 460 00:29:24,350 --> 00:29:28,210 He didn't answer his wake -up call. So we came to his room and knocked. 461 00:29:28,530 --> 00:29:31,730 No answer. With the latch on, that means someone's in here. 462 00:29:32,270 --> 00:29:34,170 So they cut the latch off. 463 00:29:34,430 --> 00:29:37,190 I walk in, and I look in the bathroom. I see Eddie face down. 464 00:29:38,550 --> 00:29:39,550 He's in his underwear. 465 00:29:39,690 --> 00:29:40,950 His toothbrush was in his hand. 466 00:29:44,010 --> 00:29:48,430 I grab him. I kind of try to shake him, and he's moving, and I hear him 467 00:29:48,430 --> 00:29:50,570 gurgling. 468 00:29:53,870 --> 00:29:59,550 And I'm like, Eddie, Eddie, wiping his face and he's like, 469 00:29:59,710 --> 00:30:06,290 he's still there, man. And we're trying and then all of a sudden 470 00:30:06,290 --> 00:30:11,270 he's in my arms and he's not there anymore. 471 00:30:14,910 --> 00:30:18,050 He passed in my arms, like literally. 472 00:30:28,629 --> 00:30:30,610 I haven't been to this moment in a long time. 473 00:30:41,330 --> 00:30:47,250 Then I get a call from Chris. And Chris goes, hey, man, I'm downstairs. Where 474 00:30:47,250 --> 00:30:47,929 are you? 475 00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:52,610 Hey, man, are you sitting down? He goes, yeah. And I go, Eddie passed away this 476 00:30:52,610 --> 00:30:56,730 morning. And all you hear is from a guy with no emotion whatsoever. 477 00:30:57,030 --> 00:30:58,030 You hear. 478 00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,240 A whale. 479 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:10,580 Just this whale from deep down, like a heartbreak. 480 00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:12,940 If you've ever heard one, this was heartbreaking. 481 00:31:15,900 --> 00:31:17,180 Then Vince called me. 482 00:31:18,660 --> 00:31:21,140 And he said, he goes, Vicki. 483 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:23,160 And he's just crying. 484 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,100 I'm just like, I go, is it true? And he's passed away. 485 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,580 He said, I'm sorry. 486 00:31:34,700 --> 00:31:38,240 Chris went over there and kind of knelt down and just steady on the forehead. I 487 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:43,260 went over there and kind of like the same thing. It was hard. I mean, here's 488 00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:47,700 buddy that you've been with for eight, ten years, every day pretty much. 489 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:56,180 And there wasn't really any sign that obviously he had relapsed. He didn't 490 00:31:56,180 --> 00:32:00,370 relapse. The verdict was heart disease at 38. 491 00:32:01,810 --> 00:32:05,350 I remember the day that my sister called me hysterical. I couldn't even 492 00:32:05,350 --> 00:32:08,970 understand her. You take some breaths and you tell me what's going on. She 493 00:32:08,970 --> 00:32:13,210 couldn't even get the words out. She told me I just burst into tears. 494 00:32:13,410 --> 00:32:18,270 And I thought about the kids and Vicki really, you know, just a flash in my 495 00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:22,970 head. And then my next thought was, oh, my God, Chris. 496 00:32:26,670 --> 00:32:28,430 Eddie Guerrero has passed away. 497 00:32:28,990 --> 00:32:32,590 The tribute that WWE did couldn't have been any better. 498 00:32:33,410 --> 00:32:36,290 Yeah, the whole stage was filled with everyone from backstage. 499 00:32:36,870 --> 00:32:38,530 But all I could remember was Chris. 500 00:32:39,130 --> 00:32:40,370 He was just crying. 501 00:32:40,910 --> 00:32:42,330 Now I know that I love you. 502 00:32:43,150 --> 00:32:44,190 I miss you. 503 00:32:47,990 --> 00:32:51,330 One by one, they took different talent. They wanted to talk about Eddie. Eddie's 504 00:32:51,330 --> 00:32:52,330 passing, Eddie's life. 505 00:32:52,550 --> 00:32:53,890 And Chris did it. 506 00:32:54,830 --> 00:32:56,130 Probably really difficult to do. 507 00:32:56,710 --> 00:32:58,190 Because I had a hard time getting through it. 508 00:32:58,530 --> 00:33:02,150 I want to thank you from my heart and tell you that I love you and I'll never 509 00:33:02,150 --> 00:33:03,150 forget you. 510 00:33:04,090 --> 00:33:05,690 And that we'll see each other again. 511 00:33:06,730 --> 00:33:07,830 I love you, Eddie. 512 00:33:11,930 --> 00:33:15,570 I believe it was very hard for him, you know. 513 00:33:15,850 --> 00:33:18,110 I even cried after for him. 514 00:33:19,330 --> 00:33:22,410 Funerals are never good, but Eddie's funeral was very hard. 515 00:33:23,340 --> 00:33:30,180 When I saw Benoit, he, man, he came and gave me a hug, but it was like the most 516 00:33:30,180 --> 00:33:37,040 desperate, saddest, I'm hanging on for dear life hug that you could ever get. 517 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:44,860 Sobbing, deep, hitching sobs and leaving literally a patch of wetness on the 518 00:33:44,860 --> 00:33:49,900 shoulder of my suit that soaked through to the shirt, went through the jacket 519 00:33:49,900 --> 00:33:50,900 and shirt of tears. 520 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,340 I'd never seen Chris show emotion before. 521 00:33:58,660 --> 00:34:02,400 You know, of course it affected all of us, but I just think it affected Chris 522 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,720 just like so much more. 523 00:34:04,940 --> 00:34:07,140 It affected Chris like a spouse or something. 524 00:34:17,739 --> 00:34:22,159 When Eddie passed away, not only did it end Chris and Eddie's relationship, in a 525 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:24,260 lot of ways it kind of ended mine with him too. 526 00:34:24,670 --> 00:34:28,250 I think he just became more and more of a hermit and didn't want to see people 527 00:34:28,250 --> 00:34:29,250 that he knew. 528 00:34:31,210 --> 00:34:35,969 I remember seeing him at Eddie's funeral, and the WWE guys had to leave 529 00:34:35,969 --> 00:34:37,170 after the funeral to fly to Europe. 530 00:34:37,469 --> 00:34:42,330 You have Chris who has this horrible damage done to him where he's crying, 531 00:34:42,510 --> 00:34:46,070 sobbing, the lowest point of his life, and as soon as the funeral's done, he 532 00:34:46,070 --> 00:34:47,949 goes on a plane and flies to Europe to wrestle. 533 00:34:48,409 --> 00:34:49,409 I didn't get that. 534 00:34:49,610 --> 00:34:53,530 You know, I thought if there's ever a time to take some time off. 535 00:34:53,980 --> 00:34:59,120 or to give someone some time off. I think Chris needed to be away from stuff 536 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,640 a while, but I think he just continued on because he didn't know what else to 537 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,400 do. He didn't handle it well. 538 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,400 Let me just say it like that. 539 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:13,580 I was in bed, like, for the first week after we buried Eddie, and Nancy was the 540 00:35:13,580 --> 00:35:18,440 first one at the house, and she helped me with everything. I mean, she was the 541 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,080 one who was making sure that the kids were fed. 542 00:35:21,580 --> 00:35:23,900 Finally, she just walked in my room and she's like, enough. 543 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:25,300 She goes, enough. 544 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:26,920 Get up and shower. 545 00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:30,780 Get up because you have two girls that still love you and they need you. 546 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,740 And I didn't want to do anything. 547 00:35:33,980 --> 00:35:36,760 And she threw me in the shower. 548 00:35:37,060 --> 00:35:38,600 She got the girls dressed. 549 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:40,860 And she goes, we're going to lunch. 550 00:35:41,700 --> 00:35:45,180 She was my angel in so many ways. 551 00:35:46,410 --> 00:35:50,010 She just immediately went into planning mode. I'm going to help with this, and 552 00:35:50,010 --> 00:35:54,110 I'm going to do that. I mean, that was her knee -jerk reaction to grief and 553 00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:57,670 heartache. But Chris locked down. 554 00:36:00,490 --> 00:36:05,070 And Nancy stayed with me for a month after Eddie passed away, and Chris would 555 00:36:05,070 --> 00:36:09,490 come in when they were off, and I would find Chris on Eddie's side of his bed, 556 00:36:09,630 --> 00:36:12,970 and Chris would just be laying there crying, holding Eddie's pillow. 557 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:19,800 Eddie had a beautiful gym upstairs, and I would go upstairs, and the girls would 558 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,340 come down, and they would say, Mom, Chris is crying again. 559 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:29,840 And I would go to the gym, and Chris would just be sitting on the bench just 560 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,740 crying. He goes, I'm lost without Eddie being here. 561 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,960 To see him just crying in my arms, it was very emotional. 562 00:36:38,300 --> 00:36:43,100 He was this big, strong man who was tough and quiet and strong. 563 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:46,080 He broke my heart. 564 00:36:47,420 --> 00:36:51,000 You know, but then you see Chris, you know, around the other wrestlers or in a 565 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,980 meeting and he had his face on. 566 00:36:53,260 --> 00:36:56,380 So professional, like you wouldn't even think that anything was bothering him. 567 00:36:57,060 --> 00:37:01,880 But Chris was getting more and more distant where he was not being seen as 568 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:04,960 backstage, you know, where I couldn't find him. Like Nancy would call me and 569 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,360 like, how's Chris doing today? And I said, well, I haven't seen him. 570 00:37:08,140 --> 00:37:11,500 She talked to me about it several times. She was like, there's something going 571 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:13,320 on and I don't know what it is. 572 00:37:13,690 --> 00:37:15,590 You got to tell me if you notice something. 573 00:37:15,910 --> 00:37:17,770 And I was like, yeah, there's something up. 574 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:22,170 He just seemed different. He was talking more about other wrestlers that had had 575 00:37:22,170 --> 00:37:26,530 children kidnapped and fans that went sideways and were violent. 576 00:37:27,050 --> 00:37:32,090 He used to take different cars and different ways to the gym that we had 577 00:37:32,090 --> 00:37:33,090 going to for years. 578 00:37:34,950 --> 00:37:36,990 It was super random. 579 00:37:37,310 --> 00:37:40,450 He just didn't want to be places and be seen. 580 00:37:40,650 --> 00:37:44,140 There was a level of... Paranoia we had never, ever seen before. 581 00:37:45,020 --> 00:37:48,360 Nancy started getting really worried. She's like, I'm really worried for 582 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,060 This is really affecting him in so many ways. 583 00:37:52,060 --> 00:37:54,060 He was just sad all the time and depressed. 584 00:37:54,460 --> 00:37:55,460 He was impatient. 585 00:37:55,500 --> 00:37:58,520 There was a lot of fighting going on for reasons that she didn't understand why 586 00:37:58,520 --> 00:37:59,520 he would be upset. 587 00:37:59,660 --> 00:38:03,200 And she would just be like, life is just really hard right now. Like, Chris is 588 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,940 just irritable and he doesn't want to talk to me. 589 00:38:06,620 --> 00:38:09,840 He's mad all the time. You know, he was just mad at life in general. 590 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:14,520 There were a few months where he completely closed off, not really even 591 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:16,700 to Nancy, not really talking to anyone. 592 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:21,740 So we got Chris a journal so that he could write to Eddie. 593 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:27,040 I think that after we got him that journal is when he started opening up a 594 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:27,939 little bit more. 595 00:38:27,940 --> 00:38:33,180 Because writing to him, he started feeling like maybe Eddie was with him in 596 00:38:33,180 --> 00:38:36,340 spirit or in heart by just being able to talk to him every day. 597 00:38:37,390 --> 00:38:41,350 Was there any point when Nancy wanted Chris to maybe step away from wrestling 598 00:38:41,350 --> 00:38:43,190 all? That last year. 599 00:38:43,870 --> 00:38:50,350 She didn't think that it was healthy physically or mentally for him to be on 600 00:38:50,350 --> 00:38:55,570 road and doing so much work in the same places that he and his best friend used 601 00:38:55,570 --> 00:38:57,430 to be and do things together. 602 00:38:57,870 --> 00:39:00,750 I remember talking to him and he's like, every building I go to. 603 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,140 All I can do is think of Eddie. Okay, we're in Kansas City. Last time I was 604 00:39:04,140 --> 00:39:07,980 here, Eddie was here. And now we're in New Mexico. Last time I was here, Eddie 605 00:39:07,980 --> 00:39:11,220 was here. And I think all of those things were kind of signs that something 606 00:39:11,220 --> 00:39:12,840 really serious was going on with him. 607 00:39:13,540 --> 00:39:19,540 He was so grief -stricken on a monumental level that she thought that 608 00:39:19,540 --> 00:39:23,520 the company and staying in the business was going to eventually harm his well 609 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:24,520 -being. 610 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:33,940 It's Saturday night. We're going to go into Laredo, Texas. 611 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:35,360 We're doing the Texas Loop. 612 00:39:36,460 --> 00:39:41,640 I get to Laredo, and Chris, myself, and Scott Armstrong are going to ride 613 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:42,640 together. 614 00:39:43,060 --> 00:39:47,020 And then later, I get a call from Chris, and he goes, oh, man, I'm not going to 615 00:39:47,020 --> 00:39:48,020 make it. 616 00:39:48,180 --> 00:39:49,158 I go, what's wrong? 617 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:54,460 He goes, oh, Daniel and Nancy have food poisoning, and I'm just trying to take 618 00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:55,460 care of them. 619 00:39:55,580 --> 00:39:57,720 And I'm like, oh, man, are you good? You all right? 620 00:39:58,160 --> 00:39:59,580 And he's like, yeah, I'm all right. 621 00:39:59,950 --> 00:40:00,948 I'm okay, I'm okay. 622 00:40:00,950 --> 00:40:02,890 I said, well, tomorrow we're in Houston for the pay -per -view. 623 00:40:03,090 --> 00:40:04,310 So he goes, okay, okay, great. 624 00:40:04,810 --> 00:40:06,310 I said, okay, man. And he goes, chavo. 625 00:40:07,150 --> 00:40:08,150 Chavo. 626 00:40:08,610 --> 00:40:09,448 I go, yeah? 627 00:40:09,450 --> 00:40:11,590 And he goes, I love you. 628 00:40:12,930 --> 00:40:14,910 And I'm like, okay, brother, I love you too, man. 629 00:40:15,570 --> 00:40:16,570 Hmm. 630 00:40:16,970 --> 00:40:17,970 That was weird. 631 00:40:18,050 --> 00:40:19,270 And I go, are you okay? 632 00:40:19,490 --> 00:40:22,830 He's like, yeah, I'm okay, man. Just, you know, just, I'm just really tired. 633 00:40:23,350 --> 00:40:26,150 I said, okay, man. Okay, well, you can call me if you need to get any problem. 634 00:40:26,250 --> 00:40:27,250 Okay, well, I will. 635 00:40:27,570 --> 00:40:28,570 So then... 636 00:40:28,900 --> 00:40:29,900 That's it. 637 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:36,480 About 5 .30 in the morning, I get a text, and it was from Chris's phone. And 638 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:43,260 said, the dogs are in the enclosed pool area, and the back door is open. 639 00:40:43,820 --> 00:40:47,800 So I'm half asleep, and I see this text, and I'm like, the heck is that? 640 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,960 All of a sudden, 30 seconds later, I get another text from Nancy's phone, and it 641 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:54,100 says the exact same thing. 642 00:40:54,460 --> 00:40:56,200 I was like, that's weird. 643 00:40:57,230 --> 00:41:00,390 I get another text right afterwards. It tells me his physical address. 644 00:41:00,730 --> 00:41:01,689 What is that? 645 00:41:01,690 --> 00:41:06,330 So I disregard it, thinking I'm picking Chris up in three hours at the airport. 646 00:41:07,390 --> 00:41:11,570 So then I meet Scott downstairs. We go get breakfast, and I talk to him. I go, 647 00:41:11,590 --> 00:41:15,150 hey, did you get a weird text from Chris? He goes, yeah, I did. 648 00:41:15,990 --> 00:41:17,130 I said, what did it say? 649 00:41:17,790 --> 00:41:19,190 And he said the exact same thing. 650 00:41:19,910 --> 00:41:21,530 We drive to Corpus Christi for the next show. 651 00:41:21,810 --> 00:41:23,430 Still no word from Chris. 652 00:41:24,370 --> 00:41:28,000 So the head of talent relations, Johnny Ace, asked me, hey, Chavo, have you 653 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:29,660 heard from Chris? And I said, no. 654 00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:32,920 I said, but look, Johnny, and I break out my phone and I show him. These are 655 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,020 texts that I got from Chris yesterday. 656 00:41:35,380 --> 00:41:38,620 And Johnny, in his raspy voice, is like, Chavo, why didn't you show us these 657 00:41:38,620 --> 00:41:41,920 yesterday? And I'm like, look, man, we were covering for Chris. 658 00:41:42,140 --> 00:41:44,080 We didn't know where he was. You didn't know where he was. 659 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,860 The office is starting to get concerned because it was getting to be like 1, 2, 660 00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:49,020 3 o 'clock in the afternoon. 661 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:52,640 So Vince McMahon had sent a wellness check to his house. 662 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,900 My name is Dennis Fagan. I run the security for World Wrestling, and one of 663 00:41:56,900 --> 00:42:00,100 wrestlers that lives down there is missing. We need a welfare check done. 664 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:01,400 And what's his name? 665 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:05,240 Chris Benoit. It's spelled B -E -N -O -I -T. 666 00:42:05,500 --> 00:42:07,220 Okay, and he's a wrestler? 667 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:13,400 So this man calls a meeting at the ring. 668 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:18,200 Dean Malenko's sitting next to me. I just had this really bad feeling. 669 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:20,420 Dean's like, there's something wrong. 670 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:22,280 Something is not right. 671 00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:28,320 That's when Vince McMahon stands up at the ring and says, we just got word that 672 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:32,960 Chris Benoit, Nancy, and Daniel have all passed away. 673 00:42:35,060 --> 00:42:37,960 And the gasps, of course, around the ring. 674 00:42:39,260 --> 00:42:43,080 I remember Vicky just let out this hurling scream. 675 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:49,900 I freaked out and I started crying and Dean kind of stood up and he grabbed my 676 00:42:49,900 --> 00:42:51,740 hand and he took me off to the back. 677 00:42:53,339 --> 00:42:56,940 So then Vince is backstage and I walk up to Vince and I said, what happened? 678 00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:58,300 What happened? And I'm a little frantic. 679 00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:02,100 And he says, they're gone. I said, what do you mean they're gone? And he hugs me 680 00:43:02,100 --> 00:43:03,100 super tight. 681 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:09,880 And my head's on his shoulder, like crying to Vince. Like, no, no, no. Like, 682 00:43:09,900 --> 00:43:11,040 what happened? I don't understand. 683 00:43:11,300 --> 00:43:12,300 I don't understand. 684 00:43:12,660 --> 00:43:14,840 Nobody understood because no one knew the details yet. 685 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:16,740 I didn't know what was going on. 686 00:43:17,240 --> 00:43:19,320 But I'd heard enough to know that something's not right. 687 00:43:19,780 --> 00:43:23,990 If you would have lined up 100 people against the wall, I said, name one 688 00:43:23,990 --> 00:43:25,330 going to kill his family. 689 00:43:26,910 --> 00:43:27,970 How can this be? 690 00:43:28,950 --> 00:43:31,270 Like, how could he have done this? He fooled us all. 691 00:43:36,550 --> 00:43:39,170 I went from just being a regular welfare chick. 692 00:43:39,410 --> 00:43:41,210 Okay, we've got something more serious here. 693 00:43:41,550 --> 00:43:45,030 I came out of the theater and I turned my phone on and I had like 22 missed 694 00:43:45,030 --> 00:43:46,090 calls from my parents. 695 00:43:46,470 --> 00:43:51,890 The cop told me that they all passed away over the weekend. 696 00:43:52,490 --> 00:43:55,450 You didn't want to believe it. Can't believe it. Can't be true. 697 00:43:55,930 --> 00:43:56,930 But it was. 698 00:43:57,130 --> 00:44:02,110 The act of what he did is unthinkable, unforgivable.