Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story

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Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story is a direct-to-video documentary released from WWE Home Video on July 17, 2004, to celebrate the career of Chris Benoit up to that date. The DVD version includes several key matches throughout Benoit's career.

1 Summary
2 Matches
3 Controversy
4 References
5 Extnernal links

[edit] Summary

Hard Knocks commemorates the highlights of the career of Chris Benoit, from his time in WCW to Extreme Championship Wrestling, and then WWE. It covers his career from his time in Japan through his World Heavyweight Championship win at WrestleMania XX over Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and everything in between. Through interviews with Benoit, his wife Nancy, and many of his friends in the industry, the video covers such topics as the birth of his nickname "The Canadian Crippler" after accidentally breaking the neck of Sabu, and his own neck surgery in 2001.

[edit] Matches

The following Benoit matches were included on the DVD:

vs. Jushin Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Tokyo, Japan, August 19, 1990

vs. Too Cold Scorpio

WCW SuperBrawl III, Asheville, North Carolina, February 21, 1993

vs. Black Tiger

Super J Cup Semi-Finals, Tokyo, Japan, April 16, 1994

vs. The Great Sasuke

Super J Cup Finals, Tokyo, Japan, April 16, 1994

vs. Sabu

ECW November to Remember, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1994

vs. Al Snow

ECW Double Tables, South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, February 4, 1995

vs. Eddie Guerrero

WCW Monday Nitro, October 16, 1995

vs. Kevin Sullivan - Falls Count Anywhere match

The Great American Bash, Baltimore, Maryland, June 16, 1996

vs. Booker T

The Great American Bash, Baltimore, Maryland, June 14, 1998

vs. Bret Hart - Owen Hart tribute match

WCW Monday Nitro, Kansas City, Missouri, October 4, 1999

vs. Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

WCW Souled Out, Cincinnati, Ohio, January 16, 2000

vs. William Regal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Brian Pillman Memorial Show, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 15, 2000

vs. Kurt Angle - Steel Cage match

WWE Raw, June 11, 2001

vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship

2003 Royal Rumble, Boston, Massachusetts, January 19, 2003

vs. Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship

WrestleMania XX, New York, New York March 14, 2004

[edit] Controversy

Parts of the video were broadcast as part of a 3-hour tribute show on WWE Raw on June 25, 2007, the day Benoit's body was discovered by police in his Fayetteville, Georgia home. The DVD was also listed by Amazon.com for any search simply containing the word "WWE," which led to complaints of capitalizing on the tragedy.^[1]

However, following the revelation of the circumstances surrounding his death, WWE pulled the film from most vendors on June 26, 2007. The Raw special episode was also removed from broadcast in tape delay markets. The DVD has since become discontinued. ^[2]