Nancy Benoit
Nancy Benoit | |
---|---|
Murder by strangulation | |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 1 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Devil Angel[3] Fallen Angel[3] Para Robin Green[3] Woman[3] |
Debut | June 30, 1984[3] |
Retired | May 26, 1997 |
Nancy Elizabeth Benoit (formerly Daus, Sullivan, née Toffoloni; May 17, 1964 – June 22, 2007) was an American professional wrestling manager and model. She appeared in Florida Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling where she was known under the ring name Woman.[3][4]
In 2007, Benoit and her son Daniel were victims of a murder-suicide committed by her husband, then WWE professional wrestler Chris Benoit.
Early life
After graduating from
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1989)
As "Fallen Angel", Toffoloni made her in-ring debut on June 30, 1984, in Miami, Florida, for Florida Championship Wrestling.
Toffoloni became a part of Kevin Sullivan's
World Championship Wrestling (1989–1990)
Nancy Sullivan first appeared in WCW as a "fan" of
Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1996)
In late-1993, Nancy and Kevin Sullivan joined the Philadelphia-based promotion
After Sullivan left ECW in spring 1994, Woman began managing
In mid-1994, The Sandman began feuding with
In April 1995 at Three Way Dance, Woman again left The Sandman, aligning herself with Shane Douglas. At Hostile City Showdown on April 15, she helped The Sandman defeat Douglas for his second ECW World Heavyweight Championship by striking him in the knee with a Singapore cane, revealing the turn to have been another ruse. Following The Sandman's victory, Woman began carrying the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to ringside. Throughout mid-1995, she helped The Sandman defend his championship in a series of bouts with Cactus Jack. In September, she began also managing The Sandman's ally, ECW World Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio. In late 1995, The Sandman began feuding with Mikey Whipwreck, during which a controversial storyline began in which Woman became visibly aroused while watching The Sandman cane Whipwreck.[10] The Sandman's reign lasted until October 28, when he lost to Whipwreck in a ladder match after Stunning Steve Austin prevented Woman from interfering.
On October 28, 1995, 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Rocco Rock in a singles bout to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship, then selected The Sandman as his partner. The Sandman regained the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in a three-way dance with Whipwreck and Austin at December to Dismember on December 9, giving Woman control of all three championships. On December 29 at Holiday Hell, Whipwreck defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in a singles match with the World Tag Team Championship on the line. The Sandman's third reign as World Heavyweight Champion lasted until January 27, 1996, when he lost to Raven. In February at Big Apple Blizzard Blast, Woman announced that she was returning to WCW, parting ways with The Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio.
Return to WCW (1996–1997)
Nancy Sullivan (as "Woman") made her return to WCW on the January 22, 1996 episode of
In 1996, Pillman had left the Horsemen, but they added
Concurrently, she started an on-screen relationship with Benoit, who at the time was involved in a feud with her real-life husband, Kevin Sullivan.[3] On December 7, on WCW Saturday Night, during a post-match interview with Sullivan, a home movie of the couple canoodling in a kitchen was played in front of him. Woman taunted Sullivan by saying, "You can't find me" and "I'm my own woman," while Benoit added: "You consider yourself the master of human chess. Well, my bishop just took your queen". After the video, Sullivan appeared speechless, and his manager Jimmy Hart led him off stage.[11] The feud between Benoit and Sullivan saw Woman clashing with Sullivan's then-valet Jacquelyn at ringside. In one match, the two ladies were strapped together, took shots at each other, and used the strap connecting them as a weapon against the men.
Eventually, the on-screen relationship developed into a real-life affair off-screen. Because of this, it is often joked that Kevin Sullivan "booked his own divorce".
Woman's final WCW appearance (and professional wrestling appearance as Woman) took place on May 26, 1997, on Monday Nitro as she accompanied Benoit to the ring for a confrontation with Jimmy Hart regarding the whereabouts of Sullivan, who wasn't in the arena.[12] On the following week's show, Benoit came alone to ringside without her by his side. After managing him for a little over half a year, no reason was given for Woman's sudden disappearance, and she was never mentioned on WCW programming again.[13]
Personal life
Before her marriage to Kevin Sullivan in 1985, Benoit had been married to and divorced from Jim Daus.[3]
In early 1997, while married to Kevin Sullivan, she was having an extramarital affair with Chris Benoit. She and Benoit became engaged later in 1997 after her divorce from Sullivan, although Benoit referred to her as only his fiancée even after they were married.[3] She managed her husband's career from their home in Atlanta.
She gave birth to their son Daniel Christopher Benoit on February 25, 2000.[3] She married Chris on November 23, 2000.[3] In May 2003, she filed for divorce, citing the marriage as "irrevocably broken" and alleging "cruel treatment."[4][14][15] She dropped the suit in August 2003, as well as a restraining order filed on her husband.[4][14]
In December 2006, Nancy Benoit had back and neck fusion surgery with Lloyd Youngblood, the same surgeon who had done a 3–hour neck operation on Nancy's husband Chris on June 28, 2001.[16]
After Nancy Benoit's death in 2007, Hustler published nude photographs of her from a shoot taken when she was 20 years old. The length of time between the events caused controversy, causing critics to claim that Hustler owner Larry Flynt was attempting to capitalize on the event. The family of Nancy Benoit took legal action against Hustler. The appellate court ruled that, "The photographs published by [Flynt] neither relate to the incident of public concern conceptually [the murders] nor correspond with the time period during which Benoit was rendered, against her will, the subject of public scrutiny".[17][18][19]
Death
On June 25, 2007, Benoit, her husband Chris, and their son Daniel were found dead in their home in suburban Atlanta at around 2:30 p.m.[2] It first was reported by the WWE Mobile Alerts service and posted to their official website soon after.[citation needed]
Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told
During a press conference on June 26, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard reported that Chris Benoit had killed his wife and son and committed suicide.[1] A Bible was left by Nancy's body, and she died of asphyxiation.[22] She had bruises on her back and stomach consistent with an attacker pressing a knee into her back while pulling on a cord around her neck.[23] Daniel also died of asphyxiation, without signs of restraint. He had internal injuries to the throat area, but no bruises, indicating he may have been killed by a choke. Benoit killed Nancy on Friday, Daniel on Saturday, then asphyxiated himself with the cord of a weight machine in his basement on Sunday.
A memorial for Nancy and Daniel took place in
but the fate of his ashes has not been publicly revealed.Accomplishments
See also
References
- ^ a b "Officials: Wrestler Strangled Wife, Suffocated Son, Hanged Self". Fox News. June 26, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit, family found dead". CBC.ca. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- ^ )
- ^ a b c d e Cal Massey and Jeff Wilen (June 27, 2007). "Slain wife of wrestler a Deland High School graduate". Daytona Beach News Journal Online. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ "NWA Polynesian Hot Summer Night". Cagematch.net. May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-6156-9.
- ISBN 978-1-55490-315-3.
- ISBN 978-1-61321-582-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-6156-9.
- ISBN 978-1-61321-582-1.
- ^ "This Week In WCW (12/07/96 – 12/09/96)". DDT Digest. June 27, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ "This Week In WCW (05/24/97 – 05/26/97)". DDT Digest. June 27, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ "This Week In WCW (05/31/97 – 06/02/97)". DDT Digest. June 27, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ a b "WWE star killed family, self". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. June 26, 2007. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2007.
- ^ "Released divorce papers and restraining order" (PDF). TMZ.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ "Woman's Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
- ^ Bill Mears (May 2, 2012). "Family of slain wrestler loses privacy appeal over nude pictures". CNN. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ "Nancy Benoit, Hustler Photos". News.gather.com. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ National Ledger (December 27, 2007). "Nancy Benoit Nude Photos: Online Hustler Spread of WWE Star Chris Benoit's Wife". National Ledger. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ Saeed Ahmed and Kathy Jefcoats (June 25, 2007). "Pro wrestler, family found dead in Fayetteville home". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- ^ "Wrestling Champ Chris Benoit Found Dead with Family". ABC News. June 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- ^ "Officials: Wrestler Strangled Wife, Suffocated Son, Hanged Self". Fox News. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- ^ Kevin Duffy (June 27, 2007). "Chokehold may have killed Benoit's son". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ "Service held for Nancy and Daniel Benoit". SLAM! Wrestling. July 14, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Benoit's wife and son mourned as many questions persist". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
- ^ "Wips.com". Pwresource.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ https://solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com/new/126943-pwi-nancy-benoit-recibe-reconocimiento-postumo
External links
- Nancy Benoit at IMDb
- Nancy Benoit's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database