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Nancy Benoit

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Nancy Daus-Sullivan-Benoit
Born(1964-05-21)May 21, 1964
Boston, Massachusetts
 United States
DiedJune 22, 2007(2007-06-22) (aged 43)[1]
Fayetteville, Georgia[2][3]
 United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Fallen Angel
Para
Robin Green
Woman
Debut1984

Nancy Elizabeth Daus Sullivan Benoit (May 21 1964 - c. June 22, 2007) (more commonly known by her in-ring names as Woman and Fallen Angel) was a professional wrestling valet and manager in Jim Crockett Promotions, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling.

On June 25, 2007, Nancy, her husband Chris Benoit, and their son Daniel, were found dead by police in the family's Fayetteville, Georgia home, victims of an apparent double murder-suicide perpetrated by Chris.[4][5][2][3]

Career

Early days

When George Napolitano needed a beautiful young girl for the cover of the June 1984 edition of the pro-wrestling magazine Wrestling All Stars fellow photographer Bill Otten suggested the young Nancy Daus for the role. Nancy, who had worked as a model, often sat alongside her then-husband Jim to watch matches and was no newcomer to being involved with professional wrestling. Nancy, who had been selling programs at the Orlando shows, also appeared as "Para" in the old "Apartment Wrestling" features. It was on this shoot where she met Kevin Sullivan who became enamored with her. Sullivan eventually wanted her to be a part of his wrestling entourage, and after months of convincing, Nancy finally became an on-air valet, taking the name Fallen Angel. She made her in-ring debut on July 7 1984 at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida for Florida Championship Wrestling.

She became a part of Kevin Sullivan's stable of "Satanists", which also included wrestlers Luna Vachon, The Purple Haze, and Sir Oliver Humperdink. Nancy and Kevin Sullivan traveled throughout the United States using the "Satanist" gimmick for promotions such as Angelo Savoldi's ICW and Southwest Championship Wrestling. The two married in 1985.

National Wrestling Alliance

In 1989, Nancy appeared in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions as Robin Green, Rick Steiner's biggest fan who sat at ringside cheering him on during matches. Eventually she talked Rick into letting her actually stand at ringside with Missy Hyatt during a tag-team match with brother Scott against the Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin. Nancy caused the Steiners to lose the match and soon left Rick to manage the masked team of Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed). During this time she also changed her name to Woman. The Steiner Brothers and Doom went on to feud, with the Steiners still seeking revenge on Woman. In response, she acquired a bodyguard known as Nitron to protect her from them.

In 1990, Ric Flair and his Four Horsemen soon caught her wandering eye and she dumped Nitron and Doom to manage Flair. She fit in well with the "dirtiest player in the game", interfering in his matches and helping him keep his NWA World Title. She left the NWA by after the Capitol Combat '90 pay-per-view however.

She later rejoined her husband Kevin in smaller promotions, mainly running out of the Northeast.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1993, Kevin and Nancy surfaced in the fledgling ECW, where - once again called simply Woman - she managed Sullivan and The Tazmaniac to the ECW Tag Team Championships. When Kevin resought the greener pastures of WCW, Nancy remained in ECW, going on to manage Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio. She captivated the crowd as, once again, she almost seamlessly reinvented herself to fit with The Sandman's gimmick - opening his beers, lighting his cigarettes, and destroying his opponents with her own kendo stick.

World Championship Wrestling

After being unceremoniously dumped by Sandman and Scorpio in ECW, she once again resurfaced in WCW, first appearing on the January 29, 1996 edition of WCW Monday Nitro as one of many women who stood in the aisle and waved as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage came to the ring. She stayed at ringside, but she soon turned on Savage and rejoined Flair, Arn Anderson, and Chris Benoit in the then-current incarnation of the Four Horsemen. Miss Elizabeth also managed the stable.

In 1996, the Horsemen added Steve McMichael and his wife Debra, which didn't sit well with Woman. The two began bickering and not getting along in general. Debra would often make insulting comments regarding Woman's physical appearance and choice of wardrobe among other things when the two weren't in the vicinity of each other. Despite the heavy tension, the two managers never had a physical altercation. At the same time, she started an on-screen relationship with Benoit, rubbing it in Sullivan's face, her real-life husband at the time. On December 7, 1996 on WCW Saturday Night, while announcer Tony Schiavone was conducting a post-match interview with Sullivan, he played a home video of the couple in front of him. They were shown canoodling in a kitchen. Woman taunted Sullivan by saying, "You can't find me" and "I'm my own woman." Benoit taunted Sullivan as well by saying, "You consider yourself the master of human chess. Well, my bishop just took your queen." After the video, Sullivan stood there speechless and his manager Jimmy Hart led him off stage.[6] As fate would have it, this on-screen relationship developed into a real-life affair off-screen. This resulted in a violent feud between Benoit and Sullivan that 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.

Nancy's final WCW appearance (and professional wrestling appearance as the character 'Woman' for that matter) took place on May 26, 1997 on WCW 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.[6] 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 ever again.[7]

Sullivan and Nancy (off-screen) divorced in 1997, and (on-screen) Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit. It is often joked that 'Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce'. Sullivan's intent was to retire from in-ring action and focus on booking. As a booker, Sullivan caused Nancy to (off-screen) quit wrestling when she refused to be topless in an angle Sullivan created for a PPV.

Nancy and Benoit became engaged in 1997, although Benoit didn't start referring to Nancy as his wife until shortly before the birth of their son Daniel in 2000 (on his former official website, Nancy was referred to as his fiancee). Although she was never an on-air performer, she did actively manage her husband's career from their home in Atlanta.

Wrestlers managed

Personal life

Daus married Chris Benoit on February 25, 2000. Together they had a son named Daniel Christopher Benoit. However, in 2003, she filed for divorce, citing the marriage as "irrevocably broken" and alleging "cruel treatment."[8] She later dropped the suit, as well as a restraining order filed on her husband.[8]

Death

Wikinews has related news:

On June 25 2007, Nancy, her husband Chris, and their son Daniel were found dead in their home in suburban Atlanta at around 2:30 PM.[9] It was first reported to fans of WWE by their WWE Mobile Alerts service and posted to their official website soon after. Some details were released by the police during a press conference on June 26.[1][4] Through their website, World Wrestling Entertainment released the following statement[10]:

World Wrestling Entertainment was informed today by authorities in Fayette County, Ga., that WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son were found dead in their home. Authorities are investigating, but no other details are available at this time. WWE extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the Benoit family and loved ones in this time of tragedy.

WWE canceled the scheduled three hour long live RAW show on June 25, and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to Benoit's life and and comments from wrestlers and announcers.[11]

Fayette County, Georgia police are investigating Benoit's house following the discovery of the bodies. Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department reported to ABC News that it was being investigated as a double murder-suicide,[12] and the police were not searching for any suspects outside of the house, as the instruments of death were located at the scene of the crime.[13]

The same day Detective Bo Turner of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told television station WAGA-TV that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, and the station reported that investigators believe that Benoit murdered his wife and son over the weekend and commited suicide sometime on Monday. [14]

During a press conference Tuesday, June 26, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard confirmed that Chris Benoit had killed his wife and son. His wife was bound at the wrists and feet. While there were no signs of restraint on his son, both died of asphyxiation. It is reported that his wife died on Friday, his son died on Saturday, and Benoit hung himself later by the cord of a weight machine in his basement. Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, Benoit's body was found dead of asphyxiation. It was also reported that there was a Bible by both Nancy and Daniel's bodies.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Officials: Wrestler Strangled Wife, Suffocated Son, Hanged Self". June 25 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Gerweck, Steve (June 25 2007). "AP: Police say they will investigate Benoit deaths as homicide". Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Gerweck" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Update on Chris Benoit from the Wrestling Observer
  4. ^ a b "WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit, Family Found Dead". WSB-TV, Atlanta. June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  5. ^ Keller, Wade (June 25, 2007). "UPDATED: Chris Benoit and his family found dead in their homes". PWTORCH.COM. TDH Communications Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  6. ^ a b ddtdigest.com (June 27, 2007). "This Week In WCW (12/07/96 - 12/09/96)". ddtdigest.com. Retrieved 2007-06-27. Cite error: The named reference "finalshow" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ ddtdigest.com (June 27, 2007). "This Week In WCW (05/31/97 - 06/02/97)". ddtdigest.com. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  8. ^ a b Associated Press (June 26, 2007). "WWE star killed family, self". SportsIllustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  9. ^ "Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit, family found dead". CBC.ca. 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Chris Benoit, family found dead". WWE.com. 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "WWE postpones show at American Bank Center". Caller-Times. June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  12. ^ Saeed Ahmed and Kathy Jefcoats (June 25,2007). "Pro wrestler, family found dead in Fayetteville home". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ ABCNews. "Wrestling Champ Chris Benoit Found Dead with Family". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Text "date-June 25th, 2007" ignored (help)
  14. ^ foxatlanta (June 25 2007). "WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit, Wife and Child Found Dead". FOX News. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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