10 Terrifying Transformations Caused By Wrestling

5. Chris Benoit

Kurt Angle
WWE Network

Chris Benoit's darkest hours were also his last, but the countless studies conducted, documentaries produced and books written about his final heinous acts have touched on how gradual the degradation process was.

Ravaged with injuries from a lifetime working an inhumanly punishing style, the realities of how physically broken down Benoit was could only be staved off with the artificial enhancements that expedited his decline. He was credited for the level of respect he had for wrestling, but it didn't and wouldn't ever show him mutual care.

In the meantime, the industry he gave his body to continued to take his friends away. The loss of Eddie Guerrero specifically was seemingly too massive a grief to truly manage, but countless others passed either side of 'Latino Heat' that rendered Benoit somewhere between permanently bereft and dangerously emotionless at all times.

These enormous, engulfing complex problems must never excuse the nature of his passing, but each element acts as just another devastating brush stroke on a cursed canvas,

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett