10 Things We Learned About Chris Benoit Tragedy From Kevin Sullivan On Jim Cornette's Podcast

7. There Was No Bash At The Beach Shoot

In VICE's doc, it was said that Sullivan and Benoit fired some 'live rounds' during their brawl at WCW's Bash At The Beach 1997 pay-per-view. At one point, it was even intimated that Sullivan suffered a ruptured ear drum due to some of the stiff punches thrown. That wasn't the case.

Kevin says he went deep-sea diving the week after the pay-per-view, which wouldn't have been possible had he suffered a burst ear drum. Furthermore, he revealed that Benoit and himself agreed to be stiff so the match would be heated. It was an angle, one that was meant to mimic the drama in Mike Tyson's fight with Evander Holyfield on 28 June.

That was big news in the summer of '97, and both wrestlers fancied capitalising a few weeks later at the Bash show.

The timeline adds up here. WCW's pay-per-view took place on 13 July, and Sullivan felt his match would be better if it appeared realistic. That's why he and Benoit threw some potatoes - they wanted to make the fight look genuine.