"No Gimmicks Needed" Chris Candido was one of the most talented young wrestlers in the world during the 1990s. Most people don't realize that Candido was only 24 years old during his first run in the World Wrestling Federation as a member of the Bodydonnas alongside his girlfriend Tammy Sytch. Candido first achieved success in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, winning the NWA World Heavyweight title in a 10-man tournament after Shane Douglas had infamously vacated the belt in ECW. He engaged in a somewhat silly feud with Boo Bradley (otherwise known as Balls Mahoney) where Bradley was portrayed as a dim-witted goon who had a pet cat named Boots he loved. The evil Candidio and Sytch kidnapped the cat and Tammy brought a bag to the ring supposedly containing Boots. Candido proceeded to legdrop the bag, killing the cat, and ended up losing a "Loser Leaves Town" match against Bradley, allowing Candido to join the WWF. Candido had a rather uneventful run in the WWF that saw his manager, Sunny, becoming more of a star than he ever was. Chris left the WWF after running into problems with the HBK-Kevin Nash-Scott Hall power group and went to Paul Heyman's land of extreme. Finding success as a member of Shane Douglas's Triple Threat stable, Candido had a lengthy run towards the top of the card and as a tag team with Lance Storm. Following a disappointing WCW run, Candido jumped around the independent scene until landing in TNA in 2005. Candido was clean of drugs and alcohol for the first time in forever and experienced somewhat of a career renaissance. Unfortunately, Candido suffered a broken leg and a dislocated ankle during a cage match which required surgery. Candido flew to the TNA tapings following surgery but developed a blood clot in his ankle. The clot eventually killed him at the age of 33, staggeringly young for someone in such great physical condition. One could argue that the wrestling business killed Candido due to his requirement to fly after suffering such a devastating injury but I believe the opposite is true. Candido had his own personal problems and dealt with his girlfriend Tammy's demons as well. Then, once he conquered his troubles and seemed to have his life back on track, he died of unfortunate bad luck. Candidio deserved much more from the wrestling business due to his talent and a freak accident took him far too soon.
