One of the more under appreciated talents of the late 1990s, Chris Kanyon struggled with personal problems most of his adult life and never truly found himself in the rough business of professional wrestling. After working as a jobber for a number of years, Kanyon found himself as a member of Raven's Flock in WCW while portraying the masked wrestler Mortis. Once that character was abandoned, Kanyon was proclaimed the "Innovator of Offense" thanks to his wrestling abilities and his unique moveset. He joined the Jersey Triad alongside Bam Bam Bigelow and Dallas Page, winning the WCW tag titles and defending them under the Freebird Rule. Kanyon turned heel on DDP in 2000, copying Page's character with a new persona that he dubbed Positively Kanyon (based off of Page's book Positively Page). He adopted Page's finishing move and joined the New Blood faction, engaging Buff Bagwell in the infamous Judy Bagwell on a Pole match at the New Blood Rising pay-per-view. During the Invasion, Kanyon named himself the Alliance MVP and started building a fan following. However, a series of injuries led to Kanyon being out of the ring until late 2002, killing all of his momentum and forcing him to start at square one following the Brand Extension. He only made one more appearance on Smackdown, emerging from a crate dressed as Boy George and singing to the Undertaker before being destroyed. Kanyon hinted that this segment was made to poke fun at him being a homosexual and later claimed that was the reason WWE released him. In addition to the pressure of being a gay man in an unforgiving business, Kanyon was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He had threatened suicide numerous times and on April 2, 2010, he finally followed through on his threats. Chris Kanyon, who overdosed on antidepressant drugs, was found by his brother near a note he left for his family. He was only 40 years old.
