Chris Benoit held a professional career as a wrestler.
Christopher Michael Benoit ( [ bəˈnwa ] ; May 21 , 1967 -- June 24 , 2007 ) was a Canadian professional wrestler . During his 22-year career , Benoit worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWF/WWE ) , World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) , and New Japan Pro-Wrestling ( NJPW ) . Benoit held 22 championships between WWF/WWE , WCW , NJPW , and ECW . He was a two-time world champion , having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion , and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE ; he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death . Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and sixth WCW Triple Crown Champion , and the second of five men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships .