In her next angle, the two bickered, not getting along in general. Mick Foley Says WWE Nancy Benoit Will Be inducted into Hall of Fame. The Sandman's third reign as ECW World Heavyweight Champion lasted until January 27, 1996, when he lost to Raven. A memorial for Nancy and Daniel took place in Daytona Beach, Florida, on July 14, 2007. Eventually, the Chris Benoit-Nancy Sullivan on-screen relationship developed into a real-life affair off-screen. Jericho adds, “It nearly took down the whole business. That was something that was really hard for us to do, but because we all wanted our jobs, it was understood.”. In the end, Toffoloni divorced Sullivan and became Benoit’s fiancée. [10] The Sandman's reign lasted until October 28, 1995, when he lost to Whipwreck in a ladder match after Stunning Steve Austin prevented Woman from interfering. [citation needed], Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told ABC News it was being investigated as a double murder-suicide,[20] and the police were not searching for any suspects outside of the house, as the instruments of death were located at the scene of the crime.[21]. Nancy’s sister Sandra, however, thinks it was more than just CTE. Benoit then later used a towel around his neck attached to the handle of the machine. As Chris Jericho testifies, Benoit and Nancy’s relationship went from very loving to, in Jericho’s carefully chosen words, “volatile.”. However, Chris Jericho was not present for it, declined to be a part of it, saying that he watched the show from home while drinking a bottle of vodka. David Benoit says that he still considers his father his hero, that the man who committed the heinous acts was not the same Dad he’d known. [8], In mid-1994, The Sandman began feuding with Tommy Dreamer after he kissed Woman. Listen in as Chris Jericho interviews some of the biggest names in wrestling, entertainment, comedy, and the paranormal. Which was absolutely not the truth.”. Perhaps that reconnection has led to one of the most surprising moments of the documentary where Sandra reveals that she would one day like to forgive the man who murdered her sister and nephew. Woman drove a wedge between The Sandman and Peaches, convincing him that Peaches was cheating on him with Tommy Cairo. On the February 5 episode of Nitro she turned on Savage during his match with Chris Benoit and rejoined Flair, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman, and Benoit in the then-current incarnation of the Four Horsemen. After managing him for a little over half a year, no reason was given for Woman's sudden disappearance, and she was never mentioned on WCW programming again. Speaking publicly for the first time in a major public interview on a Talk is Jericho podcast in 2016, Nancy's sister, Sandra Toffoloni, unequivocally denied any claims that Daniel had ever had Fragile X or any other such condition. “I think he just continued on because he didn’t know what else to do.”, Nancy’s sister Sandra adds that in 2007, the year of the tragedy, Nancy wanted Benoit to leave the industry, saying “He was so grief-stricken on a monumental level that [Nancy] thought staying in the company and the business was eventually going to harm his well-being.”. The Four Horsemen were often given interview time on Nitro and when it came time for Debra to speak on the mic, she'd often go into a soliloquy regarding Woman's looks and fashion sense – usually when the two weren't within the vicinity of each other. In February 1996 at Big Apple Blizzard Blast, Woman announced that she was returning to World Championship Wrestling, parting ways with The Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio. [3] She married Chris Benoit on November 23, 2000. Viceland brought in many people who were close to Benoit for this two part episode, such as David Benoit (Chris Benoit’s surviving son), Sandra Toffoloni (Nancy Benoit’s sister), Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. I think within time, there will be a day when I get on my knees, and I finally say it. David was a regular at WWE shows with his father and was present for Benoit’s huge World Championship win at WrestleMania XX. [3] Toffoloni and Kevin Sullivan traveled throughout the United States using the "Satanist" gimmick for promotions such as Angelo Savoldi's ICW and Southwest Championship Wrestling. Nowinski says that Benoit, after he heard what Chris was researching, even approached him to talk about concussions, saying he’s had more than he can even count. Following The Sandman's victory, Woman began carrying the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to ringside. They weren’t there for me. Miss Elizabeth also managed the stable. Toffoloni, 09-625. She passed away on June 22, … However, once his father became a real-world scandal, no one from the company reached out to him. Vickie Guerrero tells of a time when Benoit, during an argument with Nancy, smashed the windshield of their car with his bare hands. After the video, Sullivan stood there speechless, and his manager Jimmy Hart led him off stage. Woman interrupted the reconciliation, caning Peaches and threatening The Sandman. So we went on the air and did what we thought was right. What's more, Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit. In late 1995, The Sandman began feuding with Mikey Whipwreck, during which a controversial storyline began in which Woman became visibly aroused while watching The Sandman cane Whipwreck. She says, “It’s not one thing, I think it’s a factor of alcohol, and drugs, and – yes – possibly CTE, and stress and grief.”, Chris Benoit will never go into the WWE Hall of Fame, and according to Jim Ross, one person who would fully agree with that decision is Benoit himself. She managed her husband's career from their home in Atlanta. Everyone deserves mercy. [17][18][19], On June 25, 2007, Benoit, her husband Chris, and their son Daniel were found dead in their home in suburban Atlanta at around 2:30 p.m.[2] It first was reported by the WWE Mobile Alerts service and posted to their official website soon after. In one match, the two ladies were strapped together, took shots at each other, and used the strap connecting them as a weapon against the men. The two shared their experiences in excruciating detail throughout interviews shown in the episode, being brought back to the day they found out about the death of their loved ones. Those two people were Nancy Benoit’s sister, Sandra Toffoloni, and Chris’ surviving son, David Benoit. It remains the darkest moment in wrestling history, but also ironically finally forced through much-need changes to mainstream wrestling content and practices that have, hopefully, helped to safeguard it from happening again. Waking up to your … She eventually turned on him, aligning herself with Kevin Sullivan and adopting the name "Woman" and becoming the manager of Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons). Nancy Elizabeth Benoit (formerly Daus & Sullivan, née Toffoloni; May 17, 1964 – June 22, 2007) was an American professional wrestling valet, occasional professional wrestler and model. Nancy Benoit’s Sister, Sandra Toffoloni Says Chris Benoit Wasn’t Abusive Husband at least until the tragic day. In fact, WWE only sent Jim Ross as a company representative to the funerals for Nancy and Daniel. Over the three day period from June 22nd to June 24th, 2007, the latter of which coincided with WWE’s Vengeance PPV, Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy, his young son Daniel, and finally committed suicide. I think that, specifically Nancy for sure. Nancy Benoit's sister, Sandra Toffoloni, will be appearing on Chris Jericho's podcast this Friday. During a press conference on June 26, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard reported that Chris Benoit had killed his wife and son and committed suicide. The length of time between the events caused controversy, causing critics to claim that Hustler owner Larry Flynt was attempting to capitalize on the event. It also obviously brought back extremely painful memories for Sandra since the Toffoloni family have turned down almost every request for an interview for the past 6 years. [11] This feud between Benoit and Sullivan saw Woman clashing with Sullivan's then-valet Jacquelyn at ringside. David and Sandra are shown enjoying the show, and David says that he still loves wrestling. It was in the midst of Chris’s feud with Nancy’s husband Kevin Sullivan, which was one of the most heated in wrestling history. In 1996, Pillman had left the Horsemen, but they added Steve McMichael and his wife Debra in June,[3] which didn't sit well with Woman. At that point, the only news was that Chris, Nancy, and Daniel were dead. Nancy's sister Sandra Toffoloni, as well as wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, have refuted the notions of both the disorder and the use of HGH (which would do nothing for Fragile X Syndrome anyway). Let us know on Twitter. The Sandman's character was estranged from his wife and valet, Peaches, who had left him after he accidentally struck her during a match while temporarily blinded. On the stories of David Benoit and Nancy’s sister, Sandra Toffoloni, being lost in the 1ast 13 years: “Yeah, absolutely. On Monday, March 1, 2010, Hustler lost an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will pave the way for Nancy Benoit's family to proceed with their lawsuit. Woman taunted Sullivan by saying, "You can't find me" and "I'm my own woman," while Benoit added: "You consider yourself the master of human chess. Despite Ring of Hell author Matthew Randazzo noting in the documentary that Benoit has 10 times the amount of testosterone in his body as normal, and that it was quote “irrefutable” that Benoit was on steroids, despite the WWE Wellness Policy program being introduced in February 2006, to test their talent for recreational drugs, other medication, and steroids. The issue is, if Chris were here and we could talk to him, he would say, ‘putting me in the Hall of Fame is going to be one of the great distractions of the entire event’.”, Jericho agrees, saying that Benoit used to tell him that while critics are critics, nothing else matters but the respect of your peers, saying that if Benoit could see how his peers now see him, he wouldn’t want that. The pair are also shown backstage with Jericho after his match. ** Sandra Toffoloni, sister of Nancy Benoit took to Twitter and thanked Paul Heyman for a message that Heyman sent to her overnight. [13], Before her marriage to Kevin Sullivan in 1985, Toffoloni had been married to and divorced from Jim Daus.[3]. In April 1995 at Three Way Dance, Woman again left The Sandman, aligning herself with Shane Douglas. [16], After Nancy Benoit's death in 2007, Hustler published nude photographs of her from a shoot taken when she was 20 years old. To me, their tragic death ties Owen Hart’s deadly accident as number one in pro wrestling’s darkest incidents. We tried to honour the guy, honour his family, his fans, but we didn’t have the full story. [12] On the following week's show, Benoit came alone to ringside without her by his side. And, apparently, the children were told we didn’t want anything to do with them because of what their dad did. Sandra Toffoloni still believes roid rage caused Chris Benoit to murder her sister Photo by Lisa Reese of Flickr via Wikimedia Commons. Benoit killed Nancy on Friday, Daniel on Saturday, then asphyxiated himself with the cord of a weight machine in his basement on Sunday. Sandra typed the following: “I want to thank @HeymanHustle publicly for a private reason. The two married in 1985. The show featured a lot of wrestlers talking about how much they all loved and admired Chris Benoit. Jennifer Cutis | October 13, 2020. Prior to his friendship with Eddie, Chris Benoit was not a religious man, and it was, in fact, Eddie that introduced Chris to religion and bought him a bible that Benoit subsequently took everywhere. At Hostile City Showdown on April 15, 1995, she helped The Sandman defeat Douglas for his second ECW World Heavyweight Championship by striking him in the knee with a Singapore cane, revealing the turn to have been another ruse. “Everyone deserves forgiveness. After Sullivan left ECW in spring 1994, Woman began managing The Sandman. [3] On August 3, 1985, she wrestled Debbie Combs in Hawaii for NWA Polynesian Wrestling, in which she lost by disqualification.[5]. The documentary also features interviews from former WWE wrestler and now President of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski, who talks at length about the connections between Chris Benoit’s actions and the multiple concussions he suffered wrestling. He says that Benoit asked him to call him the following week, but when he did Chris was in the middle of a heated argument and asked to call him back – but he never did. Chris Benoit was found to have abnormally high levels of testosterone in his body at the time of his death. [23] Daniel also died of asphyxiation, without signs of restraint. After Dreamer came to the ring to stop Woman, The Sandman revealed that he was not in fact blinded and attacked Dreamer, with his estrangement from Woman a ploy to pit Dreamer and Cairo against one another.[9]. Throughout mid-1995, she helped The Sandman defend his championship in a series of bouts with Cactus Jack. [3], Woman's final WCW appearance (and professional wrestling appearance as Woman) took place on May 26, 1997, on Monday Nitro as she accompanied Benoit to the ring for a confrontation with Jimmy Hart regarding the whereabouts of Sullivan, who wasn't in the arena. When talking about Ross being there, Sandra says, “The WWE sent JR, and I lost my cool and told him to his face that he wasn’t welcome at the wake. Jericho said, however, that Benoit refused to take time off throughout his career, and that was not going to stop now. In keeping with The Sandman's character, Woman would open his beers and light his cigarettes prior to matches. At the same time, she started an on-screen relationship with Benoit, who at the time was involved in a feud with her real-life husband, Kevin Sullivan. She definitely deserves the recognition she doesn’t get.” Jericho agrees, mentioning Woman, the gimmick Nancy had in WCW “She’s a Hall of Famer in my opinion… I’d like nothing more than to see Woman in the Hall of Fame.”, One of the most touching moments comes towards the end of the documentary. A key focus of the documentary is that after Eddie Guerrero died in 2005, Chris Benoit fell apart emotionally. Did you see Dark Side of the Ring: Chris Benoit? Producer Evan Husney and director Jason Eisener reveal how they got David Benoit, Chris’ son, and Sandra Toffoloni, Nancy’s sister, to participate. The feud culminated in an "I Quit" match on October 1, 1994, during which The Sandman was seemingly blinded when Dreamer pushed a lit cigarette into his eye and then caned him in the face. As anyone who visited WWE.com in the weeks following the Benoit case will know, Chris Benoit was erased from WWE history as the company washed their hands of anything to do with their former World Champion. Jim Ross says in the documentary, “Vince McMahon couldn’t go on the air and not do anything. What Chris did, nearly destroyed the only thing he ever loved from a professional standpoint.”, However, David Benoit says, “I want them to recognize Nancy. Because of this, it is often joked that Kevin Sullivan "booked his own divorce. Whether it was through individual effort, blind luck, or teamwork, many people have come together over the years to entertain us in ways we never expected. We were told what an amazing dad he was - to his two sons. Nancy Daus-Sullivan was created on, may 21, 1964 in Orlando, Florida, USA seeing that Nancy Elizabeth Toffoloni. At the same event, Peaches attempted to reconcile with The Sandman. On October 28, 1995, 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Rocco Rock in a singles bout to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship, then selected The Sandman as his partner. This is a story about the two people who were left behind after the tragedy. Toffoloni also became her new husband’s manager. This day in wrestling history has remembered a lot of moments that helped make professional wrestling what it is. Woman AKA Nancy Benoit, was murdered alongside her son Daniel by husband Chris Benoit in 2007 Pic: Getty Only Jim Ross attended his funeral on behalf of the franchise. One of the saddest new perspectives the documentary gives us is not only was it a horrible tragedy for those who died, but life was really hard for those left behind. After graduatin She had also been selling programs at the Orlando shows and appeared as Para in "Apartment Wrestling" features. She began carrying a Singapore cane with which she would strike The Sandman's opponents. She was wedded to Chris Benoit, Kevin Sullivan and Jim Daus. [4] When George Napolitano needed a beautiful young girl for the cover of the June 1984 edition of the pro-wrestling magazine Wrestling All Stars, fellow photographer Bill Otten suggested the 20-year-old Nancy Toffoloni Daus for the role. She gave birth to their son Daniel Christopher Benoit on February 25, 2000. [4][14], In December 2006, Nancy Benoit had back and neck fusion surgery with Lloyd Youngblood, the same surgeon who had previously done a 3–hour neck operation on Nancy's husband Chris on June 28, 2001. On the occasion of the nine years of murder de Nancy benoit y Daniel Benoit, Chris Jericho interviewed Sandra toffoloni (Nancy's sister), to discuss their opinions and learn new details about the reasons that would have driven his friend Chris Benoit to commit crimes and then commit suicide. “I was told, I won’t say by who, that the children didn’t want anything to do with us. After leaving Doom, she aligned herself with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.