 Kanyon asWCW United States Champion in 2001 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher Morgan Klucsarits[5] (1970-01-04)January 4, 1970 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 2010(2010-04-02) (aged 40) Sunnyside, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide byantidepressantoverdose |
| Alma mater | University at Buffalo |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chris Canyon[1] Chris K[2] Chris Kanyon[3] Chris "Champagne" Kanyon[3] Mortis[3] "Positively" Kanyon[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 268 lb (122 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Queens, New York Taipei (as Mortis) |
| Trained by | Pete McKay Gonzalez Ismael Gerena Bobby Bold Eagle[4] Afa Anoaʻi[4] The Fabulous Moolah[4] |
| Debut | April 5, 1992[1] |
Christopher Morgan Klucsarits (January 4, 1970 – April 2, 2010) was an Americanprofessional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 2004, under thering namesChris Kanyon,Kanyon, andMortis.
Kanyon was a fan of professional wrestling by age six.[3][6] In 1992, he graduated from theUniversity at Buffalo with abachelor's degree inphysical therapy, working full-time as a physical therapist for three years before becoming a wrestler.[7][6]
After college, he began training under Pete McKay Gonzalez, Ismael Gerena andBobby Bold Eagle at the Lower East Side Wrestling Gym in Manhattan, debuting in 1992.[8] Kanyon worked as a physical therapist for the next three years, wrestling on weekends and in the evenings, before finally deciding to become a full-time professional wrestler in 1995.[3] In late 1994, he made several appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation as ajobber, facing wrestlers such asShawn Michaels,Diesel,Tatanka andBob Holly.[9] His friend and future managerJames Mitchell saw potential in him and sent him for training withThe Fabulous Moolah inSouth Carolina and withAfa atWild Samoanwrestling School.[6][4]
On May 5, 1995, Kanyon debuted inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a jobber, losing his first match toMark Starr.[10] His firstpay-per-view appearance was atWorld War 3 on November 26, competing in a60-man World War match for the vacantWCW World Heavyweight Championship.[11] Following the event, Kanyon formed atag team with Starr as "Men at Work", with thegimmick ofconstruction workers.[10][3] Kanyon last wrestled alongside Starr in May 1996 before being replaced with Mike Winner.[12]
In December 1996, Kanyon donned amask and was repackaged as Mortis (aLatin word meaningdeath), withJames Vandenberg as hismanager.[4][12] Kanyonfeuded withGlacier and faced him in aMortal Kombat Martial Arts match atUncensored on March 16, which he lost. Following the match,Wrath debuted, siding with Kanyon and assaulting Glacier.[13] Glacier again defeated Kanyon atSlamboree on May 18. After the match, Wrath and Mortis once again attacked Glacier, who was spared a post-match beating whenErnest Miller ran to the ring to defend him.[14] Mortis and Wrath defeated Glacier and Miller atBash at the Beach on July 13.[15] They defeated theFaces Of Fear (Meng andThe Barbarian) atFall Brawl on September 14.[16] Mortis and Wrath continued to team together until theangle was quietly dropped in early 1998.
In February 1998, Kanyon (still in his guise as Mortis) askedRaven if he could join Raven's stableThe Flock, but was told that he could only become a member if he defeatedDiamond Dallas Page for theUnited States Heavyweight Championship. Mortis failed to defeat Page for the title on the February 12 episode ofThunder, and after the match, Raven hit him with theDDT on the entrance ramp, starting a feud between the two.[17]
Kanyon was dubbed "The Innovator of Offense" byplay-by-playcommentatorMike Tenay due to his unique wrestling techniques and, before matches, asked therhetorical question "Who Better than Kanyon"?.[4][5][18] He formed an uneasy alliance withPerry Saturn in order to fight against The Flock, but eventually turned on Saturn and joined forces with Raven. AtThe Great American Bash on June 14, Kanyon defeated Saturn.[19] They both lost to Raven in a triple threat match on August 8 atRoad Wild.[20] After Saturn forced The Flock to disband by defeating Raven atFall Brawl on September 13,[21] Kanyon and Raven continued to team together until Raven, in storyline, was sidelined withdepression and Kanyon took time away from his wrestling career to work as stunt coordinator andstuntman onThe Jesse Ventura Story.[22]
On May 9, 1999 atSlamboree, Kanyon appeared in aSting mask to help Raven and Saturn defeatBilly Kidman andRey Misterio Jr. for theWCW World Tag Team Championship.[23] Later that month, Kanyon (substituting for Raven) and Saturn defended the titles againstBam Bam Bigelow andDiamond Dallas Page. During the match, Kanyon turned on Saturn, enabling Bigelow and Page to win the titles. Kanyon then formed a stable with Bigelow and Page known as theJersey Triad, defeating Saturn andChris Benoit to win the titles on June 13 atThe Great American Bash.[24] During their reign, they were given special dispensation by WCW PresidentRic Flair todefend the title as a three-man unit, granting them a numerical advantage over their opponents. However, the ruling was overturned by Flair's replacement Sting, and Kanyon and Bigelow lost the titles toHarlem Heat atRoad Wild on August 14, 1999.[25] The Triad disbanded shortly thereafter, with Kanyon once again placing his wrestling career on hiatus to work on the WCW produced filmReady to Rumble, where he served as stunt coordinator and as thestunt double of lead actorOliver Platt.[3]
Kanyon returned to WCW in late 1999 as Chris "Champagne" Kanyon, abbreviated to C.C.K., accompanied byJ. Biggs, his "agent", and two formerNitro Girls,Baby andChameleon. He claimed that he had become acclimatised to the glamor ofHollywood and thus began indulging in luxuries such aschampagne, women, and expensive cars. He feuded briefly with Bigelow and Page before being removed from WCW by interimbookerKevin Sullivan.
Kanyon returned to WCW once more in April 2000 whenVince Russo replaced Sullivan. On May 7, atSlamboree, Kanyon attempted to save DDP from beingpowerbombed byMike Awesome on top of the triple cage, which was also used inReady to Rumble. Kanyon saved Page, but Awesome turned his attention to Kanyon, throwing him off the triple cage onto the ramp below.[4][26] After a storyline which saw him in a halo brace in a hospital and in a wheelchair, Kanyon stepped out of the wheelchair and turned on Page on June 11 atThe Great American Bash, costing him his Ambulance match against Awesome.[27] Kanyon then joinedEric Bischoff, the leader of theNew Blood faction. In the course of his renewed feud with Page, Kanyon began imitating Page, renaming himself "Positively" Kanyon (a reference to Page'sautobiography,Positively Page).[3] He began using a version of Page's finishing move, theDiamond Cutter, known as theKanyon Kutter, arbitrarily delivering the move to various WCW backstage employees includingBuff Bagwell's mother Judy. On August 13, Bagwell defeated Kanyon atNew Blood Rising in aJudy Bagwell on a Forklift match.[28] Kanyon left WCW shortly afterward.
Kanyon returned to WCW in February 2001 to renew his feud with Page, defeating him atSuperBrawl Revenge on February 18,[29] but losing in a rematch the following night onNitro.[30] He lost toErnest "The Cat" Miller at WCW's final pay-per-view,Greed, on March 18.[31] Their feud was not resolved by the time WCW was purchased by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late March 2001.[4]
On July 5, 2001, Kanyon made his WWF debut onSmackDown! as part ofThe Alliance, a group of former WCW wrestlers who were "invading" the WWF.[32] AtInvasion on July 22, Kanyon,Shawn Stasiak andHugh Morrus defeatedThe Big Show,Billy Gunn andAlbert.[33] On the July 26 episode ofSmackDown!,WCW ChampionBooker T gave hisWCW United States Championship to Kanyon, who began referring to himself as "The AllianceMVP".[34] He and fellow Alliance member Diamond Dallas Page defeated theAcolytes Protection Agency (Faarooq andBradshaw) on the August 9 episode ofSmackDown! for theWWF Tag Team Championship.[35] They lost the titles toThe Brothers of Destruction (Kane and The Undertaker) in asteel cage match on August 19 atSummerSlam.[36] Kanyon lost the WCW United States Championship toTajiri on the September 10 episode ofRaw.[34] On October 29, Kanyon tore his leftanterior cruciate ligament during adark match withRandy Orton.[5] He underwent surgery with Dr. James Andrews inBirmingham, Alabama and was sidelined for the remainder of the Invasion angle.
In May 2002, Kanyon was cleared to compete and was sent toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a WWE developmental territory, through the end of the month to restore himself to full fitness.[3] However, while wrestlingLance Cade inLima, Ohio on July 13, Kanyon injured his left shoulder, suffering ahumeral head contusion andsupraspinatus tendinitis. He underwent surgery on July 21 but began experiencing breathing difficulties. As a result of an allergy to the medications with which he was being treated, Kanyon's lungs filled with fluid and hisblood oxygen level fell to 41%. He gradually recovered and was discharged from the hospital on July 28, having lost 32 lb (15 kg) in the interim.[37][38]
Kanyon returned to OVW in October 2002 and remained there for a further four months. On the February 13, 2003 episode ofSmackDown! he returned to the main roster, emerging from a large crate from The Big Show, dressed asBoy George and singing the 1983Culture Club hit "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" to The Undertaker, prompting the latter to attack Kanyon and concussing him with a hard chair shot.[39] Kanyon made his televised in-ring return on the April 19 edition ofVelocity with his "Who Betta Than Kanyon?" gimmick, losing toRhyno.[40] AtVengeance on July 27, he participated in theAPA's Invitational Bar Room Brawl.[41] Kanyon was relegated toVelocity for the rest of 2003 and was released from WWE on February 9, 2004.[42]
Kanyon retired from professional wrestling on August 28, 2004, after losing aretirement match toDiamond Dallas Page inWayne, New Jersey.[43] In July 2005, he came out of retirement and returned to theindependent circuit.[44]
Kanyon appeared at theTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) pay-per-viewTurning Point on December 11, 2005, asLarry Zbyszko's choice, Chris K, losing to Raven.[2] Five days later, Kanyon appeared inPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) atAstonishing X-Mas, facingJoey Ryan for thePWG World Championship in a losing effort after someone wearing a Mortis outfit distracted Kanyon.[45] On April 29, 2006, he appeared at the World Wrestling Legends (WWL) pay-per-view 6:05 The Reunion, losing to Page.[46]
Kanyon announced his second retirement on April 5, 2007.[47] He came out of retirement in December 2009 to wrestle for the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), where he worked shortly before his death.[4] He wrestled his last match on January 30, 2010 as Mortis in a handicap match, defeating Blake Morris and Mike Reed.
Kanyon appeared on theCNN specialDeath Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling, in November 2007 following the aftermath of theChris Benoit double-murder and suicide. On the program, Kanyon stated that on September 14, 2003, he had taken 50 sleeping pills in asuicide attempt.[3][48]
In the early hours of October 16, 2005, he was arrested inYbor City, Tampa, Florida for "disorderly conduct and resistingarrest without violence" after attempting to break up a fight. He was released that same day after a $750 cash bond.[49]
Kanyon, along with Raven andMichael Sanders, attempted tosue WWE for "cheating them out of health care and other benefits" but afederal judge inStamford, Connecticut, dismissed the case.[8][50]
In 2004, after Kanyon's release from WWE, he began what was thought to be a gimmick in which he was an openlygay wrestler. This included an occasion in which he stated that WWE released him from his contract because of his sexuality.[3][7] Kanyon later told reporters and radio personalities that this was just a publicity stunt, but later retracted those statements and acknowledged that he was, in fact, gay.[5][51] Before his death, Kanyon was working on a book,Wrestling Reality, with Ryan Clark, which details Kanyon's struggles as acloseted gay man.[6]
On September 23, 2021,Viceland pro wrestling Canadian docuseriesDark Side of the Ring aired an episode focusing on Kanyon's career as well as his struggles with his personal life.[5]
On April 2, 2010, Kanyon was found dead at his childhood home inSunnyside, Queens, aged 40. An empty bottle ofantidepressants and the drugSeroquel, as well as asuicide note were found near his body. He struggled with symptoms ofbipolar disorder since 2004 and threatened to end his own life in the weeks prior to his death.[7][8][52][53] His death was acknowledged byWWE.[54] Before his death, he worked as a therapist at Pulse Fitness and had plans to open awrestling school.[55]
KANYON: September 14, 2003, I took 50 sleeping pills and tried to kill myself. So, I could be another one of those statistics. I very well could have been.
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