Benoit article on Stu Hart

[Guest MideonMark]

Chris Benoit talks about Stu Hart

by Chris Benoit

Oct. 19, 2003

 

I started going to Stampede Wrestling every Saturday night in Edmonton when I was 12 years old, and I went religiously. I slowly got to know the wrestlers and eventually got the opportunity to talk to Stu. I’ll never forget the first time I met him. I was walking in there, and in my mind, I was thinking, “Holy s***!” I couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, couldn’t say anything. I mean, I grew up idolizing all these guys. I really believed in my mind that if I accomplished that goal – if I became a wrestler and worked for Stu Hart – I’d be made.

 

The first time I met him, I was so scared and nervous. And he was just cool and calm and collected. I remember being in the backroom at the Kinsmen Fieldhouse. He put me in a couple of holds and started showing me stuff, just kidding around. I was just so excited. He invited me down to Calgary after I graduated from high school. I got on a Greyhound bus, went down to Calgary and worked out as much as I could. I started training with him when I was 17. He put me up at the house. It was just a dream come true for someone who grew up watching that. Back then, we didn’t get WWE on cable television, or any other wrestling, for that matter; you had to have a satellite dish. So Stampede was the only game in town. To me, that was it.

 

The first time I was at the house, he made me feel like I was part of the family. I’ll never forget that – the way he and Helen made me feel. They made me feel welcome, as if it was my house. I was a 17-year-old kid, nervous as hell, not wanting to eat, not wanting to drink, not wanting to use the bathroom. I was terrified. They just made me feel so at home, and eventually I just realized, “This is the way they are. This is family.” To me, it was a good introduction to this business because I really believed that all of us need to watch out for one another; all of us are family. That’s where I was introduced into the business, via Stu Hart.

 

I have a lot of very fond memories with him. He’d sit down and talk to me about the business, about being on the road, about how to carry yourself, about how to interact in the locker room – very educational. He gave me a great head start in the industry. I’ll never forget what he did for me. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Stu Hart giving me the lessons pertaining to the locker room and being in the ring, and how to carry yourself around the guys. He gave me so much in the early years in terms of wisdom.

 

I did a lot of my training out in the yard with Mr. Hito, Bruce Hart and Mike Hammer. Then, after we all got done, it was down to the dungeon with Stu. I think Stu enjoyed putting me in different holds, listening to me moan and watching me suffer. I think I caught the tail end of Stu’s good years doing all that. It hurt, but he never hurt me. He made you feel the pain, but he’d never break my arm or dislocate something. He knew what he was doing. Back then, I loved it. All of my friends that I went to junior high and high school with, we all watched it together. We all dreamed together. We all had the same aspirations. And here I was out of everyone that I know, downstairs with Stu Hart. It was beyond anything I ever dreamed. I’d see all these monsters come down there and get weeded out. And I’m still there. I felt proud. I felt real proud.

 

One of the biggest lessons he ever taught me – it wasn’t anything that we sat down and talked about, it was me observing his life and the way he lived it – he taught me a lot about strength and composure. I’ve never seen that man lose his composure, and I’ve seen him in a lot of predicaments. He’s a pillar of strength in my eyes. I’ll never forget watching him conduct business; some of the guys would get out hand, or something would happen on the road. He never lost his composure. Throughout the years, I’ve seen him lose two of his sons, his son-in-law, his wife … he was always a pillar of strength. You’ve got to look up to him. I admire him. That’s what being a man is.

[Damaramu 0]

Great words from Benoit. If only we could all be so lucky to get life lessons like the ones Stu gave.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

That was a great read. You can really tell that Benoit has taken what he learned from Stu and applied it to his career and own life.

[Guest Boo_Bradley]

Stu never stole another man's wife. Nice morals.

 

/dodges tomatoes

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Well that was uncalled for.

[iliketurtles 0]

Nice article by Benoit. I'd like to see him do it as a regular thing.

[Guest Crux]

Wonderful words from Benoit. He really held him in a high regard.

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

Did you read the Lance Storm Piece Crux, I don't think anyone had a bad word to say about Stu. That includes Vince.

[Guest JMA]

Stu never stole another man's wife. Nice morals.

 

/dodges tomatoes

It takes two to tango. So I wouldn't say Chris "stole" Nancy from Kevin.

[Damaramu 0]

If you think about it.....it was Kevin Sullivan's fault. I mean he made them travel together and tried to get them to devlop a husband and wife chemistry just because he wanted the angle to seem more real. He practically through her at Benoit.

And I mean that's asking for trouble. I mean what woman could resist the rugged toothless good looks of Benoit?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I know I couldn't.

 

That is to say.

 

If I were a woman.

 

RRR: Man.

 

... It's unfortunate all these really cool columns are coming at the expense of someone dying.