DOI reporting that Chris Candido has died...

[Styles 0]

Some new info from PWTorch:

 

Chris Candido - 1972-2005: Notes on his life, details on his death, TNA's statement

By Wade Keller, Torch editor

Apr 29, 2005, 01:10 AM

 

 

-There is still no official word from the hospital regarding the cause of Candido Candido's death on Thursday night. His longtime girlfriend Tammy Sytch is at the hospital now getting information.

 

-There is talk right now that his death may either be the result of a staph infection or a blood clot.

 

-Candido had been suffering from side effects from his surgery on Monday, including vomiting. There was concern because of the smell that something wasn't right.

 

-Candido wasn't given much pain medication at first because doctors saw the marks on his arms from years of drug use and didn't want to give drugs to a potential addict. Once he established that he was no longer a drug addict and had cleaned up his life, he got pain medication. He had been in excrutiating pain until then.

 

-TNAwrestling.com reported: "TNA Wrestling joins the entire wrestling world in mourning the untimely death of Chris Candido on Thursday night. TNA is deeply devastated by the loss of Chris, who touched the lives of millions of fans around the world during his successful career. We hope everyone will keep Candido's friends and family in their thoughts and prayers as we say goodbye to a friend. TNAwrestling.com will post a statement from Candido's family as soon as possible."

 

-Gabe Sapolsky wrote at ROHWrestling.com: "Well, I was holding out hoping it wasn't true. I just want to send my condolences to all of Chris' family and friends. This one definitely hits home with just about everyone in the business as he worked with just about everyone between TNA, the indies as well as ECW and WWE. Chris was always great to me even back in the ECW days when I was selling programs and he was involved in booking meetings. I don't think you'll find anyone that has one negative thing to say about him. There were talks at one point of bringing Chris into ROH to take Joey Matthews' spot in The Embassy. I'm sure he would have made his way in sooner or later. He also definitely would have made his way back down to FIP at some point. I'm sorry I'll never have the chance to work with him. I'll probably have more thoughts and share some memories about Chris later. Maybe I won't. I don't know. I'm just in shock."

[Guest jlvideo]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Chris's family and freinds. He will be missed very much in the world of wrestling. I thought his comeback would be great and a asset to NWA-TNA. I hope some kind of tribute would fair to him and out of respect to his career. I think TNA will honor him in a special way. RIP: Chris,you will missed by all.

[Styles 0]

A few comments from the PWTorch VIP forum:

 

Wade Keller:

This is hitting people in wrestling really hard.

 

Johnny Fairplay:

I can say that I was extremely fortunate to meet Chris on two separate levels. I knew him first as a "mark" as I interviewed him on the Jonny Fairplay internet show. I thought he was awesome and a tremendous interview. But I am so happy that I later met him as a colleage and a friend. Chris loved the biz more than 90% of the people that I have had the privilege of meeting in my short time in TNA. That is not a diss on the people in TNA, it is said out of respect for how much Chris really loved wrestling. I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet to have known Chris and I miss him big time! Chris, you are one of the great ones!

 

Derek Burgan:

Fairplay is right that Candido is just an incredible interview. I just reviewed his shoot interview for the Torch and as I said in the review, it was probably the most refreshingly honest shoots I have ever seen. And I have seen WAY to many shoots. I don't recall seeing anyone, wrestling or otherwise, take so much responsibility for his decisions in lie and it really made me respect the man even more than I already did. Candido is a stand up guy and this is truly a big loss for the wrestling world as it certainly needs more men like him in it.

[Styles 0]

Career Retrospective from PWIndsider:

 

LOOKING BACK AT THE CAREER OF CHRIS CANDIDO

by Mike Johnson @ 2:10:00 AM on 4/29/2005

 

TNA star Chris Candido passed away suddenly Thursday evening in New Jersey. Candido, 33, collapsed on Thursday evening. He was rushed to the hospital but was not able to be revived.

 

Candido was said to have been in good spirits following surgery on Monday, where a metal plate and screws were inserted to fix a dislocated ankle, a broken tibia, and a broken fibula. He had suffered the injury this past Sunday while working the opener of the TNA Lockdown PPV in a freak accident while taking a dropkick from Sonny Siaki. Candido had appeared at the TNA taping in Orlando, Florida this past Tuesday, just 24 hours after the surgery, managing the Naturals from a wheelchair to the NWA Tag Team championships. The episode is scheduled to air today on the Fox Sports Network.

 

The grandson of Popeye Chuck Richards, who worked the undercards for the WWWF, including Terry Funk's Madison Square Garden debut, Candido grew up around the business, breaking in as a teenager, setting up rings in the New Jersey area with boyhood friend Balls Mahoney. The two would often put together and promote their own shows, even as teenagers, a generation before the term “backyard wrestling” was popularized. Candido and Mahoney would go on to train under Larry Sharpe at the Monster Factory.

 

Candido debuted working for the late Dennis Coraluzzo's WWA promotion in the early 1990s with the moniker "Mr. Charisma" holding their Junior championship. Candido was often accompanied to shows by his High School girlfriend Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, who would later break into the business after accompanying him to Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Whatever the intangible "it" is that creates a great performer, Candido had it from the second he began working professionally, having great matches and showcasing a knack for carrying less talented performers to good matches. He also developed strong mic skills, cutting great promos, and a comedic timing well beyond his years.

 

Candido worked the early days of Eastern Championship Wrestling, under booker Eddie Gilbert, where he held the ECW Tag Team championships with Johnny Hotbody as The Suicide Blondes. INXS' "Suicide Blondes" would remain Candido's theme until he returned to ECW in 1996, when he began using AC/DC's "Back in Black."

 

Candido left the fledgling ECW, then running once a month, to work full-time for Jim Cornette's SMW territory, where he worked singles as a crybaby heel. Candido debuted for the promotion busting out every high impact move he could think of to no reaction from the crowd. Cornette sent him back out during the same TV taping and instructed him to whine and complain about the first bump he took. He did so, and the crowd was on him immediately. Candido was later teamed with Brian Lee, with the pair managed by Sytch, who had moved with Candido to stay with him while he was working SMW and had been turned into an on-air feminist manager. He feuded with Tracey Smothers, Bobby Blaze, and The Rock N’ Roll Express, among others.

 

Candido won a tournament in November 1994 in New Jersey to win the vacant NWA championship, defeating Tracey Smothers in the final. Candido later dropped the belt to UFC star Dan Severn during an SMW house show. He was becoming a hotter name on the independents, booked against the other breakthrough indy names of the period like Sabu, Louie Spicoli, and The Tasmaniac (Tazz). After a tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling, Candido was signed by WWF in early 1995.

 

Sytch had already been signed, doing TV promo work under the name “Tamara Sytch.” Candido was linked with her once he was signed, briefly given the names "Chris and Tammy Power." The gimmick was scrapped after one TV taping. The pair were re-christened Skip and Sunny, The Body Donnas, doing a heel gimmick similar to the one currently held by Simon Dean, as evil fitness instructors, ripping on the poor condition of the "fat fans." Candido was used in an undercard role with no real sense of upward mobility, with the highlight of the run losing to longtime prelim wrestler Barry Horowitz on TV and then a PPV rematch at Summerslam ‘95. Sunny, meanwhile, was becoming the precursor to today’s WWE Divas, becoming a star as a heel female manager and TV personality for the company.

 

Dr. Tom Prichard was brought into the act and added as "Zip" (at one point it was going to be Flip) to the act. The pair won the WWF Tag Team championships at Wrestlemania 12 in Anaheim, California, holding them for a short stint and doing programs with The Smoking Gunns and The Godwins. Sunny broke off from the team, which briefly was managed by a transvestite character named Cloudy (Candido’s old friend Jimmy Shoulders, who he had broken into the business with). Candido suffered a broken neck while taking The Smoking Gunns finisher, The Sidewinder, in Madison Square Garden. When he recovered, WWF utilized him as a trainer and discussed retiring him and putting him in that position full-time. Candido, at that point just 23 years old, opted out, wanting to wrestle full-time.

 

Candido heading to Extreme Championship Wrestling, debuting to a standing ovation as a surprise during an October 1996 ECW Arena event, defeating Spike Dudley. Given the nickname “No Gimmicks Needed” as a play on his forgettable WWF character, Candido received his strongest national push ever as a member of the Triple Threat with Shane Douglas and Brian Lee (with Bam Bam Bigelow later replacing Lee). Behind the scenes, Candido began working with Paul Heyman on a number of backstage duties, including assisting with booking and television production. He had been scheduled to face Lance Storm on the debut ECW PPV, Barely Legal, but suffered a separated shoulder in the weeks leading to the show. The night before the PPV, Candido joked during a speech that he was killing himself just trying to keep up with 53 year old Terry Funk, who was in the main event of the show and was being honored by the company at a banquet.

 

"One of the coolest things I ever got to do was something that happened behind the scenes that no one ever knew I was involved with. We did a Terry Funk retirement show in Amarillo, Texas, which was about his 15th retirement (laughs). Funk and Bret Hart were going to wrestle in the main event that night and they both called me to help them with the match. That was one of the coolest things ever in my life."

 

Candido held the ECW World Tag Team championships with Lance Storm, with the duo breaking up while champions in December 1997. Tammy Sytch, who had been released by WWF, joined Candido in Extreme Championship Wrestling that summer. Once Sytch arrived, the change was immediate in Candido. The pair soon fell out of favor with Paul Heyman due to their personal problems, although he would bring them back several times before finally writing them off. Candido’s last run with ECW was early in the promotion’s run on TNN, where he was paired with Rhino as a tag team.

 

Candido and Sytch popped up in XPW in California, and began working a number of independent companies including USA Pro Wrestling in New York. After some back and forth wrangling with ECW over their contracts, the pair received releases and headed to WCW for a short run, which included Candido winning the WCW Cruiserweight championship and losing it during some nonsensical Vince Russo era booking. Candido did end up working with one of his heroes, Terry Funk. In a story that was recently recounted in Funk’s autobiography, the pair had a Hardcore match on Nitro where they had brawled into a horse’s stable, complete with the horse kicking Funk in the face in a story. Candido suffered a broken arm while working for the company, which upset then-WCW Executive Eric Bischoff. Candido ripped the cast off his arm so he could wrestle despite the injury, only to end up fired by the company anyway after an issue with Sytch backstage. Candido would later publicly say he regretted working hurt and wasn’t high on his time in the WCW.

 

"Most of the lowpoints were all my fault, so I promised myself I’d never do them again. The worst I’d have to say was near the end of WCW when I broke my arm. I came to the television tapings the next week with a cast on my arm. Eric Bischoff yelled at me for wearing a cast, which I guess meant I was a jerk for breaking it or something. So he made me cut the cast below the elbow so I could wrestle. A week after that, I was fired by him because I was hurt. That was the worst thing ever in my career. On top of it, it wasn’t even my fault."

 

By this point, Candido and Sytch’s reputations had been completely tarnished by their outside issues. Candido wasn’t shy in hiding he had gone through problems with painkillers and drugs in the period that followed while working independents, often joking about his past and cleaning up while appearing as a co-host for USA Pro promoter Frank Goodman’s hotline. A favorite story that was recited and referred to often on the hotline featured Candido ending up at a hotel where workers from Major League Wrestling were staying in Florida, wandering the halls bloody, naked and incoherent.

 

"Obviously, me and Tammy did a lot of stupid things but some of it got blown out of proportion worse on the internet. We were legitimately stupid, but we became even stupider when you read about us on the internet. The word of the internet fans goes a long way now. For some reason the business has been greatly influenced by somebody typing on their computer all day. I guess it’s a good thing, but in a way it hurt us. So now, I just want to ask the internet wrestling fans to give me the opportunity to watch for me what I am and I hope you enjoy my work. But at least I can say me and Tammy always gave the internet something good to talk about."

 

Candido finally cleaned himself up to the point his matches began looking like the Chris Candido of old and little by little, promoters started to take notice. Sytch as well had cleaned herself up, began losing weight. She had publicly discussed becoming a flight attendant but later ended up running a tanning salon in New Jersey. Through it all, good and bad, the pair had remained together. Candido began helping advising many of the younger workers he was running into at independent shows, and broke his younger brother, Johnny into the business. The two worked a short program for USA Pro.

 

Over the last year or so, Candido looked as if he was following the success stories of Eddie Guerrero and William Regal in overcoming his issues and making a go of it with his career, as opposed to following the tragedies of Brian Pillman and Louie Spicoli. He was regularly working and having good matches for USA Pro, IWA Mid-South, the International Wrestling Cartel out of Pittsburgh, NWA Cyberspace, Pro Wrestling Unplugged and other companies.

 

"I stuffed a lot of fun into my first 31 years so now I just try to do the home thing. It’s funny…me and (wrestler) Hack Myers were hanging out a couple weeks ago and he told me that some mutual friends were telling some Chris Candido stories that were new to him. Well, they were new to me too because I had done a lot in those years that I don’t remember doing. To think about those years and what we went through, I feel excited to be able to lead a normal life now."

 

Candido had tried hard to get a WWE tryout dark match at several points over the last year, and at one point was scheduled to work a Raw taping in Long Island, but it never came to pass. He finally hooked up with TNA through booker Dusty Rhodes, who was extremely high on him. He earned himself a regular slot after an excellent match with TNA flagbearer AJ Styles on Impact! Candido continued to have a string of decent matches, was co-hosting the syndicated Xplosion show and was cast as The Naturals’ advisor.

 

"Me and Dusty Rhodes appeared on a few independent shows together. We had met a few times in the past, but we ended up having a heart-to-heart talk about me getting cleaned up, getting back into ring shape and doing the right thing while I’m still young and able to make another run at it. He was proud of me for admitting my problems and trying to fix them, and he told me if he was ever in a position to offer help he would. As soon as he got into that position in TNA he called me right up. I owe him a lot."

 

The injury at Lockdown, suffered while taking a Sonny Siaki dropkick, was horrible timing for Candido’s comeback but he still intended to make all his dates despite the injury. Sytch had posted on the USA Pro Wrestling message board that Candido still intended to make all his bookings, doing promos or managing at ringside, because he didn’t want to miss any dates. Candido had hoped to return to the ring within six weeks, which given the nature of the injury seemed to be unrealistic. Candido had told many that he was excited for the “ECW” weekend where he was scheduled to work the Hardcore Homecoming event being organized by Shane Douglas and Jeremy Borash. Candido had also privately discussed working the WWE organized ECW One Night Stand PPV, as he wasn’t signed to a TNA deal, which would have prevented that.

 

Chris Candido quotes courtesy TNAWrestling.com interview

 

Chris Candido Championship History

Compiled by Buck Woodward

 

WCW Cruiserweight Championship

Defeated Prince Iaukea, Juventud Guerrera, Crowbar and Lash LeRoux to win vacant title in Chicago, Illinois on April 10, 2000.

Lost to Daffney in a tag team match with Tammy Sytch against Daffney & Crowbar when Daffney pinned Sytch in Biloxi, Mississippi on May 15, 2000. 

 

ECW World Tag Team Championship

With Johnny Hotbody

Defeated Larry Winters & Tony Stetson in Radnor, Pennsylvania on April 3, 1993.

Winters & Chris Michaels (part of the Suicide Blondes group) lost the belts to The Super Destroyers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1993.

 

With Lance Storm

Defeated champions Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon and Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney in a three way dance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 6, 1997.

Lost to Sabu & Rob Van Dam in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 27, 1998.

 

WWF World Tag Team Championship (as Bodydonna Skip)

With Zip (Tom Prichard)

Defeated The Godwinns in a tournament final in Anaheim, California on March 31, 1996.

Lost to the Godwins in New York City on September 22, 1996.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship

Defeated Tracey Smothers in a tournament final in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on November 19, 1994.

Lost to Dan Severn in Erlanger, Kentucky on February 24, 1995.

 

SMW Television Championship

Defeated Tracey Smothers in Jefferson, North Carolina on December 6, 1993.

Lost to Robbie Eagle in Chilhowie, Virginia on January 10, 1994.

 

Defeated Scott Studd for vacant title in Warrensville, North Carolina on July 5, 1994.

Lost to Lance Storm in Saltville, Virginia on August 8, 1994.

 

SMW Tag Team Championship

With Brian Lee

Defeated The Rock N' Roll Express in Johnson City, Tennessee on April 23, 1994.

Lost to The Rock N' Roll Express in Knoxville, Tennessee on August 5, 1994.

 

Defeated The Rock N' Roll Express in Johnson City, Tennessee on August 6, 1994.

Lost to The Rock N' Roll Express in Saltville, Virginia on August 8, 1994.

 

SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Title

Defeated Bobby Blaze in Jellico, Tennessee on October 4, 1993.

Lost to Bobby Blaze in Knoxville, Tennessee on October 8, 1993.

 

Defeated Bobby Blaze in Barbourville, Kentucky on October 9, 1993.

Lost to Bobby Blaze in Johnson City, Tennessee on October 10, 1993.

 

USA Pro Wrestling United States Championship

Defeated Xavier on in Queens, New York on August 19, 2002.

Lost to The Sandman  in Queens, New York on October 19, 2002.

 

Defeated Mike Tobin in Franklin Square, New York on June 19, 2004.

Lost to Trent Acid in Queens, New York on November 19, 2004.

 

XPW Heavyweight Championship

Defeated Damien Steele in Hollywood, California on February 26, 2000.

Vacated the title when he left the promotion to work in WCW.

 

Independent Superstars Of Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship

Defeated champion Ace Darling and 2 Cold Scorpio in a three way match in Wildwood, New Jersey on July 22, 1999.

Lost to Ace Darling in Wildwood, New Jersey on August 5, 1999.

 

Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling United States Championship

Defeated Ray Odyssey for vacant title in Reading, Pennsylvania on June 14, 1996.

Vacated title.

 

Candido also held numerous other Independent Championships, including the Jersey Championship Wrestling Television Title, the WWA Junior Heavyweight Championship, and more.

[Carnival 0]

man this sucks.

 

You would think that if the doctor thought there could be chance of a blood clot that he would be blood thinners. maybe not i don't know.

[Jingus 0]

Online consensus now seems to be that it was a staph infection. Which is a really crappy random way to die. Oddly enough, Candido's now the second wrestler I know of to die that way.

[Matt Young 0]

I was just coming here to post about this. I read the story upon awakening today, and I was and still am shocked. This was totally unexpected.

 

Seeing as how Lance Storm is one of my favorite wrestlers, I became a big fan of Candido's during his ECW days. I was also really enjoying his work in TNA.

 

It's horrible to see this happen. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to overcome an addiction, and Chris managed to do that while being part of a business and engaging in a lifestyle that makes it difficult to conquer such problems. Now he's dead at age 33 over something like this.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I normally don't post in these "RIP" type of threads, but Candido was someone that I always just rooted for, for no real reason or anything, I just found myself naturally liking him as a wrestler.

 

Sucks that he basically hit bottom, rehabilitated himself, and then passed away in such a fluke way.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'd not long ago watched Candido's match in IWA MS at last year's Autumn Armageddon against Danny Daniels, and it was one of the funniest matches of all time. Not for the ring work, which was ok, but for the crazy antics of Candido, Jim Fannin, and everyone else involved. Candido was absolutely hysterical, and was working everyone into a frenzy, and that was without doing anything. For all of his past demons, which he had overcome, Candido was still a great talent, and long before his tragic death, he had never yet reached the heights his ability demanded

[Guest news_gimmick]

Theres nothing much else that can be said, I'm still stunned and sad for him and his family.

 

RIP Chris

[Guest BobbyWhioux]

It's just very frustrating and sad. To go through what he went through, overcome all that, and then go out like this. Just doesn't seem fair.

 

I mean, maybe there's some consolation in that instead of some at-the-bottom-of-the-barrel addict's death that, well, probably wouldn't have surprised us a couple years ago, he'd pulled through, earned himself a second chance, and was doing what he loved doing and was good at. But, damn... he was only 33. Could've and should've had so much more time...

 

Poor Tammy.

 

Thinking about Chris this morning when I logged on, and I remembered that ECW pay per view where he worked the main event. Dream Partners tag match. And his promo work before and during it...

 

"You know Lance, in my life there's only three people who've ever kicked my ass. First is my Grandfather -- God Rest his soul. The second is Bam Bam Bigelow, who's now a member of the Triple Threat. And the third is my wife... and, well, I kinda like it when she does that. [so whoever you got, I don't care, bring him on out."

 

Sunny's the partner, but she turns on Lance, and it's Shane and Sunny and Francine and Chris punking Lance out.

 

"Hey Lance, where's my ass kicking? You said you were gonna kick my ass? Where's my ass-kicking, Lance?" Then he bopped a restrained Lance on the head with the microphone. Great comedic timing. "Huh? What are you gonna give me, Lance? C'mon!"

 

Man, gonna miss that guy now.

[ragingfear79 0]

wow, just wow. This is just horrible i hadnt gotten a chance to come in and check the boards cause of work and now on my lunch break i come and find out about this, Im not hungry anymore, everything that had to be said has been said. My thoughts and prayers for his family and his wife. You will be remembered fondly Chris, thanks for all the good times.

 

FOCK!!!!!!!!

[cabbageboy 0]

I can't say I'm especially stunned to read this, but was surprised that he died in the bizarre way he did. I think I read that the doc noted his drug scarring on the arms and was hesitant to give him much in the way of painkillers and medicine. So in a roundabout way the drugs had a role in his death.

 

I liked Candido's ECW stuff against Lance Storm, but to be honest I expected to read something about him dying a good 5 years ago.

[Maztinho 0]

"The Sandman might come out here and hit me with a Singapore Cane, well that's a pussy cane from a pussy country. If he came out here and hit me with a New Jersey cane... well, that'd be alright." -Chris Candido

 

The sucky thing is that it wasn't drugs that did him in. If it was I'd be like, "Meh. Bound to happen." He died from a fluke injury and a fluke condition from that injury. That's what stings.

[iliketurtles 0]

World Wrestling Entertainment is saddened by the passing of Chris Candido.

 

Chris appeared in WWE as Skip of the Bodydonnas in the mid 1990s. He also competed for ECW and WCW, and held both the WWE and ECW World Tag Team titles and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. He was an amazing athlete and a gifted performer, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Just making sure...

 

Is this the first major wrestling death this year?

 

I don't remember any others.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Wow. I just learned of this now.

 

Fuck.

[Carnival 0]

I'm suprised WWF commented on it. Thats classy of them...something that you don't expect from them.

[RedJed 0]

I can't say I'm especially stunned to read this, but was surprised that he died in the bizarre way he did. I think I read that the doc noted his drug scarring on the arms and was hesitant to give him much in the way of painkillers and medicine. So in a roundabout way the drugs had a role in his death.

 

I liked Candido's ECW stuff against Lance Storm, but to be honest I expected to read something about him dying a good 5 years ago.

While I dont think thats how you meant it the way I am taking it (like that you think because he used in the past that he's fair game for this sort of thing happening), blaming his past for his death is totally wrong, since the whole situation with painkillers/medicine really had nothing to do with his death (but something to do with the pain he may have been suffering in general post-surgery) but from what I heard the doctors broke down and gave him meds when they realized he's clean and sober and needed them. The obvious negligence is in their surgery process (perhaps a dirty knife or something that infected him internally) was the reason of his passing and dare I say, in the aftermath of all of this, I can easily see a lawsuit for malpractice.

 

This is a fucked up deal for sure, and saddened to see him pass away - he will be missed and I thought his pairing with the Naturals was just starting to take off.

[Jericholic82 0]

"The Sandman might come out here and hit me with a Singapore Cane, well that's a pussy cane from a pussy country. If he came out here and hit me with a New Jersey cane... well, that'd be alright." -Chris Candido

 

The sucky thing is that it wasn't drugs that did him in. If it was I'd be like, "Meh. Bound to happen." He died from a fluke injury and a fluke condition from that injury. That's what stings.

I was just thinking about that promo after hearing the news. Wow so shocking. I logged nto wrestlcrap this morning and saw the headline there. Doesn;t amke much sense does it?

 

anyhow this is very sad, especially to come out of the blue like that. Untimely deaths seem to be in abundance in pro wrestling. Chris was a very talented wrestler, underrated on the mic as well, who had aknack for making you care about him, no matter what stupid gimmick he was saddled with. The Bodydonnas gimmick was in retrospect lame, but he made it work, palying that character over the top so that it made you care. I will always fondly remember the match where Horowitz beat him on TV. Their short feud was mememorable, in no short part due to Chris' involvment. He did everythign asked of him, jobbing to a longtime, famous jobber, teaming with a guy called "Zip", being managed by a guy in drag named "Cloudy", you name it. Through this, you could tell he truly loved and lived for the business.

 

Thanks for the memories, Chris. We will all miss you.

[Carnival 0]

so blood clot....or staph infection?

 

does anyone know for sure?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I can't imagine how Sonny Siaki feels right now, although it is not certain that injury led to Candido's death.

 

I haven't seen this brought up before, and I think it deserves attention. Sports Illustrated ran an article in its February 28, 2005 edition. On page 50, SI ran an article about a new strand of staph infection that attacked athletes, and that it affected those infected at an alarmingly high speed.

 

MRSA is infecting the world of sports, from high school wrestling mats and neighborhood health clubs to the locker rooms of college and professional teams.

 

So you make a few reasonable connections. Serious injury, potentially unsanitary locker rooms and wrestling environment (I doubt this is a high priority to a mid-range wrestling outlet such as TNA) and one can see where a problem may have occured. Obviously, this is not the only possibility.

 

Also, I am changing the sub-title on the TNA folder temporarily.

[JoeDirt 0]

I'd not long ago watched Candido's match in IWA MS at last year's Autumn Armageddon against Danny Daniels, and it was one of the funniest matches of all time. Not for the ring work, which was ok, but for the crazy antics of Candido, Jim Fannin, and everyone else involved. Candido was absolutely hysterical, and was working everyone into a frenzy, and that was without doing anything. For all of his past demons, which he had overcome, Candido was still a great talent, and long before his tragic death, he had never yet reached the heights his ability demanded

Totally agree. Candido's stint in IWA-MS had so much fun stuff. Him and Daniels busting out so many WWF finishers at the end of that match had me rolling.

 

I missed the start of Impact, did they say anything about him?

[King Cucaracha 0]

MRSA's a pretty big problem here in Britain too, in hospitals that aren't cleaned the way they should be. A lot of people (not just athletes, but the general public) have died after minor surgeries or just basically time in hospital. It could be that, sadly.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

From Meltzer's latest update:

 

There are times when famous wrestlers pass away and everyone starts talking about what wonderful people they were, and sometimes, you almost have to bite your tongue. This is not one of those times.

 

Through thick and thin, through the bad times, and they were many, I don't think you'll find anyone arguing that Chris Candido was a really nice guy. He made a comeback at a time when everyone in the industry had given up on him. He was recently brought into TNA just as a test to put people over, and wound up winning a roster spot and was liked by everyone. If the circumstances of his death that are stated are accurate, it is one of the greatest tragedies of all. Practically everyone in wrestling who was at death's door at one point in their lives will say or have their friends say that are reformed. As history has shown, the vast majority of the times, it isn't true. What a lot of people don't understand, is for the minority who it turns out to be true about, it is a daily battle, as some, like William Regal and Eddie Guerrero will openly talk about.

 

Chris loved pro wrestling, even though it came close to killing him at one point in his life. It was more living out his childhood dream than making money. I think he enjoyed it every bit as much when he was barely making ends meet than when he was under a six-figure contract. He was on the road right out of high school. He had a bright future. He squandered that future. But he was determined the end the story of his wrestling career on a high note and with respect of the people in the profession that he had at times let down. He was on the road to doing all that.

 

What happened is one of those things that happen in life. There is no rhyme nor reason. Life isn't fair. You can question all you want about a guy who fought back from something that most never come back from, but then suffered a fluke broken leg, and suddenly, with no warning, this happened. Chris was very excited about his future in wrestling, particularly because he was starting to escape from the shadow of his past. The 6/10 and potentially 6/12 (if he was to be allowed to participate) were huge deals for him, and whether he would be able to wrestle or not, he was excited to be part of them.

 

Candido's last pro wrestling appearance will air today on the TNA Impact show. I'm told they will do a tribute graphic for him on the show, I believe at both the beginning and the end of the show. Before the show started, Candido came up with his own angle, because in a cruel twist of irony, he had been in a wheelchair at a ruse for the last few weeks on television. Candido came up with the storyline that his real broken leg on Sunday was his karma for the ruse, which led to the tag team title change and what was told to me was the best Impact match in a long time. There was debate whether the match should air at all. Shane Douglas who was his best friend in the company, felt 100% certain Candido would have wanted it to air. So that was the decision.

 

No death of a people you know at a young age isn't sad in some form, whether you know them personally, or followed their lives simply watching them work from a young age. Many people followed Chris from when he was a very young man, and some since he was just a teenager But for many reasons, this one is harder than most. It's not just because it doesn't appear to have been self-inflicted, but because this was the phone call for years that many people feared we could get at any time. And just when we thought we knew it would never come, it came.

[JoeDirt 0]

Another note from Meltzer's update:

 

--Apparently Sonny Siaki is really taking Candido's death hard.

[Carnival 0]

poor siaki, it's not his fault. shit happens...it's not like he dropped him on his neck.

[Jericholic82 0]

I forgot to mention before, but I only got to see Candido live one time, at an XPW show on May 28, 2000 (This was actually after he had debuted in WCW and I believe he was on Nitro the next night Against Terry Funk in the hardcore match mentioned before). Not only did I enjoy his match (w/Tammy in his corner vs The Messiah), but during intermission, he was the only wrestler (along with Tammy) who came out of the back to just hang out and chat with the fans and sign autographs, he was really cool to all of us. I was sad that I didn't get his autograph (I didn;t have anything with me to sign or a pen ). I always remembered this and any time I saw him on TV it made me think of how nice he was to spend time with the fans.

 

Just thought I'd share a nice story about him.

[iliketurtles 0]

This is so fucked up watching. Impact, that is.

[Carnival 0]

I think i had him sign my program at the Gathering of Juggalos(ICP Event) in 2001.

 

I know i talked to him. He was working in Japan off and on he said. Tammy was also there.