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Chris Benoit acted in a "crazy" manner long before his death, according to former WWE Superstar Chuck Palumbo.
Between June 22-24, 2007, Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and seven-year-old son Daniel before killing himself. At the time, the Canadian was widely viewed as one of WWE's most reliable and respected wrestlers.
In an interview on Monte & The Pharaoh, Palumbo recalled how he witnessed Benoit's "wacky" behavior outside of the ring:
"Chris had a crazy side. I'm sorry, I've seen it. I saw the way he hazed some guys. I saw the way he would snap once in a while. I saw how he acted when he drank. I loved Eddie [Guerrero]. He was one of my friends. Him and Eddie would hang out and drink. Chris would get wacky. I've seen him in hotel bars. I've driven with Chris. I've seen Chris taking pills while he's drinking." [52:59 – 53:25]
Chuck Palumbo wrestled for WWE between 2001-2004 and 2006-2008. Before joining the company, he also shared a locker room with Chris Benoit in WCW.
The Chris Benoit tragedy did not surprise Chuck Palumbo
On June 25, 2007, then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon informed the company's wrestlers about the Chris Benoit incident. With details about the deaths limited, WWE replaced that night's episode of RAW with a tribute show to Benoit.
Based on Benoit's past antics, Chuck Palumbo was not surprised that his former co-worker was capable of murdering his own family:
"Was I shocked at the moment to hear it? Yeah, it's shocking to hear that (...) We thought the way he [Vince McMahon] mentioned it, we thought that maybe someone killed him. But when the truth came out, was I surprised? No." [56:27 – 57:12]
The highlight of Benoit's WWE career came in 2004 when he defeated Shawn Michaels and Triple H in the WrestleMania 20 main event. He also won the Royal Rumble in the same year.
Please credit Monte & The Pharaoh and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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