Chris Benoit Interview
July 10, 1999
Page 3
by RichInKC

RichInKC: What prompted you to work with a mask?  Did you just want to try something new or was there another reason?

Chris Benoit: No actually I talked to Tokyo Joe.  Stu Hart's promotion had just shut down.  Tokyo Joe called me up and told me that New Japan was interested in bringing me back there to start touring.  I had heard about them bringing guys in to get ten, fifteen, twenty weeks a year over there.  He indicated that they were interested in me spending some time over there.  Instead of traveling with the Japanese and training with them, I would be going over there as a foreigner.  He basically gave me a mask and told me I was the Pegasus Kid.

RichInKC: Was wrestling under a mask a big adjustment?  We often hear commentators talk about how the mask limits your vision.

Chris Benoit: Yeah, most definitely.  It was real uncomfortable at first just because of the heat.  In the summertime in Japan we would wrestle in some buildings that had no air conditioning and it would get even hotter inside than it did outside because of the humidity.  Second of all, just getting used to moving around in it took time.  Someone would shoot me off to the ropes and one of my eyes would be covered or something like that, so it took getting use to.  When I finally got used to it, I actually liked it.  I was quite comfortable wearing it.

RichInKC: Now, you probably had an entirely different type of talent to work with in New Japan.  I understand they emphasize the technical/aerial aspect a lot more than they do in the Americas.  Who were some of your favorite opponents in your New Japan days? 

Chris Benoit: Without a doubt one of my biggest rivals over there was Jushin Thunder Liger.  I enjoyed working with everyone over there, though.  They all had their own styles.  I think the only way you get better is by working with so many different people and so many different styles.  I mean, over in Japan, yes it is a Japanese style, but in the United States it is an American style, but everybody you work with works in a different fashion.  I think that's how you better yourself. 

RichInKC: Now, towards the end of your New Japan career, three NJPW stars jumped to WCW at the same time Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and yourself.  A lot of people online named them the New Japan Three (coined by Dark Cheetah, I believe) because you all debuted at roughly the same time.  Was the timing a coincidence or did the three of you want to come over at the same time?

Chris Benoit: No, Dean, Eddy and I had known each other for quite awhile having been wrestling in Japan for years and were very close friends.  The opportunity came to work in the States and, at the time, WCW had a strong working relationship with New Japan.  Actually, New Japan was encouraging us to go over there and test the waters, open new doors and try a new opportunity.  They basically said go ahead, but the door is always open over here.  Go see what it is like.

RichInKC: Any regrets about coming back to the States?

Chris Benoit: No, none at all.  I have no regrets at all when it comes to my career.  There have been times when I look back and thought I would have done things a little differently or change this or that, but I don't regret anything in my career because I have surpassed any and every dream I have ever had.  When I first started watching wrestling, the only show on was Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.  All I ever wanted to be was a wrestler who worked with Stu Hart.  I thought if I could only accomplish that, I would be made, that would be it.  I've gone a lot further than my dreams.