Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30310 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-09-20
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 82 minutes

Synopsis
Chris Benoit is considered to be the best technical wrestler in the business today and we take a look at the real story behind his rise to the top from the early days in Canada, Japan and Mexico right up to the present day.

Customer Reviews

Great guide to WWE star
Hard Knocks consists of a documentary describing Chris Benoit's rise up the pro wrestling ladder plus 15 of his matches spanning just as many years, from his time in the Japanese federations in 1990 right up to Wrestlemania in 2004.

The documentary contains lots of interviews with Benoit's family and his WWE colleagues Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko. He comes across as a really nice guy and it's interesting hearing how dedicated he was to making a career in grappling at a very early age. He idolized the Dynamite Kid and from the clips it's amazing how similar their ring styles are - they even look alike.

Of the matches, I liked the two early Japanese shows the best, against Jushin Liger and Eddie Guerrero. These were the days when Benoit wrestled under the name Pegasus Kid and Eddie appeared as Black Tiger. You've got the option of alternative commentaries on these bouts so you get to hear Benoit commenting on his own moves, together with Malenko, who also wrestled at the same time in Japan.

Overall, this is a good value DVD with a nice balance between documentary footage and whole matches.

The greatest wrestler ever?
Chris Benoit is quite possibly the greatest professional wrestler to ever walk the Earth. Ask any wrestling fan if he has ever been involved in a bad match and straight away the answer would be "no". This DVD explores his life-story from his child-hood days admiring his wrestling hero Britains-own The Dynamite Kid to his days in New Japn Pro Wrestling as The Pegasis Kid and Wild Pegasis, right up to when he defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the World Heavyweight Championship in Madison Square Garden at Wrestlemania XX in WWE. It also documents his times in ECW, WCW, the times he trained with the Heart family, his brief run with the 4 horsemen, his long running friendship with Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko and his real-life feud with former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan. The list of matches are incredible. The picks of the bunch are probably his IWGP Jr.Heavyweight title match against Japanese legend Jushin Liger, his cracking WWE title match with Kurt Angle at Royal Rumble 2003 and of coarse, the triple threat world title match with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. There are also great matches against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero and Too Cold Scorpio there to enjoy aswell.
This DVD is pretty much is a must buy for any wrestling die-hard. I say Benoit is the greatest wrestler ever, so what if he doesn't have the charisma of The Rock or Hulk Hogan? He doesn't need it! The fans love him and probably always will.

A sad reminder of more 'innocent' times.
Chris Benoit was the greatest wrestler of his generation, a two-time World Heavyweight Champion in the two biggest promotions the industry has ever seen, and a man who managed to get almost every single fan on his side with no gimmicks and through nothing more than being the very best at what he did. His career has seen a myriad of legendary contests - his Best of Seven series with Booker T in WCW, his matches with Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero in WCW and ECW, his ladder match with Chris Jericho at the 2001 Royal Rumble, his matches with Kurt Angle in 2001 and later at the 2003 Royal Rumble, and of course his run in the early part of 2004 that saw him sky-rocket his way into legacy status. The death of Guerrero (and, later, Mike Durham) in November two years ago may very well have gone some way towards robbing Benoit of his marbles, but you'd have to believe that the tragic double-murder/suicide that Chris supposedly carried out in July of this year was the result of concussions and injuries sustained in the ring. And, when you see just how much he put into every single appearence he made, it's not difficult to understand. Here's a man who jumped face-first out of the ring straight through a chair and into the barricade. A man who broke his neck in 2001, and whose primary finishing move was a headbutt from the top rope. Benoit gave it all to the profession he loved, and in hindsight he gave too much. His departed wife and son are the proof of that. I miss Benoit deeply and I wish he'd never left, but more to the point he has two remaining children who've just lost their father, stepmother and half brother this year. Do you really think it helps them when they see hot-headed, arrogant and idiotic comments made about how Benoit is in hell or was 'cold-blooded' from people who never met him and have done absolutely no research? No, it doesn't. And those that continue these attacks are of a more distinguished and detestable evil than Chris has been made out to be. If any good has come out of this, it's that it is now easier than ever to tell the difference between someone who's legitimately concerned, and someone who's using events to their own narcissistic advantages.

Anyway, I've rambled for a bit too long, so I'll wrap this up. Buy the DVD. Show the WWE that they can do all they want to pretend he never existed, but they'll never take away the memories or the respect. Survivor Series proved this, as the crowd cheered and a small but noticable section chanted 'Benoit' when Shawn Michaels applied the Crossface to Randy Orton. If you want this DVD, and you want to appreciate the most amazing of careers, do yourself a favour - make your own mind up.