Thaindian News

Apr 06 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Chris Kanyon was one of the first openly gay pro wrestlers. He never wanted to hide the fact that he was gay and in fact wanted to make a movie about himself and his life. WWE turned down the movie idea, but Chris did, on occasion , still wrestle with the WWE even after he had retired.

Born on January 4, 1970, Chris Klucsaritis wrestled professionally under the name of “Chris Kanyon.” He entered the business in the late 1990’s and retired in 2004. He returned to the sport often and participated in several benefit matches to help the victims of hurricane Katrina in 2005. Chris was found by his brother in his apartment in Sunnyside, Queens New York and he was pronounced dead at the scene by medics. He was surrounded by pills all over the floor and by the bed. Although it is suspected to be suicide, the death is under investigation. The official cause of death has not yet been determined.

The death has obviously affected those who knew Chris, as well as wrestling fans. On the WWE website, a statement was posted which read, “World Wrestling Entertainment would like to express its deepest condolences to Christopher Klucsaritis’ family and friends on his tragic passing.”

Famous pro wrestler, Mick Foley blogged about the death on his myspace page Mick speaks of the difficulties that wrestlers can face when they are no longer in the spotlight, and are no longer able to perform. For many of these stars, wrestling is all they know. “Unfortunately, suicide is a solution that far too many wrestlers have opted for. I really wish there was some kind of emotional crash pad for wrestlers to land on when the bright lights dim, or when injuries take their toll, or when one is finally forced to face the fact that the next big break just might not come around,” Foley said.