Chris Kanyon dead at age 40

[Ioz]

prowrestling.net:

Chris Kanyon (a/k/a Christopher Klucsaritis) was found dead of an apparent suicide on Friday night. Although details are still sketchy, it is believed that he was in New York at the time of his death. A longtime friend reports that a pill bottle and several notes were found close to the body.

Kanyon also worked as the Mortis character in WCW and also had a run with WWE starting with the Invasion angle. He made headlines after his WWE run concluded by going public with his homosexuality. He appeared on the Howard Stern radio show several times as a result of his admission. Although he retired from wresting at one point, he had returned to the ring again recently and worked a couple of matches this year.

Powell's POV: Kanyon has battled severe depression issues over the years. He told one friend as recently as Monday that he was having problems and was contemplating suicide. The friend is said to have contacted one of Kanyon's family members to express his concern despite the fact that he and several of Kanyon's friends have heard similar statements over the years. One friend said this morning that he's expected this type of news for years, yet it was still surprising and clearly painful for this person. My deepest sympathies go out to Kanyon's friends and family. R.I.P.

http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/miscnews/article10011186.shtml

[KJ Styles]

This is sad news indeed. I thought he was a good worker and should have been pushed better than he was. Suicide has never made sense to me. Life is never that hopeless that you have to resort to that IMO. The end result is saddened love ones and having to deal with Lucifer. Rest In Peace Kanyon, You'll be missed by the entire wrestling community.

[EinBebop]

Collected tweets courtesy of pwtorch

"Saddened by the loss of my best friend...I've known him for almost 15yrs & we've been there for one another through thick & thin, we've both had demons & dealt with them together, and I love him like a brother...RIP Chris I will forever & always miss & love you & cherish the time we had together." - Billy Kidman

"Just heard the very sad news about Chris Kanyon. I'm absolutely shocked. I knew him personally and spoke with him for several yrs now. While he had his troubles, I do believe ultimately that he was a good man. We spoke to each other about Christ, battling depression and how he struggled with being bi-polar. Sorry Chris. I wish I could of helped. God bless you. Rest in peace." - Matt Jackson aka Matt Buck

"RIP Chris Kanyon. He was a good guy that helped a LOT of people in this biz. He struggled with a lot of problems though. It's a sad day." - Gregory Helms

Collected tweets courtesy of pwtorch

[Fifi Fanatic]

This makes it just eerie that there was the Kanyon thread on April 1.....


Kanyon was one of the good ones when WCW was at its' peak. Always good to see him at the house shows in those days. We would give him a hard time when he shouted "Who's better than Kanyon?!". And now yet another one has left us far too soon....

R.I.P. Kanyon.

[RedNinja84]

It's a shame that his demons finally beat him. He was a good worker as others have said. I remember him as Mortis and really got exposed from 98 to 01 working with DDP. Winning both the WCW and WWF tag titles with him and his short time as US champ. RIP Kanyon

[JPPT1974]

Knowing what he felt as I have tried to kill myself a number of times due to my depression, as one of my cousins committed suicide over depression just last year. Been there and done!:sweat:
Thoughts and prayers are with him and his family!

[The Penguin]

WWE.com blurb (http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/14019956)

I haven't really kept up with Kanyon since he and WWE parted ways other than the confusion about whether he came out or his character came out when that first happened. I'm saddened that he apparently reached a point where he no longer wanted to go on living.

Mortis was a character I always really liked and was disappointed he didn't show back up in WWE like was teased by even WWE Magazine once upon a time. The 'regular' Kanyon character I liked too, but after the Alliance story ended, he was unfortunately not used all that much. In thinking back at all of Chris' characters and incarnations, I think "Positively Kanyon" was probably my favorite. :p The DDP knockoff going around 'Kanyon Cutting' anyone in sight was hilarious. Good stuff.

[email2003]

I always enjoyed his theme, "WHO BETTER THAN KANYON!?":D

R.I.P:crying:

[Cabel]

"Positively Kanyon" was one of the best things about WCW at the time. One of the most underrated workers of the era.

R.I.P.

[Marvin Tikvah]

This makes it just eerie that there was the Kanyon thread on April 1....

No kidding. How do you think I felt when I realized the very guy I was joking about that day ended up dead 3 days later?

Chris Kanyon may not have been the most prolific star of the 90s, but he was indeed a very entertaining and underrated wrestler. I wished his tag team with Diamond Dallas Page lasted longer, and his career didn't fizzle out because of misuse. He was easily one of those midcard guys that works well with anyone.

Said to discover he had bi-polar and depression issues. It just seems like a huge setback for him in perspective. Truthfully, there really wasn't that many wrestlers better than Kanyon.

[EinBebop]

Mick Foley's myspace blog...

I got the sad news about Kanyon today - another fine wrestler leaves us way too soon.I knew Kanyon pretty well through his friendship with Diamond Dallas Paige. At the time of his Mortis gimmick, and even back when he was part of "Men at Work", I found Kanyon's style to be entertaining and exciting. His new moves were awesome and it was usually just a matter of time before someone with a good eye for potential, would be utlizing a similar manuver in another company.

But for a short stretch, I felt like Kanyon had the potential to be among the best workers in the business. I once heard a great Tony Schiavoni call, something along the lines of "he's the best in the business, and he's going to destroy this kid." It didn't seem like wrestling hyperbole to me either - more a genuine reaction to watching one of the best at the top of his game. I enjoyed watching him in the ring, wondering what new gem he might debut that would be stolen overnight and given new life with another company,

I last saw Chris at Wrestlemania in 2004. I may have seen him once since then. He looked good, but talked about packing it in, calling it a career. I never knew of his struggles; the bipolar disorder, the pressure of keeping his sexuality secret for so many years.

I had a small mention about Kanyon in my upcoming book. A few weeks ago, in my agents office, I asked if I could tweak the story just a little to make sure it didn't come off as mean. Now, I'll have to lose it altogether.

I wish he was still in the book. I wish he was still with us in this great big dysfunctional wrestling family. I wish him well in his next great adventure. Kanyon unfortunately, was a guy who gave alot more to wrestling than wrestling ever gave him back.

[Wonderwall]

That's cool of Foley to say, although I'm surprised he didn't know of Kanyon's disorder and hiding his sexuality as both of those were reported over the last several years on the internet. But I suppose wrestlers probably don't pay attention to dirt sheets much so I can see why he didn't know now that I think about it. That last line is a heart breaker as it's true.

I wasn't a huge Kanyon mark but I knew he was really good at what he did. I'll always remember him overselling a pat on the back into a pool at Raven's house back in WCW and Positively Kanyon, diamond cutting random people at random times and hitting people with Page's book that just so happened to have a brick in it. It's actually pretty impressive that a guy who I wasn't a huge fan of actually gave me some pretty detailed memories. God speed Chris.

[The Penguin]

Mortis was a character I always really liked and was disappointed he didn't show back up in WWE like was teased by even WWE Magazine once upon a time.So, crazy story, I was at my parents' this weekend and grab the WWE Magazine on top of a pile, December 2003, the last issue before they were split into RAW and SmackDown magazines for a while and it was the one with the Mortis teaser in it! Little bit freaky. The picture was of Mortis in purple and the text talked about how he had recently returned and the mystery behind it and his identity. Occasionally those things would pop up in especially the old version of WWE Magazine because they worked so far ahead. Obviously at one point, it was supposed to happen.

[Spideyzilla]

Very sad: my thoughts with his family.

[EinBebop]

Diamond Dallas Page youtubes on Chris Kanyon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjhE_uD4vdY)