Eric Bischoff Reflects On The Legacy Of Late WWE Star Chris Kanyon

Chris Kanyon's name tragically falls under the list of the many WWE wrestlers who ended up taking their own lives for various reasons, and as such, his legacy has become bittersweet to his many fans. In the ring, Kanyon was extremely athletic and was able to portray a gimmick such as Mortis effortlessly, but in real life, he hid his sexuality for years, fearful that it would cost him his job, before becoming openly gay a few years before his death.

In an episode of his "83 Weeks" podcast, Eric Bischoff looked back at Kanyon's pro wrestling career and compared him to a modern-day wrestler. "He was such a unique individual in terms of his idea of performing. He was really great at selling – we often, especially today, we talk so much about some of the incredible athleticism we see, whether it's Ospreay or anybody you wanna name in WWE or Lucha," the veteran noted. "But what made Chris so special is he could not only be very innovative – and he was a big guy, he was not like a Cruiserweight! He probably, I'm guessing, solid-legit, 225, maybe 230? Six plus – six foot plus, maybe six one six two?" Bischoff added, again praising Kanyon's ability to sell but noting that he wasn't a high flyer at all and had a fantastic offense because of how different he was in the ring.

Chris Kanyon was not only a fantastic in-ring performer, according to those who knew him, but the late wrestler also trained several wrestlers and could spot talent a mile away, and referred many names to WCW back in the day. "Shane Helms has had an amazing career, amazing career!" Eric Bischoff noted, adding that while Shane Helms never was a main eventer, he worked with some of the biggest names in the industry at the time and is an agent in WWE today. "I would imagine if you add up every Dollar he's made in professional wrestling because of Chris Kanyon, largely, he owes a lot to Chris."

Despite this, Bischoff explained that Kaynon was a very humble, down-to-earth, non-pretentious man. "Ready to explode on the inside, but on the outside, he was a very humble guy. That's not the kind of personality that necessarily stands out to Vince," he added, suggesting that Kanyon simply didn't make the right impression on Vince McMahon and got lost in the WCW acquisition, and that his lack of utilization wasn't due to his sexuality. "I can't imagine what was or wasn't said not around me, but I never heard anything. Nobody cared. Nobody said anything. If it was known, nobody said anything, I certainly didn't know nor cared..."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "83 Weeks" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.