Jimmy Wang Yang recalled the shocking events surrounding Chris Benoit’s death, beginning with WWE’s memorial service in Corpus Christi. He remembered, “That meeting we had in Corpus Christi, Texas, the week before, Vince got blown up in the limo and we had the memorial service in Corpus Christi…Vince announced what happened. They found Chris dead, his wife, and his kid.”
Yang described how he immediately turned to Brian Kendrick and said, “He finally did it, huh? He finally snapped and did that horrible act.” At first, he tried to rationalize it, thinking maybe it was a robbery, but the reality quickly set in. WWE planned a tribute show, but Yang was hesitant: “My gut felt weird. I don’t know if I want to do a tribute match to Chris Benoit. I need to see some more facts about what happened.”
As more details emerged about the tragedy, Yang decided not to appear: “I no-showed SmackDown because I didn’t want to be part of anything associated with what happened. I didn’t feel comfortable and I had a bad feeling.” Though he initially got in trouble, it was later cleared once the full story was revealed.
Ultimately, Yang made his feelings clear: “Personally, I don’t give a s–t what wrestling match he did. I don’t care. The last thing he did, that sticks with me.”
Source: Cheap Heat Productions Podcast