WWE HOFer The Undertaker Puts Chris Benoit On His Mount Rushmore Of Small Wrestlers

The Undertaker enjoyed an incredibly successful WWE career over the course of 30 years. He has shared the locker room with heavyweight legends like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Batista. But he got to talking about his favorite "smaller" wrestlers he has worked with over the years, deciding his 'Mount Rushmore' of them — quantified as below six feet tall — during his "Six Feet Under" podcast. Late great Eddie Guerrero topped his list, with Kurt Angle and AJ Styles alongside, as well as controversial pick Chris Benoit. The "Rabid Wolverine" was one of wrestling's most celebrated grapplers until he murdered his wife and son before taking his own life in 2007. Benoit was found to have suffered severe personality changes as a result of CTE from wrestling-related injuries in post-mortem examinations. 

As a result, there has been a reluctance to give credence to Benoit's work, and further a dividing debate as to whether his work should be celebrated at all given the role it arguably played in his horrific final actions. Regardless, he makes Undertaker's personal list, with "The Phenom" explaining, "I'm gonna go with The Crippler, Chris Benoit. Again, a wrestling machine, [he] just, could go ... He was that guy, he was not a big guy at all, but when he got going, you forgot. You forgot that he was such a small guy in stature." 

Undertaker praised Benoit's style in the ring, a smaller guy who appeared larger due to his in-ring work, and someone who made wrestling make sense. He elaborated further on their time working together, "I worked with him a few times and had some really, really outstanding matches with him. I did know when I worked with Chris that I needed to put my track shoes on because it was gonna be go time."

If you use quotes in this article, please credit "Six Feet Under" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.