Mike Coughlin writes on Chris Candido



“Smiling”

People better qualified to do so have, and will continue to speak about
Chris Candido, but I wanted to take a moment and share my thoughts. My
first exposure to Candido was through The BodyDonna’s. I think I was
around 12 or so, and Sunny was just about the hottest damn thing I’d
ever seen! I didn’t think much of Chris at the time, as he seemed
short and kind of goofy. But even then, I could tell he was having
fun. He was a heel, but he came across… different.

Fast forward a few years. I grew up, got “smart,” grew up some more,
realized I wasn’t “smart,” and started to watch ECW. Sunny was gone,
but I still saw a Chris Candido that enjoyed wrestling. His matches
were crisp and safe. His interviews were over the top, but it worked
for him. He was still goofy, and inside ECW that was even more
apparent, but the joy hadn’t left him. When he thought it was safe,
Chris seemed to grin from ear to ear.

Booms went bust, ECW became the toy of the McMahon’s, and it seemed
like Chris Candido disappeared. I would hear the rumors about his
problems and all that, but I never heard anything really bad said about
him. At one time or another, I think I’ve heard almost every wrestler
get bad press, yet it seemed to avoid Candido. Some guys fight demons
and get negative press in the process. In the case of Chris Candido, I
always got the impression everyone was pulling for him.

A while back I was reading the Wrestling Observer and came across a
letter from Chris. He said he was turning things around and looking to
get back in the swing of things. Even reading a letter, I knew he
loved the wrestling business. He took full responsibility for
everything, never seemed to make an excuse, and came across very well.
He wasn’t looking to get back in WWE and main event Wrestlemania.
Chris Candido just wanted to wrestle.

TNA came around, trying to fill a void that it didn’t understand, and
was filled with an odd mix of young talent looking to get a break, and
established vets looking to get a paycheck. Watching iMPACT! every
week, it was clear that a number of former stars, guys who made it
during the late 90’s, didn’t give a crap. The young stars were out
there, literally almost dying at times, and the old guys didn’t care.
They would go out, joke their way through promo’s and treat the entire
experience like a joke. Just as he had before, this little sparkplug
of positive energy named Chris Candido was on my TV screen, with a
smile that was beaming. He was a guy who had been wrestling before
years, right out of high school, and the fire was still alive. His
style was still the same, the goofiness still apparent, and once again
it was the smallish blonde haired guy who seemed to be enjoying himself
more than anyone else. Years on the road, personal issues galore, and
his love of wrestling never diminished.

I never met Chris Candido, never talked to him, never had any
connection to him. He wasn’t the flashiest, the biggest, the fastest,
or the most innovative wrestler. Yet I don’t know if there’s ever been
a man who enjoyed it more. Thank you doesn’t seem adequate, and it
even seems a bit useless. I kind of think Chris would want to thank
every fan before he let them thank him. But thank you Chris Candido,
for everything you gave. I had a smile on my face whenever I watched
you wrestle, and so did you.