The death of Chris Candito marked a sad ending to what was unfolding as one of pro wrestling’s biggest comebacks in 2005.
Candito, 33, died April 28 in Matawan, N.J., from what is believed to be a blood clot that formed following surgery to repair a lower leg injury suffered three days earlier. Candito was injured when opponent Sonny Siaki landed awkwardly on his leg during an April 24 match on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s Lockdown pay-per-view show in Orlando.
At the time of his death, Candito was starting to regain the form that made him one of the industry’s more entertaining performers during the 1990s.
Wrestling under the name Skip, Candito’s biggest claim to fame was winning the World Wrestling Entertainment tag-team titles in 1995 as part of the Body Donnas tag team with partner Tom “Zip” Pritchard. The heel duo, which flourished with a physical fitness gimmick similar to the one now used by WWE grappler Simon Dean, was managed by Candito’s wife Tammy “Sonny” Sytch.
Upon leaving WWE two years later and joining Extreme Championship Wrestling, Candito’s substance-abuse problems started becoming so severe that there were fears he may join the list of young grapplers who have died from drug-related causes.
ECW owner/matchmaker Paul Heyman fired Candito and Sytch in February 1999 despite their standing as two of the promotion’s biggest stars. Heyman agreed later that year to take the couple back provided they agreed to provisions designed to help Candito and Sytch get their lives back on track.
Candito and Sytch admitted a reliance on “somas,” a muscle relaxant also known by its prescription name of Carisoprodol that they claim they began taking in WWE in 1994.
“When you’re the person that’s directly involved, you never think it’s that bad,” Candito said in an October 1999 interview. “Really, [Heyman] was kind of looking out for our own well-being. I don’t know how bad it got.”
Candito’s problems grew progressively worse until late 2004, when he finally began to prove within the industry that a turnaround was in sight. Candito was hired by TNA in January and quickly emerged as a locker room leader who began receiving increasingly prominent roles in the promotion’s story lines.
Candito’s final television appearance came on last week’s TNA Impact show (4 p.m. Fridays and midnight Saturdays, Fox Sports Net). He served as the wheelchair-bound manager for The Naturals (Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas) as that duo defeated America’s Most Wanted (James Storm and Chris Harris) for the National Wrestling Alliance tag-team titles.
To TNA assistant matchmaker Dutch Mantel, Candito will be remembered as a champion.
“Chris’ problems have been well-documented,” said Mantel, who first met Candito while both worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling in the early 1990s.
“He had demons, but a lot of people in this business had demons. Some people escaped those demons and some haven’t. In Chris’ case, he escaped it.
“It’s a shame what happened because I really think he had finally turned things around.”
TNA has posted a Candito tribute on its Web site ().
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