5 Chris Benoit WWE dream matches we'll obviously never get to see

Well... this won't be controversial.

With the season premiere of Vice's excellent docuseries, Dark Side of the Ring, focusing on the Chris Benoit murder/suicide tragedy, interest in the former World Heavyweight Champion (for better or worse) has been at it's highest since... well... since all that stuff happened.

Now, the intention of this piece isn't to rehash the horrible events of 2007, nor are we, in any way, trying to justify or gloss over what Benoit allegedly did. The fact of the matter is that Chris Benoit was an amazing in-ring performer and, while that certainly doesn't need to be celebrated, it can at least be acknowledged.

Benoit would have been 53 this upcoming May, which means that in an alternate timeline, he could still be performing to this day. So, what I want to do is take a look at some of the WWE talent from 2007 until today that Benoit never had a match with that we (obviously) missed out on.

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Also, before we begin: yes, I know the irony of a guy named Kevin Sullivan writing a feature on Chris Benoit.

#5. Brock Lesnar (post-UFC)

Benoit with the Crippler Crossface on Lesnar

Benoit and Brock Lesnar had plenty of bouts during The Beast's first run in WWE. However, the Brock Lesnar competing in WWE then is hardly the same one that's destroying everybody he comes across today. In a lot of ways, he's a completely different performer - which means he makes my list.

One of the things that made Benoit so fascinating as a performer was the impact he put into everything he did. Every clothesline looked like it was meant to decapitate someone. Every German Suplex felt like the purpose was to send his opponent literally through the mat. Every flying headbutt looked stupid because, let's face it, that's a stupid move. Benoit still made it look like it was designed to hurt you, though.

That's the same intensity that post-UFC Championship Brock Lesnar brings to his matches, and in an alternate universe where Benoit is alive and well, this would be an incredible sight to see.

#4. AJ Styles

2004 was, arguably, the peak of Chris Benoit's WWE career. That was the year he not only won the Royal Rumble, but went on to defeat both Triple H and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XX to win the World Heavyweight Championship. It never really got much better for him after that, career-wise.

AJ Styles, on the other hand, was still bouncing back and forth between TNA and Ring of Honor. The Phenomenal One was certainly impressive, even back then, but he wasn't even an echo of a blip on WWE's radar at the time. In fact, it was a little over ten years later before Styles even stepped foot in a WWE ring - much less become one of the company's biggest stars.

So, let's play a little bit of the alternate history game, since this is essentially what this whole feature is about. Let's look at an alternate 2016, where Benoit is still in WWE and Styles is making his long-awaited debut.

Two of the best workers ever in their business, who never had the opportunity to step into the ring together (Benoit had left WCW a year before Styles would show up in the company) - that would have been something to see.

Could a 50-plus Benoit and a 40-plus Styles still have put on a match that talents of their calibur were capable of over the course of their careers? Well, it's impossible to say regarding Benoit, but even to this day, Styles seems capable of having a great match with just about anybody.

So, yeah. Probably.

#3. Cesaro

When it comes to in-ring skills, Cesaro is probably the one guy on the roster that matches up with what Chris Benoit brought to the table. His attacks are no-nonsense, he hits hard, and he is always reliable. Unlike Benoit, however, the "Swiss Cyborg" has made plenty of attempts to add some personality to his character - and sometimes those attempts even worked!

In this parallel universe, Benoit is still on the roster in 2012 when Cesaro makes his debut on the main roster. If WWE at this point in time wanted to position Cesaro as a badass, having someone like the Rabid Wolverine put him over would have been a fantastic way to go. German Suplex vs European Uppercut. The Sharpshooter vs The Crippler Crossface. The Cesaro Swing vs... er... how many signature moves did Benoit have, anyway?

WWE has clearly seen something in Cesaro over the years - just look at his Andre The Giant Battle Royale win at WrestleMania XXX, for example - but for one reason or another, never really pulled the trigger all the way.

#2. Finn Balor

If there's anybody on the WWE roster who matches the in-ring ferocity of Chris Benoit, it's the very first Universal Champion Finn Balor.

While the former Prince Devitt has had his share of injuries, he's also done more to take care of his well being than the Rabid Wolverine had. A lot of that may have to do with the lessons learned from Benoit's career and death - which is at least one good thing to come out of the tragedy of the death of his family. But, there's no denying that - again in this alternate universe we keep revisiting - a match between Balor and Benoit would have been absolutely amazing.

Both wrestlers honed their craft in Japan - Balor especially, who essentially started his training in the Land of the Rising Sun (Benoit got his tutelage in the Hart family "Dungeon", before moving on to Japan as the Pegasus Kid). Both men also have similar body types - shorter guys but with compact musculature, giving them both agility and power. In this hypothetical matchup, both men would be not only flying across the ring, but hitting each other so hard, teeth might be flying into the front row.

Fun fact - Balor spent time in Japan himself as the Pegasus Kid. In case the world wasn't weird enough already.

#1. Shinsuke Nakamura/Daniel Bryan

So, there's a reason why this feature has taken so long to come out following the Vice documentary. This entry right here. Both of these entries would have had incredible matches with the former World Heavyweight Champion - which is part of the reason why it was so hard to pick between the two of them.

Shinsuke Nakamura has been known for years as the "King of Strong Style" and if there's any phrase to describe Benoit's style, it's certainly "Strong Style". Just picture Chris Benoit and Nakamura in the ring, Benoit hitting Nakamura with clothesline after suplex after another clothesline, and Nakamura responding with knee strikes and roundhouse kicks and more knee strikes. The impact of the strikes in this match alone should have been enough to fracture the Spacetime Continuum.

On the other hand, there's Daniel Bryan who, in a lot of ways, is the modern version of Benoit. Again, a smaller guy who is known for his hard-hitting strikes and technical prowess who made it to the main event despite the perception from upper WWE management that he didn't have the charisma to be that top guy.

In fact, look at the main events of both WrestleMania XX and WrestleMania XXX. It's almost as if WWE was trying to rewrite the result of XX with XXX - and who can blame them?

As someone who has been a Chris Benoit fan since his days in Japan, it's hard for me to let some things go. Benoit undoubtedly committed this horrible crime and should be recognized for doing so. In fact, there's part of me that thinks he would agree with that.

That being said, I don't think there's anything wrong with appreciating his work up to that point. He was a brilliant performer and admiring his performances over the years doesn't mean you approve of his actions later in life.

We still send our thoughts to both Chris and Nancy Benoit's families, and that the business can continue to move on and learn from this horrific tragedy.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram