At one time, Chris Candido had the world in his hands. He was one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, married one of WWE's most popular divas in Sunny, and quickly shot up the ranks in both WWE and ECW. However, life doesn't always go as planned. His time in WWE ended sooner than he might have hoped. Addiction issues arose and his marriage ended up on the rocks.

It was after he beat his addiction issues and got his life back together that things tragically ended. Candido was back on a major national wrestling stage. His marriage was back intact. He even looked like he could be a top star again. However, he died at 33 after what should have been a routine surgery.

UPDATE: 2024/04/14 17:00 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

It is closing in on 20 years since Chris Candido's tragic passing. In 2023, fans learned more about his life and his final days thanks to an episode of Dark Side of the Ring. Thankfully, the episode focused more on Candido and his accomplishments and sad death than it did on his toxic relationship with Sunny, although she was part of the documentary as well, even delivering some prerecorded comments of her own. With that said, it is still sad to relive Candido's promise in the wrestling business before tragically passing away at the young age of 33.

Chris Candido's Road To WWE Began With ECW

Jim Cornette Helped Chris Candido Make The Jump

Chris Candido got his start in wrestling as a teenager in New Jersey. In 1986, he and a friend began working in the industry by setting up rings. He went on to train at Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory and then debuted in the ring that same year. Candido was 14 when he worked his first match. By 1993, Candido wrestled in the pre-Extreme ECW, where he worked in a stable known as The Suicide Blondes. This led to Jim Cornette taking notice of the wrestler.

Candido had fallen in love with Tammy Lynn Sytch in high school and the two joined Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling together, where she worked as his manager. He won several titles while working for Cornette, winning his only world title when he captured the NWA World Championship after Shane Douglas vacated the title when ECW broke away. He held the title for three months and one year later, he and Tammy signed with WWE.

WWE changed his name to Skip and made Tammy into Sunny, and they took on a fitness guru tandem who often mocked other wrestlers for being out of shape. Sunny became one of the biggest stars in WWE and Candido found his biggest national success as part of the Bodydonnas with Tom Prichard (Zip). However, it was also here that his life began falling apart. Reports that Sunny cheated on him with multiple wrestlers strained their marriage. This was also when both wrestlers began experimenting more with drugs.

Chris Candido Had Stints In ECW And WCW After Leaving WWE

Chris Candido Found His Biggest Success In ECW

In an interview with Pro Wrestling Stories, Chris Candido's brother Johnny said that when they got to WWE, they started abusing drugs more. He was just in the eighth grade when this happened, but he said he remembered a lot of messed-up stuff going on with his brother and Sunny. Many of his stories were horrific, and it was obvious things needed to change fast or Chris might end up dead. By 1996, Chris quit WWE and went to ECW, and eventually Sunny joined him there.

This was a fresh start for Candido. Sunny was only in ECW a limited number of times, but Candido became part of Shane Douglas' Triple Threat faction with Bam Bam Bigelow. He had a long tag team title reign with Lance Storm before he finally left after three years. After this, Candido worked in WCW for a short time in 2000, but mostly disappeared from professional wrestling outside of indie promotions.

The Tragic Death Of Chris Candido

Chris Candido Died Following An Injury In TNA Wrestling

According to Johnny, Chris Candido was doing more and more drugs to block out the idea that Sunny was cheating on him. He said:

"He desperately didn't want to believe it because she would come home to him every night, and he literally had this unconditional love for her. He was so nice and so naïve; he would...believe anything she told him."

That isn't how his life would end though. Chris reportedly got his life back under control again. He even got another chance at wrestling on a big stage again when he signed with TNA Wrestling in 2005. He worked with some top stars, including AJ Styles, Dustin Rhodes, and Diamond Dallas Page. Candido was on his way up the ladder, but it all came crashing down when he broke his leg in a tag team match at Lockdown 2005. TNA kept him involved in storylines, even having him come out in a wheelchair to help The Naturals win the tag titles. However, that episode aired days after he died.

At 33, Chris Candido had titanium plates and screws inserted into his legs after the injury. While recovering, he ended up developing a blood clot in his leg. Though many people believe the blood clot killed him, his brother Johnny said the autopsy said that the cause of death was acute pneumonia, caused by a sleep aid he received against doctor's orders. His lungs reportedly filled with fluid, and he died while recovering from his surgery. TNA honored him with a tag team tournament in his name and in 2009, the Hardcore Hall of Fame inducted him into its membership.

Chris Candido Was Featured On 'Dark Side Of The Ring'

Chris Candido's Life With Sunny And His Death Were Covered

Dark Side of the Ring opened its fourth season with an episode called "Chris and Tammy," and told the story of the toxic relationship of Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch. It focused a lot more on Chris than Tammy, which was likely smart as it painted this as a tragedy. The release came around the time that Tammy was back in jail and awaiting trial for the death of a man in an accident where she was charged with a DUI. A lot of what was shown was already known from past interviews with people in their lives.

Johnny Candito had a large part in the episode, talking about his brother and the negative influence Tammy had on him throughout the years. Sytch also played a role, and she once again dismissed most of what Johnny had to say about his brother in her comments. Also interviewed were Jim Cornette, Mick Foley, and Terri Runnels, and even they mostly talked about Candido and their sympathy for his tragic death.

Chris's mother, Peggy Rae, was also interviewed, and it was heartbreaking because she seemed to blame herself for his death. Once again, it was a Dark Side of the Ring episode that was just heartbreaking, and it was made all the better by showing what kind of man Chris Candido was, rather than spending too much time talking about Tammy Sytch's life after Chris died.