The Aftermath of the Benoit Tragedy and What Might Have Been

[The Scarred One]

The idea for this thread came from the recent alleged suicide of former NFL player Junior Seau. Seau, one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, was found dead earlier this month from a gunshot wound to the chest. Last year, two-time Super Bowl champion safety Dave Duerson shot himself in the chest, leaving a note requesting his brain be donated for scientific research. Months after his death, researchers found evidence that Duerson suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Seau's family is considering donating his brain to determine if he suffered from it as well.

CTE is a progressive brain disease found in athletes with a history of concussions or repeated blows to the head. The disease causes memory loss, depression, impaired judgement and Alzheimer's-like symptoms. It dates back to the 1920's when it was called "punch-drunk syndrome" as boxers were developing dementia at an early age due to taking one to many blows to the head. Organizations like the Brain Injury Research Institute and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy have posthumously identified the disease in dozens of athletes since they began research 10 years ago.

Now, the reason I bring this up in this forum is simple. Next month, it will be five years since Chris Benoit killed himself and his family. The aftermath of which left a huge stain on the wrestling industry that took a long time to recover from and turned Benoit, a celebrated athlete and potential Hall-of-Famer, into a pariah to no longer be mentioned or recognized for his achievements. Soon after his death, researchers discovered Benoit was too a victim of CTE.

But as much damage the Benoit Tragedy caused both personally and professionally, some good came out of it. As a result, the WWE began to be stricter when it came to performance enchancing drugs, of which Benoit was to have been guilty of in the past although there was no evidence of "roid rage" in regards to the murders. It also made the WWE place more safety precautions on its superstars. This meant no more chairshots to the head and no heavy blood loss.

Still to this day, Benoit has become a very controversial figure. For some, he was a celebrated figure who tragically suffered from brain damage due to his line of work. For others, he was a monster to be villified and condemned to burn in Hell, regardless of the circumstances surrounding his and his family's death.

But let's just say that the Benoit Tragedy never took place. Let's say circumstances prevented Benoit from committing the double murder-suicide that rocked the wrestling industry to its foundation. Let's say Benoit went on to wrestle a couple more years before retiring and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

With that said, how would the WWE, and the wrestling industry in general, be different today? Would positive changes have come eventually or not at all.

 

[whoopin' ass]

some of the changes would have come eventually, like the lack of blood and headshots. the industry was just heading that way. but some of the big things don't seem to have changed. as for the drug testing, it is hit and miss. it amazes me how some guys seem to never get caught yet you hear from a lot of wrestlers about the drug testing that occurs so obviously the policy is in place. you don't see a lot of guys taking time off to recover like they should. i think some things have improved but some of the obvious things seem to be overlooked.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

While Benoit was certainly part of the reason the WWE has changed their policies, Chris Nowinski's short career as a wrestler, his injuries and work on this topic has really forced organizations like the NFL and WWE to be more aware of the effects of brain injuiries.

No one knew it at the time, but the ECW style and Attitude Era style of wrestling were really unsustainable creatively and physically. WWE is still working on finding the proper balance and policies.

 

[IT Factor]

First off to the OP, great topic. It's always great when people address topics in wrestling that are deeper than what's currently on TV. But, I believe the Benoit tragedy will affect the pro wrestling & entertainment business for decades and centuries to come. As was previously mentioned, Benoit did suffer from multiple concussions and what has come to be known as CTE. While this may not excuse what Benoit did, it does stand to provide some answers as to why Chris did what he ultimately did. I do think that has to be factored in when addressing the Benoit tragedy. If he'd not been injured as often or had the numerous concussions, maybe what happened would've been prevented. Also, the WWE schedule was a part of the problem as well.

Every time Benoit was injured, he rushed to return because pro wrestling is run unethically and on the spot basis. Meaning if you miss too much time, your spot is in jeopardy and you may not be as successful. WWE has pretty much taken the high road and tried to avoid blame but truth be told, they are just as much to blame as Chris Benoit himself. They push their superstars too hard and do not monitor their activities, nor do they care about their personal well-being. Their "wellness policy" is a virtual joke that only works for certain individuals and isn't effective.

Chris Benoit busted his ass for years and earned respect because of his merit and skill inside a wrestling ring. It's a shame that the same business that made him a star also doomed him in a way. And Benoit will never be recognized for his contributions because of a bad ending. It's sad and this will never be fully understood or accepted for what it truly was; the perfect storm of bad circumstances and tragic events. The only positive thing to come of this ordeal is that WWE banned chairshots to the head and massive blading and/or blood loss. The next step is to scale back their hectic schedules, which I doubt will ever happen.

In short, it's just as bad 5 years later as it was the day this happened. Things in pro wrestling will never be the same and Benoit will never be the hall-of-famer he was meant to be. Sad.

 

[MCMG]

The problem with his death is that it was difficult to know if he was in control of his actions and weather or not the WWE/ECW could hold any accountability with it. I'm sure the repeated shots to the head with a chair can't be good for your mental well-being.

His death has meant that the WWE are much stricter with their matches. No chair shots to the end perhaps lessens a no-dq match but protects the wrestler, and i suppose that is a good thing. Personally, i have always thought that Benoit was an incredible wrestler and a professional and that his career achievement should be mentioned.

 

[DarkFlame]

Every time Benoit was injured, he rushed to return because pro wrestling is run unethically and on the spot basis. Meaning if you miss too much time, your spot is in jeopardy and you may not be as successful.

Thats not necessarily the fault of the industry though, we as fans have a part to play in that because ultimately its us who decides whether a worker is over or not. The longer a guy, who isn't already an established main-event mega-name, spends sidelined the longer we have as fans to forget said person and move our attentions onto the nexy guy who ticks the boxes for our viewing entertainment.

Ok, that's not always the case as Edge proved in 2002-04 when he was sidelined with his neck injury and came back as over as ever and of course with HHH & the torn quad (although WWE must take credit for keeping him over with its endless promo/surgery videos but when your the boss' son-in-law thats what you get ) but, in the majority of cases, an injury can mean a loss of heat/momentum & gives someone else a shot at the spot you were in.

It's not unethical, it's just the way the business is and there isn't any way to reform the industry that will change that. It's like saying Christopher Reeve should still be over as Superman even though two people have played the role since! Thats probably the most hyperbolic example I could give but you get the idea

 

[Headman]

I don't mean any disrespect to the OP, but why is there a new Benoit thread every week? It's usually a way to try and blame the industry so his fans can find a way to excuse what he did. Do concussions cause depression? Seems that way. But who is to blame? The company or the wrestler who takes it upon himself to take those risks? To be honest, I don't care for the finger pointing. Benoit killed two people. One of them a child. In a perfect world people would never speak his name again. If we're comparing actions, Seau took the easy way out but atleast he did it alone. Seau unlike Benoit is not a murderer.

 

[Lee]

He's dead and killed his wife and son. Fucking get over it.

Though to stick on topic:

RE Benoit himself:
Benoit was 40 when he brutally murdeed his family. His career was on a wind down and after winning the ECW championship he wouldn't have done much else aside from sit in the mid card for a year or two and then go to TNA where he would still be today. He would have got lost in the shuffle and would be nearing 45.

RE WWE's policies:
The wellness policy was implemented the year before but concussions and chair shots and what have you would still have been outlawed. We were beginning to see this phased out before Benoit's cowardly act and we would have seen it even if he was alive.

 

[IT Factor]

Thats not necessarily the fault of the industry though, we as fans have a part to play in that because ultimately its us who decides whether a worker is over or not. The longer a guy, who isn't already an established main-event mega-name, spends sidelined the longer we have as fans to forget said person and move our attentions onto the nexy guy who ticks the boxes for our viewing entertainment.

It is the nature of the business. No doubt about it. However, my comment about it being unethical has more to do with WWE encouraging that mentality instead of trying to make things more balanced. If you have a dog-eat-dog business mentality, don't be surprized when one dog snaps.

Ok, that's not always the case as Edge proved in 2002-04 when he was sidelined with his neck injury and came back as over as ever and of course with HHH & the torn quad (although WWE must take credit for keeping him over with its endless promo/surgery videos but when your the boss' son-in-law thats what you get ) but, in the majority of cases, an injury can mean a loss of heat/momentum & gives someone else a shot at the spot you were in.

Edge was a rare case, because he always had a special connection with the fans. Both guys were rushed in returning, which is why both had shorter careers than they should've. Sensing a pattern here?

It's not unethical, it's just the way the business is and there isn't any way to reform the industry that will change that. It's like saying Christopher Reeve should still be over as Superman even though two people have played the role since! Thats probably the most hyperbolic example I could give but you get the idea

Like I said, WWE encourages this mentality. And let me further elaborate here so there's no misunderstand in my meaning. WWE loves to encourage the whole dog-eat-dog business mentality and in doing so, they rush people to return faster than their bodies can heal up. Look at Chris Benoit. He had neck surgery and just short of a calendar year, he returned. That's not even including the numerous concussions and usual wear-and-tear and the like. It's almost a cruelty issue in my view. Yes, wrestling ain't ballet. Vince McMahon has said it over & over. It isn't. However, you have to care about your talents and manage the business side of things as much as possible. WWE didn't do this prior to the Benoit tragedy and you can tell WWE was guilty because they've been working very hard to enforce the no chair shot to the head rule. Bravo! It's a little late in the game though. Think of all the wrestlers who all died premature deaths because WWE didn't crack down on cruelty. Why? Because of the brutal nature of the business. No off season, no days off. WWE needs to look at a structure to schedule people off when needed and change the grueling cruelty that comes with being a WWE superstar. Maybe rotate a week or two off in here or there. Anything that would lessen the grind would help the talent.

I doubt it'll ever happen though and I'm sure dozens, if not hundreds more will die thanks to WWE wanting to encourage that type of mentality.