5 Years Ago Today . . .

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

Five years ago today, the bodies of Chris, Nancy, and Daniel Benoit were discovered in Chris's Georgia home. This shocked the wrestling world and ultimately changed the landscape of WWE forever.

I'll get right to the questions:

What were you doing, and what was your reaction when you found out about the Benoit tragedy (details please)

If he was still around, would you see him as retired, still in WWE, or in TNA?

Go!

 

[HBsam31]

I had just gotten home from buying new cellphones with my now wife when I rushed into to turn on Raw. I heard that theme song they were using for him when he was going to win the title at Mania. Not sure of the name. If I traded it all........ Anyway when i heard that song I knew he was dead. I had a bad feeling after he no showed the ppv the night before and this song playing made me think the worst and I was right. When I found out how it all went down I was kinda in shock for the next few days, and even talked to some old wrestling friends about it. I did cry, but mostly just played it over and over in my mind how a guy I grew up worshiping could do this. I felt like a little kid with a broken heart. Now that I have a child of my own my feelings of sadness have kinda turned to anger, but I do know he wasn't in his right mind. Kind of hard to watch his matches now as well. Just a sad sad thing to have happen.

 

[Sam Weston]

I remember sitting round a friends house back when i used to use MSN, and i saw in someones display name 'RIP Benoit' i remember instantly googling it and finding out the details, and i was just as confused as i am now as to how someone like Benoit could manage to do this?

He was one of my favourite wrestlers of all time and i still regard him as the best technical wrestler of all time, regardless of what he did outisde of the ring, although i dont think he'd still be actively wrestling, i think he would have retired about 09/10, trained a few down in FCW and then called it a day.

 

[Rayne]

I'd say shock, followed very quickly by resignation.

Most of the wrestling world buzzed about the details from his no show at the PPV on Sunday up until full revelation on Tuesday. I was in a position at the time to have more details than the layman would, but from details that leaked publicly, a picture was pretty easy to put together. A man and his wife and child are found violently dead in the family home. Folks leap to 'home invasion', but 99 times out of 100 in that situation, the answer is 'murder-suicide'. (Don't believe me? Ask any cop.) It's a shame when it appears in the newspaper, but it's a great personal tragedy when it happens to your favorite professional wrestler.

Perhaps the biggest piece of idiocy I remember was people blaming it on Kevin Sullivan, because they had a woman in common between them years ago. Folks, crimes of passion simply don't simmer for years until one day a guy just goes "today will be the day I kill him". You get over shit. You find other women. But people wanted to put this in some bizarre professional wrestling context. Perhaps people looked at Kevin Sullivan because they found the idea of a man murdering someone he hates easier to believe than the idea of a man murdering someone they love; I personally believe it's a lot easier to kill someone you love, but that's a story for another day. (The most frequent comment I received from men of married age was a variation on "I can understand killing your wife, but why would you kill your kid?")

As far as what would have been? Who gives a shit? The man murdered his wife and son. He's not exactly Othello here. Playing the "well if he wasn't a child killer" game is hero-worship, delayed by a single step. I've no interest in what he could have been, which is based on what he chose to be.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think I saw it come up on Sky Sports, saying that Benoit had been found dead with his family, and I was deeply shocked, but also concerned about who would have murderered them all.

had it just been Chris, I would have immediately put it down to steroid abuse, but the whole family dying was very strange.

Then once the story came out, I just felt sick. How could a man do that to his own family? Was it roid rage, was he a mass murderer already? I had read about how much Chris had loved his family, so it shocked me even more.

I could believe a man could murder his wife after an argument, that does happen as terrible as it is. But his own child too? That bit still bothers me today? What was going on in Benoit's head that made him do that?

Did he hang himself once he was in a clearer state of mind and realise what he had done? Or was it all part of the plan all along?

Such a sad end to a great career and a tragic loss of 2 completely innocent people in Nancy and Daniel. So upsetting.

 

[One to Remember]

The details are getting blurry but i remember seeing Raw and noticing the arena was empty and then VKM giving details then it just not making too much sense. them two dead or just him dead yeah, but all 3, just didnt add up. I had a feeling even as i watched Raw that more sinister details would come to light. I remember Sullivan coming up alot and then i had to watch as all my shows (im a news junky) from Good Morning America to O'Reilly, to Greta Van Sustren took this story and then took everything that goes on in wrestling out of context and then stacked that on with ignorant opinions from ex wrestlers and feminists and ex DAs (you know which one), and Joe Schmo.. I remember VKM's damage control then him switchin up on Benoit before ECW's broadcast then I remember going to WWE.com and not being able to cluck on Benoit. Its like on FB when u get blocked and pictures are replaced with silhouettes and blue text links are replaced with solid black letters.. I remember going to website that had Eddie Guerrero 1967-2005 and Chris Benoit 1967-2007 and seeing his name taken down. I remember endless condemnation from fools who coulda just not said shit. I remember aanxiety over having to pick up PWI and read all the writers trash him, i dredded the controversy he brought. I wanted to avoid his infamy at all costs.

I am glad we can talk about him without it created fireworks, im greatful for the research being done on injured NFL players and their brains postmortem, im glad he atleast had brain scarring and i am glad i can attribute his actions to that and him not just trippin or being without soul..

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

I was tuning into RAW. The night after. I had heard that he and his family had been found dead in their homes. I had a gut feeling other details would come to light. I was shocked at first and sad. How could a man just murder his family and then run from it by killing himself? Then I did research on what had happened and I've since realized my ignorance. His brain was so mushed up from years of doing steroids and taking all of those head bumps throughout his career. All the untreated concussions. All those contributed to what had happened. He was not himself in anyway and for people to call him a murderer is sickening and ignorant.

 

[Danger Burger]

It was a funny time for me, i had zoned out of wrestling for a while, or atleast wasnt watching it on the regular anymore and decided on the fly to tune in one week and see what was up. Death is never a good thing, especially if its the first thing you come back to... So you can imagine my surprise when Vince got into his limo and the thing blew up. I was shocked. I was fooled, doubly by the fact that sky sports had a breaking news or something banner on it saying WWE's vince mcmahon dies suddenly etc during the next show. I was fooled.

I wasnt reading dirt sheets back then, and tuned in the next week to see what the heck was up. Hearing vince talk and then the music start, my heart droped. Benoit was one of the first guys that got me into wrestling (i'v told the story elsewhere on here, but to be brief: My older brothers were alot bigger than me and loved guys like Sid and macho man etc, and i was their cruiserweight crash test dummy, i liked benoit cause he was a tough little prick who didnt look like he'd take much crap from the bigger guys). I turned off the tv and just sat there for about a half an hour not doing anything. I still have a recording of the tribute night on VHS, but to this day i havent seen it. Maybe i'll finally watch it soon. Took me another while to start watching wrestling again after too.

Given the brain damage i assume he would be retired, locked away or dead. Though when most people ask about if he hadnt died, i assume they include the cause of his death being removed too. The guy was a perfectionist (or so i hear, and have seen over the years) and i dont think he would have stuck around long if he coulnt go to the levels he once could. He would have been a great addition to the years after his death among Edge, Cena though id have seen him retiring near last year of there abouts, maybe helping train some guys or something, its hard to say and maybe a little pointless.

It was a tragedy, and a great loss and a terrible way to go out. I can only hope for peace for the souls of Nancy, Daniel and Chris.

Sad to hear that Test (another favourite of mine) was found to have the same thing, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, when he died in 2009, and i'm glad the WWE have taken an effort to decrease the risk of concussions and the effects they have on the human recieving them. Maybe more tragedies like these in the future will be avoided.

 

[Ringmaster95]

I remember that day, I was bored so I decided to check out the WWE website. That is when I saw the news. I was pretty sad because he was such a good wrestler. Even though he killed his family, I think that he should still be considered as one of the best wrestlers of all time.

 

[Arcade]

I was waiting for Raw to come on, and once it came on, Mr McMahon was in a dark arena with no people. At first, I was like "WHERE THE FUCK IS RAW? NO WRESTLING TONIGHT! ?", but then McMahon announced that Chris Benoit passed away I was sad, since he was a great wrestler, but I quickly moved on and lived my life after that.

 

[Fansince1992]

I saw Chris conduct a 25 minute interview 2 months before this Tradgedy. He seemed like he was happy with life etc. It's hard to believe he would do this. Maybe his wife told him she was leaving him, and Benoit said you aint leaving and having another man raise my son. Can't see Steroids and some concussions turning the man into a murderer, suicidle maniac. I really do feel there is somthing more to this than we all are led to believe. Just my opinion.

 

[One to Remember]

I saw Chris conduct a 25 minute interview 2 months before this Tradgedy. He seemed like he was happy with life etc. It's hard to believe he would do this. Maybe his wife told him she was leaving him, and Benoit said you aint leaving and having another man raise my son. Can't see Steroids and some concussions turning the man into a murderer, suicidle maniac. I really do feel there is somthing more to this than we all are led to believe. Just my opinion.

who cares what you cant believe? im interested in what a neuroscientist says about brain damage and its effect on behavior. I'm interested in other similar cases and common denominators. I am interested in the precedence established by athletes and other individuals (such as troops) suffering from head injuries..

 

[King Sheamus]

I had just got back from a friends just in time for raw. To say I was shocked would be an understatement I had seen the ppv the night before and thought it was odd he had not shown up but I did not think he was already dead. It was not till the next morning when I found out he had killed his family and that really tore me u
P because Chris was one of my top 5 guys. He would have been retired by now but working behind the scenes most likely.

 

[One to Remember]

he would had left WWE in a year and still been wrestling in TNA due to the lighter schedule and geographical proximity to his home in GA.. He couldnt stop wrestling, thats y he got hurt so bad.