Chris Benoit acknowledged by WWE

[rge2010]

No history lesson needed, we all know that Benoit has been ignored by WWE for some time now and we all know why.

However, WWE/Silvervision (UK) are re-releasing an Attitude Era DVD set and Benoit is listed in the Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle DVD's. Infact, I believe Benoit wins the IC belt in one of them.

Are WWE relaxing their opinion on Benoit 'the wrestler'?

http://www.silvervision.co.uk/produ...eak-The-Walls-Down-It-s-True-DVD-2-Discs.html

 

[wooooo]

I'm pretty sure they've released tagged classics of old ppv's where he's had matches so it's not the first time he's been in dvd's since what happened.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Those are the UK DVD's, they don't have to blur the WWF logos in them either.

 

[TheWrestlo]

its not that surprising yes they do ignore Benoit on multiple things, but they arent going to completely erase him from memory

also I'v owned the 2004 Backlash DVD for about 3 years now so its not a suprise

 

[GameOver]

Those are the UK DVD's, they don't have to blur the WWF logos in them either.

Yeah all but the UK. WWF logo, mentioning, merchandise with the logo etc. is banned from future production outside of the UK but past DVD's etc. didn't have to be recalled just new reproductions of said media had to be edited to get rid of all references to WWF, so blame World Wildife Fund for that not Vince.

Dunno about changing the entrance musics though, i highly doubt that had anything to do with the Pandas complaining that's called we don't wanna pay royalties to someone

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I believe that the WWE doesn't erase him his name or his accomlpishments, but his FACE. I remember, not a while back, checking the Wrestlemania 20 page of wwe.com. The match between Triple H, HBK & Benoit was listed in the matchcard. However there were no photos of that match. Then I realized that this happened in every wrestlemania page of the site. Chris Benoit's name is there, but his face isn't.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The WWF thing not being in the UK is because Vinny successfully argued that there could be no confusion in the UK, as that is where the Fund originated and the fed had not been active there long enough to cause problems. The fund were concerned that people in the US or outside would get confused, hence the lawsuits.

As for Benoit, eventually they are going to have to acknowledge the wrestler is seperate from the man. Had he just killed Nancy then it would already have happened, but as they are aimed at kids a kid killer isn't a guy they can show. As the PG stuff moves more to PG-14 eventually (the cycle will come) then they will start to treat Benoits wrestling legacy as a seperate entity.

Personally I hate that Benoit is removed yet Snuka (who lost a similar suit to OJ stating he is civilly liable for the death of a girlfriend) is in the HOF. Hypocrisy.

At the end of the day Benoit was a major part of WWE history that cannot be erased, Vince is better dealing with the issue head on and saying "This guy was one of us, but in two acts destroyed all he had acheived, if you want to see his matches, we will show them and his family will be paid all related proceeds, but we take no pleasure in doing so and will never forgive or forget." If need be put a warning on programmes that show him so parents (or those who were fans can decide.)

 

[Sweetness34]

Chris Benoit is to WWE as Joe Paterno is to Penn St. Yes they can take his likeness off merchadise and DVDS but his name is still in the history books so at times yes they have to mention Chris Benoit. Personally i think WWE would of loved to just erase any memory of Benoit but simply can't.

 

[BigLuther]

First - I just read that all WWF vs. WWE stuff is entirely over with and that WWE does not have to blur the old scratch logo on upcoming DVD releases.

Secondly, I agree that there is no getting around at least mentioning Chris Benoit when it comes to wrestling history, but glorifying his championship wins would be another thing. It would be insane for them to promote a killer on an upcoming release. If you want to show a match - go for it. If people are offended or don't wanna see that match because of him, they don't have to watch it. But at the same time, I don't think they can show him winning a championship on this DVD.

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

Chris Benoit is to WWE as Joe Paterno is to Penn St. Yes they can take his likeness off merchadise and DVDS but his name is still in the history books so at times yes they have to mention Chris Benoit. Personally i think WWE would of loved to just erase any memory of Benoit but simply can't.

Um......what?

Neither are related in any way shape or form. You cannot compare a murderer/suicidal maniac to an old man who took part in turning a blind eye to pedophilia by not following through with a reported incident. They're not even remotely close. That's like saying Guantanamo Bay was the US's Auschwitz (and even that is closer in comparison!)

Chris Benoit is to WWE what Chris Benoit is: the product of a system that doesn't care about it's workers nearly. He was the dirtiest of secrets: people are still juicing, and the lifestyle is very reckless. WWE cares about what happens on air.

 

[jerry20xx]

I'm pretty sure a lot of people are late on this but Chris Benoit has been mentioned in a lot of dvds recently. He had a full matches in the ECW dvd set put out not too long ago

 

[kingk12]

This is interesting, I am curious is Chris Benoit the only superstar that the WWE has censored like this or have their been other superstars whom they have written out of their history?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Randy Savage was written out for the longest time, till fan anger forced them to start putting him in video games etc. Vince would balk even if his name was mentioned for HOF or appearances. The reasons were never official one urban legend says he had "inappropriate relations" with a 14 year old Stephanie... others that Vince was just so angry at how he left for WCW, kickstarting the exodus that nearly killed his business.

Lex Luger has also pretty much been excised due to the death of Elizabeth and the negative part he played in it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

its not that surprising yes they do ignore Benoit on multiple things, but they arent going to completely erase him from memory

True. I think the company's intention from the time of Benoit's death was to lay low on the matter for as long as they felt prudent. We're still not going to hear his name praised on Raw because there's no need to inflame fans who will never be able to forgive him. Why start a fan protest if they don't need to?

That's fine, but it also isn't necessary to practice revisionist thinking; saying "He was never any good...... in fact, we hated him from the beginning." That's foolish. Yes, with political correctness running rampant today, we're not supposed to say anything good about him, but as far as I'm concerned, what happened at the end of his life doesn't negate everything we liked about him beforehand. In fact, I still feel bad when I think of what his state of mind must have been in his final hours as he agonized over the factors that caused what was probably a decent person to go bad.

Am I claiming to know what tortures he underwent to lead him to what he did? No, of course not. On the other hand, we read of a lot of good things he did during his life and I see no problem with WWE acknowledging some of them.

Meanwhile, if there's a deity, let him sort out what to do with the soul of Chris Benoit. If he was damned for what he did, that's something beyond our control, anyway.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

The thing is... there are always at a minimum two people in the ring. For a lot of superstars, some of their best work was in the ring with Benoit, so at some point, they are going to have to allow some stuff to slide through in order to really showcase their other talent. I don't think we'll ever see that WM20 match given much because it mostly showcased Benoit and HHH and HBK have a HUGE library of great matches so they don't need that match out there. The same goes for the attitude era, benoit had some really defining matches then that you need to include in order to paint the best picture of the era, though not necessarily of benoit himself. It's a line I'm sure we'll see them walk every so often.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Lex Luger has also pretty much been excised due to the death of Elizabeth and the negative part he played in it.

He is? Last I checked, he's currently working with the WWE on their Wellness Policy, he's a downloadable character in the Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 game, and he has his own Where Are They Now? page on WWE.com.