Chris Benoit: Four years later

[itssoeasy123]

You say they shouldn't have erased him because he was talented? What about his wife and kid that he murdered? His son would be in 6th or 7th grade now, and it's been four full years now. How could someone kill such a small child? How could someone support someone who did that? Brain damage or not, it's unacceptable.

Also add to the fact the the kid was never able to grow up and live his life becuase of his father's brain damage, or whatever the case it was.

People act like we should separate Benoit the "character" from Benoit the "person". That's a load of bullshit! Charles Manson had a few band's cover his song, noticeably Guns N' Roses, and both Axl Rose and Slash have stated they didn't even have him in the writing credit's becuase even though Axl liked the song, the stuff he did was evil and he doesn't deserve to be aknowledged. The same goes for Benoit, he may have been a great wrestler, but that doesn't at all erase what he did to his wife, son, and himself, the backlash the WWE world got, and the black mark it left on wrestling as a whole.

The fact that Benoit get's praise today is what scare's me, even so much to say he should be in the Hall of Fame. It's really strange how people think by showing him it's gonna be positive for the WWE. WWE has been trying to erase him from their company, and has been succeeding. If you people that love Benoit "the wrestler" and will do everything in your power to separate that from Benoit "the person," than there's Youtube, or DVD's to watch him matches. WWE is a business and by erase a murderer from their history is by all mean's, doing the right thing.

 

[TheNewStyle]

Some of you people saying he should be erased are just hilarious. Like seriously, if and only IF a tragedy like this keeps on happening, are you going to just erase every single victim of it from history just to "respect" the victims of the brain damage victim? I know such a thing happening again is highly unlikely but Benoit should at least be remembered for the fact that living the wrestling lifestyle can come with a high cost. If we forget about him, somebody else might end in a different tragedy because we didn't learn from it the first time it happened. At the very least, Benoit needs to be remembered as an example of wrestling NOT being fake and that performing in a ring is very dangerous. You don't necessarily have to praise his work - but remember, what he did comes as a WARNING to care more about your health and not let something so sad happen again!

And answer this to me: if John Cena is convicted because of murder today and tomorrow is fired from WWE for life - are you just going to pretend he never existed in the company's history? And if you answer yes, the only person you're fooling is yourself!

 

[Zangash]

And answer this to me: if John Cena is convicted because of murder today and tomorrow is fired from WWE for life - are you just going to pretend he never existed in the company's history? And if you answer yes, the only person you're fooling is yourself!

If Cena was convicted of murder? Naw, probably not. If he lost his sanity and killed his small son and his wife before ending his own life? Probably. See, Benoit did something worse than murder- he murdered his family. The fact that it was because of the WWE life style only makes it worse. I firmly believe if Cena killed his family they would pretend he didn't exist anymore. They'd probably do the same thing they did with Benoit- cancel a show (Maybe two) and show some of his past matches, and move on from there, never mentioning Cena again.

And that's the way it should be.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

^ I don't think they were aware of the fact that Chris Benoit had murdered his own family during the time they did a tribute for him. Notice how once the news broke out that Benoit did kill his family, the WWE quietly took down all tributes and mourning videos of superstars.

Yes, Chris Benoit did something beyond horrible. But, I won't remember him for that. I'll remember him for the matches he had with Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.

 

[itssoeasy123]

Some of you people saying he should be erased are just hilarious. Like seriously, if and only IF a tragedy like this keeps on happening, are you going to just erase every single victim of it from history just to "respect" the victims of the brain damage victim? I know such a thing happening again is highly unlikely but Benoit should at least be remembered for the fact that living the wrestling lifestyle can come with a high cost. If we forget about him, somebody else might end in a different tragedy because we didn't learn from it the first time it happened. At the very least, Benoit needs to be remembered as an example of wrestling NOT being fake and that performing in a ring is very dangerous. You don't necessarily have to praise his work - but remember, what he did comes as a WARNING to care more about your health and not let something so sad happen again!

And answer this to me: if John Cena is convicted because of murder today and tomorrow is fired from WWE for life - are you just going to pretend he never existed in the company's history? And if you answer yes, the only person you're fooling is yourself!

Well, everything that happened in the month's after his death was an example of wrestling not being fake. Everything you said in the first paragraph has already been aknowledged by the media, or WWE themselves.

Well, the warning he left us is being used rfor the last few years. Chair's shots to the head have been banned, which have been studied to cause head damage and concussion's. Blading has also been stopped, and WWE's has upped their Wellness Policy.

Oh, and the last paragraph. Even if Hulk Hogan commited the murder-suicidein the early 90's after his hugely over babyface run in the 80's, WWE would most likely give him the same treatment their giving Benoit. If John Cena commited the crime, I'm pretty sure Cena would've be praised alot in WWE anymore. It doesn't matter the character, or how good of a wrestler he was, what he did was cruel and inhumane, nad WWE will never praise him again.

 

[TheNewStyle]

But how convincing would it be for them to erase Cena if he would for some insane reason commit murder? Lots of kids look up to him and wear his t-shirts, people who don't even watch wrestling know who he is and last but not least he REPRESENTS the company! WWE would get tons more negative press and even if they would try their best, it wouldn't be as easy to erase someone of a role as big as Cena's compared to someone like Benoit who didn't have the 'face of the company' role or even wear a championship belt. It's not a simple case of pretending his history with the company never existed and was just a dream. He is the current WWE champion and represents the company not to mention has a huge history as he has been the main event for several PPVs and such. Now the chance of something like this happening is slim and hopefully NEVER happens, but I'm just using it as an example of writing off history being wrong regardless of what the person did.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

ok firstly, you can't state that it was either roid rage or multiple concussions, the fact is this incident has left Benoit's legacy forever tarnished.

no one can justify what happened, we weren't there and we can only make assumptions in order to develop an opinion on the situation, instead of getting angry with the situation and doubting Benoits abilities why not just celebrate Benoits in ring accomplishments in order to provide a positive spin on this thread and quit debating the methods of his actions, we will never know why he did what he did all we can do is remember....

 

[CelticCorey]

The way I look at this is this:

I see O.J. Simpson and Chris Benoit as two completely different scenarios. Both did awful, awful things but I believe O.J. was a piece of scum who really doesn't deserve to walk the streets and should've been convicted.

If Chris Benoit was functioning alright, if his brain wasn't damaged, I truly believe he had no idea what he was doing and wouldn't be fit to stand trial. Nor do I think he took the coward's way out of not wanting to face trial. I hated what he did. It was a horrible thing and it's a true shame Daniel never got to grow up and that Nancy died as well. But to place all this blame on Benoit, to say he deserves to rot or is scum, etc. etc. he is not excused but if he really did have severe brain damage and was truly insane and didn't know what he was doing I don't look down upon as hard as some others.

If it was up to me, he would be in. If he intentionally killed in cold blood and functioning normal then no but R.I.P. to all three.

 

[Deadlysyns]

You people who hate on Chris Sicken me you think that a man in his right mind would kill his family sure he may of done it but that doesn't make him a bad person for all we know he killed himself because he couldn't live with what he had done. Comparing Chris to Hitler Wtf is your problem Hitler killed millions in cold blood, i could understand all this hate if we knew that Chris got Satisfaction out of what he did but if he did he would not be dead. Honestly what he did was wrong and disturbing but we don't know everything so we can't judge hell the police and the jury can't judge because the man is dead. does one act that could of been done without knowledge of what he was doing make him a bad Person who should be hated no its doesn't

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

You people who hate on Chris Sicken me you think that a man in his right mind would kill his family sure he may of done it but that doesn't make him a bad person for all we know he killed himself because he couldn't live with what he had done. Comparing Chris to Hitler Wtf is your problem Hitler killed millions in cold blood, i could understand all this hate if we knew that Chris got Satisfaction out of what he did but if he did he would not be dead. Honestly what he did was wrong and disturbing but we don't know everything so we can't judge hell the police and the jury can't judge because the man is dead. does one act that could of been done without knowledge of what he was doing make him a bad Person who should be hated no its doesn't

Are you insane? Look maybe comparing Chris Benoit to Hitler is a bit much, but for satan's sake he killed his wife and kid and then offed himself. If it was in a car accident and he was drunk, people would feel different because hey nobody is perfect and shit happens. Now what kind of sick and twisted person would think thats its ok to kill your wife and kid and then decide to off yourself? Fuck Chris Benoit he should burn in hell along with Osama Ben-Laden and Saddam Hussein.

 

[#hamler]

I wasn't going to reply in this thread, but this is killing me...

You people who hate on Chris Sicken me you think that a man in his right mind would kill his family

It doesn't matter if he was right minded or not, what he did is done and over with. The guys a huge douche.

sure he may of done it but that doesn't make him a bad person

WHAT? Sure it does.

for all we know he killed himself because he couldn't live with what he had done.

You don't know either. Still doesn't make it right. I have no sympathy for the prick.

Comparing Chris to Hitler Wtf is your problem Hitler killed millions in cold blood,

That is a bit extreme, I’ll agree.

I could understand all this hate if we knew that Chris got Satisfaction out of what he did but if he did he would not be dead.

Say what?

Honestly what he did was wrong and disturbing

Very much so. He fucked up everything he worked for during his whole career: respect.

but we don't know everything so we can't judge

Sure we can. I'm sure most of us know enough about the situation to consider him a fucking monster.

hell the police and the jury can't judge because the man is dead.

Well, there's hard evidence against the guy. Based off of the evidence from the case, I'm sure it is ok to judge.

does one act that could of been done without knowledge of what he was doing make him a bad Person who should be hated

Yes it does. Killing someone isn't ok. You can paint a pretty picture, cover it up with fancy words, it doesn't matter. Chris killed his family. That's pretty unforgivable.

no its doesn't

Sure it does. He is a bad person. I don't see how anyone can say other wise.

 

[tweedledee49]

I seriously cant believe what some are saying. Put him in the HOF?!? Look, no doubt he was a very talented performer but that still doesnt erase the fact that he killed his family. Its like saying we should remember Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris for their computer programming talents and not the Columbine High Massacre

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

I seriously cant believe what some are saying. Put him in the HOF?!? Look, no doubt he was a very talented performer but that still doesnt erase the fact that he killed his family. Its like saying we should remember Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris for their computer programming talents and not the Columbine High Massacre

Exactly, nobody would be ok if there was a trophy named after those two assholes. Like i have always said, yes Chris Benoit was a good wrestler but for satan's sake he killed his family. Therefore he deserves to rot in hell with Osama Ben-Laden and Sadam Hussein.

 

[Zangash]

Exactly, nobody would be ok if there was a trophy named after those two assholes. Like i have always said, yes Chris Benoit was a good wrestler but for satan's sake he killed his family. Therefore he deserves to rot in hell with Osama Ben-Laden and Sadam Hussein.

After that incident everyone that died got a cross put up at the school... But the surviving students lit them on fire. People wouldn't just not be okay with them getting trophies, they'd riot.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

The fact that Benoit still get's prasie from fans is what surprises me. Nothing in the world can take away what he did to his wife and son, the media backalsh that was on WWE, and the big black mark it left on wrestling as a whole. No matter how good of a wrestler he was, what he did was inhumane and cruel and he doesn't deserve to be mentioned again.

I don't care if he had brain damage or whatever the case, he did what he did and there's nothing anybody can do about it. The man was a murder, and in no Way shape or from does he deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. WWE is a family business, which is very logical and doing their best to put out the best product they can. Why, if anything would they induct a murder into the Hall of Fame? WWE has been trying, and succeeding in trying to erase him and his likeness from the company. Why would they slap in the fact of not only Benoit's family and friends, but logic itself and induct Benoit into the Hall of Fame? How would it make his family feel to know that the man who killed two member's of their family is being prasied for being a "good wrestler."

It left a big black mark on wrestling as a whole, and WWE ahs been trying to get rid of it ever since. Hell, even WWE's ratings have in the mid to low 3's since his death/murder. Just like Vince McMahon said the "healing process," WWE have been trying to do everything in their power to get rid of the black mark that was left on their company by the Benoit tragedy.

As far as 'I don't care if he had brain damage or whatever ...' you have a right to your position. I disagree with it, but it's your right. The fact is this isn't the only event related to his believed condition. Football players, boxers were first looked at (now they're looking at Hockey players), after a number were found to have been committing acts of violence including assault and suicide. They found that the men who have this condition suffered from dementia meaning their view of reality was seriously impaire. Benoit's own journals displayed the same symptoms that these doctors were talking about. It matters to me, because if we don't pay attention to this there will be many people who might suffer the same fate as the Benoit family. This tragedy could have quite possibly been avoided if they had caught the symptoms in time.

I feel very little sympathy for Vince. The fact is before this event, there were wrestlers who had died early deaths and Vince went on with his business without batting an eye. The death of Benoit cast a light on the number of deaths of former wrestlers, and what was the cause of these deaths. The steroid (and other drug) usage in the industry and what WWE was doing to combat the problem came into light. The truth is Vince had a long time to deal with the issue and he did piss little about the problem. The WWE, and Vince in particular has done a shit job of looking after their performers. Wrestlers had said it themselves, wrestlers had a grueling schedule, took drugs to head back to work sooner, or to keep up, had to work hurt and absurdly underpaid for the work they did. Vince isn't some innocent little promoter trying to do the right thing. He can play innocent all he wants, I'm not buying it.

If they inducted the entire family, I'd be ok with that. It would show that they remember this tragedy and the contributions of Chris Benoit. But that's me. WWE will never induct Chris or talk about this event ever again. If I were a member of Nancy's family or Chris', I'd want to know why this happened and would be a little more forgiving of Chris if it were determined he wasn't acting out of an evil mindset but rather had no idea what the hell he was doing.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

The reason Vince has a problem with this, (besides the act itself), is quite simply this, he doesn't want to have answer the tough questions that this tragedy helped expose. The treatment of his performers, the drug abuse of his workforce, the deaths of performers before they even reach 50, spotlights a problem within his company and the industry that hasn't been looked at as seriously as it should be.

 

[That Don Guy]

It seems to me there are two sides to this story - and no, I don't mean (choose between: (a) "Benoit is a murderer" / "I can't believe people are standing up to this murderer", and (b) "Benoit probably didn't have total control over himself" / "Why don't others understand this?").

On the one hand, multiple concussions are definitely a problem - I will start to believe otherwise right after Chris Nowinski is arrested for some form of medical fraud.

On the other, how this all happened may not be the entire story. Benoit isn't completely erased from WWE history; his name does get mentioned every now and then on Nitro reruns on WWE OnDemand (and he even makes a rare appearance), and they do go through every episode with a fine-toothed comb if for no other reason than to remove the "F" from all mentions of "WWF". However, how do you expect it to come across if someone who killed two people with his own hands is constantly referred to on TV as "The Crippler", and ends his matches with the "Crippler Crossface"? It doesn't help any when one of his Horseman interviews has him use the phrase, "Silent, but violent."

Still, I would like to know whose idea (WWE's? Comcast's? Just an accident?) it was that the only show ever aired on WWE OnDemand that required a separate fee in addition to the monthly charge just happened to be Benoit's last PPV...