Did the WWE Turn Their Backs on Beniot?

[mabuza]

Look,while I don`t think we should in anyway down play the actions committed by Beniot when he killed his family& himself,I still feel like he got screwed over by the WWE.I`m hearing stories about how they`ll never put Chris in the Hall Of Fame& quite frankly its beginning to pisss me off.

When the story first broke,it made sense to be quiet about the whole issue.It was too confusing,too hurtful to make any sense of the whole incident so we all just felt it was best to keep respectfully silent.Besides,we didnt know all the facts.Now we know that he probably wasnt in his right state of mind& that "roid-rage" had probably little to do with the whole incident.The move by the WWE to erase him from the history of pro-wrestling,however,bothers me greatly.Right now,WWE DVD releases have Chris edited out & I have a feeling its going to be a bitch to try and get hold of a copy of WrestleMania XX.

As far as I`m concerned,WWE never did enough to take care of its talent.They are in some way responsible for what eventually became of Chris Beniot.Just like Eddie before,they probably knew that Chris was getting beat up real bad in the ring.But they needed him to put over ECW,they by putting him under more strain.That was one of the reason Kurt Angle cited for leaving the WWE.He felt he was putting his life endanger for the sake of a company that at the end of the day didnt give a toss about him.They gave Kurt a more intense work schedule in ECW,knowing full well he wasnt 100%,and then turned around and suspended him for being addicted to pain medication.

In all of the statements released by the WWE regarding Benoit after the incident,the one major thing I noticed was that the never took any sort of responsibilty for what happened.The never explained how Beniot managed to cheat their oh-so-great Wellness Program.They had to have known that he was depressed.There were reports coming from backstage that Beniot had been keeping to himself since Eddie`s death.And all off a sudden,people are talking about Chris`strange behaviour now,instead of having addressed it then.
Chris` brain apparently looked like that of an 85yr old Alzhiemer`s patient.As far as i know,that probably had more to do with severe head trauma ove a long peoriod of time than steriod use.The WWE banned the Shooting Star Press,but let Chris perfom the Suicide Dive for years.On many occasions,part of that spot would involve Chris actually missing.

WWE had this promo a few years ago called "Our Season Never Ends". Well maybe if their season did end occasionally,Chris&Eddie`s seasons wouldnt have.

I can go on& on about the many ways Chris& his family were let done by the business they loved.All I have to say is that any talk by people or the WWE of not putting Benoit in The Hall Of Fame is tragic& pathetic on the part of anyone who agrees with them.Beniot was one of,if not the greatest of all time
R.I.P Chris Beniot,Thanks for the Memories....

 

[E C Dub]

This is one thing i'm actually on WWE's side.. Right now i think WWE is in it's darkest days.. Bad ratings, bad storylines, limited contenders, ect..

You can't look past that the guy was a murderer.. Some people have to get over their WWE bias and realize what he did was terrible and I wouldn't want to associate myself with him either. An athlete in another sport and some of you fans wouldn't be singing the same tune of "wwe turned their backs on him"...

Yes he was a great wrestler and had a great legacy but his actions seriously tarnished it..

 

[Mad Metal]

I agree with ECDub.

Even though this exact topic was mentioned and talked about on the forums so many times, however nothing can convince me what the WWE is doing is wrong. With the ratings dropping after the Benoit situation, it proves that people don't want to contribute to the WWE's success by watching a company that not too long ago an employee became a murderer. It indicates promoting a murderer is bad business and would give the WWE a bad reputation.

Do I agree with vanishing him from everything? It's understandable however I don't agree with it completely. I know there's Chris Benoit marks that will straight out say the WWE is oh so bad for how they are dealing with Benoit's name but what the fuck are they suppose to do? Continue on by advertising him on future DVD sales and honoring his past life just so they can fail even more? The WWE got bad feedback after holding the Chris Benoit memorial show not only from people such as Nancy Grace but even from Bruce Hart as well.

No matter how severely damaged someone's brain was or what drugs they were on. If you were a victim of a similar situation, you would understand. Ask Nancy Benoit's family how it feels to have family members get murdered. It's easy for us to give the "excuse" due to Benoit's brain damage and drug use that sheds some hatred off of him, but of course we all don't know how serious this is due to the fact I'm sure none of us were close to the Benoit family.

What if a mentally handicap teenager that was high on cocaine and while you're walking down the street with your friend or mother, this handicap gang member decides to murder someone close to you? Would you forgive him due to mentally not having much control of himself?

 

[Egg McMuffin]

Im on WWE's side too... and putting it in another sport is a good way of thinking about it... if Steven gerrard did something like this then Id hate him for it, and you guys actually have to think... benoit was an actor. He was a wrestler. He acts as soon as he walks out that curtain, and probably most of the time behind it too. Unless you actually knew the real guy, you cant really say anything about him. All of the wrestlers that spoke about him on his memorial raw knew the guy. and I bet some if not all of them dont wanna think about him anymore. Some of the fans just need to let it go.. Chris Benoit was a character. The actor, was a murderer. If you love the character, I think you need to take some time away from the computer and TV.

 

[R G]

Ok, I'll kind of follow up on what E C Dub said.

What if Ladainian Tomlinson killed his wife, his son, and himself? They figured out he was hit so many times that his brain was damaged, ect. the Benoit situation for LT. I have always heard that LT is an all-star "On and off the Field." He's a true professional. But what if he did something of that caliber? Would the NFL always want everyone to know that their single season TD record holder was a murderer? Would they want the Chargers orginization to remember Ladanian Tomlinson as one their all-time greatest backs? I really don't think so considering something as great tragedy as the Benoit Murder, LT style.

Or the NFL could act like he never did anything wrong, keep praising him for his right beings before he went ballistic and murdered his wife and 7 year old kid (acting like he had one) and put him in the Hall of Fame, retiring his number, ect. The NFL would be highly criticized by congress and such.

So what you, mabuza, are saying is that Chris Benoit should be praised for his work before he became a sadistic murderer? He killled a 7 year old kid, not just any 7 year old, but his son that he loved so much, and a women that he vowed to be by her side, through good and bad times. Those innocent people are dead right now.

The WWE is making the right call right now by pretty much erasing Chris Benoit. Not completely, as he is still listed for owner of the WHC, World Tag team title, and I think U.S., but enough so it can get the whole situation off people's minds.

Did the WWE turn their backs on Benoit? Yes, and damn good reason, too.

 

[Eternal Dragon]

Wow. That's the first word that came to mind when I read this topic. It's offical- the WWE is always blamed for practically everything.

I don't want to be harsh, but Benoit is a killer. What kind of company in their right mind would support a murderer, especially a man who killed a child? Not mentioning Benoit is the best thing the WWE can do right now.

Chris Benoit does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I don't care what he did as a wrestler, he killed his own child and his wife for God's sake. That overshadows ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that he did in the ring.

I was a huge fan of Chris Benoit, and after the tragedy happened, I wasn't sure how to react. I came up with scenarios and excuses, but at the end of the day I realized how hypocritical and immoral I was being. There is no excuse, no justification, no way to make any sense of this.

You want to say RIP Chris Benoit- well what about Nancy? What about Daniel? Don't they matter?

What's truely sad and pathetic is that two people are dead, and you want the WWE to honor the man who killed them.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

In regards to editing Benoit out of events and such, that is wrong, in my opinion. Why punish the fans? He isn't getting any punishment out of it.

In regards to Benoit in the WWE Hall of Fame - let the fans vote. If the fans want him in, put him in, and if they don't, then simply don't. Don't turn a blind eye but don't completely ignore the fact that he DID in fact entertain fans for years.

 

[LipstickAndBruises]

Imagine is WWE came out and said "Yeah Benoit did kill his wife and child and thats bad but he was a great wrestler, great worker, great guy otherwise blah blah blah!"......that would be fundamentally fucked up and bizarre and weird and disrespectful and strange. Turning their backs on him and removing him from stuff is the proper way to go at this time. Maybe in a few years it will be different but at this time its way to fresh.

As far was WWE taking care of their talent...its common sense and basic human decency to NOT murder people so I think no matter how tough it is on the road or how many chair shots one takes managment is not thinking "Gee so and so looked tired and upse today, we better chat with him because he might go home and kill his family"....Thats why things like this are shocking because no one could predict them. Theres x amount of other wrestlers / preformers who keep the same / similar travel and work routine and don't have such massive violent meltdowns. I think / hope this situation was a rarity, that said....I hope WWE looks at it as a wake up to be an inch and a half more vigilant to their employees mental status but I don't believe the murders where "their fault".

 

[kennyg9]

Chris Benoit turned his back on his family. The WWE had no clue he'd do this. Period.

Infraction me if you want. Thats how i feel simple as that.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I'm not against anyone's opinions, but I can't believe what I'm reading by selective people I felt were true wrestling fans. Yeah, Chris Benoit ended up murdering his family through what all the reports have said. (Yes, I'll always say it like that.. cause neither "I", nor any of "you" were there to see it.)

But again.. while I'll agree W.W.E. shouldn't exactly promote Chris Benoit anymore, they shouldn't erase the man from history. Whats that say to the world? Yeah, it says they have zero acceptence for murderers, but 100% acceptence for suicides, over doses, & cover-ups. I've said it a hundred times over..

The Von Erich Family committed suicide. They get put in the latest W.W.E. DVD release. Drugs, more than anything, were the result of several wrestlers deaths. So W.W.E. puts almost all of them, in the Hall of Fame. Whats that tell you? That if Chris Benoit would've "died" for the business, alone, off of drugs or depression, he would've been immortalized? But because in the end, tests show he was more messed up than any other Pro Wrestler to die, to date.. & because of that, he took his Wife & Son.. W.W.E. refuses to acknowledge what is clearly their fault.

Sure, Chris Benoit had to take some fault, because he along with every other Pro Wrestler knows what they're getting into. W.W.E., however, is taking the cheap way out, by erasing what they deem their "mistake," from history. You don't see the Von Erichs being edited out of DVDs, or Mr. Perfect, Eddie Guerrero, or even Mike Awesome being edited out of any W.W.E. DVDs.

The bottomline in my personal, heartfelt opinion, is this.. Chris Benoit is, was & will always be too great of a Professional in that sport. He is, was, & will always be one of the absolute best that ever wrestled.. don't erase him from every DVD, or story, or article you have. Don't cover-up what is partically your own fault, by making him look even worse than the media & practically everyone else already has. Immortalize him for what he was, not what he ended as.

 

[chris curls]

Well this is not a matter of WWE and Chris Benoit its a matter of Chris Benoit and Chris Benoit. His actions are his own and not WWE's. Chris Benoit was respectable in the ring but fans don't know the real him. Chris Benoit was a good wrestler and a good performer and thats all we know. Who knows what was going on inside his head. He might have been having problems since he was little or he might have snapped after Eddie Guerrero died. Who knows and who is to judge him. Until you have fact, you shouldn't be able to judge. You can have your opinions and ideas of what he did but until it is out in the open and official. They say that his concussions may have been a problem and Chris Nowinski knew right from the start, but you don't know what is going through a person's head. He may have thought what he was doing was to save his family or he was going to kill himself and took his family. No one will ever know. WWE has the right to have their opinion and if that means disassociating themselves with the Benoit name is their prerogative by all means let them do what they want. If they get proved wrong, they will look like assholes and if Benoit's reasoning for killing his family is proved then they will have a good reason to stop talking about Benoit, until then I remeber the performer and wrestler Chris Benoit. Rest In Peace

 

[TheOneBigWill]

You want to say RIP Chris Benoit- well what about Nancy? What about Daniel? Don't they matter?

What's truely sad and pathetic is that two people are dead, and you want the WWE to honor the man who killed them.

Flames Out
Dragon

Dragon, noone ever said not to say R.I.P. to Nancy & Daniel. Noone has ever said they won't be missed. I miss Nancy just as much, because she was a great diva in her day. And Daniel was innocent, & innocents should never be taken from this world without proper reason.. but none the less, they both were. Along with Benoit.

I'm not saying in those worlds, to have W.W.E. say its okay that he murdered them & then say they'll honor him for it. But the W.W.E. Hall of Fame is for honoring great Professional Wrestlers. And you can't tell me that its justified for someone like the Von Erich's, or Mr. Perfect, or any other that passed away due to suicide or drugs, then got honored & put in the Hall of Fame.

W.W.E. picks & decides who they want in, based on ratings. Had the Chris Benoit tragedy not been as big in the public eye, this conversation wouldn't be happening because Benoit would be a top selection to be put in. And I'd honestly say in about 10-20 years, Chris Benoit may even still be put in, if people remember who he was in the wrestling business.. not what he did in his personal life.

I'll never discount what happened. I'll never forget, or accept that Nancy & Daniel are gone as well. But I can't sit here & accept that because one man made a stupid decision, that none of us even know he fully knew he made. (because of his brain) That we pass judgment, just because of the black & white outline.. instead of looking at the grey area.

 

[Shocky]

Hell yes the WWE turned there back on Chris Benoit. Why do you think they jumped so fast to disassociate themselves from the man, because they had some blame in this.

Chris Benoit is a victim of mental illness, and I'm sorry, but most people are just plain ignorant when it comes to understanding mental illness. Most people think that you have to have down syndrome to be mentally handicap. News flash people, Benoit's brain had signs and similarities of an 85 year old man.

Look at it, there were warning signs all around about Benoit, yet no one acted. Granted, hindsight is 20/20. Chris Benoit was never bad mouthed by anyone. Look at all of the stuff said about him during his tribute show that the WWE has tried to bury and forget. That was genuine, raw emotion. Hell, look at the responses on this message board the second Chris Benoit was found dead. People want to pretend they know everything, and in most cases, it's cut and dry. Chris Benoit murdered his wife, yes. Chris Benoit murdered his son, yes. There is no denying that those actions happened, but for gods sake, if you people live in such a black and white world, then it is truly sad.

Chris Benoit was showing signs of paranoia, as evident in him saying that his family was being followed. Chris Benoit all of a sudden picked up religion and was wearing a rosary wherever he was. These are shifts in emotions that were warning signs. They were out of character for the man, the best that we know. For all intents and purposes, Chris Benoit was not himself. I know it's hard for people to comprehend, but that's the fact, and that is scientific facts. Does anyone honestly think that Chris Benoit would have been given the death sentence if he lived? Hell, i don't think he would have even been found guilty. All of the evidence points to a man that was a victim of the lifestyle he chose to live.

Chris Benoit busted his ass in that ring, and I am honored to have seen him in person on multiple occasions. The last 72 hours of the mans life should not decide his fate. Right now is the time for the WWE to step up and bring attention to the seriousness of mental illness, but no, that doesn't make the WWE money. The WWE has nothing to gain by saying, hey, we screwed up, we didn't evaluate our guys to the best of our ability, and a tragedy occured. Mental Illness and protected the head and the brain should be everyone's top priority. But no, the WWE wants to pretend that one of the best in ring perfomers never existed. This is bullshit, and I'm glad to see people call the WWE out on it.

If Benoit was just a steroid induced monster, then yes, the WWE has every right to banish the man. These recent revelations tell something different, and it's just to bad that most people can't see things outside of harsh extremes.

 

[BooCocky]

I am going to side with the WWE on this one, yes Benoit was one of the greatest wrestling technician this business has ever seen. We as wrestling fans can never take what he did in the ring. He would have been a Hall of Famer but we need to look passed what he did and the ring and focus on what he did outside the ring, he did a terrible basically a heinous act by murdering his wife and son. He took the life of three people including himself.

the WWE would look so bad if he was still around or even if he made the HOF, they would be promoting a murderer, and on a business stand point that isn't great business. It is terrible business by advertising a murderer and giving him a memorial show, I will never take away what he did in the ring, but outside the squared circle is a different story he killed his son and wife, so therefore the WWE should have nothing to do with his name because it'll be promoting bad business. So therefore his HoF talk should be nothing but talk and his legacy should be tarnished in the Eyes of the WWE, but we as fans can still recognize his accomplishment.

 

[Mad Metal]

I would like to comment on the part where the WWE is burying Benoit due to being involved in what happened. I completely disagree with that statement (well, not exactly worded nor is an exact quote). If it were more of due to the fact it was due to "roid rage" then it would probably put the WWE in a worse spot due to the pressure of Benoit possibly was in just for a secured job by taking drugs, even though if that is the case, it should trace back way before prior to ever working for the WWE which could have leaded into an addiction. I mean look at videos of him when he was younger, he was still pretty damn big, even though this isn't the exact case or subject we're on. The only thing the WWE has to blame is the brutality of their performance.

Like someone said [in a different thread], it's automatically assumed that Benoit was willing to take more vicious chair shots, that's if you would look at clips of him taking the shots and comparing them to other performers. I doubt the WWE gave Benoit the trademark flying headbutt off the turnbuckle either. The performance can produce either be a safe environment or a deadly environment. It's just the way you decide to play the game while it's recommended to ALWAYS put safety as a priority. There's been many pro wrestlers that went through a rough schedule for a long-term and in the end came out good and healthy.

So I really don't see how this could be anyone's fault other than Chris Benoit's unless due to an unknown reason he had a mental disability naturally and no one ever known about it until his death. However, I think only pointing at the WWE saying oh how bad they are for not doing advanced testings is quite ironic. I don't think ECW ever did this and same with WCW nor dor have TNA ever done any forms of drug testings or monitoring their own performers. Even though the WWE is the heart of the industry, it's professional wrestling overall which is more of a straight fact just to be fair. And that's the truth.

If we're going to go on saying how bad the WWE is because of Benoit's mental disability, we should blame any other promotion he previously worked for seeing it contributed that slowly started to grow in Benoit's past. There's been times where boxers died during fights but the only blame that would be put on was the fighters for going beyond performing an exhibition. Similar with Benoit getting badly damaged in pro wrestling. Who's at true fault? And people moans to no end when the WWE bans a move.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when the name Chris Benoit is mentioned? That will be the reaction everyone will get whenever the name Chris Benoit will be mentioned for now on. When the name Chris Benoit gets mentioned, the first thing people remembers his horrendous acts and is that a good way for him to be remembered by the people every time his name is heard? The best to do is just leave him alone.

 

[E C Dub]

Does anyone honestly think that Chris Benoit would have been given the death sentence if he lived? Hell, i don't think he would have even been found guilty. All of the evidence points to a man that was a victim of the lifestyle he chose to live.

What?? He would/should have been sent to jail or in an institution based on mental illness

But no, the WWE wants to pretend that one of the best in ring perfomers never existed. This is bullshit, and I'm glad to see people call the WWE out on it.

I don't know myself but have they retracted his name from any titles that he held?

As for not using his name and such.. Why would they want to promote such a negative image.. Fact is fact.. He killed two people and himself.. Not something for the WWE to gloat about..

I don't see how some of you people can look past what he did just because he was a good wrestler..

 

[Eternal Dragon]

Dragon, noone ever said not to say R.I.P. to Nancy & Daniel. Noone has ever said they won't be missed. I miss Nancy just as much, because she was a great diva in her day. And Daniel was innocent, & innocents should never be taken from this world without proper reason.. but none the less, they both were. Along with Benoit.

I'm not saying in those worlds, to have W.W.E. say its okay that he murdered them & then say they'll honor him for it. But the W.W.E. Hall of Fame is for honoring great Professional Wrestlers. And you can't tell me that its justified for someone like the Von Erich's, or Mr. Perfect, or any other that passed away due to suicide or drugs, then got honored & put in the Hall of Fame.

W.W.E. picks & decides who they want in, based on ratings. Had the Chris Benoit tragedy not been as big in the public eye, this conversation wouldn't be happening because Benoit would be a top selection to be put in. And I'd honestly say in about 10-20 years, Chris Benoit may even still be put in, if people remember who he was in the wrestling business.. not what he did in his personal life.

I'll never discount what happened. I'll never forget, or accept that Nancy & Daniel are gone as well. But I can't sit here & accept that because one man made a stupid decision, that none of us even know he fully knew he made. (because of his brain) That we pass judgment, just because of the black & white outline.. instead of looking at the grey area.

Well in a way isn't suicide more acceptable than murder? Kind of hypocritical, but still, taking away the lives of others is pretty horrible.

Even the people who knew him admit that what he did will always overshadow the accomplisments he had in the ring. I think people are letting their bias of Benoit get in the way of their morales.

By even saying that Benoit should be in the Hall of Fame you are forgetting that Nancy and Daniel are gone. You're forgetting that from that day, Benoit will always be seen as the murderer first, and the wrestler second to everyone who wasn't a fan of his. A murderer, no matter why he did what he did, should never be honored. How the heck would they do that? What would they say? Who would induct him? How would it look to the WWE if they did that?

People can say that it was because of his brain, or steroids, or whatever they want to use, but there's plenty of wrestlers that get knocked around and don't go and kill their families.

I'm not assuming why Benoit did it, but in this situation there has to be a black and white line. I tired to understand, I tried to stay in the grey area when it came to this whole tragedy, because I was a HUGE Benoit fan, but it just messed me up even more. For weeks I wondered from one newsite to another trying to think of a scenario that kept the blame off of Benoit, but it was pointless and horrible of me to do that, because in the process of that I forgot what happened. That a man who we once all respected and loved, commited a horrible, horrible act, and we'd have to accept that.

Bottom line is, Benoit didn't just make a "stupid decision," that's more like taking drugs or getting in trouble. He killed two people. Why don't people understand that, that will ALWAYS affect everything he did? And for good reason, because taking human lives is not a joke, and it should not be justified just because he was a "great" wrestler.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Mad Metal]

The difference with names such as Hawk and Mr. Perfect that died from drugs or you can re-phrase it as self termination and Chris Benoit committing a termination to himself as well as his family is.... well like said, despite the situation all of those names made bad life decissions, yet we see Mr. Perfect Curt Henning being honored with and induction to the WWE Hall Of Fame.

I do agree the Hall Of Fame is to honor the career/s of those that contribute and helped out greatly in one way or another which is exactly what Chris Benoit did and I am not ashame to admit that. But what's the difference here?

Put aside on how many times I seen wrestling fans or self proclaimed "smarks" claim their hatred towards children for feeding the stardom of names including John Cena, Bobby Lashley and Dave Batista. Children ARE the future of society. Majority or all children performs no wrongs and there is absolutely no reason to murder a 7 year old baby. It's common sense. Okay, Chris Benoit's brain was severely damage that indicated it was as bad as a typical 85 year old man. I never seen an 85 year old that was stupid enough to murder a kid, nor do I hear as if it's common that disabled people are going around killing others.

If Chris Benoit was well enough in the brain to know how to perform his wrestling moves, memorizing the scripts, etc. then he wasn't disabled enough to not know what's right or wrong.

 

[cobain]

I agree with NoFate 007.

Benoit shouldn't be edited out of matches.

However Benoit not making the Hall of Fame I agree with. What good is it for him to make the hall anyway when he's dead? He doesn't know he is making it or not, his wife isn't there to honor his memory. We really do needd to look past the charecters and think of these people as human. AS a human he did a bad thing. There is no reason to honor him for this.

However athletes can apparently get away with murder (OJ Simpson) so I ask this

If OJ had been convicted of murder, would all his highlights and accomplishments be erased from the NFL history? Would he be removed from the Hall of Fame? I honestly say no.

Keep Benoit in the DVD's and in the history.
Don't put him in the Hall of Fame.

On a side note, I think the nmedia owes something to both the WWE and the fans of the WWE for jumping to conclusions and blaming this on steroids before the facts came out. They tried to put the blame on the WWE for allowing Benoit to take steroids. I'm going to go wait for that apology now.

 

[MasterOfRoc]

My opinion, in the most basic form, is that "What happened, happened"

Wrestling Point of View
He did win the World Heavyweight Championship at wrestlemania
He was one of the best in ring performers EVER

Last 72 Hours Point of View
He seemingly killed his wife and son, then himself
He seemingly done it, as a result of an un-treated and un-diagnosed mental illness

All of this is fact... WWE should let it go.

Should he be in the HOF!? i say definately...but before hand, make sure, they make it CLEAR that the Hall of Fame is to recognise their in ring work, and make it CLEAR that it is irrespective of events outside wrestling.

Did WWE Turn their backs on Benoit? In the short term, i would have done exactly the same... Eventually, the time will come where Chris's name will get mentioned... and he will get honoured for what he done in the ring

In summary...
Aknowledge his in ring achievements
Leave his matches on DVDs, hell if his match with Jericho, (where we saw the Walls on the ladder) turns out to be one of the all time greats, show it... be proud that he was that damn good)
and
Eventually... Put him in the HOF

While im on a roll, id like to point out to all those who pointed the finger, and started the crap, straight away...

HOLD ON TO YOUR ACCUSATIONS... its obvious now that it was a sick sick man who committed these acts, and infact, i can almost garuantee that he would have been found Not Guilty, by reason of Mental Defect, if he was alive, and sent to trial

 

[Eternal Dragon]

WWE should let it go? Let what go? Let the fact that he killed his wife and son go? That's just seriously the wrong thing to imply... or say.

Okay, some people are saying that Benoit should be in the Hall of Fame, but they should make a differential between "in the ring" and "personal" life. The problem is that makes no sense. The Hall of Fame in the WWE is both personal and professional. When people make their speeches, they don't just talk about what they did in the ring, they talk about everything else too.

Think about it! What would people say, not just in the WWE but outside of it? The perception of the WWE in the media is already bad enough. You think this makes any sense- "In other news, Chris Benoit is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but it's okay, the WWE are seperating "in ring" and "out of the ring," lives, so it doesn't matter that he killed two people." Do you see how messed up that sounds?

Hold onto your excuses! Because that's what it sounds like- excuses. I don't know if Chris Benoit was a sick, sick man- but from what I've heard of people who were close to him, he supposedly wasn't, but maybe they're wrong, maybe he had a lot of inner problems that no one knew about. Even then it does NOT excuse what he did. Andrea Yates wasn't in her right mind when she drowned her kids, but does that make what she did any less horrible? Is it fair to let her off the hook? Is it fair to let Chris Benoit off the hook? No, and it's not morally right. It just isn't. And it astounds me how people somehow think it is.

There is a right and a wrong, and between that is the grey. But that grey's purpose is not to justify the wrong, it is to clarify why the wrong happened.
Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Hdog684]

I cannot find the words to describe how truely shocked and horrified that there are people in this world that think it's OK to murder your own wife and child. And you can spin it however you want, call it mental illness, rage roid, say he had the brain of an 85 year old, say it's the WWE's fault, it doesn't matter. What you're saying is "I think it's OK that Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son."

The bottom line is Chris Beonit murdered his wife and 7 year old son. That's the story here. Everything else is just noise. Anything short of somebody placing a chip in his brain and controlling his every move is irrelevent and I don't want to hear about it. Enough with this "mental illness" bullshit. You know what most people with mental illness DON'T do? Kill their wife and son. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say the vast overwhelming majority of people who have ever had a mental illness, in the history of mankind, did not kill their wife, kill their son, and then kill themselves. Same with steroid users. Same with 85 year olds, or people of any age whose brain looks like that of an 85 year old. Yeah, some of these people might have depression or irrational behavior...you know what they don't have? Murdering their wife, murdering their son, and them committing suicide. I don't know the exact numbers, but again, my gut instinct is that these actions are very, very uncommon. And that's why these excuses sicken me. Chris Benoit made the decision to murder his wife. Then he made the decision to murder his son. Then he made the decision to kill himself. He made those decisions, nobody else. Not the WWE, not other wrestlers, not his doctor. Himself, and only himself. Get back to me when any significant number of wrestlers, steroid users, or people with mental illness have murdered their wife, son, and killed themselves. Right now it's just ludicrous to point the blame at them and excuse Chris Benoit...you're saying it's ok to murder your wife and son, that he was justified in doing so. There is no justification for doing that, and the sooner we all realize that and stop defending Benoit the better off we'll all be.

Chris Benoit is a murderer. He murdered his wife. He's not just a murder, he's a child murder, he murdered his own 7 year old son. That far outweighs anything he did in the ring, out of the ring, or anything else he did up until the time he made the conscious decision to murder his wife, and then murder his son, and then kill himself. Everything else he did in his life immediately became irrelevent when he made the decision to commit those acts and then carried them out. Including, among others, his great wrestling career, what a great father/husband./person everybody thought he was, and all of the concussions and mentall illnesses he had. All that matters when it comes to Chris Benoit is that he murdered his wife and son. The story should end there.

 

[BRandonkin]

i hear what people are saying but I think what WWE did is right. I mean the NBA kicked Jayson Williams out the league for murder. and when another Jayson Williams made it to the league, the bulls made him change his name to Jay Williams to distance himself. And no matter the fact that Michael Jackson is one of the biggest selling artist of all time, the fact that he was accused of Child molestation with less fact than this beniot situation, it will always overshadow his accomplishments. It how the public works. Benoit murders will overshadow him forever. Every time MVP remember that U.S belt, it will play that he won it from a murder in some minds. They cannot refer to Benoit as teh late great because of what he did and the publicity around him. Benoit abandoned Benoit legacy. It is the price of fame. And there is no Black or white here. The abandonment is understandable. Sticking with him understandable. But with a bussiness it is about the profit and they don't look good with a murder.

Benoit has facts after facts that he murder his wife. Everyone is not saying wrestling reports but that is only out of your loyalty because had it been anyone else, he be guilty. Puffy was being called guilty with no evidence. Previously stated, Micahel Jackson is still consider guilty even though no evidence suggested that. But because this is Benoit you all make excuse. Benoit did this. He killed his wife, son, and himself. And it is terrible that he did this. I forgive Benoit for his crime. I let it go. I love to watch his matchs. But from a public standpoint, WWE cannot side with Benoit. Beside Benoit is the reason why WWE is in the situation they are in now. Many of the suspended WWE roster should be pissed at Benoit. He has brought a black cloud over wrestling.

 

[Canadian Knight]

Of course the WWE turn their backs, but that is expected when he killed his family. But hopefully they will induct him into the Hall of Fame.

 

[ErkBono23]

benoit was great up until the point where this horrifying act was committed..no matter what benoit did in his career he completely tarnished it by committing the sin of all sins...betrayal and murder...not only has benoits act tarnished his legacy but also the professionalism aspect of a business he was passionate for...regardless what was wrong with him like many have said there is absoutlely no excuse for murder esp the murder of such close family...i really dnt kno if they should induct him in the hall of fame..i honestly believe that what he has done will always overshadow the career he built for himself...perhaps YEARS perhaps even more than a decade it could be considered to put a MURDERER in the hall of fame..i respected beniot at one point..now..i dont know...all i know is it would be completely wrong to praise someone for his career and neglect the fact that he killed the most special people in his life....