Did the WWE Turn Their Backs on Beniot?

[ACTAFOOL]

man this issue is so hard for me... im such a big fan of benoit, and i still have a hard time admiting what he did... but since the first day they gave us the details i knew that he did it all and it was all just fucked up... is what he did wrong?? hell yeah, i think life is a very important thing, and i dont think ANY1 deserves to die, i dont agree with the death penalty, i think its BS, ppl dont understand how serious it is to lose a life... ppl dont understand how precious life is, im guessing its because of all the media nowadays and the worlds history with wars and so much killing... well sorry for not going to the point of the topic but i had to get that out...

but anyway, to the point, did WWE turn their back on benoit?? well... yes, thats a fact, now was it wrong to do it??... umm.. even being a huge benoit fan, i have to say no, WWE is a buisness, they cant accept some1 like that in their buisness, do i think its hard to see WWE not aknowledge what benoit has done after so many years? yes... i find this hard to accept but i have to... imagine if WWE was ur buisness, u would have to do the samething, it would be madness to induct him in the HOF, WWE would be bashed all the way out of tv, this doesnt mean vince and wwe doesnt care about benoit, they have said many times how they feel about all this, and vince still isnt sure rather he should leave benoit in the smackdown vs raw 2008 game or not, wich might delay the game if he keeps taking so long to decide... its obvious they still have some respect for the guy

and i dont think benoit should be labled as the devil as a horrible person, ppl have to understand that benoit was out of his mind, its a FACT, the guy lost it, he was goin fuckin crazy, in his state of mind it was an act of an ignorant not a stone cold killer

it would be like a kid killing some1, they dont really know wth they are doing, they're ignorant as to what they are doing, they dont understand it well, its not like they're doing it for pleasure, im not saying what benoit did was right at all, im just saying ppl shouldnt lable him as some kind of twisted freak that hated his family and just decided to kill them all... no1 really knows how the hell his mind was at the time... but its still a fact that what he did was wrong, im still very confused about everything, i dont think he should be in the HOF, he should be punished for his crimes, but i still wont lable him as a killer... and ill always remember how great he was in ring and respect how he gave 100% to the biz...

 

[eddieuk]

What was the WWE supposed to do. In the ring and the industry benoit was one of the greatest ever. But to the non wrestling fans and the media he was a wrestler who killed his wife and his child. Chris Benoit had a job he was great at that job but he commited murder which is unforgivable. The WWE did the right thing.

 

[Retrograderenegades]

In my opinion, WWE should not kill Benoit's legacy. He did so much for the company. He receives great crowd receptions. I'm sure that when a fan goes to Smackdown, they wanted to see Benoit wrestle. He also had a hectic schedule and great amount of stress. When Benoit was alive, he gave his all for the WWE and now, WWE wants to kill of Benoit's legacy? What kind of a reward is that? When there are theories that Benoit wasn't himself when he murdered his family, WWE tried to reject those claims. It's not right to kill of his legacy

Agreed, you cannot deny the mans in ring legacy and what he did for the business and his accomplishments. I think rather than WWE moving away from the whole Benoit thing and confinscating Benoit signs at shows they should let fans keep the signs and encourage them to remember him when he was at his best I think that would be the logical solution to help the "healing process. In my opinion Vince Mcmahon is basically saying you can think whatever you want as long as you agree with me.

 

[mr. krinkle]

enough of the Benoit arguing people its a no win situation

what he did in his final days was unspeakable and made/makes me sick to my stomach...i was as upset as anyone when the news broke

but what he did in the ring over the period of his career should NEVER be forgotten...the man was fucking perfection and brought a shred of credibility to an otherwise joke of a sport. ive never seen a bad Benoit match

i disagree that his matches should be erased from history, and no way in hell is anyone going to greenlight a career retrospect dvd on him anytime soon, and who cares if WWE ever puts him in thier little "HOF", he already is in the WON Hall

before all of this happened he was my absolute favorite wrestler of all time.
that hasnt changed.

but arguing back and forth about it seems fucking lame and disrespectful and really goes nowhere

Chris and his wife and son are gone.
let it go

 

[lgallu]

I am probably going to get flamed for this response, but I have read every one of the entries in this thread and I'm just sitting here in disbelief. Never, would I ever condone the fact that Chris killed his wife and child and then himself, but if the facts do come out to support the theory that he had a mental condition that was not diagnosed, how can people continue to judge this man? I am sorry, but I don't think most of you have any clue what a mental condition involves nor does society as a whole. It is the misjudged and shameful medical condition that people whispher about. Only in the last few years have some people that suffer from these conditions been able to come out and admit that they have a problem. But for most of society it doesn't matter, they don't understand it and just say they should know better. How can a person with a mental condition know better? Until you walk in that person's shoes you have no idea what it is like. Yes, I am very strong in my feelings on this topic, maybe it's because of the fact that 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a mental condition that neither I nor my parents ever realized I had, but it's something I've had all my life that until then was never treated. Do I think I would go out and kill my family, no, but I also don't have the condition that Chris supposedly had. I don't think any one of you that are commenting on the fact the Chris should have known better have any clue what a person with mental problems goes through. It's not their fault they are that way, it's usually genetic or hereditary. All I'm saying is PLEASE do not judge people when you have not been in that situation, because you really do not know what it's like. Do I think the WWE turned their back on Chris, yes, but when it first happened, I can't say I blamed them, as it pointed towards roid rage. Now with the facts coming out, I think it's inexcusable their actions.

 

[leifmozley1982]

How can anyone justify putting Benoit in the Hall of Fame. End of day he killed his wife and son, then killed himself. Why cant people get their head round that. Yes Benoit was a great wrestler, probably one of the best, but i think people need to take their rose tinted glasses of and see Benoit for what he is. A MURDERER!!!!. So how anybody can accuse the WWE of turning their backs needs to have a long think.

 

[Player_1]

I was a fan of Chris Benoit the wrestler and I will always be. That does not mean that I condone murder. Whether he was in the right state of mind or not, we will never know because he killed himself along with his family. I guess in the eyes of the WWE, celebrating him would show the public and the critics that they honor and respect murderers. That's just my take. I know it sounds stupid, but that just could be it.

It's a tough one. I mean he has done so much for wrestling that he deserves all the acollades. But sometimes, all it takes is one misdeed and that's it. It's the same with any other job. You can be the best employee or boss or whatever, but as soon as you screw up really bad, that is it and you can kiss your other chances good by.

I guess the only thing about Benoit's legacy that will live on is all the memories that we have. It's going to suck now when we buy DVDs with him on it that might be edited it out. It's one thing to blur the old WWF logos and any mention of it, but a wrestler? Man...

 

[BRandonkin]

But look at MVP. His best matches were with Benoit and that why he is the U.S champion right now. ANd all that has to be forgotten about. From No Way Out to Judgement day is just erased from MVP past to. Benoit had done alot for wrestling, yet his one single final act has hurt his legacy and the business cause of the congressinal and media trials the WWE and wrestling has had to endure. Even if you like TNA, they have to let folks go like Test because they are too big. He hurt the business more than he ever did for the business.

 

[ImpactPlayer27]

I'm not going to condone what Benoit did. It was horrible. It was deplorable. But as far as erasing his existence, that is not exactly the best solution. We know what he did. We know how horrible it is. But the fans should be allowed to make their own judgements. Personally, it's hard for me to watch a match with Benoit right now. maybe things will be different and maybe not. But the fans should be allowed to pass their own judgement and the WWE trying to make sure he's forgotten is wrong. Regardless of what he did, you can't take away how good he was in the ring. He was one of the best technical wrestlers in the business and you can't take that away no matter how hard somebody may try to. And right now, that's what all this feels like with the WWE. It feels like they're trying to take away everything he was able to do in the ring. This coming from the same company that mooched off of Eddie Guererro's name after he died.

 

[1kj1]

Benoit couldnt afford to express the fact he had a mental condition and havin a son with (ithink) X Syndrome all due to the fact it would ruin him. It was the wrong thing to do it all explnations. He was one of the best tech wrestlersof all time and adored by fans, basically feels like superman commiting murder. I dont think wwe pushed him in any sort of way but to go out and perform. I really want him to be a hall offamer tho. b ut that not gana happen.

 

[Evan Snow-Wolf]

I'm not going to get into the semantics of it all, so I am just going to make it plain and black and white:

Benoit's murder of his family occured over a horrific 72 hour period that is shameful, wrong, and terrible. I'll never dispute that.

But that isn't a cosmic Undo button on life. If you want to judge Benoit for murders, then for God's sake judge him for just that - the murders. He was a sound, gifted wrestler for twenty years before he ever did anything like that. The way people talk, you'd think he'd been murdering all that time.

Is the WWE wrong for distancing themselves on Benoit? NO.
Is the WWE wrong for not advertising Benoit, like PPV posters? NO.
Is the WWE wrong for removing Benoit from matches with editing? YES.

Erasing his existence is a form of murder itself. What's next? Are they going to go into the title history pages and everytime his name appears they run a black magic marker through his name like some kind of CIA or FBI censored document?

I'm sorry, everytime I hear about this topic I am reminded of the scene from Freddy VS Jason where the kids find all the newspaper clippings all blanked out as the town tried to pretend he never existed.

Like Benoit were Kruegar himself or something.

 

[Luther_Hull]

I agree with WWE. It makes me sick just to see a picture of Benoit, can you honestky say you can watch a Benoit match now and not feel the tiniest but awkward? I even took his loading screen off SmackDown vs Raw because I can't stand to see him. I'll never be able to watch a Benoit match again, even if it a five-star classic. How people can post here defending him is beyond me, and for those who want him in the Hall of Fame, you're on a freakin different planet, seriously.

 

[SBW]

People who are trying to claim that the WWE is somehow responsible are wrong IMO. No disrespect intended.

Everyone is responsible for their own actions, regardless of the situation. This sad situation could/should/would have been avoided.

Maybe the WWE put him in a rough situation but like I said, everyone is responsible for their own actions and no one can force you to do anything you don't want to do.

I greatly respected Benoit before all this and I was in denial for a while trying to make excuses but then realised I was defending a murderer. What kind of company/business would celebrate the career of a murderer? I strongly doubt no company, anywhere in the world, would.

 

[Player_1]

Good point. Why blame the WWE? Sure they may have let the drug issue slide on numerous occasions, but the WWE had never put a gun to someone's head and said that you're going to be a wrestler. They give you the contract and you sign it. If you can't hack it, then quit, especially if you know it's not good for your well being.

 

[shoedawg]

Chris Benoit was the one of the greatest wrestler that the wrestling world has seen. To be in the Hall of Fame you have to be a good wrestler. And Chris Benoit was that. I hate him now for what he did to his wife and his poor kid but what he doesn't mean that he didn't have great matches in his carerr and I while I don't think that they should have an induction cermony for him, he should be put into the Hall Of Fame quietly, because he was one of the greatest wrestlers that have ever walked this earth.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The point is that you cant put him in the HOF quietly. If you put him in quietly with no ceramony then he's just a name on a list. The point of the whole evnt is the induction, and a retrospective of your career. And dont think that a think like Benoit going into the HOF wouldn't go unnoticed. There would be hell up if he ever got inducted.

It's irrelevant that Booker T has been done for armed robbery, if Austin beats women, or if MVP has been in prison for kidnapping. They will all (probably) get inducted at some point. Why? Because they never actually killed somebody. The media doesn't care that Benoit was mentally disturbed, and possibly didn't know what he was doing. Is that not the same with most murderers? It's unimportant to them.

 

[DeDan89]

Vince Mcmahon should be ashamed of himself and his company....i bet if you ask any wrestler in that locker room they will tell you that he should be a hall of famer. I agree, I am a huge Chris Benoit fan and when he died I believe a bit of wrestling died with him. I do not think his actions as a man are right in any way. As "The Crippler" though he is and will always be the baddest most sound technical wrestler to ever grace that ring. For Vince it was a business decision. He forgot where he came from...he started out right down the road from me in Schenectady, New York. A hole in the wall armory...thats where he got his announcing skills. He worked to get to his position as the face of professional wrestling. Now he turns on a man who did the same. He earned every bit of respect that he recieved and bled for this company while maintaining his life outside the ring. Right now, I wouldn't be too surprised that if Benoit is found innocent, that the WWE doesn't find some way to make a buck. Wrestling is dying and with his power and influence, Vince is helping to kill it, when he could do so much to save it. Shame on the WWE and shame on Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

 

[MR.SCOTT]

Vince Mcmahon should be ashamed of himself and his company....i bet if you ask any wrestler in that locker room they will tell you that he should be a hall of famer. I agree, I am a huge Chris Benoit fan and when he died I believe a bit of wrestling died with him. I do not think his actions as a man are right in any way. As "The Crippler" though he is and will always be the baddest most sound technical wrestler to ever grace that ring. For Vince it was a business decision. He forgot where he came from...he started out right down the road from me in Schenectady, New York. A hole in the wall armory...thats where he got his announcing skills. He worked to get to his position as the face of professional wrestling. Now he turns on a man who did the same. He earned every bit of respect that he recieved and bled for this company while maintaining his life outside the ring. Right now, I wouldn't be too surprised that if Benoit is found innocent, that the WWE doesn't find some way to make a buck. Wrestling is dying and with his power and influence, Vince is helping to kill it, when he could do so much to save it. Shame on the WWE and shame on Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

What vince did was save the wwe from media backlash, benoit was the best in my mind but his career will forever be overshadowed by his final days and will forever be seen as a child killer, if it was steroids, brain damage you name it it was benoit in body that commited these crimes, maybe not in mind, so no i do not thing the wwe did wrong, i think what vince did saved alot of jobs cause sticking benoit into the hall of fame or mentioning his name would destroy the companies repuation, simple as

 

[DeDan89]

So, Steve Austin the wife beater...he's a hall of famer soon....he's ok though because he just beat up his wife. Well, they made him the most famous wrestler to ever live. So, what you are saying is that they don't mind as long as you get away with it. So, if Benoit was still alive and he was only a suspect...pulled an OJ possibly, you are telling me would be ok then. Thats a load of horseshit. The fact is that McMahon has been known as the bad boy in wrestling promotions, the man who would go that extra mile to earn a fan. XFL, there was a winner, but you know what I respected that. He was going in a direction that nobody saw coming and nobody agreed with. But he did it and didn't care what people said. He was there through it all and ended it because he saw it was a money loser. Now with Benoit, a man that bled and worked his fingers to the bone to not only entertain the fans, but to help the younger guys make their mark, he's gonna tuck tail and run. A real man would step up and take what's coming to him. Benoit failed as a man, i agree. But it was also Vince who was pounding this thought of "Hulk" style bodies into the superstars heads. Besides, I want to know something that nobody has explained to me. Why the f@@k are they testing wrestlers for "performance enhancing drugs?" Hello Congress this is earth calling, IT'S SCRIPTED. Theres no unfairness about it, the only reason they are investigating is because someone finally went over the edge. By the way was Stone Cold tested when he beat his wife. I rest my case. It's easy to throw stones at the person who gets caught till then we don't want to know anything because it would ruin it for us, they are hypocrits and Vince is the biggest one.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

So, Steve Austin the wife beater...he's a hall of famer soon....he's ok though because he just beat up his wife. Well, they made him the most famous wrestler to ever live. So, what you are saying is that they don't mind as long as you get away with it. So, if Benoit was still alive and he was only a suspect...pulled an OJ possibly, you are telling me would be ok then. Thats a load of horseshit.

Yeah. Austin will be inducted into the HOF, withing the next 5 years. And yes he will get respect from his peers, and millions of fans cheering at home.

And if it was some sort of OJ. Simpson type deal (Which it aint, Benoit did it) in which he was found not guilty. Then yes he would be inducted into the HOF. Without a doubt. But the fact is that Benoit killed two people, brain damage or not, and then hung himself presumably out of guilt.

In the eyes of WWE & Vince there BIGGER star Austin just beat up a woman. He didn't kill her, so it's acceptable. And fans wont care because what Austin does to women is pretty much his gimmick.

But trust me. If Austin kills somebody he wont be inducted either.

 

[MR.SCOTT]

So, Steve Austin the wife beater...he's a hall of famer soon....he's ok though because he just beat up his wife. Well, they made him the most famous wrestler to ever live. So, what you are saying is that they don't mind as long as you get away with it. So, if Benoit was still alive and he was only a suspect...pulled an OJ possibly, you are telling me would be ok then. Thats a load of horseshit. The fact is that McMahon has been known as the bad boy in wrestling promotions, the man who would go that extra mile to earn a fan. XFL, there was a winner, but you know what I respected that. He was going in a direction that nobody saw coming and nobody agreed with. But he did it and didn't care what people said. He was there through it all and ended it because he saw it was a money loser. Now with Benoit, a man that bled and worked his fingers to the bone to not only entertain the fans, but to help the younger guys make their mark, he's gonna tuck tail and run. A real man would step up and take what's coming to him. Benoit failed as a man, i agree. But it was also Vince who was pounding this thought of "Hulk" style bodies into the superstars heads. Besides, I want to know something that nobody has explained to me. Why the f@@k are they testing wrestlers for "performance enhancing drugs?" Hello Congress this is earth calling, IT'S SCRIPTED. Theres no unfairness about it, the only reason they are investigating is because someone finally went over the edge. By the way was Stone Cold tested when he beat his wife. I rest my case. It's easy to throw stones at the person who gets caught till then we don't want to know anything because it would ruin it for us, they are hypocrits and Vince is the biggest one.

Ok lets just say this, what if per say austin killed that woman, would he even be in the wwe now, no because of the media backlash, and if we all remember correctly austin was never charged with assault, it was all hear say from his ex wife, so as far as im concerned and every fan on the planet is there is no story, so people need to think things through here, benoit killed his son and wife in cold blood, how can you in good conciouseness think that the guy should even be in the wwe let alone the hall of fame, its horrible like finding out your next door neighbour is a pedo horrible, you cant by good conciounse be thinking that he should be put in the hall or fame.

 

[starryangel05]

I fully agree with DeDan89. Vince should be ashamed of himself over this whole Benoit issue. Chris Benoit was one of the greatest technical wrestlers in history, and he is helping to contribute to the death of wrestling by erasing Benoit from wrestling history. I do understand what happened with Benoit and his family was shocking and tragic, but that does not make Benoit a bad person. Benoit had issues that made him act the way he did. I think that erasing Benoit from WWE and lacking to put him in the WWE Hall of Fame is simply wrong and is spitting in the face of his career, his hard work, all his years of training, and most of all, his fans.

 

[NYSandman]

Okay. We have a few issues here. First, as far as wrestling itself goes, Benoit's skills should not be forgotten, nor should the years of entertainment he provided to us fans. However, WWE is a business, and any business, I don't care what, would have objections to talking about a deceased employee who commited murder.

Also, from what I have read, almost none of this was Benoit's fault. If he truly had a horrible brain problem, then he is not responsible. If the CPU in your computer burns out, it is not the computer's fault you lost data. Our brains are who we are, and that killer was not Benoit.

I just have sympathy for everyone in this case, even WWE and Vince. You have to look at their point of view. Even though WWE is now more outrageous than ever, they still have a massive child fan base, and parents will not want a killer mentioned on air. You have a lot of assholes out there who would complain.

From a personal standpoint, I do not think WWE wants to bury Benoit, but the time is too soon to mention him. I am hoping that on the 1 year aniversary of this tragedy, with enough time, the WWE will acknowlege this in some way. Let's be patient and see.

WWe's decision is about business, and I do understand their thinking.

 

[razor7]

At the end of the day it's a business, a business that is somewhat threatened now by Congress and oversite.

From where I stand what Benoit did dishonors everything he worked hard to accomplish. When I hear his name I don't think of the swandive headbutt or even the match with Bret in Owen's memory. I think of a man who killed his wife and his child.

Sorry, he doesn't get a pass on that from me, and if I ran a a multi million dollar business I would do exactly what Vince is doing, distance myself.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I agree that he shouldnt be erased from DVDs. I mean does this mean he's going erased from the Summerslam Anthology? where he has had classic matches with the likes of RVD and Randy Orton. I hope not and if they do I aint buying it.