For the record, this is the most ludicrous question that could have been asked in our debator's league. It's like asking a juror to try a murder case after allowing them to watch tv and read every newspaper in the country for a month. There's no possible way you can argue Benoit's exclusion from the Hall of Fame without acknowledging the tragedy, because it did happen and any wrestling fan (and most non-wrestling fans) know about it. With that being said, I obviously drew the short straw on this one, so I'll try my best
I disagree. It's the same question people can ask of Pete Rose. The Pete Rose debate has been raging for 20 years. People argue that OJ Simpson should be removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There are several other more deserving names who should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame before Chris Benoit.
Yes, there are. The question, however, wasn't, "Should Chris Benoit be the next person inducted into the Hall of Fame." We are simply trying to determine if he is deserving. Let's compare him to the people on your list.
Names like The Ultimate Warrior,
2IC Title runs, and one WWF Championship. I know that title runs are watered down now, but Benoit more than doubles him in both categories. Plus, Warrior never won a tag title. Furthermore, Warrior has a two year run as a high profile competitor. Benoit was at the top of the business for seven years. He held titles and was in the mix for more his entire career.
This is a travesty, and it is over a personal vendetta. I would think that most wrestling fans just assume he is in already.
Jake was a shit wrestler. His matches were terrible, and he was memorable for his snake like Koko B. Ware was for his bird. Speaking of Ware....he's in. Do you still not think Benoit belongs? Jake is more famous today for his addictions and substance abuse than his wrestling. I don't think Jake deserves to be in, but Benoit does. And, later, you say Benoit shouldn't be inducted because he has a weak finisher. What about Jake? You're going to let him in with a DDT?
Seriously? No one is more overrated that Luger.
I am shocked that he isn't in already. Once again though, similar style, and Benoit had a higher profile. Arn was a Horseman in their prime, but he was a lackey. Benoit was a star, with a higher profile.
Man, I hated saying something bad about Arn.
For all technical accounts, Benoit only held the heavyweight championship once,
He is recognized by all publications as a two time world champ.
and he only received the title because of the story both he and Eddie Guerrero generated by winning the straps in the same night at Wrestlemania XX.
That's not true. He and Eddie winning together made the story better, but Benoit won the title because he was the best perfomer in the business for a two year period leading up to that. He put on match of the night at PPV after PPV and built up a following based solely on his in ring ability. He is the mat wrestling equivalent of Jeff Hardy. Speaking of Jeff Hardy, Benoit was just as exciting as he or Edge was in the first TLC match. People forget that the Chrises were in that match, but Benoit and Jericho were the champs going in, and Benoit had an amazing night that night as well.
The other time he won a heavyweight championship, while in WCW, he relinquished the belt the very next night so he could jump ship to the WWF / WWE.
And he started the Radicalz, which, as I have already stated, had enough versatility for any one of them to fit into any spot on the card. All four of those men changed wrestling, by bringing it back down to the mat. All of the realistic MMA styles that we see today can be brought back to Chris Benoit.
Sure, he held the US Championship 5 times, but guys like Steve McMichael, Gen. Rection, David Flair and Orlando Jordan also held the belt at one time or another.
David Arquette held the Big Gold Belt. Does this make Ric Flair not worthy of his Hall of Fame Status. The belt has as much prestige on it as the guy that holds it. Some guys bring instant prestige to a belt, others build it through great matches. Benoit did both during his career.
In the 1990's, it was vacated more times than wrestling fans were able to keep track of, and until recently, the belt really had no credibilty (if it even has any now).
But is attacking the credibility of the belt really attacking the credibility of Benoit? If this belt had no credibility for part of a decade, it certainly did when Benoit held it. Benoit brought instant credibility to any belt he held.
Benoit was known more for his friendship with guys like Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio.
Known more for that than what? His wrestling? I disagree.
While is in ring was outstanding, wrestling fans really don't take much notice in a guys technical abilities anymore,
Which makes Benoit all the more remarkable. Get on Youtube and listen to the pops he drew. That was all for ability. He wasn't playing DX pranks or giving Rock promos to get over. He did it by rolling German suplexes and diving for headbutts, and locking in submissions, and being intense.
it's all about the high spots and the shock and awe factor these days.
Not really. Jeff Hardy has done less of that since he became a main eventer. CM Punk is a mat wrestler with one springboard move. Cena has one guillotine leg drop that he pulls out once a month. HHH can't find the top rope. The Undertaker has been doing his Old School move for 20 years, and that's it. Kurt Angle moonsaults once a year. Mick Foley can't jump over a business card. Sting doesn't fly. Randy Orton doesn't hit high spots. John Morrison has some flashy offense, but is he even a main eventer yet?
These are the main eventers in wrestling today. Jeff Hardy flies a little, but beyond that, the American main event scene is full of strikers and mat technicians. Benoit would fit right in today.
Benoit didn't really provide too many of those moments.
The diving headbutt was always cool looking. And as far as shock, I remember his giving Stone Cold ten straight German suplexes. That was a shocking and awesome moment.
He was a great in ring competitor when it comes to technical wrestling, but he wasn't on the same level with guys like Brett Hart, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero or Kurt Angle.
Besides Angle, he was a better mat technician than all of those guys. He was as good as Angle. Did you see their matches? Benoit kept up with an Olympic gold medalist on the mat. Everyone from Stampede Wrestling could go on the mat, because if you couldn't, you never got mat time. I'm sorry, but I have to disagree here. Benoit is largely held in esteem for his mat skills, and questioning them seems to be a lone wold crusade.
As for his finisher, lets be honest, it's a stupid move. Seriously, can't the guy who finds himself in the Crippler Crossface simply remove his arm from in between the guys legs and fight out of it ??It's nothing more than a poor mans Camel Clutch in my opinion.
But Jake should be in for his DDT? And if that move was so shitty, I doubt HBK and HHH would use it today to pay homage to Benoit's talent.
As for his flying headbutt - he often times did more damage to himself than he did to his opponent.
Medically? Kayfabe wise, that isn't true.
Benoit was better known as a tag team wrestler,
Not true. He was better know as a singles wrestler who fit well in thrown together tag teams.
combining with guys like Edge, Chris Jericho and Perry Saturn to win tag titles in boh WCW and WWF / WWE. But even combining with two of the all time greats in Edge and Jericho doesn't help make a claim for Benoit inclusion into wrestling's hallowed halls.
No, but Benoit's performance does merit his inclusion. Have you seen the Jericho/Benoit vs. HHH/SCSA tag title match? I promise you it is one of the top ten matches in the history of Raw. Thirty minutes with countless false finishes, the right team going over, and a title change as they went off the air. In that match, SCSA and HHH put two guys into the main event scene, where one still is and the other would be. The SCSA/Benoit match would also make most top 10's in SD! history. I have seen at least 90% of the episodes of each one of those shows, and there has to be a reason that those two matches from 2000 and 2001 stick in my head so vividly. Benoit was capable of making anyone look good. He got the seal of approval from HHH and Austin. He main evented WM XX vs. HHH and got the win. Five years later, HHH stood over Orton to finish the show. Remember the images. At the landmark events, HHH jobbed at the peak of his career for Benoit and didn't in the twilight of his career for Orton. Without homeruns and batting average to quantify his talents, these are the moments we use to judge someone's "inductability."
Benoit was a marginal personality in an entertainment business.
Marginal personalities don't win the main event at Wrestlemania, especially a landmark number like twenty.
He was terrible on the mic and hardly ever tried to further his status in the industry with promo work.
Once again, this is what makes him hall of fame worthy. Who else is good enough in the ring to get that following without the mic? And he did the job with the stick. He didn't hurt himself.
Today's product and even the product of yesteryears is largely supported by a superstars benefit to the industry with his mic skills. Without mic work, legends like Hogan, Flair, Austin and The Rock would not have been built.
True. See above.
As someone who truly appreciates mat wrestling and actual wrestling skill, Chris Benoit IS a Hall of Famer in my book. But based on the overall consensus of all wrestling fans around the world, and more importantly the wrestling fans who have made the WW/F / WWE what it is today, Chris Benoit IS NOT a Hall of Famer.
This is a case where we cannot ask wrestling fans. There is too much extra curricular. Within the bounds of the question posed, Benoit is a Hall of Famer. His title history, following, and ability are all top flight. His performance was always best on the biggest stage.
