ScratchedAt
06-27-2007, 05:35 AM
June 25th, One of the most tragic days for wrestling fans all over.
Due to the nature of that Monday, some people may call it more tragic than the death of Owen Hart, Bret "The Hitman" Hart did. And given the circumstances, some people consider it even more tragic than the death of the late, great, Eddie Guerrero.
I certainly do.
Chris Benoit, after missing two WWE shows due to "family illness", hung himself in the basement of his house sometime between June 23rd - June 25th. Not only did he kill himself, but he had apparently strangled his wife and suffocated his son.
Too many facts make it impossible to be speculation. The facts show that Benoit killed his family, and then killed himself. If you're still in denial, I'm sorry.
Benoit was a legend, of sorts, in the wrestling world. He wasn't the biggest guy, he wasn't the best talker, but he was great at his craft. Training in the world-famous "Stu Hart Dungeon" he had wrestled in ECW, Japan, WCW, and WWE among many others. Benoit was known as one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, if not one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, period.
But this isn't a eulogy, and I don't even miss the man he died as. I miss the man I thought he was.
This makes you wonder about the wrestling world. There are certain people that you look at and you idolize, and you try your best to believe that they are nice, kind hearted, sweet-souled men inside the ring and outside to the real world. Benoit proved that this may not always be the case.
And many of us should've realized it.
What do we really know about Benoit outside of the ring, or inside for that matter?
Eddie Guerrero, went out there every week and did his best to entertain the audiences. He had superior wrestling skills to much of the roster, but he got a kick out of entertaining everybody in the audience and on TV.
Curt Hennig, look at him. As much of a heel (bad guy, per say) he played inside of the ring, you look at his children today and you see that they grew up with love for their father and were able to respect him. They are, to this day, proud and love their father with every last drop of their heart. So much that they are building to become a part of this business today and build upon the family legacy that Larry "The Axe" Hennig and Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig have started.
But Chris Benoit...
Even on television he was the quiet one.
And I never realized it until looking into retrospect.
His legacy is not going to be like Eddie, where he turned around his whole life when it was going to hell because he wanted to be there for his family. Eddie wanted to make his fans happy, but most of all, he fought drug addiction and alcoholism (i BELIEVE i'm correct with the alcohol part) so that he could save his career and his family. Eddie has built a strong legacy.
Owen Hart shouldn't have died the way he did, but he leaves behind a loving family that still has nothing but positive things to say about him. Bret Hart, his brother, said that Benoit was like a brother to him and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.. but now he's coming to terms with it. It appears that Bret Hart may not be so positive on Chris Benoit in the future, but you've never heard anyone say negative of Owen Hart's outside lifestyle, or his dedication to the business and his family's legacy. Owen Hart has built a strong legacy.
Sherri Martel... the same.
But what does Chris Benoit leave behind?
He was a great wrestler, and that's an understatement. But looking at his record of driving under the influence and the fact that he had a temporary restraining order on him by his wife because of the fear of him hurting them and the family appalls me. This restraining order stated that he has threatened to do physical harm to both his wife (which he killed) and his house in or around 2003. What the hell? How come most wrestling fans never heard of this?
And over this past weekend, Chris Benoit (I refuse to refer to him as Mr. Benoit from now on), not only took the life of his wife, but his 7 year old son. A child that looked up to him and probably worshiped him, he suffocated. And then, to top it off, he killed himself.
His legacy?
- Great Wrestler. Amazing Wrestler.
- Future Hall of Famer.. probably now, "Former" Future Hall of Famer
- DUI record.
- Restraining order from scaring his wife.
- The murder of his family and then himself.
Just when you think you knew a guy... you realize you know nothing.
I now have to wonder what of the rest of the wrestling world. Could John Cena be a murderer? Stacy Keibler go for 14 year olds? Umaga a rapist?
While I doubt ANY of those are true... I also doubted Chris Benoit would do anything such as kill his whole family, let alone anybody.
Now, nobody is going to think of those as logical things... but it still will make anyone who has heard about Chris Benoit wonder a little bit. These people that we idolize, who are they? Hopefully they are who they portray outside of the ring, and not vicious, cold-blooded, killers, as Christopher Benoit was.
While there is a chance that we are misunderstanding this case, it is very, VERY doubtful. I didn't want to ever believe it, but I'm finally coming to terms.
I feel sad for Chris Benoit. I feel that something went wrong in his life and that he needed help that he hadn't sought out. It's a sad shame when someone with such a fan base and someone with so much potential crumble down to the so-called "Darkness". It is a horrible thing. He was sick and didn't get helped.
Chris Benoit is no longer a legend in my eyes, and I will have a hard time watching his matches, if I can watch them at all, knowing that inside the wrestler is a sick, sick, demented man. The Canadian Crippler? Didn't quite give him enough credit...
Nancy and Son, Rest In Peace.
Benoit's two other kids... My thoughts are with you.
Chris Benoit, I fear you'll burn in hell. But I'll let the man upstairs decide.
Due to the nature of that Monday, some people may call it more tragic than the death of Owen Hart, Bret "The Hitman" Hart did. And given the circumstances, some people consider it even more tragic than the death of the late, great, Eddie Guerrero.
I certainly do.
Chris Benoit, after missing two WWE shows due to "family illness", hung himself in the basement of his house sometime between June 23rd - June 25th. Not only did he kill himself, but he had apparently strangled his wife and suffocated his son.
Too many facts make it impossible to be speculation. The facts show that Benoit killed his family, and then killed himself. If you're still in denial, I'm sorry.
Benoit was a legend, of sorts, in the wrestling world. He wasn't the biggest guy, he wasn't the best talker, but he was great at his craft. Training in the world-famous "Stu Hart Dungeon" he had wrestled in ECW, Japan, WCW, and WWE among many others. Benoit was known as one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, if not one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, period.
But this isn't a eulogy, and I don't even miss the man he died as. I miss the man I thought he was.
This makes you wonder about the wrestling world. There are certain people that you look at and you idolize, and you try your best to believe that they are nice, kind hearted, sweet-souled men inside the ring and outside to the real world. Benoit proved that this may not always be the case.
And many of us should've realized it.
What do we really know about Benoit outside of the ring, or inside for that matter?
Eddie Guerrero, went out there every week and did his best to entertain the audiences. He had superior wrestling skills to much of the roster, but he got a kick out of entertaining everybody in the audience and on TV.
Curt Hennig, look at him. As much of a heel (bad guy, per say) he played inside of the ring, you look at his children today and you see that they grew up with love for their father and were able to respect him. They are, to this day, proud and love their father with every last drop of their heart. So much that they are building to become a part of this business today and build upon the family legacy that Larry "The Axe" Hennig and Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig have started.
But Chris Benoit...
Even on television he was the quiet one.
And I never realized it until looking into retrospect.
His legacy is not going to be like Eddie, where he turned around his whole life when it was going to hell because he wanted to be there for his family. Eddie wanted to make his fans happy, but most of all, he fought drug addiction and alcoholism (i BELIEVE i'm correct with the alcohol part) so that he could save his career and his family. Eddie has built a strong legacy.
Owen Hart shouldn't have died the way he did, but he leaves behind a loving family that still has nothing but positive things to say about him. Bret Hart, his brother, said that Benoit was like a brother to him and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.. but now he's coming to terms with it. It appears that Bret Hart may not be so positive on Chris Benoit in the future, but you've never heard anyone say negative of Owen Hart's outside lifestyle, or his dedication to the business and his family's legacy. Owen Hart has built a strong legacy.
Sherri Martel... the same.
But what does Chris Benoit leave behind?
He was a great wrestler, and that's an understatement. But looking at his record of driving under the influence and the fact that he had a temporary restraining order on him by his wife because of the fear of him hurting them and the family appalls me. This restraining order stated that he has threatened to do physical harm to both his wife (which he killed) and his house in or around 2003. What the hell? How come most wrestling fans never heard of this?
And over this past weekend, Chris Benoit (I refuse to refer to him as Mr. Benoit from now on), not only took the life of his wife, but his 7 year old son. A child that looked up to him and probably worshiped him, he suffocated. And then, to top it off, he killed himself.
His legacy?
- Great Wrestler. Amazing Wrestler.
- Future Hall of Famer.. probably now, "Former" Future Hall of Famer
- DUI record.
- Restraining order from scaring his wife.
- The murder of his family and then himself.
Just when you think you knew a guy... you realize you know nothing.
I now have to wonder what of the rest of the wrestling world. Could John Cena be a murderer? Stacy Keibler go for 14 year olds? Umaga a rapist?
While I doubt ANY of those are true... I also doubted Chris Benoit would do anything such as kill his whole family, let alone anybody.
Now, nobody is going to think of those as logical things... but it still will make anyone who has heard about Chris Benoit wonder a little bit. These people that we idolize, who are they? Hopefully they are who they portray outside of the ring, and not vicious, cold-blooded, killers, as Christopher Benoit was.
While there is a chance that we are misunderstanding this case, it is very, VERY doubtful. I didn't want to ever believe it, but I'm finally coming to terms.
I feel sad for Chris Benoit. I feel that something went wrong in his life and that he needed help that he hadn't sought out. It's a sad shame when someone with such a fan base and someone with so much potential crumble down to the so-called "Darkness". It is a horrible thing. He was sick and didn't get helped.
Chris Benoit is no longer a legend in my eyes, and I will have a hard time watching his matches, if I can watch them at all, knowing that inside the wrestler is a sick, sick, demented man. The Canadian Crippler? Didn't quite give him enough credit...
Nancy and Son, Rest In Peace.
Benoit's two other kids... My thoughts are with you.
Chris Benoit, I fear you'll burn in hell. But I'll let the man upstairs decide.