The Chris Benoit tragedy...two years later

June 24, 11:44 PMPro Wrestling ExaminerMark Satrang

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It’s hard to believe that has already been two years since the professional wrestling world got more mainstream attention than it could have ever dreamed (or wanted.) I like to look back at wrestling history. It is one of my favorite things to write about. Usually I look back at events from years gone by, and I look back at them with a sense of fondness. I like to look back at events that helped to shape wrestling history. Usually I look back at things with fondness, but even two years later I can only look back in despair.

Today I look back at the tragedy of Chris Benoit and the horrific double murder suicide that happened the weekend of June 22-25, 2007.

I can still remember the day like it was yesterday. I came home right at 7 pm, forgetting that RAW was going to be a three-hour show that evening. I quickly turned on USA Network and the first thing I see is the band Finger Eleven’s “One Thing” music video that WWE produced back when Benoit was World Heavyweight Champion in 2004. I got that pit in my stomach and immediately sat down on the bed without seeing an “In Memory” image or hearing anyone say the words. I then ran over to the computer and had my brother, who was on it at the time, quick log on to wwe.com to see if my fears were true. They were; the wrestling world had lost another brother.

I sat there and watched the three-hour empty arena tribute in a sense of shock. I didn’t check the Internet at all during the show, so afterwards when I logged on and saw that there was a probable case of double murder and suicide, it threw a huge monkey wrench into what we had just seen. That night the Internet wrestling world was absolutely abuzz. Everyone and their mother were throwing out their opinions and thoughts on what had happened. All I can say is that thank God some of the major wrestling news sites didn’t have comments as a regular feature yet.

As for myself I had just graduated in mid-May and was on the job hunt. So needless to say I didn’t do a thing Tuesday or Wednesday of that week, but rather I just stayed glued to the computer screen, as new updates, rumors, theories and accusations popped by the minute.

Meanwhile the mainstream news and entertainment media created a proverbial storm out of the whole mess. The 24-hour news networks devoted their quiet June days to Benoit. Every aspect of the entire ordeal was dissected and re-dissected. The first hours and days were devoted to just the shock of the case, combined with the unraveling thoughts and news. Then talk shifted to every other thing they could think of. Chris’ son may or may not have had Fragile-X syndrome. Pro wrestling is a brutal industry that can lead to life-altering physical and mental injuries. There were the consequences of a child being killed by a father. Then the fall out of Chris being a role model and hero to millions of people who watched him on television or saw him live in person. There were revelations of Chris’ personal life with his friends, co-workers and his immediate family. He fought with wife constantly, and apparently never got over the untimely death of his best friend Eddie Guerrero. And of course, there was the talk about drugs and steroids.

Every talking head had his/her own analysis on the situation. Everyone quickly formed opinions and it soon became a media circus. Pro wrestlers and former pro wrestlers came out of the woodworks in droves trying to re-find their fifteen minutes of fame. Men who had out of the public spotlight for years, men like Steve Blackman, Brian Christopher, Marc Mero and Marc Bagwell all of a sudden had opinions of their “friend” Chris and had a worldwide platform to broadcast to them.

Dr. Phil Astin, Benoit’s personal doctor, was pretty much thrown under the bus and took a beating in the media. He was placed under house arrest, had all his professional records seized and pretty much lost all credibility in the medical field, as well as gaining a nice criminal rap sheet.

As would be expected, World Wrestling Entertainment took a sound thrashing in the media. They quickly distanced themselves from Benoit, pretty much absolving him from history like he was never there. The company was on the defensive and spun their story as well as everyone else was spinning their own stories about the tragedy. They claimed Benoit was a “monster” that wasn’t in the right frame of mind. He was stressed about his family, and he became a different person. According to WWE, they had nothing to do with Benoit state of mind or well being. They looked to drum to their standing by getting harsher with their Wellness Policy and ended up suspending ten men in late summer for various drug violations. They also offered to pay for drug or alcohol rehab for anyone who has ever worked for the company, an offer men like Jake Roberts, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Ron Simmons took the company up on.

Two years later, has that much really changed? Athletes in WWE are still getting caught for Wellness violations. The company is still pulling stupid stunts (cough) Donald Trump (cough) to try to pull in lost viewers. Other than Randy Orton winning his first World Championship from now a nameless opponent, and one of the greatest matches of WrestleMania being erased from history, things seem like business as normal for the company.

Even today Benoit’s matches are cut from broadcasts on WWE Classics of Demand and his images and likenesses are nowhere to be found on wwe.com. Although the Title lineages do still carry his name and he does have a small entry in the WWE Encyclopedia it is strictly just the facts.

The battle still wagers on between wrestling fans on whether Benoit should be recognized for his in-ring success as a professional or whether he should be stricken completely from history. Frankly I’m on the fence. I think it is asinine to completely erase him from wrestling history as other “famous” murderers are still remembered for his or her past work. Whether I like to admit he is a part of wrestling history, for better or worse, and may have come close to matching Hulk Hogan, The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin in wrestling notoriety. But on the other hand, I don’t think I will be able to sit down and just watch a Benoit match just for the enjoyment of it ever again. It just seems so trivial, more so than wrestling already is in the long run. My Hard Knocks Benoit documentary produced by WWE in 2004 has now become a collector’s item and Benoit’s World Championship victory over Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the triple threat main event at WrestleMania XX that was heralded as one of the best wrestling matches in modern history will now carry an asterisk next to it for the time to come.

It is hard to believe that it has been two years already since all that drama has unfolded. Benoit has become a punch line in the media while remaining non-existent within WWE canon. Crusades against drugs and steroids in wrestling and sports in general still have led to no tangible results. Former WWE talent Christopher Nowinski has spearheaded the Sports Legacy Institute to raise awareness of head injuries in all forms of athletics. But still chair shots remain and professional wrestling chugs along business as usual. The actions of that weekend still remain fresh in everyone’s minds, and only time will tell how this tragedy is shaped through history’s eyes.