Chris Benoit, 1967-2007

Benoit

Nothing to do with comics, folks. But this is my site.

Chris Benoit, former WCW and WWE champion, was found dead today in his Atlanta home, along with his wife, Nancy, and 7-year old son, Daniel. I found out when I turned on RAW tonight.

I’m stunned. Chris was a fantastic wrestler, but he was also a great husband and father. No one ever said a bad word about him. He was one of the reasons that I’m proud to be a wrestling fan (heck, I’ve always said that if Shakespeare was alive today, he’d be writing for Vince McMahon). His match at Wrestlemania 20 with HHH and Shawn Michaels was legendary. At the end, after winning the match, he embraced his long-time friend and fellow champ Eddie Guerrero. Three and a half years later, both are gone.

I’m still crying. Benoit was only four years older than me. It just shouldn’t have happened. RIP to one of the all-time greats, Chris Benoit.

EDIT (11:19 PM): After I wrote the above, there have been numerous news stories reporting that this may have been a double murder suicide. If I was shocked before, I’m sick now. For the sake of his two other children, I’m hoping this isn’t true.

EDIT (3:41 PM Tuesday) Well, we now know what happened. The details are everywhere. Obviously, what we all thought we knew about Benoit as a father, husband, and a human bring was untrue. I’m going to leave it at that; you can get details from other blogs. It’s a horrible week if you’ve ever been a fan of professional wrestling.

7 thoughts on “Chris Benoit, 1967-2007”

  1. Um, is it true the WWE put on a three hour tribute to this guy last night, when they -knew- he had killed his wife and son?

  2. Not really. It wasn’t confirmed until about 10 pm; the show started at 8 pm. The show wasn’t live; most of it was taken from a WWE DVD on Benoit, with about a half hour of tributes mixed in. And when the news reports came in that it was a double homicide suicide, the WWE promptly reported it on their website at 10 pm. They’ve also taken down any merchandise related to Benoit (while eBay has allowed nearly 1000 auctions of Benoit memorabilia in the last 24 hours).

    The timeline we’re getting is that Benoit sent text messages Saturday or Sunday to his friend, Chavo Guerrero, stating that “Nancy and Daniel are sick” and “the dogs have to be let out”. He noshowed a house show Saturday and the pay-per-view Sunday. The WWE covered this on Sunday stating he had a “family emergency”, and either Sunday or Monday called the Atlanta police asking for help.

    Weirdly enough, Chavo was at the Benoit residence until Friday morning. He claims that nothing was amiss. A few hours later, the killings began. Chavo’s been through hell; his uncle was Eddie “Latino Heat” Guerrero, who died over a year ago from a heart attack linked to steroids.

    Honestly, I think Vince didn’t know how bad the situation was until midway through the RAW show. And he tried to do the right thing, which he hasn’t always done. Remember that when Owen Hart died in the middle of the ring, Vince made the performers finish the show. And when Eddie died, they performed the next night. This time, Vince stopped the show and sent the fans home. He even ended the “Vince is dead” storyline even though they invested a lot of money in the pyrotechnics that blew up the limo. Vince has done some bad things in his life; this wasn’t one of them.

  3. Also…from TV Week, McMahon’s apparently going to apologize for running the tribute.

    “McMahon to Apologize for Benoit Tribute

    By James Hibberd

    WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will apologize for the three-hour USA Network tribute to pro wrestler Chris Benoit that aired Monday night, sources said.

    The WWE and USA Network have received complaints about the tribute, which was hastily produced after Mr. Benoit, his wife and their son were found dead in their Georgia home Monday afternoon.

    Authorities said Tuesday that Mr. Benoit strangled his wife and suffocated his son, then took his own life. But WWE and network officials were unaware of the circumstances of Mr. Benoit’s death when the tribute was assembled, sources said.

    The WWE canceled its regularly scheduled “Monday Night RAW” event on USA Network Monday night and aired the tribute in its place.

    Mr. McMahon will address wrestling fans tonight on Sci Fi Channel’s live Extreme Championship Wrestling event. He also plans to address speculation that Mr. Benoit’s actions were the result of steroid use.

    The WWE plans to resume its regular wrestling telecasts, which air on USA Network, Sci Fi Channel and the CW.”

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