Running RIP Dead Wrestlers for the past four years has left me with a question that I am going to try to answer here. Why does Chris Benoit polarise the wrestling community so much?.

 

Firstly a quick history lesson, for the younger fans...

 

Chris Benoit was a Canadian wrestler best known for his WCW and WWE runs, earning great success and plaudits throughout his exceptional career. He won the World title, the Royal Rumble, the triple-crown, the PWI wrestler of the year award, and much more. His career and life ended in 2007, when he took the lives of his wife Nancy and 7 year old son Daniel, before committing suicide in his Atlanta home.

 

I understand that Chris Benoit is hated, his crimes were disgusting and cowardly, and I understand why wrestling fans still like him for what he did in his wrestling career, but can't understand why wrestling fans cannot see each other’s side of the argument and meet in the middle.

 

I am in the middle, what Benoit did repulses me, and I understand, and will go onto the theories about mitigating circumstances, but Benoit did what Benoit did, and he should, and deserves to be, condemned for his crimes. However, does that suddenly make his legacy of matches bad?. Of course not, they are maybe even better because of the knowledge that there will be no more. Does it mean that a past PPV is tarnished by the name Chris Benoit appearing on the match list?. No, I don't think so, why should it?. I pulled out my copy of Royal Rumble 2001 earlier this week, and enjoyed the Benoit vs Jericho IC title ladder match as much then as I did when I saw it live. It is a really good (Watch it here).

 

What I am trying to say here is, why can't a separation be made between the man and the performer?. For example, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Michael Jackson are all icons, and were also all (ALLEGEDLY) paedophiles. I certainly do not condone their marrying 13 and 14 year old girls, or Jackson's (ALLEGED) fondness for little boys, but do I have their music in my I-Tunes library?... Yes. Do I think Thriller is the greatest music video ever made?... Yes, and I promise you I despise Michael Jackson, walking around the UK with a smog mask on to avoid damaging his body, the man was a walking pharmacy, and getting Jarvis Cocker arrested for mocking his god complex... riles me up.

 

I am getting side-tracked, the point I am making is you do not have to like the man to like the music, or in Benoit's case the matches he has left. Many people that still respect Benoit for his career will not even acknowledge what he did to his family, some even claiming that he didn't do it. Some of the conspiracy theories I have read on RIP would boggle Sheldon Cooper's bonce. Benoit's haters will not even acknowledge that he had a wrestling career, that what he did that weekend extinguished everything else he did in his life.

 

I do not agree with either view point entirely, although understand both. Personally I do not think a man’s life should be judged by the way it ended. Whenever a wrestler remembers Chris Benoit, they remember the man they knew, the man he was, and all say that man was incapable of doing what he did, that something must have gone very wrong in his head or personal life for him to snap the way he did, I believe them. They knew the real Benoit, not the Rabid Wolverine or the Crippler that we loved or hated on our TV screens every week.

 

Everyone has a view on this, and some have very different reasons for hating the man, some say they never liked him, that he was too small, couldn't cut a promo, didn't deserve the success he achieved, maybe they really did feel like that, I think sometimes however it is said to be superior, like ha-ha... I told you so, to fans that do still like him. Some were not happy that they had to sit and explain to their children why their hero was not going to be on TV anymore, not only that he had died, but had to address the way it happened, and help them process the awful news. Those that still value Benoit for his wrestling career also make valid arguments for how they feel (Usually more eloquently, the Benoit haters tend to speak ALL IN CAPITALS, and swear a lot, not always the case, there are very eloquent arguments for hating him, and very SHOUTY, sweary reasons given for liking him, but that is the norm).

 

I (Again personal feelings, not judging anyone for their view, each to their own) do not see it as hypocritical to still be a fan of Benoit as a wrestler, after what he did outside of the ring. I also do not see why those that cannot forgive what he did must deny themselves access to the man's catalogue of matches, because of what he did. It is possible to agree with both sides of the debate... I do.

 

OK the brain damage theory...

 

Tests done on Chris Benoit's brain showed he had the brain of an 85 year old Alzheimer's patient, and that he was also suffering dementia. Benoit's father Michael says he believes the years of trauma to his sons brain were the main cause of what he did, and cites similar cases of NFL stars who have suffered similar damage, going on to have behavioural problems in later life, and harming themselves (There were 4 cases at the time).

 

I am not a doctor or a scientist, and do not think theories are going to change the minds of most people. Personally, unless there is incontrovertible proof that the brain damage was the cause of Benoit's violence, then Benoit should be held accountable for the crimes he committed, and deserves the backlash he has gotten. Nobody knows what really happened in that house, apart from the 3 people in it when it happened, and they are no longer around to tell the true story, however if it could be proven that the brain damage was the mitigating cause in what happened, I would be prepared to accept that as fact, I am not sure that everyone would.

 

I believe that time is healing the wounds left by what Benoit did, WWE have already started to loosen up there stance in the wake of the tragedy, (I still believe Vince is so angry because of the embarrassment he felt about the tribute show they did to him, as much as the media backlash WWE got in the wake of the murder / suicide) they acknowledge that they over reacted when they deleted his name from their Championship history books, and back catalogue video library, and have reinstated his name and matches. They include him in books and on DVD retrospectives again too, and his trademark moves are starting to reappear on WWE TV, Daniel Bryan uses the diving headbutt, which would not have been allowed a few years ago.

 

I further believe that WWE will continue to relax on Benoit, and his legacy will be gradually brought back. I do not think he will become a Hall Of Famer, or if he does, it will be a long, long, way down the road, but can see him one day being given official WWE Alumnus status, maybe some DVDs on him, with the profits going to the Nancy and Daniel foundation, or Christopher Nowinski’s brain damage research.

 

That by the way is another sign of the changing stance of WWE, they dismissed out of hand Nowinski's claims that Benoit's ring career, and brain damage he suffered as a result, was the cause, but have earlier this year signed a 3 year partnership with him, and are now helping to fund and promote the research he is doing.

 

I have always thought the WWE over reacted by deleting him from their history books the way they did, I mean he wasn't the first wrestler to do something terrible, and they haven't punished others in the same way, maybe it is because of the media coverage the crimes got, or the embarrassment and anger Vince must have felt after the tribute show, and press assault the company received after Benoit died, maybe it is because he killed his own family, and is a child murderer (I hope it is this one), but let's look at some other cases...

 

 

• Superfly Jimmy Snuka (ALLEGEDLY) killed his girlfriend in the 80's, but his career continued, and he was inducted into the HOF in 1996.

• Mike Tyson was inducted into the HOF despite being a convicted rapist.

• Verne Gagne killed a man in an old people’s home, and is a Hall Of Famer.

• Scott Hall killed a man before he even joined WWE, recognised as an official Alumnus.

 

I am not saying you should now start hating these people, just pointing out some differences in WWE's handling of similar situations.

 

I will continue to enjoy Benoit's matches, not ignoring what he did in the real world, but as a performer, for me, there weren't many better...

 

RIP Nancy, Daniel and Chris Benoit.