Chris Benoit and Family dead in apparent Murder-Suicide

[Grandpa Troll]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/06/25/wrestler.dead.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

Dang

He was a good entertainer

[Asher]

Why is it never surprising when people who partake in such silly sports do stupid things?

[LordShiva]

The crying smiley needs to be changed to the same blue colour as and so as not to be confused with the happy smilies.

Also, we need:
-frog
-vomit
smilies.

[Zopperoni]

Re: Chris Benoit and Family dead in apparent Murder-Suicide

Originally posted by Grandpa Troll
He was a good entertainer

He was OK, but dang, this shows he really was rabid.

[orange]

As someone who has been a life long wrestling fan, and as someone who isn't embarassed to say that he 'marked' out of his skin when Benoit won the Title at WMXX, this news is incredibly hard to bear.

Benoit is universally regarded as being the polar opposite of the stereotypical image that most wrestlers have. He wasn't an addict, he wasn't an *******, he didn't play politics, he didn't have an ego...he was the guy that all others would seek out to help them with their problems. He was one of the absolute best technical wrestlers to ever compete.

Even if you can accept that a man who all knew as a 'family man', who placed his wife and child's well being and happiness above all else, would somehow have a reason to kill them, you have to question how a man who loved and respected his craft so much would consciously destroy the legacy that it took twenty years to create...

A brief history for those who don't know: Chris Benoit is French Canadian, moving to Edmonton around twelve years old. He got into the wrestling business at eighteen, idolizing the "Dynamite Kid" (former tag team partner of Davey Boy Smith, otherwise known as the "British Bulldog"). Several of Benoit's signature moves, such as the diving headbutt, were modelled after the Dynamite Kid.

Benoit started with "Stampede Wrestling" in Calgary, owned and operated by the legendary "Hart" Wrestling Family (Most notable of that family being Bret "Hitman" Hart and Owen Hart). He travelled to Japan and wrestled with a mask as "The Pegagus Kid", putting on classics with legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

He later joined Philadelphia based "Extreme Championship Wrestling" (ECW) and had an infamous match with extreme icon "Sabu" which led to Benoit's nickname "The Crippler" (when a botched move led to Sabu being seriously injured). Benoit would leave ECW for Atlanta based and Ted Turner owned "World Championship Wrestling". There he joined the legendary "Four Horseman" stable, under the guidance of Rick Flair. Benoit's serious persona and technical genius led to a fan following despite playing a heel, and he would put on classic matches with close friends Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero. He met his wife Nancy while in WCW in an angle which had Nancy (known as "Woman"), who was at the time married to another wrestler known as "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan, became the valet of Benoit and the Four Horsemen.

When Sullivan became the head booker for WCW, many feel that Benoit and those close to him were held back for personal reasons. Benoit would capture the WCW title from Sid Vicious in 2000, but most do not recognize this accomplishment as Benoit was already bound for WWE, and the title would return to Sid the following night.

Benoit entered the WWE with Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and others - dubbed the "Radicalz" - a group of WCW wrestlers invading the WWE to dominate the competition. Benoit will always be remembered for his classic matches with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho while in the WWE, and as a member of the fabled "Smackdown Six" - a group of wrestlers on the "SmackDown!" program who were known for their excellent matches.

Benoit's big break came in 2004 when he won the "Royal Rumble" - an industry watermark for who the next top star will be - despite entering at #1 (this feat has only been accomplished by Benoit and one other wrestler - Shawn Michaels). Benoit went on to challenge Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania XX - a match he won by forcing Triple H to submit to his finisher the "Crippler Crossface".

Benoit openly wept in the ring as, what commentator Jim Ross referred to as his "18 year odyssey" finally came true. He was joined in the ring by long time friend Eddie Guerrero, who only one month prior had captured his first WWE Title, and the two stood in the ring as champions in a n inspiring visual that many wrestling fans will likely never forget.

Benoit held the title for over six months before dropping it to Randy Orton at Summerslam, and proceeded to help train and establish younger talent in the WWE while maintaining his fan favorite "Rabbid Wolverine" character.

Initial reports say that Benoit missed a house show on Saturday, citing his family being ill and "coughing up blood", and that the WWE could not contact him on Sunday when he was scheduled to wrestle CM Punk for the ECW (a WWE brand) Heavyweight Championship at the WWE's "Vengeance" pay-per-view. Benoit was replaced by "Johnny Nitro" who went on to win the match (indicating that Benoit was likely booked to win the title), although the match was largely overshadowed by chants of "We Want Benoit!" from the crowd.

I can only hope that more details come to light which reveal Benoit's innocence. This is truly a tragedy, and one which will have far reaching consequences. Of all the people you'd expect to hear this about, especially in the wrestling industry, Benoit comes up dead last.

[Sprayber]

Back in college and further back into my childhood wrestling was something I loved to watch. Chris Benoit was a favorite of mine. I remember the storyline about him and Nancy (she went by the name Woman) feuding with her then husband Kevin Sulliven. The on screen affair turned into their off screen marriage. I havent watched wrestling in years but I wonder how they are handing this. Usually they would devote an episode and celebrate the wrestlers career but considering how it is looking like he actually killed his family, I wonder how they will spin it.

[ZEE]

Rest in Peace Chris Benoit. You were my hero.

[orange]

Sprayber: They actually already had a 'tribute show' of sorts to Benoit last night (Monday) during "Monday Night Raw". WWE learned of the death of Benoit and his family around 6:00PM and promptly cancelled the show (in Corpus Christi, TX). Mr. McMahon (Vince McMahon - who in an episode of RAW just weeks prior had been 'killed off' in what was to be a 'whodunnit' angle) opened the show in an immediate breach of kayfabe (a wrestling term for the scripted storylines within wrestling programming) and explained that while his character on RAW was killed off, tonight Chris Benoit, his wife, and his son were dead. He continued to say that tonight would be a three hour tribute to Chris Benoit.

The show aired several key matches during his career, including the 2004 Royal Rumble match (Chris Benoit won this match, which led to his World Title match at Wrestlemania the following March), Chris Benoit vs. Elijah Burke (Benoit's last televised match, which aired Tuesday June 19th, 2007 on the "ECW" brand on SciFi network), Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko (WCW Hog Wild - 1996), Intercontinental Title Match: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Royal Rumble 2001), United States Title Match/Steel Cage Match: Chris Benoit vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (c) (Smackdown on UPN/CW network - Summer 2006), "Pegasus Kid" (Chris Benoit) vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger (Japan - 1990), and of course the World Heavyweight Title match/Triple Threat match: Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (c) from Wrestlemania XX (April 2004).

They also showed interviews with several of Benoit's closest friends and coworkers, including Dean Malenko, "Edge" (Adam Copeland), "Triple H" (Paul Levesque), Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, Chavo Guerrero, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, CM Punk, and William Regal.

Commentators Jim Ross, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Joey Styles, "Tazz", "JBL" and Michael Cole also discussed his career in between matches.

It is obvious that there were few details available about the family's death, as WWE has since removed any mention of Benoit from their online merchandise catalog (WWE Shopzone) as well as references to his matches on DVDs (the detail on WMXX now refers to the classic match "between Triple H and Shawn Michaels")

Latest report allege that Benoit bound his wife's arms and legs before strangling her with a cord. Hours later he would suffocate his son with a bag. Bibles were placed by both his son and wife. Between a few hours to a full day afterwards, on Sunday, it is alleged that Benoit hung himself in his weight room using a pulley from a piece of weight-lifting equipment. No suicide note was found.

God this is all so unreal. I can only describe it to non-wrestling fans who don't know Benoit as the equivalent of Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, or Michael Jordan having done the same thing. Benoit's reputation for being a shining, class act in the wrestling industry was absolutely unparalleled.

[Sprayber]

I can't say that I blame them for removing any reference about him.

Like I said in my post, I grew up watching a lot of his matches but remember Nancy (woman) from way back when I just barely remember watching as a kid. I can't imagine what would lead him down this path and honestly I'm not sure that I want to. It's sad for her and sad for their child.

[Drake Tungsten]

Why is there a thread about pro wrestling in the sports forum?

[The Emperor Fabulous]

RIP

Just a shocking end to a storried career. Just a complete waste.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Why is there a thread about pro wrestling in the sports forum?

Quoted, bolded, italicized, and underlined for truth. (Or QBIAUFT, if you prefer.)

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Guynemer


Quoted, bolded, italicized, and underlined for truth. (Or QBIAUFT, if you prefer.)

Well the Tech forum could have worked I suppose since he was technically proficient.

Its in the Sports Forum because he was a pure wrestler and had been for some time, albeit in the Pro Wrestling ring

Of course, some would debate why Pro Basketball players are, because some are more actors and Prima Donna's

[reismark]

Wow, what rock did you crawl out from under, orange? Good to see you around again, even if it's under these terrible circumstances.

I don't really have all that much to add. I respected the hell out of Chris Benoit as a performer, but he was never really one of my wrestling heroes - guys like the retired Chris Jericho, the retired Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the retired Mick Foley, and the deceased Eddie Guerrero have held those positions for the longest time. The thing is, I'm definitely in the minority as far as wrestling fans are concerned: No one was more revered, especially among fans who populate the Internet, and beloved than Chris Benoit. This news has stunned everyone and turned a large community completely upside down, because everything we've ever seen on television or been told by both the man himself and the people who knew him best say he could never do something like this.

The sad thing is that the media is, once again, charging like hungry wolves to the carcass to blame this on steroids and put WWE through the ringer, even though odds are the industry had absolutely nothing to do with this. I'm in no way condoning what Benoit did - killing a child, much less your own child, is the lowest of lows that a person can stoop to - but I'm not going to shout out mindless angry superlative statements towards the guy until we get some answers. What was his motive? What was his state of mind? Why didn't we know that there were problems in his marriage sooner?

We can't come to conclusions until we know everything... and that might never happen. And even if we do... the man is dead. Nothing we do or say can affect him any more. All anyone does by ragging on him, by burying his legacy as a performer, is to bring more pain, shame, and suffering to the other children and family members that he's left behind. Pain, shame, and suffering that they don't deserve.

What a sad situation.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by reismark
Wow, what rock did you crawl out from under, orange? Good to see you around again, even if it's under these terrible circumstances.

What a sad situation.

It doesn't get any better. Just a word of warning.