WWE

[ldcook77]

Originally Posted by Veruka

They have "Best of" reels on file for all the top wrestlers. They use them to produce the videos and what not that they sell. So it didn't take a lot of work to cobble something together. Yes, they could have aired a tribute to another wrestler, event, or whatever. But I'm willing to bet that if they'd done the night as "The best of The Rock" and then it came out today that they three had been murdered by an intruder, or that the circumstances around the deaths had been something different, then people would be saying it was tasteless to just ignore the man's death on the show.

I completely understand the WWE's obligation to USA to do something. But, if they do in fact have "best of" reels for all of the top wrestlers, why not "cobble" together a "best of" of the "best" wrestlers until the facts come out? The difference in the tributes to Benoit and the tributes the other wrestlers is that being a murderer was not an option for the other wrestlers. I understand that the WWE did not have all of the facts at the time, and to me, that is all the more reason to hold off on any type of tribute.

Originally Posted by lildago

Whether it was premeditated or whether he just snapped or whether it was drug induced doesn't matter much to me. He did it. Great athlete or not, great entertainer or not, great person or not, it doesn't begin to excuse what he did.

I agree. I don't understand why the atmosphere for this thread is so much different than that in the thread about the pregnant Ohio lady who was murdered. This monster suffocated his own son, with his bare hands. He hog-tied his wife after strangling her. I personally think if this was some average Joe then the reaction would be completely different.

He does not, did not, and never will (IMO) deserve a tribute of any kind. He is a cold blooded murdered. Think about how the family of his wife must feel seeing a "special" made about the man who strangled their daughter and smothered their grandson....

[Google]

 

[Leo]

NEWSBOARD - WWE Publishes Timeline And Text Messages Received From Chris Benoit

WWE Publishes Timeline And Text Messages Received From Chris Benoit



WWE posted the following article which reveals the text message content and more:

On Saturday, June 23, Chris Benoit was slated to appear at a WWE live event in Beaumont, Texas. That afternoon, Benoit contacted WWE to inform them that his wife and child were ill, and that he would not be able to attend the show.

WWE executives rebooked Benoit’s flight for the following morning, allowing Benoit to miss the Beaumont event making alternate arrangements for him to attend the pay-per-view event in Houston on Sunday.

WWE employees attempted to confirm with Benoit his travel plans but were unable to contact him.

Early Sunday morning, between 3:51 and 3:58 a.m., Benoit sent five text messages to co-workers:

Text Message 1 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53am)- Chris Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

Text Message 2 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53am)- Chris Benoit’s cell phone
“The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open”

Text Message 3 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:54am)- Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane.Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

Text Message 4 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:55am)- Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane.Fayetteville Georgia. 30215"

Text Message 5 to one co-worker (sent 6/24 at 3:58am)- Nancy Benoit’s cell phone
“My address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”

Throughout the day on Sunday, WWE made numerous attempts to contact Benoit both at home and at local hospitals in the Atlanta area. As of 11:00 p.m., WWE officials were unable to establish contact with Chris Benoit.

At 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25, WWE officials were notified of the text messages sent to the co-workers the previous day. By 12:45 p.m., WWE had contacted Fayetteville County Sheriff’s office requesting they check on the Benoit family.

Fayetteville County Sheriffs office made contact with WWE at approximately 4:00 p.m. advising that they had entered the house of Chris Benoit and found three deceased bodies – an adult male, adult female and a male child. WWE was told that Benoit’s home was now considered a major crime scene.

The decision to cancel the live event scheduled in Corpus Christi that night was made between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. In keeping with company policy, and with limited knowledge regarding facts of the case, WWE choose to air a memorial dedicated to the career of Chris Benoit. As facts emerged surrounding the case, all tributes to Chris Benoit were removed both on-air and on WWE.com.

[Veruka]

Originally Posted by ldcook77

I completely understand the WWE's obligation to USA to do something. But, if they do in fact have "best of" reels for all of the top wrestlers, why not "cobble" together a "best of" of the "best" wrestlers until the facts come out? The difference in the tributes to Benoit and the tributes the other wrestlers is that being a murderer was not an option for the other wrestlers. I understand that the WWE did not have all of the facts at the time, and to me, that is all the more reason to hold off on any type of tribute.

I agree. I don't understand why the atmosphere for this thread is so much different than that in the thread about the pregnant Ohio lady who was murdered. This monster suffocated his own son, with his bare hands. He hog-tied his wife after strangling her. I personally think if this was some average Joe then the reaction would be completely different.

He does not, did not, and never will (IMO) deserve a tribute of any kind. He is a cold blooded murdered. Think about how the family of his wife must feel seeing a "special" made about the man who strangled their daughter and smothered their grandson....

I think the difference in tone between this thread and the Jessie Davis thread is due to a difference in the topics being discussed. The Davis thread is focused entirely on the murder. This thread has been discussing several related topics to the murders -- primarily how the WWE addressed it. Another key difference is that know one knew Jessie Davis or Bobby Cutts, nor anything about them, until the murder put their names in the news. People did "know", admire, and enjoy Chris Beniot before this happened. The response to hearing news about someone you "know" is naturally going to be different than the news of strangers.

I don't think that any defense of the WWE, or expression of appreciation for what Beniot did for wrestling should be mistaken for any sort of dismissal or excuse giving for what the man did to his wife and son.

To address your first point -- I think I've said all that I can on that topic. Based on the information we know now, I do not believe that the WWE knew any more significant details about the deaths at the time they had to make the programming decision than the general public did -- except for knowing they were concerned and had called the police to go check it out. I was hearing all sorts of speculation on Monday night, everything from carbon monoxide to an intruder. I can certainly appreciate that the people of the WWE who knew Chris incredibly well would not have been thinking "Well he could have murdered them". Thankfully, I've never known a murderer, but I would guess that the people who know one the best, who are close to that person, don't usually immediately suspect the person when they hear that a death has occured. So they were moving forward, making a quick decision on the information that they had at the time.

[DesertRose]

Originally Posted by nilesgirl

All I'm saying is: should we just forget about the legacy of this man's career, the years of entertainment that he brought to all of us because of a desperate act of weakness? I think not. I don't think we should forget what he did, either, but I don't think it's right to erase any existance of him, either, for the sake of saving the company's "reputation."

And all I'm saying is YES. What is his legacy? A great wrestler, a good actor. Big woop. What did he bring to my life other than mere entertainment? Did he make me a better person for watching him? Did he teach me something worth while? I would barely be able to cut the guy some slack if he was a doctor or a humanitarian, I surely will not cut him any slack because he's a wrestler. He killed his wife and son. He had a day in between both killings to reflect on his wrong doing. He might have been sick, he might have not. The end result is the same: an innocent child lost his life. How can one value this sicko's life more than that of a seven year old?

[Veruka]

Originally Posted by DesertRose

How can one value this sicko's life more than that of a seven year old?

Has anyone in this thread indicated that it is?

[LG.]

I went to high school with a man (in the same grade) who only 2 years after we graduated murdered a deputy sheriff. He was convicted and sentenced to prison. It was a small high school in a small rural town, so we all knew each other. I felt bad for Greg's family (used to work with Greg's dad, knew he had younger siblings who were greatly affected by it) and for Greg (there were drugs involved, odd facts, etc.) but never ever forgot that he killed a man, left this man's family without a father, and did a terrible, terrible thing. The last I'd heard, Greg is still in prison (this occurred in the early 1990s). So while I was not particularly close to this person, I did know someone who is a murder. He actually wrote to me from prison about 7 years ago, as I'm the only person he knew who ended up a lawyer, asking for help. I referred him to the law school's legal aid for institutionalized persons clinical project, as I have no expertise in criminal law and don't want to have any. I wrote back politely, as it wouldn't be terribly smart to make a murderer angry at you for no reason, even though he certainly seemed like a decent human being when I knew him in school.

To me, Chris Benoit is no "better" than Bobby Cutts or Scott Peterson, and in my opinion, is even worse than my former classmate Greg because Benoit killed his own child. I really don't think he deserves any kind of tribute. I know that fans will miss him and need to grieve, but the WWE made a tasteless, bad call when they rushed to air a tribute when the facts were still murky and frankly suspect. And now that the facts are everywhere, the WWE is more concerned about CYA regarding steriods than anything else. I reiterate, the network should have aired Law & Order or Airplane! or anything rather than a tribute to a murderer last Monday night.

[Boston_Bill]

No nice guy injects his seven yr old as CNN reported today.

I saw the clips of Benoit's family in the ring and it made me ill to think of what he did to them.
McMahon should be ashamed of himself

[Lucy]

Originally Posted by Veruka

As we all know, it's standard practice for the media in a story like this to drive the story into the ground, covering every single angle they can come up with. One of the most obvious, and easiest, angles for the press to take is looking at steroids, which leads to the accusations that have been leveled towards the WWE in the past for pushing steroids on their wrestlers. Personally, I think there are some valid criticisms to target the WWE, and the steroids issues is one of them. However, I think it's worth pointing out that the WWE is not exactly defending themselves publicly here for no reason at all. The press is on the attack, with the WWE as their target. I don't blame anyone who is a target of the press for standing up and presenting a defense.

Personally, I think if someone kills his wife and child and himself under the possible, and likely, influence of steroids that he was likely to have taken to further his wrestling career, whether his employers tacitly sanctioned such steroid use or not, that's a legitimate news story, not an "attack" by the press.

[Veruka]

Originally Posted by Lucy

Personally, I think if someone kills his wife and child and himself under the possible, and likely, influence of steroids that he was likely to have taken to further his wrestling career, whether his employers tacitly sanctioned such steroid use or not, that's a legitimate news story, not an "attack" by the press.

I would agree that it can be. But I think it is a matter of tone, and I think that in this case, the tone is more of a "let's get 'em" tone than a "let's investigate this" tone.

[Blues Songstres]

Here is an article I read from FOXSports. I haven't watched WWE for years and actually had no idea how many of the wrestlers I used to enjoy watching have died so tragically. This really needs to be a wake-up call to the WWE.

FOX Sports on MSN - More Sports - Benoit tragedy not the only one

Benoit tragedy not the only one
Kevin Hench


Professional wrestling is fake.

The carnage it has left in its wake is not.

Add Chris Benoit to the long list of freakishly muscled carnival attractions for whom a pro wrestling career ended tragically.

Toxicology results are pending and Benoit may well have been battling deeper, more primal personal demons when he reportedly killed his wife and son before taking his own life, but only the most naïve observer could ignore the overwhelming evidence that most wrestlers who look like Benoit have undergone countless cycles of chemical enhancement.

The prescription anabolic steroids found at Benoit's home have long been known to contribute to paranoia, depression and the violent outbursts we've come to know as "roid rage." Couple that with the near-compulsory painkillers a wrestler must take to do his job effectively after enduring countless body slams and you have a cocktail for massive, mind-altering mood swings.

The Benoit story is the latest and most tragic installment in an ongoing saga that the men who get rich promoting professional wrestling would prefer their fans didn't know too much about.

Vince McMahon wants you to think about the stars of today and tomorrow, not the cemetery of steroid-fueled bodies his "sport" has helped put in the ground. But on the grim occasion of the deaths of Nancy and Daniel and Chris Benoit, let's remember some of the other pro wrestlers who died before their time.

• Ravishing Rick Rude — Died at 40 of an apparent heart attack in 1999, a bottle of prescription pills for his bad back at his side. The autopsy report said he died of "mixed medications." Rude was an admitted user of anabolic steroids.

• Louis Mucciolo, a.k.a, Louie Spicolli — Died in 1998 at age 27 when he suffocated on his own vomit after ingesting massive amounts of Soma and alcohol. Investigators also found an empty vial of testosterone, pain pills and an anti-anxiety drug at the scene.

• Brian Pillman — An admitted user of steroids, he died of a heart attack at age 35 in 1997 on the morning of WWF's In Your House: Badd Blood pay-per-view event.

• Rick "the Renegade" Williams — Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 33 after being released from his World Championship Wrestling contract in 1999.

• "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig — Found dead of a cocaine overdose at age 44 in his motel room on April 10, 2003, the morning of a match. Hennig's father maintained that steroids and painkillers contributed to his death.

• Rodney "Yokozuna" Anoa'i — Died of a heart attack in 2002 at 34.

• Davey Boy Smith, "The British Bulldog" — Died of a heart attack at age 39 on May 17, 2002. An autopsy report indicated that past steroid use had likely played a part in his death.

• Michael "Road Warrior Hawk" Hegstrand — An admitted steroid user, he died of a heart attack at age 46 in 2003.

• Michael Lockwood, "Crash Holly" — In 2003, at the age of 32, he choked to death on his own vomit after ingesting 90 painkiller pills.

• Jerry Tuite, "The Wall" a.k.a. "Malice" — Died at age 36 in 2003 of an apparent heart attack in his hotel room.

• Raymond "Hercules" Hernandez — Dead of heart failure in 2004 at age 47.

• Ray "The Big Boss Man" Traylor — Found dead of a heart attack in 2004 at age 42.

• Eddie Guerrero — After a long battle with painkillers, he was found dead of a heart attack by his nephew in his hotel room at age 38. The first person his nephew reportedly called was Guerrero's best friend, Chris Benoit.

• Chris Candido — Died in 2005 at age 33 from a blood clot after breaking his tibia and fibula and dislocating his ankle in a pay-per-view event.

• Owen Hart — Fell to his death at age 34 in 1999 when the rigging that was lowering him into the ring malfunctioned.

And then there's the story of the Von Erich wrestling family.

Wrestling patriarch Fritz Von Erich, nee Jack Adkisson, had five wrestling sons: Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris.

David died in a hotel room in Tokyo at the age of 25 in 1984 just as he was embarking on a three-week pro wrestling tour of Japan. The official cause of death was acute enteritis, severe inflammation of the intestines.

Three years later, Mike committed suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Placidyl at the age of 23. After David's death, Mike had suffered a series of setbacks including a serious shoulder injury that had left him severely depressed.

Devastated by the deaths of his older brothers and frustrated by his own limitations as a wrestler, the youngest and smallest brother, Chris, shot himself to death at the age of 21 in 1991.

Two years later, Kerry, who had battled a long addiction to painkillers, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 33, leaving eldest brother Kevin as the only survivor of the sport that had defined his family.

And now Chris Benoit, his wife and son have been added to the long, unbearably sad list of victims claimed, in part, by the brutal chemical calculus that is professional wrestling.

There is no arguing that the physical capabilities of these massive men can provide awesome theater. When Hulk Hogan lifted the 500-pound Andre the Giant and dropped him to the canvas, it was legitimately hugely thrilling.

But keep in mind there is a price these impossibly engorged specimens are paying for your entertainment.

And the price for many of them is their very lives.