RIP Chris Benoit

[rocklobster]

Sorry, Wrestling Fans everywhere, but I have to post another dead wrestler: Chris Benoit. He was found in an auto accident. He will be sorely missed.

[WrestlingOtaku]

Oh man, that sucks. He was my favorite wrestler, I'm gonna miss him greatly.

[Roy Mustang]

Sorry, Wrestling Fans everywhere, but I have to post another dead wrestler: Chris Benoit. He was found in an auto accident. He will be sorely missed.

What news reported that it was an auto accident.

This what's on WWE web site.

Chris Benoit, family found dead
Written: June 25, 2007

STAMFORD, Conn., June 25, 2007 – World Wrestling Entertainment was informed today by authorities in Fayetteville County, Ga., that WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son were found dead in their home. Authorities are investigating, but no other details are available at this time.

Instead of its announced programming for tonight on USA Network, WWE will air a three-hour tribute to Chris Benoit.

Chris was beloved among his fellow Superstars, and was a favorite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability. He always took great pride in his performance, and always showed respect for the business he loved, for his peers and towards his fans. This is a terrible tragedy and an unbearable loss.

WWE extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the Benoit family and loved ones in this time of tragedy.

They got the county name wrong, its Fayette county, Ga. I'm going to watch the news tonight and see which report is right.

He was one of my favorite wrestler.

Col. Roy Mustang

[mssthang_1]

my brother told me that he and his family were found dead in his home...i hope someone gets the facts right...even though i don't even watch wrestling >.> i kinda wanna know what happened

[R. Zion]

He will be missed. May he and his family R.i.P.

[Roy Mustang]

Fayette County Sheriff has reported that they are investigating the deaths as a double murder-suicide.

WWE Wrestler, Family Found Dead


Col. Roy Mustang

[Stephen]

RIP my butt. I am trying not to leap to conclusions, but what it looks like now, (according to 2 wrestling sites and a Foxnews story I just read) Like Benoit killed his wife and kid then himself. What a load of garbage. I really did respect Benoit and his wrestling carear. If it turns out this way, what a shame to throw all the respect his fans had away by doing somthing stupid like this. If you're gonna kill yourself, that is your own business. It's wrong, but hey, its your own business. But to kill your family because you can't handle things. Ehhh. I really hope it turns out that these sources are wrong.

[beau99]

While this does taint my image and make me think less of him as a person, it's known fact that he battled demons throughout his life. It seems those demons got the best of him and pushed him to do the unthinkable.

My thoughts go to his and Nancy's respective friends and families.

[Stephen]

http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/headlines/184841436.shtml


Yeah. This is not looking good at all.

[beau99]

I read that earlier, but it just doesn't seem right to me. Why do it over a 3-day period?

Then again, that could explain why Chris didn't make the Saturday house show or the Vengeance taping.

I just can't believe this. Even when autopsy results come in in a few weeks, I probably still won't believe this happened. I pretty much looked up to the guy. His closest friends say he had a very short temper and could go ballistic if you didn't watch what you said around him. They also say his relationship with Nancy was volatile, but their son kept them together. Now this happens. I'm just completely shocked.

EDIT:

I don't want to know what Bret Hart is thinking now. He and Chris were like brothers.

[Stephen]

I hear ya. Lately, I have been keeping up on wrestling by using sites like I linked to. But I used to be a GIANT wrestling fan. WCW and WWE. Benoit always seemed like the underdog. I remember how his teary speech at Eddys Raw tribute thing broke my heart. I just don't get what could push him to do somthing like this. I am hoping he left a note or somthing. This needs an explanation.

[beau99]

Here's some more info:

Keller's Audio Update

-He said it is being reported he suffocated his wife and son, perhaps a day apart. And then hung himself. Late Sunday night, he sent a strange text message to a person within the WWE. The police broke into the house at 2:30 pm today and found them in separate rooms.

-Vince called all the wrestlers backstage this afternoon for an emergency meeting. Wrestler were already bawling and crying. A longtime WWE wrestler said it was the most emotional state he's ever seen the wrestlers.

-There was a really uneasy feeling Sunday. Everybody felt something was wrong.

-One wrestler said "It was bound to happen". There was a strong suspicion backstage that Benoit did this right away. There was also a suspicion that Nancy had done it. They had a volatile relationship and everyone knew it.

-Hardly anybody backstage really knew Benoit. He had a very small inner circle that one time included Eddy Guerrero and recently included Chavo Guerrero. But even they had a certain psychological distance from Benoit. Everyone could tell that something wasn't right lately with Benoit.

-He said that he was a very nice and pleasant person to be around, but a person close to Benoit said that Chris had "snap potential".

-A lot of steroids were found in the Benoit household, and Benoit has had bouts with "roid rages". WWE may suffer publicly because of their unenforced "Wellness Policy".

[Stephen]

Someone on one of the message boards last night, claimed he knew one of the cops involved....and said they figured that Nancy killed the kid, and that Chris killed her when he got home then killed himself. Hopefully they release what really went down soon.

[Roy Mustang]

News of deaths shocks Hart family
By TODD SAELHOF AND DAVE DORMER, SUN MEDIA


Members of the Hart family wrestled with the sudden, tragic death of Chris Benoit yesterday.

Legendary wrestler Bret Hart had to stop and compose himself often when talking fondly of a man considered his brother and friend.

"I don't know the details, and I'm not sure I even want to know," said Hart, just hours after learning of the discovery of Benoit's body -- along with those of his wife and son -- in his suburban Atlanta home.

"He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard.

"It's almost like reliving the whole Owen (Hart) death over again."

At a young age, Benoit, an Edmonton native, became a standout among many wrestling prospects who trained in the famed 'dungeon' basement of the Hart family's home in Calgary.

"Chris was always one of the good guys -- a straight guy and a hard-working guy," Hart said.

"When you list off all the qualities of someone like Benoit, he had a lot of integrity and was a good, family man.

"He was really respected and really loved by everybody."

Bret's older brother Ross Hart, a producer and former part-time wrestler, further described the onetime 'Canadian Crippler' as respectful, polite and very humble.

"We kind of adopted him when he first broke into the business in 1986," said Ross, adding Benoit was a huge fan of Stampede Wrestling and idolized The Dynamite Kid.

He's been an outstanding mentor to the next generation of Hart family wrestlers, said Ross and Bret's sister Diana.

That's especially true of the last six months in Atlanta, where Harry Smith (son of the late Davey Boy Smith), Nattie Neidhart (daughter of Jim Neidhart), T.J. Wilson (Nattie Neidhart's fiance) and Ted Hart (Ross' nephew) had been training close to Benoit.

"My son Harry and the others have all been talking about all the great plans that were to come with Chris mentoring them," said Diana, the former wife of Davey Boy Smith.

Col. Roy Mustang

[Stephen]

Well, so much for a good reasonable explanation. Most major news media groups are reporting now that Chris did infact kill his wife, and child. Then he killed himself. I guess she was found with her hands and feet bound. The WWE has already stopped airing any kind of tribute stuff...as now the fact that he is a murder is coming out...everyone is stumbling over themselves with that Monday night show that sang his praises so much.

http://www.prowrestling.com/article/news/5007

http://www.wrestlingnewsworld.com/pbp/ViewCoverage.php?id=1/1786

They may try to cast this in a pity angle, and say well poor Chris with drugs or whatever...but I hope people don't fall into that. I had a ton of respect for the guy and what he did...but after this...he is simply a joke. Someone that weak and unstable does not deserve respect. He should have just killed himself. Why take his family with him?

[Tommy]

Members of the Hart family wrestled with the sudden, tragic death of Chris Benoit yesterday.

Har.

[beau99]

Har.

That's not funny in the very least.

They may try to cast this in a pity angle, and say well poor Chris with drugs or whatever...but I hope people don't fall into that. I had a ton of respect for the guy and what he did...but after this...he is simply a joke. Someone that weak and unstable does not deserve respect. He should have just killed himself. Why take his family with him?

While his actions are inexcusable, he DOES deserve respect, because as Christians that's what we do. It may be really hard to do, but I will respect his career, at least.

[Tommy]

That's not funny in the very least.

I agree.

I was sarcastically commenting on how the fact they used that word is by no means a coincidence.

[Stephen]

I am curious, why does he deserve respect? And as a Christian, why should I respect a professional wrestler? It is a horrible shame that 3 lives were lost. But I don't get what you are saying.

[Tommy]

I respect the fact that he trained hard to get where he was, but he gave no glory to God, at least publicly.

I don't know where he was with his faith, and I don't know what possessed him (besides a demon, but that's a figure of speech) to do what he did but I will say I had respect for his drive to become something, but I didn't respect him as a person.

[Stephen]

Trained hard? The big thing coming out now, is that he was a massive steroid junkie. At least according to the last 3 articles I have read about the case. Perhaps if had used a more natural way of bulking up, he would not have had an explosive temper and suffered from Roid rages. Which, is what is looking like caused this tragedy. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge fan of his...but it seems like he cheated to get where he was...and his body suffered big time for it. As Christians we should love people...but I fail to see where we are ordered to respect a nonChristians accomplishments or anything.

[beau99]

Dave Meltzer has made it clear that based on the evidence, a "roid rage" was definitely NOT the cause of this.

Yes, Chris was more than likely a huge steroid user, but I knew that years ago.

More than likely he planned this for a long time.

As Christians we should love people...but I fail to see where we are ordered to respect a nonChristians accomplishments or anything.

Benoit was a devout Catholic. About 10 years ago, Kevin Nash shared his testimony with a few wrestlers, Benoit among them. Benoit was moved by Nash's speech and decided to find God that day.

[Roy Mustang]

I'm sorry but I can't have any respect for a man that killed two people.

He wanted respect from the other wrestlers and fans, he gets it and then kills himself. He just threw all that respect right back into their face.

He may have been my favorite wrestler, but after what he did and then threw everything that was so dear to him away. I just can't say that I respect the guy anymore.

Benoit was a devout Catholic.

Well, he sure was very devout to it, wasn't he. Yes, we find out that he was a steroid junkie, but word around the county is, he also was doing drugs other then steroids. He bound his wife's wrists and feet were with tape and then strangled her with an electrical chord. After that, he smothered his son Daniel with a bag and then hangs himself in his basement/weight room.

I understand what you are getting at beau and don't think that I'm taking this post out on what you said, because its not.

But to hear that he was devout Catholic just burns me up. I'm Catholic and to hear what he did to his family is like a slap in the face to us that are Christians and try to devout ourself to it.

Col. Roy Mustang

[[GMOD]Vedicardi]

How did this become an argument over why you should respect him?

You don't have to. Just keep your opinions to yourself.

This happens all of the time.

A kid goes on a killing spree in his school, then kills himself. Authorities find him dead with "Jesus Christ Superstar" playing on a loop on his Walkman.

That's something to get "mad" about.

I highly doubt this guy was thinking about god or anything while killing his family.
And if he did, it would have been after, explaining why he killed himself afterwards, most likely from regret.

[beau99]

What you think about him now is completely up to you and I can't change that, of course.

I'm just saying that even murderers can enter Heaven because all sin, except for blasphemy, is equal.

Seeing as Benoit never commited blasphemy, he's Heaven-bound as far as I'm concerned.

Also, it's my duty to treat everyone as equal and respect everyone, regardless of who they are. Certain actions can't be respected of course, but I still respect them as humans. That is my duty as a Christian.

[Kamille]

While I don't know if I need to treat everyone equally, I pray that God has mercy on his soul. Even federal judges say that. Besides, I must follow Jesus commandment - "love others as I have loved you". But the most important thing is for God's Will to be done and for His justice to be served. Period.

Also I will deeply pray for all those who loved Benoit. Their pain must truly be great indeed.

[termyt]

What? A pro wrestler used steroids? No way!

I've heard that those who commit murder/suicides often do so to "protect" their loved ones from having to deal with the shame and, since he was a celebrity, media storm that will follow their suicide.

While there is an obvious flaw in that logic, one who commits suicide in our culture can hardly be described as thinking clearly. I don’t know why he did what he did. I don’t know if the investigators have clear evidence that he killed both his wife and child or if they are just making their best guess, but, as it stands now several different emotions are working through me.

First, my sense of justice is triggered, making me angry. That anyone is murdered is bad enough, but to be murdered by the person most responsible for your own safety is inexcusable. Such a dramatic failure as father and husband, I believe, is the core reason many are taking a step back from memorializing this person. It would be easier to look at him as “troubledâ€

[Stephen]

Devout Catholic? Kinda rare to see a Devout Catholic commit suicide. Other then saying I 100% disagree with you Beau, I won't comment on my feelings about extreme grace theology. (Beaus comment about murderers being in heaven) Now, as far as the steroid thing...I have noticed Vince, the WWE, and most wrestling groups are now stumbling backwards all repeating the same garbage. Steroids could not have been involved. Why? Because none of them want a blackeye when a normal guy goes ape-crap and kills his entire family. I am sure they will blame somthing else, even though its obvious that the business encourages steroid use. Then they hide behind there wellness plans and whatever, that seem to be doing an amazing job of keeping wrestlers safe and sane. >.<

[Zarn Ishtare]

If this man killed his wife and child, I will be hard-pressed for sympathy, save for the wife and child.

[mitsuki lover]

Actually he killed three people:his wife,his son and himself.
As a Protestant I find it hard to believe that anyone would call another person a devout anything(let alone Catholic and I understand that the Catholic church
has strict stands on suicide and murder)if they murdered another person.
Also there is the fact that his wife on at least one occasion filed for divorce because there was supposed to be some spousal abuse going on.