Wrestler murders family,Receives 3 hour tribute

According to AP, police are saying noted WWE wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son. And he received a three hour tribute last night on USA network. It might be better to let all the facts come out before making programming decisions to honor murderers.

Amen !

I do not know what the facts are but according to what I have heard, he strangled his wife, killed his child and hung himself. It is belived that the steroids may have contributed to this issue???

Perhaps there is more to be learned?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

So sad. Before it completely sunk into the McMahon soft porn show, I too enjoyed wrestling and The Pegasus Kid aka Chris Benoit was one of my favorites. Kevin Sullivan's then wife Nancy in WCCW was loads of fun too. Now both are dead along with an innocent 7 year old son. Benoit's huge talent in the ring will be forgotten (I'm already forgetting this) and he will be remembered as a wife beating coward. RIP Nancy Sullivan Benoit.

That idiot will be the poster punk of why one should not do steroids. If you cant do it on your own, walk away from the sport...

I have had a difficult time underanding the sport of professional wrestling. In my opinion only, it appears like a fake and a actors job. Perhaps others can give me insight to this?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Paul,
The wrestling I enjoyed 50 years ago was a morality play. The wrestling I enjoyed 20 years ago was no different than going to a play or watching a movie. That wrestling disappeared with the rise of the WWF, later called the WWE. Wrestling has always been faked, aka worked, probably since the first champion was crowned. Chris Benoit's athleticism and his lack of glitz throwback to the days of Lou Thesz stood out in sea of dreck. While the outcomes were always determined, how they got there was not and it is/was a craft. Many the boxer, basketball or football player thought it an easy way to turn a buck and found themselves "blown up" aka out of gas after 5 minutes at best and came away with a new found admiration for its workers. I hope that helps explain its appeal.
Mike

Gorgeous George and Antonio Rocca from the very earliest days of television. Those were the days.

Wrestlers are actors with muscles. It is not my cup of tea but I think it has always been a lot of enjoyment for folks.

30 (or so) years ago, when I was 10 (or so), my brother, sister & I used to love to watch wrestling on Saturday mornings. Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, Andre the Giant, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, The Blackjack Twins. Lots of fun, especially when Vince McMahon would interview The "Grand Wizard" and Classy Freddy Blassie. That was great entertainment back then. We knew it was fake, we knew it was hokey. We were kids. I think I stopped watching it soon after getting cable TV at age 13 and seeing Rowdy Roddy Piper on WTBS. It just wasn't the same.

I can't imagine for the life of me why someone (adults!) would pay money to watch a rasslin' Pay-Per-View, or even waste precious weeknights watching a "Smackdown" in prime time. No offense to those of you who may. I just don't get it.

John
("McMahon, you're nothing but a pencil-neck geek!")

All of these sports implicitly force athletes to take steroids. That includes so-called fake and real sports. Athletes have to take steroids in order to keep up. Especially in wrestling, where bodies are made to appear superhuman. This should be the final alarm that tells everyone that steroids are an incredibly serious drug. That's fine if athletes destroy their own lives, but when it affects those around them, then something must be done NOW.

Steroids brings on depression, massive paranoia, and uncontrollable rage. A deadly combination. With no drug testing in wrestling, this might not be the last time we see a tragedy like this. Just because wrestling is fake doesn't mean the people involved aren't real, and that there shouldn't be real testing.

I grew up a block away from the "Cincinnati Gardens" where Bobo Brazil used to wrestle.

The WWF {or whatever it is/was} seemed to me to be a "male-oriented" soap opera. We all knew it wasn't real, until Andy Kaufman got beat up {not real}, or Geraldo Rivera got his nose broken {real?}.

The real thing is, just as cornfed said, is STEROIDS ARE DANGEROUS!

And, Mr. Chips, there should never be a tribute to a man who suffocates his son.

My son ( Jerad ) loves wrestling on TV .....personally...I can't stand it...I think it's corny and totally stupid...but that's my opinion hahahha I think it's a man thing to love this show ( meaning my son) hahaha My son was totally in tears and shock to find out about (Chris Benoit), one of his fav wrestlers.
IMHO...it's a male soap opera with all the story lines
Psmela

I was flipping through the channels on Monday night and stopped to watch a few minutes of the tribute to Chris Benoit, who I had never heard of before. I assumed from what I was hearing, he and his family must have died in some tragic accident. When I heard the next morning that it was a murder-suicide type thing, I had the same reaction as Mr. Chips and many others here did. How you can have a tribute to a man suspected of murdering his own wife and son is unconscionable.

Hello All,
To be truthful, I don't know who this Chris Benoit is, or what the letters WWF, WWe, or whatever
they change them to later, are. I am just sorry it happened.
But my younger co-workers (ages 28-32) are buzzing about this.
What worries me is that they are making jokes about it. That is the only
reason I am commenting on this subject. They are making jokes about it.
For some reason, they are jaded. What upsets me is that they are joyfully jaded,
not jaded in a sorrowful sense. Normally, on a meter of humankind, they are just
regular people to near a-holes, but their reaction to this has me befuddled.
I don't want to sound old-fashioned, but I would rather hear them make light
of something from Shakespeare than a real tragedy from the WWE.
I understand the evolution of generations, how each generation takes from the
others, but must create something new and distinct to define themselves. I actually
enjoy staying young by discovering certain things from my children, (and I'm 52 yrs. old.)
But, I worry if essential things of our western culture aren't being
lost, rather than being temporarily rejected during adolescence and the college years.
They are being lost into the maturity of those who assume the mantle of our society.
I am not being an old, dumb guy here. Our western civilization has its sins and
dark sides. And I am embrace, admire, and love eastern, African...and I know we can wonder
and learn from Antarctic societies (in biology, I saw so many films about penguins.)
I am sorry for rambling. I just worry about who our heroes are. How we treat them.
And wonder, who is worth being a hero anymore.
Are other parts of the world wondering who are their heroes and why?
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

The real tragedy is that in our entertainment crazy world, people come under huge pressure to produce. Someone mentioned the old wrestlers. These guys wrestled in high school gyms, with some of the worst TV technical quality ever seen. They made little money, and probably lived lives that were like circus folks. As the WWF became big money, the pressure to be in the spotlight, along with making huge money warps any person. Steroids and illegal painkillers are just as much a part of "legitimate" sports like the NHL, NFL and major league Baseball. People are pressured to play injured "for the good of the organization". Fame warps people, large amounts of money warps people. I wonder what was going on in this poor man's head that he unraveled like that? No matter what way you cut it, this has been a terrible tragedy..and the problem is, in the long run, we as a people will learn nothing from it.

"Professional" wrestling sure has it's share of fans here in the Bible Belt. pb

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/29/wwrestle29.xml

Hello All,
Porkbeaks, I am a Christian and live in Virginia, is or once was
considered part of the Bible Belt. Living in the Bible Belt is
both a blessing and a curse, but it is our journey.
The cartoon is an affective expression of ridicule, but it doesn't
reflex what or how we, Christians, really feel or approach life.
The nature of our God and the Gospel which speaks of Jesus Christ
has nothing to do with wrestling or worldly foolishness.
The Gospel, in my heart, is an expression of God's love to us.
It is very true that we, humans, have #*($!#$&. uh, messed or distorted
that gift of love from God. We have screwed it up, and are worthy
of ridicule. I do not wish to preach, but in my heart I see
that when Jesus suffered and died or the cross it was a painful
sacrifice. It was a sacrifice that allowed us to be more open
and searching, call it a door open to a different freedom.
Later, Peter said all foods were allowed. Paul announced that
all people, from every class and sex, were equal in the eyes of
God. Despite the nasty examples, like Galileo and the Scopes Trial,
Christianity has actually promoted scientific methods to the world
if you examine how the authorities have handled problem. Yes, sometimes it is ugly and wrong, but eventually it gets rectified and
spirit and logic finds a worrisome marriage. It's the way of life.
There are always people of a belief that misunderstand or disprove the teachings of they want to extoll. The light of God, of reason and spirit shines, and helps us discover.
When Jesus died, He said, "It is finished." His mission was accomplished.
But our human quest, our mistakes, our searching, our growths and our failing were not finished, rather a new way for us had been opened.
I welcome your posting. It shines a light for us to see and wonder about.
As a Christian, I am amazed at how much of the love, beauty, joy, and the ability to truly give to the world that we have lost because Christians have really failed. But it is not over for us. The light
still shines.
Thank you for your posting.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle
P.S. Sorry to sound so preachy. Mods, feel free to to delete.

quote:

Originally posted by soozycue520

I grew up a block away from the "Cincinnati Gardens" where Bobo Brazil used to wrestle.

The WWF {or whatever it is/was} seemed to me to be a "male-oriented" soap opera. We all knew it wasn't real, until Andy Kaufman got beat up {not real}, or Geraldo Rivera got his nose broken {real?}.

There are actually quite a few people who believe all that WWE ( WWF & WCW ) wrestling is for real. For years my cousin was like that. Several years ago her and I attended the Baltimore Bash (?) which was some match put on by then the WCW. I remember her going on and on about "real" this was and from the looks of the others at the arena, they really got into it. Me, I knew it was fake but she enjoyed the bash and watching the matches on TV so I more/less kept my opinions to myself. If the matches made her happy, why spoil it?

About Geraldo and Kaufman, Geraldo really did get his nose broken from that infamous fight that took place on his long defunct talk show. That actually made front page news when it happened back in the late 80s.

Andy Kaufman, who knows !!! He was one strange cookie !! Wasn't this the same guy who made some comment that he was going to "fake" his own death from cancer to get out the public eye? Of course he did later on did get lung cancer and quite quickly died from it. There is still debate even today ( nearly 24 years after his death ) that if Andy is even dead. Myself believes he is dead but I can see why some feel that way. A healthy man ( I believe Andy was a "health nut" ) who suddenly gets lung cancer and almost as suddenly dies from it, making comments about "faking my death" and the othe stunts he pulled within the last few years of his life ( the "Fridays" incident, the wrestling thing, and getting into a horrible screaming match with someone on Letterman, being banned from Saturday Night Live at the request of viewers, being seen working as a dish washer in a restaurant during his "Taxi" days (?)etc..) Yeah he was an interesting chatacter.

What I'm not getting is how everyone immediately made the leap from tragedy to "steroids made him do it". Last I knew (and I have to admit I've not been following this story too much, I'm more concerned with the wildfire 1/2 mile from my best friend's house in South Tahoe at the moment) the autopsy results hadn't come back, there was NO PROOF he had ever taken steroids, and he hadn't left a note of any kind.

Why must we automatically ASSume that because he has muscles he's on steroids?

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

What I'm not getting is how everyone immediately made the leap from tragedy to "steroids made him do it". Last I knew (and I have to admit I've not been following this story too much, I'm more concerned with the wildfire 1/2 mile from my best friend's house in South Tahoe at the moment) the autopsy results hadn't come back, there was NO PROOF he had ever taken steroids, and he hadn't left a note of any kind.

Why must we automatically ASSume that because he has muscles he's on steroids?

You are correct as it is an assumption but it was reported on CNN and other news sources that they found anabolic steroids in his home. Was he using them? I do not know and I am sure it will be revealed. Why were they in his home?

People enjoy all sorts of entertainment. I personally do not care for it but apparently there are many that do.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

And today I read he was shooting his son up with growth hormones.. That guy was whacked. (or been whacked one too many times)... I feel sorry for his wife and kid though. She saw the warning signs a few years back and decided to stay. Then having the kid shot up because he felt he was too small is another red flag.. Not normal in my book...

I have been amazed by the number of parents I've met in the last several years who have their sons (always the boys!) on growth hormone therapy. These are the mothers who actually talk about it. The number must be higher because many parents aren't free with that bit of info. One mother said they were helping their son be "like everyone else" and that "life is too hard for a short boy." She actually said his tennis game would be so much better. It's not an uncommon thing these days for kids to get those hormones. Heaven forbid we would accept the fact that people come in all shapes and sizes.

Nobody listened to Lyle Alzedo. How sad.

quote:

Originally posted by tiki

Nobody listened to Lyle Alzedo. How sad.

Tiki, that is true. I listened and watched his live interview before he died and he was talking about the tumor they removed where he did his injections. He was dying and in tears.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

So, let me see if I understand this correctly.

A person (the late Mr. Benoit) is engaged in a fake sport that depends on creating and perpetuating lies including:

that it is really a competitive sport and not a faked performance

and

on violent behaviors for the entertainment of the fans

and

on extreme physical development beyond what would usually be considered "normal".

The person in question takes steroids to enhance his body for the advancement of his position in this faked, staged form of violence...and people are surprised or shocked at the result? When viewing extreme physical development, like what is typical in wrestling, it is reasonable to suspect that the person in question is using anabolic steroids or some other laboratory-created, performance-enhancing drug. It is of record that these substances take a deadly toll on both the body and the mind over the long term. So, Mr. McMahon has further enriched himself, and fans of this non-sport have enjoyed themselves while watching Mr. Benoit and others cavort while under the fairly obvious influence of illicit substances.

While the murder of his wife and child certainly qualfies as a tragedy, it is an event that should not shock or surprise anyone other than the extremely naive. Those who take these drugs are inherently ticking time bombs just waiting to detonate, and fans who support spectacles like these only encourage more weak-minded individuals to take performance-enhancing substances that inevitably lead to physical and emotional problems. As Pogo the Possum said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us".

Truthfully, I am just grateful that tragedies like this don't occur more often than they do.

The news just keeps getting worse and worse from this case. Benoit's son had fragile x syndrome, a form of mental retardation that is caused by a birth defect(two clients in the agency where I work have this condition). Apparently his wife wanted more help in the childcare department.

quote:

Originally posted by chriscubva
About Geraldo and Kaufman, Geraldo really did get his nose broken from that infamous fight that took place on his long defunct talk show. That actually made front page news when it happened back in the late 80s.

I think you're mixing up 2 events. JOHN STOSSEL got punched in the face by a wrestler (which one? who cares, they're all the same to me) during an investigative piece on the WWF. GERALDO RIVERA got his nose broken in a melee on the set of his talk show in a fight between neo-nazis, Jewish activists and Black activists.

Personally, I also cannot imagine any adult actually watching more than 2 minutes of "professional wrestling". But the fact that a sport that glorifies violence paid tribute to a murderer shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

I'd be the last person to defend Vince McMahon, but I've learned that at the time of the tribute it was thought that the Benoit family had accidently died, probably by a gas leak. John Stossel got punched in the face by David Schultz. Here's Wiki's very accurate notes on that: In 1984, while filming a segment on professional wrestling, Stossel told wrestler David "Dr. D" Schultz that he thought wrestling was fake. Yelling "You think this is fake?", Schultz assaulted Stossel, slapping him and knocking him to the ground twice. Stossel sued, claiming long-term hearing loss, and won a settlement. (Stossel now regrets his decision to sue, according to his first book.) Schultz maintains that he attacked Stossel because Vince McMahon, the head of the WWF, wanted him to.

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers

I'd be the last person to defend Vince McMahon, but I've learned that at the time of the tribute it was thought that the Benoit family had accidently died, probably by a gas leak.

I'm sorry...but how the bloody hell did they mistake a strangled woman and a man hanging from the ceiling for accidental death from a gas leak?

Ah. Wait. Just another case of the media jumping in with both feet before checking to see how deep the water really is. I get it.