Breaking: Pro Wrestler and family, wife and son found dead in Ga home (Chris Benoit)

[RB TexLa]

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. -- Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their Fayette County home Monday.

Benoit is a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler.

Officials said the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities.

Benoit was found dead in his home, along with his wife and his son.

Benoit was 40 years old.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13567642/detail.html

[Homer12]

1. Not that I am sad to here this News about an entire family dying

But you know it's going to news blackout Darth Cheney coverage.

[johnfunk]

33. CNN: Deaths being investigated as a homicide

Just plain horrifying.

Benoit was a genuine athlete, surprisingly agile and acrobatic for a guy of his muscular bulk, and a regular guy a great reputation for generosity and gregariousness to fans.

Someone had better pay the legal price for this. I'm saddened -- and really, really pissed.

[More Than A Feeling]

2. Oh, man.

So that was the "personal reasons" that prevented him from wrestling CM Punk for the ECW title. That's terrible. I watched his last match last Tuesday. He was the only one who looked like he was actually trying to wrestle, as opposed to the clearly fake stuff everyone else did. And his family, too...man.

Condolences to their friends and surviving family.

Sure makes the "Vince McMahon got blown up" storyline look crass. Hopefully they'll abandon it now.

[Ghost in the Machine]

7. Vince just did the opening on RAW

said it's going to be a three hour tribute to Benoit

[More Than A Feeling]

10. Good.

That's the way it should be.

[Ghost in the Machine]

16. Vince was visibly shaken, .... shaking, bloodshot eyes, you could tell

he had been crying... he hardly held his composure. I'm trying to get a call through now to my buddy Marcus ... most of you know him as Buff Bagwell... his line has been busy for almost 30 mins now..

[johnfunk]

31. Horrifying news

I've been a wrestling fan since a 20-something Vince was paying host to the Grand Wizard of Wrestling (which sorts hints at how oooooold I am). I've never -- and I mean never -- seen Vince so shaken.

On a lighter note -- tell Buff we still know he's "the stuff." Met him once backstage at MSG with pals from Titan Sports and ICM -- a gregarious guy and a helluva hard worker in his WWF days.

[Prophet 451]

64. Please pass on our sympathies n/t

[tomreedtoon]

73. McMahon crying? He should work for Bush.

He could teach Bush how to cry crocodile tears, too.

For the record, I'm not a wrestling fan. I went to one live match in my life and regretted it. Then I saw a documentary about wrestling that showed, not simply that it was "fake," but that the wrestlers were trained athletes whose careers were manipulated by McMahon and the WWF/WWE.

That documentary showed one wrestler, his strength gone, his joints shot, getting no retirement income or help from McMahon's organization.

And for the last few years, although I haven't followed it, I understand McMahon had played the "bad guy commissioner" in the ring. I think the only time he might issue real tears is if he was indicted for unpaid taxes.

It wouldn't surprise me if this was a hit by organized crime, either to "send a message" to McMahon, or to repay some kind of slight received from the WWE.

[Prophet 451]

82. Doubtful

Everything you say about Vince is true but organised crime have never taken much interest in pro wrestling in teh US (unlike Japan where they're heavily involved).

Do me one favour: Don't describe wrestling as "fake". "Rigged" is fair comment but "fake" implies that wrestlers don't get hurt and trust me, we get hurt. Even if everything goes to plan, getting slammed on your back time after time for 200+ nights a year takes it's toll.

Bret Hart once described Vince's attitude to wrestling as "ride the horse until it can't go anymore, then shoot the horse". Vince milks guys for every penny he can and then discards them when they can't go anymore (with the exceptions of guys who became big enough to become "goodwill ambassadors"). WWE workers have no health insurance and don't get expenses and most of the lower-card is on only slightly above the median income while having a lot more expenses. The guys on developmental contracts only make $500 a week. This business is littered with the corpses of the boys who built WWF/E and then were thrown aside.

[tomreedtoon]

137. Point taken, but I didn't really mean "faked."

If I said that, I apologize. The guys are basically actors. That has been known for a long time. (The government pretty much forced them to admit it because, as I recall, genuine sports would have to pay more in taxes.)

But still, they are people with physical and some performing talent. And they are abused quite heavily. And they have no place to go, since WWE bought up all the competing, local wrestling groups.

That's right, DU fans, wrestling is a monopoly in the United States. The same issues that affect wrestlers are affecting steel workers, factory workers, automobile industry workers and the rest. I'd even bet they don't have the ability to take off their individual costs on their taxes; even actors can deduct the costs of workshops, wardrobe, travel expenses for auditions and the like.

While it isn't entertainment I particularly like, it is one facet of the labor/management problems we all face.

[Prophet 451]

141. Nope, costs can't be deducted

the WWE is very careful to class it's workers as "independant contractors" instead of employees and the result is that they can't deduct their expenses (and road expenses are a nightmare) on taxes, they don't get health insurance, don't get counselling (to cope with life on the road), they can be dropped while they're injured (Sean Waltman and Andy Martin were both released while recovering from broken necks), they can be dropped over their sexual orientation (Chris Kanyon claims that's why he was dropped, Orlando Jordan has hinted at it), dropped for any reason at all really.

There's worse but first, I need to explain how the pay structure works: In WWE, you get a set sum as your base salary, known as your "downside". Usually, that's quite small (the guys on development get $500 a week, main roster is $75K but expenses gobble half or more of that). On top of that, you then get percentages of the live gate for shows and PPVs you work, the PPV buy rate and your merchandise. Got that?

If you quit, retire or leave for any reason, the contracts are structured in such a way that WWE can withhold those percentages. Jehh Hardy made a very public stink about it when he was fired in 2001, Jesse Ventura and Jim "Warrior" Hellwig both sued over it during the eighties and won but it's still being done. What's more, if you leave, you're bound by a no-compete clause that prevents you working in the business for at least three months (and most of the boys don't know how to do anything else).

Other companies exist (TNA, ROH) but places are limited there, the pay is lower and the business is in such a state that McMahon could crush any of them any time he chose to (he doesn't because they act as development leagues he doesn't have to pay for).

[tomreedtoon]

152. Add it all up, and it provides good reason for suicide.

Again, you're more expert than I, Prophet 451, but even I've heard the rumors about steroid use. "Roid rage" can happen. And who knows if there was any continuing medication for pain that could drive a person around the bend.

The tragedy is that wrestling, or the people making the big money off it, won't be blamed. It'll be chalked up to "one guy going nuts." You may be among the minority of people interested in wrestling who understand the dark side to the business.

By the way, one of my co-workers, another TV engineer, was both a wrestling fan and a local wrestler himself. He was about 30, and wound up wrecking his leg and knee joint on one weekend's match. More than anyone else, he seemed blind to what the sport was doing to him. Hopefully, he will one day take enough damage that he'll have to get out of the sport, before it kills or cripples him.

[Prophet 451]

153. This one wasn't roid rage

Roid rage is a momentary snap which, while exceedingly violent, subsides fairly quickly. This was deliberate. Nancy was tied hand and foot before being strangled from behind with a length of cable. That's not a rage attack, that's deliberate. Also, his last steroid test was clean (although there are ways around that).

That said, there are a lot of drugs in this business. About two-thirds of WWE's locker room are using steroids for non-medical reasons and the number abusing prescription painkillers is even higher (painkiller addiction is what forced me to quit), alcohol abuse is unknown but probably high. The tox reports won't be back for a while yet but it would surprise very few if Benoit was loaded up on painpills.

I don't think you can blame wrestling itself for the early deaths of so many workers. Rather, you can lay the blame (not entirely but mainly) at teh corporate culture of WWE. Even in the very minor leagues, I suffered damage to my back and knees which causes me constant pain to this day and damaged my right ankle so badly, I am physically incapable of running and that's just from the semi-pro level. Painkiller abuse is epidemic in WWE, steroid abuse only slightly less so. In the smaller leagues (such as TNA or ROH), both are much less prevalent because the schedule is much lighter and the pay is lower (steroids are expensive). The daily grind of life on the road, working 200+ matches a year in most cases virtually forces the workers to take massive amounts of painkillers to cope. The fact that WWE only pushes guys who are either on teh gas or look like it (and that Vince Mcmahon himself is a bodybuilding fanatic) virtually forces workers to take steroids. Then add in the instability of the business, a total lack of any kind of benefits, the constant pressure to excel, the fact you can be dropped at any time for any reason and the incessant politicking and the hyper-macho culture of the locker room and you can see why wrestlers turn to booze or drugs; you can see why so many are on their second, third, fourth marriage; you can see why so many have mental problems of various kinds (generally not as extreme as Benoit obviously had).

In the smaller companies, where the schedule is lighter, the atmosphere is more relaxed, all that is much, much less of a problem. TNA for example, were employing Shane Douglas when it became obvious he had a painkiller problem. They paid for his rehab and, when he was clean, gave him a high-profile spot as a manager. TNA rewards you for getting clean, WWE punishes you for getting caught. It's up to you which is more morally sound but TNA's approach seems to work better.

Don't misunderstand me. I love wrestling. I loved to perform and, if my health allowed it, I'd still be performing. The feeling of walking through that curtain, of the fans chanting your name or booing you out the building, there's nothing like that. The guys up in the nosebleed seats might have terminal cancer or money problems or his wife's divorcing him but for those few minutes, nothing matters more to him than that match. Because every guy wants to be able to beat up his boss on occasion, Steve Austin became a star. Because every guy wants to feel that, with the right chances and determination, they could take on the world, Kurt Angle became a star. Wrestling is an act, it's theatre at it's most basic and, like most performers, we love to put on a show. That's what it is at it's best, telling stories in the ring. As Harley Race once put it "There's no better spot on earth than under those bright lights". I love this business.

But this business has a dark side, it has a very sleazy underbelly and the more we deny that, the more the bodies are going to keep piling up. I don't want workers to die. I want us to go out there, entertain the fans, retire gracefully and live long, mostly happy lives but that's not happening right now. Benoit's crimes weren't triggered by steroids but quite a few other crimes have been and more than a few deaths too. This business needs to change the way it does things and the way it treats it's workers because I'd like a few guys to be able to accept their Hall Of Fame inductions in person.

At the very least, I'm getting fucking sick of writing obituaries. It's too bloody depressing.

[wicket]

115. My god

:cry: :cry:

[Hawkeye-X]

119. You know Buff?

He was one hell of a wrestler.

Was just checking out his Wiki entry the other day.

[flvegan]

32. They just replayed it, too.

I'm glad. I'm really glad for that.

I'd also like to add that Vince cancelled and emptied the Raw show for tonight. He will probably eat thousands and thousands of dollars for doing the right thing.

[deadmessengers]

3. Mark my words: Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

There are very few things that kill entire families in their homes - fires, murder, and CO poisoning are they most common. Since they didn't mention the first 2, I'm going to guess it was the latter.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Yeah, but doesn't that usually happen in the winter?

Faulty air conditioners don't emit CO, do they?

[LiberalEsto]

8. no combustion, no CO2 nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. What if the intake's near a running engine?

Does that happen?

[deadmessengers]

19. No, but water heaters do.

So do barbeque grills. Although, it appears from a post below that my guess was offbase - something about them spitting up blood.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. No, that's a symptom.

But I think it'd need to be something in the house, constantly. A faulty gas burning water heater's quite possibly the culprit.

[Art_from_Ark]

102. Gas burners and stoves can emit lethal gas

[More Than A Feeling]

11. Well, there is this from wikipedia:

"PW Headlines stated that Benoit called in to WWE Sunday and said he would be unable to make it back as his family was ill and they were spitting up blood. <83>" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Benoit

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. That is a symptom of CO poisoning.

Hmm.

[geek_sabre]

65. Actually, its not

With CO poisoning, you're basically slowly asphyxiating; headache, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, seizures, eventually losing consciousness.

With the whole family vomitting blood, it is likely an intentional poisoning or a bacterial infection. Or they ingested something that ate away at their stomach lining (a quick google search lists asprin, steroids, arthritis meds, strong acids or bases (detergents, drain cleaners) as a cause for this.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

120. He didn't say vomiting blood, he said expectorating.

Pulmonary edema's a symptom of CO poisoing, and a clear sign of that is spitting up blood.

[Cha]

23. Wow! I would have thought they

would have been rushed to Emergency! Poor Babes! I wonder if they ingested anything that was tainted?

[MindMatter]

43. Why not include the obvious?

I don't know anything about the guy, but it is a safe bet that he was a heavy steroids user. Humans don't get that muscle mass any other way. And the 'roids have a way of messing with the mind. Sounds like the most likely answer is murder-suicide.

[deadmessengers]

45. 3 comments:

1) I actually did mention murder, although not suicide

2) The Fayette County, GA police agree with you that it's a possibility, and are investigating accordingly: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/fayette/stories/2007/06/25/0625benoit.html

3) You're about to get your ass flamed off for bringing it up.

[MindMatter]

46. grin

"3) You're about to get your ass flamed off for bringing it up."

I think you're right. I don't mean to upset anybody, but really, what would anybody expect? Steroids mess you up.

[flvegan]

56. Check out my post to you below.

You don't know shit.

[bennie]

52. Muscle Mass? What the fuck do you know about anything?

He was 5'-10" and weighed 220 lbs. That's the standard high school football player. If you don't don't know what you're talking about, educate yourself before you experss an opinion!

[Johonny]

131. wait your saying

High School football players don't use roid's?

I imagine they will announce the cause of death in a few days and there is no need to speculate on it at this time.

[MindMatter]

138. Apparently I DO know about some things

"Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man nicknamed 'The Canadian Crippler' was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as 'roid rage.'" From http://www.prowrestling.com/article/news/5014

HTH injected into his son. Steroids in the house. Seems pretty obvious to me. Steroid users are pretty easy to spot. They all seem to have muscle mass in places that muscles shouldn't be massive. I mean, a man's forehead should not be bulging with muscles as his was.

Lessons we never learn. Don't make people into gods. They usually don't deserve it.

[Prophet 451]

72. He might well have been roiding

About two-thirds of WWE's roster are on the juice (look for visible veins inside the elbows and prominent acne on back/chest) but if he was, it was no worse than most and actually less than many (take a look at Scotty Steiner sometime) but that doesn't necessarily make him a murderer. The cops are still investigating this, we know virtually nothing yet so let's give it a chance before we decide the guy was a monster.

[MindMatter]

109. No. The murder makes him a murderer

Other tell tale signs of steroid use are the build-up of muscle mass in places where it isn't natural -- like the forehead and the sides of the neck. This guy was a user if I ever saw one. It is probably an occupational requirement.

Really, I don't think people should be celebrating this guy. Sorrow for the tragedy? Sure. But the hero worship I'm reading here is completely misplaced.

[Prophet 451]

134. Not exactly an operational requirement

It's not exactly required but it's well known in the business that WWE only employs hugely muscular guys so unless you're a genetic freak (and about a third of the roster are) then pretty much a blind eye is turned to roiding. The WWE instituted a drug testing policy a year ago (in the wake of Eddie G's death) but then quietly changed it to gut the most important provisions. In the smaller promotions, there's less pressure to look monstrous and less money (steroids are expensive) so you see less roiding.

When the news broke of Benoit's death, we knew very few of teh details. A lot of people were invested in Benoit as fans. I was actually in the business and this business is so tight-knit that everyone knows everyone at second-or-third hand, I've worked with people who've worked with him. Remember that old "Six Degrees Of Seperation" game? Little like that. Everyone is trying to adjust to the idea that Chris Benoit, who had a sterling rep as a stand-up guy, did something like this. It's kind of industry wide shock right now.

I'd imagine the hero worship is down to that: He was amazingly talented and had a rep as an incredible nice guy. I know these things always come out of nowhere to some extent but this is even more so.

[snooper2]

128. words marked......

murder-suicide

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. That explains why he didnt show up at the PPV last night for his match

R.I.P. Chris & family. This is tragic. Chris Benoit was one of the few Wrestlers that I had respect for. Always the gentleman and never had to take the low road to win.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[shadowknows69]

12. Good Journey Chris and your family

whatever you think of wrestling my wife and I used to be big fans and he was one of our favorites. I hope this wasn't a murder suicide or something. That business really treats its people like shit apparently. I hope Vince is aware his little "fake my own death" stunt is really bad karma now in light of this and indeed of the many tragedies there have been. My wife and I used to like it for laughs but they started taking things way too far a long time ago.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

13. Oh NO

Chris was what I love wrestling for, his work ethic and passion for his craft were second to none.

His wife Nancy was a manager/valet for over 10 years, mostly with Kevin Sullivan

Shook up as hell here, this is a shock :cry:

RIP

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. Oh My God What Horrible News. Ain't Watched In Years But I Used To Really Like Him. Holy Shit.

What an absolute shock to hear this.

[bbernardini]

15. I missed the opening of "Raw." Hoping it shows up on YouTube soon. nt

[NYCGirl]

17. Oh my god. Chris Benoit was one of the greatest wrestlers ever.

His match with Bret Hart that was dedicated to Owen Hart was the finest match I've ever seen.

[RB TexLa]

22. That was. And anytime he and Eddie Guerrero wrestled

I've watched off and on throughout the years. As far as in ring performance, there were very few as good as Benoit.

[NYCGirl]

25. I miss Eddie, too. Once saw a match live with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko

vs. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. Wonderful.

[Raskolnik]

18. Jeebus--pro wrestlers aren't helping our life expectancy averages any.

So long Pegasus Kid.

[Prophet 451]

74. This is about the fifth this year

Mike Awesome comitted suicide a couple months ago.
"Sensational" Sherri martel died suddenly last week (no details yet).
Bam Bam Bigelow died of drugs.
Arnold Skaaland, Ernie Ladd and "Bad News" Allan Coage all died of old age (despite Bad News and Ladd being in their sixties).
Antonio Pena died of what was probably HIV/AIDS...

...and that's just this year and off the top of my head. This business is fucking brutal on people.

[Ghost in the Machine]

24. Just got off the phone with Gene Johnson...

he was on the other line with Hugh Morris and said that there is 3 or 4 different stories floating around right now, but that it IS under criminal investigation and nothing will be released until investigators talk.

Gene and Buff are going to keep me informed..

[NYCGirl]

26. Thank you so much. NT

[RB TexLa]

27. Thanks. With the nature of the wrestling press

namely websites, I'm sure it will be a murky story until the police report comes out.

[NYCGirl]

28. I checked Dave Meltzer's site and all he has is the basic story. NT

[SalmonChantedEvening]

29. Thank you Ghost

:hug:

My condolences to all those you speak to.

[johnfunk]

35. Thank you Ghost...

Keep us in the loop.

[wicket]

116. Thanks for all of the info

Bless you :hug:

[Blue_Tires]

30. RIP, Canadian Crippler

[HughBeaumont]

34. Dear GOD that sucks.

Benoit was my second favorite wrestler to watch of all time, the first being his mentor and inspiration, The Dynamite Kid.

I don't think there's a wrestler on this planet that's as passionate about the sport as he was. This guy wrestled through pain, carried Vince's behemoths with miles less talent than him and outworked the best of them.

Now, he can be with Eddie.

Crippler, Godspeed. You will be missed.

[Old and In the Way]

36. This was kind of wierd.....the promo's over the past couple of days

indicated that it was a tribute to Vince McMahon. I thought he had died. I guess he was "missing"? So I turned it on and I saw the opening on this story. I thought at first this might be more staged theater from Vince, but I guess it wasn't.

Something must have been up on Sunday as he said his family was spitting blood....maybe CO poisoning, but if he was aware of that, why not take his wife and kid to the hospital?

Can't say I know much about WWE, but this guy was obviously quite popular. RIP

[RB TexLa]

37. Apparently they had a storyline that Vince was dead. It's been a month or so since I had

watched wrestling. I'm sure that storyline has been put away.

[Old and In the Way]

38. Good...my wife and I thought we were dreaming that....

the ads had Vince's pic up and this piqued my curiosity to tune in. Quite a surprise to see what transpired and not knowing if this was real or part of the script. At that point, there was almost nothing on Google News on this story.

[flvegan]

39. Vince buried that story tonight.

He came out and talked about it. It's been shown twice.

[DemReadingDU]

40. MSNBC reported murder/suicide. no details yet.

[Seen the light]

42. Are you getting that from their network?

I didn't see it on their site.

[MindMatter]

44. Steroids fuck you up.

'Roids => depression => murder/suicide.

I can see that lots of folks admired the guy, but maybe this isn't an activity that really deserves so much admiration and commercial support. It is a celebration of freaks being freaks.

The poor children.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LibraLiz1973]

53. Ya know, the wife could have committed the murders.

Why do you assume it was Chris? And even if it was, why the assumption of roid rage?

Wait and see what really happened- until then we all need to keep speculation out of it.

[MindMatter]

61. Fair enough

His wife could have done it. The boy could have done it.

According to http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070625/chris_benoit_070625/20070625?hub=CTVNewsAt11 the instruments of death were found inside the house and police aren't looking for any suspects.

I said nothing about 'roid rage. Steroids have different effects. One such effect is severe depression. IMHO, that is the most likely scenario. Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly some severe mental problems, and that is tragic.

[Prophet 451]

67. WHAT instraments?

The cops have already confirmed that none of them were shot or stabbed, what's left?

[cynatnite]

68. Strangulation, poison...just to name a few n/t

[Prophet 451]

76. Point

I realised that just after I posted. I'm gonna call that one a "senior moment".

[cynatnite]

80. I hear ya'

:hug: My family is in shock over this. Hubby is from Montana. He and his family were big fans of Calgary Stampede years ago. They've watched the Harts, Benoit and some others for a long time. He was such a consummate professional and had everyone's respect. This tragedy really saddens me.

[Prophet 451]

81. I still can't get my head around it

There's a shedload of rumours flying around right now which doesn't help but from what's being said by those closest to the situation, the cops have categorically not pinned this on Chris. But yeah, right now, that's looking likely.

I don't know what to make of this. Benoit was one of the first guys I ever saw perform and he was a big part of what inspired me to get in the ring myself. And, based on what I've always heard about him, it's so totally out of character too. I guess you could argue that anything like this is out of character but you know what I mean.

If it turns out to be the way it looks, I guess Chris was a very different person than we thought.

[cynatnite]

83. Did you see what Dean Malenko said on RAW?

He talked about how quiet and private Benoit was. My impression was that Dean, Chris and Eddie were probably the best of friends. Not many knew Chris all that well. I can't imagine how much Dean's got to be hurting over this.

And yeah, this is just inconceivable.

[Prophet 451]

84. They were

It was always the four of them: Chris, Dean Malenko, Eddie G and Rey-Rey, tight like brothers ever since New Japan. Dean's now lost two of his closest friends in a little over a year.

[rucky]

55. AJC reporting that, too.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/stories/2007/06/25/0625benoit.html

[Prophet 451]

66. Atlanta Tribune says the same

Although by all accounts, the cops have scrupulously avoided placing blame on either Chris or Nancy despite what the current AP article says.

[Rockholm]

41. RIP

[Skip Intro]

47. Can it be a hoax? Hard to believe, they just had Vince dead

and now he's back. I saw a video of a car explodling and firetrucks battling the blaze. I mean, I suspected that was real because they had the firemen involved. Now major media reporting what authorities are telling them.

If this is true, my heart goes out to these people.

[Fox Mulder]

48. You thought the Vince dying angle was real???

I knew it was fake the moment it happened.

[Skip Intro]

50. Not exactly, I don't follow the show/"sport" at all. A customer in my store told me about it and I

found the video on some website. There were firetrucks and it all seemed official but I don't know the storyline or anything about the players. Just wondering outloud. I mean, if police are saying its true, and major media is reporting it, it sounds pretty true - although there's no crime in fooling the media, the authorities would be a different question, right? I just remember that firetruck...

[RB TexLa]

51. Local police, fire and EMTs love getting to be part of the show

[Skip Intro]

54. ?

[RB TexLa]

57. I'm saying it probably was real firefighters and trucks

When you see a wrester or someone taken out on a stretcher by EMT's those are real local EMT's. Same with the police officers that will escort one of them away after someone "bars" them from ringside, it's real police and a real police car playing the part.

They get to be on TV and a part of the show, I'm sure it's fun for them.

[Prophet 451]

77. WWE usually uses developmental workers for their "cops"

I think it's just in case someone gets accidently injured but yeah, the EMTs, firefighters and in other promotions, the cops, are usually real *whatever* from the local station.

[Prophet 451]

69. No

Yes, the Vince dying thing was just an agle but I can remember going through this with the deaths of Brian Pillman and Owen Hart. As a basic rule of thumb, if a death or injury is just announced (rather than seen on-camera), it's for real.

Besdies, Vince emptied the arena tonight and ate the refund costs. No way he would have done that for an angle.

[Big Pappa]

58. I hope

Kevin Sullivan has a good alibi.

[Prophet 451]

70. Bad taste n/t

[soothsayer]

59. I heard when he called in sick he said they were all vomiting blood.

Poison?

[AlCzervik]

60. update from the lounge, it appears it may have been a murder-suicide.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6650996

[cynatnite]

62. I'm just fucking sick over this...

I was a huge fan of his from his WCW days. One of the best technical wrestlers there was. RAW's show tonight was a tribute to him and as they went on about how wonderful of a guy he was I got this sick feeling in my gut.

I don't want this to be true. :cry:

[AlCzervik]

63. my nephew is a huge wrestling fan and he's met a bunch of them and he called

me tonight heartbroken over this, he has a college radio show and tonight's it's all about Benoit.

[MindMatter]

147. Did you encourage him ...

to use this as an opportunity to examine his priorities and values?

[cynatnite]

71. More details about this tragedy....

I don't know how reliable this site is, but I used to hit it on occasion to get some news.

http://nodq.com/wwe/184837785.shtml

According to a report on WAGA-TV, investigators believe Chris Benoit killed his wife and son at some point over the weekend, and then killed himself earlier today.

They reported first hearing from a concerned neighbor and that the three bodies were found in separate rooms.

Detective Bo Turner told the staion the case was being investigated as a murder-suicide, but it could not be confirmed until the evidence was examined by a crime lab.

Sources in the Fayette County Police Department are now working under the theory that Chris Benoit killed Nancy on Saturday, son Daniel on Sunday, and then killed himself earlier today.

[Prophet 451]

75. NoDQ is a rumour site

That may or may not be accurate but, like most rumour sites, NoDQ post everythign they hear without bothering to check it. According to the local paper and Bryan Alvarez (editor of Figure-Four and actually in touch with those involved), the cops have carefully avoided naming who they thing is responsible.

[cynatnite]

78. WWE posted a short comment...

It has been ruled that the deaths of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son Daniel earlier today were the result of a double murder-suicide from within the home. WWE.com will have more as soon as it becomes available.

www.wwe.com

I think they're treading carefully with this and understandably so, but I'm preparing myself for the possibility that Benoit killed his wife and son.

[Prophet 451]

79. Yeah, it's looking that way

But, innocent until proven and all that, let's wait and see what the cops turn up.

[Rosemary2205]

85. OMG this is TRUE

Fox Atlanta is reporting this.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3594146&version=9&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

[Prophet 451]

86. Of course, it's bloody true!

What, did you think it was an angle? No wrestling promoter in their right mind would do an angle like this, especially not centred on a face (good guy) and they certainly wouldn't eat thousands of dollars in refund costs to clear the arena and put a tribute on.

[Rosemary2205]

88. You misunderstood

I meant the rumor website was telling the truth.

Take a pill.

[Prophet 451]

93. Sorry man

I'm operating on too little sleep, too much emotion and not enough coffee.

[Rosemary2205]

96. Hey

:)

[Prophet 451]

100. My stomach would like to hug you for the idea n/t

[cynatnite]

87. Benoit sent alarming text messages...

From www.wwe.com

Benoit failed to appear both at Saturday’s live event in Beaumont, Tx., and WWE’s Vengeance: Night of Champions in Houston Sunday night, after informing WWE of a family emergency. Several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning prompted concerned friends to alert Richard Hering, VP of Government Relations for WWE, Inc. Hering, in turn, spoke with Fayette County sheriffs Monday, and requested that they respond to the Benoit residence to check on him and his family.

[Rosemary2205]

89. Yes I saw that too.

After I read the WAGA article I clicked over to WWE.

We are big rasslin fans here but tonight we missed Raw. I have not watched the recording of Raw yet. My husband has a not of memory problems these days but the one thing he always seems to retain is rasslin. Having them 3 or 4 times a week on TV during his rehab was almost like family coming to visit him and cheer him on. I know it sounds a little pathetic, but when one is stuck in bed for the better part of 18 months the TeeVeee can be a comfort sometimes.

[Prophet 451]

95. That could mean anything

I'm aware that I may be grasping at straws here but "alarming text messages" could mean anything from "I'm killing people" to "I feel like I'm drowning" to "hello Mr. raspberry hat".

[cynatnite]

99. They were alarming enough to sends the cops to the house n/t

[Rex]

90. Wow.

The good die young. :(

[MirrorAshes]

91. Chris Benoit was a real hero of mine.

I havn't followed wrestling in years now, and in fact Benoit's win at Wrestlemania 20 was the last ppv I ever bought and it had been quite a while before then that I'd really taken it seriously either. But I heard he was finally getting his shot and I had to see. He won, and I was so happy.

He was everything that was right about wrestling--not the circus put on by Vince McMahon but the real tradition behind it. Benoit was the essence of what was good about it.

I'm praying right now that this all gets sorted out somehow and the blame doesn't fall on him for this horrible tragedy. I honestly do not and cannot believe he did it. It just isn't him.

And for all of you talking about steroids, Chris would have been the last person to ever use. He got his muscles the old fashioned way and anyone who knows anything about him will attest to that.

[Endangered Specie]

92. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that people are mourning a guy

who may have murdered his wife and son, and chickened out by committing suicide?

Not exactly what I consider 'progressive'.

[Prophet 451]

94. 1. "may have", 2. human nature

We mourn people of talent (and Benoit was phonomenally talented) not because they are good people but because they have great talent.

And innocent until proven, or at least until we know more.

[cynatnite]

97. When the news broke not many knew much information...

It's only in the last few hours that more details have come out. Benoit was a well respected wrestler who was a consummate professional. He was one of the top technical wrestlers in the industry and had a lot of fans. My family have been fans of his for many years.

Many fans are in a state of shock and disbelief. It'll take a while before many can accept that Benoit did this horrible thing. It's inconceivable. If true, it will take some time for it to soak in.

[Rosemary2205]

98. Well put - nt

[jollyreaper2112]

121. It's like OJ

His public face was as an affable good guy and so many people found it impossible to believe that he could kill two people. Then again, OJ is a celebrity and the whole name of the game is acting. Many people liked Tom Cruise before his crazy personal beliefs came out. That's precisely the sort of thing celebrities have publicists for, managing the brand.

[MirrorAshes]

101. rushing to judge and crucify someone who may be innocent-- thats progressive?

this is an incredibly confusing situation and the facts are not in. so put your trumped up outrage on hold for a moment, would you?

[Endangered Specie]

104. trust me, I ain't outraged,

I only get that way when, say, people mourn a death row inmate (Tookie)

[bluestateguy]

108. I think we need to wait and see what the facts are

The Duke Lacrosse case reminds us all of the the importance of that.

[MindMatter]

111. Mourning is fine

Any death, particularly of the young boy, is a tragedy, and mourning is a natural human response.

Hero worship is not such an admirable thing. In their private lives, many famous people are not at all who they seem to be, and I expect that would be especially true in the field of acting. This guy was paid to play a script every day, so nobody should be surprised if the script for his personal life read a bit differently than the script for his latest ring appearance.

[mondo joe]

113. It's not progressive to jump to conclusions. NT

[wicket]

118. May you never have to deal with mental illness

And the awful things it can make people do in extreme instances.

[Endangered Specie]

127. Who said is was mentally ill?

[wicket]

145. This isn't the work of a perfectly sane person

:shrug:

[datadiva]

103. I grew up watching wresting

This is just so sad. People can go off the deep end. I think thats probably the case here. I really feel for his friends and family. I can't understand how people can just jump to judge. Chris Benoit has been a serious lifter his whole life. Damn.

[Eurobabe]

105. John DuPont is in a mental institution so it can't be him

Inside Philly joke. Rich dude murdered a wrestler in the mid-90s. My university's gym WAS named after him, that promptly came off the building.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9702/25/dupont.verdict/reax.html

[Shipwack]

106. This is the third wrestling death in the past couple of weeks...

Not even counting Vince's "death". I'm glad they finally pulled the plug on that idiotic story line...

Other deaths were "Sensational Sherri" and "Biff Wellington"...

[bluestateguy]

107. Scary Sherri's dead?

I can't keep up with all of the werstlers who croak: Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Andre the Giant, Eddie Guerrero. What's with all of the people who kick off so young in this profession?

[HughBeaumont]

110. Stress, steroids, drugs and injuries taking long-term tolls . . .

It's not as easy a profession as people think. The matches are scripted but the injuries these athletes suffer are very real. It attracts a great deal of less-than-level-headed people. Performing in 250 matches a year on average, they get no off-season and no pension. Many need a cornucopia of various prescribed substances and shots just to make it through the day.

Like it was said above, I don't want to believe this is true, but it illustrates the kind of mental toll this business takes on someone who wasn't equipped to cope to begin with. Anyone who knows what Chris Benoit was like knew that he put the business's needs ahead of his own. He's carried far too many undeserving people (Bradslob comes to mind) to great matches while waiting for a championship he finally earned after decades of back-breaking work.

[slj0101]

117. Wrestling is a brutal, unforgiving business.

Nonstop touring, backstage politics, and the drive to be the best and look the best take its toll. Sadly, it's all too prevalent these days.

[NYCGirl]

125. You're so right. It just chews 'em up and spits 'em out. NT

[DemSoccerMom]

112. Murder/Suicide is being investigated . . .

. . . at least according to what I saw on CNN last night. According to investigators, they are focusing primarily on this being a murder/suicide. The investigator wouldn't go into too much detail (for obvious reasons), but said that they were investigating a possible murder/suicide.

He obviously didn't name any names as to who MAY HAVE been the shooter (?)/murderer, but that's the way the investigation is leaning, according to what I heard.

My sympathies to the families involved. :hug:

[wicket]

114. WTF?????

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[RamboLiberal]

122. Benoit's wife once claimed abuse, filed for divorce

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/stories/2007/06/25/0625benoit.html

Superstar wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife went through a period of turbulence early in their marriage that included her claiming domestic abuse and filing for divorce, court records show.

The couple and their 7-year-old son were found dead Monday in their home on Green Meadow Lane just east of Peachtree City. Police said it was a murder-suicide. Nancy Benoit and her son, Daniel, were killed during the weekend and Benoit died Monday, police said.

The couple, who had lived together since 1997 and were married in 2000, had separated when Nancy Benoit, a wrestling manager who worked under the stage name "Woman," filed for divorce in May 2003.

In the accompanying petition for protection from domestic abuse, Nancy Benoit, 43, claimed she was intimidated by threats of violence from her 40-year-old, 5-foot-10, 220-pound husband, who was known as the "Canadian Crippler."

----

The details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre," Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said Tuesday.

Sorry, but this guy is not someone to admire IMHO. Not a wrestling fan, but I also found it so bizarre this happened when McMahon was pulling that stupid he was assasinated stunt!

[RamboLiberal]

123. Strangled his wife, smothered his son, hung himself

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in the weight room of his Georgia home, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told The Associated Press.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=3315501

[Raskolnik]

124. Yikes! This makes Dino Bravo's death look banal.

That is some f'd up business.

[shadowknows69]

126. OMG

So sad. What brings a man to this? Why do suicidals feel the need to bring the family with them.

[Endangered Specie]

129. Perhaps because they have a 2 bit brain and a 1bit heart?

[Ezlivin]

130. A friend of mine killed himself on Father's Day last week

He went next door to his neighbor's unoccupied house, found his .357 and stuck it in his mouth.

But before he stormed off after an argument over finances, he said to his wife, "Why are we living? What's the point?"

Some of these suicidal bastards feel that not only is their life not worth living, but the lives of those around them are also worthless.

Scary as hell.

[shadowknows69]

132. I've been to that edge myself for myself

never wanted to hurt other people in the process, even those that wronged me. Rage and pain are subjective things I guess. I just heard on a canadian station that apparently there will be an investigation into steroid use by chris and its possible role in this. If that is at all found to be the case then someone needs to bring Vince McMahon's empire down for good and reexamine the pain this "sport" causes its participants.

[Prophet 451]

135. It now looks likely

That he was injecting Daniel with steroids.

I think we can safely assume severe mental issues here.

[Yukari Yakumo]

142. Actually...

Daniel suffered from a rare genetic disease called Fragile X syndrome.

The steroids (likely HGH) were probably used to treat some of the symptoms of the disease.

[Prophet 451]

143. Oh thank fuck

I know it seems weird to be grateful in these circumstances but thank the Lord for that.

[nonconformist]

133. Horrible. I keep thinking about that poor little boy....

*shudder*

So tragic, and so unnecessary.

[Greeby]

136. Vince Mcmahon gave another pre-recorded statement on ECW

It was rumoured that he was going to apologise for last night's RAW tribute show. While he did draw a line under it and declare that henceforth, Benoit's name would no longer be mentioned in WWE, he definitely didn't apologise

[MindMatter]

139. Nice

This SOB creates the environment that practically forces these guys to juice up and then he wants to disown the guy after his system destroys Benoit.

McMahon has a whole lot of responsibility for those 3 deaths, and many many more, considering all he has done to glorify violence and steroid usage. I don't suppose McMahon can be charged with murder in this case, but that would be a just result, IMHO.

[Prophet 451]

140. That's Vince all over

Couple of years ago, HBO did a show about the mortality rate among wrestlers and interviewed McMahon as part of it. Vince refused to accept the slightest responsibility, lost his temper and tried to slap some papers out of the reporter's hand (and hilariously, failed).

The government tried indicting McMahon for steroid distribution in 1992 but that failed because he never actually gave his workers steroids or actively encouraged anyone to take them. Instead, he created an atmosphere where virutally everyone he pushed was either on the gas or looked like they were and turned a blind eye to his workers roiding (at least, until Eddie G's death forced him to start drug testing). I'm not sure you can accuse him of glorifying violence since wrestling is a pretty violent sport even at the amateur level but he was certainly the major factor in the rise of steroids in wrestling.

What's almost worse is that these guys get no health insurance (WWE is very careful to class it's workers as "independant contractors" rather than employees and if you think that the starting salary is $500 a week and you have to pay your own expenses on the road, that's not much), they're often dropped when they get injured (Sean Waltman and Andy Martin were both released while recovering from broken necks), no help to handle the grind of life on the road and you can understand why painkiller and alcohol abuse is absolutely epidemic in wrestling.

In fairness, TNA is a lot better simply because teh schedule is much, much lighter.

[ClassWarfare2008]

144. Vince will never apologize for anything.

Republicans don't do that.
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Vince_McMahon.php

[Prophet 451]

150. Doesn't surprise me

It's been known for a while that Vince was a diehard neo-con Republican. He's a wealthy man so it pretty much figures that he'd lob a few bucks at his preferred candidates.

[MindMatter]

146. Not glorifying violence?

"I'm not sure you can accuse him of glorifying violence since wrestling is a pretty violent sport even at the amateur level but he was certainly the major factor in the rise of steroids in wrestling."

I don't understand that comment at all. Violence is all the show is. It is a bunch of freaks playing a script acting like they are beating the hell out of each other and when they aren't doing that, they are in each others faces screaming incoherently about how much violence they are going to do to each other when they receive their next script next week.

If this is not glorifying violence, I don't know what is. It is worse than video games because at least in the case of video games there is some slight possibility that the child (or adult with a child's mind) that is playing the game is able to discern the video from real people. No such separation exists in the rasslin' world.

[Prophet 451]

149. How is that different from, say, boxing?

Except that pro wrestling hasn't claimed to be a legitimate sport in over a decade. Everyone who watches the shows know that it's a work, wrestlers don't claim otherwise. No, they don't break character on the shows because it would ruin suspension of disbelief for the same reason as, say, Robert DeNiro doesn't start talking about the FX while he's being blown up at the end of Casino.

Now perhaps small children couldn't understand that. That's why WWE wrestling carries a TV-14 rating. It's not suitable for kids and WWE is finally saying that.

[MindMatter]

154. Not much different

Obviously boxing glorifies violence in the ring. But there is a certain demeanor that most Boxers maintain outside the ring.

In rasslin', there is no break in the glorification of violence. When people aren't acting out violence inside the ring, they are going after each other with chairs or whatever outside the ring. It is just a nonstop display of reptilian behavior -- like Jerry Springer with more contact.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

148. I Once Met Lex Lugar At A Ballys In Orlando

He was the mildest, most laid back guy in the gym... Then I read he was arrested for domestic abuse and possession of steroids... That drug is a scourge...

[Prophet 451]

151. That actually was roid rage

In actual fact, Luger's arrest sheet showed no less than fourteen illegally obtained kinds of drug with hundred of doses of each. His partner Elizabeth Huelette (who you may remember as "Miss Elizabeth") died from a combination of narcotic painkillers and alcohol shortly after his arrest (foul play was investigated but ruled out).

On the evidence we have right now though, Benoit wasn't roiding and this quite definately wasn't a roid rage murder. It's too methodical, too deliberate. This is a very sick man comitting a horrible crime.