Thoughts on Chris Benoit and the Future of Wrestling
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by user LittleBlog
This article was originally posted on LittleBlog
Not 12 hours after my post about the tragic turn of events at the Atlanta home of WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, news broke that investigators had determined that Benoit had done the unthinkable, in a two day span, he had killed both his wife and young son in cold blood and then took his own life. Its obvious that the media is really running with the steroid angle to this story, as it was revealed today that prescription anabolic steroids were found in the Benoit home. Its no secret that, some wrestlers did, and continue to, use steroids. The WWE, in an attempt to curb usage, implemented a drug testing policy a few years ago, and it was reported by the WWE today that Benoit was tested in April and registered in the negative. The media also failed to mention that not too long ago Benoit had spinal fusion surgery on his neck, a procedure that several prominent wrestlers have had in response to whiplash and the like that they receive while performing. Recovery from successful spinal fusion surgery requires bone strengthening and growth, anabolic steroids are often prescribed to help in that effort. By no means am I trying to belittle the heinous and cowardly acts of Benoit, Im simply saying that lazy journalism over the last 24 hours has produced half truths and incomplete explanations. Obviously, this is a horrible tragedy, a mother to 3 children is dead, a child with so much life ahead of him is gone, and a man who gave joy and entertainment to thousands has been lost. The time lapse of events and apparent methodical nature of the acts lends itself to an explanation beyond mere roid rage. It reveals, that more than likely, Chris Benoit was a man afflicted with more than just the anger and depressing after-affects of steroid use, he was suffering from the sadistic and unfortunate throngs of mental illness or perhaps worse.
While most of the mainstream media is offering extensive coverage of the event, it still seems like, as Bill Simmons mentioned in his ESPN chat today, most non-wrestling fans dont truly realize how big a story this is for those who follow wrestling. Chris Benoit was one of the most universally liked and revered wrestlers in the business. He was a part of some of the great matches of the last decade or more and anyone who followed wrestling to even a moderate degree over that time period had at least an appreciative fondness for what he added to a match and an overall wrestling promotion. As one commentor on the same ESPN/Simmons chat put it, the mainstream sports equivalent would have been someone like Derek Fisher or Donovan McNabb committing the same act In one horribly selfish and twisted act, Benoit destroyed all of the goodwill and admiration he built up in a glorious and succesful wrestling career. Fans of his and fans of wrestling in general, will never be able to look at him the same way again, and rightly so.
The WWE is also taking alot of heat for running a "Chris Benoit Tribute" last night on the USA Network. In response, Vince McMahon publicly apologized on WWE programming tonight. At the time, Vince probably made the right call in running the tribute. At air time, nothing was known other than the fact that Benoit and his family were dead. The WWE had three hours of programming to fill, since, in observance of the tragedy, they cancelled Raw. It was the right thing to do at the time with the limited information. From the outset, you saw Vince break character, completely throw out a storyline that was really taking off (but obviously was in extremely poor form considering the circumstances) and offer a simple no-frills look at Benoit's career. The hindsight jockeys that are latching on to this story and blasting the WWE for Monday night's airing are simply wrong. Naturally, had the facts that are now out been available at show time, the WWE would not have had any sort of tribute.
It may seem a little juvenile for someone in their late 20's to pour over the effects that such an act is having on a business and form of entertainment that most outgrow by the same age, but like many guys my age, I grew up on professional wrestling. I sat in front of the tv every Saturday morning at age nine watching Cowboy Bill Watts' UWF promotion that ran out of my hometown of Shreveport and featured the likes of Dr. Death and Ted DiBiase. I still have the video tape of the first ever Royal Rumble with guys like Hercules Hernandez and Jumping Jim Brunzell. I said my prayers and ate my vitamins. I was NWO 4 Life. And yes, I even got a little emotional when Ric Flair returned to Nitro . Most guys my age grew up on the Hulk Hogan-fueled and Vince McMahon-created WWF as a kid but lost interest when we discovered girls or started playing sports or what have you. And like most wrestling fans my age, while in college, we got reacquainted with that familiar friend through things like the Monday Night Wars, Goldberg's winning streak, and the antics of Degeneration X. Chris Benoit was a big part of that rebirth in formerly adolescent fan's interest. Thats why this past weekend's turn of events hang so heavy on the wrestling fan collective.
What still looms large is the impact the Benoit story will have on professional wrestling long term. I fully expect the usual nay-sayers like Phil Mushnick and Colin Cowherd to chime in, denouncing the industry, and calling for regulation and accountability. Its obvious that the WWE is already bracing for the backlash. Their press releases over the past few hours have taken a notably defensive tone. But the question really is, where does the problems lie? Its obvious with the number of young wrestlers who have died over the past 20 years ( Complete list ) that there is a problem. Much of it has to do with rampant drug and alcohol abuse. Guys like Brian Pillman, Curt Henning, and Rick Rude died next to open pill bottles, while guys like Eddie Guerrero and Davey Boy Smith died of heart complications more than likely brought on by the same reckless addictions. With the alarming number of their peers dying so young, you would think that wrestlers would attempt to get organized in order to protect themselves, perhaps even form a union in order to garner safer working conditions and better (or any for that matter) health care. The problem there is that, for the most part, wrestlers are expendable in the eyes of most promoters. They arent, most times, the specially skilled performers that pro athletes are in the mainstream sporing world (how else can you explain how complete wrestling liabilities like Lex Luger, Kane, and Batista continue to work). Wrestlers are a dime a dozen and when one falls, theres always some up and comer ready to grasp ahold of that spotlight and throw caution and his health out of the window. If wrestlers were to unionize, they would more than likely be cast aside for those who would cross party lines in order to become a star, and the wrestling promotion would probably never skip a beat.
Perhaps all of this will lead to stronger federal scrutiny. Maybe those Congressional leaders who once went after boxing in an effort to clean it up would do the same for wrestling. Only time and pressure from the right directions will tell. In the meantime, its really up to Vince McMahon and others like him to step up without prodding. Wrestling promotions like WWE and TNA need to take it upon themselves to insure the physical longevity and health of their wrestlers, whether that be through long term health benefit plans, or more stringent drug testing and education, or (God forbid) cutting down on the grueling number of dates and shows these people perform at in a years time. I can only hope that McMahon has learned from the last time his business was faced with such a nationally exposed problem. In the late 80's and early 90's McMahon's WWF was embroiled in a steroids scandal and subsequent trial accusing McMahon of distributing the substances to his wrestlers (he was ultimately acquitted). The subsequent public fallout crippled his promotion until the late 90's renaissance. To avoid that this time, Vince and others need to take the necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of their performers to a greater degree. All of that being said, who really knows if anything would have prevented what happened at the Benoit home. Toxicology reports will be available in a few weeks and perhaps they may shed some light on what may have fueled Chris Benoit's actions, but perhaps like the evidence at the scene, they will only offer open questions and endless speculation.
At this moment, wrestling finds itself at a crossroads. Through this tragedy, the general on-wrestling fan public has been exposed to the ugly side of the business that most fans have at least been casually aware of for years. As a wrestling fan, I can only hope that the industry chooses a more progressive path for itself and preserves the things that have made me such a mark for sports entertainment for all of these years.
