“Rabid”

As the details unfold regarding the Chris Benoit double murder-suicide, I can’t help to not only mourn at something so tragic (a young man killing his wife and young son), but also to marvel at the tragic irony of Benoit’s seemingly psychotic demise. I can’t imagine that when Chris Benoit was himself–and not the man who committed these heinous acts, that he could have ever foreseen not only killing his wife and child, but also killing the business that he lived to protect.

Pro Wrestling is unlike any business that you have ever heard about. It is a fraternity made up of people whose common love for this form of entertainment is the driving force in their lives. Up until very recently, breaking kayfabe (character) was seen as the ultimate violation of trust. Remember, there was a time when the WWE (then the WWF) was not so obviously scripted. Promoters and workers did everything to protect characters and storylines. Why? Because allowing too many outsiders into the inner workings of wrestling could potentially kill business. And for the men and women who make this their livelihood, that was and is not an option.

In losing his mind and slaughtering his family, Chris Benoit stabbed his coworkers in the back too. Pro Wrestling already has an incredibly tarnished image, and this is by far the single worst story to ever rock the wrestling world. You can see the CNNs and Fox News’ alike already creating their angles. And with some good reason. Pro Wrestling is very flawed and often times is run by promoters (mostly Vince McMahon) whose love of money superceeds their care for workers. It has been alleged that steroids has been encouraged or demanded for workers. Pro wrestlers also work up to 300 nights a year. And if you think the impact of wrestling is “fake”, you’ve never sat down to watch a show. Physically, you could liken being in the ring 300 nights a year to playing tackle football 300 nights a year. And the best football players in the world work 19 days a season. And oh yeah–wrestler’s don’t wear pads and rarely take off for injuries. In other words, wrestling is a brutal business. and it deserves some scrutiny, but the negative attention it will be getting over the next few weeks will be brutal and life changing for many people.

Last night’s WWE tribute to Benoit was touching. And I do believe that regardless of how things ended for Chris Benoit, his life still deserved to be celebrated. From everything I have ever heard about Benoit, he was a good guy, and that is something that makes this almost worse if that’s possible. Was it “roid rage” ?? Maybe. Was he depressed and off his meds? Maybe. Was he a good guy to friends and coworkers but a violent lunatic with his family? That seems likely. No matter what the truth may be, though, this tragedy will tarnish pro wrestling badly and permanently.