RIP: Chris Benoit

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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:35 pm

I'm going to wait until all the facts are known about this before making any kind of judgement. No matter what the circumstances are, the whole thing is a tragedy that'll haunt professional wrestling for a long time to come.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Well, the truth is out, not that their could have been any other explanation for the deaths:

Quote:

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

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:41 pm

Edited: After more facts come in.

This is very sad to hear. I feel for the wife and child. There is no justification for abuse. Sad

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:13 pm

I can't imagine anyone killing their own family. It has got to be waaaay more than stress to make someone do that. And to think they did a show last night to honor his life! Granted they (WWE) didn't know, but still!

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:35 pm

Steroids can cause that kind of rage Sad

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 2301

I feel horrible for his wife and child. Sad

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:40 pm

I can very remotely understand wanting to kill a spouse, but smothering your own child? It's unthinkable. How the hell could anyone do such a thing?

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:43 pm

A person would have to be temporarily insane. Sad

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:49 pm

I can't believe what happened. Shocked

I remember watching his matches with his trademark German Suplexes followed by his flying headbutt. Sad

I'm speechless to hear.

Hopefully, the investigators will shed some light to what drove him to kill his wife and son. That's just sad indeed.

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:34 pm

I think it's totally tragic, the kind of mental state he must have been in to drive him to such an act.

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:06 pm

lotta wrote:

Steroids can cause that kind of rage Sad

Very true. And so can speed. (meth)

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:42 pm

Quote:

In an accompanying petition, the newspaper said Nancy Benoit had sought protection from domestic abuse, claiming she was intimidated by threats of violence from her husband.

Having suffered for 7 years from domestic violence, I hate to tell you that the only heartfelt sympathy I have at this moment is for his wife and son.

It make's no difference how 'great' your public persona, it's when you're behind closed doors. That's who you truly are. And yes, I'll accept slaps from wrestling fans.

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:28 am

No slaps from this wrestling fan. Any fans that are still defending him are still in deep denial.

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:05 am

Just woke up to this update this morning. Sad

Last thing I saw before heading home last night was the pulling of all Chris Benoit merchandise and all references to him removed from the WWE website, so figured something big was happening - I didn't want to believe the murder-suicide explanation, but now have no choice to accept it.
I don't see how any fans could defend his actions. I shall be pulling down my picture of him & Eddie, as Homer, you were quite right, they aren't together in the great wrestling ring in the sky.
On a selfish note, its so sad (for me) to see one of my personal heroes fall so hard and far. Crying or Very sad

RIP Nancy & Daniel.

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:37 am

An article posted elsewhere about family annihilators. With what wrestling fans know, and from what has come out in the media, how this reads as a checklist about Chiris.

Quote:

"'The profile of a family annihilator is a middle-aged man, a good provider who would appear to neighbours to be a dedicated husband and a devoted father,' Levin said. 'He quite often tends to be quite isolated. He is often profoundly dedicated to his family, but has few friends of his own or a support system out with the family. He will have suffered some prolonged frustration and feelings of inadequacy, but then suffers some catastrophic loss. It is usually financial or the loss of a relationship. He doesn't hate his children, but he often hates his wife and blames her for his miserable life. He feels an overwhelming sense of his own powerlessness. He wants to execute revenge and the motive is almost always to "get even".'

'These are executions. They are never spontaneous. They are well planned and selective. They are not carried out in the heat of the moment or in a fit of rage. They are very methodical and it is often planned out for a long time. There are certain people the killer blames for his problems. If a friend came along, he wouldn't kill him or her. He kills his children to get even with his wife because he blames her and he hates her. The killer feels he has lost control. Annihilating his family is a way of regaining control. It is a methodical, selective murder by a rational, loving father. That's why it is so terrifying.'

Although these cases are more common than child murders by a stranger, they often do not receive the same media coverage. Part of the reason is that the perpetrator often takes his own life as well - meaning there is no court case"

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:49 am

it wasn't me wrote:

Quote:

In an accompanying petition, the newspaper said Nancy Benoit had sought protection from domestic abuse, claiming she was intimidated by threats of violence from her husband.

Was she ever granted protection?

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:12 pm

Weasel, I doubt it, if they were still living together... Sad

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

The restraining order they are talking about was in 2003 when she filed for divorce from him, the divorce and restraining order were later dropped by her at that time.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Since 1985, Benoit will be the 38th pro wrestler to die at age 40 or younger. This is a phenomenally high death rate for supposedly "elite" athletes (and don't get me wrong, in most ways they are elite, it's just that the toll their bodies take is way beyond the norm). And yes, not all their deaths can be tied to wrestling and its side-effects, but most can.

http://prowrestling.about.com/od/whatsrealwhatsfake/a/wrestlersdeaths.htm

Baiting Guru Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 5905

I avoided the Benoit news yesterday evening and this morning partly not wanting to get caught up in the rumor mill but partly not wanting to face the sad truth and still hoping it was all misunderstanding but as stated there is no getting away from it.

I'm not going to pass judgement on what happened. Just RIP Nancy & David.

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 4:44 pm

Shouldn't this thread be renamed RIH: Chris Benoit (as in...Rot In Hell).
I do not personally know the man, but, considering his tendency towards violence (restraining order, wife calling cops...), and the fact that he killed his wife, his child, and then himself hours, if not days, apart, gives me the distinct impression that he wasn't a very nice person (understatement of the year). That you kill someone in a fit of rage (deplorable as it is), I can understand... but a fit of rage doesn't last a few days, does it?
I can understand that, as a fan of the guy, you might find it hard to comprehend what has happened, but please : the fact that he entertained a large audience doesn't mean his actions are less evil...
We tend to excuse the "famous" for their crimes, antics, or immoral (I'm no prude... Wink

) behaviour : I guess (and I'm no sociologist/psychiatrist) that because these people seem larger than life, and they invade our daily life (I'm no fan of Hilton/Pitt/Jolie/Lohan etc, but you just cannot open a newspaper and they're in it...), we tend to excuse them for their failings, similar to what we do when judging to people we do really know. Where I live, only last week a father, mother and daughter had their throats cut by (alledgedly) the 19 year old son.
Now I don't know if he's guilty or not (innocent until proven guilty..) but even though he's been remanded, and his alaibi doesn't stick, he's changed his story zillion times, alibi doesn't stick etc... his family (what's left of it) stand by him because "they just don't believe he could've done it"... Even more telling is the accused's uncle who said : "I don't think he did it, but if he did, I'll stand by him"...
The point I'm trying to make is that I doubt the uncle would would be as forgiving if an unknown had commited these acts.
And whilst I can understand that you support your family or good friends, even if they did something wrong... I can't for the life of me understand why this kind of sympathy is extended to people we don't even know, just because they're "famous" (see Ms Hilton, who strides out of jail on a catwalk, O.J. Simpson, etc..)
So, good riddance to bad rubbish, the world can only be a better place without him.
Instead of focusing on the 'best wrestler' tag, think about what he did exactly.
I hope his wife and child rest in peace... as far as he's concerned.. wouldn't * on his grave

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:48 pm

It's dreadful for all 3 of them. Certainly for his wife and son but also for how he got into such a bad state that made him capable of it.

Sad