• Wrestling News & Wrestling Rumors – WWE & TNA

Although I have been sick to the teeth of covering the whole Chris Benoit tragedy (I’ll never forget the day that I had to post around the news sites informing everybody he was dead) I think with the anniversary of his death coming up and the numerous books being written (I’ll have a review of Ring of Hell shortly) it’s time to tackle the story once again.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a University student in hope of some expert quotes for her project, she was doing it on the Chris Benoit Double Murder Suicide. Below is the unedited interview between Scarlett and I, my input being the answers to her questions.

Do you think the Chris Benoit double murder-suicide will have detrimental effects on the popularity and fan base of WWE in the long run?

In the short term it didn’t and unless the government finally gets round to looking in to the issues in wrestling and outlaws it completely then there will be no detrimental effects on the fanbase in the long run either. One thing I have noticed from fans though is that they now assume every muscle-clad wrestler is juiced up on steroids. Chris Masters (former WWE superstar) recently informed me that there is no magic pill for a great body and the people that take steroids are already the ones in the gym 7 days a week. So the Benoit tragedy may have detrimental effects on the way fans view the WWE, but not change its popularity.

Do you think Benoit’s actions will have jeopardized his place as not only a WWE Hall of Famer, but as a brilliant wrestler in general? Do you think future generations will be able to access unbiased information on the wrestler he was and his life before the murders, without WWE monopolizing the information that can be accessed (being erased from WWE history books, etc.)?

There is no doubt in any performer or current fan’s mind that Chris Benoit was an exceptional wrestler and what he’s done in the sport is unmatched by anyone. That being said he’s going to be known as the family killer first and great wrestler second when looking back, purely because of the media attention surrounding it all. There were no books about Chris Benoit as a great wrestler, but there are already four in the works regarding this tragedy.

He will never be in the hall of fame. Vince said it himself “you will never hear the name Chris Benoit mentioned on this show again” (at least words to that effect). WWE is a business, in it to make money that’s why each year they have a big name like Ric Flair leading the Hall Of Fame pack. Why would Benoit be considered? It’d be bad for business.

Unless you count old fuzzy matches surrounded by negative comments on Youtube as unbiased information then no, future generations won’t have “easy” access to Chris Benoit in the original context. Of course it will be there if you hunt for it but on the surface he’s been erased. Even on this year’s Hall Of Fame DVD, Ric Flair mentioned Benoit and it was cut.

Do you think Chris Benoit had a complex about size? Apparently he injected Daniel Benoit with human growth hormone; as a child himself Benoit was undersized; the fact that he took steroids – do these contribute to the way you see Benoit?

I think all smaller wrestlers deep down feel that they need to be bigger to make it, because that’s how Vince likes it and portrays it on TV. Batista, Triple H and John Cena are huge. Despite multiple rejections from the crowd Vince continues to push wrestlers like Snitsky because of their size, so there is an ideology that to make it in this industry you have to be big, or at least ripped for your size. There are exceptions, but that’s the same for everything. In Basketball it’s fair to say that you have to be tall to make it. The scary thing in wrestling is that unlike Basketball wrestling is scripted, so Vince could have midgets on top if he wanted – it’s just personal preference.

So I think it’s possible Benoit may have had a complex about size, because he was so passionate about the wrestling industry, which is full of big men. There is no conclusive evidence that he was injecting his son with HGH, although your theory is quite probable.

From your knowledge of the WWE wellness policy, the Benoit murders and steroid use, do you think the wellness policy works? How is it possible that Benoit had so much steroids/testosterone in his body and that he was able to access so much of the product and WWE never noticed? Do you think ‘roid rage was the cause of the murder? Do you think WWE is to blame? Is Dr. Astin to blame for providing so much steroids to Benoit? As Irv Muchnick says in Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport, does it just come down to the good old “personal responsibility principle”, and was it solely Benoit’s fault?

The Wellness Policy works to a certain degree and just recently they made it more stringent by having somebody watching over the wrestlers when taking a urine sample, so they don’t use any masking agents, prosthetic penis pumps or simply swap it with their buddy’s clean sample. Despite this there are a few major loopholes that wouldn’t be allowed in the Olympics for example. Firstly if you have a legitimate doctor’s prescription for a substance that can easily aid muscle growth, it’s allowed to slide. There are plenty of “mark doctors” who would be happy to write a prescription for anything or over prescribe like Phil Astin. Although I’m not completely aware of which combination of substances can be used to aid muscle growth, I’m told that a doctor can prescribe one thing that can then be mixed with things that aren’t banned and it can have the same affect as using straight up steroids. For example you can obtain a “therapeutic” prescription for Testosterone (banned under the wellness policy but fine if prescribed) combine it with Insulin which isn’t banned and it can lead to muscle growth. One major issue, that is almost laughable but which goes over so many mainstream journalists heads when talking to wrestlers, is that under WWE’s Wellness Policy HGH isn’t banned if it’s for medical purposes. So when a reporter asks are you on steroids, the wrestler can so no, but might still be on HGH, testosterone and insulin. WWE’s ratios are also skewed. What they consider “prescribed for therapeutic purposes” would be considered dangerously high in most other sports. Basically Benoit got away with it because he had a mark doctor and prescriptions. The blame falls on to everyone. Vince for his fetish for size, Astin for breaking the law and abusing his power and Benoit for choosing to take that path and maybe there was an element of group acceptance in the locker room. As for “Roid Rage” there have been no studies that prove it even exists and on top of this there was method in Benoit’s actions – you can’t kill your wife son and yourself in one quick burst of rage. There was “method to his madness.”

In the coming months I will be writing an in depth article entitled “Chris Benoit: One Year On” with a serious look in to what has changed in the wrestling business since that dreadful day. As mentioned I will also be doing a middle of the line review on the Ring of Hell Book and hopefully Scarlett will be able to post her full paper on this issue.