Chris Benoit’s mixed legacy is one of the most polarizing in wrestling history.
Chris Benoit was many things. He was a small-ish man who proved he could wrestle among the giants. He was one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time. He was an inspiration to many both in and out of the wrestling world.
But the thing he’s most remembered for is murdering one of his children and wife before committing suicide.
While the circumstances surrounding Chris Benoit have been well documented, wiping him from the WWE history books does more than erase his career and memory. It erases the mental problems that arose from head injuries wrestlers seemingly suffer regularly.
Yes, what Chris Benoit did to his child, wife, and himself is reprehensible. There’s no debating that topic.
The problem comes when everything he worked for, in an industry that has a high death rate, was wiped away, erasing what was Chris Benoit’s mixed legacy.
It’d be a public relations nightmare
It’s understandable when we look at what the outside world (media, mainly) would say about if he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. They’d tip into the WWE and Vince McMahon, and rightly so. Chris Benoit was a hall of fame performer, but there is just so much we can separate his in-ring persona with his real life actions.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), that’s not what’s being discussed here.
Those for remaining wiped from the record books are quick to point to the hall of fame argument when it’s pointed out his career inspired many. Their fear, and it’s justifiable, is that if fans see his matches, they’ll start to ask why he isn’t in the Hall of Fame, and the push would then commence.
What will also be asked is why he did what he did
And that’s the sticking point. No one knows why he did it. Most are opinions since there wasn’t a smoking gun, so to speak.
Let’s be clear, when he was autopsied and his brain was examined, it was determined he had suffered from extensive CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in all regions of his brain. Some of the symptoms include, depression, cognitive impairment, dementia, Parkinsonism and erratic behavior.
Many experts believe CTE was a cause or contributing factor to his actions with his family.
Previous to this, CTE was mainly found in boxers and was in the early days of identifying it in those that took part in contact sports. It’s important to note that treatment for CTE was more in its infancy than not at the time.
What his actions led to was public scrutiny and demand for safer conditions and better treatments. That and the number of lives subsequent research and treatments have saved are the only good things to come out of his acts.
Since then, sports in general have included a better practice with regard to head injuries. The WWE has the ImPACT Concussion Management Program in place to catch and treat concussions to prevent repeats of Chris Benoit or other athlete’s mental stability issues.
Basically, knowledge and treatment of those suffering head injuries has grown by leaps and bounds.
The problem here is the WWE, meaning Vince McMahon, doesn’t want to face any public backlash that could result from Chris Benoit and any Hall of Fame talk. It’s bad for a business that’s looking weak at the moment.
What many of us want is to watch his matches again, not the hall of fame
Put a disclaimer before each of his videos. Maybe even a brief message about the dangers of head trauma. By all means, put those in. It’s a very important issue that needs to be brought to everyone’s attention.
But there’s no reason to pretend like he never existed.
The man accomplished what he accomplished. Let those that want to watch his matches do so, and those that don’t can ignore them. Pretty simple.
Sure, there’d be some initial backlash, but it’d mostly fade over time and McMahon would satisfy a portion of the fan base that wants to appreciate what Chris Benoit gave so many of us in the ring.
Despite may beliefs, the fans can differentiate between the character and the man that was if given the opportunity to learn about it. Of course, that would mean transparency from the WWE in this case, and transparency has never been the strong point of wrestling. It ruins the mystery behind the curtain.
The final word
There really isn’t a final word in this except from Vince McMahon. If he doesn’t want Chris Benoit seen or mentioned in WWE programming or information sharing, it’s not going to happen.
For those that take the time, you will not find a mention of him, any version of his entrance theme, or even matches he was in with other wrestlers no matter their standing or quality on WWE controlled sites.
What this comes down to is the few that have images or videos of Chris Benoit that have shared them for those wanting to see him beyond his final moments.
In the grand scheme of things, Chris Benoit’s mixed legacy is what we choose to make of it.
