[BlogEntry] WWE : Chris Benoit Died? What the????

I don't really follow the WWE pay per views, but I do follow the "sheets" that give the update on matches. I noticed last night that Benoit would miss the Vengeance PPV because he had to fly home for a "family emergency."

Apparently he, his wife Nancy, and their child have all been found dead. Holy sh*t. No more news is currently available, although you'd have to guess at some sort of murder/suicide thing – the question is who started it.

Long time wrestling fans might recall Benoit's wife Nancy as the character Woman, former protege of Kevin Sullivan. They had some classic battles in WCW using their own real life feud as fodder for some memorable television.

It's hard to explain to a non wrestling fan what it means when something like this happens. I mean, let's be honest, I'm 38 years old and I've watched wrestling for all my life. I don't buy the merchandise, or the pay per views. It's just a sort of Monday night habit I've never really kicked. Now imagine for a minute that there's someone you see every week. Every single week, for, oh, call it 20 years. There's really nothing that can compare to that. No television show does it justice – they tape, they rerun. Wrestling is live every week. No movie star can compare – they have stunt men, they get up and climb back in their trailers until they're needed again. Pro wrestlers put on the show that they do, live, every week, because it's what they're born to do. Sometimes they go away for awhile, sure. They're injured, they're written out of story lines. You don't hear from them for months. And then one day when you least expect it, their entrance music kicks in and you get honest to god shivers down your spine. Not because I'm screaming at my television "Kill him, Chris! Get him!!" Of course we know it's fixed, of course we know who "wins". It's not about that. It's about knowing that the guy walking down the aisle is about to put on a damned entertaining show for me, and I appreciate that.

Men like Chris Benoit (and his longtime closest friend Eddie Guerrero) were the sort who redefined what it meant to be great at what they did. Chris Benoit absolutely transcended what it means to be a professional wrestler these days. He wasn't among the circus of "dead men" and "degeneration X" and other gimmicks and story lines. You want to know the Chris Benoit storyline? He was the best wrestler there was. Prove him wrong. In a business where people got over almost entirely on their monster physiques or their movie star microphone work (the Rock, anyone?), Chris Benoit held his own entirely on his wrestling talent and intensity.

I can't even wrap my brain around what it means for him to be gone. Eddie Guerrero died last year. That, too, was a tragedy. But to put it in context? Honestly? Eddie Guerrero had a long time history of messing his body up pretty badly with drugs. It was not a surprise to many people when he died. Benoit died suddenly, unexpectedly and tragically, along with his entire family. The magnitude of that is inconceivable.

The show's on now. I'm going to stop typing and start appreciating the memories. RIP, Crippler. I hope you get to see your friend Eddie again.