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Post by vin on Jun 25, 2007 20:00:25 GMT -5
Not sure if this has been posted anywhere,but TSN says that wrestler Chris Benoit,his wife and son have been found dead in Atlanta.
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Post by vin on Jun 25, 2007 20:58:48 GMT -5
The Atlanta Journal- Constitution now say's it is being investigated as a murder-suicide.
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Post by Skilly on Jun 26, 2007 6:25:32 GMT -5
The Atlanta Journal- Constitution now say's it is being investigated as a murder-suicide. I figured as much ..... from what I read he was on leave due to "personal reasons" from the WWE. And the rumour was he and his wife were having problems, so much so that it was iffy if he was going to make the next PPV. |
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Post by wpghabsfan on Jun 26, 2007 15:42:42 GMT -5
Really sad. I have a friend who's big into the WWE and he loved Benoit. It's really too bad that he didn't seek help first...  RIP Chris Benoit |
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Post by habmeister on Jun 26, 2007 15:59:25 GMT -5
saw him "rassle" when he was first starting out in stampede in calgary late 80's. i have a fondness for those calgary wrestlers, first bret hart getting screwed by vince, then owen hart dying because of some stupid stunt wire gone wrong, and now chris benoit.
it's time that the gov't stepped in and regulated this "sport". with no union and no bargaining power and medical help or wwe pensions a lot of these guys are used and then discarded when they're no longer useful. not to say that the wwe had anything to do with his unhappiness and what made him do it, we may never know.
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Post by franko on Jun 26, 2007 17:39:11 GMT -5
Can you spell . . . s-t-e-r-o-i-d-s?
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Post by habmeister on Jun 26, 2007 18:57:21 GMT -5
Can you spell . . . s-t-e-r-o-i-d-s? who chris? no kidding, vince mcmahon might be the biggest user in the company though. you can't blame chris, he's a small guy, he was living his dream and the only way for him to become a superstar was probably to crank. what a sad story. my uncle also wrestled in calgary in the 60's, he died way too young too, at about 55 years of age. he didn't have much of a life after wrestling, but apparently he knew the hart family well. i never got to meet them though. i did see bret at 16 or 17 years old win a battle royale in kelowna, that was cool. also saw owen a lot when he was the star of that promotion. |
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Post by BadCompany on Jun 26, 2007 21:11:54 GMT -5
Really sad. I have a friend who's big into the WWE and he loved Benoit. It's really too bad that he didn't seek help first... RIP Chris Benoit Not to get overly righteous, but he tied up his wife, bashed her head, and then strangled her to death. Then he went to his son's room, his seven year old son, placed a pillow over his head, and held it there until his son stopped struggling. Resting in peace would not be my first choice for Benoit's afterlife. And I hope the WWE gets sued into oblivion for creating a culture of sex, violence and drugs which *may* have led to this tragedy. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jun 27, 2007 6:40:39 GMT -5
Really sad. I have a friend who's big into the WWE and he loved Benoit. It's really too bad that he didn't seek help first... RIP Chris Benoit Not to get overly righteous, but he tied up his wife, bashed her head, and then strangled her to death. Then he went to his son's room, his seven year old son, placed a pillow over his head, and held it there until his son stopped struggling. Resting in peace would not be my first choice for Benoit's afterlife. And I hope the WWE gets sued into oblivion for creating a culture of sex, violence and drugs which *may* have led to this tragedy. Sadly steroids aren't the only drug at play here. McMahon said himself that he sells sex, violence and testosterone. However, IMHO, the main drug is the WWE itself. Once these performers experience that drug it's very hard to let that go. For them, anyway, that drug has more to do with stardom and money. The symptom of that drug is fame and fortune. And the symptoms get worse the more successful the become. McMahon certainly doesn't have a good track record. He insists to his wrestlers that they can't go anywhere in the organization unless the "juice up". And all they need see is how successful their peers have become and they know McMahon is right; morality and ethics be damned. However, McMahon's lack of ethics goes far beyond the bodily and self-abuse he expects from his performers. Owen Hart's death was an example of just how McMahon and his organization just don't care about the people who work for them. The Hart family told McMahon and the WWE to stay away from Owen's funeral. However, unbeknownst to the family, McMahon had a huge red heart placed on the wall behind Owen's casket. It was a slap in the face for Owen's family. There are other examples for sure, but the bottom line McMahon's empire is all about money. He's a self-made millionaire who has made a ton of other millionaires. However, it's not without cost and McMahon is willing to pay the price regardless what the cost is. Like so many before him, Chris Benoit was a product of that cost. It came down to a personal choice, but as most in his situation would, he chose the drug called the WWE. I suspect no one will take McMahon to court BC. But even if someone did I don't think it would destroy his credibility all that much. Steroid use was admitted under oath by several of his top perfomers in the past and the WWE is flourishing. More's to pity. RIP |
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Post by jkr on Jun 27, 2007 7:43:29 GMT -5
Really sad. I have a friend who's big into the WWE and he loved Benoit. It's really too bad that he didn't seek help first... RIP Chris Benoit Not to get overly righteous, but he tied up his wife, bashed her head, and then strangled her to death. Then he went to his son's room, his seven year old son, placed a pillow over his head, and held it there until his son stopped struggling. Resting in peace would not be my first choice for Benoit's afterlife. And I hope the WWE gets sued into oblivion for creating a culture of sex, violence and drugs which *may* have led to this tragedy. BC, I saw an interview with an Atlanta DA this morning & he described the causes of death differently. Where did you find this account? |
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Post by BadCompany on Jun 27, 2007 8:52:23 GMT -5
Not to get overly righteous, but he tied up his wife, bashed her head, and then strangled her to death. Then he went to his son's room, his seven year old son, placed a pillow over his head, and held it there until his son stopped struggling. Resting in peace would not be my first choice for Benoit's afterlife. And I hope the WWE gets sued into oblivion for creating a culture of sex, violence and drugs which *may* have led to this tragedy. BC, I saw an interview with an Atlanta DA this morning & he described the causes of death differently. Where did you find this account? Right here: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/06/25/wrestler.dead.ap/index.html?cnn=yesWhat did the Atlanta DA say? wpghabsfan, I re-read my post and I realized that it may come off as an attack on you... that was not my intention. I know that you obviously don't condone what he did, and it is a tragedy all around. But I needed to vent. To be honest with you, what set me off was listening to the Team 990; the guy who hosts their wrestling show came on and said they were going to dedicate Saturday's show to Chris Benoit, a memorial to his career and to remember the champion he was. Huh? I thought to myself? We're going to honor a man who smothered a 7 year old boy to death? We're going to call him a champion, a great athlete, a rising star who left us much too soon? What the hell is wrong with our society?? Because he's famous, because he's an athlete, its okay to feel bad for him because he choked his wife to death and then murdered a grade 1 school boy? Apparently two days later, while the two of them wandered around the house with the body of that poor kids mother decomposing upstairs? And then felt like he couldn't go on with life so he had to kill himself? Death was too good for him, is what I say. He didn't deserve to die. |
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Post by jkr on Jun 27, 2007 9:26:37 GMT -5
He said the wife died from strangulation but didn't mention a blow to the head. As for his son, it's even worse than you described. They believe he was killed with a wrestling choke hold. I can't imagine a father doing that to a child. This kind of puts the sports world in perspective. I was watching the draft & listening to McGuire rant how it was "unconscionable" that Cherapanov had not been picked yet. He kept repeating it like it was a new word he had just learned. Jeez, it's just hockey Pierre. What's really unconscionable is that a father could kill his young child. |
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Post by franko on Jun 27, 2007 9:33:52 GMT -5
To be honest with you, what set me off was listening to the Team 990; the guy who hosts their wrestling show came on and said they were going to dedicate Saturday's show to Chris Benoit, a memorial to his career and to remember the champion he was. Benoit was not idolized on Team 1200. Glenn Kulka, former CFL player/wrestling "star", admitted doing steroids (and just about everything else) . . . and said that it is the culture of the game (thinks sports drug policies are a joke) so that you can get ahead. And said it is wrong/something that has to be dealt with. Welcome to the world of the celebrity. Doesn't matter what you do if you are "hollywood-famous". Win the Nobel Peace Prize? Forgotten the next month. Make a movie or television show, or be a sports star? Get away with murder (with no references to you-know-who) or something equally outrageous and have people blubbering about the pressure they are under. Bah. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jun 27, 2007 10:09:07 GMT -5
The drug called professional sports. Here's an image that has remained with me over the years. Some of you might remember Lyle Alzado. He went from this  to this  I remember the article but I can't remember exactly when he started using steroids. I think it was in his college days because he realized he was just too small to compete. However, I do remember reading that when one steroid stopped working, he'd change to another. Finally, he went to human growth hormone (HGH). They didn't make them any tougher, meaner or dirtier. However, near the end he wanted to get out of his car to lay a beating on a guy who gave him a hard time at the gas pumps. But, he was too weak. Education on the implications of steroid use are well documented now. However, it comes down to a personal choice I guess. |
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Post by CentreHice on Jun 27, 2007 15:19:31 GMT -5
The "drug" of professional sport is not just fame and fortune....it's staying on top...and in the world of "professional" wrestling, it's about being as huge and as ripped as you can possibly be....hence the outright necessity for steroid use. Vicious cycle.
The total abuse of recreational drugs may or may not follow (as they do in all other walks of life, to maintain an artificial high for whatever reasons).
Body building, football linemen, Tour de France, etc....if you want to be competitve and make the cut, some type of steroid use is almost mandatory. A sad, sorry state of cheaters and connivers. Accounts of rage, depression, and outright domestic violence (as in this case taken to the max) go with that territory in terms of side effects.
It's arguable that Benoit was as much a victim as he was the culprit here.
If sports really want to clean up their various acts, they must declare zero tolerance on performance enhancing drugs. Anyone caught selling, using, masking gets a lifetime ban. I'd much rather see that than three people (two of them completely innocent) being banned from their lifetime.
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Post by Skilly on Jun 28, 2007 8:38:30 GMT -5
The reports I saw on CNN and on CTV ("The Verdict") said that they found 7 tiny needle holes in the son's arm .... the authorities believe the son was injected with HGH.
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Post by franko on Jul 5, 2007 13:26:11 GMT -5
104 wrestlers die in a decade MORE than 100 wrestlers have died before reaching the age of 50 in the last 10 years, The Sun can reveal after the most comprehensive study of its kind.
Of the 104 grapplers who passed away between 1997 and 2007, 40 were full-time professionals who worked regularly for a large promotion or territory in the United States and Canada.
The other 64 wrestled part-time for many of North America's smaller independent groups, in the hope of one day finding their fame and fortune in the industry.
Going back another 10 years, between 1987-2007, the number of wrestlers dying too soon stands at 136.
It also reveals another astonishing statistic. The last 10 years has seen full-time fatalities double the decade before from 19 to 40.
These figures show the problem stretches out much further than just the WWE - and is a major issue for the entire wrestling industry.
Around a quarter of those passing away once worked for Vince McMahon's group, but that leaves 75 per cent who never set foot inside a WWE ring.
If you add in wrestlers competing in other countries who are no longer with us the total number of deaths stands at 129 in the last 10 years and a staggering 165 in the last 20, that we know about.
It was compiled for The Sun by respected wrestling historian John Lister.
John - whose books include Turning The Tables: The Story Of ECW - said: "Premature deaths in wrestling are a complex subject because there is rarely a single cause.
"Many leading wrestlers are affected by a deadly cocktail of problems, addictions and stresses.
"The most publicised recently has been the heavy use of steroids and other growth hormones and the requirement to maintain a physique all year round, thus making it impossible to reduce the dangers by taking regular breaks from use.
"Wrestlers have an acceptance of constant pain as part of the job, perform a physically stressful activity that strains the heart and take repeated blows to the head.
"This leads to heavy use of painkillers, alcohol and, in some cases, recreational drugs like cocaine.
"It is worse for full-timers, who have a gruelling travel schedule working unsociable hours - although that has improved in recent years.
"Finally there is a very competitive political atmosphere behind the scenes to get the full-time jobs and main event spots, as well as a tendency for wrestlers to blur the lines of reality and fantasy.
"There are no simple answers but unless promoters make major changes to the schedule, ring style and physical requirements for wrestlers - as well as introducing much stricter drug testing - the death toll will continue to rise.
The Sun's grappling columnist Simon added: "Analysing this list was both saddening and shocking.
"I was sad because it reminded me that some of my favourite childhood heroes had died, as well as guys I came to know and like covering the sport as an adult.
"I was shocked by discovering just how many wrestlers passed away under the radar - not so much a dirty secret as something so commonplace it barely merits attention.
"And it doesn't even include valets, managers and referees like Miss Elizabeth and Chris Benoit's murdered wife Nancy.
"Of course, wrestling cannot be directly blamed for these deaths. The WWE or any other wrestling organisation didn't physically kill anyone.
"Nobody forced these guys to take copious amounts of steroids and painkillers to boost their careers, or told them that the best way to relax and make friends on the road is to get loaded on booze and cocaine.
"WWE boss Vince McMahon accurately stated recently that if Chris Benoit was a postman, nobody would be blaming the post office for his actions.
"But when you turn that comment on its head, a disturbing truth emerges.
"You have to ask yourself if the men and women on our list decided to deliver post instead of wrestle for a living, would they still be alive today to see their families grow up?
"The answer, in many of these cases, has to be a resounding yes." The Sun [UK] |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 5, 2007 14:20:24 GMT -5
I must have gone through that list for 30 minutes here at work, Franko. Incredible, but sad.
Cheers.
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Post by Skilly on Jul 5, 2007 22:09:40 GMT -5
The first name on the list hit home to me .....
Adrian Adonis' car crash happened here in Newfoundland. It happened exactly 19 years ago this week. July 4th, 1988. The car he was in struck a moose. Those bloody nuisances are all over the highway. Interesting to see they didn't include Dave "Wildman" McKigney or Pat Kelly on the list (they were in the same car) Pat Kelly's brother Mike was the only survivor - but he suistained career ending leg injuries....
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