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Post by Big Daddy Bad Booking on Apr 7, 2010 9:20:51 GMT -5
I'll just say this: June 2007 was a bad time to be a WWE fan. Even before the unfortunate events, there was a horrible month of WWE programming, a bad TNA PPV, and even worse yet, a limo blow-up angle that originally ended because of Sherri Martel's passing.
Then came Benoit.
It was only DAYS after I graduated from high school. I was stunned to see the Benoit Family Dead graphic, yet I didn't think Chris did it. Until it was treated as a murder-suicide, and the media circus that followed, it didn't truly sink in.
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Gummydavidson
Dennis Stamp
Johnny Davidson for Prime Minister!
Posts: 3,933
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Post by Gummydavidson on Apr 7, 2010 9:34:18 GMT -5
I watched Vengeance 07 and when it was annouced Benoit couldn't show up I just thought that maybe his son or wife was sick so he stayed to keep them company. I didn't watch Raw so i had no idea Benoit was dead yet. (believe it or not i watched the 2004 Royal Rumble with my cousin that night ) Then the next day i was sitting having my lunch with my mum and step dad in the kitchen and the tv was on sky sports news and that's when i heard the news about Benoit.
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Post by "Sweet & Sour" ImSoFudginGreat on Apr 7, 2010 9:38:22 GMT -5
I'm not really the wrestling fan I used to be, haven't really followed it properly since 2006ish but till catch it when I can. I didn't read the Vengence resullts but I got them from the posts on here. I did read that Benoit had family problems but thought nothing of it.
On the Monday early evening (here in UK) I had just finished reading a thread and the sticky about Benoit being dead was up and I was one of the first ones to reply (I believe I said "What the hell, hope this isn't true" (as it wasn't 100% confirmed). As RAW is on at 2am here I fell asleep but set my alarm around 1.50am. I slept through my alarm and woke up to a Benoit match from a Smackdown (can't remember what it was) and I was confused. Then the match ended and I saw Vince in the middle of the ring paying a tribute.
I then came on here when I woke up and the details of what really happened came out. I was shocked to read what had happened. That night has stuck with me and I don't know why (i'm not one of those people that get bent out of shape over Benoit).
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Jimmy
Grimlock
Posts: 13,317
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Post by Jimmy on Apr 7, 2010 10:12:42 GMT -5
I had finally given up on WWE in the beginning of 2007 after 7 years of devotion, so I only found out about the Benoit death in a baseball thread on another wrestling forum. I was crushed because I was always a huge Benoit fan. I made sure I watched RAW that night for the first time in what felt like forever, and then was even more devestated the next day when it was revealed he did it. It took me another year to watch an episode of RAW again.
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Post by Jay Carroll on Apr 7, 2010 14:28:17 GMT -5
I was living in Hawaii at the time, hadn't watched an episode of Raw or Smackdown in some time, and was generally out of the loop. I only found out about the Benoit thing after hitting up wiki and seeing that he had done these things.
I didn't necessarily go numb with shock, or think about it a lot, but as time grew I started getting more and more curious about it (outside of my time on the internet, I had no connection to the news or the world outside Hawaii). Most of the things I've learned about the ordeal came down the road. And I've watched maybe two Benoit matches since then, and stopped humming his (sweet) theme to myself.
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Kris
Unicron
Kris got his question answered on the Mail Bag...Nice!
Posts: 3,152
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Post by Kris on Apr 7, 2010 16:19:53 GMT -5
I remember when Benoit missed the PPV there were talks that his wife and son were sick and vomiting blood. Then the next day I went to Six Flags with my brother and our cousins. I get back all happy at around 6:30 and go to Wrestleview.com and my heart just sank.
At first I assumed it was the virus, that he was sick and his family was with some freak deadly pathogen. Then there were talks that maybe it was carbon monoxide.
I told my dad, and ever the rational stoic he suggested that it looked fishy, that maybe it was a double murder/suicide. I told him that that was ridiculous and watched the tribute show.
Then after that all the news came out. Boy, that was a dark day.
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Post by ben:friendship frog on Apr 7, 2010 16:35:30 GMT -5
I think I found out by just randomly strolling onto WWE.com which I rarely do and saw the 'Benoit Family Found Dead' headline. It never crossed my mind that Benoit did it, I assumed a murderer, and for a slight second due to the McMahon angle at the time that WWE was running with a murderer angle (I know it sounds daft now).
For months afterwards I still didn't believe Benoit did it, I guess I didn't want to believe it. I'd go for any other explanation, Sullivan, whatever.
I guess i'm over it now, but I still can't watch Benoit matches, I struggle to get through Guerrero matches without turning them off.
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Post by CubsFan71 on Apr 7, 2010 17:18:27 GMT -5
I had just gotten back into wrestling about a month or so before this. I had quit watching after Eddie died. Eddie was such a favorite of mine that, my heart just wasn't into watching anymore. I remember hearing the news about Benoit(also a favorite)and I just sat there. Numb. Just completely numb. I think I went through every emotion that week. Shock, sadness, anger, confusion. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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Post by xxshoyuweeniexx on Apr 7, 2010 17:31:35 GMT -5
I remember I didn't have the internet, but I only had the slow dial-up. Well actually I installed it on Saturday night, and really surfed on Sunday night. I wanted to see how the Punk/Benoit match went, I heard it was going to steal the show. But then I saw a thread on my old wrestling forum saying "Chris Benoit Dead", and I was just in total shock. I wasn't Benoit's biggest fan, I was more of an Eddie guy, so I didn't cry during the tribute show, but I was still touched. But then the "sketchy" details started to surface, the writing was on the wall, and I'll never forget Vince on the ECW show about how he would never mention "Mr. Benoit" again on TV.
Looking back, that tragic event may have saved countless future performers not even born yet. Because of this and Norwinski's studies, WWE realized (well less Norwinski) that things like high impact to the head with chairshots, diving headbutts, steroids, painkillers, and other assorted medications over the course of 20 years is deadly to anyone.
And also, we may possible maybe would have never gotten John Morrison and his possible maybe rise to the top of WWE (if he ever gets there). He was teaming with Kenny Dykstra on Heat about a week before he won the ECW title, and if it wasn't for Chris Benoit sadly, John Hennigan might not have a job today.
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Post by proudcaucasian on Apr 8, 2010 2:59:30 GMT -5
I remember June 2007 (it actually may have been May, but I can't remember) for providing me with an AWESOME match between Edge and Benoit on SD before he got traded to ECW. Again, it may have been May and not June. But I do remember it being the match Edge put over in his tribute video for Benoit on the Tribute Show.
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Post by Ryushinku on Apr 8, 2010 6:08:36 GMT -5
Since I was very busy at the time I didn't see the PPV or Raw, I didn't even know about him not showing up for Vengeance, so it wasn't until I went online on Tuesday to catch up on the results that I found out. I remember it was 411mania, with a big picture of Benoit at the top. And I was stunned. "He's DEAD? And they're saying DOUBLE-MURDER SUICIDE?!" I think I spent about three or four hours solid scouring for information and going onto various message boards reading through all of the reactions to the news. Here, Death Valley Driver, Slashwrestling, Scott Keith's blog and any others I could think of. Different strokes for different folks, but I am still uncomfortable with watching a Benoit match. I have seen a couple he was involved in, multi-man, and the murders is all I end up thinking about. Maybe time will change that...maybe not. The month I became a wrestling fan, believe it or not. Wow. As a result of the Benoit aftermath or just horrible coincidence that you'd started watching shortly before?
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Post by The Missing Manic on Apr 8, 2010 9:20:24 GMT -5
The whole thing wasnt that big over here I watched the PPV at a cinema in Brisbane live on the mon mornin/afternoon wasnt that bothered by it thought it was boring no matches really got me going probably because I was hungover...anyway we heard Benoit had to go/stay home due the family reasons and most people thought it was part of the storylinea build up to Summerslam I think i first saw it on MSN on the Wed under a pretty bad headline something like "wrestling monster murders family" I was totally shocked that anybody could do that and they didnt mention he had killed himself until the end
To this day I cant watch a Benoit match just brings bad those memories (I wish I could forget and watch some of the classics he had)
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2010 9:40:00 GMT -5
What I remember most is during RAW, the wrestler tributes were originally sad and glowing, as the show went on they got shorter and shorter. I remember Regal(who I knew was a legit friend of Benoit) say something to the effect of "He was a great wrestler and that's all I have to say" or something like that. Then I went over and checked out the news and they had confirmed that Benoit was the killer. It was surreal.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Apr 8, 2010 10:04:16 GMT -5
Going OT sorry, June 2007, I have put out of my mind. June 2009 will haunt me for all time.
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stealthamo
King Koopa
Something stupid
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Post by stealthamo on Apr 8, 2010 10:13:12 GMT -5
I remember coming to these boards (back when I was lurking) and found out that Benoit wasn't going to be at Vengence. If I remember right, people were upset, but understood. Usually I would've been online to find out that Benoit had died, but I actually went out on a run with a few people from my old high school. I got home right as Raw was starting, and I saw the video from the end of Hard Knocks. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I immediately went online to see what happened.
I couldn't believe at first that it was a double murder-suicide. Not Benoit. As reality sunk in, I remember being incredibly pissed at Benoit. Nowadays, not so much. I can watch a match of his if I want to. Now I try to distinguish the wrestler from the man, though it seems like it's impossible to do, because what the wrestler did affected who the man became.
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Eunös ✈
Dalek
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Post by Eunös ✈ on Apr 8, 2010 10:53:17 GMT -5
I'm actually dissapointed the whole "Mcmahon is Dead" Angle never developed Further..
I understand why it was Scrapped, and no doubt some people found it abit tasteless (Let's remember this is the same time Sherri passed away)
But i would have liked to have seen it go further..
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Post by Ash Kingston on Apr 8, 2010 12:06:23 GMT -5
I remember browsing GameFAQS at the time, and on one board they had a topic about Benoit's passing, which caught me by surprise. I spent most of the night watching the Benoit Tribute and reading the stories on another forum about all these fans who had met with Chris over the years, and they had nothing but nice things to say about him. And then as the topic went on, there was more and more talk about how they were treating it as a double murder-suicide.
In the end, I ended up not watching any wrestling until after the '08 Royal Rumble, in part because I couldn't believe it, and also because it just... burned me out entirely, ya know?
One of the stories I remember reading was about this couple that had met Benoit at a restaurant after one show, and he invited them to eat with him and everything, and even covered their bills. They even arranged to meet him there the next time the WWE came through town, which was a year later, and while he was late getting there, he still showed up. The worst part of that story was that, according to the person who had posted it, he always talked about his kids...
...so yeah, it's still hard to believe, and it really didn't do the business any good in the short term. Long-term? We'll see, although the Wellness Policy (and the recent ban to chair shots to the head) is a good start.
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Post by FailedGimmick on Apr 8, 2010 12:14:31 GMT -5
This was during my hiatus, but I heard from my mom and brother when I came home from work. They saw it on the news.
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Post by heyguesswhatidid on Apr 8, 2010 12:21:58 GMT -5
I assumed it was a gas leak that killed the family. I still think Benoit is the best wrestler of all time, but his legacy is tarnished and I fully understand WWE not releasing his matches on DVD's, hell this is the age of the internet, if I really want the matches, I'll find them.
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Post by notoriousjrh on Apr 8, 2010 18:41:04 GMT -5
The really odd part for me was my discovery of the death. I was going to my brother's at 7 EST to hang with him and a friend to watch the Vince memorial show, and make fun of it (because it's what we do).
Shortly before 6, I'd made a food run, getting some snacks for the gathering, as well as picking up Backlash 2007 on DVD at my FYE.
I was gonna check some e-mail before heading over, so I popped in the DVD, since I wanted to hear MVP's theme and see his entrance. I listened to the song as he came out to face Benoit, and then I paused it JUST before Benoit came out.
That's when I decided to check 411mania to see if there was any news regarding Raw.
Then I saw the headline.
Still irks me.
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