Would Benoit have lived long given his health?

[bluebeach25]

Had the Benoit Tragdy never happened! Would he have lived long after that? Given his health and having apperantly alzheimer or brain damage from all those head injures of over the Years. Do you think he would still around these days? Or would he have passed by 2009 or 2010.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

It's really hard to say, Dynamite Kid lived to be 60 despite the abuse he put his body through, and Mick Foley, who arguably suffered worse head trauma is still alive.

[Jaws the Shark]

I seem to recall the postmortem said that he had extensive heart damage and was months away from keeling over from a heart attack, so probably not.

[Mozenrath]

We'll never know, but given his steroid abuse, hear problems could have been on the horizon sooner than later.

[Burst]

Apr 15, 2023 4:07:00 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

It's really hard to say, Dynamite Kid lived to be 60 despite the abuse he put his body through...

Counterpoint to that though, how much of Dynamite Kid's later years were what you'd call a good quality of life? I'd have to go back and look but there was definitely a point that it felt like he just aged incredibly quickly without an obvious inciting event like what happened with Luger and Paul Orndorff (though I'm also reminded of a Roald Dahl bit about miserable people eventually manifesting their misery physically).

I'd agree that with Benoit, his life expectancy was less the brain damage and more the heart/cardiovascular damage like what happened with Eddie. For better or for worse, you can stumble along for years with neurodegenerative disorders and brain damage in general, but cardiomyopathies will get you much sooner. Really, as far as naturally small-ish guys that artificially bulked up to the extent that Eddie, Benoit, and Dynamite did, Dynamite Kid lasting as long as he did really feels like the exception rather than the rule.

[Lance Uppercut]

Apr 15, 2023 5:57:25 GMT -5 Burst said:

Apr 15, 2023 4:07:00 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

It's really hard to say, Dynamite Kid lived to be 60 despite the abuse he put his body through...

Counterpoint to that though, how much of Dynamite Kid's later years were what you'd call a good quality of life? I'd have to go back and look but there was definitely a point that it felt like he just aged incredibly quickly without an obvious inciting event like what happened with Luger and Paul Orndorff (though I'm also reminded of a Roald Dahl bit about miserable people eventually manifesting their misery physically).

I'd agree that with Benoit, his life expectancy was less the brain damage and more the heart/cardiovascular damage like what happened with Eddie. For better or for worse, you can stumble along for years with neurodegenerative disorders and brain damage in general, but cardiomyopathies will get you much sooner. Really, as far as naturally small-ish guys that artificially bulked up to the extent that Eddie, Benoit, and Dynamite did, Dynamite Kid lasting as long as he did really feels like the exception rather than the rule.

Man, what a completely differently wrestling world and legacy would we have if that heart attack came before that weekend.

[Stu]

Was Dynamite naturally miserable, or was that a result or damage caused by wrestling? And was it established Benoit also behaved due to brain damage? Or was he also a naturally miserable guy?

[kingoftheindies]

Apr 15, 2023 14:42:25 GMT -5 Stu said:

Was Dynamite naturally miserable, or was that a result or damage caused by wrestling? And was it established Benoit also behaved due to brain damage? Or was he also a naturally miserable guy?

They said Dynamite always had a chip on his shoulder due to his size and when he initially stiffed Bret back in Stampede he wasn't on the juice.

As for Benoit? Dude had the brain of a 90 year old with Alheimers from what I remember and his heart was going the way of Eddie's with the steroids. Dunno if he was naturally miserable, but as more guys who shared the locker room with him on smackdown after Eddie's death said that he was drinking a lot more and taking a lot more pills so he absolutely was drugged to the gills

[Cyno]

Benoit sounded like he was on borrowed time. His heart was in really bad shape and his CTE caused a ton of brain damage to the point where his brain was similar to a senior citizen with Alzheimer's.

How different the wrestling world would've been if he died like Eddie or committed CTE-influenced suicide before murdering his family.

[Celexa Bliss 54]

Apr 15, 2023 14:32:03 GMT -5 Lance Uppercut said:

Apr 15, 2023 5:57:25 GMT -5 Burst said:

Counterpoint to that though, how much of Dynamite Kid's later years were what you'd call a good quality of life? I'd have to go back and look but there was definitely a point that it felt like he just aged incredibly quickly without an obvious inciting event like what happened with Luger and Paul Orndorff (though I'm also reminded of a Roald Dahl bit about miserable people eventually manifesting their misery physically).

I'd agree that with Benoit, his life expectancy was less the brain damage and more the heart/cardiovascular damage like what happened with Eddie. For better or for worse, you can stumble along for years with neurodegenerative disorders and brain damage in general, but cardiomyopathies will get you much sooner. Really, as far as naturally small-ish guys that artificially bulked up to the extent that Eddie, Benoit, and Dynamite did, Dynamite Kid lasting as long as he did really feels like the exception rather than the rule.

Man, what a completely differently wrestling world and legacy would we have if that heart attack came before that weekend.

If he had, I feel like a lot of lives/careers would've been shortened. As horrific as that weekend was, it changed things for the better. Suddenly, everyone knew what CTE was and concussion protocols became a thing. Lives were saved in the long run.

[ace]

Not the way he was using weight machines

[chrom]

Apr 15, 2023 14:42:25 GMT -5 Stu said:

Was Dynamite naturally miserable, or was that a result or damage caused by wrestling? And was it established Benoit also behaved due to brain damage? Or was he also a naturally miserable guy?

Regal mentioned he would show up to visit him in Atlanta, and Benoit would act like he had no idea that he was coming over or that they had made plans.

[XIII]

Apr 15, 2023 19:00:40 GMT -5 chrom said:

Apr 15, 2023 14:42:25 GMT -5 Stu said:

Was Dynamite naturally miserable, or was that a result or damage caused by wrestling? And was it established Benoit also behaved due to brain damage? Or was he also a naturally miserable guy?

Regal mentioned he would show up to visit him in Atlanta, and Benoit would act like he had no idea that he was coming over or that they had made plans.

IIRC he was taking different routes to places that he went to all of the time due to paranoia as well. Benoit is a case of a dude that was a perfectionist, with next level focus and intensity to the detriment of everything else in his life, combined with drug use and brain damage. It’s the worst combination of everything possible.

If the murders never happened I think that he was on the path to a heart attack in some random hotel room or suicide anyways.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Apr 15, 2023 14:42:25 GMT -5 Stu said:

Was Dynamite naturally miserable, or was that a result or damage caused by wrestling? And was it established Benoit also behaved due to brain damage? Or was he also a naturally miserable guy?

Jericho has mentioned on a road trip he played a comedy tape by some Canadian comedy troupe he thought Benoit may like. Benoit sat there stoned faced, so Jericho said, "Sorry, man. We can take it out. I thought you'd like it" Benoit says, "No, man. It's hysterical." Then later, someone would throw up in the dressing room for whatever reason and Benoit would laugh his f***ing tits off. So even his best friends never entirely "got" him.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

The state of his brain and the state of his heart honestly made it extremely possible that he could have died in the ring that same year in retrospect if what hadn't happened happened

He wasn't gonna retire, far as I know he wasn't at the end of his contract, he was sadly in a very similar boat as Eddie who died in his hotel room brushing his teeth. It's an all around sad state of affairs tbh

[yokohamacpfc]

Another dark anecdote is Vicky's story about how she would come home to find that Benoit had let himself in and was in her and Eddie's bedroom sobbing on Eddie's pillow. I know everyone processes grief differently but I find that to be off, it's overstepping boundaries for one thing. It sounds like he was getting worse and worse at picking up on social cues toward the end.

[Deleted]

It’s incredible to think how different Benoit’s legacy would have been had he died of a sudden heart attack.

[魔界5号]

I don’t think he would have been long for this world even if what happened didn’t happen either. Given the fact the brain scan they did on him matched up with that of of a 70 year old Alzheimer’s patient. I think if an accident didn’t occur in the ring (a la Misawa, Perro Aguayo, Silver King), Chris would have probably passed away by 2012-13 at the latest.

[kingoftheindies]

Apr 15, 2023 23:05:37 GMT -5 yokohamacpfc said:

Another dark anecdote is Vicky's story about how she would come home to find that Benoit had let himself in and was in her and Eddie's bedroom sobbing on Eddie's pillow. I know everyone processes grief differently but I find that to be off, it's overstepping boundaries for one thing. It sounds like he was getting worse and worse at picking up on social cues toward the end.

I just think back to how Chavo explained how Chris dealt with Eddie's death and even how Jericho talked about it and both were, I dunno if creeped out is the right word, but they were unnerved by how hard Eddie's death hit Chris. Not in the moment but months and even a year later. Hell there's a story from Hurricane when he was rehabbing from neck surgery that Benoit called him bawling his eyes out because he was so touched that Daniel said to take care of Hurricane during his nightly prayers. Hurricane was touched but was confused by Benoit's reaction

[Jaws the Shark]

Something to consider with the Dynamite Kid living to sixty is that he finished earlier than Benoit, and that his career was over by the age of 35 is probably what kept him alive another 25 years. Had he carried on he could’ve easily been dead by forty.