When Chris Benoit killed his wife and his son, and then himself, wrestling fans all over the world were heartbroken. A friend of mine actually cried when he found out about it. Personally, I couldn’t get over how it happened in Fayvettville, Georgia, because my aunt and cousin live in the same town.
Ever since then, some wrestling fans have found it impossible to get past what he did, and enjoy his in-ring work. I get it. I bounce back and forth. Sometimes I can’t stand it. Then I watch a fucking banger like his Ultimate Submission Match with Kurt Angle at Backlash 2001.
The man was one of the best wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. He also murdered his family. That’s the world we live in. I’ve learned to deal with it, so you can too. Pretending like he never existed is a disservice to everyone he ever stepped into the ring with. He had a best of seven series with Booker T in WCW and WWE. Banger after banger. They’re some of Booker’s best performances. They shouldn’t be forgotten.
I get why the WWE corporation wants him to fade into oblivion, but that’s never going to happen. The dude was in the main event of WrestleMania 20, and won the World Heavyweight Championship, after defeating Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match. In case you’re keeping score, those are two of the biggest stars in the history of the business.
Basically, this is what I’m getting at – there are a lot of people out there who want to talk about the in-ring work of The Canadian Crippler.
So, if you see them doing as such on FaceBook, or Instagram, or Twitter – don’t try and lord the murders over them like some sort of b.s. moral high card. Nobody needs to be reminded of what happened. It was horrible.
But you know what wasn’t? Benoit and Chris Jericho in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble 2001.
No, that wasn’t anything close to horrible.
In fact – it was a banger.
Click HERE for this article’s companion piece.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Courtesy of Wikipedia.com.