10 Dark Secrets Wrestlers Accidentally Revealed
4. Chris Benoit's Concerning Pattern Of Behaviour
When the news broke - the worst news that has ever engulfed the professional wrestling industry - most people within the business said the same thing.
Chris Benoit adored his son. Chris Benoit loved his family. Chris Benoit was one of the nicest, most hard-working men you could ever hope to meet and loved the business more than anybody else. It was unfathomable that he'd do anything to tarnish it. He was a polite unassuming guy, as humble as anybody who'd ever stepped foot in a wrestling ring. He'd give out gifts to people because that's just how thoughtful he was.
This wasn't amplified by the media to sell a clichéd layer of a true crime story - it was the person you'd last expect, etc. - people within wrestling were stunned.
Should they have been?
Because in their wild, infamous 2010 shoot interview, which isn't necessarily the most reliable, Paul London and Brian Kendrick painted a picture of Benoit antithetical to that shared by his peers.
This version of Benoit was a sadist lunatic who dedicated his entire life to the industry, put his family second, and attempted to force London into a sexual encounter with a waitress that he'd watch. Neither London nor Kendrick were remotely surprised when hearing the news that Benoit had killed his wife, son and his self. Kendrick said "It happens every day".
It's not just London and Kendrick high as balls, getting a kick out of saying that which few had before them; William Regal's bone-chilling tribute on the Benoit tribute show was informed by JBL saying to Regal, seconds before he was filmed, "You don't think [Benoit] had anything to do with this, do you?"
Certain people within WWE knew something was not right with Benoit. They didn't know he'd do what he did, obviously, but many knew he was not well.
In his book 'Chris & Nancy', Irvin Muchnick also lances the idea that Benoit had snapped suddenly. Benoit sent vile misogynistic texts to Gregory Helms - "How are women and toilet bowls similar? If the hole in the middle isn't worth a s***" - and Nancy messaged him constantly in the months before the tragedy begging him to be more active in his relationship with his son. Before filing to dismiss, Nancy had filed for divorce in 2003 and included a petition for protection from domestic abuse.
The idea that nobody could have possibly known what to expect is naive.