10 Things Next Series WWE Ruthless Aggression Should Focus On
9. Acknowledge Benoit
While the first series of the Ruthless Aggression documentary contained limited new information for wrestling know-it-alls, it did contain something quite different: throughout some of the episodes, there was footage of Chris Benoit on the receiving end of moves from the likes of Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Rey Mysterio. It is so rare to have Benoit featured in any post-2007 WWE programming, it was a surprise to witness it.
During a segment where Heyman was discussing his desire to make SmackDown the ‘wrestling’ brand, he mentioned how he wanted to highlight Edge, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle. What stuck out, was the showing of Benoit during this segment without mentioning him by name.
A career retrospective, or any real appraisal, of Benoit, is not necessary. However, an acknowledgement of a period where he was a key figure on programming is justifiable. Otherwise, it creates a jarring conundrum: how can WWE feasibly discuss an era that featured Benoit so prominently and never mention him? It makes the discussion seem incomplete.
As much as nobody wants the events to have happened, they did. The best cause of action is to accept it and move on. To this day, it has been an elephant in the room. Acknowledge the elephant and it no longer remains an issue.