10 Things We Learned From Chris Jericho's Podcast On Chris Benoit's Death
2. Benoit Didn't See Going To ECW As A Demotion
Many fans saw the decision to draft Benoit from Raw to ECW in 2007 as a demotion. He was, after all, going from the flagship show to a lowly 'third brand' that had struggled to maintain interest since its inception. Benoit's main event run was seemingly over, and the perception was that he was now being relegated.
Benoit didn't see it this way, though. He only appeared on two ECW shows, but Meltzer and Jericho both stated that he saw it was a challenge, not a demotion. ECW almost operated like an NXT prototype at the time, and, surrounded by a squad of young, hungry up and comers, Benoit assumed a player/coach role. The idea was that he'd use his immense skill and experience to help the other roster members develop, and eventually prepare them for life on Raw or SmackDown.
Meltzer also noted that even from the company's point of view, Benoit wasn't being punished at all. They regarded him as somebody who could be transferred back to a mainline brand and inserted into a main event program at any moment, but wanted to use him to benefit WWE's next breed of superstars at the same time, hence the switch.