2007 is a year that will live in infamy for one huge reason: the Benoit family tragedy. The horrific events of the weekend of June 23rd-25th cast a long shadow over the year. As well as being a truly horrendous act, it also came close to bringing down the whole wrestling business. 'Wrestling' was a dirty word following the Benoit tragedy. Never before had sports-entertainment been attacked like it was in the media over the summer of 07, with reporters, television presenters and even ex-WWE stars like Debra and Marc Mero coming out and talking about the ills of the business, with a focus on steroid and other drug abuse. WWE were investigated by a congressional oversight committee and many current and former WWE stars, including the likes of Edge, Randy Orton, Booker T and Johnny Nitro were named as having illegally obtained anabolic steroids and other drugs in the Signature Pharmacy scandal. It was a really bad time. There was more bad, non-Benoit realted news for WWE in 2007. Triple H blew his (other) quad at New Years Revolution in January and Booker T quit the company in October after learning that he would be suspended for sixty days. Other former stars like Bam Bam Bigelow, Mike Awesome, Brian 'Crush' Adams and Sherri Martel all passed away prematurely under suspicious circumstances. When it rains, it pours. These were all huge stories during a busy year but, as usual in the frantic world of WWE, there were some other happenings that you might not know about.
