1. When Chris Benoit Committed A Double Murder Suicide In 2007
Chris Benoit's name makes wresting fans feel uncomfortable because seven years ago in June 2007 he murdered his wife Nancy and his son Daniel and he also killed himself. It is the most shocking news item in the history of wrestling. WWE has gone on to remove any mention of Benoit that they can although they have left in his matches on WWE Network. Since Benoit was a popular wrestler that was generally liked by wrestling fans for being one of the best in-ring technicians ever, his death really was a shock to the wrestling community. We never really knew why he did what he did and what could have been done to prevent it. All we know is the end result, which is tough to talk about even seven years later. The aftermath of the Benoit murders was the only time that I really stopped watching wrestling. It was one of those situations where it just felt uncomfortable to watch although it only lasted for a few months. I didn't watch every TV show, but I caught the PPVs. By the end of 2007 when Chris Jericho came back and Ric Flair started his retirement storyline, there were enough things going on to get me interested. It was just difficult for a while as a Chris Benoit fan. However, what I realized is you can't blame others in WWE for it and it was wrong for me to punish the talent in WWE when they had nothing to do with it. There are always going to be discussions about if Benoit's actions could have been prevented if he was tested to see if he had brain damage or if his steroid use was out of hand. A lot of people close to him said it surprised them because they had no idea he was capable of something like that. The right way to look at it is as an isolated incident that we hope never happens again. When Chris Benoit killed his wife, son and himself it led to a lot of fans questioning why they follow the wrestling business so closely. Some stopped watching. Those of us that are still watching completely understand why they would.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
