20 Days That Changed WWE Forever
3. 25 June 2007 - The Chris Benoit Tragedy
As earth-shattering as the death of Eddie Guerrero was, it didn't compare to the tidal wave that fell on WWE just a couple of years later. On 25 June 2007, WWE.com broke the story that Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and his son Daniel were found dead in their Georgia home. It was a Monday, and the fans were turned away from Raw. Instead, the three-hour show was hosted from an empty arena, with some of Benoit's best matches being replayed along with tributes from his friends and coworkers.
As the show progressed, though, news began to spill out that Benoit was actually suspected of murdering his family and then committing suicide. WWE had staged a tribute to a family annihilator (knowingly or not), and the news world was turned on its head. For what seemed like weeks, the media was full of talking heads discussing the killings, with wrestlers arguing with each other and steroids taking the blame. In the frenzy, WWE announced that Benoit would be stricken from the history books and never mentioned on TV again.
The ensuing months saw WWE clean up loopholes in the Wellness Policy, and - when it became apparent that concussions likely played a role in Benoit's state of mind - took steps to try and make the in-ring action safer. Still, nothing could change the fact that three people were dead, and that grim reality has hung over the company for the last decade.