9 Ways WWE Changed As A Result Of Eddie Guerrero's Death

5. The Benoit Tragedy

There's no telling whether or not the Benoit tragedy would have unfolded as it did had Eddie been alive. The case itself is so bizarre that no clear-cut motive has been established and seemingly everyone has their theory about what happened. Would Eddie being alive have made a difference? It's difficult to say, but it's an interesting question to ponder. What is known for a fact, however, is that Benoit was suffering from depression in the final eighteen months of his life, in part related to the death of several of his friends. The most damaging was the death of Eddie, Benoit's best friend for over a decade and the man that kept him on the straight and narrow while they were on the road together. Eddie was someone Benoit could go to and confide in and, when Eddie died, Benoit lost that. In the wake of Eddie's death, Benoit began keeping a diary and started writing letters to his deceased friend. The pain he was in was etched all over his face when he appeared on the Eddie Guerrero tribute shows and it was clear that he was suffering. Benoit would continue to suffer until that fateful weekend in June 2007. If his best friend hadn't left him prematurely, the story might have been different. A lot of factors converged to cause Benoit to commit his heinous crimes, but Eddie's death left him shell-shocked and it was obvious that he wasn't in a good way in the months afterwards.