Chris Benoit may not have ever had a singular announced concussion that fans and pundits can point to but he obviously had suffered many, and often. After a career of hard hits and intense bumps Benoit's brain was so severely damaged from concussions and trauma that it resembled "an 85-year old Alzheimer's patient", according to Julian Bailes of the Sports Legacy Institute. The reason we know this, unfortunately, is because after the tragic events of Benoit's murder-suicide weekend in 2007, his father donated his son's brain for research. The results, showing extensive and thorough damage throughout Chris Benoit's brain was truly chilling. It isn't much of a stretch to think he suffered several from just his diving headbutt alone, whether it be from the top-rope, off a cage, or onto a chair. It's incredibly likely that he was actively suffering extreme effects from that brain damage, as many of his friends and co-workers have pieced together looking back. While we will almost certainly never know what happened the weekend that led to Benoit killing his wife, child, and himself or if his damaged brain actually played a role, the entire catastrophe was certainly enough of a red flag to at least spark some change in the WWE regarding concussion awareness, perhaps offering the tiniest of good in an otherwise unspeakable tragedy.
