June 27, 2007
WWE Scrambles After Double Murder-Suicide
By Mike Nizza, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Following a grisly murder scene created by a former champion, World Wrestling Entertainment is trying mightily to cut ties with a deed that so closely resembles a sport that stages brawls between feuding, well-built men.
So close are the similarities that they may include the cause of death for the second victim, Chris Benoit’s seven-year-old son. ABCNews.com reported today that investigators think he “may have died after being put in a wrestling choke hold.”
The wife, once a W.W.E. character, was strangled beforehand; Mr. Benoit hanged himself, authorities said.
Authorities found legal steroids in the home, but toxicology tests could take weeks. Either way, the W.W.E. is trying to dismiss ‘roid rage’ as a possible cause. A news release with five bullet points noted that he recently tested negative for steroids and argued the crime had none of the hallmarks of a steroid flip out.
“The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage,” the company said. Adding to the portrait, the main image on WWE.com shows Mr. Benoit half smiling.
The W.W.E. said that the statement was a response to “sensationalistic reporting,” but the company is also fighting steroid accusations that have emerged from former wrestlers, and a case in the 1980s. Testimony from Hulk Hogan, among the sport’s biggest stars, said that steroid use was “fairly common” among competitors, and he himself booked orders with Chairman Vince McMahon’s secretary. Mr. McMahon was acquitted.
And steroids aren’t the only thing associated with the sport that may be to blame.
Christopher Nowinski, a former wrestler and author of “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis,” told The Times that multiple blows to the head could trigger chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can cause memory loss, depression and “bizarre, paranoid behavior.”
“He was one of the only guys who would take a chair shot to the back of the head,” Mr. Nowinski said.
The W.W.E. is also facing criticism for its initial handling of the death, which included a three-hour tribute show filled with teary remembrances of Mr. Benoit. It was taped before authorities had pinned the murders on Mr. Benoit, but long after company employees received odd text messages from Mr. Benoit stating his address and the location of dogs on his property.
Mr. McMahon, who had to admit that he indeed survived a car bombing on the show weeks ago to lead Monday’s show, admitted last night that the tribute was a mistake.
He then tried to change the subject, pledging no further “mention of Mr. Benoit tonight.” His alternative to further probing of the tragedy - and the sport - was simple.
“Tonight, the W.W.E. performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world - entertain you.”
So the show shall go on, but whether Mr. Benoit’s final acts will prompt changes remains to be seen.
