WWE: Chris Benoit Becomes Hall of Famer If Alive Today

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What if Chris Benoit did not kill his family and was still alive today?

Chris Benoit is a topic that I have written about on three prior occasions. I've also mentioned him in other varied rankings. The only thing that fascinates me more than his final days on earth is the damage that has been done to his legacy in the four years and 18 days since his shocking death.

I don't need to recap Chris Benoit's double murder-suicide in his Atlanta home, but the one thing I haven't done is attempt to create a realistic time line of how the remainder of his career might have played out. How would the last four years and 18 days have gone for Chris Benoit, his family and those around him? Here is my projected time line, broken into five major categories.

ECW

Let's start with the day of his death, June 24, 2007. That was the day that Benoit killed himself, as well as the night of Vengeance: "Night of Champions." It would be the first time that the "Night of Champions" name was placed on a pay-per-view and the final time Vengeance was used for a pay-per-view. Ironically, the name is being brought back this year on October 23, once again standing on its own as a pay-per-view name.

That night was supposed to crown a new ECW champion. The vacant title was going to be won by either Benoit or CM Punk. Both men had yet to hold the championship, and for Benoit, a member of the original ECW promotion, the title match was a way to come full circle. It has been confirmed by WWE that Benoit was scheduled to win the championship had he competed.

Benoit could have spent a long time with the ECW Championship, and CM Punk could have chased it in a nice changing of the guard between the two. With Benoit still in the title hunt, some changes to what actually occurred would have had to take place.

For one thing, Johnny Nitro would not have become John Morrison and ECW champion, even if the gimmick change was planned for the future. Without a heel for Morrison to get over as ECW champion, there may never have been a Miz and Morrison tag team. Without that tag team, The Miz may never have had the chance to branch out on his own and become The Awesome One that he is today.

ECW did not have fantastic ratings, even with Benoit on the brand, so I can't imagine that ECW would have stuck around forever—or that Benoit would have stayed on the brand forever. I still believe that the brand would have been dissolved and that NXT would have been created. Much like past ECW superstars, Benoit could have been named a pro during one of the NXT seasons.

I would imagine that Benoit as ECW champion would have been similar to Christian's reign with the championship. It would have brought a lot of prestige back to the championship, it would have been a long reign and it would have put some of the younger challengers on the map. Eventually, CM Punk would have claimed his ECW championship, but without Benoit the brand suffered, claiming some random champions for most of the rest of its existence.

Championships

Since we are on the subject of the ECW Championship, let's talk about the rest of Chris Benoit's championship accomplishments. What sticks out most to me is his five reigns as United States Champion—tying him with the likes of Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Wahoo McDaniel and Lex Luger for the most reigns with the belt in the title's existence.

For a championship that has been around since 1975, no one has had a large amount of title reigns. MVP won his first United States Championship from Benoit during Benoit's last reign with the title.

Benoit could have been awarded the championship one more time in his career, giving him a record-breaking six reigns with the championship—much like how his friend, Chris Jericho, has the record for Intercontinental Championship reigns. Benoit also held tag-team gold six times and may have gotten one or two runs with the titles, especially as the division began to falter.

I am on the fence about whether Chris Benoit would have been a world champion one more time. I think that he would have had good matches with champions like Edge, Randy Orton or John Cena, but I don't know if Benoit would have gotten one more chance to wear a world championship in WWE.

The Roster

I touched on the roster a little bit before with the paths of young guys like Morrison and The Miz being changed. It's hard to say if they still would have been on the roster if Benoit stayed around.

Benoit would have been a good teacher to the young superstars and could have helped to keep young talent around with ECW and their new superstar initiatives at the tail end of their existence. Ultimately, Benoit would have probably been moved to SmackDown, where he could put on a great match with anyone you wanted him to face.

It is Benoit's ability that probably would have kept some of the talent—notably Christian, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho—in their WWE contracts. Jericho was always looking to branch into other adventures, but Christian did not seem happy and might have stayed if Benoit talked to him and pushed for his role to be increased in WWE.

Staying with WWE?

Ultimately, Christian moved to TNA from WWE in order to gain more popularity as a bigger fish in a smaller pond. One of the biggest fishes TNA has ever caught was Kurt Angle, who may have been fed up with the long work schedule and strict drug policy.

I believe that Chris Benoit would have, at least for a little bit of time, made the same jump to TNA. Benoit was 40 at the time of his death and WWE could have been trying to push him out or have him be in the background like his friend, Dean Malenko. TNA would have given Benoit that one last great chance to be a major player at a promotion. Benoit also resided in Atlanta, meaning he could easily see his family from TNA's main operations in Orlando.

It's difficult to project the wellness policy being as strict as it is today without the Benoit tragedy taking place, but Eddie Guerrero's death a year earlier could have possibly put things in place already. Benoit could have failed some tests, which would anger him and prompt him to come to TNA, where such rules were not in place.

Benoit could have been a member of the Main Event Mafia and would probably have had a similar journey in TNA to Booker T. He would hold some championships, align with some guys like Angle and ultimately want to move away from it.

Legacy

Benoit's ultimate legacy would be as one of the best technical wrestlers of the 1990s and 2000s. His championships do not do much justice to the talent that was Chris Benoit. The lack of charisma or a gimmick may have been what separated Benoit from some of the real greats of his generation, but his accomplishments would have still measured up with almost anyone.

After going to TNA, Benoit would sign back with WWE and be a surprise entrant in a Royal Rumble—especially given that he was a former winner of the event. Benoit would have a legends contract and work behind the scenes, just like Malenko, with young mat technicians like Daniel Bryan and Tyson Kidd.

This past WrestleMania was held in Atlanta, where Benoit resided. This would have likely been a place for Benoit to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame by a guy like Malenko or Edge, who considered Chris Benoit to be one of his best friends. I have no doubt that Chris Benoit, who would have turned 44 on June 24 of this year, would be a Hall of Famer in WWE by this point in his life if he were still here today.