WWE: Regarding the WWE's Treatment of the Legacy of Chris Benoit

There have been a ton of Chris Benoit articles and mentions circulating lately. Since last Friday was the four-year anniversary of the weekend he took the lives of his wife, Nancy, and young son Daniel, this isn’t too surprising.

But I’ve seen a lot of hostility toward the WWE for erasing Chris Benoit from nearly everything WWE-related. This baffles me. So much that I did something I thought I’d never do, I wrote a Chris Benoit article.

There’s no denying that Chris Benoit was a very gifted performer. The man knew his way around a ring. But this doesn’t change what he did to his family.

It is highly inappropriate for WWE, an entertainment company that caters to young children whether we enjoy it or not, to honor Chris Benoit on WWE television. Murderers do not get honored on national television, this is nothing new. It does not happen. 

WWE is here to entertain us. Murderers are not entertaining. 

But why should it even happen? Are we supposed to honestly put aside what he did that night and listen to people honor what a great wrestler he used to be?

Does the Heisman Trophy Trust or the Pro Football Hall of Fame ever honor O.J. Simpson? No, and to be fair to him he wasn’t even found guilty. Honoring Benoit would be a PR nightmare. Parents would backlash, and I don’t blame them.

Chris Benoit will never get into the WWE Hall of Fame. Some people think this is wrong. How wrong is it that someone isn’t going to give a speech about how great Benoit is?

Those who lobby for his induction into the Hall of Fame are in the minority, one that certainly does not include Vince McMahon.

I haven’t been unable to watch past Benoit matches but I’ll admit, it’s weird to hear the commentary about the matches. In the 2004 Backlash match between Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and HHH, Jim Ross talks about what a monster Benoit is.

After the match, he’s shown hugging his son Daniel, who he later fed Xanax so he could strangle him. I for one did not like to look at that celebration. I can imagine others didn’t either.

I don’t mean to suggest there should never be another Chris Benoit article on Bleacher Report, though if I was in charge that’s exactly what I’d do. But I ask those who choose to write about him to be cognizant of the fact that many do not wish to put aside what he did to his family.

Chris Benoit’s legacy will forever be tarnished by that night. This is nothing new when it comes to criminals and murderers. He certainly wasn’t worried about his legacy when he committed those terrible actions.

We shouldn’t be, either.