Perfection

lol man that is an understatement.

When is his expected return date? For the record, I miss the days when the IC title actually meant something. Its pretty much a forgotten and worthless title at this point. Now more than ever with it being on this santino guy.

I don't think it does because I did too. More than anything though, when watching that or any benoit match these last few days is real sadness. Sadness that a man so respected and so liked by fans and his friends, will be forever remembered as the man who killed his wife, and son and then himself and not for great moments like the entrance and end of that match. The close ups of Nancy and the kids really gets to me. I just can not understand and will never understand why he did what he did. Its hard to dismiss the countless praise by those who knew him and for that reason I can only surmise that he was completely out of his mind. Of course the main line of thought is it had something to do with the drugs but I can't help but think he had some sort of brain damage from all the years of being the business, maybe a combo of both. If he did indeed suffer brain damage and it caused the severe psychological problems that caused him to do this, it makes me a bit less angry at him for what he did.

I tihnk you're reading a bit to much into that...... He's not saying that foretold anything, just that under the circumstances of what happened, the video is creapy...and he is right. Thanks for posting the observer notes.

Holy shit you got that right. I literally got chills watching that too, no joke. Also pay attention that at exactly 32 seconds before the image of him screaming there is that young boy screaming (son?). damn. Hell all week, going back and watching some of his matches just to see how I would react to it, it was more along the lines of sadness for his wife and kid, and the fact that he threw all the respect and admiration he had from the fans and his coworkers away by doing what he did. But nothing he did really bothered me, like watching him put the crossface on. But watching that video is a different fucking story. Knowing what we know now, I don't know how anyone could not be freaked out by watching that. wow..

I can't help but think back to those who said wouldn't it be awful if someone, or mcmahon himself, actually died during this nonsense. The amazing irony of the details of the casket, etc being there and benoit murdering his family/killing himself is really off the charts.

Someone doesn't have to struggle to cause bruises. If you're choking someone with enough force to kill them, you're gonna leave bruises on their neck, period. Also, about the size difference, yeah, forgot about that. It'd be almost impossible for him to put a real crossface on someone that tiny. It was just a simple rear choke in all likelihood. (The important part is that he killed his son, not that there's a chance he might have used his trademark hold to do so.) I was mainly referring to the references of the bruises on his arm but otherwise, I 100% agree. I was going to back and edit to say that this doesn't take away from the fact that killing his son (and wife) was pure evil, regardless of the exact details of how he did it.

Well to be honest this is pure speculation based on the bruises. Considering how big benoit was and how small his son was, I do have to wonder if there was enough struggle to even be any bruises. I'm not saying it didn't happen but on the other hand, how hard would it have to be for a man his size and strength to hold a small boy that size? There would have to be enough force/struggle on the boy's part to make any bruises and I just don't know about that. For all we know the boy could have put up a struggle, benoit slapped his arm away and just joked him with a rear naked choke and the end result is roughly the same.

He makes me so sick I'm not going to watch it, besides I'm about to head out and I don't want to be irritated. But I hope some folks let fox know what how disgustingly wrong this piece of garbage has been in his reporting. Quite frankly there is NO excuse for the rookie like reporting that he has been doing being on a major network, or hell even some backwoods middle of no where local station for that matter. I along with everyone else has had to stomach him for a while now on fox and this is the last straw with me with regard to geraldo

I think the WWE should embrace government regulation like the UFC did because then when something like this happens, they don't catch so much heat...plus it would certainly help in regards to the health of the wrestlers. The only negative part of it that I've heard people say about it is it would pretty much wipe out any small/local promotions due to the fees and so forth. But really to me that is irrelevant compared to the bigger picture.

You would be amazed at how many people think they don't get hurt at all. I've seen a number of people say this during the past week at other boards.

Well this really comes as no surprise. ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS GEORGIA SENATOR SEEKING INFORMATION ON WRESTLING FOR POTENTIAL HEALTH COMMISSION HEARINGS by Mike Johnson @ 11:12:00 AM on 6/30/2007 The Associated Press has released an article on the series of young deaths in professional wrestling, noting "loopholes" in the WWE Wellness policy and that Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson has instructed his staff to begin gathering information into whether the Health Commission should be looking into the industry. Lance Storm and Road Warrior Animal, among others were interviewed for the article, which reads: Dying young a sad chapter in wrestling's scripts PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer Saturday, June 30 ATLANTA — Everything is planned. The high-flying moves. The outlandish story lines, The crackpot characters. One thing isn't in the script: the staggering number of pro wrestlers who die young. Chris Benoit was the latest, taking his own life at age 40 after killing his wife and son in a grisly case that might be the blackest eye yet for the pseudo-sport already ridiculed as nothing more than comic books come to life, a cult-like outlet for testosterone-ragin' young males to cheer on their freakishly bulked-up heroes. But the tenacious, grim-faced grappler known as the "Canadian Crippler" was hardly alone in heading to an early grave. The very same weekend Benoit killed his family, the body of old tag-team partner Biff Wellington (real name: Shayne Bower) was found in his bed, dead at 42. A couple of weeks ago, former women's champion "Sensational" Sherri Martel passed away at her mother's home in Alabama. She was 49. And on it goes. Mike Awesome (Michael Lee Alfonso in real life) was found hanged in his Florida home in February, the apparent victim of a suicide at 42. "Bam Bam" Bigelow was 45 when a lethal cocktail of cocaine and benzodiazepine, an anti-anxiety drug, stopped his already ailing heart in January. And on it goes, dozens and dozens of wrestlers meeting a similar fate over the past two decades. Some died with drugs flowing through their veins. Others tried to clean up but belatedly paid the price for their long-term abuse of steroids, painkillers, alcohol, cocaine and other illicit substances. How many more must pass through the morgue before everyone stands up and shouts: Enough's enough? "From my 17 years in the business, I know probably 40 to 45 wrestlers who dropped dead before they were 50," said Lance Evers, a semiretired wrestler who goes by "Lance Storm" when he's in the ring. "It's an astronomical number." Then, he added in a voice tinged with anger and sadness, "I'm sick and tired of it." ——— Over the years, there are been numerous proposals to put wrestling under some sort of oversight, be it at the state or federal level. Those ideas usually have fallen on deaf ears, largely because the powers-that-be, be it the old-time regional promoters or WWE owner Vince McMahon, the guy who largely controls the sport today, don't want the government telling them how to run their business. Jim Wilson, who parlayed pro football into a ring career, says he was blackballed when he began pushing for a wrestler's union. Since then, he has written a book about his experiences and kept up the push to rein in those who govern the sport. Although Wilson's battle often has been a lonely one, he says Benoit's death might reinvigorate the cause. A union could be a useful tool for cleaning up the sport. It might lead to a pension plan, improved benefits, more stringent health and safety guidelines and a revamped pay structure that would allow wrestlers to spend more time at home without risking a pay cut. Now, most top wrestlers get a guaranteed salary, but the bulk of their income is based on how often they compete. That leads some to feel they must get in the ring while injured, often with the aid of painkillers and other numbing chemicals. And much like rock stars, plenty of wrestlers have fallen victim to excessive partying, alcohol and drug dependency, and marital problems during grueling stints on the road. "My longest run was 79 days in a row without a day off," said Joe Laurinaitis, the wrestler known as Road Warrior Animal and father of Ohio State football star James Laurinaitis. "It's not as bad now. They've got good guys running the WWE. Still, we need to take a look at it when things like this (the Benoit murder-suicide) are happening. Guys are still overworked." That's why Wilson's calling for Congress to hold hearings on the wrestling industry, much like it investigated doping in professional sports and just this past week heard from ex-NFL players who believe they're being shortchanged on their pensions. "In those other sports, they aren't dropping like flies like they are in the wrestling business," Wilson said. "Now is the time to push for legislation nationally." He's already spoken with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who instructed his staff to begin gathering information on the issue to determine if a hearing before the Health Committee might be warranted. Isakson said his main concern is steroid abuse. "I'm not going to start speculating on federal regulation of wrestling," he said. "The issue is anabolic steroids, which are a significant problem and are known to cause significant difficulties. It's a health issue that's appropriate for us to discuss, regardless of the profession." ——— Steroids and other muscle-building drugs long have been an accepted part of the wrestling culture, allowing the biggest names to pump up to ungodly proportions that wouldn't be possible through natural means. Granted, nobody comes right out and tells a wrestler he or she should take steroids. But all one has to do is attend a match in person or watch one on TV to realize some of these physiques just aren't plausible without help from a syringe. "Somebody says you need to put 25 pounds on your upper body," said Larry DeGaris, who teaches sports marketing at the University of Indianapolis and moonlights on the independent wrestling circuit as "The Professor" Larry Brisco. "Well, if you have an athletic background and have been around sports for a while, you know there's only one way to do that. Nobody needs to tell you. It's just a tacit understanding." Steroids were found in Benoit's home, though investigators haven't determined if they played any role in the brutal killings of his wife, Nancy, and their 7-year-old son. World Wrestling Entertainment, which employed Benoit and holds a virtual monopoly grip on the industry, was quick to point out that this tragedy — apparently carried out over an entire weekend — doesn't come with the classic signs of 'roid rage, the violent, unpredictable outbursts that can be caused by someone who abuses steroids. A top anti-doping expert agreed but said it's too early in the investigation to draw any firm conclusions. "I can paint any number of scenarios that explain this without invoking 'roid rage," said Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "'Roid rage tends to be impulse control. This event happened over two or three days. It has the earmarks of some calculation." The WWE also was quick to announce Benoit had passed his last drug test in April, part of the organization's "Wellness Program" that was put in place after the death of star Eddie Guerrero two years ago. But Wadler doesn't sound all that impressed with the WWE's testing procedures. He's especially troubled that the WWE refuses to discuss the program in any detail. Both Evers and wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez, who've seen guidelines for the program, report two troubling loopholes: — A wrestler can pass the doping test with a testosterone to epitestosterone ratio of 10:1, more than double the WADA standard. Under WADA rules, athletes are in violation starting at 4:1; the average ratio is 1:1. — A wrestler who tests positive can be excused if he produces a doctor's prescription and a medically justified reason for taking the drug in question. ——— There's no justifying that happened at the Benoits' suburban Atlanta home last weekend. Alvarez, who covers the sport extensively for the Web site www.wrestlingobserver.com, has some inkling of the demons that might have overtaken the wrestler. He said Benoit never got over the 2005 death of Guerrero, a former WWE champion and four-time tag-team titleholder who was 38 when he died of a heart attack, perhaps caused by the alcohol and drug abuses that friends thought he had beaten. "Chris' closest friend in the world was Eddie Guerrero," Alvarez said. "He could cry to him. He could tell him everything. After Eddie died, I talked to Chris. He was broken man." Last year, another of Benoit's wrestling buddies, 263-pound Mike Durham (known in the business as Johnny Grunge), died at 39 from complications cause by sleep apnea, a condition that often affects larger people such as wrestlers and football players. "It was about this period of time that people started noticing weird behavior, paranoid behavior, which would indicate (Benoit) was using a lot of drugs," Alvarez said. "He was alone. He was on the road a lot, having to perform at a high level, having to look a certain way. I think the drug use escalated, and his whole world basically fell apart." Laurinaitis knows what a lethal potion it all can be. His friend since childhood and longtime tag partner, Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand), died from a heart attack in 2003. Just 46, Hegstrand had battled alcohol and drugs, in addition to using steroids, Laurinaitis said. "I used to watch him sometimes and just shake my head. I would think, 'Oh my God, what in the world is he doing? Why is he doing that?"' Laurinaitis said. "I saw quite a few guys go down that path." Now, they're all gone. Benoit. Guerrero. Hawk. Martel. Bigelow. Awesome. Not to mention Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, Big Boss Man, Hercules, Crash Holly, Davey Boy Smith, Miss Elizabeth, Terry Gordy, "Gentleman" Chris Adams, Yokozuna, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Louie Spiccoli, Brian Pillman, Eddie Gilbert, Buzz Sawyer, "Quick Draw" Rick McGraw, Gino Hernandez and much of the Von Erich clan. All dead before they were 50 — and that's just a sampling of an ever-growing list. "It's gotten to the point that just about every show in the country is starting with a ten-bell salute," said DeGaris, the professor and wrestler, referring to the traditional farewell to a fallen competitor. "You kind of look at some of the old pictures, and you're the last man standing."

They book better guests like..........Warrior. lol..yeah seriously. There seems to be a trend here with their show being more negative while Gretas show seems to be more open and friendly. I do think a Jericho/hysterical Debra might be an interesting combo on H&C.

Just saw Jericho and once again he really did a good job as others have said. The host sounds like she might even be a wrestling fan because she was so respectful to him. It would be nice if Jericho would go on hannity and colmes after that debra/demott stuff tonight.

cena his title reign's hulkarific booking is one thing, but he's consistently had great matches he had ****1/2 vs. HBK on wrestlemania and RAW and those aren't MOTY candidates and the royal rumble cena-umaga match is plus in june he's made khali look decent and johnny nitro look tough, which is a tough task you might not like his character or his booking, but give the performer his due Every cena match bores me to tears. One reason is the fact you know he is going to win EVERY FUCKING TIME, even if he's facing 20 people. Maybe if he actually fucking lost every once and a damn while and wasn't married to the title, I'd enjoy him more. The khali match was passable only because he got the shit beat out of him for 10 minutes but *gasp* he wins with the fu in the end. Any other good matches he has is mostly in part because of those who he is working with are better. This is not to say hes bad, he's good and he certainly tries but the best? absolutely fucking not. One other thing, his standings with me would go up a notch or two if he just got rid of that completely lame glorified firemans carry as a finisher and at least TRY and make the stf look legit by not having an inch between his hands in the persons jaw.

Well to be honest Demott did a pretty good job of making himself look bad without any help. For the most part he just repeated the same thing over and over and seemed to be dodging questions about how widespread it is. Debra was just annoying. Yeah she has reason to be upset over austin but she talks to much in absolute terms and wouldn't let Demott speak very much. Her excuse that it took her this long to come out and say something doesn't pass the stink test. Yes at the time it would be understandable but to not say anything until now? cmon.. Overall A very bad two segments IMHO. Demott did not represent "his side" very well at all and Debra comes across as using this as an opportunity to further some personal agenda that isn't just "saving people".

That sounds like good stuff, I'll definately have to catch the replay. I'm surprised they didn't spend the entire hour on the terrorist thing though. So again this story won't go away for a while. Hell it might get as bad as the holloway case where they talk about it for months.

When I think of a large tattoo, its one that is maybe twice that size but thats just me. To be honest, looking at that tattoo, if I didn't know who that was...I couldn't tell you who it was and I'm willing to bet the vast majority wouldn't either. As someone else mentioned, I think he laughed when someone asked him if that is the reason he wears that body suit because its not the reason.

I can sort of tell though JBL seems a bit distracted or not himself for obvious reasons. Cole seems to be doing a good job of blocking it out though. Yeah the original dominator that Ron simmons used, it would start like a gutwrenched suplex and then slam him/face first, an inverted front powerslam really. The fact that edge's spear is used by Lashley also lets you know that is probably HHH's doing considering their history and you better believe no one would be using any of HHH's primary moves, much less his finisher. I liked the edgecator(sp?) submission and I wouldn't mind him going back to it as well. I bet its tough for Chavo to be out there wrestling right now.

I tell you, those who thought that this would be in the news for 3 or 4 days and then go away were/are kidding themselves. I knew when it was found out he did it, this would have major repercussions for the industry. Not sure what the end result is going to be but its not a 1 week story that fades away and wwe silencing their superstars or ignoring it isn't going to make it go away.

I'm find this a little odd. wasn't he found inside where I would think there was a little AC? Even IF there was no AC, it wouldn't be 93 degrees inside wherever he was in for 24 hours. So this really sounds a little hard to believe to me.

I wonder if they told Jim ross, jbl, etc because that would have been a very awkward situation for them to find that out yet still continue on giving him a tribute.

Actually its a small tattoo. Not sure where this idea came from that its a huge one. Hell he's actually been on tv without his shirt on. There is a picture of him near the entrance without his shirt on somewhere. .

Thats just stupid.

Supposedly this is the last picture of Benoit taken alive. It was taken by a fan at the doctors office that Friday. http://perezhilton.com/?cat=158