Lombardi's_kid_brother

WWE has basically had the same six games in the main event scene for something like six years. They needed to do something drastic to break the log-jam. This felt very old school. Foget the NWO. This was something that would have happened in Mid-South or Georgia - a few small time guys get together and try to be big time guys. Wrestling needs to get back to the idea that you wrestle to win so that you make money - not to be an icon or a superstar or whatever they are always talking about now. This really has potential in a "You are rich and famous. I am poor and hungry. You are in my way" sort of way. Of course, Cena will probably take them all out by himself next week.

In fairness, until about 1997 or so, the world title belts changed hands about once a year. Hogan had the belt for nearly four years during his first reign (and he still didn't top Backlund or Sammartino). Flair dropped the NWA belt periodically, but that was usually just to further an angle or help out a struggling territory. I'm old enough to remember it being a MONSTER deal that Harley Race was a 6-time champion. If you want to get even older school Nick Bockwinkle seemed to hold the AWA belt for a million years. Heck, Honkey Tonk Man was the IC champ for over a year, and he never won a match. Now, if you last three PPVs with any belt, you are a long-term champ.

I was at his start on Sunday. Granted, the Astros offense is Double A level, but he threw 9 innings on 108 pitches and had one vague tough inning. It may have been the most relaxed complete game in history.

Hogan was making Ninja Turles sequels and movies with Lonnie Anderson. The Rock is the star of live-action Disney films. The Rock will pop into the WWE every two years or so when they give him a big appearance fee and he needs the publicity for a movie. He will do a 10 minute promo and give someone the people's elbow. And then he will be gone for another two years. Though Vince may be pissed at him. He blackmailed them into putting his dad into the Hall of Fame (which was utterly undeserving) and then cut a promo on the entire roster. That had to be fun.

I still think they should have held back on the individual tributes. When Bradshaw was talking about what a good father Benoit was, I was thinking...."Um...we may want to hold off on that." What sort of bothered me about the show was I got the sense that they were hoping that Nancy triggered all this and they could then make her the villian. "Nancy killed son because she is a crazy woman. Then she killed herself. Benoit finds the bodies and kills himself in grief." That's what they were hoping for, I think. Even a story of Nancy kills the son and Benoit snaps and kills her before offing himself in grief is fairly Shakespearean. You can spin that to make Benoit look human. It didn't quite work out that way. The tribute portion felt like the beginning of a spin cycle. And it burned them in the end. The best bet was just three hours of Benoit matches.

1bob is not exactly the New York Times of wrestling journalism. It's not even really the NYPost. I would listen to Meltzer and Meltzer only at this point. (What's odd to me is that I have not been a part of the IWC for years. I was barely a part of it when I was a part of it. And yet, I still know who all these idiots are. Where's Al Isaacs now that we need him most?)

The WWE is going to take heat for the tribute show. Most of it won't be fair, because (and I say this as someone who does not like Vince McMahon), they had to fill three hours. I do think they made one mistake: they should not have run all the tributes from the wrestlers. I hate those things anyway, because they strike me as exploitative grief porn. But in this case, they also allow the fed to look stupid. You had JBL telling a national tv audience what a great father Benoit was two hours before news that he killed his son broke. They should have had McMahon introduce the show and then just run Benoit matches. Hell, his DVD had about three hours worth of matches alone. Just run those with JR introducing them and providing context.

I have a feeling that his blood is going to look like Woodstock. And I also bet that there is going to be some kind of brain damage linked to concussions. What you are going to end up with is a lot of confusion over the "trigger." The IWC is sort of funny by the way. When Elizabeth died, everyone jumped to the conclusion that Lex Luger killed her because nobody in the IWC thought Luger was a good "worker." With Benoit, everyone is trying to find some special theory to explain it all away, because Benoit was possibly the best "worker" ever. We all have our biases.

Or maybe it was sterorids. From pwtorch.com: Dr. Steven Garner was interviewed. He said roid rage can cause such incidents. He said there are very few documented cases, but there are strange stories related to steroids. He said, "There people develop psychosis and that's a total break with reality. They don't know what they're doing. They halucinate. They don't know what they're doing. They hear voices in their heads telling them to kill people." He explained that once a user get off steroids, his testicles cannot return to producing testosterone at a normal level and depression can result - leading to suicide with teenagers. A former homicide investigator was interviewed next. He said he has been on scenes where he's seen people trip out due to steroids. "They get this unbearable strength and they seem to lose their mind," he said. "If they drink alcohol at the same time, it adds to it. It's taken about six or seven officers at scenes I've been at to hold a guy down who was flipping out from roid rage." Smith said: "Think about this guy. This guy's sitting in his hosue with a dead wife, then he's got a dead kid, then he's dropping Bibles all over the place. Then he's killing himself. You can't even process that." The doctor said steroids mixed with other prescription drugs make it much worse. They went on to note that "60 wrestlers" have died under the age of 45.

The most interesting part of the autopsy's is going to be the condition of Benoit's brain. If they find serious trauma there, that is going to be your theory.

We have to stop pretending that we know who any celebrity or athlete or public figure is. Two days ago, I would have said that Benoit was one of the good guys in the business. Now, I know that his wife once filed for a protection from abuse...that he once had a DUI...that he was apparently on steroids...that he capable of murdering his own child....that he was capable of murdering his wife. Just remember this the next time somone in the public eye screws up and everyone around him or her tells you "This is just not like them."

I just think the press from this could be killer to ratings and ticket sales. Maybe it won't be, but I don't know. And, unlike most slumps, this could actually hurt viewing with the "smart mark" internet crowd. Benoit was a god with that group. If you look around the web, you basically have 50,000 online wrestling fans being told that there is no Santa Claus. Or...nothing could happen. Vince has survived worse.

WWE is in for a terrible 12 to 18 months, I think. They will survive, because McMahon always survive (and they have no real competition). But I think the company is going to be very different this time in 2008.

I think they were just close friends. Eddie and Benoit were basically best friends for 15 years. Chavo was Eddie's legit nephew. Apparently, all three were close.

I'm not "blaming the business" for this. He's a grown man. But there is something ugly at the heart of pro wrestling. It simply eats up too many young men and women.

He needs a full-time psyhcologist, I would imagine. I can't fathom finding one good friend dead of an OD and then having another friend email me during the middle of a murder-suicide.

If WWE was a caring employer, they would be doing everything possible for Chavo right now. He's been through an unbelievable amount of emotional trauma in recent years.

Let's see what we have so far.... Divorce petition from 2003 citing abuse Protection from abuse order DUI Prescription drugs Steroids Murderer He is a bag of cocaine away from being Jimmy Snuka. Honest to God....everyone thought he was one of the "good guys" in wrestling. There is seriously no one in that business who is clean.

90 percent of the Von Erich tragedies were self-inflicted. Fritz didn't seem to care how sick or high or drunk or out of control his boys were as long as business was good. Let's send David to Japan even though he is a drug addict suffering from stomach pain. Let's make Kevin and Kerry wrestle at Texas Stadium even though they are grieving. Let's send Kerry into the ring against Flair even though he can't stand up. Let's cover up the reason behind Kerry's motorcycle accident. Let's not tell anyone that Kerry is an amputee. Let's tell everyone we are good Christian boys even though none of us are ever sober. Let's rush Mike back to the ring even though he probably has brain damage and can barely talk. Let's put Chris in the ring even though he is 5'3 and can take a step without breaking a bone.

I totally understand. I'm basically in the same boat. I haven't watched wrestling for years. But it was a very big part of both my childhood and my early adult life. I watched the first Wrestlemania on closed circuit tv as - gosh - a ten year old, I guess, and I bought the first ECW pay per view as a law student. So, I'm invested. And I thought Benoit was both the best performer of the last 20 years and a pretty good example of what wrestling should be. You never heard him connected with drugs or violence or insanity out of the ring. He never played politics. The most scandalous part of his life was his marriage and that had the advantage of a) being darkly humorous and being apparently succcessful. He was, in some ways, the hope that you could actually be a pro wrestler for twenty years and not end up a completely broken man. And now that's gone. What I find incredibly sad is that if you had to name two wrestlers who were true believers in "the right way" to do things, you would almost certainly name Benoit and Bret Hart. And look at where they ended up. It's just so damn sad.

But Dr. Z and the Wacky Morning Crew or whatever did. I'm mostly irked at them.

I don't think I was particularly hostile. I just think making up crazy-ass rumors does no one any good, even though I know that is what the Internets are for.

Well, if they are getting anonymous hearsay from Memphis about a murder in Atlanta....I am completely on board. I know everyone watches the Law and Order franchise and is now an expert, but my limited experience in criminal law teaches me a few things: 1. The simplest explanation for crimes is often the best. 2. The overwhelming majority of murder victims are killed by someone they know well. 3. In cases involving the death of women, a close relation is generally the perpetrator of the crime. 4. There are no "perfect" crimes. If the Russian mob executes a family, the police will at least be able to figure out the broad details.

Years of concussions can also do it. Considering one of his main spots in every match was an unprotected flying headbutt...yea...could be an issue.

I am guessing...no.