Chris Benoit is dead
This is precisely why the WWE’s exploitation of Eddie Guerrero and Owen Hart’s deaths was so horrible. I wrote about this a few days ago, and here and elsewhere people were like “It’s just like when a character dies on any other TV show – it’s entertainment – get over it.” But it’s NOT just like any other TV show.
WWE promoted the fake “Vince McMahon is dead” storyline by going through the exact same motions they go through when people really die, and now a person is really dead and how is WWE reacting? With a lead story on wwe.com and a three-hour tribute tonight on Raw, in which the announcers will act all somber, wrestlers will break character and cry, and there will be a 10-bell salute. In other words, it will be EXACTLY the same way they reacted for McMahon’s storyline death.
So Benoit’s death will be cheapened and probably written off as a storyline hoax by many, because the tasteless cretins in WWE thought it would be fun to have a hokey, tongue-in-cheek storyline that played off the real people who died while under the watch of their company.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
You got it wrong. Sure the Eddie exploitation seemed wrong, but it was done out of respect. Benoit was a great. He deserves a tribute and WWE is doing the right thing.
June 25th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Yeah, no kidding that they should honor someone when they really die. But the tears and ten-bell salutes would be a lot more meaningful if they hadn’t just done them a few weeks ago for Vince McMahon’s “death.”
June 25th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
well they did cancel the raw ticket tonight and had a three hour special on him with his good times. I believe that was a fitting tribute. Even Mcmahon had to come on and say that benoit and his family was dead meaning his whole explosion storyline has now been severed
June 26th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I think you’re missing the point.
I don’t have a problem with the Eddie tribute, the Owen tribute, or the Benoit tribute (aside from the fact that it looks like they just spent 3 hours honoring a murderer).
What I do have a problem with is how the fictitious Vince McMahon death used the template of the real deaths in order to further its tongue-in-cheek drama. By using the ten-bell salute and wrestlers crying for a fake storyline, WWE has cheapened every instance, past and future, in which those emotions are real. And sadly enough, we all know that there will be more wrestlers dying under WWE’s watch in the future because that’s just how it is.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:48 am
The wrestler’s know their own risks, although the owen death was particularly bad. Eddie died under his own watch (Tragically). I just want to point out that I think the fans are smart enough to distinguish between vince’s fake death and the real deaths of wrestlers, so the tributes are not really cheapened. I really dont think they were “honouring” a murderer either. Just my two cents.
June 27th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Timing fellas – it all comes down to timing. Who could of foreseen a situation like this in conjunction with Vinnie Mac death angle – not to mention Sheri Martel’s recent death as well. Given the situation, the WWE did the right thing going forward with the cancellation of RAW and the replacement that resulted in the three hour “tribute.”
Aside from that, I can not help but feel disgusted from the total onslaught of mixed emotions I experienced during this whole debacle.
Sunday, my friends and I sat down together like we always do towards the end of the month – for a WWE PPV. Chris missed the show obviously and the following night my friends and I sat down again for what was to be a huge three hour RAW, plus it was my birthday. What a bummer of an ending to a up until then, glorious day. I did not watch the whole thing – knowing what was in store.
In the end, I feel the WWE can benefit from their current “clean slate” – so to speak. In the future, maybe the company will realize what should and should not be passed off to the general public as “good TV.”