vince mcmahon
06/27/2007
Benoit Swept Under The Rug
On Monday Night Raw, the supposedly "dead" Vince McMahon, owner and CEO of WWE, shared sobering news of the death of wrestling superstar Chris Benoit and of Benoit's family. By Tuesday night, though, the facts had come forward that the demise of Benoit and his family was at the hand of Benoit himself.
So on Tuesday night, after remembering Chris Benoit as a hero just 24 hours earlier, McMahon cannot distance himself from Benoit quickly enough. And who could blame him? Early reports suggest that the "Canadian Crippler" murdered his wife and son over a two-day period before hanging himself. Now, there are obvious reasons why Mr. McMahon, and the WWE by extension, cannot discuss Chris Benoit any further (reasons such as a police investigation), but to make such a show of actively distancing wrestling from Benoit is about seven different kinds of shady. The outrage sparked by the Benoit tragedy has pointed the spotlight squarely on the lifestyle of professional wrestlers: over the last twenty years, pro wrestling has accounted for more premature deaths among athletes than virtually all the other major sports combined. A brutal travel schedule and heavy steroid abuse are but two of the reasons for the rampant physical and psychological breakdowns. Pro wrestling's lack of accountability is another.
The saddest part of all is that the big wrestling machine will just keep chugging along, as is clearly exemplified by John Cena -- a man not fit to carry The Rock's jock -- sprinting into the ring in front of a sell-out crowd without any fear of reprisal. And that is the real tragedy.
