Benoit, how I handle it

It has been a few days since Chris Benoit, his wife, and his seven year old son were found dead in their home. I hang my head in shock and shake it slowly in remorse. I want to say that I have the answers to this one, I don't. I love wrestling, and the death of wrestlers always affects me. Whether they perform as heals or baby faces (bad or good), they are all heroes to me. It doesn't matter what happens to them between the last I see them perform and their last moments on earth, I see only what I need to see...because they are my heroes. It is great to hear if a wrestler is doing well after they leave the business. It is saddening to hear when a wrestler has fallen to lows that even a poorly writen wrestling storyline wouldn't think of touching. Unfortunately with Benoit, he is one of the later. That said, this is not a "Say it ain't so!" moment. This is a "he was a good man...up until last weekend" moment.

What Mr. Benoit did is bad, very bad. It is an evil thing made worse by the fact that he placed bibles around the dead, including himself. It seems as if he tried to purify, to make everything right, to open the gates of heaven to his family. I still respect him for what he did to entertain in one of the hardest industries to successfully perform in. I do not understand why he did what he did, but I chose to not remember him by what he did in the last two days in his life. I do take in what he did. I realise that it is not something someone who is "right" would do. I am not saying that he was nuts. I am not saying he wasn't. This is just not normal. One can only say that no matter what, he was ill.

The WWE caught some flack for their initial response to the tragedy; the three hour Benoit tribute. WWE did right by doing a tribute. I am glad they did it when they did. I am afraid that there will be little or no chance to reflect on the man and his family without mention of the killings and suicide. For Mr. McMahon to come out of character and blow a storyline out of character, that showed how much of a man he really is. I have unlimited respect for him and his organization.

Knowing the who, the what, the when (aproximately), the where, the how, but not the the big bad why (other than the obvious fact that he was not in the right mind). I do know that another tower has fallen. I bow my head for Chris Benoit, his family and friends, and the fans who respect the business and the people who make it great. I chose to remember him for what he did for most of his life, not the last day or so of it.