Not An Evolution Schematic 06.27.07: Nancy & Daniel’s Passing

I was originally going to go an ES on Dr. D, continue the “Who’d Wanna Kill Vince?” thing. Then it was to be a Benoit ES. Then a Woman one. Then just Benoit memories. And now…

This isn’t going to be a long column, since I only have three major points to make, the rest are either made already or pointless (Which Indy Heel will be first to use the Crossface and re-name it the Woman Killer?).

Firstly, does the last days of Mr. Benoit’s life make it impossible to appreciate his work? Some people are defending the idea that one can appreciate and love and what have you Benoit’s body of work. Others are going to the other extreme, and saying that they, and by extension everyone else, should not watch any Benoit match again, or not enjoy it, since he was such an evil man. At least for a couple of days. And I can see both sides of the argument. But might I make an observation, which in an ironic, karma sort of way, is based on the Vince’s Limo storyline?

Remember a week or so ago, seemingly a lifetime ago, when the IWC were all have a chuckle at how the mainstream media, several companies and various people were all thinking Vince McMahon had died? That Mr. Vince McMahon had blown up? How silly, we thought, those people must not be too smart. After all, it’s clear that the character of Mr. McMahon is dead, but Vince is really alive.

It seems odd to hear from a guy who spends most of his column space trying to resolve and combine reality and characters, but why is it that you can’t think that Chris Benoit the man was an evil bastard, but ‘The Canadian Crippler’ ‘The Rabid Wolverine’ Chris Benoit the character rocked? Sure, Benoit was most of that character, but without bookers, writers, other wrestlers and so on, the character isn’t as good. A wresting persona is just that, a persona. The two are not the same thing, clearly not the same, given what has happened. True, no-one is about to step in and replace the actor in the character, but the distinction does exist. Some are choosing to make it.

If you can’t, that’s fine. But if you can, that’s fine too.

My second point is going to sound like a call to arms, a rallying cry, which I don’t really intend it to be, but it kinda is.

See, every wrestling fan, especially every Net fan, is going to have to sit down and ask themselves a very important question.

Knowing that Chris Benoit is gone, and knowing what he did and thus what sort of man he was, do I, CAN I, still be a wrestling fan? Can I still support the business?

The answer might be no. Benoit may have been the sole bright light, the guy who brought you in, who kept you hooked. Now, to find out who he was… You want to leave. That’s ok. I sincerely hope that you had fun, you enjoyed yourself, and if I might make a parting suggestion, perhaps you may want to check out MMA. It might suit you, now.

But if the answer is yes, if, like football fans, basketball fans, baseball fans, if like practically every sort of sports fan you are willing to forgive the industry for one of it’s (former) members’ sins… Then the next few weeks are going to be crucial. Because in the next few weeks, you, I, we have to support this business like never before.

The Anti-Wrestling pundits, forces and generally people who don’t like it have been given the biggest free kick this side of…well ever really. One of the most beloved, adored, respected technical workhorses of this or any other generation, a man constantly referred to as an example of what a wrestler should be, a great wrestler who earned his way up, never took a back step, always persevered, found love, was an all round great guy, was a large percentage of the fans poster child, the guy the business as a whole seemed to aspire to, the pinnacle of the industry… Is a steroid using double murderer who couldn’t face the music.

Talk about open season.

The Business is going to be fought over, and fought over hard. The Anti’s will, of course, latch on to one of the least important problems in the industry, steroids. Not the WWE workload, not the constant traveling, not the hardship on families or bodies, not the various and sundry drug addictions, nope, just one, Steroids. After all, everyone knows steroids are evil, wrestlers use them, ergo, QED.

And now, it’s fairly clear that the WWE and other assorted people near the top will have enough evidence and stuff to fight back. If Daniel Benoit does turn out to suffer from Fragile X, then there’s going to be a blood bath. Wrestling didn’t do squat, it was Filicide and Uxoricide, brought on by the boy’s handicap, Benoit should have sought help, we would have given it, but it’s his fault, not ours, wrestling had nothing to do with it, QED.

And then there’s us, the fans, stuck in the middle. We can’t change what has happened. And we can’t, directly, stop the two sides of the above argument fighting over straw men.

What we can do is support the business. If you have enjoyed wrestling in the past, if you want to see the business get past thing, then tune into Smackdown. Buy Victory Road. Get the latest ROH DVD. Go to your next Indy show. Support the business, because I’m sure a lot of them are feeling a lot worse than the fans right now. While the media and the PR guys fight a battle of words, just enjoy the product. Remind yourself why you became a fan to begin with.

And maybe we’ll get through this. Maybe.

And finally… David and Megan I’m sure are not reading this. That’s Benoit’s other kids, by the way. I’m sure they have enough people to be with them while they try to make sense of this. We’ve just lost a guy we watch on TV, a woman we used to and some kid. They’ve lost their mother, father, brother and way of life. But while I’m not religious, they are sure as heck in my thoughts.

Goodbye Daniel, Woman, and yes, Chris. You’ve certainly changed the world of wrestling, one way or another.