Son Of The Beach

I have read this thread, shocked at what happened, at the attitudes of some on the forum and that out there will be further wrestlers that like Benoit, are a ticking timebomb and no bastard in power is at all interested. Up until this story broke, and degenerated into what it has become, I held Benoit in great regard as a talented technical wrestler. Now, I pity him, his victims and those left to pick up the wreckage.What happened to him? No-one will really know, but having read the 'evidence' I suspect a combination of injuries, both mental and physical, steroid use (not I didn't say abuse as steroids are used to assist in healing as well as muscle development), painkiller use, age, pressure to perform and the forthcoming alleged Title run could have affected him in a way the something tipped him over the edge (- I know from a weightlifter at work that over-use of steroids affects aggression; this guy punched clean through a wall when he lost it one day-) and his wife took the brunt of it. Why did he kill his son? I investigated Fragile X before posting and it is a particularly nasty disability for anyone to have to deal with. Acting as Devil's Advocate, I'll run a scenario:Benoit is at home, on the edge. Something causes him to lose it with his wife, who he strangles in a testosterone-fuelled rage. Then he calms down. What does he do now? He has a dead partner, who he has murdered and is looking a a very long sentence inside; loss of his career (and wrestling meant everything to him, if the previous interviews are to be believed), loss of income and his only child will wake up effectively parentless. In one swift move he has destroyed everything he held dear. He knows his child will end up in care and will not benefit from anything he has worked for and sufferers from Fragile X need continuous attention, so in his mind he does the only option left open to him and smothers his disabled child. He is now a double murderer and has no free life left, so after 'putting his affairs' in order, he takes the only option he can see and hangs himself.Do I feel sorry for Benoit - no. Do I feel sorry for his family - yes, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time; Benoit would have imploded eventually and taken someone with him. It is the way of the WWE to drive its wrestlers hard and if they can't keep up, tough! It is a mincing machine of mental and physical attributes and the remains get spat out if they last long enough; Benoit broke before he was pushed. I should imagine the McMahons will be hoping that no politician will leap on the bandwagon and start interfering with their business...but maybe that is what it will take to safeguard the welfare of the employees.No-one knows what the legacy of Benoit's implosion will be, good or bad for the American industry. All it is at the moment is an hysterical media frenzy with many theories (mine included) and accusations. I hope things will pan out for the good in the end, especially for the remaining 'superstars'....

Bollocks! just picked up this thread....Awesome was one of those guys whose time never seemed to come for no apparent reason; still one hell of an entertaining wrestler. Bugger...how many more?Rest In Peace, Mike.