Dark Side of the Ring - Chris Benoit
Added 2025-06-14 18:30:01 +0000 UTCI decided to make this one available to free tier patrons as well. Something about putting anything related to this tragedy behind a paid tier doesn't sit right with me. Hopefully by making it available to everyone, maybe someone who hasn't seen it before will be more comfortable watching along "with someone".
There is no long discussion or anything from us during or after the video. I don't feel like I can add much of value to the conversation or to this topic. But I'll definitely read through the comments if anyone has anything they'd like to add or discuss.
Watch: https://streamable.com/16tqcg
Comments
Not sure if this will be read but here's some morbid facts about Benoit's mental decline He was experiencing prolonged bereavement after Eddie's death which may have been further worsened by the concussions, wrestlers such as Tank Toland who was on Smackdown in 05 said Benoit would cry on his shoulder in elevators after Eddie's death He became more paranoid where he would constantly wake up in the middle of the night to check his house alarm, take different routes to gyms/airports and would ask Iron Sheik about kidnappings and extreme fans since Sheikh's daughter was unfortunately murdered He became more forgetful and would decide to just call matches in the ring without anything planned apart from who won. MVP who was Benoit's last rival aside from the cancelled Edge feud and Kevin Thorne who was his second to last opponent have talked about how Benoit would just blackout in the middle of the match and would forget everything that had been planned or happened Mark Henry said that for the last 3 months he could see Benoit start to slip up and drop off which concerned him but he was too scared to speak up about it Nowinski spoke about how Benoit asked him 6 months before about the side effects of concussions and what they could do to him due to him starting to realise what was happening. The comparison between his brain and a healthy one is shocking The sad thing is that by the time Benoit was slowly starting to realise what happened to him, it was too late and it resulted in 2 innocent lives being taken away who should still be here today
I7
2025-08-01 00:39:43 +0000 UTCThis is a heavy subject so I just wanted to to acknowledge Chris Nowinski. He was a former Tough Enough competitor who had a run for just under a year in the midcard before his career was ended prematurely by his concussion. His research into concussions had a profound impact in the wake of this tragedy to protect future generations of wrestlers. His contributions from outside the business were exponentially greater than what he did in the business.
JC
2025-06-18 21:27:19 +0000 UTCThe Benoit tragedy is the darkest moment in wrestling history. I believe that his actions are horrific and unforgivable and at the same time a cautionary tale as to what happens when you sacrifice everything for your dream. He lost himself along that journey and became a ticking time bomb. The man has without question one of the greatest careers in wrestling history, all now completely erased due to his actions. I remember doing research into the tragedy and CTE in high school and despite playing football for a while. That made me quit playing the sport. The way I thought about it was “I can repair broken bones and torn muscles but I can’t heal my brain from being rattled, if this sport I love can turn me into that, I want NO PARTS of playing it”. This left a dark shadow over wrestling which I think only nearly a decade later (2017 up to now) is it healing from. I cannot stress how important it is to find balance between your work and you personal life. Value the people who love you because at the end of the day, your work won’t appreciate you quite like your family and friends do. RIP to Nancy and Daniel.
Snazzyway
2025-06-18 12:52:04 +0000 UTCI’ve seen this documentary a handful of times already and I always tear up at the Eddies death section. It’s such a terrible way to go out, especially after he got his redemption story of getting clean and winning his life back. To think that he made such an impact on Chris’ life.. to think Chris almost destroyed the one thing he loved more than anything in the world.. to think that Nancy and Daniel were needlessly taken away due to someone else’s struggles. It’s all a lot to take in every time. This might be one of, if not, the biggest wrestling tragedy in history. I’d never wish this type of pain on anybody. Hug your loved ones, cherish them and help them if and when they need it. If you’re struggling with something mentally, please get some help. It’s not anything to be embarrassed about because every life is precious and deserves to be lived to its fullest. Life is too short as it is, so let’s make the most out of it and try to be our best selves all the time. And if no one has told you lately, allow me: I love you, I appreciate you, and you matter to me. We all deserve a little love and kindness today. Every day.
TJ Grant
2025-06-16 13:05:09 +0000 UTCI was watching wrestling pretty regularly when Eddie's death and the Benoit incident took place. I was around 16. I remember the tribute show as well. I liked Benoit, and I thought his entrance theme was cool.. but after that, yeah I couldn't call him a fav anymore. RIP Nancy & Daniel and may the surviving family and extended family find peace. Hope you too are doing okay as well. It was a tough watch. 🫂
Courtney コートニー
2025-06-15 19:27:16 +0000 UTCOoh this is going to be a hard watch. I still remember my mum and sister coming home from shopping and showing me the article in the paper about Benoit dying, but the full details weren’t in it. I also remember that the Raw tribute show they did didn’t end up airing here in Australia (or in any international markets). Instead we got a “Best of John Cenas WWE Championship reign.” On the debate about whether people can still watch his matches, I can and I certainly understand why others can’t. It’s always in the back of my mind when I watch one of his matches and it comes to the front of my mind whenever he takes a chair shot to the head or does the duvin* headbutt. I just end up thinking “Yep that contributed to what happened.” In the same vein, I can’t bare to listen to the band Lost Prophets after finding out what their lead singer did. It just comes down to how an individual feels and what crime is too much for them. As others have said, Benoit was a great wrestler who put on countless great matches. But what he did 18 years ago erases his entire career. There is no justifying it and no excusing it. It’s one thing to take the life of an adult in the case of Nancy, but taking Daniel’s life is truly despicable and the epitome of evil. I sincerely hope there’s no dipshits in this community that believe the conspiracies or think Benoit should be in the Hall of Fame. And if you do, please make yourself known so you can be blocked. Because we’re all allowed opinions but that is too far. This is also the darkest incident/event that has happened in wrestling. There isn’t much that comes close to it. Also it is obviously a very serious subject, but there is the anecdote that Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce by telling Chris and Nancy to make it look real in public.
Steamed Ham Champion Dillon Haggett
2025-06-15 10:03:11 +0000 UTCThat was my first time watching it. and man. I think the most powerful part was the aunt saying “I want to forgive him someday.” That’s…incredible. I can’t even fathom the heart she must have in order to say that, let alone do it. Thank you for posting this because I didn’t have anyone to watch it with. Thoughts and hugs to both of y’all, I know that was a hard watch.💛
cheese
2025-06-15 05:11:31 +0000 UTC
