RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling Chris Benoit and family found dead

You'd think FOX News would LOVE the Warrior, what with his uber-conservative views such as "Queering don't make the world work".

I dislike Warrior for making fun of my sexual preferences. I'm gay and I'm proud!

July 8, 2007 - Sunday


My Opinions and Beliefs

After taking in everything that has been going on and said about the WWE the last couple of weeks, I am ready to air my feelings and comments. I'm going to speak as candid and as honestly as I can. I've been told it's ok to say what I want, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

The first thing I want to mention is how disappointed I am with a majority of the media's coverage of the recent events. There was a terrible tragedy that happened and now the media wants to points the finger of responsibility at our industry. So many people are looking for someone else to take the blame--in a constant attempt to garner ratings on the "hot" story. If it turns out what is currently speculated is what actually happened to Chris Benoit and his family, only one person was ultimately responsible--that being Chris himself. I would suggest it was because Chris Benoit had a mental dysfunction, some sort of mental illness or disease. Any form of life, in any occupation, can eventually reach a point where they became mentally ill because they let their personal and professional issues overtake their sanity. Whatever walk of life you come from, you have to be able to know within yourself when you need help. If you continue to go without help or change when you desperately need it, you'll eventually snap. It's happened to postal workers, factory workers, school kids, people from all walks of life--this time it just happened to be a professional wrestler.

Some of the media have made ridiculous statements and created so many absurd scenarios. Such things as Chris Benoit was demoted by going from "The Four Horsemen to Raw"--and that Nancy Benoit and Sherri Martel passed away on the same day, and were their deaths somehow tied together? Within the WWE we exaggerate stories and have over the top characters--but we admit we're entertainment. It's so irresponsible for some of the media to state such sensationalized stories and give incorrect information--they claim to be reporting factual events to the public.

It's also very odd that so many older wrestlers that haven't been in our locker room in years, some decades--seem to think they're informed of the current habits of today's talent. If they're legitimately trying to make a difference, I can respect and applaud that. But if their motive is to get that fifteen minutes of fame and get their name circulating again, that's not very cool. Regardless of their motivation, they don't know the activities of our generation, the newer generation. The talent has changed. Our generation is so much more responsible and cognizant of their lifestyles and health compared to the generations before. Does that mean everyone's perfect? Absolutely not. But the talent is so much more disciplined and responsible than the talent from years past. The demographic that the media always speaks about "dying young" is yesterday's generation, not today's. Those numbers will dwindle down in the years to come--I guarantee it.

The current WWE roster is the best behaved and most responsible locker room that I've ever been in over the nine years I've been with the WWE. And the drug-testing system that we have is totally legitimate. If it wasn't, I wouldn't state that publicly. Considering the physicality of what we all do, there will always be times where injured wrestlers will be prescribed medications to legitimately deal with pain and injuries. And I don't mean the exaggerated overdoses that Dr. Astin was apparently prescribing.

I just recently read an article debating if "personal choice" existed in wrestling--of course it does. I think it all comes down to being disciplined and responsible. Vince McMahon gives everyone he hires an opportunity--it's up to you with what you do with it and how you handle yourself. I'm not a huge guy. I'm not the most talented guy to ever walk through the WWE doors. But I was and I still am given an opportunity to bust my ass and work hard and succeed. And I have. And I didn't have to look like a bodybuilder to do so. I'm not a steroid user. Never will be. But that hasn't stopped me from making a great living within the WWE for almost nine years. Over the course of the last six months, I've been on the most successful run of my entire career. And I'm not a drug user--with the exception of a occasional beer or cocktail. If I have an early flight or an early wake up, I go to bed early. I'm responsible. If I have a minor injury, I make it my priority to take care of it and treat it. I'm responsible. Back in the day, during the generations before us, wrestlers were so consumed with living the "rock star" lifestyle that they sacrificed sleeping and recuperation time to party. The "rock star" lifestyle often consisted of doing recreational drugs to party and then using drugs to go to sleep and then wake up. But our generation is not doing that like yesterday's generation. In fact, the majority of the guys within the WWE today frown on that behavior. Being a professional wrestler is a challenging and tough career--but it ultimately our "personal choices" that depend on how each wrestler lives their life.

The WWE is so often scrutinized for so many negative things--what about all the great things that the WWE does? What about all the great things performers like myself do? How come that's not weighed in when people are making blanket comments about the WWE? I pride myself on being a role model. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have the power to brighten people's lives. Whether it's a Make-A-Wish child, an injured soldier, or just a random Matt Hardy fan--I have been blessed with the ability to make people smile, to be able to give them a memorable moment. I fortunately have the power to make people feel good. I also have the power to influence people. And I take that power very seriously and responsibly. I conscientiously live my life in a way where others could model themselves after me. I don't do drugs, I always attempt to do the right thing, to be a good person, and to lead by example. I often visit military hospitals, children's hospitals, and schools to speak to kids about the importance of education. So do many of the other WWE superstars. And don't forget the WWE's donations to charities, Smackdown your Vote, the Get Real program, or the annual Tribute to the Troops trip that happens every year. Myself and the WWE do alot of wonderful things that are often forgotten or overlooked because we're "wrestling." I try to make a difference, give back, and change the world every day of my life--and being a "wrestler" is what allows me to often succeed.

I want to thanks all of the "wrestling" fans that have stuck with me through thick and thin. I also want to thank all of the fans that have stuck with the wrestling industry for the right reasons. There's at least one thing that Matt Hardy and the wrestling business have in common--regardless of what we're put through, we "Will Not Die!"

Quote of the day - "I don't shine if you don't shine" - The Killers, Read My Mind

Matt

Good fucking grief, what a company boy.

Did he actually write that, or did Vince?

From Matt Hardys MySpace page

yeah, I saw that the other night. I barely recognized Mero, until he started talking. I've really gotten fed up with all the sensationalism that's blown up around this and all the people crawling out of the woodwork to grind their personal axes.

WAGA-TV in Atlanta, GA, is reporting reported that federal investigators have seized all medical records of Dr. Phil Astin and Larry Pfolhl (Lex Luger), Marcus Bagwell, Mark Jindrak, Bob Howard (Bob Holly), Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit, Mike Durham (Johnny Grunge) and Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) have been identified as patiends of Astin.

The station is also reporting that M.J. and O.G., the two wrestlers involved in the indictment of overprescribing pain killers were indeed, as rumored earlier, Mark Jindrak and Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio).

Post-Benoit, L.I.’s Hardcore Champ Shows Soft Side Just When We Need It

Josh Stewart


Mick Foley wishes he could just talk about Santa Fe de la Laguna, and a little girl named Rosa Maria.

It's not that the Long Island pro wrestling icon is necessarily trying to skirt the issue that everybody wants to ask about. Some of the critiques he's given World Wrestling Entertainment in the past would burn a golf ball-sized hole in your ear, so he's not adhering to marching orders.

It's just that when finally reached on the phone to talk about the bizarre double murder-suicide involving fellow grappler Chris Benoit, he has a different story to tell. It involves hope and smiles and humor, all the things we need to hear about when tragedies overcome us.

You see, at around the same time that things were going on at Benoit's home that don't need repeating, a different scene was unfolding in Santa Fe de la Laguna, in the western Mexico state of Michoacán. Foley was mugging for the camera with Rosa Maria, a young girl he sponsors through Christian Children's Fund.

"I joked with her that not many children have a sponsor with their own action figure," says Foley.

The previous year, Foley had traveled there on a CCF study mission and found an early childhood education/community center that had run out of funding-and Rosa Maria, who connected with him. Since 2004, he had tried to improve upon a standard relationship with the charity that dates back to 1992.

"I guess I was just a typical sponsor, probably a worse-than-average sponsor. My checks were often late, and I didn't write [the children] all that often," he admits.

But nobody missed one of his latest checks, which prompted his return for the grand reopening.

"They put up a plaque with names on it in order of the size of contribution, and the first two were the Dalai Lama and me. Not bad company to be in," Foley says with a discernable hint of pride in his voice.

Foley has, in essence, become pro wrestling's Angelina Jolie. The "King of the Death Match," who over the years has used more barbed wire than a Texas rancher to maim opponents, is heading to Sierra Leone in September to learn more about the plight of child soldiers.

How do two guys, Benoit and Foley, who have lived rather similar existences, turn out so differently?

"Everybody's looking for easy answers," Foley maintains, "and there are no easy answers."

That got me thinking about Benoit. Steroids? It does appear that he was an abuser. But if steroids caused this kind of godlessness, wouldn't we have had to deal with similar tragedies from athletes in assorted sports who have shot everything but Drano into their bodies for decades?

Concussions? Foley's head has been bounced around as much as anybody, and he is a New York Times best-selling author who earlier this year spoke at MIT.

A stressful schedule? The travel and family detachment a pro wrestler faces is grueling. But a friend made a good point to me the other day. While the Benoit situation was unfolding, the other big story was former officer Bobby Cutts Jr. allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend. Not one member of the media has tried to link his work with the Dayton Police Department to his reported action, even though law enforcement is a pretty stressful career.

"There are all kinds of people who want to ridicule Roger Clemens because of his work schedule. So there's no way to satisfy everybody," Foley says. "If somebody's burnt out [in WWE], they ask for time off. That's what Chris had done in the past, and what I've done in the past. There's no question that working on the road full-time with WWE is a difficult lifestyle. But to try to even insinuate that a rough job can result in a double murder-suicide is really a stretch for me. The only person responsible at all is Chris. I think to try to hold his employer or his job as responsible at all for his actions is wrong."

That said, the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005 brought along WWE's Talent Wellness Program to test for substance abuse, and suspensions have been doled out since. This latest tragedy will likely lead to an even more stringent policy, but as baseball has shown, there's no single wave of a wand that is going to instantly solve a systemic issue.

Why is it, though, that when the problems in baseball are discussed, all the talking heads are trying to save the sport, but when wrestling has an issue, commentators dismiss the profession as Satanic and hope it meets an early grave?

"It's been that way for a long time," Foley says of the naysayers. "You can ask any Make-A-Wish chapter, literally, ask any one, about their feelings about WWE and they'll give you a completely different story because they know that most of the guys are more than willing to help out and really see it as an honor to be able to put smiles on faces that don't get to smile too often. When people get to know the wrestlers a little bit, they are almost always impressed with how down to earth and generous with their time they can be."

That's why Foley says he doesn't find his charity work as much of a paradox as others do, considering that his career has been spent making people feel good. In the middle of the Benoit tragedy, he's waiting for a call so he may return to WWE for a short time and "lighten the mood."

After what the wrestling establishment has been through, some of Foley's antics-Mr. Socko and Dude Love come to mind-would be a welcome diversion.

Until then, he'll focus on his philanthropy and his family. Wife Colette and his four kids are doing great, having just filmed a pilot for an A&E reality show in their home. Before our call ends, he says with glee that younger sons Little Mickey and Hughie are all healed up-he chronicled in The Hardcore Diaries, his latest book, how the pair was in the hospital with viruses. But he uses that as a motivation for people to give, noting, "The same virus that put my kids in the hospital for two days can end a life in a lot of countries around the world."

Pretty deep stuff from a guy who used to pull out his hair on TV to get our attention. Hopefully, WWE will bring Foley off the bench soon. After talking with him about Rosa Maria, I know I certainly felt a little better.

Ken Kennedy has just posted this message on his official site at http://www.ken-kennedy.com

Please GOD, I'm just BEGGING for someone who has actually wrestled in a WWE ring in the past decade besides Jericho, Bret Hart, John Cena, and Ted Dibiase to come forward on one of these shows and tell the world what's really going on. For these goofs, like Lanny Poffo? Ultimate
Warrior? and Marc Mero???!! to repeatedly act as "experts" and "wrestler advocates" on the current situation is like having a frustrated ex-jock who rode the pine bench throughout his high school sports career give advice to Brett Favre on how to improve his game! It's ridiculous, insane, and it really makes me sick that these so called reporters like Bill O'Reilly, Nancy Grace, and Geraldo Rivera, call upon these silly bastards who are bitter and frustrated that their careers have ended to represent the WWE which of course makes all of us look like a bunch of babbling idiots who are all addicted to steroids, drugs, alcohol, etc.

THINGS ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THEY WERE FIVE OR TEN OR TWENTY YEARS AGO! Most of the "expert", frustrated ex-wrestlers that they've had on the show came from an era where everyone wrestled every day and then went out and partied like rock stars until dawn, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, snorting cocaine, taking fistfuls of pills, and injecting massive amounts of steroids. They would take pills to go to sleep, snort coke or take speed to get up and do this day after day after day! This would not be even remotely tolerated in today's environment.

We have a strict drug policy in place. The WWE's wellness program was designed and instituted by the same doctor who implemented the NFL and the NBA's substance abuse programs. Contrary to what somebody recently said on one of these "tabloid" shows the WWE's allowed levels are exactly the same as the NFL. (Someone, I can't recall exactly who said it, said that the WWE allowed a 10:1 Testosterone to Epitestosterone level, which is false. We have a 4:1 level exactly like the NFL and the NBA.) In fact, I knew of someone who took an over the counter supplement from GNC which he didn't know was on the banned list, which caused him to have an elevated testosterone level. This individual was suspended and fined because of it. We can't even take Ephedrine which is another legal supplement that can be bought at any gas station in the country. Since I've been with the company, I've seen the few people that did have problems with drugs either sent to rehab to try and help them overcome their addictions, (sent to one of the top rehab facilities in the country and paid for in full by the WWE) or be fired for repeat offenses.

Look at the list of wrestlers who have prematurely passed away over the years, and most of them made the decision to live their lives this way. That's right, I said "made the decision" because we have this cool thing in the United States of America called "freedom of choice". I have the choice to quit my job if I don't like it, or if I feel that I'm on the road too much. I have the right to choose whether or not I want to break the law and use drugs. I have the right to choose between eating healthy food and exercising regularly and eating fast-food three times a day, not going to the gym, and becoming obese like a good majority of the citizens in this country. When will individuals be held accountable for their own actions? Will it ever happen, or will we always try and point the finger at someone else? Unfortunately as much as I respect the man, Superstar Billy Graham is ultimately responsible for the health problems he suffers from right now because of the choices he made in his career. I find it both sad and humorous that the man who many say is largely responsible for starting the whole "steroid craze" in pro-wrestling is now pointing the finger at the industry rather than blaming himself.

I, like everyone else in the company, have the luxury of being able to go home almost every week, play with my dog, hang out with my girlfriend, sleep in my own bed, and eat good home cooked food. This wasn't the case with these frustrated ex-wrestlers who are trying to grasp on to FIVE more minutes of fame and recognition.

I hear some of these guys talking about how the WWE doesn't have any type of benefits. I heard Johnny Grunge's widow on Nancy Grace saying that wrestling leaves you with nothing, and that two weeks after her husband was released from WCW that they lost their cars and their home. It apparently wasn't obvious to Nancy Grace, who is reportedly an extremely intelligent person, that they were obviously living outside of their means, and they weren't doing something that my parents taught me to do when I was a little kid……SAVE MONEY.

This job pays well, but I know that it won't last forever. It's the same problem with pro athletes and actors in Hollywood who spend, spend, spend, like the money grows on trees and like it's always going to be there, and then falls flat on their faces when their careers are suddenly cut short. Who's fault? The team? The studio in Hollywood? I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who don't save money and spend everything that they earn so they can impress everyone around them with all the NEAT THINGS that they own. As far as the having no health insurance thing goes, I've been seriously injured twice since I've been in the WWE. Every red cent has been paid for in full by the company, which is the case for any employee who is injured during a work or work-related event. Yes, I have my own supplemental insurance which is a bit expensive, but if WWE paid for it, I'm sure that, just like every other company in the country that offers health insurance to their employees, I would just be paid less, so it's a wash!

In the end, we are all responsible for our own actions. Saying that Vince McMahon is responsible for the deaths of the Benoit's is like saying that you and I are responsible for the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son. The millions of people who tuned in every week to be entertained by "how funny" she was when she was all PILLED up and DRUNK, suddenly became the same people who acted SHOCKED and APALLED when she died of a drug overdose. Somebody, PLEASE, stop the insanity!!!!

KK

Credit - http://www.Ken-Kennedy.com

Because its well documented!

So is the stuff that is going on now...

How do Lex and Konnan not have money?

I wonder well how Kevin Nash is doing?

So is the stuff that is going on now...

in fact, the current stuff is a lot better documented than the older stuff.

Not really.

News sheets are probably 50% shit, so you have to say that things are not quiet as "well documented" as we think.

With biographies, we have a lot more information available to us about the old days.