The Benoit Tragedy
Over a tragic weekend, Chris Benoit took the lives of his wife and son before taking his own life.
The weekend of June 22–24 of 2007 would be one of the most shocking events in wrestling history. Professional wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their son Daniel were found dead in their Atlanta, Georgia, home. At first, the family appeared to be the victim of a possible home invasion/triple homicide. The WWE ran a tribute episode on Monday Night, Raw in honor of their fallen friend. It was supposed to be a night to celebrate and honor the career of one of the greatest performers of his generation.
As the evening wore on, more facts about what had happened at the Benoit home came to light. Over the course of that fateful weekend, Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son before hanging himself in his home gym.
WWE quickly shifted gears, and the next night on their ECW broadcast, Vince McMahon made a speech addressing the situation and made it clear that he would not be mentioned on their program again. His name was removed from their website, and the company had done much to distance themselves from him in their video archives.
The tragedy sparked much debate over what could have caused one of the most respected members of the WWE roster to do such a horrible thing…
