Official Superstars/Divas Comments on Benoit
Randy Orton comments on Benoit
My thoughts on the recent tragedy
Hi Everyone,
I am breaking my MySpace hiatus for a moment to give my opinion on the recent tragedy involving Chris Benoit and his family. Chris Benoit did so much for the wrestling business and I truly believe it wouldn't be the way it is today if it wasn't for men like him, Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Stone Cold, and many, many more. They paved the way for upcoming superstars like myself, John Cena, Chris Masters, and etc.
The "powers to be" are trying to control what we say and I may have to take this down eventually but I want to get my thoughts out there to be read just in case I do have to later take this blog down. There is so many people that have said they hope Benoit rots in hell and that they hate him and that what he did for the business doesn't matter anymore because of that one weekend.
My opinion on Chris has not changed not even for one second. I believe he is innocent. We are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty but in Chris' case it was ass backwards. They started pointing fingers at him before they even investigated other possibilities. I know many may not agree with me but I believe this double murder suicide theory they have come up with is a bunch of B.S. To me it seems like the easy way out. I know many may disagree with me but I know the type of man Chris was/is. He was a loving family man who not even on his worst days would do something as horrible as what they claim he did.
Chris is a part of the best memory of my WWE career. I won the world heavyweight championship from him and that memory and many others will be what I focus on when I think of Chris. Say what you want about him but he was/is a good man. Those of you who have judged him need to sit back and think am I perfect? Do I know all of what happened here? Do I have the whole story? Is Chris really capable of that? We are not worthy to judge another man. I may not ever understand why this happened but I will remain true to Chris.
To those that believe that the WWE should have not shown a 3 hour tribute to Chris Benoit you need to try and realize that the WWE did what they felt was right and what I still believe is right. We were remembering him as a wrestler and what he did for us. He was a big part of our lives for so long and I honestly believe if we hadn't of done that many people would be bashing the company for that as well. We can't please everyone so why even try?
RIP Chris Benoit, Nancy (Woman), and innocent little Daniel.
myspace.com/randy_ortons_myspace
Transcript of Chris Jericho & Konnan on Nancy Grace
Transcript of Chris Jericho on Nancy Grace
Chris Jericho was interviewed by CNN's Nancy Grace in regards to the Chris Benoit situation. Here's the transcript from that interview.
GRACE: I knew the whole time we were talking and discussing the crime scene and the possible use of steroids and the death of the little boy that you, as a friend of Benoit, is hearing all this. How has all of this hit you?
JERICHO: It`s almost a tale of two cities, a tale of two people. There is the Chris Benoit that had these horrendous acts of extreme psychopathic lunacy in the last couple days of his life, and then there`s the Benoit that I myself traveled with, lived with, said I love you to on many occasions. He was my mentor. He was one of my best friends. And he was a brother to me in so many ways.
And the 15 years I knew him and the two days that he decided to do these horrible, horrible acts, it`s hard to kind of discern the two. And that`s why we have to figure out what would cause such a mild-mannered, polite, influential, tremendous person and performer to do such things.
Is steroids a reason? I think it goes a lot deeper than that. I think you`re seeing a man with some severe psychological, troubled issues that held them in for far too long, until everything combined to cause him to snap in such a horrible way.
GRACE: Mr. Jericho, you spent so much time with Benoit over many, many years. Did he ever tell you about his son`s handicap?
JERICHO: No. And see, this is the thing. That`s why I really wanted to come talk with you, Nancy, and try to explain a little bit of Chris Benoit, the man, to some of the people that never heard anything about wrestling and don`t know anything about him, or you know, the millions of fans and hundreds of co-workers that he influenced in such a positive way, entertained.
Chris was a very quiet man but not a recluse and not a hermit, just quiet. He minded his own business, but he was always around. If there was a joke, he would laugh. And of all the years I was with him, I never once saw anything -- if there was a fight -- if I went nuts and wanted to beat somebody up, he was the guy that would contain me. And a lot of people can tell you that.
And as far as knowing about Daniel`s condition, it wouldn`t surprise me -- and I`m saying this seriously -- if even his own parents didn`t know because if Chris had decided that he wanted to keep it to himself, you wouldn`t have been able to pry that out of him with anything. I don`t know anybody, myself or any of his close friends, his co-workers, his boss, that knew or even suspected anything about him having the fragile X. Yet as soon as I read the symptoms of fragile X, it fit Daniel to a T all across the board.
GRACE: In what way? In what way, Mr. Jericho?
JERICHO: The lack of social skills, the never -- hard to make eye contact, intense shyness. Flapping of the hands is one thing I read. I remember him being a little bit very hyper, ADHD, very kind of a hyper little guy. And even to the point of his ears were kind of a little bit bigger. His head was a little bit larger. And you just don`t think about those things. Some kids grow into themselves over the years. But now that you read it, you can kind of really see where all this ties in.
I remember at a Wrestlemania party two years ago, my son, who was a year-and-a-half at the time, spoke more and better than Daniel did, who was about 4-and-a-half at the time, when they were playing. I just thought Daniel was like his father, just quiet and naturally withdrawn. Now you can see some of these indications that maybe it was more than that.
GRACE: Back to former WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, also a very dear friend of Benoit`s. A lot of people have perceived him moving down to the "ECW" as a demotion. You say that`s not a demotion. Why do you say that, and why the perception?
JERICHO: I`m glad that -- once again, I`m glad I got to talk to you about some of this because that`s -- that`s just such a fabrication and totally wrong. The WWE operates with three separate TV shows, "Raw," "Smackdown" and "ECW." They`re three separate brands. There`s a champion of each brand. Chris was the WWE champion on the "Raw" brand. That`s where you see him where he`s hugging his family and all the confetti`s coming down.
Then he moved to "Smackdown," which they moved the wrestlers around to freshen things up. And on "Smackdown," he was kind of in the middle level. So to better utilize his talent, because he was across the board probably the best wrestler in the WWE, and anyone would probably tell you that -- so to move him to "ECW" was twofold. One, he was about to become the "ECW" champion. And two, "ECW" is more with some younger guys that are just learning, and Chris was a great trainer and so well respected, they wanted him to be kind of more of a trainer to some of these younger guys to help them with their future endeavors.
So to move Chris to "ECW," Chris would not see that as a demotion. He would see it as doing his job, which is to help the business and to continue the business going, the business that he loved.
Chris never had a job, ever, except for wrestling. He never delivered papers. He never worked at a convenience store. He wrestled. So for him to go help some of the younger guys, he would take that as an honor.
GRACE: Well, it sounds like to me he was turning into more of a trainer.
JERICHO: Well, no because he was about to become the "ECW" champion. A champion is a champion, right?
GRACE: OK. OK. I`m glad you cleared that up because I didn`t understand it.
GRACE: Let`s go to Chris Jericho, WWE wrestler and superstar himself, a friend of Benoit. What about the other kids? What do we know about them?
JERICHO: Well, I mean, they`re doing the best they can to deal with this, obviously. And I think everybody is still processing it. Chris`s son is 14, his daughter is 10 or maybe 11. So I mean, think of it from that respect, losing your father at an age, also a hero, and the way that it happened. I know they`re going to do good, but right now, it`s as devastating as it is to all of us. I mean, what do you expect?
GRACE: Hold on just a moment, Kathleen Mullin. Hold on just a moment. No one is vilifying Benoit. Benoit was a hero, not just to the wrestling community, but to all of the charities that he worked with, to all the people he tried to help.
And this is the choice, as you`re screaming about anabolic steroids, here are the choices. According to police, he killed his wife and his little boy, his mentally handicapped little boy. So if you can sleep better at night, Kathleen Mullin, thinking he did that cool, calm, and collected, fine. I would rather believe myself that, for some reason, he lost his mind.
And I want to go to his friend, Chris Jericho. Jericho knows him better than any of us. He`s known him for years. They`re very dear friends. Mr. Jericho, can you imagine him doing this cool-headed?
CHRIS JERICHO, AUTHOR, "A LION`S TALE": Absolutely not. And that`s why I think, once again, just by the little repartee you had there, it`s getting away from the source. Steroids or no steroids, there`s still a man with a very severe mental problem that was so well-hidden that nobody knew about it, not one person. Nobody knew about it, or maybe his wife did. I don`t know. But nobody I knew that actually Chris talked to or knew about had any indication of these tendencies, and that I think is the major problem.
This is not about steroids. It`s not about wrestling. It`s about finding out about the mental problems this man had to cause him to snap in such a brutal form. I love Chris Benoit; I hate the fact of what he did.
GRACE: I`ve got to tell you something. I, like a lot of other people, have been struggling with what happened. What happened? We don`t know. The murder victims can`t speak. He killed himself, according to the evidence, although there are theories he was murdered. And it`s very hard for me to take and to reconcile this guy that so many people looked up to could cold-bloodedly kill a mentally handicapped little boy.
JERICHO: Of course.
GRACE: In fact, it would ease my heart to know maybe he was on steroids, maybe he flipped for a moment. I`d rather think that than think that he could do that. When he died, the little boy had a little statuette by his bed of his father. He worshipped his father. And from what I`ve been told, the father adored the boy. So what are we supposed to think?
JERICHO: Nancy, that`s the thing. That`s such the dichotomy of this case. This is the problem. Chris loved his children. I`m not just saying he loved his children. He loved his children, all three of them, talked about them constantly, would go out of his way to go home even just for a few hours to see his son, to see Daniel, for sure.
This is the type of father he was and this is the type of guy he was, and that`s why it`s such a crazy -- you can`t comprehend it. That`s what the problem is. Was it steroids? Maybe. But I don`t want to hang everything just from the fact they found steroids. He did not take a shot of steroids and go, "I`m going to go crazy."
This is something that had been building in him for many, many years, obviously, for him to snap like that and go absolutely insane and take away the most important thing in his life. And I know it, because he told me, all three of his children.
GRACE: Chris, we`ve got about 15 seconds.
JERICHO: It`s random testing done by an independent corporation that Vince McMahon has nothing to do with. If you are caught, you are fined and suspended. There is a list of performers who have been fined and suspended over the last six months. Ask Vince for them. He`ll supply it. It is a real, true, stringent drug test that gets results.
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Transcript of Konnan on Nancy Grace
Konnan (whose real name is Carlos Ashenoff) was interviewed by CNN's Nancy Grace in regards to the Chris Benoit situation. Here's the transcript from that interview.
On Chris Benoit passing a drug test recently:
Konnan: Well, first let me preface the conversation by stating that I hope that my appearance here raise awareness of what`s happening in our industry and brings about change. The wrestling industry is not regulated. There`s no pension plan, no retirement plan, no union. We work the whole year. And you know, in baseball, there was a congressional investigation to alleged steroid usage, and we`ve had actual deaths, and nothing`s happened.
Now, getting back to the question, you know, there`s basically -- WWE, it doesn`t behoove them to take their biggest revenue makers, you know, out of the ring. They`re going to lose money, you know? So obviously, they turned -- you know, they turned a blind eye.
On the WWE's sincerity on steroids:
Konnan: Yes, I have. But all you have to do is watch their program. They have a show on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Look at the condition the guys are in. There`s no way you can maintain that condition year-round if you`re not on them.
On physically larger humans being on steroids:
Konnan: Well, do you see normal people walking around like that on the streets year-round? It`s impossible to achieve or attain that look without steroids. I mean, I`m pretty well versed on them because I used them for a long time because in this industry, there`s a premium on that look. You`re rewarded for looking that way. And you know, it`s just a shame because now we`re starting to find out that all these people, you know, all these wrestlers are dying due to enlarged hearts. It hardens arteries. You`re having all these people that are -- you know, all these wrestlers that are dying...
On how steroids affected him:
Konnan: Oh, I got bigger, stronger, you know, more aggressive. You know...
On steroids making him want to fight:
Konnan: No, not really. I mean, you know, I didn`t have that `roid rage that you hear about, but you know, I have seen people that have gone into `roid rages.
On the drug GHB:
Konnan: Yes, that`s like liquid ecstasy. That was very, very popular in the `90s, and it helps you get ripped. It gives you a buzz. I mean, it`s very hard because, like I said before, you`re on the road the whole year, so you`re hurt, you`re depressed, you need something to pick you up, something to bring you down, something to keep you strong, so it`s a lot of recreational drugs, steroids and pain killers.
What Vince McMahon needs to do is actually fine people, suspend people or fire people if he has to, if he finds them on steroids, like Alex Marvez says, or pain killer, because they`re just giving us a lot of lip service. After Eddie Guerrero died last year, who was like a brother to me, you know, they started implementing steroid testing again to make sure they could quash or quell any media uproar, but they picked a couple patsies, and that was it. I mean, he`s got to do something about this. He`s got to be responsible.
On the credibility of the WWE's wellness program:
Konnan: Well, like I said earlier, you know, it doesn`t benefit them to take some of their biggest revenue makers out of the ring, so they just basically police themselves. If anybody`s showing up late or anybody showing any signs of drug abuse, they put them in rehab.
On the WWE's wellness program procedure:
Konnan: It`s a urine test, but, you know, they just pick a couple people, make an example out of them, and everybody else polices themselves.
On cheating the WWE's wellness program:
Konnan: Yes, right, I know exactly what it is. The bottom line is you don`t have to, because they never bust the top guys. That`s just it. You know, they make an example of a couple people so the media doesn`t say that they`re not doing anything, and that`s what`s happening. They give a lot of lip service.
On roid rage:
Konnan: Well, you know, they get uncontrollable rage. They get very violent. They want to fight. They want to break stuff and, you know, just very aggressive.
On Chris Benoit's soft spoken nature:
Konnan: Well, he was. You know, I don`t think it was `roid rage, because, you know, what he did sounded a little bit more deliberate, and it was over a three-day span, and `roid rage is kind of just bouts and fits of rage for, you know, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. But he was very kind, you know, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have never thought that he would have done anything like this. He was a gentleman.
On why Chris Benoit did it:
Konnan: I have absolutely no idea. He obviously snapped, but the bottom line is, is that, you know, wrestlers are taking a lot of pain killers, steroids and recreational drugs, and it needs to be cleaned up and needs to be regulated.
On his own health problems:
Konnan: Yes, it wasn`t from the steroids. It was more from the pain killers, due to the fact that I had to use pain killers, because I needed a hip replacement operation, and the company that I was with, TNA, wouldn`t pay for it. I had to get on pain killers and, due to the continued use of that, it shut down my kidneys, and now I have to get a kidney transplant.
On his scheduled surgery:
Konnan: Hopefully next week. But let me tell you something. You had asked me before what I thought the thing was with Chris Benoit. There seems to be a correlation between undiagnosed concussions and football players who, after they retire, they commit suicide. He might have had an undiagnosed concussion.
source: *****************.com
