WWE to apologize for Benoit tribute

[Ill Will]

Yeah, um having a 3 hour tribute for a murderer isn't the greatest thing to do even if he did a lot for the WWE. The point is he murdered his family and that should not be glorified, simple as.

WWE didn't have the slightest idea that Benoit murdered anyone when RAW aired last night. They found out Benoit was dead only 4 hours before the show started. Most of the time between the start of RAW and when they were notified was spent putting together an impromptu tribute. They definitely weren't glorifying the act of him killing anyone. That's just stupid of you to say.

If anything, they should apologize to the fans for the immensely horrible death angle they've been working the past 2 weeks, up until yesterday afternoon. I would gladly accept an apology for that.

[Super Klawz]

Well now obviously knowing the events that occurred the tribute will come across as the WWE gloryfying and honouring a murderer and I don't think anybody would want to do that.

Plus do you think everyone watching knows that they only found out 4 hours before? I really doubt that everyone does know that and that is probably what the apology is for because it may be perceived that a murderer was being glorified.

[vegeta02012]

I think that they should have apologized to those offended because they were reacting to the news that a dear friend and employee had died and wanted to honor his memory, not for a moment considering that he could have murdered them. Even the most jaded person couldnt blame the WWE for doing that. So i agree with them apologizing but i think that they should only apologize to those still offended after explaining their position to them. To give no acknowledgement of Benoit's death wouldnt have been right either

[LG]

Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight's show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world--entertain you.

wwe.com

[JohnCenaFan28]

I don't know what to say...

[ironicicon]

I don't know what to say...

Right there with you...

[Will]

I don't watch ecw. Did this message open the tv show or was it just for the in house crowd?

[Ill Will]

obviously knowing the events that occurred the tribute will come across as the WWE gloryfying and honouring a murderer

No, it wouldn't look that way at all. If you even watched the tribute, they said several times that they didn't have any other information on how Benoit died. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense will realize that RAW aired live before it came out that it was a murder/suicide. At the time RAW went on air, all WWE knew was that Benoit was dead. Any reasonable human being would understand this, would not be offended, would not expect an apology, and would not hold it against WWE for making a tribute to Benoit when all they knew at the time was that he was dead.

Plus do you think everyone watching knows that they only found out 4 hours before?

Anyone and everyone who has read the news articles that mention WWE being notified at 4 PM would know this, and that would probably be almost everyone. Anyone who didn't know would probably initially be appalled that there was a tribute to Benoit, but would probably then read up on exactly how the news came out Monday afternoon.

At least that's what any reasonable person would do who doesn't jump to conclusions, but WWE shouldn't be held responsible for the ignorance of a minority.

[Jaymac2327]

This message opened the show. And I have to say I was totally blown away by it. Vince looked he was crying again tonight. I feel that this was the right thing to do, don't know what everyone else thinks. But the WWE paid tribute to one of the greats and because of the timeframe didn't wait in order for the investigation to be completed enough to know what the circumstances surrounding the Benoit family's death. No apology needed by WWE.

[ironicicon]

I had no idea any of this happened when I turned on Raw. Like any other Monday night, I turned on the tv, turned the stereo sound on and waited for my show to start, and that's when the "In Memory" came up. I was upset that he had died and had no idea until I came online that he might be responsible. So, should they apologize? I'm not sure. In no uncetain terms should he be glorified for doing what he allegedly did, but at the time all of this happened, not everyone was aware of the circumstances. They did what they did to honor one of their own without knowledge of the full story. In truth, I think he should be remembered for what he did in the ring, however, that's all tarnished now. Everything he's done in his career is being overshadowed by this tragedy and everything he's done is basically for nothing. If the WWE knew of the circumstances beforehand and then did a tribute show to him, it would've been in poor taste. But considering the fact that nothing became public knowledge until later on, then they should have nothing to apologize for. Basically, all he's worked for is moot now. It's like it doesn't exist. I guess it's just an iffy situation concerning the apology. The apology Vince gave was straight to the point and saying pretty much what I said. 26 hours later the facts surrounding this case came about. It's not a bad thing to cover all bases. If some were offended after the fact, then it's taken care of. Myself, I wasn't offended. Others, though, I'm sure, family, friends, may have been. The tribute wasn't out of malice and they thought they were doing it out of respect for one of their own.