The words in the title are from Chavo Guerrero Jr, and probably the perfect summary of what every wrestling fan thinks of Chris Benoit. The late wrestler was one of the best mat technicians of his generation, a man who was and is still an inspiration for the next generation, as far as in-ring work goes. He had wrestled all around the world, not for money or fame, just because he was passionate about wrestling and performing in front of fans. Like Jim Ross states, he was not wrestling to enter any kind of Hall of Fame, he was just a performer. But, in June 2007, Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy, his son Daniel, before taking his own life. And suddenly, his legacy was erased from the wrestling history books forever.
The Dark Side of the Ring Season 2 premiere is part one of an in-depth two-episode sobering look at one of the tragic stories of wrestling’s history. Like Chris Jericho says at the very beginning, this episode is not made to glorify a murderer, or even find any mitigating circumstances to what he did. Benoit was a superhero in the eyes of so many fans, watching him coming to the ring was the guarantee a great match was about to happen. What he did is just so far away from the wrestler he was, a workhorse, a respectful opponent, a true technician, a real Champion. Like Dean Malenko says, “I think what he did is unthinkable, unforgivable, but it’s still hard for me to separate a friendship that I had with him, matches that I had with him, moments, times, car rides… I think I can always look at Chris as one of the best performers my business has ever seen.”
The episodes look back at not just the days leading up to the tragic event, but the years that brought Benoit’s life to that point, along with the devastating aftermath. After the tragedy, we heard from Benoit’s father a lot. But not Nancy’s family or Benoit’s kids, David and Megan, who were way too young at that time to say anything. The episode allows his friends and family to reflect on the shock, the anger, and offer their analysis of the event.
Sandra Toffoloni, Nancy’s sister, offers a new perspective on Nancy and her career. She was an absolute trailblazer in creating and perfecting the role of the manager in wrestling, something her friends and peers, including Chris Jericho, Chavo Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Malenko’s wife Julie, Jim Ross, and also Vickie Guerrero acknowledges. When discussing Benoit’s exclusion from the WWE Hall of Fame, they all agree that Nancy is definitely worthy of a place. Vickie Guerrero’s interview gives great insight into how devastating Eddie’s death in 2005 was to Benoit. The Guerrero and Benoit families were all very close. The late WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit were the best of friends and as close as brothers. The impression is that Eddie’s death was a possible mental breaking point for Benoit that shattered him emotionally.
Matthew Randazzo (Author of Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit) provides some technical insight on what took place over the course of the murders before Benoit later killed himself, which appeared to take place over the course of three days. There are still facts and elements about the case that don’t add up. While steroids were found in Benoit’s system, the murder-suicide doesn’t appear to be a crime resembling ‘roid rage. Former WWE Superstar Christopher Nowinski, who now runs the Concussion Legacy Foundation, also provides new interview footage in the episode and offers more insight into the damage and trauma to Benoit’s brain that possibly had an influence on his mental state. What the two episode’s show is we will never really know what happened. Too many questions remain unanswered.
The details on how exactly Benoit murdered Nancy and Daniel were not necessary, like the details on how their marriage was deteriorating. Benoit was not okay before the tragedy happened. He was growing more paranoid and erratic. Nancy was mentioning Benoit was going through ‘roid rages and using steroids. If no one, even his close friends cannot excuse what he did, they are all confused by his actions, even to this very day. Sandra Toffoloni speculates it wasn’t really one thing that triggered this event, but it was likely all of the things piled together that led to Benoit committing this act: the brain damage and head trauma, the steroid use, potential alcohol abuse, and the grief and emotional trauma from the death of Eddie Guerrero. Like I said earlier, we’ll never really know. We could also accuse WWE’s Wellness Policy, but would it change something, mostly now?
The episodes allow the “silent victims” of the tragedy, Sandra and David Benoit, to finally talk about it and even reconcile. Sandra loves her sister and still respects what she did in the wrestling business. Nancy Benoit loved her step-kids as if they were their own children, David explains. He loved Daniel. His father was his hero.
This two-part story by Dark Side of the Ring is probably one of the greatest feature-length documentaries I have ever seen. Everyone should give this a look at least once to see it for themselves. These episodes likely won’t provide closure for wrestling fans who ever enjoyed Chris Benoit or his career, but it was a story that needed to be told. Any fan who ever watched or enjoyed wrestling, or was left reeling by the aftermath of the Benoit tragedy, needs to give these two episodes a look. These episodes are also a fascinating, in-depth and comprehensive overview of the Benoit tragedy, that delves not just into the lives of Chris Benoit, but also Nancy Benoit (formerly Nancy Sullivan and Nancy Toffoloni) and Benoit’s own eldest son, David.
Part one of two of Benoit airs tonight at 10 PM on Vice TV UK, part two will air next Monday, June 15, at 10 PM – Pics and videos courtesy of Vice TV