Chris, Nancy, & Daniel Benoit found dead

[Jingus]

According to Bruce Hart, Benoit was a "delusional steroid freak".

 

A friend of mine set up an interview with Bryan Alvarez at his radio station, you can download it here. Nothing earth-shattering, but Alvy does a good rebuttal against the various idiot reporters who have gotten all the facts wrong, and it's nice to hear an interviewer who knows nothing about wrestling but still doesn't assume anything about it either.

 

Steroids increase the speed of the healing process as well. While precautions are typically taken, and wrestlers are trained not to hurt themselves, injuries still occur, even among wrestlers who are highly skilled and have been active for many years. Only the most severe injuries usually result in time off, and most wrestlers hope to avoid missing time. Since WWE contracts are structured in a way where performers have a low downside guarantee and are paid based on the number of shows they work and their place on the card, there is pressure to work through injuries. Wrestling fans also have notoriously short memories, and a long absence could result in a loss of momentum and star power. No matter how talented or successful any wrestler is in a main event position, there is always a roster full of wrestlers ready to jump into open spots when someone goes down.

You know, aside from myself, you're the only person I've seen mention that? Too many ignoramusi assume that steroids are good for nothing but becoming musclebound.

 

Yes, Benoit was wearing a Bruiser Brody t-shirt that day. You can't see the shirt too well in this pic taken in the doctor's office, but I've seen that shirt before, and it's Goodish all right. Creepy creepy ubercreepy.

And here's the whole shirt on the website that sells it. MAN that's just terribly unsettling. Incredibly morbid coincedence... or maybe Benoit subconciously showing his state of mind?

[Guest teke184]

According to Bruce Hart, Benoit was a "delusional steroid freak".

While some of what Bruce is saying is undoubtably true, he's thoroughly unreliable on a lot of things involving opinion because he's so pissed off at the Vince McMahons of the world for putting Stampede out of business.

 

If it was someone with less of an axe to grind against the current generation of wrestlers, such as Bret Hart, I'd take it more seriously.

[Loss]

Bruce Hart is a whore.

[Guest teke184]

Bruce Hart is a whore.

A cheap street-walker at that.

 

(Jake The Snake talked about the difference before, saying "I'm a call-girl, not a streetwalker. They always send for me.")

[Loss]

Would it be accurate to call Bruce Hart the Mike Graham of Canada?

[Guest teke184]

Would it be accurate to call Bruce Hart the Mike Graham of Canada?

Did Bruce ever pull a switchblade on any of the talent working for him, even Dynamite?

[Loss]

That is some fantastic writing.

 

Quick correction-I believe the case had already been moved up to the state coroner when the doctor from Nowinski's organization called, and the state office was who was called.

Thanks for the clarification. Will update.

[Strummer]

Just read your article after coming home from work, Loss. That was fantastic.

[Guest teke184]

Something you may want to add to your article for further depth... the actual cause-of-death on a lot of these cases.

 

 

I've tried to classify them into the major categories... Suicide (with cause), Heart Attack (with cause, either enlarged heart or long-term recreational drug use), Accident, OD, etc.

 

This is for easy reference, especially in cases where the person's death was fairly obscure.

 

 

Chris Von Erich - 21 SUICIDE (gunshot)

Mike Von Erich - 23 SUICIDE (Placydil)

Louie Spiccoli - 27 OD (Soma and alcohol)

Art Barr - 28 OD (alcohol and pain killers)

Gino Hernandez - 29 OD (Cocaine)

Jay Youngblood - 30 HEART ATTACK (rushed back to wrestling after rupturing spleen)

Rick McGraw - 30 HEART ATTACK

Joey Marella - 30 ACCIDENT (car)

Ed Gatner - 31 SUICIDE (Method?)

Buzz Sawyer - 32 HEART ATTACK (??? Conflicting stories, OD or heart attack?)

Crash Holly - 32 OD / SUICIDE(?) (Soma and alcohol)

Kerry Von Erich - 33 SUICIDE (gunshot)

D.J. Peterson - 33 ACCIDENT (car)

Eddie Gilbert - 33 HEART ATTACK / OD (heart attack due to cocaine use?)

The Renegade - 33 SUICIDE (gunshot)

Owen Hart - 33 ACCIDENT (fall)

Chris Candido - 33 POST-SURGERY COMPLICATIONS (Blood clot from broken ankle suffered in the ring)

Adrian Adonis - 34 ACCIDENT (car)

Gary Albright - 34 HEART ATTACK (enlarged heart)

Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34 OD (Soma?)

Yokozuna - 34 HEART ATTACK (morbid obesity)

Big Dick Dudley - 34 KIDNEY FAILURE

Brian Pillman - 35 HEART ATTACK (enlarged heart)

Marianna Komlos - 35 CANCER (breast cancer)

Pitbull #2 - 36 OD (oxycotin?)

The Wall/Malice - 36 HEART ATTACK (long-term drug damage)

Leroy Brown - 38 HEART ATTACK

Mark Curtis - 38 CANCER

Eddie Guerrero - 38 HEART ATTACK (enlarged heart)

Davey Boy Smith - 39 HEART ATTACK (enlarged heart)

Johnny Grunge - 39 SLEEP APNEA

Vivian Vachon - 40 ACCIDENT (car)

Jeep Swenson - 40 HEART ATTACK

Brady Boone - 40 ACCIDENT (car)

Terry Gordy - 40 HEART ATTACK (blood clot)

Bertha Faye - 40 SUICIDE

Billy Joe Travis - 40 HEART ATTACK

Chris Benoit - 40 SUICIDE (hanging after murdering wife and son)

Larry Cameron - 41 HEART ATTACK (had fatal heart-attack in ring during match)

Rick Rude - 41 HEART ATTACK / OD

Randy Anderson - 41 CANCER

Bruiser Brody - 42 MURDER (stabbed)

Miss Elizabeth - 42 OD (alcohol and pain-killers)

Big Boss Man - 42 HEART ATTACK

Earthquake - 42 CANCER (bladder)

Mike Awesome - 42 SUICIDE (hanging)

Biff Wellington - 42 HEART ATTACK / STROKE (?)

Ray Candy - 43 HEART ATTACK

Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43 MURDER (killed by husband Chris Benoit)

Dino Bravo - 44 MURDER (mob hit)

Curt Hennig - 44 HEART ATTACK (long-term drug use (cocaine))

Bam Bam Bigelow - 45 HEART ATTACK / OD (toxic levels of cocaine and anti-anxiety drugs found)

Jerry Blackwell - 45 POST-SURGERY COMPLICATIONS (had tumor removed from brain stem)

Junkyard Dog - 45 ACCIDENT (car)

Hercules - 45 HEART ATTACK (heart disease)

[Guest teke184]

The widow of Ray "Hercules" Hernandez has a commentary up at The Observer.

 

 

She doesn't think this is situation is caused directly by steroids, but calls Vince McMahon out for knowing about a lot of things that the wrestlers are doing and for not doing anything about it.

[Marty]

As others have said, Loss, fantastic writing and analysis.

 

Minor typo:

 

"Nowinski is not the only wrestler that has had to require due to the effects of PCS."

 

(I don't think I need to tell yo(u what you meant to type.)

 

Can't wait to read the rest!

[Bix]

"He also indicated that he had prescribed low levels of testosterone to him due to steroid use in the past."

 

This needs a rewrite. Astin said he prescribed testosterone for Benoit because Benoit had low levels of the hormone from his past steroid use.

[Dylan Waco]

Great read Loss..I have been directing other fans to this page as a good reference source, without a ton of random crap, ala the DVDVR thread..your post alone does the job now.

[Guest teke184]

I've found the info I was looking for earlier on Nancy Benoit and Kevin Sullivan's children.

 

 

In Gary Cappetta's book, "Bodyslams", he specifically mentions them having two children, with the son being named Ben and there being an unnamed daughter as well.

 

(This is in agreement with what appeared on WCW TV in the 90s, as a "Ben Sullivan" appeared on WCW as part of the Kevin-Nancy-Benoit angle, but WCW is not known for having the real people appear even when appropriate, such as having an actress replace Mick Foley's wife for the "Cactus Jack In Cleveland" sketches.)

 

 

He doesn't give relative ages, but both were travelling with the WCW crew during a trip from Nashville to Atlanta during the period of time when Abdullah The Butcher was with the company.

 

That narrows down the timeframe to 1991 through 1993, although Abby only appeared on PPV twice during that run (Halloween Havoc 1991 and Starrcade 1991).

 

 

 

The book says the kids are definitely Sullivan's kids and that Nancy was his wife at the time, but not necessarily that she was their biological mother.

 

 

The only problem with this is that I've been unable to find any record of Sullivan being married before Nancy, nor of Nancy having two kids before Daniel.

 

 

I'll keep looking to see if I can find anything else.

 

 

 

 

(This is related to the theory that Nancy may not have been the source of the Fragile X syndrome that Daniel was afflicted with, as it would show Ben was unaffected by the syndrome, while the daughter could be ruled out as a carrier if she's had children of her own.)

[Bix]

It's already been said elsewhere that Daniel was Nancy's only child.

[Jingus]

(This is related to the theory that Nancy may not have been the source of the Fragile X syndrome that Daniel was afflicted with, as it would show Ben was unaffected by the syndrome, while the daughter could be ruled out as a carrier if she's had children of her own.)

Fragile X is inherited through the mother's genes, period. Check the science on the subject. The father has nothing to do with it. And it's entirely possible for someone to have one kid with FXS and another one without.

[Guest teke184]

(This is related to the theory that Nancy may not have been the source of the Fragile X syndrome that Daniel was afflicted with, as it would show Ben was unaffected by the syndrome, while the daughter could be ruled out as a carrier if she's had children of her own.)

Fragile X is inherited through the mother's genes, period. Check the science on the subject. The father has nothing to do with it. And it's entirely possible for someone to have one kid with FXS and another one without.

 

It's been stated that the syndrome CAN be caused by problems with the father.

 

Specifically, if the husband was on certain drug cocktails at the time of conception, his sperm can cause genetic damage in the resulting child, sometimes resulting in Fragile X.

 

 

 

(Benoit couldn't pass the X to a son, BUT he could have had fucked-up drugs in his system if he wasn't cycled off of steroids and other things at the time the child was conceived in about the first quarter of 1999.)

[Loss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGSlkgEuJ3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-6aMTOtnsU

 

Oh my GOD.

 

Debra Marshall and Bill DeMott on FOX News.

 

People have criticized Debra in some places for using this to position herself as a media darling, but she really wiped the floor with Bill here. I really hope if WWE attempts to discredit her that it doesn't work.

[kjh]

Debra could have wiped the floor with him even more if she was more clued up on the story. We do know that Chris tried something before, as Nancy took out a restraining order against him when they were having marital problems four years ago. Being able to point out the obvious flaws with WWE's drug policy that enable their wrestlers to continue to abuse steroids despite being tested would have helped a lot too.

 

With regards to Bill DeMott, one suspects he would love his old job back based on that shameless performance. And gee Sean Hannity mustn't have done much research if he thinks that "Vince McMahon seems like a nice guy".

[Bix]

DeMott was Superstar Graham-level awful. His reply to Debra at the end was probably the dumbest thing anyone from the wrestling business has said on the news shows so far.

 

It's too bad that in lieu of pointing out the flaws of the WWE Wellness Program, you have a lot of wrestlers who know that it's BS but hold back because they want jobs with WWE, people like Debra who want to go on the offensive against steroids/WWE as much as possible but don't know about the flaws of the current policy, and the reporters who would explain the negatives in a relatively evenhanded manner aren't given enough time to talk about it (Meltzer seemed to be trying to interject about it at one point Thursday on MSNBC but Abrams ignored him).

[Loss]

Jim Ross has really positioned himself as this good ol' boy from Oklahoma that is just trying to hang on to his job and loves God and barbeque. Then, he writes a column like this, which I think shows more of his ugly side than he intends. I'm putting this here because it's obvious the entire column is a thinly veiled attack on the media.

 

From WWE.com:

 

J.R.'s Superstar of the Week - His television?

By Jim Ross

Written: June 22, 2007

 

Random thoughts from under the black, 200X Resistol hat from your resident Okie who can’t wait to get to Dallas this Monday night and get on the air, and back to having fun on America’s top-rated weekly cable series, Monday Night Raw. With the enormous amount of rain we have been receiving here in Oklahoma, including many people losing everything they own due to flooding, I have been compelled to watch more TV than normal, which has been eye-opening to say the least. Here are some observations and opinions from a rained-in, BBQ lover who is on TV overload.

 

The Larry King/Paris Hilton interview on CNN this week was one of the unintentional funniest or saddest hours (depending on one’s perspective) of TV I have watched in a long time. King’s suspenders might have been bound a little tight or he may have mixed up his much ballyhooed garlic tablets with a Viagra pill, as the broadcast veteran, who knew Marconi when he invented the radio, seemed enamored with the less than truthful Hilton. As I watched this alleged news program, I envisioned King and Hilton with their shoes off, playing footsie under the table, which was a visual that ruined my supper. However, King’s show garnered a huge rating, and that’s the mission of all TV shows, including news programs, whether some want to admit it or not.

 

Then the next night Bill O’Reilly took ample shots at King for his Hilton interview on O’Reilly’s “fair and balanced,” “no spin zone” The O’Reilly Factor show on Fox News Channel. It felt like the news version of the “Monday Night Wars.” O’Reilly had controversial author Ann Coulter on his show, as they both exchanged sensationalistic sound bytes, but when they were finished I felt like I needed a shower and never really understood the crux of the interview, except maybe to promote Coulter’s book, Godless, which is aptly named based on many folks’ perception of the author whose apparent obsession with her long flowing, blonde mane is just a little annoying. Then O’Reilly brought out Geraldo – all big stars only have one name, you know – who spun some ridiculous whodunit tale that defied logic and lacked any discernable intelligence. Geraldo’s ramblings sounded like some old time wrestling promos I remember hearing as a kid, which were “rambling” to be polite.

 

Another observation… former mat personalities from back in the day need to work more diligently on putting intelligent sentences together rather than their ridiculously long hair extensions that are as disingenuous as their answers to most questions.

 

Other “newsworthy” items this week included the following:

 

• Nicole Richie is “perhaps” getting married. Do we care? I suggest Richie get engaged with a plate full of ribs, as hers seem to be overly exposed.

 

• Attorney Debra Opri is being sued by Larry Birkhead. Imagine that, a lawyer mired in a controversial issue with a client over the all mighty dollar.

 

• The Spice Girls are going back on tour. You know you are excited about it, but the 30 something group of ladies is being referred to as “Old Spice.” Nice.

 

• Lindsay Lohan, 20, was allegedly drinking when she wrecked her Mercedes one morning a few weeks ago at 5:30 a.m. Now that’s a revelation.

 

• Jessica Simpson lost 20 pounds recently. Another headline grabber. (Perhaps Ol’ J.R. is just jealous.)

 

• The NBA Draft on ESPN seemed to last longer than Gone With The Wind airing in slow motion. I shaved twice during it.

 

Whew. Enough is enough. I have come to the conclusion that I am much better off personally watching something like a John Wayne movie, WWE 24/7 or reading a book than I am immersing myself in “news programs” that are filled with theory disguised as fact and with poorly prepared and produced “stars” who are hell-bent on having all the answers, when anyone with any modicum of common sense knows that the truth on many controversial issues has yet to be determined, and perhaps will never be known by any mortal being.

 

I can’t wait to get back rocking and rolling on Monday Night Raw and having a blast with the WWE Superstars Monday on Raw from “Big D.” I am ready and in need of some fun. Dallas is a great city, and for the Mrs. and yours truly, it is a nice, romantic car trip. Kind of like the Griswolds in National Lampoon's Vacation, except without Russ and Audrey.

 

With all that said, I find myself in need of a nice, brisket sandwich, and I know just where to find one. Continue to count your blessings and I hope to see you Monday night at 9/8 CT… friend.

 

BOOMER SOONER!

J.R.

[Dylan Waco]

Actually I thought Debra and Demott both looked pretty foolish, though I think Debras story is so sad that it almost doesn't matter.

[Loss]

Debra is a bit overly emotional and doesn't understand all the facts, but she raised a few valid points where Demott had no idea how to respond.

[jdw]

Ross is an embarassment.

 

 

John

[Dylan Waco]

Ross is an embarassment.

 

 

John

Honestly, excluding Jericho and maybe Bret, what public wrestling figure that has spoken on this hasn't been?