Do you agree that Benoit's death is sadder than Eddie's & Bret's retirement is sadder than HBK's?

Benoit and Eddie. Eddie's death was sad but not really tragic. Anybody who knew anything about Eddie and his lifestyle could see that Eddie was destined for an early grave. Meaning no disrespect at all, Eddie was the stereotypical "party hearty" pro wrestler, partaking of every drug and alcoholic beverage that was available, and he partook of that crap to excess. He became an addict which cost him his job a couple of times. Rehab the first time didn't work. After nearly dying, he went to rehab again and this time it worked. But the damage to his body was already too much. It was only a matter of time before his misused and abused body gave out on him.

Benoit, on the other hand, gave his life to the wrestling business. He trained like a madman to gain the size and strength needed to be a pro wrestler; he put himself through inhuman torture training in the Hart Dungeon and the New Japan Dojo to gain the skills to allow him to compete at the level he wanted to compete; and he took and abused steroids to add massive size and weight to his undersized body (because Vince was pushing the "freaky" bodybuilder types). He wanted to be the best in-ring performer anybody had ever seen so, for Benoit, there was nothing too risky, no stunt too dangerous, that he wouldn't do to give the fans a show they'd never forget. With that in-ring style came, of course, injuries, some of them pretty severe (including a broken neck). To keep working he had to use massive amounts of pain killers (something a lot of pro wrestlers do), which mask the injuries, giving the wrestlers a false sense of security that they're not hurt as bad as they really are, which aggravates the injuries, which require even more painkillers, etc etc. A cruel and vicious circle. The injuries, the painkillers, the steroids, the stress of being on the road year-round takes a terrible toll on the boys. Some can handle it enough to survive, some can't. And some wind up with serious mental/emotional problems. Benoit was one of those. Benoit's death was very tragic in that it didn't have to happen. The McMahons knew there was something seriously wrong with Benoit but because Chris didn't complain and could still work they kept putting him in the ring rather than sending him to rehab and some kind of professional who could help Chris with his emotional problems. They ignored the symptoms and Chris' erratic behavior and just kept pushing him to do more. In the end it was too much for him and three people died. It didn't have to happen and it never should have happened. And rather than actually READ something to find out more about why that tragedy happened, a whole lot of ignorant knee-jerk "fans" just write him off as a "child murderer". That's just wrong. That the WWE has removed his name from their record books is understandable but we, as humans, just writing him off as "crazy" or blaming his last weekend on "roid rage" is pathetic. If we don't address a problem and learn from it, nothing gets "fixed", the problem will continue and more people will die.

Bret and HBK. No question. Shawn finished his career HIS way, going out when HE wanted. His career should have ended with that back injury in the 90's but he was able to rehab and recover and make one of the greatest comebacks in wrestling history. He came back a much better human being, letting go of his anger and pettiness and just had fun, entertaining fans all over the world. He was a main eventer up 'til his very last match, with the majority of fans (and a whole lot of wrestlers) calling him the greatest in-ring performer in the business. Shawn's return after the back injury was on HIS terms; he wrestled the way he wanted to; he did the matches, feuds, and storylines he wanted to do; and he chose to end his career HIS way, with nobody wanting to see him retire. Can't ask for anything better than that.

Bret was just the opposite. Screwed and publicly humiliated by the promoter he'd given so much of his life to, pretty much the model employee. His family (especially his father) had been screwed over by that same promoter (Vince), his brother was killed while working for that promoter, his large family was pretty much destroyed by the things Vince had done to them. Bret was pretty much forced to go to WCW (there were no other promotions left in North America...because of Vince) where he didn't really want to go. The backstage atmosphere at WCW was horrible; if you weren't part of Hogan's "inner circle" you got overlooked/buried/made a fool of. Bret was not part of Hogan's clique. Bret still tried to be professional and work to the standard he had set for himself in the WWF. The injury that ended his career wasn't even acknowledged by WCW (at least on the air where fans got their information; the internet was just getting started as far as pro wrestling went so there weren't all those "dirt sheets" and wrestling sites {like this one} that we have now).

Yes and know.

I do think that Chris Benoit's death is sadder than Eddie Geurerro's, but a big part of that is that Benoit took an innocent child with him. Eddie's was sad without question, and he was a beloved wrestler the world over, but I think that most people ultimately recognize that Eddie had terrible inner demons that eventually bested him. He couldn't get his addictions under control, and while it is very sad to see a wildly talented performer die because of something like that, at the bare bones of it it was his fault.

Now, Benoit is another case. Like Eddie, no one forced him to jack his body to the hilt on innumerable steroids and god knows what else. That was his choice, and his alone. At the end, it is Benoit, not Vince McMahon, not the wrestling industry, who bears responsibility for that and for what those actions ultimately caused. I don't think that Benoit was an "evil" man. I think that by the time he committed those horrible acts, his mind was so far gone (speaking as someone who had a relative die from Alzheimer disease, the person at the end isn't the person you knew. It's just a shell) that he had the mental functions of a 85-year old Alzheimer patient. That disease, which almost universally afflicts the feeble and elderly, struck Benoit, a powerful, steroid-feulled man in the physical prime of his life. When he went off the deep end, his family couldn't protect themselves.

That terrible descent into madness, and the fact that Benoit took two innocent people with him, is much, much sadder. The fact that he has been largely erased from WWE history means, to be totally honest, next to nothing. Wrestling is just a show, a way for us to have some fun. The loss of life, especially the loss of a child, is what is the true tragedy of that.

As for the retirements, I feel that Shawn Michaels' was sadder. Bret Hart went some truly terrible things in his life, and it played out like a Greek tragedy, but I thought he and the WWE did a nice job of bringing him back, tying up loose ends and ending his career on a nice, if not epic (like Shawn) note. By the time Hart was finished, he had long stopped wrestling on a regular basis, For better or worse, the average fan had largely moved on or forgotten him.

Shawn though, was probably the most beloved wrestler in WWE history by the time he retired. His final story with The Undertaker was so special and so emotional, even though I can't think of a better way to wrap up such a spectacular career, it was still sad. I can't think of a better, more emotional way to go out than Shawn.

Didn't help, Vince Mcmahon sold him down the river to save his company, but the greatest legacy Benoit will ever have is in Heaven. that is if God forgives him. won't judge him as I will leave that up to God to decide. Anyway Yea I feel sorry for Benoit, he will always be a murderer to some, then again some don't blame him because he had severe brain damage .he was not in his right mindset. his mind was really mess up. he should've been given help. as Eddie's death made his brain capacity worse then it already was..

Thankfully, Nowinski and Benoit father search for the truth, even though police didn't do full investigation. just wanted the case to over and pinned him for the blame.but they're the law. so there's nothing we can do. who knows he might have never killed his family. they didn't interview all suspects.. Well to this date guess you can say I don't see him as murderer.just wish I was there to see what happen on that afternoon

Yeah......I guess so mang...

WTF! r u trying to say!