Should Chris Benoit be in the WWE HOF

[Slim]

I don't think he could ever get in. As others have said, if it were based on his ring skills alone, sure. Any HOF candidate in any sport is judged by the way they lived their life. There are plenty of people who are deserving in every sport based on stats alone, but there are things outside of the scope of the sport that weigh heavily. Some are just unpopular people ... some have minor faults, such as Pete Rose. Obviously, committing a crime as hideous as Benoit did will overshadow his life, as it should. Everyone is judged by the total package of their life and this should be no different. There are events that can overshadow the sum of your life's accomplishments and Chris was part of one that can never be forgiven, no matter if he was mentally ill or not. No one will ever know.

Former wrestler Christopher Nowinski stated that Benoit may have been suffering from repeated, untreated concussions throughout his wrestling career, ultimately leading to an unstable mental state. Nowinski was quoted as saying that Benoit "was one of the only guys who would take a chair shot to the back of the head ... which is stupid."[20] Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient."[21] Tests conducted on Benoit's brain tissue revealed he did in fact suffer from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[22] and had brain damage in all four lobes of the brain and brain stem.[23] Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioral problems.

He had mental issues. But due to the nature of how everything went, how planned out it was that it went over the course of two days... how he had a Bible at the scene and a note... it just ... why it happened is something nobody knows and will ever know. But he did have brain issues. That is established.

 

[We Are Legion]

It doesn't take a neurosurgeon to come to the conclusion that someone who kills his family in cold blood and then commits suicide has mental issues.

 

[Clydefrog]

if he just killed himself i reckon he would be in HOF right about now

 

[zigglerHEEL]

Ted Kaczynski was accepted to Harvard at age 16, earned his degree, got his Phd 2 years later and was a professor at age 25... should he be listed amongst Harvard University's greatest alumni, I think not... for those who don't know, Ted Kacynski (better known as the Unibomber) killed 3 people and injured 23 more over a period of nearly 20 years.... Should we also celebrate the things he did before his mental issues came forth..... How about inducting his wife Nancy (Woman) for all the great work she did.. In my mind, the aforementioned professional wrestler no longer exists and anything he did in the ring, no longer matters

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I think him being incredibly smart led Ted to a very corrupt mind so his mind started to wonder to see what he could get away with. Probably made for a fun friend, though.

I'd give him a pass, he couldn't help it.

 

[TheOneKnownAsFetter]

Your logic is flawed. That's like saying Michael Jackson NEVER deserves to be in the Music hall of fame because he may or may not been touching on little boys. A guy who revolutionized the music you listen to today and the music videos you watch.

 

[jamie]

I really don't get how anyone can think this vile monster should be acknowledge for anything he did in his career, wrestling is not important compared to the life of an innocent child and women.

 

[Smartmark]

My short answer; Yes!

 

[Hoss]

If wrestlers actually got inducted for their body of work, rather than how much they benefited Vince McMahon, I'd say he'd be in there. He is obviously one of the number 1 athletes of our time, but it's obvious that the evils that surround the end of his life are going to be a major hindrance to him ever getting any recognition from anyone. There's no way to justify killing your wife, kid, and yourself, but if you're competent enough to look past that, you can't possibly deny that when it comes to technicality, Chris Benoit rewrote the book. He had the most malicious suplexes in the world in his day, had one of the most painful submission moves of all time, and sacrificed life and limb to reach the mountain top. His moment with Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania XX was one of the most beautiful things in wrestling history, imo, and I choose to remember for the wrestler he was, not the psychopath he went out looking like. But from the perspective of WWE, and I don't really blame him, it's bad publicity and it'll piss a lot of people off, so I don't believe it will ever happen for the controversy that surrounds it. Though if this was purely wrestling-based, without a doubt he should be inducted immediately.

 

[Slim]

It doesn't take a neurosurgeon to come to the conclusion that someone who kills his family in cold blood and then commits suicide has mental issues.

Ummmm.. what?

It is documented that he had several undiagnosed concussions that ruined his brain. There were serial killers that had their brains examined and they didn't have the same kind of issues that Benoit did. Everyone essentially has some sort of mental issue and nobody is textbook normal if you want to play the "mental issues" card.

But Benoit's brain was legit messed up.

Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient."
Can you tell me that is normal? Can you tell me that that isn't messed up? Can you tell me that all brains are supposed to be like that? That the neurosurgeon is just making excuses? Cause that doesn't sound the least bit normal for a 40 year old to have a brain like that.

 

[Gotcha b*tch]

It's a real shame the way his life ended, because he actually worked his ass off from nothing to make it, unlike the backstage boss slurpers. In the ring I think only Bret Hart was better, in terms of making it look like a real contest. I'd say 'no' though overall.

 

[The Cork]

Your logic is flawed. That's like saying Michael Jackson NEVER deserves to be in the Music hall of fame because he may or may not been touching on little boys. A guy who revolutionized the music you listen to today and the music videos you watch.

The big difference is that Jacko was never convicted/proven guilty.

Benoit left a few corpses behind so it was fairly clear he was a scumbag child murderer.

 

[Chris]

Benoit was always one of my favorite wrestlers, and if he went into the HOF, I wouldn't complain, but I did vote no because I just don't think it's right. Barry Bonds will probably never go into the MLB HOF because of the steroid scandal, and Benoit will never go into the WWE HOF because of the murders. It would be such bad publicity for WWE for one, which is why it wouldn't happen, but it would also make a lot of people, probably me included just hearing them speak his name again after what happened.

 

[The Nicker]

Such an uncomfortable topic. I don't think he should be in the Hall of Fame, but he should definitely not be taken out of Royal Rumble packages and things of that nature.

 

[Chris]

I agree. The Rumble package is so incomplete whenever they say, "The same number of people who have won with the coveted number 30 spot have won with the number one spot," and show Cena and 'Taker winning at number 30, then only HBK winning at number 1.