Where Do We Draw The Line?

Gotta Love The Missing Tooth...Fuckin Canada

As a wrestling fan, on June 25th 2007, my world was rocked. That was the day that Chris Benoit murdered his family and then hung himself, effectively ending the life and career of one of the most brilliant performers to ever step into a professional wrestling ring and his family. While everywhere else, you may hear the witch hunt that is going on over steroids in the business and how some 20 WWE "superstars" have been suspended over being linked to the online pharmaceuticals, I'm going to go a different route. Not only because I realize that not every wrestler is on steroids, but moreso because there is a different discussion I want to dive into here, one that is very controvesial. In the next few months, the decisions are going to be made for who should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and in what may be a shock to some of you, I want Chris Benoit to be inducted. Don't get me wrong, what Chris Benoit did to his family and self are horrible, heinous acts, but let us remember one thing, there is Chris Benoit the person and Chris Benoit the performer. We all know what he did outside of the ring, so I am not planning to discuss that any further, I prefer to focus on his in ring acclaims. Plus, hey, O.J killed people and he's in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Since 1985, Chris Benoit has been a champion 32 times for seven different promotions. He is a Royal Rumble winner, entering at the number 1 spot, and the twelfth Triple Crown champion meaning that he has held the major title (i.e. World Heavyweight Championship), the tag titles and the second tier title (i.e. the Intercontinental or US Championships) and distinguishes himself among such names as Pedro Morales, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. Alongside those, he has been given other awards from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter for "Best Feud of the Year" for his feud in 2004 with Shawn Michaels and Triple H, "Most Underrated Wrestler" in 1998, "Most Outstanding Wrestler" in 2000, "Best Technical Wrestler" in 1994 and 2004 as well as "Best Brawler" and "Most Outstanding Wrestler" in 2004. In 2004, PWI awarded him "Feud of the Year", "Match of the Year", Wrestler of the Year", and ranked him #1 out of the top 500 singles wrestlers. Alongside all of the awards and championships, there is one thing about Chris Benoit that sets him above many of the other wrestlers in the world, he was one of the 4 Horseman. Considered an honor in the world of pro-wrestling, the 4 Horseman stable is one of the most popular factions ever created, with members ranging from Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko.

So there you have it, my case for why Chris Benoit the character should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I know it won't happen, not this year, not the year after, probably never. Though, if it does, I do hope that whoever inducts him does make sure to press the issue that what Chris Benoit the person did is a horrible and despicable thing to do and that they are inducting Chris Benoit the character. How the mighty fall.

NFL WEEK 2 PICKS (winners in bold):

Indy @ Tenn

GB @ NYG

Cinn @ Cle

Hou @ Car

NO @ TB

Buf @ Pit

Atl @ Jac

SF @ STL

Min @ Det

Sea @ Ari

Dal @ Mia

KC @ Chi

NYJ @ Bal - See how they do when their signals aren't being stolen

Oak @ Den

SD @ NE - They don't need to steal the Norv's signals

Was @ Phi

I am currently 10-6 on picks this year. Here's hoping for more success.

Thanks to Google Images for providing me with yet another great picture.