by David
Editor of What If Diaries

How do you explain to an 11 year old that one of his heros killed his family. How do you explain to an 11 year old that his hero suffocated his 7 year old son. There are no words that can describe such a hideous crime. What if Chris Benoit wasn’t a wrestler. I probably would not be explaining. If he wasn’t a wrestler my son would not have known who Chris Benoit was. He most likely would have never heard of the crime. Neither would have the thousands of other kids who worshipped Benoit. Everyday, brutal, hideous crimes are committed and many remain nameless because they were not in the spotlight or heros to our kids. My son can’t believe his hero could do such a thing. In his little mind, someone else killed them. Not Chris, he was such a nice guy. My son loves wrestling. He has 22 wrestling figures that he can pose and have his own smack-down. Ironically he just got Chris Benoit’s wrestling figure a few weeks ago. Chris was the champ, throwing all other contenders off my son’s bed to take the title of the Ultimate Rubble as my own little Vince McMahon would call his bed event. Yes in my son’s world Chris Benoit was a hero. In a cruel twist of fate, it was his wife’s Nancy’s ex who brought the two together. Her husband, Kevin Sullivan , was a booker - someone who determines the outcome of matches and storylines. He organized a plot twist in which Nancy started an affair with Benoit. That storyline backfired for Sullivan when his wife became involved with Benoit, eventually leaving her husband for him.
My heart goes out to the families.