#5 His intensity was infectious
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For better or worse, fans love it when it seems like the in-ring action is brutal—or at least appears to be. It seems like the more things seem to hurt, the more it justifies being able to cheer for someone’s performance.
An example of this is Mick Foley’s career, where despite all the great things he’s done, the most memorable aspect of his run was his Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker, which potentially took years off his life.
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While Benoit was not the most brutal of hardcore-style wrestlers, in the sense that he was not going out every night and throwing himself into barbed wire, smashing light bulbs on his head and getting stabbed with a fork, he exhibited a type of intensity that merged the gap between amateur and hardcore wrestling.
When Benoit dove off the top rope and landed a headbutt, it didn’t seem as fake as when other people do it, and your gut reaction wasn’t to scoff at it but to wince. The Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 21 is a great example, as there are repeated instances where Benoit appears to be putting his life on the line.
By the end of the match, he’s shrieking in pain, clutching his injured arm and bleeding from his forehead, and all of that was for nothing as he wasn’t even the winner of the match.
When fans see that someone treats professional wrestling less like a dance and more like an actual athletic competition, they tend to hold them in higher esteem as they respect the damage they’re doing to their bodies.
This is a cautionary tale, though, as those same fans may rarely think of the consequences to follow by wrestling this type of style. Had Benoit not sacrificed as much as he had for the benefit of his performances, he may not have suffered the injuries which potentially led him to his actions ten years ago.
In retrospect, any decent person would rather see him downgrade his style if it meant a safer outcome, as no amount of entertainment value can supersede the importance of the real lives behind the curtain.
Since then, advancements in maintaining the health of professional wrestlers has increased and more attention is given to preventing these downfalls from happening in the future, so thankfully, the next generation of athletes will not suffer the same consequences and this may never happen again.
What are your thoughts on Chris Benoit’s legacy? Should he be revered or cast out of the record books? Tell us what’s on your mind in the comments section below!
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