411Mania's Squared Circle News Report 06.27.09
Posted by Dustin James on 06.27.2009
411's Dustin James is back to discuss the two year anniversary of the Chris Benoit murders, the arrest of B. Brian Blair, the top 10 heel turns of all-time, and much much more!
Welcome back inside the Squared Circle! What a strange week it's been this week. First we had the death of Ed McMahon, then we had the unfortunate day known as "June 25". You know the day I'm talking about. The day both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. It also happens to be the date that Chris, Nancy, and Daniel Benoit were found dead in their home (more on that later). I wouldn't go as far as Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals did when he compared it to 9/11, but overall it's one of those dates that you will always remember where you where at when you found out the news for both tragic events (especially Jackson's death & the Benoit murders).
Well......
Let's move on to some good news shall we?
Next weekend is the 4th of July! So I promise some BIG-TIME fire works for everyone next week, so stay tuned.....
Meanwhile.....
LET'S GET IT ON!!!!!
Biggest News Of The Week:
The Benoit Murders....It's been two years now, can you believe it?
It's still difficult to process exactly what happened.....
As I mentioned previously, June 25 was the second anniversary of the tragic "Chris Benoit murders" from 2007. I'm pretty sure I don't have to remind ANY wrestling fan exactly what happened on that day, but seeing as it's a very slow news week and I wasn't around back then to discuss this tragedy....I'm going to discuss it now! Therefore, if the "Benoit murders" happens to leave a bad taste in your mouth, then I would recommend scrolling down right now!
For the two of you who haven't heard the entire story.........
From ESPN.com (if you already know the entire story, I would recommend skipping this part!):
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with the pulley of a weight machine, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man nicknamed "The Canadian Crippler" was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as "roid rage."
Authorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over a weekend, and would not discuss Benoit's state of mind. No suicide note was found.
"In a community like this it's bizarre to have a murder-suicide, especially involving the death of a 7-year-old," District Attorney Scott Ballard said. "I don't think we'll ever be able to wrap our minds around this."
In an interview with ESPN.com on Tuesday, Ballard indicated that the boy had needle marks in his arms. The district attorney said he believed that the boy had been given growth hormones for some time because the family considered him undersized.
That was only one of the strange facts that Ballard revealed. He said that two text messages of note caused authorities to investigate the house. In one, Benoit told somebody he knew that his wife and son were sick.
"Of course, they were dead," Ballard told ESPN.com.
In a second message to a neighbor, Benoit said that the door of the house was open and the pets were outside.
"And our assumption is that that was an effort to try and get somebody to come find the bodies after the suicide," Ballard said. "That is our assumption.
The Montreal-born Benoit was one of the stars of the World Wrestling Entertainment circuit and was known for his wholesome family man image. His wife, Nancy, was a wrestling stage manager who worked under the name "Woman." They met and fell in love when their wrestling story lines intertwined.
When he won the world heavyweight championship in 2004, Benoit (pronounced ben-WAH) hoisted the belt over his head and invited his wife and child into the ring to celebrate. Asked by the Calgary Sun that same year to name his worst vice: Benoit replied: "Quality time with my family is a big vice. It's something I'll fight for and crave."
Nevertheless, Nancy Benoit filed for a divorce in 2003, saying the couple's three-year marriage was irrevocably broken and alleging "cruel treatment."
She later dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order in which she charged that the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Benoit had threatened her and had broken furniture in their home.
In the divorce filing, she said Benoit made more than $500,000 a year as a professional wrestler and asked for permanent custody of Daniel and child support. In his response, Benoit sought joint custody.
The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three rooms of the house, off a gravel road.
Ballard said that Benoit's wife, 43, was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. Ballard told ESPN.com that it appeared that she had been pinned to the floor and asphyxiated with some sort of cable.
The son, Daniel, was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said. The district attorney indicated that he had been choked to death.
Benoit, 40, apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment. Ballard said that he had used weights, the pulley and cable to choke himself to death.
The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies. Ballard told ESPN.com that investigators smelled what they ascertained to be decomposing bodies when they entered the home. The varying degrees of decomposition between the bodies helped indicate the staggered times of death.
Toxicology test results may not be available for weeks or even months, he said. As for whether steroids played a role in the crime, he said: "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at."
Benoit received drug deliveries from a Florida business that sold steroids, human growth hormone and testosterone on the Internet, according to the Albany County, N.Y., District Attorney's Office, which is investigating the business, MedXLife.com.
Six people, including two of the pharmacy's owners, have pleaded guilty in the Albany investigation, and 20 more have been arrested, including doctors and pharmacists.
Steroids have been linked to the deaths of several professional wrestlers in recent years. Eddie Guerrero, one of Benoit's best friends, died in 2005 from heart failure linked to long-term steroid use.
The father of Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig blamed steroids and painkillers for Hennig's drug overdose death in 2003. Davey Boy Smith, the "British Bulldog," died in 2002 from heart failure that a coroner said was probably caused by steroids.
The WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., issued a statement Tuesday evening saying steroids "were not and could not be related to the cause of death."
"The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage," the company said, adding that Benoit tested negative April 10, the last time he was tested for drugs.
Benoit was a quiet, roughhewn figure amid the glitz and bluster of pro wrestling. He performed under his real name, eschewed scripted personas and didn't bother to fix a gap where he had lost one of his front teeth. (According to the WWE Web site, he lost the tooth while roughhousing with his pet Rottweiler.)
His signature move was the "Crippler Crossface," in which he would lock his hands around an opponent's face and stretch his neck.
"You always rooted for him, because he was a good guy and he overcame the odds," said Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer, a weekly news letter. "It's like if you watched 'Rocky,' and in the end it comes out that Rocky killed his wife and his son."
He met his wife in the 1990s when she was married to rival wrestler Kevin Sullivan. As part of the scripted rivalry, Benoit and Nancy were supposed to act as if they were having an affair. A real romance blossomed, and she left Sullivan for Benoit.
Neighbors said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.
"We would see Chris walking in his yard from time to time. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't really outwardly warm," said Alaina Jones, who lives across the street.
Jimmy Baswell, who was Benoit's driver for more than five years, placed a white wreath at the Benoits' gate. "They always seemed like they were the happiest people," he said.
WWE said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received "several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning."
On Saturday, Benoit was slated to appear at a WWE live event in Beaumont, Texas. According to a release from the WWE, Benoit contacted WWE that afternoon to inform them that his wife and child were ill, and that he would not be able to attend the show.
The release also stated that WWE executives rebooked Benoit's flight for the following morning, making arrangements for Benoit to attend the pay-per-view event in Houston on Sunday. Employees attempted to confirm his travel plans but were unable to contact him.
The WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., said authorities asked that it not release further information on the deaths.
"WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the company said in a statement on its Web site.
"He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard," said fellow Canadian Bret Hart, a five-time champion with the World Wrestling Federation. The federation has since changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment.
Benoit had maintained a home in Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling. The Fayette County Tax Assessors Office lists the value of the house, on more than 8.5 acres, at nearly $900,000.
The WWE canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, after the bodies were discovered.
Monday's show was supposed to be a memorial service for WWE owner Vince McMahon. In a storyline concocted by the WWE, McMahon was supposedly "assassinated" in a limousine explosion two weeks earlier. McMahon appeared at the beginning of Monday's telecast and acknowledged the bombing was made up.
The McMahon storyline has been dropped.
Benoit had two other children from a prior relationship.
As I mentioned previously, it's been over two years now since this tragic incident went down, yet it still feels like it happened just yesterday. It's difficult to explain how wrestling fans all over the world felt after these murders. Benoit was a wrestler who had the respect of almost every single wrestler in the promotion as well as plenty of fans across the world. If you look back at Benoit's track record before this incident, I'm pretty sure the only crime he was charged with was killing people with kindness. When I first heard about this news, I was floored. Much like the WWE originally thought, I had no doubts in my mind that someone had broke into the Benoit family home and murdered the family in the middle of a home invasion gone wrong. How wrong were we? Even when I found out that Benoit was actually the murderer....I couldn't digest the information. Why had he done it? Was he really that depressed? Was he on drugs? Did the fact that he had lost so many friends at a young age finally catch up to him and cause some serious mental problems? Had too many chair shots to the head caused Benoit to go a little psycho? Those were all the questions that we needed answers too! The thing is, we never really got em.
Much like everyone else, I assumed that Benoit had just had enough with life. He was losing friends at an unbelievable pace, he was edging towards the end of his career and perhaps these two things mixed with some other minuscule things caused Benoit to decide to end his life. Why he chose to take Nancy and Daniel with him is one of life's biggest mysteries. The only thing that I can see happening was that Benoit knew he wanted to end his life and he decided that he didn't want Nancy and Daniel to move on without him....for whatever reason. It actually happens more than you think. Just this year alone I believe I have seen at least three separate stories of fathers who have committed suicide and taken either their entire family with him or just their kids. It's one of life's mysteries that just can't be explained. How anyone could murder their own kids is pretty much the most despicable thing you can do.
The big question now is, how does everyone feel about Benoit to this day? If you ask me personally, I still think he's the scum of the Earth for what he did. However, that doesn't persuade me from enjoying Benoit matches from the past. The man was one of the greatest wrestlers that ever lived...you just have to be able to separate Benoit the performer, from Benoit "the murdering bastard". If you can do that, then Benoit will always be a legend in the squared circle. If you still hate the man and can't stand to watch him on tape, I honestly can't blame you. It's just how you feel and nothing will ever be able to change that.
It's just how it is.....
Remember This Guy???
The York Foundation
(I couldn't find an actual pic of the York Foundation, so here's a pic of Alexandra York/Marlena!)
Ahh yes, The York Foundation! For those of you who aren't familiar with The York Foundation....allow me to fill you in! The York Foundation was a stable of wrestlers lead by Alexandra York (WWE's Marlena). The catch here was, York was known as a "genius" that used her computer to help her wrestler's defeat their opponents. Yep....I'm not lying. Apparently she had EVERYTHING you EVER wanted to know about EVERY single WCW wrestler out there. Once she was able to recruit Terrence Taylor, Richard Morton, and Thomas Rich to her stable, there was no stopping her and her entourage from taking over WCW! Hell, they had THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE! So what happened?
Well, the gimmick didn't work that well at all (GASP! SHOCKER!) seeing as most wrestling fans (as stupid as we all are) didn't buy the concept that a computer could help Terrence Taylor defeat Dustin Rhodes. It was just absurd! While "The York Foundation" didn't have much success in WCW, they did manage to capture the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Title from Dustin Rhodes, Big Josh, and Tom Zenk (now THAT'S a team!) before disbanding in 1992.
True story: I use to own a York Foundation t-shirt! That's how cool I was......
As always, here's a special gift for you! It's "The York Foundation vs. Big Josh/Dustin Rhodes/Tom Zenk.......ENJOY~!
Random News Bits:
- In what could fall under the category of "weirdest news ever", wrestling "legend" B. Brian Blair was reportedly arrested for child abuse on Father's Day. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Oh man, that's just awesome. Well, at least I thought it was before I read this report:
"Former Hillsborough County Commissioner and professional wrestler Brian Blair was arrested on Sunday morning at 5:12AM in his Forest Hills home, accused of beating up both of his sons on Father's Day. According to the reports, Blair pushed his 17-year-old son, Brett, in the chest at the family's home, and when the boy tried to walk away, Blair grabbed him, punched him in the face and put him in a choke hold. Blair then grabbed his younger son by the throat, 12-year-old Bradley, and then punched him in the head. Blair has been released on his own recognizance, but faces two domestic violence charges of child abuse."
JEEBUS~! He beat the ever loving crap out of his two kids. It's one thing to spank your kid or slap your kid....but put the kid in a choke hold? That's just insane. While the report above doesn't mention the reason for B. Brian Blair's abuse on his kids, I have actually got word from a guy who knows a dude who use to hang out with the guy who once delivered papers to Blair's house and found out that he was reportedly upset that his Father's Day present was.....
KILLER BEES ACTION FIGURES!!! YAAAYY!!!
- Samoa Joe recently had the following to say regarding the Rashad Evans/Lyoto Machida fight back at UFC 98 which saw Machida take the UFC light heavyweight title away from Evans:
"The funny thing is, I met Rashad in Vegas and we hit it off, so he's a good buddy, and Lyoto is a former roommate of mine from the days working for Inoki, so that match was a bit back-and-forth for me. I think a lot of guys have great talent without being super charismatic. I've seen Lyoto punch a wall literally a thousand times with his bare knuckles."
I wonder if Machida and Joe ever got in a fight over something like doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. I would pay good money to see that......
- Smackdown stars John Morrison and Michelle McCool filmed episodes of "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" this past week in Los Angeles. I would watch this show if it weren't for Jeff Foxworthy. There's something about a guy who doesn't swear that rubs me wrong.
- Bobby Lashley is set to go up against Bob Sapp (the guy from The Longest Yard) tonight in an MMA fight. This is actually an interesting fight seeing as if Lashley does defeat Sapp, he could get an offer from one of the bigger MMA promotions. That could ruin his future with TNA depending on who he decided to sign with.
- Hey look, Taz is now "tweeting" on Twitter! I'm not going to lie...the only reason I report this news is because I wanted to say the sentence "Taz is now tweeting on Twitter".....
- Speaking of "Twitter", Shane Helms posted the following on his account earlier:
"Keep Paul Burchill in your prayers, he just recently lost a brother in Afghanistan I believe."
That's horrible news for the Burchill family. Hopefully they can pull through in this tragic time.
- For those of you who are just DYING to know who Lance Storm considers his top 5 "favorite guys to work with". Well, here ya go:
1) Chris Candido
2) Edge
3) Fit Finlay
4) Chris Jericho
5) Jerry Lynn
I told you it was a slow news week.....
(Credit goes to The Wrestling Observer for the above news!)
Wrestling Top 10 Lists:
Top 10 Heel Turns of All-Time
(There have been a lot of great heel turns in wrestling history. Would you like to know what I consider my top 10 heel turns of all-time? OF COURSE YOU DO! Before you read it, I feel I should fill you in on my voting criteria. This is MY list and I'm only ranking heel turns that have happened during the time I have been a wrestling fan, which is around 1989 or so.....)
This list IS IN a particular order......
Honorable Mentions:
Tugboat turns heel! - This was a traumatizing heel turn for me as a kid! I started watching the WWE around the time Earthquake did his infamous SPLASH on Hulk Hogan on The Brother Love Show that put Hogan out of action for a few months. Well, while Hogan was out of action it was his "best friend" Tugboat that was on TV every week begging for the little Hulkamaniacs to send in their thoughts and prayers to the Hulkster. Well....that was all BULLSHIT! Why? Because about a year later Tugboat turned his back on everyone and joined sides with Earthquake. Not only that, but he changed his name to "Typhoon". THAT BASTARD~! I still have not forgiven the man to this day....
AND NOW.....THE TOP 10!!!
10) Bret Hart hates the United States!
Bret Hart was a fan favorite in WWE rings for years....that was until us pesky Americans decided to cheer for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and his "anti-rules" attitude over Bret. Hart was so ticked off that he decided to tell American fans to "stick it" and he then joined forces with Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Brian Pillman, & Jim Neidhart to form "The Hart Foundation" (one of my personal all-time favorite stables) and decided to feud with anyone who bled red, white, and blue. Seeing Hart get booed in America and then cheered like he was a hero in Canada was great to watch on the tube and made for a great time to be a WWE fan.
9) HHH joins The Corporation!
Once Shawn Michaels left DX, HHH became the leader and DX became even bigger. However, at WrestleMania 15....that all changed. After defeating Kane earlier on in the evening with Chyna's help (Chyna had recently turned on HHH and joined The Corporation), everyone thought Chyna was back with DX, but that wasn't the case. During the X-Pac/Shane McMahon match, HHH interfered on McMahon's behalf costing X-Pac his European title. You got that right....it wasn't Chyna who had turned earlier in the evening! It was THE H'S!! This was a tricky turn and one that I remember distinctively because I was watching the event with a bunch of DX fans who were PISSED. It was awesome.....
8) Vince McMahon....turns evil!
For WWE fans growing up watching WWE TV in the 1980's and early 1990's, Vince McMahon was known as nothing more than the WWE owner/WWE announcer. He seemed like an all-around nice guy who tried to call things down the middle. That was until a son of bitch known as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin decided to invade the WWE! This caused Vince to go a little "psycho" and thus he became "Mr. McMahon" and the rest is all history......
7) The Rock....Survivor Series 1998
This is how great it was to be a WWE fan in 1998. At Survivor Series 1998, the WWE held a tournament for the vacant WWE title. The big storyline going into the show was Vince McMahon's growing hatred for The Rock and Mick Foley's growing love for Mr. McMahon. Well, Vince was clearly favoring Mick in the tournament. In the first round, Foley's opponent was none other than "Gillberg". In the semi finals of the tournament in his match with Steve Austin, McMahon's son Shane (who was playing a face at the time) ran to the ring wearing a referee shirt and began to make the count on a downed Mankind. That was until he decided to flip Austin the middle finger instead of counting to 3. The Stooges then came into the ring, whacked Austin with a chair and Foley pinned "Stone Cold" to advance to the finals against The Rock.
Well, this is where things went a little "WTF"? After giving Foley a "Rock Bottom", Rocky put him in the sharpshooter and suddenly Vince ordered the ref to ring the bell ala "MONTREAL SCREWJOB". This surprising move by The Rock resulted in the creation of "The Corporation" and tons more goodness for months to come.....
6) Randy Savage turns on Hulk Hogan....
There was a time when the two egomaniacs known as Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan were BFF known as "The Mega Powers". However, their little team didn't last that long. You see, Savage quickly grew jealous of Hogan's "relationship" with Savage's manager/girlfriend, Elizabeth. Savage soon decided he didn't need Hogan's friendship anymore and the two when on to "collide" at WrestleMania 5. Savage then became the "Macho King" and ruled supreme over the WWE!
5) Owen Hart hates his brother.....
The feud between Bret and Owen Hart is one of my all-time favorite feuds. You see, after floundering as a mid-carder in the WWE for years, Owen grew jealous of the attention shown towards his brother Bret. That's when he decided he didn't need Bret anymore and became the "pesky little brother" that got him more over with the WWE crowd than he had ever been. Turning Owen heel was the greatest thing the WWE ever did for his career seeing as it brought us the greatness that was "The Slammy Award Winning, King of Hearts"....
4) Shawn Michaels turns on Marty Jannetty....
This is how you book tag team break-ups folks! After years of teaming together as "The Rockers", the WWE felt it was time to break them up and push Shawn Michaels towards the moon. Well, after months of teasing a break up on WWE TV and even in WWE magazine, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake invited the two to join him on "The Barber Shop" to help settle things once and for all! That's when things got a little bit bad for Jannetty. After teasing a reconciliation, Michaels superkicked Jannetty out of nowhere and then threw the bastard threw the "Barber Shop" window! Needless to say, "HBK" went on to become a HUGE legend in the WWE and Jannetty....well....he's been fired and hired more times than anyone else in WWE history! That has to mean something right?
3) The "Hollywood" Rock
When The Rock took a hiatus from the WWE to pursue a career in acting, many wrestling fans were not happy because The Rock was spending more time in Hollywood than in a WWE ring. When the WWE did happen to show The Rock on TV, the fans would boo the ever loving crap out of him. So, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone when the "People's Champ" returned to the WWE and quickly became one of the most hated wrestlers on the roster! The promos that The "Hollywood" Rock gave were some of the best I have ever seen. Seriously people, it was comedy genius. Check it out.....
Awesome....just awesome.....
2) "Stone Cold" joins Vince!
One of the greatest feuds of all-time is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. Their feud was the definition of a "blood feud". So needless to say, EVERYONE was shocked when "Stone Cold" turned heel on The Rock and joined Vince's side at WrestleMania 17. Seriously, there were people talking about this the day after it happened that I didn't even know watched wrestling! I still can't shake the thought of Vince & Austin sharing some beers at what is possibly the greatest WWE PPV ever.
1) Hulk Hogan turns his back on WCW....joins the nWo
Are you REALLY shocked by this? This was the only heel turn in history that I can remember being shown on local news stations! It was huge! The man who was once loved by everyone in the world was now telling everyone to "STICK IT"! Needless to say, this is the heel turn that changed wrestling history as we know it so it should come as no surprise that it's #1.
Here it is in all it's glory....
YouTube! Find Of The Week!
The top heel turns in pro wrestling history (according to these guys)....
And that's it for me this week. Remember, don't be a stranger to 411! Bookmark the site and visit it countless times a day. Hell, be brave and make it your homepage! Trust me, it will make you a better person......
See you next Saturday back in the Squared Circle! Until then, you can find me on MySpace or Facebook! I also recently broke down and got a Twitter as well!
All of 411's zones are also on Twitter, so make sure you check it out.....
you really did a top ten heel turns and left off Paul Orndorff and Andre The Giant?
LAME!
Posted By: guest (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 01:42 AM
you should have mentioned montreal screwjob for vince mcmahon's heel turn.
Posted By: Guest#3858 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 02:29 AM
Didn't he mention he just considered the heel turns from 1989 on forward? Start reading before you complain!
Posted By: hombre (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 03:05 AM
No Trish WMXX turn? That was a pretty good one
Posted By: D (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 03:25 AM
you really did a top ten heel turns and left off Paul Orndorff and Andre The Giant?
LAME!
Posted By: guest (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 01:42 AM
He said right at the beginning that the list was only back to 89 when he became a fan. In case you didn't know, those two you mentioned happened in 86 and 87. Lets do some math here idiot.
Wow, before you call someone lame, as you did, make sure you know what the hell you are talking about. Douchebag loser!
Posted By: Guest#3148 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 06:06 AM
"There's something about a guy who doesn't swear that rubs me wrong." - Amen, especially when you hear someone like Ron White talk about how Foxworthy gave him Viagra for his honeymoon. Won't call genitals by their name but will hand out prescription drugs to his friends.
Posted By: Guest#6339 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 06:20 AM
Trish Stratus - the slap and tongues turn on Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XX. Awesome and probably the best female heel turn ever.
Posted By: Baron Skinny (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 06:43 AM
I agree above, Paul Orndorf and Andre are big ones. I still love HBK's super kicking Hulk Hogan a few years ago.
But my personal favourite it Trish's turn at WM 20
Posted By: Louis (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 07:25 AM
"Why had he done it? Was he really that depressed? Was he on drugs? Did the fact that he had lost so many friends at a young age finally catch up to him and cause some serious mental problems? Had too many chair shots to the head caused Benoit to go a little psycho?"
This was one of the things that pissed me off about the coverage of Benoit in the media. It was ALL of these things, and more. So many bullshit news outlets we're trying to determine what specific thing caused it.
It's not just concussions, because if it was Mick Foley would have killed everyone he knows. It's not just steroids because Batista would have torn somebody in half by now. It had to have been a combination of all of it.
Personally, I think Eddie dying was the last straw that accelerated the downward spiral, but it's all a part of it.
If there's one specific thing you can blame, it's how obsessed he was with wrestling. Not wrestling itself, but how obsessed he was with it. That's the root cause of the drugs, the concussions and most of the other factors. He put wrestling above everything else in his life, including his own health and sanity.
Posted By: Hawkeye (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 07:34 AM
"Jannetty tried diving through the window to escape! What an act of cowardism!"- The Brain...awesome.
Posted By: Sbre zeke (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 09:20 AM
I was thinking the same thing. Tugboat got an honorable mention and Paul and Andre left off. that just screams of 90s bias.
Posted By: Guest#6360 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 09:27 AM
I thought the screwjob was just more icing on the cake for the McMahon heel run.
Posted By: Str8EdgeCoop (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 10:49 AM
I remember watching the RAW just hours after hearing that Benoit and his family were found dead. It felt as if there was a dark cloud hovering over that show, nothing like the feeling I got during the RAW after Eddie's death. Immediately after hearing the news, I was skeptical that it was an outside murder, and I felt terrible for even thinking it, but I couldn't help but feel that Benoit was the one that took all of their lives. I watched the show and tried to think positive and hoped that maybe my thoughts were just my own negative thinking, but terribly disappointed the next day when everything was confirmed more or less exactly how I imagined it.
My heart still goes out to not only his family, but to Chris as well for whatever mental condition he must have been suffering to drive him to orchestrate such an attack on himself and his family.
Posted By: Guest#1304 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Great read as always. I remember all of those heel turns you mentioned. Hogan going heel, no doubt the biggest one ever.
I remember thinking the nWo angle was real in the beginning. So when I was talking to an uncloe of mine about Hogan turning bad, he tried to explain that it was all fake and they were all friends in real life. I knew wrestling was fake but I was just convinced that the Hulkster had REALLY turned bad! SHOCKING! lol.
Posted By: MachoManFanStill (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 11:09 AM
"Vince & Austin sharing some beers at what is possibly the greatest WWE PPV ever."
Yeah well it still aint got shit on bash '89.
Posted By: Guest#9850 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 11:22 AM
HAHAHAHA SAMOA fat joe would have got KO by Machida in a heartbeat
Posted By: tnangle (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 11:47 AM
That is a bullshit list. I couldn't give two shits if it was from 1989 or further, everyone has seen video and has heard about Orndorff and Andre turning on Hogan. Andre turning on Hogan was bigger then Hogan going heel because not only was Andre a monster face like Hogan, but he was "undefeated" and they changed wrestling history by selling out the Pontiac Silverdome and helping put wrestling on the map. Local AND national stations were talking about that as well!
Posted By: Unreal (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 12:22 PM
The single most tragic and darkest day in the history of professional wrestling. I cant beleive its been two years. RIP Chris,Nancy and Daniel
Posted By: Guest#7811 (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 01:45 PM
Good article, and thanks for adding the clips! Newer fans really need to see each and every one of these clips (and The Rock's promo in Toronto explaining his turn on Hogan, too - in my opinion, the best promo of all time).
Personally, I liked Christian's turn on Edge, as it was the culmination of the slow break-up of what is hands-down my favorite team ever. We all knew it was coming, but it was drawn out so long and the actual turn itself with the one-man conchairto was both vicious and symbolic of Christian's desire for individual glory. It was a very emotional moment because many fans know how close the two men are in real life, and it was sad to see the jarring visual of the death of their on-air relationship. Obviously, it didn't have the effects on the business as most of the ones in your top 10, but it made a lasting impression on me like the Tugboat turn that you gave honorable mention to.
Again, good article. Is there going to be a best face turns column in the future?
Posted By: The Logical One (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 02:28 PM
I'm not a religious person but as they say let those without sin cast the first stone. You can't condemn a man without knowing what happened. Someone else could have killed his wife which led to him freaking out. Everyone would feel sorry for Benoit if that was proven to be the case. Maybe erotic aspyhxiation went awry and his wife accidentally ended up dead. The realization that he was going away for murder and was never gonna see his child again along with the trauma that comes with him actually killing his wife led to the prior events. The fact is I can't hate someone without all of the facts. I'm too nice. Benoit entertained me through the best years of my life and his life while sacraficing his own body to do so. For those reasons I'll always be the one to tell people to go fuck themselves when Benoit is getting put down in a chatroom. If you can hold that against me then you're one of those people who thinks noone elses opinion matters but their own.
Posted By: Burnout (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 02:39 PM
Some other notable heel turns
Larry Zbysko hits his mentor Bruno Sammartino with a chair.
Michael Hayes slams the cage door on Kerry Von Erich's head (honorable mention to the other 7,453,287 wrestlers brought into WCCW as friends of the Von Erich's only to turn on them)
Posted By: jasonel (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 07:37 PM
It is bizarre that you call Benoit scum of the earth, and then say "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Oh man, that's just awesome" on a report of a man being charged with child abuse. You even signed off that segment wwith a joke reason for him harming his own children. You want scum of the earth? maybe try looking in the mirror
Posted By: British Bullfrog (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 08:00 PM
That is a bullshit list. I couldn't give two shits if it was from 1989 or further, everyone has seen video and has heard about Orndorff and Andre turning on Hogan. Andre turning on Hogan was bigger then Hogan going heel because not only was Andre a monster face like Hogan, but he was "undefeated" and they changed wrestling history by selling out the Pontiac Silverdome and helping put wrestling on the map. Local AND national stations were talking about that as well!
Posted By: Unreal (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 12:22 PM
No I pretty much think the only bullshit around here is you. No one cared about Andre turning heel except you. No one was throwing garbage in the ring nor were little kids crying when Andre turned heel compared to what Hogan did.
For the first time ever, that heel turn made people really think that WWF and WCW were going to have an inter-promotional war.
Posted By: Orlando (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 08:18 PM
The fans threw garbage at Andre's cart at Wrestlemania III as he & Bobby Heenan were riding to the ring but I guess that pales in comparison to the amount of deserved garbage & then some thrown at the birth of the most evil gang of thugs that I actually predicted would come into being...true story...I had a "vision" that a mega group of wrestlers would terrorize a wrestling organization...and sure enough it happened, much to my disgust & contempt for all bullies!
Posted By: Evil Scum Squad Hater 4 Life (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 01:42 AM
"That is a bullshit list. I couldn't give two shits if it was from 1989 or further, everyone has seen video and has heard about Orndorff and Andre turning on Hogan. Andre turning on Hogan was bigger then Hogan going heel because not only was Andre a monster face like Hogan, but he was "undefeated" and they changed wrestling history by selling out the Pontiac Silverdome and helping put wrestling on the map. Local AND national stations were talking about that as well!
Posted By: Unreal (Guest) on June 27, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan wrestled each other only 8 years earlier and Andre went over in that match so I never really saw it as a big deal that they were wrestling each other again. By 1987 Andre could barely move! He was in much better shape in 1979 and both men were in their athletic prime years then. Andre even did a splash off the middle turnbuckle in that match. So the way they built up the match in 1987, as if they had never wrestled each other before was an insult to the intelligence of the fans. I couldn't get interested in it. I was interested the first time they wrestled, but in 1987, with he shape Andre was in there was no way that the match was going to be as good as when they wrestled in 1979 and Andre was in good condition then being much faster and more agile. If at the very least they could have acknowledged the two of them having wrestled each other prior to 1987 that would have been alright with me but to act as if this was the first time they were going to wrestle each other was just so insulting. I did not buy Wrestlemania 3 because of that. By 1987 I had discovered NWA wrestling and was much more interested in that anyway. Comparing the two, one had Ric Flair as champion and the other had Hulk Hogan as champion. The match quality was not even close! As sometimes happens in business, the inferior product ended up winning out over the better product because of better marketing and better financial management. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair, was having so much better matches during that time period (and any time period for that matter) that it really made The WWF World Heavyweight Champion look second rate.
Posted By: Jake (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 01:49 AM
hey Guest#3148, thanks. I was looking for someone to get into a flame war with. Most of the turns here are from nonsensical Russo-nomics, with very little real impact on the Pro Wrestling scene as a whole. Including the 89-on stipulation, there are so many better heel turns that deserve mention. Trish at WMXX is probably one of the best, man or woman; Ric Flair turning on Sting at Halloween Havoc to reform the Horsemen, heck, even Matt Hardy turning on Jeff are better turns than Rock, Triple H, and Tugboat. But like all things it is a matter of opinion, and discussion of such is entertaining. I especially enjoyed all the personal attacks on me without even knowing anything about me, except that I had a different opinion. Makes me proud to be a member of such a mature and thoughtful crowd, so much so that I shall engage in some hypocrisy: Enjoy your little internet ego trips, virgins in you mom's basement, I'm gonna go have sex with my smokin' hot wife
Posted By: guest (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 03:47 AM
And anyone who does not get the significance of Andre's heel turn on the wrestling business as a whole is, frankly, a moron who should not be allowed to breed
Posted By: guest (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 03:48 AM
since when does "all time" only go back to 1989? you're writing an article. how about a little research? or at least change the title of the list.
Posted By: Guest#3243 (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 04:56 AM
I am dissapointed that nobody has mentioned a more recent topnotch heel turn.. Chris Jericho 2008. Andre should still be on the list even if it was before 1989, because anybody who gets into wrestling at that time should've seen WM 3 in some way shape or form.. and it shows hightlights leading to the turn...
I also think the Stone Cold joining McMahon is wayyyyyyyyyyy too high. austin admits on his last dvd that if he had to do it all over again, he'd NEVER join McMahon. Fans didn't want him heel.. they didn't want to boo him. he had to resort to beating up JR in OKC, he had to change his song (at first he didn't, and glass break=automatic pop) and he had to do all kinds of cheap heat... he had to serously bust ass to get even a tad over as a heel in 2001. The timing and place and setup of the heel turn.. was bad.. only good thing from it is the top-notch matches and comedy sketches with Angle that came out of the turn.. and by end of the year, it was all back to normal anyways..
Posted By: sdmcc (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 05:10 AM
When I turned on hulk hogan that was the best
Posted By: orndorf (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 07:27 AM
British Bulldog turning on Big Daddy Cool in '95, best heel turn ever. I was so mad, I snapped the head off my Bulldog wrestling figure.
I was only 11 at the time, by the way.
Posted By: Chrisskoyles (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 08:53 AM
Let all of these clips be a reminder of how much better wrestling was before idiots like John Cena and Batista were in all the main events and never lose unless they have an injury.
Posted By: ????? (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 11:03 AM
This list SUCKS because it only lists things which *I* predicted would happen! True story! I had a dream in which I had a "funny feeling" that everything in the world which has ever happend, would happen.
Posted By: Mr. 411 (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Andre's heel turn meant nothing!
1) It only resulted in 2 matchhes
2) Both of those matches sucked, even by "old-school" standards
3) Even when he turned, STILL couldn't understand what the fuck Andre was saying.
4) It created fodder for Warrior "Ultimate Warrior" Warrior to rise to God-like status!
Posted By: Guest#8677 (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 12:59 PM
George Bush sent 5,000 Americans to die for a lie, but people still like him, so I do not understand all the hate for a man who was obviously depressed in such a high-stress work environment, not to mention juggling his family life, and of course the loss of Eddie didn't help even remotely.
Posted By: Cactus (Guest) on June 28, 2009 at 08:24 PM
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