Vaya con Dios, Chris Benoit

They told us today that your brain was damaged, that you'd been acting irrationally,  your diary was disturbed.  Years of concussions, they said, had left their mark in your head.

After reading their findings, I think of the Chris Benoit everyone loved.  The one who revered his family, who had a tremendous heart, who brought grown musclemen who look tough for a living to tears at his death.  This Chris Benoit would be tormented by the thought of who he took with him and the manner of his death. 

It was senseless.  You were a gladiator sacrificed on the altar of our bloodlust.  Not the first, and that leaves me with little hope you will be the last.  May we take better care of our entertainers.  May the public accept there is a reason to tone down wrestling and not take as many risks with it, and stop crying for the days of ECW vs WCW vs WWF when shows got steadily more dangerous.  May TNA and WWE, as today's caretakers of the industry, learn from you. 

No more, Chris.  May no more gladiators be walking wounded until their head haywires.  No more green wrestlers in the ring, no more dangerous, sloppy ones who are there because they are big and not because they can do the moves without injuring their partner.  May those who fund this industry with their ticket purchases not only accept, but demand that safety be a higher priority.

And, finally, Chris, may you and your family rest in peace.