Matt Hardy, in his latest MySpace.com blog entry, wrote: I haven’t always agreed with every decision Vince McMahon has made, but I do agree with everything he’s done dealing with this situation thus far. Out of respect for the sudden death of Benoit’s family and his contributions to the business, I think Vince did the right thing by canceling the scheduled Raw. When the decision was made to make Raw a Chris Benoit tribute show, the WWE was only doing what seemed respectful and right at that time. When more information was discovered, the WWE took a different and appropriate stance towards their programming. The ECW and Smackdown shows this week were dedicated to our great fans. Wrestling fans who were grieving and confused over this tragedy needed us, including me, to entertain them. I feel it is my responsibility, as well as my pleasure, to put smiles on people’s faces and give them an escape from reality. I know Vince feels that way as well. Chris Benoit was always kind, considerate, and professional when I interacted with him. Like everyone else, I was shocked when everything came out. I can’t believe Chris Benoit and his wife and child are dead as I type this. As of now, all of the strange pieces of this puzzle haven’t been put together yet. My thoughts and prayers go out to Benoit’s other two children as well as the immediate family and friends of the deceased. More than anything, I feel terrible for little Daniel–he was as innocent as any human being could possibly be. This is a terrible and sad tragedy. I am very disappointed with how many media outlets are lapping the entire population of professional wrestlers into this situation. There are many outstanding, wonderful people that do so many great things for the world that I work and wrestle with. It’s not fair or accurate. Tell the people you love that you love them, and never lose sight of what’s really important in life. We may not ever understand why this tragedy happened, but we have to learn from it. Stay strong–life is too precious and too short. I have much more I want to say about the activities of the last few days. If it’s appropriate, I definitely will. Be well my friends, I’ll talk to you soon..
WWE Diva Victoria made the following statement through a MySpace.com bulletin: Hey All. I had planned ..ing off talking about a recent trip to an arena football game, but I would be remiss not to address the Chris Benoit situation. Everyone who knew anything about wrestling knew of his in-ring contributions. I truly don’t know what I can say and not get in trouble with the WWE. Anyone who reads my blogs regularly knows how much I love wrestling, and being part of the WWE. But I think what I have to say is more important. His son, Daniel, came to many shows. We bonded. He a was a cute little boy. What Chris did was selfish and hurtful. I fear that him being a superstar in some way glamorizes the situation. That’s not what suicide is. It is selfish and hurtful. As long as you have a breath to breathe, you can make change to improve your life. You can talk to family, or friends, or clergy. And if you’re not comfortable with any of them, here are two phone numbers for a Suicide and Crisis Hotline. 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) or 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK). They take calls 24/7. You always have options. Maybe someday I’ll be able to forgive Chris, but not today. God Bless Us All, Lisa Marie
