Chris Benoit

[10.0] "He brutally murdered his wife and son. Fact. Nancy had documented domestic violence issues with Chris Benoit in the years preceding the murders. Fact. Medical professionals determined that his brain damage was so severe that it literally had holes in it. Fact. Does any of that absolve him of what he did? No. Fact. If you think your personal morality supersedes the facts of what happened, seek help. There's a problem when people wield morality like a sword of justice on Facebook while plastering "#BostonStrong" on their profile pictures despite having no connection to Massachusetts, or posting "#FreePalestine" without contributing a single hour or dollar to the cause. It's empty grandstanding. It's performative morality designed to make the person posting feel righteous. So why a 10? Because he's dead."

[0.0] "I don't care that he could hit cool suplexes and transition to a cool rest hold, I know he had a brain injury, but he still killed 2 people. He took the lives of his own wife and child and I think it's disgusting people give him flowers, I don't give a damn about him as a wrestler, who the person is reflects on the wrestler as well. I can't look past the heinous things he did just to say "Oh man but before he murdered his family he was quite the wrestler. Have you seen his matches with Kurt Angle? wow he was terrific." CTE is a very serious thing but Chris Benoit continued to take bumps that made his head worse. He's a murderer and I give him no sympathy."

[10.0] "Even tho he obviously commited unforgivable sins in the last days of his life, I think that shouldn't come into play when rating his abilities in pro wrestling. And in pro wrestling, there have not been many guys better than him. Period. An absolute wrestling machine he used to be."

[10.0] "Very, very great ring General. Perhaps one of the best if not ever technical wrestlers of the ruthless aggression era. Insane germans, including the one he gave Angle at royal rumble 2003. I am absolutely stunned by what he accomplished in this business. When he showed up to work. He could go. He could insanely go at a pace I have never seen before. He picks up so quickly he absorbs information from other and by all a world class legend in this industry. He is the benchmark for other technical rookies. He wasn't great at verbal charisma, but he had intensity. He had ruthlessness. He also had veteran instincts. Just It's hard to find a wrestler who can match his intensity."

[10.0] "Man this is a tough one for obviously reasons. As a wrestler. One of the greatest to ever do it. Matches in WWE, WCW and ECW will be legendary Angle, Guerrero, Jericho, Sullivan, amazing chemistry with his opponents. But as a human being. I cannot forgive what he did to Nancy and Daniel My rating will be based on his wrestling. Not for the human cause that's a 0 The match with Kurt Angle at 2003 Royal Rumble will still go down as one of my favourite matches of all time. Technical masterclass"

[8.0] "a proper rating for benoit is a... touchy subject to say the least. On one hand, he was an undoubtedly phenomenal performer. He had a great career in WWE, WCW, New Japan, and he's been responsible for some 5 star matches and iconic moments. On the other hand... The way both his life and wrestling career ended was both tragic and horrifying. years of head trauma leading to a pyschotic break and the murder of his wife and son. Benoit is many things to todays wrestlers. A blueprint for greatness. a cautionary tale. I try my best to separate the art from the artist, and while Benoit is not my favorite wrestler, I think he's great."

[1.0] "now, let me explain my rating cause i know you're gonna go crazy on my comments on benoit when i say this: "CHRIS BENOIT IS THE GREATEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER OF ALL TIME: HE HAD GREAT MATCHES, GREAT ABILITIES AND GOOD TITLE REIGNS." But This Doesn't Change The Fact That He Hurted/Killed His Family That Was Innocent. Compared To Aaron Hernandez's Brain CTE, Benoit's Has A Worse And Darker Death. I Love The Legacy And Matches As Pegasus, But Benoit The Wrestler, I Like Him. But Not The Human Benoit With That Destructed Brain Of His. That Explains 1 Point Of Chris Benoit, The Wrestler. -9 For The Human. He Had Some Great Moments In WCW, NJPW & WWE, Especially Winning The World Heavyweight Championship Which Got Me So Damn Happy."

[0.0] "Even if i liked his workrate when he was alive, i have to give him a 0 for the piece of human scum he was before and after his self inflicted concusions and roid abuse, not only did he murder 2 people, but it was his family with a kid that had his whole life ahead of him, Chris Benoit was a coward that off himself before paying for his crimes to justice and sadly is fondly remembered by the "muh rasslin skils" crowd of fans. You might have good memories of his matches but then again he was a terrible person, a bully, a domestic abuser, a child killer, a backstage prick, a coward, an insane person and a complete idiot that took two innocent lives with him."

[0.0] "I don't care about his "workrate". I don't care about his technical abilities. I don't care about his "classic" matches. I don't care about anything he did in the ring. That all became null and void when he murdered his wife and son. The people who continually make excuses for this just because they still want to jerk off to his 5 star matches are pathetic. He was a known abuser even BEFORE the murders so blaming it entirely on concussions and brain damage is disingenuous mental gymnastics. Nancy tried to divorce him in 2003 with domestic abuse as the PRIMARY reason. This was years before the murders. There are cases where you can separate the art from the artist. This isn't one of those cases. Benoit murdered his son a day after strangling Nancy with his knee on her back and a cord around her neck. So Daniel was there in the house with his dead mother a full day before Benoit murdered him too. I hope people who are still fans for some reason are haunted by those details just a little bit while enjoying his matches."

"No matter what people think today, Chris Benoit will always be one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. His intensity, technical skill, realism, and passion in the ring were on another level. To me, he was the greatest in-ring performer I've ever watched, and every match felt believable and hard hitting. Few wrestlers ever made me feel as invested in a match as he did."

"Very exceptional wrestler, however his final actions make it near-impossible for him to be revered or even remembered by any promotion and even most wrestlers. RIP Nancy and Daniel Benoit."

"Chris Benoit is one of the hardest wrestlers to even talk about. I don't think it's possible to properly "rate" him after what happened in 2007. His actions completely destroyed his legacy and permanently changed how people view him. No matter how incredible his career was inside the ring, it will always be overshadowed by the horrific things he did. I completely understand why many fans refuse to ever watch his matches again or even discuss him at all. That said, purely as an in-ring performer, Benoit was one of the absolute best workers of his era. The guy could wrestle circles around almost anybody. His intensity, timing, psychology, selling, pacing, and technical ability were elite. He wasn't ultra charismatic or all-time great promo, but once the bell rang, he made people care through his wrestling alone. Matches with Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar, and countless others are still remembered because of how great they were. WrestleMania XX should have been remembered as the crowning moment of an incredible career. Instead, it feels uncomfortable and tragic to look back on now knowing what happened just a few years later. That's really the story of Chris Benoit. An all-time great wrestler whose legacy is permanently destroyed. A career filled with incredible matches and accomplishments that now carry an unavoidable darkness over them. It's a damn shame all around. I can still revisit some of the matches because the quality is undeniable, but it definitely feels different now and difficult at times. There's always that feeling in the back of your mind while watching. And again, I totally understand people who simply want nothing to do with his work anymore."

"I'm not going to give him an actual rating because of what he did and the fact that I don't know hot to. He was a great wrestler from what I've seen, but from what I've heard? Not a good person to the people around him, and he killed his family. So all I'm going to do is leave this comment here, praying for the spirits of Nancy and Daniel, and hoping nothing bad happens to David."

[1.0] "Chris Benoit is one of the best in wrestling history, personally the best, but he's a murderer who killed his son and wife. He strangled his 7-year-old son to death and brutally murdered his wife. No matter how much he wrestled, these actions overshadowed everything. He will be remembered not for his wrestling, but for the double murder he committed. While head injuries might seem like a logical explanation, Chris Benoit murdered two innocent people before harming himself. TWO INNOCENT PEOPLE. Therefore, Vince's decision not to remember him in WWE history and not to induct him into the Hall of Fame is the most logical decision he made."

[10.0] "A detestable, horrible person, but one of my favorite in-ring performers ever. Has arguabley the greatest WrestleMania title victory of all time and one hell of a Royal Rumble victory. Would have easily headlined a Hall of Fame class and still had some gas left in the tank before the tragedy. Would have been interesting to see his final ECW title reign and what he would have done after that, but I guess we sadly never got to find out."

[5.0] "I have no idea how to rate him. Yes, he was amazing in the ring, his promo ability was solid but his murder of his wife and son and then himself cancels out a LOT of that and is unforgivable. I'm giving him a 5 cause of his in-ring ability but i can't go any higher for the murder"

[10.0] "Yes, he was a murderer who killed his family, and that should never be forgotten. But this is a comment on his professional career. With the skills he possessed, Benoit was one of the greatest wrestlers ever to step into a pro-wrestling ring. For years, across different countries and promotions, he consistently delivered great matches. Even during WCW's worst periods, Benoit could still produce quality bouts - this is a man who even managed to get a good match out of Sid Vicious. His WWE run was incredible - over a seven-year span, he constantly performed at the highest level. Especially in 2004, it was nearly impossible to find a better wrestler in the world. His Royal Rumble 2004 victory, winning the World Championship at WrestleMania XX, and the celebration with Eddie will never be forgotten. In 2003, RAW was terrible in terms of match quality, but once Benoit was drafted there in 2004, RAW's in-ring quality even surpassed the SmackDown that had been delivering classics at the time. There aren't enough numbers in mathematics to count the great matches Benoit produced. In any setting - a straight wrestling match, a gimmick match, or a multi-man match, he could excel. He was a credible main eventer, a division-carrying midcarder, and an excellent tag team worker. The psychology he brought into any match deepened its narrative structure and dramatic layers, elevating the storytelling and giving the bout greater emotional weight and internal logic. He could be the sympathetic underdog rallying the crowd behind him, or a ruthless mauling machine dismantling his opponents. Benoit's selling ability may have been the most realistic ever; I don't think I've seen another wrestler reflect pain in both body and facial expressions as convincingly as he did. He was a master at elevating even average opponents. In my opinion, he was the greatest TV worker - hard-hitting offense, incredible seller, storyteller, and equally effective as a main eventer, midcarder, or tag team worker. I hate him, but there will never be another Chris Benoit in the ring."

[0.0] "I never liked him. He's a black mark in WWE history and in the world of pro wrestling as a whole. Seeing how WWE is now positive and great, it's even frightening to realize that such a wrestler was part of this company. He didn't look like a wrestler, but more like a thug. He's a murderer and a criminal. I don't understand how people mourn him and treat him calmly, fully aware of the fact that right before his suicide, he took two lives: a child and his wife. I don't want to see or hear about him or people like him in the world of professional wrestling. I couldn't care less about his matches, and his gimmick clearly showed that he wasn't just playing a psycho, and it was scary for his opponents."

"Some reviews are just disgusting there are many wrestlers on this site that got low rating for doing a horrible shit , but for some reason Chris gets a pass because he's a cool wrestler, I just like to erase someone from history if they are a horrible person"

[10.0] "Obviously a monster, but also one of the best wrestlers of all time. Technically fantastic, an interesting move-set, decent at promos, and an incredible job in the WWE and WCW midcard, having had his big push in 2004, where he won the world title in the main event of WrestleMania. All of Benoit's matches were intense, realistic, and extremely aggressive, and he is certainly one of the best ever. It's a shame how it ended, he would certainly have been a living legend of wrestling for a long time."

[8.0] "First things first, Chris Benoit is a murderer. That's always going to be his legacy and nothing will change that. With that said, judging him strictly as a wrestler, while he was undoubtedly one of the most gifted between the ropes, as a great, agile, technical talent, man was he awkward to watch when having to do any character work. Unfortunately, that just feels trivial to talk about that kind of stuff."

[10.0] "Chris Benoit was one of the most complete wrestlers ever to step into a ring, a performer whose intensity and commitment to physical storytelling were unmatched in his era, and while the final days of his life inevitably casts a heavy shadow on him, this rating focuses strictly on his in-ring legacy and contributions to the craft. I am giving this rating after seeing creators on YouTube talk about how he was a horrible person who shouldn't be mentioned anymore, and hearing statements like that makes me sick. I just don't believe that he was a bad person. I don't want to sound like I am defending a murderer; I agree that he did something unforgivable, but we all know why it even happened. I BLAME FOR THAT EVERYONE WHO SAW WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO CHRIS -- THAT HE WAS LOSING HIS MEMORY AND DEALING WITH OTHER ISSUES -- AND DID NOTHING. VINCE DIDN'T INTERVENE. NO ONE HELPED HIM. AND THAT LED TO THE HORRIBLE EVENT FOR WHICH ONLY HE IS RESPONSIBLE. FUCK THOSE WHO KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG AND DID NOTHING. And because of that one incident, the overall direction and approach of wrestling changed. He paid the price for being willing to take anything in the ring and outside of the ring. Other than that, Benoit was just a badass, had a great physique, was an exceptional seller, and had this weird charisma that made him exceptional. Whenever I get the chance to watch one of his great matches, I will never refuse, and I will watch them for his wrestling artistry without thinking about what he did the last days of his life. On the other hand, there are people like Joey Ryan, David Starr, and Tessa Blanchard, who are truly awful human beings, and I will never watch their matches. I understand that many people will be disgusted by my stance, and I get that, but I remember him as an amazing wrestler who did great work in NJPW, ECW, WCW, and WWE. That is why I am giving the highest rating."

[6.0] "Amazing, amazing, amazing in between the ropes. Fantastic wrestler in the ring in every manner. Absolute 10/10. Terrible, terrible, terrible at every other facet of pro wrestling. No character work. No charisma. No skills on the microphone. Absolute 0/0."

[10.0] "As far as mat technicians and actual great wrestlers are concerned, Chris Benoit ranks among the best. What he did in the last few days of his life, killing his wife, son and then himself, is still beyond comprehension. That being said, I can separate the artist from the art so to speak. I choose to remember Chris Benoit the great wrestler, rather than the man that did what he did on that fateful weekend from June 22-24, 2007"

[10.0] "Disregarding what he was as a human being, he was truly amazing. Technicality and speed was all there. He could not put a single foot wrong the minute he stepped onto the mat and he deserved a lot more than he had in the Fed. Long live Benoit, the wrestler."

"Easily the best wrestler of all time. He never politicked his way to success either. Most wrestlers acknowledge him as the best they ever faced. And the ones that don't, no longer do it because of the way he left this earth."

"Chris Benoit the performer is still one of my absolute favorites even twenty years removed from having first seen him. I could watch his matches all day. In that regard he is a perfect ten. Chris Benoit the man murdered his wife and child and chose to end his own life rather than face the consequences thereof. He had every option to ask for help, turn back or, failing all that, seek a measure of atonement. In that regard he is a zero. As it would feel unfair to rate him at either of these two extremes and giving him a five simply feels like a cop out, I do not think it is possible for me to rate him on a numerical scale. I will simply say that he changed my life twice: the first time by making me a fan of professional wrestling, the second time by teaching the lesson that life is far too precious to throw away on something as absurd as it."

[10.0] "We should probably just focus on the actual wrestling of a wrestler without letting real-life situations influence our wrestling ratings. That's why I'm giving Chris Benoit a 10. He was one of the best in the world during his prime. His feud with Jushin Thunder Liger in Japan was one of the best feuds in wrestling ever."

[10.0] "I'll leave it at this, among the top 5 greatest I've ever seen in the ring. That's all I can say, he was 4 real."

[0.0] "Child murderer. Wife killer. Do you need to add literally anything else on top of that? He strangled a 7 year old to death, his own son. He murdered his wife, Nancy, who's contributions to wrestling are now erased because they've been overshadowed by her murder. Killed himself like a coward after doing that so he wouldn't have to face justice for it. That is the legacy of Chris Benoit, the child murderer. I know other people don't have a problem with that, and they will excuse all of that because it's a guy they watched on their TV screens growing up, but I personally can't watch a guy that strangled a 7 year old to death perform fictional wrestling."

[9.0] "Strictly as a pro wrestler, Benoit was incredible to watch. I remember as a kid, I loved the ultimate submission match with Angle so much that I would watch it and then mimic the match move for move with my action figures. Now I haven't watched a Benoit match in 18 years."

[10.0] "Who is better than him? He is the best as an in ring competitor he had a great ring skill and good mic skill God bless you"

"Shit ahh human being bros burning in hell lol you should never ever know peace you absolute clown shit class act"

[0.0] "Chris Benoit murdered Nancy & Daniel Benoit. It doesn't matter how good of a suplex he had, he took two innocent lives from us, and deserves to only be recognised for that. If you want to argue that CTE was the reason he murdered his wife & child, then you also have to ignore his history of domestic violence and years of well documented backstage bullying. Yes, Chris Benoit was an excellent professional wrestler, but OJ Simpson was an excellent running back, and we as a society (rightly) ignore that because of what he did. Chris Benoit was a murderer, and should only ever be remembered as such."

"I'm not gonna leave a numerical rating on this; but I will give a few words. Chris Benoit was my favorite wrestler of his time period- I loved the diving headbutt, I loved the suplexes- I REALLY loved his devil-may-care approach to the wanton violence he visited in the ring. I think I would be hard pressed to find a better mat technician at this time, barring maybe some up-and-coming indie guys that would become household names after his passing. None of these things excuse his actions even in the slightest- the person that would do what he did is clouded by a darkness I cannot fathom, nor wish to. I was incredibly saddened to learn about the details of the end of his life, along with his wife and child's. It is not my place at all to forgive him for those things, nor do I really feel it is fair to dismiss his work because of these horrid actions. I think his life and passing present an important reminder to fans that what is happening in the ring is still damaging, even if put on for our entertainment. This man, in some sense, gave his mind away for our entertainment, and to watch his matches back now is bittersweet remembering this. I hope to god that my other favorites over the years do not suffer the way he did from losing his mind; and I lament that it took such a tragedy to lead to healthier conversations about the incredible dangers of head injuries in pro wrestling. May his loved ones rest in peace, and may he serve as a reminder to cherish our loved ones more. If I were to give a rating solely on his ring and promo work, he would sit very highly in a roster of the greatest of his generation. If I were to consider his actions outside of the ring, he would not be given any praise whatsoever. I refuse to take up the task of rating him numerically for this exact reason."

[7.0] "Wow, Chris Benoit, someone difficult to classify. Honestly, I'm not a big fan, but not for what you might think. I'm not a big fan regardless of what he did in real life. I'm not a big fan based on the limited footage I've seen of him (although I have seen several good things, such as his victory at WM 20, his celebration with Eddie at the same event). Due to all the censorship against his name, it's been difficult to find Benoit footage casually. I've always thought he had above-average technique, but nothing incredible or out of this world. All I see are several faster-than-average moves and nice technical moves. His mic skill wasn't especially good, but he did have what it took to foster a feud. It's worth noting (again) that I'm giving my opinion based on what he did in the ring, not what happened at his home in 2007. In short: a good wrestler who has a special aura; he was always special."

"I don't feel comfortable providing a rating for Benoit as it will inevitably ignore either the horrific actions he commited or the exceptional in-ring work he performed. Providing a numerical rating, to me, doesn't allow an approach with as much nuance as the man himself requires. As a person, the actions he committed at the end of his life were reprehensible, and no-one should ever attempt to ignore or downplay them. Neither grief, CTE, nor steroid use makes a man a murderer. In the ring, however, Benoit was a foundational piece of the highly technical, grappling-focused work of the mid to late nineties WCW undercard that allowed him to work excellently with talent such as Hart, Malenko, and Guerrero, and that work carried him to success in early 2000s WWE, with great work in the mid card alongside the rest of the Smackdown six, especially Angle, and Jericho, all of which culminated in a phenomenal Royal Rumble performance and one of, if not the, best Wrestlemania main events from an in-ring perspective. I cannot comment on his work in Japan as I am unfamiliar with it, but this man was near untouchable when it came to in-ring prowess. Shame about what happened in the end though."

[10.0] "The ham and eggers can rant about the Benoit tragedy all they want, but this review will ignore all their rhetorical emoting. Chris Benoit was one of the best in ring performers of his generation. He had the excellence of execution of Bret Hart. And I don't draw that comparison because they are both Canadian, I draw it because they both had no holes in their game to poke through. No, Chris Benoit wasn't the Rock or Steve Austin kn the mic, but few are, so it doesn't matter. He got his point across, and did the rest of the talking in the ring. He embodied everything I loved about pro wrestling. His matches with Kurt Angle are some of the absolute best matches of the 21st century. In an age of super work rate, indie riffic, spot monkey garbage, skilled mat and chain wrestling needs to be preserved and brought back to the forefront. Any young aspiring wrestler would be doing themselves a disservice by ignoring the in ring legacy of Chris Benoit. Don't like my take? Too bad. There's nothing you humanoids can do about it."

[10.0] "Chris Benoit was one of the very best to do it. I recognized back in 1992 when he teamed with Beef Wellington in the NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament that he was going to be a huge star and he was. Won the '04 Rumble and main evented and won WrestleMania XX. He elevated so many wrestlers during his time. With that said, it is a tragedy what happened to him and his family. CTE is a deadly thing and Chris was a victim of it. The only sad thing is that no one can be diagnosed with CTE until after their death. CTE messes with their thought process, causes them to hallucinate, hear voices, and who knows who else. Yes, what Chris did was the worse thing a man could do. That is undisputable. But Chris also wasn't in the right frame of mind when it happened either. Nancy and Daniel were victims of Chris but Chris was a victim of CTE."

[0.0] "The fact that this guy still has such a high rating is honestly disgusting. This man is a murderer, who was so juiced up with steroids that he murdered his wife , his child, and himself. The excuses of him having CTE does not rectify what he did. Yes CTE is a big deal. No the CTE didn't make the decision to pull the trigger. Yes his CTE, overuse of steroids and whichever substances he was on at the time and his seemingly urge to be the main character in every single thing in his life got him in a state where he wanted to end his own life. If he did just take his own life, although I will never support the decision or concept as I feel it's not a solution, if he just ended his own life one could have argued CTE was probably the main reason. But no. He decided to take the life of his innocent wife and child aswell before taking the cowards way out and ending his own life. There is no excuse that justifies that, no reason that justifies that , murder is murder. Chris Benoit is a monster, a coward, and a MURDERER. End of discussion."

"Chris Benoit is someone who's nearly impossible for me to rate. In professional wrestling, triumph and tragedy often walk hand in hand--woven into the fabric of its history. From the cursed legacy of the Von Erich family to WCW's fleeting dominance over WWE before its collapse, the business is filled with stories of glory cut short. But few tales are as disturbing--or as complex--as that of Chris Benoit. Since the events of June 2007, just the mention of Benoit's name has sparked intense and justified debate. It's impossible to discuss his career without acknowledging the horror that unfolded in Fayetteville, Georgia that June 2007 weekend. In the ring, Benoit was one of the most technically gifted performers the business had ever seen. He was strong, intense, fierce, and capable of telling gripping stories purely through physicality. While he was never strong on the mic, he captivated audiences with a relentless in-ring style that felt almost surgical, mechanical, even in it's precision. At times, that same relentlessness overshadowed the storytelling in his matches. He could be so focused on forward motion, like a buzzsaw or a wolverine, that he left little space for opponents to sell, to breathe, to absorb the moment. Still, he was a student of the game and arguably surpassed even the Dynamite Kid, whose style he mirrored. But the cost of that commitment, the physical and mental toll was staggering. In a 2004 interview, Benoit said, "Life doesn't push you into the depths of darkness. You do." A sobering and somewhat ironic quote, made more haunting by what would follow. And yet, in a business with no off-season, no union, inconsistent healthcare, and little institutional support for the talent at the time, how does one avoid the darkness? Unlike the NFL or NBA, professional wrestling exists in a regulatory vacuum. It's a world where, especially at that time, talent was expected to perform through pain, and where pills and sketchy doctors often replace rest and rehabilitation. The line between personal responsibility and systemic exploitation becomes impossibly blurred. The industry has long been shielded from mainstream scrutiny, often seen as too carny, too niche, too self-contained. But the blame too often lands squarely on the performers, while the structures that grind them down remain untouched. Chris Benoit's story is the most tragic expression of that broken system. Whether his actions were fueled by CTE, unchecked drug use, mental illness, or a combination of factors, they were monstrous, heinous and downright vile. The lives of Nancy and Daniel Benoit must never be reduced to footnotes in a debate about his legacy. And yet, there's a deeper conversation here--one the industry must face. Benoit was obsessed with proving he belonged, in an environment that once deemed him too small or too bland to be successful. That obsession drove him to the pinnacle of wrestling... and, ultimately, to destroy everything he ever loved. His legacy is not just one of brilliance and brutality, it's a cautionary tale. One that forces us to ask: how many more will we lose before real change happens? Wrestling fans must stop treating these tragedies as isolated incidents. Tribute videos, ten-bell salutes, and memorial patches aren't enough. We need an industry that prioritizes the long-term health of its talent over its own outdated traditions. Chris Benoit was without a doubt a casualty of that system, especially as evidenced by the changes the system made after his death in 2007. That truth doesn't excuse or justify what he did. But if we fail to learn from his story, the industry will remain just as dangerous and just as complicit as it was here."

[8.0] "I'm ranking him an 8 strictly because of his wrestling ability. When he said that he was the best technical wrestler of all time, he really meant it. No, I do not condone, nor do I defend what he did, but there's no denying that Benoit as a wrestler was one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time."

[8.0] "Strictly from an in-ring perspective, Benoit was one of the most technically sound and intense performers of his time. His matches in Japan, WCW, and WWE showcased elite wrestling ability, crisp execution, and unmatched passion for the craft. While his legacy is understandably complicated due to tragic events, his contributions to wrestling technique and storytelling in the ring are undeniable."

[9.0] "How Chris Benoit ended his life was tragic and heartbreaking. Based SIMPLY on his body of work over his career, he was one of the best. Intense, fast, willing to put his body in harms way. He really understood the science of putting a match together and how to build the crowd up over the course of a 10-25 minute match. His Wrestlemania XX main event culminating in the World Heavyweight Championship is one of the greatest title chases in WWE history. Unfortunately, he will never be honored in the Hall of Fame or remembered for his accomplishments by WWE due to his actions in 2007. Sadly, the coroner said he would've been dead by the end of 2007 anyway from an enlarged heart. The CTE also did not help at all. MVP noted how during his and Chris feud, Benoit would blackout and forget spots during their matches. Heartbreaking, he truly was a once in a kind talent. He was regarded as a good friend and father by many of his peers, which explains how everyone in the business was caught off guard by what happened. If you want to see some of the best pro wrestling matches of all time, watch any of his bouts with Kurt Angle. Both in their prime, you just have to see it with your own eyes."

[9.0] "As far as I am concerned this is a site where we talk about wrestling and nothing but wrestling. So, Chris Benoit, THE wrestler was in my opinion one of the best ever. Technical, strong, with abnormal resilience he enters my top 10 of all time. He lacked charisma on the mic, but let his 5-star matches do the talking."

[8.0] "As much as I hate what he did back in 2007, I must have to admit he's a pretty good wrestler. Such a shame that he did the things he did, because he would've been HOF worthy if none of this ever happened. As a wrestler, it's a 8. As a human being, it's a 0"

[0.0] "Perplexed at the amount of fans that think real life is a storyline and there's some crazy conspiracy. Look, in-ring talent is a 10. I cried when I found out he passed. He, Jericho, Eddie, Rey and others were the reason we tuned into ECW / WCW. His run from bottom of the WWF card to WWE Heavyweight Champion should have been a movie. He should have had a lot of great moments and feuds left in him. They were working towards a feud with him and CM Punk which could have been legendary. His match with Eddie at Vengeance is one of the best ever. With that said, his actions are inexcusable and ruin his reputation and legacy forever. Every sports league & hall of fame has a character rating, and he fails his miserably. What he did outweighs whatever we think about his in-ring talent or his matches."

[10.0] "The only topic of contention here is whether or not you can separate the art, from the artist. I happen to think you can. As despicable as his actions were, as much as I hate him for what he did, as much as he should be forgotten and rot in hell, he's a wrestling legend, and a 10."

[10.0] "We're here to judge the wrestlers, not the human beings. I despise Benoit with all of my efforts, he's a criminal, I don't care about any excuse you can throw at me, it was an horrendous act and WWE was right when the decision to cancel him was made. But God, the wrestler was incredible, probably the greatest technician who ever lived until that years. He used to put all of his efforts when he was called to have a great match, it's not a case that he had a lot of incredible matches with everyone all around the world. Although the wrestler deserves even more than 10, the person would deserve -infinite"

"Stone Cold summed up exactly how i would have said it about Chris Benoit, as a wrestler... loved him, obviously what he did is unforgettable. o course he gets a 0, yeah i like some of his work but he KILLED his wife and kid. Not to mention he was mentally fucked from the beginning and would have most likely died before 2013. Also i heard he cheated on his wife with another wrestler. The day he commited those crimes was the day wrestling changed for ever, amazing wrestler but that doesnt stop him from getting a 0, Fuck this guy as a Human being."