JBL on confronting McMahon about the possibility Benoit murdered his family
JBL Recalls Vince McMahon’s Reaction When Being Told That Chris Benoit Might Have Murdered Wife Nancy And Son Daniel
JBL gave his thoughts on what he was thinking before the Chris Benoit tribute show that aired the day of the murder/suicide:
“I started thinking, what if Chris did it? I went to Taker and said, ‘What if Chris did it?’ He just looked at me, and you could tell that the wheels were spinning. He said, ‘We need to talk to Vince.’ I said, ‘Yeah, we do.’ As we go to Vince, Steve was the biggest name in wrestling history at the time, and still is. He grabbed Steve and said, ‘Steve, come with us. We gotta talk to Vince.’“
“So me and Stone Cold and Taker went into Vince’s office. It was late in the day. I said, ‘Vince, what if Chris did it?’ We’re about to do a tribute show for a guy who could have done a horrific thing, if that’s a possibility.’ Vince looked at me, and I’ve never seen a man that was so indecisive in my life. I’ve never seen Vince like that. I don’t know if he had thought about it before. I can’t read his mind. I have no idea. He didn’t give anything away, as he never does.
He said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. I’m just telling you that there’s a chance that something horrific has happened here, and it could have been different from what we think.’ He said, ‘What do you want me to do?’
He was not confronting me. He didn’t know what to do. He had no idea what to do. I mean, none. I don’t know if he had thought about it before, but you know, Vince is a quick mind, and he said,
‘John, I don’t know what to do.’ For Vince to say that, that maybe was the only time in his life he ever said that. I said, ‘I don’t know. That’s the downside risk.’ He said, ‘John, I think we have to go with what information we have now, and if it changes, we’ll change.’
(Source: Something To Wrestle With podcast)
Remember Nancy and Daniel. May we never see anything as horrendous as this tragedy ever again.
Remembering DB. I may never see your faces again once I die in any way.
There were no good options in that situation. Yes, Vince and WWE look like idiots now for doing a tribute show for a murderer. But at the time, when that was suspected by some but not actually known, they couldn’t ignore the death of one of their biggest stars who was slated for an ECW title match (to win it, in fact). Hindsight is 20/20.
It was a terrible tragedy brought about by extreme brain damage from multiple concussions. His brain looked more like someone who was 80 then his actual age. There have been more than just Benoit who murdered someone that later was found out to have serious damage to the brain. We will never know what exactly happened that weekend that led him to do those horrendous acts but maybe some blame needs to go to sports, they need proper medical care early on and have coverage after they retire.