The WRATH of TITO - One year later, the "shock and awe" of Chris Benoit
    Submitted by Mr. Tito on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 7:30 AM EST

    Welcome, one and all, to the "Excellence in Wrestling Column Writing" on the LoP Network known as the Wrath of Tito. I'm back for another "one time only" column, the 4th of its kind. Hopefully, all is well with the readers and wrestling fans currently circulating here on the best wrestling webpage ever invented, LordsofPain.net. Seriously, what wrestling website is better?

    So how am I doing these days, you ask? Couldn't be better... I feel great! Marriage is going great, lots of great family and friends, and I'm quite happy with my career. Additionally, the ability to not be chained to the television every Monday night is quite refreshing. You see, this time last year, I made a choice to STOP watching wrestling. Now let's just make this clear... 2006 was a weak year, wrestling-wise. After Eddie's death, it became quite clear that I did not have to dedicate my time or money towards professional wrestling. I was delusional as most fans as many, many stars were chewed up and spit out from the industry. I kept on watching, even though the storylines absolutely sucked. After Eddie died, things were put more in perspective and running a house while getting prepared for marriage took up time and resources.

    Thus, the great author of the "Wrath of Tito" and before that, the "Phat Daily Column", was becoming more and more disinterested with wrestling. Insomuch that I decided to retire with my initial date set for the Wrestlemania of 2007 being my final column. However, burnout and a further lack of time to dedicate to being "Tito" cut my retirement date early to October 2006. I still kept up with the product, however, though not as much or in a dedicated manner as I did before. Still, I was watching wrestling, getting the occasional Pay Per View, and going to live events when I could. I was still on the hook and had the WWE's writing actually improved, I could have cared more. Maybe the next coming of the Rock or Austin, for I'm sorry John Cena/Triple H, you are not.

    Then, the events of June 25th, 2007 hit like a sound of thunder... One of my favorite pro wrestlers apparently died and tuning into RAW that night, I had no idea what truly happened. On that evening, the WWE and their wrestlers gave a nice fitting tribute to Chris Benoit, who at the time, could be argued as one of the best in-ring performers or technical wrestlers of all time. The "rabid wolverine", the "Canadian crippler"... The guy who gave us multiple 5-star classics. The guy whom we all cheered for boldly sticking up to WCW management and demanding to be released from his contract during 2000 to join the WWE. The guy whom we all screamed "tap, Triple H, tap" at Wrestlemania 20 to become the RAW world champion to cap off a great night where Benoit and Eddie celebrated being champions.

    I, like many uninformed fans of the tragic events, mourned their hero. That's right, I'll say it now... Chris Benoit WAS my hero before June 25th, 2007 (and yes, I know his death is apparently the 24th... knowledge of it came to everyone on the 25th). He was a guy whom I admired for his courage in the ring, work ethic, and the ability to make others look great in the ring. I have his DVD and have watched it numerous times. Being a wrestling fan at the time, he was "awesome" in my eyes...

    Then, the news hit... Chris Benoit had apparently not only murdered his wife/mother of his child, but he murdered the child as well. Then, instead of facing justice for his horrible crimes and having to think about what he had done in a jail cell, the coward killed himself. The f'n coward killed himself and didn't give Nancy's family or his own family the dignity to look Benoit in the eyes and tell him what a cowardly piece of crap he truly is.

    Immediately, it was front and center as the top headline and the WWE took a bloodbath of bad publicity thereafter. Did they deserve it? The WWE had been ridiculed for years of having 'roided up performers and being a slimey industry led by a very ruthless owner in Vince McMahon. The same guy who was almost indicted for steroid distribution in 1994 as well as allowing for multiple wrestlers before the age of 50 passing away from the side effects or the over dosage of illegal or prescription drugs. Vince's drug policy was a joke and his ability to convince wrestlers to do as he says or "you're fired" kept pushing wrestlers to work hurt and look muscular caused a lot of deaths in the industry. Yes, wrestlers have the choice of putting something in their body or agreeing to work hurt, but if you desire to be the top in your field at your workplace... Think about it at your own workplace and get back to me.

    The question is repeatedly this: Is pro wrestling to blame for Chris Benoit's murderous acts? Well, I counter that question with the following question: Would Chris Benoit murder his family if he was NOT a pro wrestler? For any wrestling fan who disliked the 2 columns I put out regarding the wrestling industry, I've NEVER had someone truthfully answer that question in a legitimate manner. You need to look at a few facts here...

    - ONE, Chris Benoit was a steroid user. While the examination ruled that Benoit did not have an elevated amount of steroids in his body at the time, his testosterone was elevated from prior abuse. The fact is that nobody weights 230 pounds at 5'11" unless they are a lard-ass. He was on a lot of performance enhancers and provided the steroids found at his house, roid rage cannot be ruled out as a factor.

    - TWO, drugs he was on... He was taking Xanax, which has some interesting side effects. He was also on painkillers at the time of deaths. Xanax, pain killers, and an elevated testosterone level makes for an interesting mix for any human being.

    - THREE, brain damage... Repeated concussions on athletes are being examined. Upon examination of Benoit's brain by Dr. Julian Bailes, it was concluded that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient". Additionally, it's being found that repeated concussions can lead to severe depression, dementia, and cause severe behavior problems that can lead to self harm or violence towards others. Provided how risky Benoit was, we don't know specifically how many concussions he actually had. But think back, besides the neck, did Benoit ever miss a significant amount of time due to injury? NO, for he was always appearing to be a sturdy wrestler. We don't know the amount of injuries or concussions this guy was working through. Benoit was always fighting and clawing to get to the top and taking time off would have ruined his dreams of being champion, as he was crowned in 2004.

    SO AGAIN, if Benoit wasn't a pro wrestler and decided upon another career, would he have used steroids or other performance enhancers, excessive amounts of mood or pain killer drugs, or would he have the ridiculous amount of brain damage that he had? No. Potentially, the NFL would be the riskier profession, but Benoit was at this game for about 20 years. In the NFL, players are quick to get other injuries besides concussions. If you don't have the speed in the NFL, you're out. Benoit has the better ability to work around his injuries than an NFL player has and thus why Benoit was able to keep racking up concussions in pro wrestling for a longer period of time than an NFL player.

    Getting back on subject, I blame wrestling for Benoit's actions. Before his body was found on June 25th, Benoit was shown to be an upstanding citizen and a good father. For one weekend, he absolutely lost it... He went from a former world champion, 2003 Observer Hall of Famer and future WWE Hall of Famer, and a fan favorite to a scumbag murderer of his own wife and son. Again, had he been in another career, this probably wouldn't have happened whether you want to be delusional or not to admit it.

    The WWE, to its credit, has taken strides to improve their image after this horrific tragedy. While some other former superstars have passed away from the industry's effects, the WWE has strengthened their "Wellness Program" and they have effectively been suspending wrestlers who fail drug tests. Good for them. They need to crack down and restore faith in the product, especially for today's younger generation who doesn't need to look at wrestling with a tainted eye as they do with Major League Baseball. MLB ruined themselves with a generation by not only being poorly marketed, but by letting a drug problem ravage their entire sport. Younger kids have many, many options to choose from these days and if something smells, they won't touch it. Wrestling needs to restore faith in parents and they need to increase the demand of teenagers to follow their product again. Improving your image is the half the battle...

    BUT, Benoit still killed his family and himself... And what I want to examine is how his death may have impacted wrestling. My theory last year was that Chris Benoit's horrible acts would affect the WWE long-term. Am I right?

    The Benoit Effect



    Let's examine Chris Benoit's death and aftermath on some key statistics that I have measured before and after the unfortunate incidents went down. Did Benoit's death have an adverse affect on the industry?

    - RATINGS - The thinking is that Benoit's death drove fans away, especially fans who may have been bored with the current WWE product or potentially disgusted by the industry itself. In the 12 months leading up to June 25, 2007, the WWE's ratings for Monday Night RAW was 3.8. In the 12 months after, including leading up to this past Monday, the rating was 3.4. That's a -10.5% decline in the ratings, with viewership maybe declining somewhere around 500,000 to 1,000,000 viewers. Then again, ratings are based on sampling statistics and the margin between 3.8 and 3.4 might not be too far off. Additionally, continually bad storylines and a bunch of wrestlers getting injured and/or suspended to end 2007 probably did not help. Recent downturns in the WWE's ratings, for whatever reason, are also contributing to the difference. The drop in the ratings may not be associated with Benoit's death driving individuals away from the product.

    - STOCK PRICES - As shown by the image below, the WWE keeps following its trend of peaking towards Wrestlemania and then cycling back downward until Wrestlemania time occurs again. Since the WWE went public in late 1999, this trend seems to be repeating itself. Wrestlemania, after all, is usually the biggest revenue grossing days for the WWE and the weeks hyping it are also bigtime money generators. When Benoit did his acts, the stock may have dropped sharply in response, but it soon stabilized and got back on trend. In fact, the stock saw some good growth while many stocks in the industry were seeing significant downturns. The WWE stock, as I discuss in WWEconomics, saw growth above $19 but has come back to earth provided that the summer presents lower attention to their product. Thus, no long-term "Benoit Effect" on the stock, ASSUMING another Benoit-like fiasco does not happen ever again to shake the public:



    - FINANCIALS - Looking back at the WWE's 10-Q for the 3rd quarter 2007, the revenue comparison between the 3rd quarter 2007 and 3rd quarter 2006 is interesting. For 3Q 2007, the WWE generated $108.1 million in total net revenue versus $93.2 million in 3Q 2006. However, the 3Q 2007 has $12.8 million factored in due to WWE Films generated revenue. Thus, if removed, the WWE had a total net revenue of $95.3, just a bit more than 3Q 2006's $93.2 million. Breaking the revenues down, Live and TV events generated $68.6 million during the 3Q 2007 while Live & TV generated $65.6 million during 3Q 2006. The slight difference could be a matter of inflation.

    This is where Benoit's actions may have hurt the WWE... Consumer products were $19.0 million during 3Q 2007 while being higher during 3Q 2006 at $21.8 million. Demand for WWE licensed products was down and may have been a direct result of fans being disgusted with the WWE, for the economy was roaring back then (Real GDP grew at a 4.9% clip back then). Financially, the WWE was hurt during the 3rd quarter of 2007 potentially due to Benoit's death and the other drug problems that soon followed. I will suggest this, however... the WWE rebounded nicely in the 4th quarter and the 1st quarter of this year. Thus, Benoit's death had no long-term financial effect on the WWE, but again, assuming another incident does not happen.

    CONCLUSION: Benoit's actions affected the WWE slightly during the 3rd quarter and not long-term. This should be attributed to the WWE apparently cleaning their act up, image wise. Any downturns in revenue or ratings should be attributed to the basics of pro wrestling, like drawing in casual fans, having good storylines, and having a superstar that "puts butts in seats". The WWE, in my opinion, is struggling in all 3 areas and that should be the biggest cause for lower ratings or desperately attempting to give away $1 million as a publicity stunt.

    As for Chris Benoit himself... I'm sickened by his actions and I'm sickened by the pro wrestling industry that allows their wrestlers to take steroids/HGH, excessive amounts of prescription drugs, and working through injuries, especially concussions. This NEEDS TO BE STOPPED if I'm ever going to go back to the product. The WWE, to its credit, has curbed a lot of drug use through an increased Wellness Program. Can that continue? I hope so....

    But I'll say this... Can we just admit that Chris Benoit was a GREAT wrestler? I get extremely tired of wrestling publications ignoring his accomplishments, especially the WWE itself. The WWE was the one who allowed Benoit for more than 7 years to work through concussions, take drugs, and take steroids through their relaxed policies backstage. But because Benoit completely lost it one weekend because of CLEAR effects done to him by the industry, suddenly Wrestlemania 20's conclusion and his other WWE accomplishments will never get mentioned again. We won't see Benoit as a WWE Hall of Famer, either. I'm NOT giving props to what Benoit did on June 24th, whatsoever... But I am rational enough to call the WWE their ignoring of Chris Benoit within their history books. Fans are smart enough to rationalize Chris Benoit when seeing past matches from him. He's a scumbag for killing his family, but he was once a great WWE wrestler as well. Can we just admit that please, WWE?

    Apples for Thought


    Ok, I haven't kept up with the latest "who is screwing who" backstage gossip or wrestler moves to other feds... So I'll attempt to present total crap and pass it off as wrestling news... sound good?

    - TNA Blows... Let me just say that much. Looking at their Thursday Impact ratings, it's laughable... this company can't grow. Granted, Thursdays are a horrible night for wrestling, but come on!!! You signed Kurt Angle, you've been an established wrestling brand for, what, 5 years now or even more? I've tried to painfully watch TNA on occassion and I just want to poke my eyes out! Too many useless bimbos on the program, just horrible storylines, and some of the worst production values this side of WCW Worldwide. And let's be honest here... The six-sided ring presents a weaker product. Just way too much space to worth with. It's no wonder why the WWE is still blowing their doors off.

    - I have a lot less respect for the Hogans after their recent actions. Nick Hogan should be seeing much more jailtime for permanently hurting his friend in the automobile accident. Now granted, if I had a kid that was in trouble, I'd probably spring to his defense, too... But some of the stuff that Hulk Hogan said in a recorded conversation with his son was just ridiculous. "Trust source" TMZ.com posted the interview and the Hulkster said that the crash victim received "heavy shit" from God in the form of the crash for what the victim was into. Huh? Furthermore, Linda Hogan ripped on the victim's mother and said that she's going after the Hogans for financial reasons only. Huh??? THE KID HAS PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE!!!!

    Pure pondscum, folks... Let's hope that the WWE is finished with Hulk Hogan and giving his family any more fame than they deserve.

    - I saw Get Smart over the weekend... OK movie, I suppose... The trailers gave away all of the potential best parts and I expected it to be more of a slapstick comedy. Two wrestlers were representing... the Rock, for one, was agent 23, who may go down as the most predictable character ever. Then, the Great Khali had a role as one of the henchmen. He's surprisingly good and Hollywood could potentially use him and his freakish size for future films.

    I have nothing else... Send all hatemail to WrathofTito@yahoo.com. Be on the look out for more "WWEconomics" finance columns...

    Additionally, be on the look-out for a brand new website, started up by yours truly and does NOT involve wrestling... It involves two passions of my life... Economics and NFL Football... Potentially launching June 30th.....

    All you need is BLOG...

    So just chill.... Till the next episode!




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