WWE Hall of Famer ‘Road Dogg’ Jesse James has questioned just how much the Chris Benoit tragedy changed the world of pro wrestling.
In June 2007, Benoit was found dead in his home alongside his wife Nancy and son Daniel, and it was later revealed that the WWE Superstar had killed his family before taking his own life.
On his ‘Oh You Didn’t Know’ podcast, James addressed the 2007 tragedy. He said,
“I don’t want to comment too much on this, but I don’t think it changed — what did it have to do with wrestling? That honestly would be my question. This was a totally – like, I guess you’re stretching if you’re connecting that to wrestling.”
James later added that the wrestling world was made safer following the Benoit tragedy as there was a greater focus on how blows to the head can cause long-term damage.
“It made the culture, or the environment safer. Look, I’m not saying that this horrible incident had to happen so that this could be better, but something positive did come out of it, and I’m so sorry to everybody involved and can’t even fathom the feelings of the family members.”
Benoit’s actions resulted in the disgraced wrestler being blacklisted from WWE programming, and his matches are never featured on TV or the company’s YouTube channel.
