The Crippler fades to black

This image captures one of the purest, most heartfelt moments in Wrestlemania history. One of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots had just defeated two of the biggest names in the business to win the World Heavyweight Title, in Madison Square Garden, the mecca of professional wrestling. In his crowning moment, his best friend joined him in the ring. A champion in his own right, the two stood side by side, ushering in a new age in pro wrestling. So many of us thought. However, this is an image that certain people want to fade away.

After fifteen years of friendship and being such a prominent figure in his life, Chris Benoit has been excluded from the new Eddy Guerrero DVD set. Some of Guerrero's best matches were against Benoit. Certainly, the two shared one of the most memorable Wrestlemania moments. Yet "The Crippler" is taboo, these days. Many are trying to erase him from history.

Call me an apologist, but after everything people have said about the man, it's quite clear that the tragic events of June 2007 go far deeper than most want to acknowledge. WWE refuses to accept the explanation regarding the poor condition of Benoit's brain. There's also far less attention being put on the fact that the man was completely devastated when his best friend died. Something inside him just broke. Still, in my view, I haven't heard enough evidence to even prove that he is responsible for the deaths of his family and himself. At any rate, these things have nothing to do with his career as a professional wrestler. Many others have done terrible things and still get credit for what they've done in the ring. Look at Ric Flair, Steve Austin or Jake Roberts. They're not saints, yet they aren't erased from existence.

With the exception of the people involved; i.e. family, close friends, etc., no one has any business being angry about what they think happened. Period. Too many people have been overly self-righteous and they would do well to get off their high horses, since they neither know what really happened nor do they have any personal stake in the matter.

I understand that WWE doesn't want the bad publicity that would come from celebrating the career of a so-called child murderer. Fine. Don't release special Chris Benoit DVDs or other merchandise. However, excluding his matches from other events and collections is asinine. After everything that he gave for the business, to just take that away from the fans, is going too far. If people don't want to see his matches, they can skip past them. I, for one, am sick of WWE trying to rewrite history. Chris Benoit was one of the greatest pro wrestlers, ever. He existed. Nothing they do can ever change that.