Printed from the Review
WWE store pulls Benoit goods from shelves
RAY SPITERI
Thursday, June 28, 2007 – 12:00
Local News – When Chris Benoit visited Niagara Falls with his wife five years ago, he couldn’t stop talking about the children.
“To be here talking to the kids – my biggest fans – is what it’s all about. There’s not a greater reward than putting a smile on a kid’s face,” Benoit told The Review in August 2002 in an interview on Clifton Hill.
Police believe Benoit, a Canadian pro wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment, strangled his wife, suffocated his seven-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine pulley in his Georgia home this past weekend.
Authorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over the weekend and discovered Monday. Some observers have speculated Benoit used muscle-enhancing steroids that might have caused “roid rage,” which can include depression and periods of anger.
On Tuesday, the WWE denied steroids were behind the incident, blaming “deliberation, not rage.” It said Benoit tested negative for steroids in an April 10 drug test.
Nicknamed “The Canadian Crippler” and “The Rabid Wolverine,” Benoit was part of the WWE store’s grand opening on Clifton Hill in July 2002 along with fellow competitors Trish Stratus and “The Big Valbowski” Val Venis.
He dipped his hands in a cement block that was later bolted to the building’s wall at the entrance.
Benoit was so impressed with the city he came back the next month. During the visit, he enjoyed a Niagara Jet Boat tour, a helicopter ride and a show at the Imax theatre.
Benoit stopped by the WWE Niagara Falls store again to sign autographs for fans young and old.
“I was up here in Canada to tape Smackdown (a WWE television show),” Benoit told The Review then. “My wife and I took advantage of the time and decided to make it a relaxing holiday trip – somewhat of a second honeymoon.
“When I was here for the opening, I was really impressed with the store staff and the fans. They really made me feel right at home. Most places I travel, I feel uptight because the people can be rude. But when I came to Niagara Falls, I got such a great impression and that’s unusual.
“That’s why I wanted to come back.”
One of his favourite pastimes was just walking around, meeting new people and seeing the sights.
“I love being in the ring from bell to bell,” Benoit said. “But at times, it is stressful and demanding. This part of my job is the really fun part.”
After the weekend’s events, his merchandise was being removed this week from the shelves at the Niagara Falls WWE store.
“We had very little inventory (of Benoit’s), but what was there we are taking off the shelf,” said Gary MacGregor, director of marketing with Canadian Niagara Hotels, which operates the souvenir shop.
“We just feel that it’s not appropriate – especially at this point – for kids to see that. Parents don’t want to talk about this to their children and we don’t want to force anything upon anybody.”
MacGregor stressed the Niagara Falls shop is not run by the WWE and should not be confused with the company’s corporate official website, which has also removed all of Benoit’s merchandise.
All searches pertaining to Benoit on WWE Shopzone’s website Wednesday came back “discontinued.” The company went as far as to remove his name from the descriptions of matches on DVDs.
“We are a retail souvenir store,” said MacGregor. “We sell wrestling souvenirs that are WWE branded. We are not WWE.”
MacGregor said Benoit’s handprints will be “taken down, or covered very shortly.”
Jon Hupcej, a 16-year-old Ohio resident was in Niagara Falls Wednesday. As a “big-time” wrestling fan, he stopped into the WWE store during the afternoon hoping to find some Benoit merchandise.
“I was told that all of Benoit’s merchandise was taken out,” he said, moments after having his picture taken by the wrestler’s handprints, realizing its time there was numbered.
“Whatever Benoit merchandise people were able to get before all this happened, (they) are pretty lucky. It’s going to be worth a lot of money down the road.”
rspiteri@nfreview.com
ID- 589255
© 2007 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, City Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
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I know what Chris Benoit did was horrible. How ever to remove his stuff from stores is wrong. I can see once you run out of it, that you won’t be able to get more. I just think it is wrong. I believe that the steriods he took is what caused him to murder his family and kill himself. I honestly believe if he wasn’t on them, that this killing would have not happened. I hope other share my beliefs.
Chad
Glendale, AZ
Comment by Chad — June 28, 2007 @ 2:48 pm