This is not an angle

Unfortunately for WWE, it has become too used to doing impromptu tribute shows on Raw for its stars who have died while actively with the company. Brian Pillman, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero and now, sadly, Chris Benoit.

This latest tragic story in the real world of pro wrestling thankfully did away with the silly "Mr. McMahon is dead" storyline that really pushed the limits of what today's wrestling fan will believe. Vince himself was in a middle of an empty ring to tell the viewing public about the death of Benoit and his family. Hopefully he's learned now not to walk too fine a line with angles, especially relating to death -- there is still a dose of reality in wrestling even if we know these guys are playing characters.

This tribute show was different than the other three mentioned above for obvious reasons. The other three wrestlers died the weekend before Monday Night Raw, with Pillman dying the day before a pay-per-view card, Hart killed during a PPV event. That gave the performers a chance to compose themselves and eventually set up some real "tribute" matches. (With that said, Benoit was supposed to be on Sunday's PPV card but no-showed due to a "family emergency.")

In the case of Benoit, the tragic news officially came about midafternoon Monday just hours before the show was to go on. The live show was canceled and a number of old Benoit matches were aired, introduced by the announcing crews for all three WWE shows (having all three brands represented because of the McMahon angle helped here) interspersed with messages from some of the current roster. It is worth noting that at least a couple of matches (ladder vs. Jericho; cage vs. JBL) had him losing. But Benoit was the type of guy who could put someone over without ruining his mojo. However, an old Japanese match in his Pegasus Kid gimmick vs. Jushin Liger was fun to watch. And it was really heartbreaking to see Benoit win the Wrestlemania XX main event and then celebrating with the now deceased Eddie Guerrero.

Unfortunately, Benoit isn't even close to being a rare breed of pro wrestlers to die young, although the circumstances beyond his death are so vastly different than Guerrero or other colleagues that his will really stick out for years to come. Let's hope many people (at least wrestling fans) will remember the Rabid Wolverine for his in-ring prowess than for whatever news will come out of his tragic end.