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Benoit Killings Rattle Boston Wrestling Community

by jmberger | July 13, 2007 at 08:16 am | 637 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

After the Chris Benoit killings hit the media, I set out to look at the impact of the story. Having watched Benoit for years, I was floored by the crime, and it occurred to me that it must be far worse for those who emulated his career. This story looks at that tragedy for the Boston Globe, through the eyes of local independent wrestlers.

Due to the mother of all scheduling snafus, the two sidebars I wrote for this story are not running on Boston.com. They are now publc on NowPublic.

Main Story:

Benoit Killings Rattle Local Wrestlers

Sidebars:

Chris Benoit -- Before The Killings, An Icon To Insiders

Drug Deaths Haunt Boston Pro Wrestling Scene

Beau Douglas got an early start in pro wrestling, training under local legend Walter "Killer" Kowalski while still a student at Somerville High School.

He was following the example of Chris Benoit, perhaps the single most influential figure in modern pro wrestling, who started training at age 18 and rose to become a world champion.

Throughout his 10 years in the industry, Douglas looked to Benoit as a role model and constant inspiration. But that's all over now.

"I'm always going to respect what he did as a performer," said Douglas. "But I can't respect him as a human being."