Memorial Show
I drove my car up the driveway of the Flair mansion. As I walked up to the door I thought of how things had gone the past few days. My conversation with Uncle Eddy had been helpful. But the one with Tatem hadn't gone well. Now I was about to see someone who my mother said my dad looked up to as a mentor and a second father. I was going to talk to Ric Flair.
Ric's in his late sixties now. When most of the roster left the WWE, Ric completely left the sport. I had met Ric many times growing up. Elizabeth, Beth, opened the door for me. "Hello Danny." She greeted. She stared at me for a few seconds before smiling. "You are the spitting image of your father. Come in. Ric's watching a movie with Shawna and Corey." Shawna and Corey are Ric's grandchildren.
I walked into the room. Ric was barely paying attention to Mighty Ducks 4. "Kids why don't you go watch that in another room. I need to talk to Danny." They both leave the room. "Have a seat Danny." I do so. "Would you like something to drink?" I shook my head. "What can I do for you?"
"I started training for wrestling a couple weeks ago. I want to follow in my father's footsteps." A pained expression appeared on Ric's face. I guess coming here was a good idea after all. Maybe he did have information. "My mother and sisters are against it."
"Understandable. Nancy and Tatem were in the front row that night. But then again, I guess no one was the same after that show. A few wrestlers completely left wrestling after that night."
"Why? I mean aside from the obvious. I read some really old stuff about after Owen's death no one left. No one even left WWE."
"Yes well I think it had to do with it being the fifth anniversary of Owen's death. Many wrestlers don't think that Goldberg breaking your father's neck was an accident. And then when Shane McMahon disappeared....well I think it just confirmed suspicions." Ric got up from his seat and walked up to his quite large video collection. "You might want to watch this. It's a video of the Chris Benoit Memorial Show. It might answer your questions better then I can. I think a lot of people were relieved that WWE didn't show clips of that match again."
"Thanks Ric. Do you know where Shane McMahon went?"
"No. I don't think anyone knows. He and his wife Marissa pretty much disappeared. There's speculation that Shane found something and it was big enough to make him want to get as far away from the sport as possible. No one's heard or seen him in years."
"Eddy Guerrero said something about it having nothing to do with my father."
Ric sat back in his chair and didn't say anything right away. "I don't know why he said that. Maybe he knows about this better then I do. But who knows? Eddy hasn't been the same since Chris died. Most people weren't. WWE nearly folded when the majority of the roster left. Vince had told everyone they could leave if they wanted. There was going to be a boycott of Smackdown. No one wanted to miss the Chris Benoit Tribute. I think it effected people differently because it was during a match and not as a stunt. It was Goldberg too. He had been known for really hurting other wrestlers. Goldberg served jail time for involuntary manslaughter. You have any other questions?" I shook my head. "You take care of yourself Danny. And good luck with the training." I shook his hand and showed myself out. That was informative.
I watched the video that night. The first image on the screen was a picture of my dad. It looked like this below the picture:
In Fond Memory
Chris Benoit
May 21 1967-May 23 2004
Then like the Owen tribute RAW, all of the wrestlers, commentators, McMahon's, referees, and backstage personnel were gathered ringside. My father got a ten-bell salute and they rolled a video tribute that had a picture of dad, mom, Tatem, and I the last time dad was home. The footage included stuff from Japan, Mexico, Stampede, ECW, WCW, and WWE. They played One Sweet Day by Boyz 2 Men and Mariah Carey through it. It was a really touching video. I cried through it. My dad had been world champion when he died so Vince even retired one of the titles. Dean Malenko even came out of retirement to team with Eddy Guerrero against Lance Storm and William Regal as the main event. Ric Flair also came out of retirement to wrestle Shane Douglas who was there for one night. There were other matches too. The interviews were good. Eddy, Dean, Ric, and Shane didn't make it through the whole interview without crying. It was the last show most of them would do for WWF.
I drove my car up the driveway of the Flair mansion. As I walked up to the door I thought of how things had gone the past few days. My conversation with Uncle Eddy had been helpful. But the one with Tatem hadn't gone well. Now I was about to see someone who my mother said my dad looked up to as a mentor and a second father. I was going to talk to Ric Flair.
Ric's in his late sixties now. When most of the roster left the WWE, Ric completely left the sport. I had met Ric many times growing up. Elizabeth, Beth, opened the door for me. "Hello Danny." She greeted. She stared at me for a few seconds before smiling. "You are the spitting image of your father. Come in. Ric's watching a movie with Shawna and Corey." Shawna and Corey are Ric's grandchildren.
I walked into the room. Ric was barely paying attention to Mighty Ducks 4. "Kids why don't you go watch that in another room. I need to talk to Danny." They both leave the room. "Have a seat Danny." I do so. "Would you like something to drink?" I shook my head. "What can I do for you?"
"I started training for wrestling a couple weeks ago. I want to follow in my father's footsteps." A pained expression appeared on Ric's face. I guess coming here was a good idea after all. Maybe he did have information. "My mother and sisters are against it."
"Understandable. Nancy and Tatem were in the front row that night. But then again, I guess no one was the same after that show. A few wrestlers completely left wrestling after that night."
"Why? I mean aside from the obvious. I read some really old stuff about after Owen's death no one left. No one even left WWE."
"Yes well I think it had to do with it being the fifth anniversary of Owen's death. Many wrestlers don't think that Goldberg breaking your father's neck was an accident. And then when Shane McMahon disappeared....well I think it just confirmed suspicions." Ric got up from his seat and walked up to his quite large video collection. "You might want to watch this. It's a video of the Chris Benoit Memorial Show. It might answer your questions better then I can. I think a lot of people were relieved that WWE didn't show clips of that match again."
"Thanks Ric. Do you know where Shane McMahon went?"
"No. I don't think anyone knows. He and his wife Marissa pretty much disappeared. There's speculation that Shane found something and it was big enough to make him want to get as far away from the sport as possible. No one's heard or seen him in years."
"Eddy Guerrero said something about it having nothing to do with my father."
Ric sat back in his chair and didn't say anything right away. "I don't know why he said that. Maybe he knows about this better then I do. But who knows? Eddy hasn't been the same since Chris died. Most people weren't. WWE nearly folded when the majority of the roster left. Vince had told everyone they could leave if they wanted. There was going to be a boycott of Smackdown. No one wanted to miss the Chris Benoit Tribute. I think it effected people differently because it was during a match and not as a stunt. It was Goldberg too. He had been known for really hurting other wrestlers. Goldberg served jail time for involuntary manslaughter. You have any other questions?" I shook my head. "You take care of yourself Danny. And good luck with the training." I shook his hand and showed myself out. That was informative.
I watched the video that night. The first image on the screen was a picture of my dad. It looked like this below the picture:
In Fond Memory
Chris Benoit
May 21 1967-May 23 2004
Then like the Owen tribute RAW, all of the wrestlers, commentators, McMahon's, referees, and backstage personnel were gathered ringside. My father got a ten-bell salute and they rolled a video tribute that had a picture of dad, mom, Tatem, and I the last time dad was home. The footage included stuff from Japan, Mexico, Stampede, ECW, WCW, and WWE. They played One Sweet Day by Boyz 2 Men and Mariah Carey through it. It was a really touching video. I cried through it. My dad had been world champion when he died so Vince even retired one of the titles. Dean Malenko even came out of retirement to team with Eddy Guerrero against Lance Storm and William Regal as the main event. Ric Flair also came out of retirement to wrestle Shane Douglas who was there for one night. There were other matches too. The interviews were good. Eddy, Dean, Ric, and Shane didn't make it through the whole interview without crying. It was the last show most of them would do for WWF.