Shawn Michaels

It's unbelievable. In the course of my career, I had been thankful for many things. I was thankful that my job brought me to my wife. I was thankful for the fans and their cheers, week in and week out. I was even thankful for the friends I had made and the friendships I had forged, having to travel long distances without my wife.

Now I had something else to add to the list. I was thankful that I was injured. Normally an injury that takes you out for more than a few weeks was not something the boys wished for or wanted to deal with. It was something to be lamented, and rehabbed as quickly as possible. The only goal was to get over it quickly and get your butt back into the limelight before the fans moved on and forgot about you.

This time my injury was a blessing in disguise. As much as I hated to have to finally have that knee surgery I had been putting off for month after month, I have to admit that being off the road is keeping me out of trouble.

I'll never forget that night when I heard the news a week ago. I had been sitting in my living room, watching Cameron and Cheyenne playing on the floor in front of me, coloring in their coloring books, arguing normally over who had the crayon that the other one wanted. It was a scene that I didn't mind watching and even made me smile.

I heard the phone ring and glance up to see Rebecca come out of the kitchen and pick up the cordless. She smiles at me and clicks the phone on before bringing it to her ear. After a minute or so, she starts to frown and walks over to me, looking quite puzzled. I cock my head and frown myself as she hands me the phone, saying simply, "It's Hunter and he doesn't sound good."

It was still over an hour from the time RAW was supposed to start. The only thing that comes to my mind is that something is going wrong with the 'Mr. McMahon is dead' storyline that they were supposed to be filming tonight. I thank my wife quietly and bring the phone to my ear as Rebecca leans down and tells the kids to pick up the crayons and get ready for bed.

"Hey, Hunter. What's up?" I ask.

When he speaks the first thing I notice is that his voice is a bit thick, like he had recently been crying. "Shawn. I didn't want you to find out any other way so I thought I'd give you a call myself."

I'm put on instant alert. "What's wrong? Is it Steph or the baby?" My mind races as I think of things that could possibly put him in this state.

"No. Steph and Aurora are okay. Well, the baby is. Steph's in the other room right now, trying to calm down." He states and I nod at my wife who now has the kids in the hallway. I wait until they are out of earshot. Whatever this was it wasn't good for little ears to hear.

"I'm alone, Trips. What's going on?" I question, hoping that it's nothing that I have to jump in the car for. I knew they were at Corpus Christi tonight. It wasn't that far away, but it was more than a drive that my leg would be ready for.

He sighs heavily. "It's Chris."

I frown. "Chris? Benoit?" I ask, wondering if he had possibly meant Jericho. Too many people in our business shared the same name. "I heard he missed the Pay Per View last night."

Hunter chokes back a sob and I can tell already that he's got a very thin grip on his emotions. His next words send my world into a tailspin. "Shawn, Chris and his family were found dead in their home just a few short hours ago."

Ice cold blood runs through my veins as I feel the world stop spinning. "What?" I wasn't sure if I had heard him correctly. "Benoit is dead?"

Hunter begins to cry as I hear his voice break. "Yeah, Shawn. He's gone. We don't have the full details yet, but Vince is doing a three hour tribute show tonight in his memory." He takes a shuddering breath and then tries to continue. "Vince cancelled RAW and his storyline."

I'm looking around the room for my crutches, leg brace and whatever else I would need to get in the car. It's a wonder I can think at all with the current state my mind was in. I bow my head and say a silent prayer for them before speaking into the phone. "I'll be right over, Hunter. You just sit put."

He takes another breath. "No, Shawn. I'll be okay. You stay put. I don't want you stressing your leg right now."

"It's no problem, Trips. You're just a few hours away." I reply quickly. "If you need me, I'm there, you know that."

He sighs. "I know. Really, I'll be okay. It's just so unexpected. I just wanted you to know before you saw the tribute show and were surprised."

I sigh heavily. "Yeah, that would have really knocked me for a loop. I appreciate you taking the time to call me." I tell him quietly.

"No problem, Bud. I have to go now, Shawn." He replies and his voice cracks again.

"I understand. Listen, if you need to call me back later, please don't hesitate to pick up the phone. I don't care if it's 3am in the morning. If you need to talk, I'm here, okay?" I state emphatically. "I mean it, Hunter."

"Thank you." He replies as he chokes up with barely held back emotion. "It takes something like this to make you realize just how much you take people for granted, y'know?"

"Yeah. I know. I think I'll go tell Becca just how much she means to me." I reply. "Take care, Trips. Don't be a stranger."

"Talk to you later, Shawn." He speaks softly. "You know I love you, right?"

"Love you too, Bud. You're closer than a brother to me." I tell him right back as I feel the grip I had on my emotions start to falter. "Give Steph and Aurora a hug from us."

"Will do. Bye, Shawn." He answers and hangs the phone up.

I click my phone off and stare at it disbelievingly. How could this have happened? Chris Benoit? Dead? I know I must have sat there for a good long while, as I am unaware of anything around me until I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Becca standing there, concern etched in every inch of her face.

Without a word I stand up and wrap my arms around her, pulling her to me and burying my head into her hair. Slowly and quietly I whisper in her ear what I had just been told. She comforts me when I break down and ends up holding me throughout the RAW tribute show.

A week later and numerous reports and I'm actually glad I had gotten injured. Now at least I was out of the limelight and not being harassed for interviews. It's good too, as I really didn't know what I could say. I thought I had known the man, pretty well too. Now I was just as lost and confused as everyone else.

I do not envy Hunter his early comeback. Right at a time when the WWE was looking pretty dark and Vince was being held accountable. I can only hope that my best friend brings a ray of sunlight with him on his return. Lord knew we needed it and the fans needed it, just to put this terrible tragedy behind us.