Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport

Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport or just Benoit is a 2007 non-fiction book co-written by sports journalists Heath McCoy, Greg Oliver, Steven Johnson and Irvin Muchnick about the Canadian professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his and his family's death by his own hands. It was the first book about the event and consisted of four essays about Benoit, his wife Nancy and their young son Daniel, their deaths and the aftermath of the murders; one by each author. The book was released by the Canadian publisher ECW Press in October 2007, only a few months after the events.

Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport
Cover
AuthorsHeath McCoy
Greg Oliver
Steven Johnson
Irvin Muchnick
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
SubjectProfessional wrestling, murder, suicide, concussion, steroids, death, journalism[1]
GenreBiography
Published2007
PublisherECW Press
Media typeHardcover and paperback
Pages180[2]
ISBN1550228129

Publication history

The book was released in October 2007 and include an introduction which is followed by four essays that each discuss the subject from a distinct perspective.[3][4][5][6]

  • The media's coverage of the story and the role of the media in the story itself is covered first by Steven Johnson, investigative reporter.[4][6] His essay was named "Roids, Reporters, and Rasslin': Anatomy of a Feeding Frenzy".[7]
  • Heath McCoy looks over the facts of the case and examines Benoit's Alberta wrestling roots in Stampede Wrestling with the Hart family.[4][6] His essay was titled "Stampede Days: A Crippler on the Rise".[7]
  • Irvin Muchnick gives his opinion on the pop-cultural relevance and the place of this tragedy in the history of professional wrestling.[4][6] His essay was named "Day of the Dead".[7]
  • Greg Oliver discusses the Benoit story in the context of the professional wrestling industry and personal correspondence with Benoit.[4][6]

To advertise the book Oliver went on Entertainment Tonight Canada and McCoy went on Live Audio Wrestling to be interviewed.[8]

Reception

Pre-orders of the book establish it as one of the 400 top-ranked sellers at Amazon Canada by September 26. Interest was mainly fueled by the two-part interview with co-author Greg Oliver the same week on the Canadian edition of Entertainment Tonight.[9] By May 2008 it was the number one book on Amazon.ca's wrestling category.[10]

Shaun Smith of Quill & Quire stated that Muchnick finished the book with a "gem", feeling that his segment assembled the facts but let the reader connect the dots.[11] Mike Jenkinson of SLAM! Wrestling expressed that he was leery when approaching the book, worrying that it would be a "rush job" but that it was far better than he expected it to be even with many faults.[12] Bryan Dykens of the Online World of Wrestling gave the book a score of 8/10 and expressed that the book told the story of the Benoit tragedy as straightforward as it had ever been told.[13] Patrick Hickey Jr. of Reviewfix felt that the book was a satisfying read by featuring "a near perfect blend of commentary, journalism and nostalgia" and that it is a quick read that any serious wrestling fan should take a look at.[14]

The book was nominated for Best Pro Wrestling Book at the 2008 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.[15][16]

References
  1. Cohen, Eric (September 26, 2017). "Benoit Family Double Murder-Suicide: A decade has not diminished the shadow the event casts over pro wrestling". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  2. "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport". Cagematch.net. CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  3. "More Benoit Books in the works". Wrestling News Source. July 30, 2007. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  4. "Canadian publisher announces the publication of Chris Benoit book". Newswire.ca. CNW Group. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  5. Cosh, George (August 1, 2007). "Book of essays under way on wrestler Chris Benoit". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  6. McEvoy, Dermot (July 25, 2007). "First Benoit Book Out from ECW in October". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  7. Dykens, Brad (October 2, 2007). "Press Release for new book about Benoit". OnlineWorldOfWrestling. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  8. Staff (September 24, 2007). "ARCHIVE 9/24/07: 'BENOIT' co-author Oliver on ET Canada". Concussion Inc. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  9. Staff (September 26, 2007). "ARCHIVE 9/26/07: BENOIT Ships; Huge Canadian Pre-Orders". Concussion Inc. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  10. Clark, Ryan (May 22, 2008). "Dateline NBC To Do Major Benoit/WWE Story, More Benoit News". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  11. Smith, Shaun (December 1, 2007). "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport". Quill & Quire. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  12. Jenkinson, Mike (October 19, 2007). "Quickie Benoit book hits -- and misses". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  13. Dykens, Brad (October 7, 2007). "BENOIT "Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport" Essays by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, & Greg Oliver". OnlineWorldOfWrestling. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  14. Hickey Jr., Patrick (August 3, 2010). "Wrasslin' Pundits Share Thoughts in 'Benoit'". Reviewfix. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  15. "411Mania".
  16. "canadianbulldog | Benoit". www.canadianbulldogsworld.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-11.
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