TPWW Forums - View Single Post - What if Benoit hadn't killed his wife and kid?

**Mr. Nerfect** · 11-04-2011, 09:05 PM

Assuming that the question is intended to ask us "What if Chris Benoit were still alive today and was not insane?" then I'd say he'd either be in the WWE as a trainer/producer, occasionally stepping into the ring for special occasions or he'd have wanted to stay full-time, and the WWE would have made the decision to let him go, because he was pushing himself too hard. Cue Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit in TNA for the World Heavyweight Championship.

But starting from where he left off, I'm pretty sure the plan would have been for Benoit to win the ECW Championship in the finals of that tournament with CM Punk, and then wrestle a series with the man to put him over as "the next guy." We may not have jumped right into John Morrison, and Johnny Nitro might have really benefited from having some great matches with Benoit. Fuck, ECW as a brand might have been looked at as something still watching if Benoit was constantly having great matches with CM Punk, Elijah Burke and Johnny Nitro.

Now, I'm sure they wouldn't have kept Benoit there for too long, but once he put over CM Punk and the ECW Championship as something still resembling a World Title, I think Benoit could have ended up back on RAW. I think it was about due that Benoit got some more time on that show, and I think an eventual heel turn would have been appropriate (to be honest, Benoit could have turned heel against CM Punk quite nicely, too). A heel Benoit tearing up people on RAW would have been pretty enjoyable. A feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship? A feud with Shawn Michaels?

Assuming that Benoit perhaps dropped the ECW Title to CM Punk at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 (instead of Kane squashing Chavo Guerrero), then you wouldn't have had Punk in Money in the Bank. Now, assuming that in this new universe, nothing was different, Jeff Hardy would have still gotten suspended when he did. That would have left guys like Johnny Nitro, Chris Jericho, MVP and perhaps someone who had really shone in matches in ECW with Chris Benoit, as possible MITB winners. That really could have created a new star right there. If MVP had won, say, then he'd have cashed in at some point and become a legit main eventer in the WWE, perhaps. He'd probably still be there today.

John Hennigan allegedly came up with "John Morrison" himself, so he would have still had that idea, and could have used Money in the Bank to completely re-invent himself and possibly feud with Benoit and Punk heading into the post-Mania section of 2008. Plus, Jericho's steam would have been dwindling as a babyface, and the heel turn re-invention of Jericho was probably going on in Jericho's head.

So, basically, this is a roundabout way of saying that I think Benoit would have made some main event stars in ECW in Punk and Morrison, and then he could have been drafted to RAW, where he and Chris Jericho could have formed a super-heel team. Instead of being drafted to SmackDown!, Triple H could have stayed on RAW, and we might have gotten a program between DX and Benoit & Jericho (which you know would have been fucking amazing).

11-04-2011, 09:05 PM	#21
Mr. Nerfect Posts: 61,634	Assuming that the question is intended to ask us "What if Chris Benoit were still alive today and was not insane?" then I'd say he'd either be in the WWE as a trainer/producer, occasionally stepping into the ring for special occasions or he'd have wanted to stay full-time, and the WWE would have made the decision to let him go, because he was pushing himself too hard. Cue Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit in TNA for the World Heavyweight Championship. But starting from where he left off, I'm pretty sure the plan would have been for Benoit to win the ECW Championship in the finals of that tournament with CM Punk, and then wrestle a series with the man to put him over as "the next guy." We may not have jumped right into John Morrison, and Johnny Nitro might have really benefited from having some great matches with Benoit. Fuck, ECW as a brand might have been looked at as something still watching if Benoit was constantly having great matches with CM Punk, Elijah Burke and Johnny Nitro. Now, I'm sure they wouldn't have kept Benoit there for too long, but once he put over CM Punk and the ECW Championship as something still resembling a World Title, I think Benoit could have ended up back on RAW. I think it was about due that Benoit got some more time on that show, and I think an eventual heel turn would have been appropriate (to be honest, Benoit could have turned heel against CM Punk quite nicely, too). A heel Benoit tearing up people on RAW would have been pretty enjoyable. A feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship? A feud with Shawn Michaels? Assuming that Benoit perhaps dropped the ECW Title to CM Punk at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 (instead of Kane squashing Chavo Guerrero), then you wouldn't have had Punk in Money in the Bank. Now, assuming that in this new universe, nothing was different, Jeff Hardy would have still gotten suspended when he did. That would have left guys like Johnny Nitro, Chris Jericho, MVP and perhaps someone who had really shone in matches in ECW with Chris Benoit, as possible MITB winners. That really could have created a new star right there. If MVP had won, say, then he'd have cashed in at some point and become a legit main eventer in the WWE, perhaps. He'd probably still be there today. John Hennigan allegedly came up with "John Morrison" himself, so he would have still had that idea, and could have used Money in the Bank to completely re-invent himself and possibly feud with Benoit and Punk heading into the post-Mania section of 2008. Plus, Jericho's steam would have been dwindling as a babyface, and the heel turn re-invention of Jericho was probably going on in Jericho's head. So, basically, this is a roundabout way of saying that I think Benoit would have made some main event stars in ECW in Punk and Morrison, and then he could have been drafted to RAW, where he and Chris Jericho could have formed a super-heel team. Instead of being drafted to SmackDown!, Triple H could have stayed on RAW, and we might have gotten a program between DX and Benoit & Jericho (which you know would have been fucking amazing).