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I could never not watch Benoit, and I always had this "art from the artist" separation thing, but I don't think anyone can truly do that. People take their emotions with them into matches; and they take emotions out of them. The guys who suck as wrestlers are more likely to be perceived as backstage bullies and pricks, while the guys who deliver ****1/2 regularly must be outstanding guys. It's impossible to completely subconsciously wash the disappointment and tragedy of the Benoit story away from the great stories he told in the ring. I say this because even people who say that "Benoit was a great wrestler, but" tend to underrate just how fucking amazing the man was in the ring.
His in-ring charisma was so fantastic. This is coming from an era where outside the ring charisma was being equated to star power. Guys who could weld the two would find the most success, of course, but Chris Benoit -- that robot from Edmonton -- would not only carve out a niche in the wrestling industry as its top technician, but thrived as a true wrestling Superstar without ever delivering a good promo. That is the man's charisma. He earned the respect of the fans by working hard and living for wrestling. That he died for wrestling and lost them is a tragic irony that is often lost when reflecting on the work of the journeyman of professional wrestling.
One day I will go back and binge a lot of the stuff that made him the icon of smark style for the longest time. Angle/Benoit from the 2003 Royal Rumble stands out as one of my favorite matches of all-time. I don't watch it all the time, but I remember being amazing. This is where my smark engines kicked in and I realized what everybody was talking about when they said Benoit was the best wrestler in the world. It changed me as a wrestling fan. I remember Angle wearing a blue singlet and Benoit wearing the red pants, as silly as that sounds. I remember the crowd giving Benoit a standing ovation despite losing. This kicked off one of the greatest climbs to the top I can ever remember. There was no better babyface journey to the World Heavyweight Championship than Benoit failing to win it from Angle in 2003, but then winning the Royal Rumble despite Heyman's obstacles, jumping over to RAW and then winning the title from Triple H by making him tap out in Madison Square Garden. Holy fuck.
It's a shame he was booked pretty poorly as champion and was not the draw he'd ideally have been once his climb was completed. It's tempting to blame bad booking and a brand split that stopped any one man from being the man, but maybe Benoit was always a better challenger than champion? Whatever. Going back to SummerSlam 2004 -- the show where Randy Orton won the World Title from Benoit for the first time -- I always go back and fantasy book how they should have handled Orton after the World Title win. Truth be told, they probably should have put Benoit over in a great match -- maybe Benoit gets him in the Crippler Crossface and Orton doesn't tap? Maybe Orton doesn't tap so Benoit turns it into a roll-up for the pin? But Benoit walking out World Heavyweight Champion after actually working a main event might have been the best thing for everybody long term.
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