Synopses & Reviews
The Benoit murder-suicide in 2007 was one of the most shocking stories of the year, and a seminal event in the history of wrestling. It laid bare the devastating prevalence of steroids and its effects on users. In order to tackle the whole story, dig up the facts, and connect the dots, Irvin Muchnick gives the most sensational scandal in pro wrestling history the full true-crime treatment in Chris and Nancy. Muchnick the author of Wrestling Babylon and a co-author of Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport has parsed public records and interviewed dozens of witnesses, inside and outside wrestling, to put together the first thorough and authoritative events of the gruesome June 2007 weekend in Fayette County, Georgia, during which World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy and their seven-year-old son Daniel, before proceeding to kill himself. But this book goes beyond the crime itself to answer some of the most important questions behind it. The biography of Benoit, a wrestlers wrestler, makes it clear that his tragedy was a microcosm of the culture of drugs and death behind the scenes of one of North Americas most popular brand of sports entertainment. The author probes the story of the massive supplies of steroids and human growth hormone found in his home all prescribed by a doctor to the stars” who got indicted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and all dismissed by a WWE wellness policy” that promoted everything except its talents wellness. The Benoit case led to unprecedented scrutiny of wrestlings overall health and safety standards, by Congressional investigators and others, and this book is the primary source of what they found and what they should continue to look for. The ebook edition includes a new introduction that looks at recent events in sports, and further contextualizes the story of Chris Benoit and the figures surrounding his career.
Synopsis
Exploring the steroid-fueled world of professional wrestling, this riveting chronicle lays bare the devastating events that led to the 2007 murder-suicide of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son, Daniel. Benoit's performance-enhancing drug addiction—massive amounts of doctor-prescribed human growth hormone were found in Benoit's home—and subsequent suicide proved to be the tipping point for the professional wrestling world, resulting in unprecedented scrutiny of the sport's subpar health and safety standards. Using public records, dozen of interviews with those inside and outside of wrestling, and investigative results, this authoritative analysis provides an uncompromising look at the price athletes pay in this rough-and-tumble world. The ebook edition includes a new introduction that looks at recent events in sports, and further contextualizes the story of Chris Benoit and the figures surrounding his career
About the Author
"Irvin Muchnick is hell-bent on discovering the essence of the cover-ups. [H]e provides more details and more insights that ultimately increase frustrations, but at the same time, must be examined if you choose, like myself, to claim to be an informed fan of an industry that had its blissful ignorance torn to shreds." Wrestling Observer
"Incredible retelling of the tragic story . . . Highly recommended." Georgia Wrestling Online"The tragic events surrounding the Benoit murder-suicide calls out for greater scrutiny, and Muchnick painstakingly obliges." Alternative Weekly Network"A great read for anyone who cares about wrestling or is interested in true crime." Bookgasm.com
"An extremely well written account . . . the best book published on the subject to date. Trust me when I say there is a lot to be learned in reading this book." PW Mania