Comments from Matt Hardy on the Benoit Tragedy
The following comes from Matt Hardy's MySpace Page:
My brief comments on this week's tragedy
Hello my friends. I hope all of you and your families are doing well. I wanted to post something based on all of the events that have taken place over the last few days. Many of you have sent me messages worrying about me and asking if I'm ok. Just so you know--I'm good, thanks for asking. I have quite a bit that I actually wanna discuss concerning the Benoit tragedy, the media's coverage of it, and what this means for the future of the business. If I am given the blessing of the powers that be in the WWE, I will write a very detailed, in-depth blog stating my unedited opinions. For now, I just wanted to address all of my friends, fans, and supporters with a summary of my feelings and thoughts.
I haven't always agreed with every decision Vince McMahon has made, but I do agree with everything he's done dealing with this situation thus far. Out of respect for the sudden death of Benoit's family and his contributions to the business, I think Vince did the right thing by canceling the scheduled Raw. When the decision was made to make Raw a Chris Benoit tribute show, the WWE was only doing what seemed respectful and right at that time. When more information was discovered, the WWE took a different and appropriate stance towards their programming. The ECW and Smackdown shows this week were dedicated to our great fans. Wrestling fans who were grieving and confused over this tragedy needed us, including me, to entertain them. I feel it is my responsibility, as well as my pleasure, to put smiles on people's faces and give them an escape from reality. I know Vince feels that way as well.
Chris Benoit was always kind, considerate, and professional when I interacted with him. Like everyone else, I was shocked when everything came out. I can't believe Chris Benoit and his wife and child are dead as I type this. As of now, all of the strange pieces of this puzzle haven't been put together yet. My thoughts and prayers go out to Benoit's other two children as well as the immediate family and friends of the deceased. More than anything, I feel terrible for little Daniel--he was as innocent as any human being could possibly be. This is a terrible and sad tragedy.
I am very disappointed with how many media outlets are lapping the entire population of professional wrestlers into this situation. There are many outstanding, wonderful people that do so many great things for the world that I work and wrestle with. It's not fair or accurate.
Tell the people you love that you love them, and never lose sight of what's really important in life. We may not ever understand why this tragedy happened, but we have to learn from it. Stay strong--life is too precious and too short. I have much more I want to say about the activities of the last few days. If it's appropriate, I definitely will. Be well my friends, I'll talk to you soon...
Quote of the day - "I won't let this build up inside of me" - Slipknot, Vermillion
Matt
