Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry

V., Matthew Randazzo

ISBN 10: 1597775797 / ISBN 13: 9781597775793

Published by Phoenix Books Inc, 2008

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry
• Publisher: Phoenix Books Inc
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1597775797
• ISBN 13: 9781597775793
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

In the notoriously crooked and exploitative world of professional wrestling, WWE legend Chris Benoit was supposed to be the exception. Chris was universally recognized as the best pro wrestling had to offer: a decent, humble, and devoted family man loved and admired by all who knew him. Nobody could have predicted the horrific events of June 22-24, 2007 when Chris strangled his wife and seven-year old son before committing suicide. RING OF HELL is the true story of Benoit's journey through the destructive, dysfunctional, and bizarre pro wrestling industry and the catastrophic physical and mental breakdown that led to his grisly end.

Reviews

In June of 2007, the professional wrestling community was rocked by the suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit, after murdering his wife and seven-year-old son. In this wide-ranging expose, crime reporter Randazzo demonstrates that, among professionals driven to incredible levels of steroid, drug and alcohol abuse, Benoit was not unique. Benoit spent years in Canada and Japan enduring training that bordered on the medieval, eagerly employing steroids to achieve the industry's standard physique. As his star rose, so did the injuries and the chemicals; Benoit's signature move, a flying headbutt, was responsible for countless concussions. Culminating in a 2001 spinal injury that left him at risk of permanent paralysis, Benoit, like many other wrestlers, treated himself with copious doses of painkillers before returning to work for more punishment. Combined with a crumbling marriage, Benoit's life became a perfect storm of mental and physical anguish; unfortunately, Randazzo's broad biographical strokes (he saves details for pivotal matches) and wide focus on the industry's evolution make Benoit little more than a minor character in his own story. Wrestling fans will savor the industry gossip, but those interested in the how and why of Benoit's tragic murder-suicide will be disappointed.
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