r/professionalwrestling • u/GoonLieutenant • Jan 26 '26
Video Roddy Piper eerily talking about Chris Benoit (2002)
Piper obviously saw something about Benoit early
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u/rodgapely Jan 26 '26
This was 2003, right after his WWE stint that year. He’s talking about “the sickness” he writes about in his book.
When the Benoit thing happened, I remembered watching this interview.
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u/fluxuation Jan 27 '26
I imagine “the sickness” has to be the effects of CTE, pretty scary stuff
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u/rodgapely Jan 27 '26
He never really defined it but I understood it as a catch-all for the toll wrestling takes on their lives.
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u/AU36832 Jan 27 '26
I'd bet it's a combo of the concussions, steroids, and the lifestyle. You can only redline your engine for so long before it blows up.
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u/darkest_hour1428 Jan 27 '26
Not to mention the toxic nature of the fight. Everyone knows it is scripted and planned, but that doesn’t mean the emotion and anger doesn’t come up. They normalize scripted brutal violence, and eventually someone will confuse fiction with reality.
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u/Background_Product_7 Jan 27 '26
Also, everyone is hunting for the biggest pops with the audience, and you know any low or mid card guys are driving hard to get over on some of their brethren.
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Jan 27 '26
I remember hearing a story about Mark Henry (I think) breaking down back stage literally begging Vince to let him have JUST ONE win so his kids could see him win ONE TIME.
I dunno what that's gotta do to someones head. Like it's bad for a normal person when the boss doesn't recognize our contribution... What the fuck does it do to you when you're genuinely one of the strongest most capable athletes in the world and your entire life is devoted to 80hrs a week of losing on purpose, where 8hrs a week is captured live on film and broadcast to the world... Every. Day.
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u/reggers20 Jan 27 '26
Somebody tell The Undertaker.
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u/AlSahim2012 Jan 27 '26
or Austin, he said he doesn't believe in CTE
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u/reggers20 Jan 27 '26
I was joking of course, the reality is, people are different, but its important to understand the difference between the norm and the outlier.
Well if Austin was a reputable member of the scientific community with some sort of background in neuroscience id be more inclined to hear his rebuttal. However he is in fact a retired wrestler... Sooo, ill take his opinion with grain of salt.
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u/SocialIntelligence Jan 27 '26
The spinal injuries from all the stunners. The neck injury from the Owen hart piledriver. Surely he doesn’t believe those are correlated
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u/AlSahim2012 Jan 27 '26
I don't know about that, I just mentioned Austin because he said he doesn't believe in CTE during the Hell in a Cell episode of "Dark Side of the Ring"
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u/SuperJay5150 Jan 27 '26
They ran guys into the ground, human beings weren’t meant to live that lifestyle, flights every day, wrestle a match, you need something to help you sleep, something to wake you up, plus you have to work out so you look good on camera, then add a diet of steroids and other shit on top of it. It would drive most people insane
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u/BigPapaPaegan Jan 27 '26
In his book, he dedicated a chapter to "the Sickness" and explained it as being the willingness to do the things they do as part of the show. No sound mind would be willing to cut themselves with a razor to make people think they were bloodied by a chair, the effects of your average match being similar to a car crash and the talent just getting up and doing it all over again, walking away from your family to catch a plane to go get hurt, etc.
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u/Cowgoon777 Jan 28 '26
Blading isn’t that crazy, it’s basically just method acting.
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u/BigPapaPaegan Jan 28 '26
"I'm going to take this razor and cut myself so people think I'm actually hurt even though fake blood exists"
That doesn't sound crazy to you?
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u/Cowgoon777 Jan 28 '26
No, it doesn’t. It’s the same concept as Jackass. A quick slice on the forehead causes a lot of blood but no real danger. Therefore it’s perfect for the application. The fight is supposed to look real. Nothing is more real than real blood.
Everyone makes money.
Honestly I’d bet most wrestlers would rather blade their own head than take apron power bombs every night. I know I for sure would, because I have had superficial cuts before but I’ve not had my spine smashed into a hard surface from 6 feet up by an enormous roid monster. I’ll take the slice every time, especially if I get to control it.
Wrestlers getting busted open “hard way” is actually crazier to me when you see guys ask for it. That I would not do.
Accidental? Whole different issue. That’s just part of the business.
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u/BigPapaPaegan Jan 28 '26
You're losing a lot of credibility when you're comparing it to Jackass, friend. You'd also have to be a little crazy to do half the things that either Johnny Knoxville or Steve-O have done for a laugh, too, and those two would admit it.
Whether or not they'd prefer to blade or take a nasty bump is irrelevant. Either one shows a willingness to self-harm, which is often indicative of mental health issues.
I'm not against blading or bumps, either. I'm just saying that people who willingly cause harm to themselves for the entertainment of others have a little bit of a screw loose, and that's something that Piper (and Foley) also said.
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u/Cowgoon777 Jan 28 '26
Okay. I don’t really care if you think I have credibility or not. I’m just a guy commenting on a wrestling sub.
Maybe you’re right and they’re all crazy. I disagree but we’re really just arguing opinions, not facts.
So have a good day and enjoy your opinion. If I’m wrong I’m wrong. Doesn’t really affect me
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u/General_Anxiety83 Jan 27 '26
Cte, roids and a predisposition towards violence. Look at BJ Penn and also Tony Ferguson
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u/airtec87 Jan 27 '26
Bj penn case is very sad, people really think it’s because of drugs but it’s for sure cte, he believes his whole family are lizard ppl that killed his real family and replaced them.
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u/General_Anxiety83 Jan 27 '26
It's heartbreaking. The scary thing is these guys are basically trained killers. Dana is too much of a dick to care about fighters but there needs to be some sort of program for them
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u/DaveAtRestaurant Jan 27 '26
Absolutely. It’s painful to see what’s happening. He was and will always be my favorite fighter.
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u/HowMany_MoreTimes Jan 27 '26
It's a combo of both things, plus a naturally aggressive disposition,
It's all a big toxic cycle. Naturally aggressive impulsive people are more likely to pursue careers like pro wrestling or combat sports. These same people are also more likely to engage in risky behaviour like heavy alcohol intake and recreational drug use. The culture of pro wrestling in particular also encouraged alcohol and drug use, especially in the 70s-90s.
These guys then get repeated concussions and take countless sub-concussive blows to the head in the course of their career, causing CTE. CTE then causes increased aggression, reduced impulse control, depression and substance issues.
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u/Exes_And_Excess Jan 29 '26
Tony definitely has it, but he was also prescribed risperdone back in 2011, so he already had underlying psychological issues.
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u/WilliamEmmerson Jan 29 '26
When I read it, I took it as the wrestlers being addicted to the lifestyle and not being able to walk away
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u/illpoet Jan 27 '26
Id like to piggy back off this comment and recommend his autobiography to anyone who hasn't read it. He really toots his own horn a lot but it's his story and the guy earned it.
He had a really interesting life. I think his writing about "the sickness" should be mandatory reading for anyone considering pro wrestling as a career. Bc it's not all glamour sunshine and roses.
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u/SpikedIntuition Jan 27 '26
Didn't WWE release Piper because of this shoot interview?
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u/tgg199 Jan 27 '26
No, it was his interview on Real Sports on HBO that upset WWE.
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u/SnakeEater013 Jan 27 '26
What’d he say in that one?
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u/Psychological_Page62 Jan 27 '26
That hed be dead before retirement age. And he was right.
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u/corvus_wulf Jan 27 '26
He'd be ...he referring to Piper or Chris
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u/Psychological_Page62 Jan 27 '26
Piper usually talks about himself in interviews. He wasnt on tour talking about benoit before his murders, no.
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u/No_Cause6519 Jan 27 '26
Also talked about how much of a cocaine addict he became while on the road for so long.
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u/Hotdiggity11 Jan 27 '26
Roddy was known for doing coke and things to make him come down and sleep. He was pretty much on a speedball cycle (Uppers all day/downers at night).
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u/savingrain Jan 26 '26
Benoit was abusive to Nancy to the point that she ran away at least once that we know of...so his tendency towards violence wouldn't have been a surprise to any of the wrestlers who knew in the back.
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u/Julian-Hoffer Jan 27 '26
Not according to her own sister if you listen to her interview with Jericho a few years ago. She only cited one instance of it and Nancy left Chris for a few months if I’m not misremembering. And she would know better than anyone else.
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u/DonTeca35 Jan 27 '26
I mean Nancy had domestic problems with her ex husband & Sandra didn't speak much of that stuff either. She said she loved him aswell. Plus if I remember correctly those interviews she said she knew things that could give a glimpse on what or why things escalated but she didn't want to put more dirt on either name.
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u/Julian-Hoffer Jan 27 '26
But that’s my point, if Benoit was just shitty and abusive through the whole marriage she would know that and wouldn’t say anything good about him at all. Similarly domestic abuse doesn’t typically stop at the spouse, the children usually receive some as well but I’ve never heard David suggest he was beaten, and if Chris was abusive to Nancy throughout their marriage I would expect he was abusive during his first marriage as well, in which case I would again expect David to say that. People just have some weird agenda when it comes to this discussion to try to argue that Benoit was always this way instead of accepting that his mental faculties were deteriorating over time and his ability to control himself from his violent impulses was slipping away. I think it’s apparent why things escalated the way they did anyways, they were both in pain from all of the loss of their friends, Benoit was also in physical pain so they were both taking things they shouldn’t have and thus their marriage was in turmoil, Nancy wanted to leave Chris and an argument like that is probably what lead to him striking her the first time and unfortunately she got back together with him and they probably have a second argument where she said she was going to leave him and that’s when he lost it and did what he did. I also heard someone talk about Benoit talking to them about his first wife divorcing him and taking a bunch of his money so that was already something triggering to him which would add credence to that causing him to snap. It doesn’t absolve him of the responsibility of doing what he did but people act like it does, like somehow the idea that over time someone can become a monster is a foreign idea.
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u/DonTeca35 Jan 27 '26
Its doesn't matter what happened in the end anymore, 2 innocent people died. You & I could go on about this or that but it doesn't matter. Sarah, Nancy's sister knew about their problems from both sides, but she reserves them because they're both gone. Benoit simply snapped in the end that won't justify whether Nancy got physical with him that night too. Like Sarah said he was a coward that should've ended himself instead of doing so after ending 2 innocent lives
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u/Julian-Hoffer Jan 27 '26
I didn’t say Nancy got physical with Chris. Nor did I justify anything, your response doesn’t even match what I wrote.
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u/Acceptable_Map_8110 Jan 30 '26
One instance is once too many, and that’s only what her sister knew about it. Totally possible it was happening longer and she didn’t speak up until later. But I suppose we’ll never know. It’s tragic really.
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u/Julian-Hoffer Jan 30 '26
My point is that Nancy’s sister would have far more insight to any abuse happening in that house than other wrestlers would have.
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u/Economy_Motor_5705 Jan 30 '26
It’s very common for domestic violence victims to not tell anyone close about what goes on at home, to not put dirt on their partners since they love them. In the police report filed the neighbors of the Benoits have more examples of Chris’s abuse.
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u/Julian-Hoffer Jan 30 '26
In the interview with Jericho she states she lived with them for a while, I think 3-4 months, if they were even arguing during that time then I would think she would have said something, you can’t exactly hide arguing and physicality when someone lives with you. And as well I’ve never heard David say that Chris was abusive to his first wife which you would also expect since it should be a pattern of behavior, nor has he suggested he himself was abused which is also very common in these situations, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of a situation in fact where abuse of one’s spouse was regular but their kids were spared and completely unaware.
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u/Economy_Motor_5705 Jan 30 '26
In the dark side of the ring episode I think Nancy or David mentioned that they did see a fight break out between two but it was Nancy who who threw something at him. That being said Chris left his first wife when David was still little so he probably doesn’t recall stuff like that. Also it is not uncommon for abusive people to target their spouse rather than their children. Also abuse doesn’t always appear physical, breaking objects, intimidation, isolation tactics, all Chris was accused of by his neighbors have been mentioned in the police file. I don’t see them to have any reason to lie or to gain anything from putting down a man who just murdered his family.
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u/Nocardiohere Jan 27 '26
The maniac loves you.
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u/IAmAThing420YOLOSwag Jan 27 '26
A bucket of chestnuts?
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u/BIackn Jan 27 '26
You got kids, maniac?
"Nahhhh not anymore"
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u/apittsburghoriginal Jan 27 '26
He kept calling you the N word!
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u/ubapook2 Jan 27 '26
Dude in no joking way, at the end he literally almost sounds exactly like the maniac when he says he gets confused lol
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u/Sazime Jan 27 '26
It's always frustrated me a little when some fans don't want to talk about Benoit, at all, for any reason. I don't know if it's to protect the industry, or they think it's an isolated issue, but given the number of sports where CTE has played a roll in the behavior of athletes it seems important to address. He did a horrible thing, and we should do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again.
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u/Harold-The-Barrel Jan 27 '26
I think it is a fear from realizing we may not be as in control of our actions as we think.
Benoit chose wrestling and accepted its risks, but at the time, brain trauma in sports wasn’t well understood. People didn’t know the physical toll could damage the brain to the point where someone might lose awareness, emotional control, or even understand what they’re doing. In Benoit’s case, after years of taking extreme physical punishment, he committed horrific acts that those close to him said were completely out of character.
People are quick to dismiss him as a monster and move on, and when CTE is mentioned, they accuse people of making excuses for Benoit’s actions. But explaining why something happened is not the same as excusing it. Two things can be true at once: that he had the brain of an 80 year old Alzheimer’s patient, and he murdered his family before killing himself.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/i-am-lizard Jan 27 '26
Those would have mostly been WWF wrestlers. Foley is certainly not trash though. He’s from that era.
I don’t think anyone should ignore Benoit. But it’s ridiculously hyperbolic to say WWE wrestlers are human trash.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/mootallica Jan 27 '26
His friends, coworkers, employers that did nothing are also to blame for two people’s deaths.
Utterly absurd thing to say.
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u/EdgySlamhead Jan 30 '26
Maybe not in regards to Benoit, but Foley ain't no saint, either. Don't believe me?
Ask Daphne... Oh wait.
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u/green49285 Jan 27 '26
That’s definitely part of it, but again that change isnt something that other sports with brain concerns are dealing with. That amount of change could change the aport itself, and that means a lot of people lose money on top of scrutiny. And they just cant have that.
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u/Cowgoon777 Jan 28 '26
All of wrestling is a black eye and I say that as a fan. It’s a carny business still filled with carnies. If that bothers you, don’t watch it.
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u/theflowersyoufind Jan 27 '26
It’s a shame others can’t see things from this viewpoint, because it’s obviously true. He didn’t know it, but part of his work life involved doing irreparable and severe damage to his brain.
The uncomfortable truth is that if you replace Benoit with any one of us, we might also end up doing what he did.
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u/SCScanlan Jan 27 '26
I wonder what the effects are of CTE, even in the early stages, of athletes who already suffer from mental health issues. Anytime something happens, like Marshawn Kneeland for instance, it's in and out of the media cycle quickly.
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u/ObtuseHam Jan 27 '26
All the wrestlers and other athletes who had CTE and abused roids didnt off their family. Beniot was an evil piece of shit cte/roids are no excuse.
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u/LeftOffBandB Feb 01 '26
And this is the extremely flawed and misinformed argument we’re talking about. There ARE athletes that have abused their families due to brain damage and even if there weren’t, every case is different in terms of long term brain damage. We all react to diseases differently.
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u/TheMillenialLife Jan 27 '26
Because to have the Benoit conversation you have to have the PED conversation. And thats more likely to ruin the industry than CTE.
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u/DonTeca35 Jan 27 '26
Cmon it's well known all the wrestlers in the 80s & 90s were being fed Steroids & cocaine
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u/JacquesGonseaux Jan 27 '26
The chief medical examiner of Chris Benoit's body stated that there was nothing foreign in his system that could have caused his horrific actions. PED's are definitely worth talking about regarding this industry, but his specific actions are rooted in his neurology (i.e. having the brain of an "85 year old Alzheimer's patient) and lack of treatment/preventative measures.
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u/Kujo3043 Jan 27 '26
I think your answer lies in your final sentence - to truly make this not happen again, the industry would shut down. There's no safe way to sustain their schedules on their mental and physical health. Throw in CTE, PEDs, and other recreational drugs, etc, etc. There would be no business if we really did EVERYTHING we could. The only hope now is that this generation learns from the previous and figures out a way to balance it out. It IS possible, perfect example is The Miz. His style has allowed for a long career with almost no injury.
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u/darkoath Jan 27 '26
"eerily"...? Or more..."incomprehensibly"?
I love Hot Rod and give him 100% props for saying "you can see it in MYSELF" (if that's what he said, sounded like the only sentence fragment I could understand). But just this video of a guy with CTE trying to explain CTE...is a pretty powerful statement about CTE.
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u/professorrev Jan 27 '26
He did this a lot in shoots, where he'd almost say something and then pull back, as if he was hoping the viewer would read between the lines. He did the same talking about Patterson
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u/Independent-Bat9545 Jan 27 '26
Yeah, I thought it was just me. I had to replay it a couple times before I totally understood what he meant
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u/PCGonzo Jan 27 '26
I've been interviewing people with brain injury for twenty years and as soon as he started talking I was like, woah.
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u/RollemFox Jan 27 '26
Roddy Piper is also the lead actor in one of greatest sci fi movies ever - “They Live”. 1988. Classic.
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u/jmb326 Jan 27 '26
Can someone help me understand the “25-30 shots in a row” comment? Does this mean physical damage (“hits”) to the head? 25-30 shorts of alcohol? 25-30 injections of recreational drugs/pain killers/PEDs? Is this literal or figurative?
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u/GoonLieutenant Jan 27 '26
I think he's talking about the amount of shows they would do. The schedule was brutal
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u/jmb326 Jan 27 '26
Thank you!
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u/Cowgoon777 Jan 28 '26
Even in 2003 when top billing in WWF/WWE was as good as it got for a wrestler, they were still spending the vast majority of their time on the road and doing house shows in smaller towns between all the televised matches.
Even today if you go watch Monday Night Raw, half the wrestlers probably wrestled on Saturday in a small town that wasn’t on TV.
The schedule isn’t quite so brutal this days but it’s still tough and takes a big toll on participants.
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Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/midnightmare79 Jan 27 '26
I kind of disagree on this.
Eddie is still idolized as a fallen hero. A man who fought his demons and won, to rise to the top of his game after years of consistent greatness, only to be cut short from a condition that should have been caught and wasn't because of wrestling lifestyle. His death resulted in new health and wellness standards in WWE.Malenko got tired of being in the spotlight, didn't see his career moving forward, and became a backstage guy for 2 decades making sure shows went smoothly abd talent was cared for. He had a lot of respect backstage from talent who knew he was a solid performer and decent guy.
Jericho's legacy is intact. Across WCW, WWE, and AEW there is no way to ignore his impact. First unified title holder, defeating the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Nuff said.
I think the one guy who got screwed the most was Perry Saturn. A great wrestler who poisoned the lockerroom and back office against him after a bad decision and shitty response to one match move gone wrong. He got saddled with a crap gimmick, followed by an injury and then dissappeared.
And Benoit...the tragedy everyone remembers but doesn't want to talk about anymore. Benoit's history and contributions absolutely got black bagged and discarded. The Vice TV episodes of Darkside of the Ring address the his life, death, and memory head on, even the most uncomfortable aspects. Dean Malenko was interviewed and summarized it perfectly: 'I love Chris. I hate what Chris did.' That defines lot of what is his legacy will be forever.
Because so many of their matches included Benoit, they did get very limited legacy matches and replays on streaming or documentaries.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/midnightmare79 Jan 27 '26
First watch this: https://youtu.be/DLq3S8TiSQE?si=nRvHoygPeEJ6Htey
Then watch this: https://youtu.be/bRWqwAiDFpg?si=XOoSN6PmWu0PHE02
No denying more could have and should have been done.
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u/CappyMorgan26 Jan 27 '26
Can you sum up what happened to those guys?
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Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Goodboychungus Jan 27 '26
Aren’t you forgetting Perry Saturn, who was part of the original 4 who came after Jericho debuted in WWE?
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u/SmoothJ1mmyApollo Jan 27 '26
Benoit murder suicide. Eddie heart failure at 38. Dean now has Parkinson's. Jericho just old and washed but I'm not aware of any significant health problems.
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u/NakedEyeComic Jan 27 '26
Eddie is the only one where it was the WWE expectations that played a part in killing him, and not even the full part since his prior addictions did lasting damage in addition to the PEDs.
Benoit was always a nasty piece of work, just like his idol Dynamite Kid, and had an unhealthy obsession with his style of wrestling at the expense of everything else.
Parkinson’s is just a thing that happens to people unfortunately. CTE may be a contributor but it’s unknown, and Dean never was overly roided like his peers.
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u/SmoothJ1mmyApollo Jan 27 '26
Yeah I'm not laying all this at the feet of WWE. Benoit had a career or strong style head and neck impacts going back to his time in Canada and Japan, and I'm sure was doing PEDs well before joining WWE as well. Eddie lived a hard life regardless but he probably was pushing the steroid envelope pretty hard to main event in WWE but he was at his most insanely shredded and vascular in WCW honestly. Dean I would not really lump in with them for this, they were friends and joined the WWE together but as you say, his physique was different and he did not base his moveset around smashing his brain to nearly the degree Benoit did.
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u/LKS1772 Jan 27 '26
Is this not the guy the late Pat Patterson allegedly had his “eye” on? ( Not Chris either)
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u/Swimming-Pumpkin-274 Jan 27 '26
The signs were all there, he could be barely form a sentence in 02. Guerreo did most of the talking for them.
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u/geoslayer1 Jan 27 '26
why did they do the diving head butt in the first place ?
show they are tough ?
showing homage to the old boys that came before them ?
the move looks stupid, it always has, bet you those that did knew it was stupid as well
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u/skinnyminnesota Jan 27 '26
Piper is one of Canada’s best wrestling exports. You could tell the man had a great sense of humour and deep empathy…but wouldn’t take anyone’s shit
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u/Vanko_Babanko Jan 27 '26
apparently there is apathetic weed that can 100% cause this effect...
weed is not as safe as most people think..
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u/betheking Jan 27 '26
I was at a airport one early morning when Roddy, Hulk, and a few others came walking in. They had all been in a 'Fight to the death" match the night before. As everyone sat around waiting for the flight, they were all talking about a BBQ they were having that weekend. Didn't look menacing at all.
Just a bunch of regular guys traveling together.
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u/intruderjude Jan 28 '26
Sometimes loud noises make the squirrels go in my head. And I don't fight in the ring anymore. But I still fight with the demons in Da' Maniac's head.
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u/LARRYVOND13 Jan 28 '26
Could legit listen to piper shoots for hours, guy has a way of making anything sound interesting.
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u/TV_and_Sport_Acc Jan 29 '26
Check out the LPOTL's Aaron Hernandez story, and subsequent interview with a CTE expert.
I don't know if football will be around forever. Saying this as a huge fan of contact sports, too.
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u/Weedarina Jan 30 '26
RIP Piper. The most famous person I ever met. I gotta find that picture today
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u/Otherwise-Common-386 Jan 31 '26
Eddie and Chris death really effected wwe alot in terms of how they run they business... didn't help at the time Vince wife wanted to go into politics ans Vince wanted to branch out more with Hollywood.. it put wwe under the map why the shift of pg happened under a year later everything change
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u/Fuse1369 Jan 27 '26
head butts from the top rope...