Book Review: Ring of Hell

By Rick Morris

When legendary pro wrestler Chris Benoit brutally massacred his family and then killed himself, many people, myself included, struggled to reconcile what we knew of this man, what we thought we knew and the horror that he ended up perpetrating. It all seemed so contradictory, the details of the different sides so disparate, that so many of us became reconciled to never knowing the full picture about what could have brought this family tragedy to reality. But author Matthew Randazzo V's shocking new book "Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry" does what I never thought possible: it takes the many seemingly disconnected threads of this man's life and weaves together a coherent whole that leads inexorably and sadly toward the blood-soaked weekend at the Benoit estate last summer.

[SIDE NOTE: I am very proud of my objectivity, and have displayed it here repeatedly by criticizing institutions that I love when justified, such as the Detroit Red Wings and the Cleveland Indians. But when I found out about this book in the last week, I knew that I would feel a need to read it and subsequently review it here and I feared that I could not be fully objective. Years ago, Mr. Randazzo and I used to visit some of the same industry forums, he largely as a poster, me largely as a lurker, but my memories of him were not fond ones. I'll not elaborate except to say that I found his forum persona overbearing and off-putting. In fairness, he was clearly a great and gifted writer and many talented creative types can come off that way. Additionally, as I've tried to familiarize myself with some of his other work this past week, I found some writing that puts his political views at great variance with my own -- and profound political differences have always been a threat to my potential for objectivity. Additionally, any writer who sees another get a book deal before him and does not feel at least a slight twinge probably doesn't have any professional pride. So, given my sometimes-overwrought potential for self-criticism, I was scared that if the book dissatisfied me that I'd be questioning myself about my real reasons for writing a bad review. Fortunately, as the next sentence will indicate, any qualms I had about anything I would write would prove to be badly misguided.]

This book is, quite simply, the best one in the genre of pro wrestling books that dates back almost a full decade.

Randazzo connects the dots in a manner that should perhaps have been more obvious to us, but was not at all. Chris Benoit's professional personality and private demons were not contradictory halves of a disconnected whole. His obsessive dedication to the business, his need to be perfect in his role as a pro grappler: these were SYMPTOMS of his overall crumbling psyche. In short, his madness was in plain sight the whole time, disguised as politeness with fans or hard work in the ring or any of the other aspects of his persona that made him appear to so many of us as the real (with apologies to Curt Hennig) "Mr. Perfect."

The link at the top of this review leads to a column from February in which I reviewed my thoughts at the time of the tragedy. Along with many others in the SportsTalkNetwork.com family, I posted repeatedly the night the murder-suicide was made public and in the days that followed. Chris Benoit was my favorite wrestler. In my column, I reprinted my posts in full even as I noted that they made me cringe by how naive I looked -- but I was grasping for a more full understanding as to how I and so many others were duped into thinking this man was personally as well as professionally great. On our FDH Lounge Internet TV show last summer, we reunited our friends Ryan Ward and Kyle Ross from the legendary smart mark show SUNDAY NIGHT SUBMISSION to help make sense of the matter. We couldn't. I admit that I saw Benoit as a professional role model, a symbol of persistence who proved that you could make it to the top of any industry with an unshakable work ethic. I came to the obvious conclusion that we never really knew him at all, but like everyone else I couldn't reconcile the pieces that didn't seem to fit.

Through his meticulous research, Randazzo managed to put them together. Benoit's entire life was a pathetic journey that led up to that infamous weekend in the Atlanta exurbs. A wiry and introverted Western Canadian boy, he took his first real meaning in life from watching his hero the Dynamite Kid compete in Stampede Wrestling. Kid, whose real name was Tom Billington, was perhaps the greatest technical pro wrestler of all time, and Benoit worshiped him. In ways that would seem funny if they didn't end up being so disturbing, Benoit was almost a precursor to "'Net smart marks" of today like myself with his strong appreciation for workrate. Benoit pumped himself full of steroids and other unhealthy growth substances and chased a pro career that began in the Stampede territory, led to a training stint with New Japan (more on that below) and then a triumphant return to Stampede (where he got to rub elbows with his ultimate hero professionally) before his early '90s tenure in Japan and Mexico led to the ECW/WCW/WWE sequence that defines him in the minds of most fans.

This book contains a plethora of amazing revelations about Benoit and so many of the surrounding characters on his road to infamy. Now, I have been queried by my friend, FDH Lounge Dignitary and SportsTalkNetwork.com President Paul Belfi whether I believe every last story I read in the book. The answer is of course no; this is an industry built on constantly working everyone else at all times, even when there is no apparent advantage to doing so. But I believe the vast majority of them and even the ones that are more questionable do add valuable color.

Case in point: an unnamed source, a WWE wrestler in the company in 1995, told Randazzo that HHH confided in him upon coming into the company, "I don't care what I have to do, but I'm going to run this place." Cue the "Mwhahahahahahaahaha" and twirling of villainous handlebar mustache. I don't blame Randazzo at all for putting this story in the book, but I'm dubious that he was told the truth. HHH was coming off a lower-middle-card stint in WCW and was in all likelihood just happy to have a better job at the time. The notion that he could have been Machiavellian and prescient enough to know then that he'd end up one day with the keys to the kingdom? Believe it if you want to.

But again, I do believe the vast majority of the stories in the book and there is an equal mix of on-the-record and off-the-record quotes in there. I've read some online reviews that objected to his use of materials such as shoot interview tapes for sourcing, but I have no problem with that as they are quotes on the public record.

I want to provide some flavor of what's in the book without giving away anything that might be deemed excessive by the lawyers over at Phoenix Books, so here's a list of generalities in terms of the most sensational materials:

^ Vince McMahon's 2004 mandate about the minimum size of new wrestlers being hired
^ The unparalleled con job Fidel Castro pulled on Antonio Inoki -- it's beyond anything you could imagine
^ What the Dynamite Kid did to his opponents while they were blading themselves
^ What the Dynamite Kid did right before his own wedding
^ How Stampede wrestlers might "rib" each other -- I'd call it committing felonies, personally
^ The hazing techniques of the New Japan dojo: banana rape, golden showers and drinking your own, uh, fluids, among others
^ The mob contract that drove the British Bulldogs out of the WWF
^ Horrible one-sided WWF contracts
^ The yakuza's methods of dealing with Big Van Vader
^ Ole Anderson's "scientific method" for proving Benoit was too small to make it in wrestling
^ Benoit's psychological pain about the incident that gave him the "Crippler" nickname
^ More legendary Paul Heyman con jobs
^ The never-told-before details on how Kevin Sullivan inadvertently sabotaged his own marriage with a storyline -- what's on the public record is only the tip of the iceberg
^ Sullivan's other behind-the-scenes shenanigans
^ Nancy Benoit's own oddities
^ Two incidents between Scott Hall and Benoit that were remarkable
^ Ric Flair and Arn Anderson road stories
^ The never-before-told story about the equipment that failed Owen Hart in Kansas City that tragic night -- and why it did
^ Vince Russo's aborted kid-toucher storyline
^ How Benoit would have mutilated himself on live television had WCW not released him in 2000
^ The extent to which the Radicalz screwed Shane Douglas
^ How the McMahons don't even let funerals get in the way of conducting business
^ The rib on Billy Jack Haynes that almost led to him murdering Vince McMahon
^ What led Scott Hall to think McMahon was the devil incarnate
^ Chyna and Eddy Guerrero -- why two drug abusers working together might have deepened both addictions
^ More behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Vince, Stephanie, HHH and their toadies than you can shake a stick at -- including stories of racism far beyond what got Michael Hayes recently suspended
^ Writer Dave Lagana's alleged sexual harassment of male and female wrestlers
^ How Benoit willingly kept wrestling, in reckless style no less, on a broken neck in 2001
^ Benoit's sense of torture at being on the sidelines due to injury in 2001-2002
^ How only top stars in WWE are allowed to use company trainers and physical therapists
^ Benoit's ultimate moment of triumph in 2004 -- undermined from the outset
^ Benoit's psychological collapse at the time of Eddy's passing
^ Nancy Benoit's "paper trail" -- the manner in which she chronicled through various means her husband's mental deterioration
^ How Vince's version of the Benoit tribute show was the result of him being boxed in by his own ego -- he felt that he had to proceed a certain route based on "the show goes on" with the Owen tragedy and the fact that he destroyed the "standard tribute show" in the "Vince got murdered" storyline
^ Evidence that Benoit was clutching at straws that God would somehow bring his son back to life before he hung himself from his weight bench
^ The chronology of the final tragic weekend

Some online reviews I've read find Randazzo's writing style to be distracting at best and counterproductive at worst. It's a matter of personal taste, so I'm not going to pronounce anyone wrong for their opinion, but I disagree. Randazzo has a strong and distinctive pattern of writing and it shows up constantly (i.e. touches such as referring to Benoit and Bret Hart in their WCW days as "deranged marks" and wondering, since Benoit apparently killed his son with his finishing maneuver, the Crippler Crossface, "did Benoit hear Jim Ross announcing in the background?"). The tone is absurd at times, but I feel that it matches the material perfectly. Again, others may disagree.

As a big follower of the Four Horsemen, I admit that I'd like to have seen the material on Benoit's tenure with the group in WCW fleshed out a bit more. Somebody like Mongo McMichael would have been a most unlikely character for Benoit to rub elbows with; the Horsemen aspect of the WCW stay is probably the weakest part of the book, but as you can tell from everything else I've noted, everything else more than makes up for it.

I appreciate also that Randazzo, while laying deserved blame mostly at the feet of Benoit (with the rest divided up among odious creatures like McMahon), does not take cheap shots at the fans at the very end for continuing to enjoy the spectacle of wrestling. Writer Irvin Muchnick has also provided outstanding coverage of the Benoit story, but he ends up with a judgmental "how can you fans still watch this without feeling the blood on your hands?" point of view that is aggravating. Randazzo lets us draw our own conclusions about how we should let these revelations color our enjoyment of the industry.

To sum up: were it not for fact that pro wrestling is the redheaded stepchild of American society, Randazzo would likely be up for a Pulitzer Prize for the journalism contained in this book. It's the most honest book ever written about the business, surpassing tomes penned by those in the industry because he's not holding anything back to protect himself or others. This book sets a new standard for exposing the truth about pro wrestling, one that may never be topped and certainly won't be anytime soon.

My favorite Jean Schmidt lie

By Nate Noy

OK, by now everyone KNOWS that Jean Schmidt is a sloppy compulsive liar who could never be trusted, from her OEC reprimand for a “reckless disregard for truth” and making “false and misleading statements” about her fake college degree to the lies on TV in the cover up that followed.

Of course there are the lies she told to Ohio farmers regarding her support of lifting the embargo in Cuba (until anti-Castro groups with a larger checkbook changed her mind.) There is her plagiarism scandal, her lies in a deposition regarding her fake college degree, the money she took from USEC (the company bringing the nuclear waste dump to my hometown in Piketon, Ohio) and her support of that effort.

There also is the lie that she is a “conservative” that believes in the 2nd Amendment (she voted to ban guns in Clermont County when she was a trustee there) and the fact that she voted to devastate our economy by voting to raise the rates of inflation and unemployment.

But MY personal favorite Jean Schmidt lie is one that has gone completely under the radar since October 2004.

The website marathon guide.com publishes results of marathons. As everyone knows Schmidt has made her marathon experience an integral part of her persona, in fact one of her paid shill bloggers often uses “94-lb marathon runner from Loveland” when spewing her paid shilling for Schmidt. When I was researching Schmidt for the OEC complaints I filed against her in 2006 I came across the following results:

Chicago Marathon 10/10/04: Jean Schmidt (F52) 4:02:37 11147th place.
Columbus Marathon 10/17/04: Jean Schmidt (F52) 4:13:37 2401st place.

For those of you that have never actually completed a marathon this may seem plausible, however those of us that have run a marathon with a competitive time KNOW that only a small handful of super athletes could ever accomplish this feat. In fact Road Runner Sports has a guide to marathon recovery, in which it states the following about day seven following a marathon:

7. Elevate your legs whenever possible. When you're watching TV, lie on the floor with a pillow supporting your lower back and your legs against a wall. Let your co-workers know that they're apt to find you with your legs on your desk occasionally during the day-you're a marathoner-they'll understand!


People that run marathons can barely walk a week later, and if Jean Schmidt really did run two marathons under 4:14 in one week then she should have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated or something. Of course Jean Schmidt does have a twin sister, so my question for the day is: did Jean’s sister run the race for her in Chicago or Columbus?

You may ask, why would someone bother to have their twin run a race for them? Well, the answer to this is in Schmidt’s character and the medical condition I personally believe she has:

Diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV-TR)
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental and behavioral disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
reckless disregard for safety of self or others
consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

Sound like Jean Schmidt to you? Sure does to me!

Mnemonic
A mnemonic that can be used to remember the criteria for antisocial personality disorder is CORRUPT[1][2]:

C - cannot follow law
O - obligations ignored
R - remorselessness
R - recklessness
U - underhandedness
P - planning deficit
T - temper
Yep, still SOUNDS LIKE JEAN SCHMIDT!!!!!!

As I’ve said before Jean Schmidt is a psychopath that likely would have been in jail many years ago had she not had a multi-millionaire daddy to bail her out at every turn.

Additionally we all now know that she will soon be facing an IRS investigation for her blatant and intentional disregard of campaign finance law. We also know that she stands no chance in the general election in November. The fact that anyone may actually vote for her next week still boggles the mind of those of us that know the truth about her.

Man-Hating for fun and profit

By Rick Morris

For those who like to follow the Lefter-Than-Mao antics of Ohio's First Couple of the Proletariat, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and his bride, perennially shrieking Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz, this week was a doozy.

Her typically hysterical column this week featured the fact that some hotel gift shops are selling a "Hillary Clinton nutcracker" with metal spikes between her thighs. It was hilarious in usual Connie fashion, which is to say it was completely unintentional on her part. While I am a big critic of many Dubya policies, I must say that I await with baited breath Connie's denunciation of novelty items such as a "FUGWB" bumper sticker. Or maybe I shouldn't hold my breath after all, given the nature of the Brown-Schultz family, which seems to regard the blood of unborn babies as a sacrament, Fidel Castro as the foremost religious icon of our time and the razor as part of a ginormous patriarchal plot against wimmins everywhere.

Berkeley gubmint lowlifes at it again

By Rick Morris

The major difference between this moment in American history and the Sixties is that even the most despicable anti-American d-bags who populate the most hateful corner of the left have been able to keep the mask on with phony babble about "supporting the troops" even while they demean their work.

Well, that's been true most of the time anyway. But in the quintessential "Berkeley's gonna be Berkeley" moment, the human embodiment of filth that constitutes the city government ripped off the mask that conceals their loathing for this country in decisive fashion:

"The City Council has voted to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and 'if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.'

The measure passed this week by a vote of 8-1.

The council also voted to explore enforcing a city anti-discrimination law, focusing on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

In a separate item, the council voted, also 8-1, to give protest group Code Pink a parking space in front of the recruiting office once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week.

Marine Capt. Richard Lund of the recruiting office declined comment on the council action.

The recruiting office opened in Berkeley about a year ago, operating quietly until about four months ago when Code Pink began regular sidewalk protests.

'I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave,' said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates."

Let's back up a second here so we can bask full-on in the utter worthlessness of these cretins. Surely this is the only city in America so deranged as to have a mayor who openly praises Code Pink, a group that:

^ Thinks Fidel Castro is a swell and misunderstood fella.

^ Unpatriotically bashes our troops as perpetrating "murder for oil."

^ Shipped 600K directly to families of terrorists fighting our troops in Iraq.

^ Vehemently opposed the security wall in Israel that has stemmed the once-constant flow of innocent civilian deaths from homicide bombings.

^ Advocated in the strongest terms unrestricted government funding for abortion-on-demand -- yes, there's that classic left-wing concern for the most vulnerable among us EXCEPT for the the unborn (by definition the most vulnerable).

Let's repeat again what Mayor Waste of Protoplasm of the People's Republic of Berkeley had to say, "I believe in the Code Pink cause."

All righty then.

If America ever needed an enema, I think we've located the city where we'd stick the hose.

The one undeniable aspect of this is that the dirty hippies of Berkeley are getting the level of government they deserve from the subhumans who are representing them. Defecating on the brave members of our military is merely the latest outrage from a populace that wouldn't know human decency if it yanked it by its greasy hair. Courtesy of the groundbreaking book "Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the '60s," from Peter Collier and David Horowitz, here are some choice nuggets from Chapter 7 ("A Tale of Socialism in One City: Slouching Towards Berkeley"):

^ Berkeley decapitated the ranks of half the city's police officer corps in the early Seventies for being too effectively opposed to the city's Utopian drug culture.

^ Berkeley adopted insipid "sister city" relationships with a number of Soviet bloc locales in the 1980s as an infantile means of striking out at the Reagan Administration's effective foreign policy.

^ Berkeley set up a consequence-free "People's Park" area in which rape, murder and drug dealing were quite commonplace.

Berkeley is, quite simply, the perfect representation of America's most eternally selfish, self-serving and self-referential generation, the Baby Boomers. If it were humanly possible to cut off a piece of Cali and send these lunatics into the Pacific Ocean, I'd be on my way out there posthaste with a hacksaw.