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Updated Tuesday, June 26 at 7:45 a.m. - by James Caldwell
-- FIRST WORD: Trying to make sense of the Chris Benoit story will take time. There are many unanswered questions as of this writing, and local authorities hope to clear up some lingering questions with the results of the autopsies that will be performed today. Before the AP report late Monday night that alleged Benoit killed his family, many Torch readers wrote in expressing their gratitude for WWE appearing to drop the McMahon angle in light of Benoit's death to air the Benoit Tribute show. Some readers changed their minds after more facts came in that seemed to point to Benoit as a murderer. Yes, people are angry. Angry at the McMahons for airing the Death Angle the past two weeks. Angry at Benoit for possibly being a murderer. Angry at WWE for airing a tribute show to a possible murder. I believe it's too soon for anyone to make a judgment call on Benoit, WWE for doing a tribute to Benoit, or the wrestlers who did tribute promos until we have more facts to form solid opinions that we will take away from this tragic series of events.
-- LATEST NEWS ON BENOIT: An autopsy will be performed on Chris, Nancy, and Daniel this morning, with the results to follow possibly as early as tonight. The investigators that were interviewed for the AP article on the circumstances of the death did not tell the condition of the bodies or possible cause of death, but the police story being told to sources is that Nancy was killed first on Saturday, then Daniel on Sunday, and then Benoit killed himself on Monday after sending the "curious text messages" to his inner circle of friends in WWE. The situation is being handled as a homicide and WWE has announced it as "double murder-suicide".
-- MAINSTREAM COVERAGE ON BENOIT: Just about every major newspaper in the U.S. and Canada has at least a snippet of the two AP articles released on Monday night covering the death of Chris Benoit and his family. The first AP report gave the basics on the death, and labeled the investigation as a homicide. Most newspapers and major news websites placed the second AP article - with information on Chris Benoit reportedly killing his wife and son before killing himself - on their main page.
The second AP article made ESPN.com, SI.com, and CNN.com's Top News sections. During Raw, CNN had a brief story on the bottom-of-the-screen crawler. FOXNews.com's main story as of Monday night/early Tuesday morning was on Benoit. They include a large photo of Benoit hoisting the U.S. Title on their homepage with the headline: "WRESTLING STAR, FAMILY FOUND DEAD". Beneath was an intro sentence: "Georgia police believe Chris Benoit killed his wife and son this weekend and himself on Monday."
Visitors to Yahoo's homepage were greeted with an article on Chris Benoit with the headline: "Wrestler, family found dead". Most of the local TV affiliates in Atlanta featured Benoit on their homepages. Fox 5 featured a video link to their TV news story, including footage outside of Benoit's home. The CBS affiliate started their Monday nightly news broadcast with the top story on Benoit's death. They reported the autopsy conducted today will provide many more details on the circumstances surrounding the three deaths.
-- ECW ON SCI FI PREVIEW: WWE obviously does not have a preview for tonight's ECW show. WWE is still scheduled to tape Smackdown and ECW tonight in San Antonio. They will not be airing a second tribute show to Benoit, as new information has become public regarding the deaths of Benoit's family since the Raw Tribute aired ...
-- WWE has not decided on handling refunds for the postponed Raw in Corpus Christi from last night. The local paper in Corpus headlines with the AP article on Benoit, and includes information that WWE and the AmericanBank Center will decide whether to offer refunds or provide free tickets to ticket holders for a future WWE event in Corpus. That decision will come later in the week. AmericanBank info || Monday night local paper article || Tuesday morning local paper article.
-- From the "it's now trivial" department, WWE followed up with CNBC sports report Darren Rovell on Monday with their version of stockholder response to the McMahon death angle. WWE sent Rovell an email Monday morning that only two stockholders filed complaints, and WWE discredited one based on a signature, and said the other stockholder was so satisfied with WWE's response that the person bought more stock later in the week. Article link.
-- WWE will be an official sponsor of the Ozzfest tour that will span the country this summer. Throughout the tour, WWE wrestlers will be making appearances at the free concert series. Miz, Maria, Tommy Dreamer, and Stevie Richards are listed on WWE's website as making personal appearances during the tour. Article link.
-- TNA posted a message on their website asking fans to keep Benoit and his family in their thoughts and prayers during the tragic events. TNA wrote: "Many TNA staff and stars worked closely with Chris throughout his career and we are all shocked and saddened to lose a friend and legendary competitor."
-- Austin Aries returned to ROH over the weekend and he signed a contract with the company. Aries will be on ROH's tour of Japan in July. He was already scheduled for a tour with Dragon Gate, with dates on July 15 and 18-22 ... Chris Hero also signed a contract with ROH this weekend.
LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1037 (16 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story on the annoucement on Raw that Mike Adamle is the new Raw G.M... Wade Keller's BBL features a number of other shocking G.M. possibilities for WWE to consider... Page 2 Buzz with Jason Powell features his exclusive insider news galore... Pat McNeill continues his series of articles reviewing the history of Summerslam... Bruce Mitchell continues his series of Ric Flair DVD Liner Notes with a focus on "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers htis week... Part four of the "Torch Talk" with Doug Basham... Sean Radican reviews in detail the ROH PPV before it's offered nationally on PPV... Plus the Torch Newswire, Top Five Stories, reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, and more......
