The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has recently sent out ballots for its Hall of Fame and - for the first time in history - they have an extra ballot asking for votes on whether Chris Benoit should remain in it.
Dave Meltzer's Hall of Fame is nothing compared to the WWE's. The WWE version is not run by a vote, the members are picked mainly on who is free at the time the names are chosen.
The Observer Hall of Fame is regarded by many, pardon the pun, wrestling observers as the most precise list of names. It is because of this that so many stars are honoured to be among the names printed in the Newsletter's list.
The balloting is very strict. It runs in the same way as the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame where the performers on the ballot paper have to be voted in by over sixty percent of their geographical region.
The voters are people within the business ranging from newsletter writers to wrestlers.
The major topic accompanied with this year's balloting is the Chris Benoit place in the Hall of Fame. Benoit was inducted in 2003. Four years later, he became a double murderer and now the question is whether to keep him on the list.
It's such a tough question that even I am finding hard to answer. I'm sure a lot of the voters are finding it perplexing to decide as well.
You can't take away what Benoit did in his career. He was one of the most perfect wrestlers in the history of wrestling.
But.
You just cannot excuse what he did.
Baseball has banned Pete Rose from entering their Hall of Fame because he was involved with gambling on the matches he was playing in. The NFL Hall of Fame would have polled for OJ Simpson to be removed had he been convicted of double murder.
The problem with Chris Benoit is - the law actually acknowledges him as the murderer of Nancy and Daniel Benoit.
For the Canadian to be removed from the Hall of Fame there must be sixty percent of votes in favour of this removal.
What would I do if I were eligible to decide? I think this is such a complex decision that I would have to think long and hard about.
On one hand, you have one of the best wrestlers to ever come out of Canada. He headlined the twentieth WrestleMania but ultimately - on hand number two - he became one of the most reviled individuals in the mainstream in 2007.
I'm not even sure I can finish today's post with a definitive answer.
All I have are questions.
Does he deserve to remain in the Hall of Fame as a tragic figure?
Did the murders and suicide change anything about the business in that did these negative actions make anything positive for those still active in the sport?
Will his inclusion blight the other names on the list now and in the future?
I wouldn't be surprised if we see this thing going straight down the middle.
This still doesn't answer what I would vote on. I started writing this knowing I would vote for his exclusion but, after sitting here writing for almost half an hour and thinking more about it, I am undecided.
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