Exposing the Events that Crippled a ‘Sport’

Even if you’re not a fan of professional wrestling, the chilling events that led to the death of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their child Daniel in 2007 required that you take a closer look into the bizarre world it encompasses.

Picked up by all the major networks, Benoit’s murder suicide was apparently caused by “roid-rage,” due to the grizzly wrestler’s dependence on them throughout his near 20-year career in the ring. After a week or so however, the networks slowly stopped covering the story. Nevertheless, the legacy of Benoit was forever tarnished by the mainstream media and as a result, professional wrestling, already suffering from a lag in viewership, sunk even further in both reputation and pop culture significance.

However, the real story isn’t so cut and dry.

Through Matt Randazzo V’s book “Ring of Hell,” the Benoit disaster and the industry is exposed more so than any other book written about it previously. With an exhaustive source list and fiery passion, it’s impossible to ever think the same way about professional wrestling ever again after reading.

A veteran of the sport, trained in two of the toughest training schools in the history of the industry, The Hart Dungeon and the New Japan Dojo, Benoit saw things done to human beings that many of us could never dream of. He was also tortured in ways that would shock even the worst of society- all for “respect” among the other guys in the locker room. Maintaining and even fostering the carny atmosphere throughout, Benoit became a slave to the business. Finding his only true friends in the sport, he was forced to watch as they slowly destroyed themselves. Before long, he too was lost in a web he could not escape.

The fact that Benoit began wrestling in the late ‘80s, amid tumultuous change in the sport, gives Randazzo V a chance to not only tell Benoit’s life story, but also give inside-looks into every promotion he was ever a part of. This makes the book so much more than the story of a man who dedicated his life to a sport that never cared about him. In the end, it’s a book that describes the demise of ECW, WCW, the corrupt nature of the sport in Japan and the fall of Vince McMahon’s WWE. As a result, it is a must-own for anyone looking to get an unauthorized look into the business that, according to Randazzo V, the complete opposite of what it portrays itself to be.

Not scared to use foul language or share his opinions either, Randazzo V gives a gritty, raw portrayal of Benoit’s life and the culture of the business, putting his fall from grace in the type of perspective an avid reader will truly enjoy. Full of depth, the book has dozens of high-quality sources that bring legitimacy to the story, which otherwise would be full of Randazzo’s thoughts on wrestlers’ ability and his thoughts on McMahon as a person. As a result, there’s a solid blend of high-quality story-telling and potty-mouthed name-calling, giving the book plenty of answers to questions you might have about Benoit and even more questions towards the people who watched his slow-demise and did nothing to help him escape.

Overall, “Ring of Hell” is the type of book that you don’t need to be a wrestling fan to enjoy. It’s all about sex, drugs and addiction, the type of novel anyone with a spice for drama can appreciate. However, given all the specifics of the industry and all the personalities involved. It’s something that a true fan of the sport will truly enjoy.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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