When wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son and hanged himself last summer, some wondered if his former employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, would face congressional scrutiny or even financial peril.
Dozens of Benoit's peers, including several WWE headliners, had already died young, with many of their passings linked to steroid abuse, painkiller addiction and other stresses associated with grueling travel and performance schedules. But the grisly Benoit episode, with its ties to steroids, concussions and other hot-button issues, dragged the WWE into mainstream headlines like never before.
Could the company continue to thrive as it had after past tragedies?
Ten months later, the WWE sold out Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena on Sunday for its Backlash pay-per-view show. The sellout wasn't a fluke. Business is good.
The WWE overcame television ratings dips after the Benoit killings and a general decline in pay-per-view buys to earn a record $485.7 million in gross revenue in 2007. Expanded overseas viewership and DVD sales have fortified the company.
On March 30, the WWE drew 74,635 fans to Orlando's Citrus Bowl for its Wrestlemania XXIV extravaganza. Early indicators suggest that more than 1 million people paid $55 to $70 each to watch on television around the world. Mainstream stars such as rapper Snoop Dogg, singer John Legend and boxer Floyd Mayweather seemed happy to appear with wrestling stalwarts John Cena and Triple H.
Two weeks ago, the three major presidential candidates appeared in taped segments on WWE's RAW program to ask for votes from wrestling fans.
"Can anything happen that would be bad enough to hurt the industry long-term with the public?" said Dave Meltzer, who has covered the business for more than 25 years in his Wrestling Observer newsletter. "I think this told us no. As long as you can come back and present an entertaining product, that's what fans care about."
The company wasn't sure how the Benoit tragedy would impact business, spokesman Gary Davis said, but followed a simple formula to confront the issue.
"We continued to focus on our business fundamentals and to be responsive to legitimate concerns and questions posed to us about the issues," he said.
Skeptics wonder if the WWE has gotten back to business as usual and escaped the Benoit scandal a little too unscathed.
