No, we don't need a Chris Benoit biopic

The Iron Claw has been out for more than a week, and naturally, people are looking forward to the next wrestling biopic. Wrestling does a unique dance between the lines of athleticism and theatrical storytelling elements. It's a natural marriage!

But something has been bothering me concerning the next name some people are championing to get the silver screen treatment. Even though it's been picked and prodded to death, there is probably a market for a "fall of WCW" miniseries on one of these streaming sites. There's Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Ron Simmons, Eddie Guerrero, and (of course, Vince McMahon), and I'm sure there are many names you can pick before you settle on the name of Chris Benoit. To do his story would be nothing more than exploring the morbid surroundings concerning his death and that of his ex-wife and child. Yes, I know The Iron Claw was distributed by A24, known for family-friendly films such as Midsommar, Hereditary, and Pearl, to name a few.

However, director Sean Durkin takes a sense of importance and sensitivity when displaying the Von Erich family story on the big screen. Tragedy plays a big part in how The Iron Claw displays itself. It couldn't exist any other way. Simply put, these are because of emotional factors, familiar pressures, and sickness that led to these brothers' deaths. Even with the heaviness of the story, the film still goes out of its way to show the love all the brothers share for one another.

Let's be honest with what you're getting with Chris Benoit. You can search for his New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling highlights if you want to. But his life is defined by the horrible act of murder he committed against his then-wife Nancy and seven-year-old son Daniel on June 25th, 2007. Vice TV's Dark Side of the Ring series has already done this job ten times over and satisfied the incredibly voracious need for true crime in a way from those impacted by it. There's retelling history, and then there's exploitation for the sake of it. If you want this story, really ask yourself why. Then, think about its purpose and whose memory it would elevate. You may find not much or a very insidious case to do it.

We've been through this before, and two things can be accurate simultaneously. The memory of Chris Benoit has many great matches, and he will probably be known as a master of his craft. At the same time, there's a decision he made to take the lives away of two innocent people who didn't deserve one ounce of what happened to them. That will ultimately define him as something that doesn't deserve production time and promotion to bring to the masses.