A lot has been said about whether or not Chris Benoit deserves a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, but no one has addressed the situation better than the legend that is Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The best way of looking at the story of Benoit is separating it into two halves. On one side you've got the wrestler and the in-ring performer, but on the other side, you've got him away from the ring and in his personal life.
Strictly focusing on his ability in the ring, Benoit is 100% worthy of being in the WWE Hall of Fame. He's one of the very best to ever lace up a pair of boots, and his dedication to the business deserves praise and credit.
However, because of what he did away from the ring, the truth is he may never get his slot in the illustrious WWE Hall of Fame, and sadly, it's hard to argue with that. How can you celebrate and reward someone who murdered their wife and their son?
That is the dark truth of Chris Benoit. One night in 2007, the American killed his wife Nancy, and then also killed his young son Daniel. Afterwards, he then killed himself. A truly horrific story and one that has been told and re-lived over and over in documentaries and books.
Recently, a documentary has become popular which addresses the death of Benoit, and in that documentary, which is called 'Dark Side of the Ring', legendary commentator Jim Ross touched upon whether or not Benoit deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
In conclusion of that, JR said 'not now, not ever.'
And that leads us to Stone Cold Steve Austin, who has also once publicly addressed whether or not Chris Benoit deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
And unsurprisingly, he addressed it with class and nailed his take on the touchy subject.
When responding to a fan asking him the question, Austin started by saying: 'Well, first and foremost, what I think about Chris Benoit, is that that guy is one of the nicest guys I ever met in my life.
"He's one of the most talented, hard working people I've seen in the squared circle. Anybody who knew Chris would tell you those exact things."
However, Stone Cold then knew he had to address what happened in their family home on that night back in '07.
"One night, Chris ended up killing his wife and his kid; that is an act so terrible and horrible, I can't even comprehend or even guess as to what happened in that house.
"That will always overshadow any accomplishment that Chris Benoit had in the ring. He'll never be in the Hall of Fame, it'll just never happen.
"His career will speak for itself, but his record as a human being is first and foremost, and his actions will never be forgotten."
Stone Cold then ended his response in quite powerful fashion.
Chris Benoit as the person I knew? Loved him. Chris Benoit as a wrestler? Loved him. Chris Benoit the person who did what he did? Unforgivable. Bottom line.
When you think of Chris Benoit, you can't help but think of these sides to the coin. In-ring he was one of the very, very best, but his actions out of the ring cost him his place in the WWE Hall of Fame.