WWE Legend Chris Jericho Claims New Chris Benoit Documentary Doesn't 'Glorify A Murderer'

Chris Jericho has argued that the Dark Side of the Ring documentary on Chris Benoit aimed to "portray the full story" and emphasised the "tragedy that much further."

Viceland's two-part documentary debuted earlier this week and has been well received by wrestling fans and critics.

And Jericho, who narrates and stars in the documentary, has reiterated that the episodes on Benoit don't glorify the disgraced former pro wrestler.

The 49-year-old AEW star told Sports Illustrated: "I didn't want to hear how I was glorifying a murderer. I don't want to hear that I'm ignoring this murder.

"I wanted to talk, specifically, about his life and times, his intensity and his successes within the ring.

"We're not glorifying a murderer. We're telling the full story.

"It was done properly, it was done for the right reasons and we were able to portray the full story, emphasising the tragedy that much further."

Jericho, who worked with Benoit both in WCW and WWE, once shared a close relationship with the 'Rabid Wolverine.'

And the WWE legend features in the tell-all documentary with several other important figures to Benoit, which included Chavo Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Vickie Guerrero.

The two-episode documentary focuses on Benoit's close relationship with WWE legend Eddie Guerrero up to his heinous actions in the death of his wife and son.

Jericho explained that it was important for the documentary to focus evenly on both Guerrero and Benoit.

"There was a huge connection between Chris' life and Eddie Guerrero's life, and his death, so half the story is the story of Eddie and the other half is of Chris," he said.

"I think we did the right way of portraying this, reminding everyone there were people behind this, not just sensational murder coverage.

"There is a story to tell of a friendship and a family, and a guy that was not a monster.

"This was someone you could trust and that was very respected in the wrestling community amongst his peers."

Benoit killed his wife and son before taking his own life in a double-murder and suicide in 2007.

David Benoit, who came from Chris' first marriage to Martina, also starred in the documentary and revealed the emotional pain he poured out about his father's death and tainted legacy.

Featured Image Credit: Viceland

Topics: WWE News, WWE

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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