[News Update] LCW Chairman of the Board Christian Calaway Comments on Chris Benoit's Passing

The following is an official statement from LCW Chairman of the Board Christian Calaway:

I want to thank LegendsChampionshipWrestling.com Managing Editor Anthony Alvarez for giving me this opportunity to speak to the fans of Legends Championship Wrestling and I'd also like to thank him for all of his hard work in reporting on this terrible tragedy over the past 24 hours on LegendsChampionshipWrestling.com.

As you have no doubt already heard, Chris Benoit allegedly murdered his wife Nancy and son Daniel over the weekend before taking his own life on Monday. The news reports posted on LegendsChampionshipWrestling.com are from the most reliable and reputable news sources as well as from police officials, but please remember that they are the results of preliminary investigations. The autopsy and toxicology reports have yet to be released.

I speak to you today with a sad and heavy heart. A lot of negative things are being said about Chris Benoit during this difficult time, both reported by the press and assumed by fans. Message boards, bulletin boards, MySpace pages, and web blogs across the net are filling with an equal amount of memorials and messages of outrage, anger and hatred towards Benoit. I understand more than you can know, for as I am saddened by the loss of Chris, I am also angry at him for the way he left this world and the way he took his wife and son with him.

I do want to make one thing perfectly clear: Chris Benoit was not a horrible man. Nor was he a terrible father or husband. First, we must be patient and wait for the light of truth to break though the dark rumors and assumptions before we form opinions. And even then, while there is little doubt of Chris' role in this terrible tragedy, there is no doubt of the kind of man he was before tragedy befell his life and his family. I ask you today to remember that man, the man you admired, the man you looked up to with awe as he leaped off the top rope, the man you cried with when he mourned the loss of his best friend Eddie Guerrero.

A lot of fans have been asking about this Wednesday's LCW Showdown. With only six days until the LCW SuperClash pay-per-view, the biggest night of the year in Legends Championship Wrestling, and in light of the recent news of Chris' involvement in the tragedy, we've decided it is best if the show not be re-written and continue on as planned. However, the show will feature a memorial to Chris, Nancy, and Daniel.

While I don't personally believe in traditional religious figures or planes of existence, I do pray that Chris, Nancy, and Daniel have found their way to a better place now. Thank you for your support and understanding during this difficult time.