the buzz log

We've always known that professional wrestling has passionate fans. Since we began tracking searches in 2000, Buzz has been aware of the fervor of wrestling fanatics. With wrestling ignored by the mainstream media, fans of the squared circle soap opera turn to the Web for the scoop.

These factors came into play as the profoundly sad story of professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his family filtered out. The murder-suicide involving Benoit, his wife, and young son shocked searchers and its effects are still rippling through the Search box. We saw staggering amounts of Benoit searches in the hours after the news. Related queries on "chris benoit official site," "chris benoit death," and "chris benoit family" also made an impression.

Because of the WWE's recent storyline about the supposed "death" of chairman Vince McMahon, some searchers thought the news of Benoit's death was phony. Queries on "is chris benoit dead," "did chris benoit die," and "what happened to chris benoit" spoke to the initial confusion.

Fans turned to tried-and-true outlets of pro wrestling information—news sites run by fellow fans. We saw spikes on a staggering number of outlets: "pro wrestling news" (+868%), "1wrestling" (+333%), "lordsofpain" (+306%), "pwinsider" (+280%), "rajah wwe" (+261%), "411 wrestling" (+243%), "slam wrestling" (+237%), and "wrestlingnewsworld" (+203%).

One final gloomy related trend was the search spikes on other wrestlers who've died young over the past few years. Searches on "eddie guerrero" (+621%), "owen hart" (+290%), and "sherri martel" (+233%) all surged after Benoit's tragic tale unfolded.