Chris Nowinski Says CTE Played A Role In Chris Benoit Tragedy, Says Wrestling Is Safer Than It Used To Be

In an interview with Talk is Jericho (via Wrestling Inc), Chris Nowinski spoke about how CTE likely played a role in the Chris Benoit tragedy, but noted that it probably wasn’t the only factor. Benoit murdered his wife and son back in 2007 before killing himself. Nowinski also noted that studies of nearly 500 late NFL and NHL players showed that 93-95% had signs of CTE. However, Nowinski also said that the wrestling business is much safer than it used to be. Here are highlights:

On if CTE caused the Benoit tragedy: “You can’t say that disease caused that single act, because … there’s so many other variables involved. That being said, I think we have maybe … 10 murders in the brain bank [that] all have sort of the same story: that they were fine, then they started having some mental health problems, then they went off and killed people.”

On the change in CTE awareness: “The big change over the last 10 years has been the recognition that CTE is a much bigger issue than we wanted it to be.”

On how the wrestling business is safer now: “Wrestling is dramatically safer than it used to be, ’cause they’re putting top down constraints on what can happen. We all want to be the star of the show, have the biggest bump, take the biggest risk, but if everybody does that, it gets out of control; people get hurt. So, I couldn’t be more proud of the way the wrestling industry has responded to this work in the last, you know, 12 years.”

On how things are different: “The only thing the public really knows is, like, the chair shots are banned to the head and all that in WWE. I guess in AEW, there’s different…it’s extremely rare…certain things need to happen to let it be allowed. I would say a lot of it is driven by different risk management choices from the performers themselves. So you are now empowered to realize, like, ‘I don’t need to go off the top of that ladder through a table if there’s another way I can get the same pop,’ sort of think about the reward in a more explicit sense and think about brain health.”

Since earning his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience in 2017, Chris Nowinski has continued to lead the Concussion Legacy Foundation as its CEO, expanding its influence globally. He has played a key role in launching initiatives like “Stop Hitting Kids in the Head,” aiming to eliminate repetitive sub-concussive impacts in youth sports by 2026, and has provided strategic counsel to the NFL Players Association and Ivy League concussion committees. In late 2023, he joined the advisory board of Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals to support the development of metabolic-based concussion treatments. Under his guidance, the foundation has broadened its outreach, partnered with international brain banks, and maintained a strong public presence advocating for policy and protocol changes in both amateur and professional sports.