Benoit, Astin, Fragile X, RAW, Hogan Jul 02 - 11:59 pm EDT

Daily Rapp Up by Bryan Rapp

Quick RAW Results: Randy Orton over Jeff Hardy, Melina over Maria, Umaga over Santino Marella to win the Intercontinental Championship, King Booker over Val Venis, Super Crazy over Mr. Kennedy, Carlito over Sandman via DQ, and Bobby Lashley over Shelton Benjamin.

Chris Benoit's physician Dr. Phil Astin was charged by federal authorities with seven counts of improperly dispensing painkillers and other drugs to other patients. The United States District Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia held a press conference today regarding Dr. Astin's indictment. The Drug Enforcement Agency issued a press release on Dr. Astin's indictment. The Fayette County District Attorney announced he had no plans to file criminal charges in the case.

Between May 2006 and May 2007, Chris Benoit reportedly received a ten-month supply of steroids every 3 to 4 weeks. The Smoking Gun posted documents from the federal investigation. Dave Meltzer noted the public impact this news would have when combined with the fact Benoit was passing WWE testing during this period.

TMZ.com posted a statement from the Fayette County district attorney noting both Daniel Benoit's family and educators dispute he had Syndrome X or other impairments. Atlanta, GA's FOX News has an interview with Nancy Benoit's parents disputing Daniel had Fragile X syndrome. An attempt to verify the original report of Daniel Benoit's Fragile X has failed with the woman who came forward with the initial report saying her deceased husband spoke to Chris Benoit about it several years ago. Domestic violence experts are downplaying the role of steroids in Benoit situation, and looking more towards control issues in the relationship.

USA Today followed-up on their 2004 report on steroids in wrestling with comments from Larry Hennig about his son's death and problems in wrestling. A FOX Sports columnist is calling for Congress to get involved and investigate wrestling deaths. Sportsline has an article on the lack of attention paid to the steroids problem in wrestling despite numerous deaths in the past.

In a statement to New York's Newsday, WWE said they will make any improvements necessary to their Wellness Policy, and that it is designed to send a clear message the abuse of drugs and steroids is unacceptable. SLAM has an article on the Benoit tragedy forcing wrestling's problems into the light of mass media coverage. SLAM also has companion articles on problems with WWE's steroid testing standards, the numerous wrestlers who have died in the past decade, and the reasons some aren't deterred from steroid use despite the problems.

CNBC noted WWE's systematic deletion of Chris Benoit from its history as well as their recent stock decline. The Associated Press ran an article on how the wrestling world is coping with the Benoit tragedy. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article on families coping with Fragile X Syndrome.

Lance Storm posted a commentary on the Benoit tragedy. Terri Runnels appeared on FOX News today discussing the Chris Benoit she knew. Dave Meltzer posted a message from a US wrestler about why the death rate in the US is higher than in other countries.

There are ECW and Smackdown spoilers from tonight's Supershow in Dallas, TX. WWE and USA may be talking about expanding RAW to three hours regularly. TV Week has an article on the use of viral marketing for Video-On-Demand noting WWE's use of it to get fans to purchase WWE 24/7.

The Summerslam 2007 poster features Umaga on the beach behind the cast of Jackass buried to their necks in the sand. WWE.com added Lance Storm to their alumni section. The Brentwood Press noted John Cena calling 10 year-old Antonio Cruz as he deals with a potentially fatal heart condition.

There are Impact spoilers for the next couple weeks from tonight's taping in Orlando, FL. Mike Johnson has TNA notes on tonight's taping, Kurt Angle, DVDs and more. The Rock n' Roll Express Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson will compete in UWF's Rock n' Roll Express tag team tournament later this month. The Chillicothe Gazette has an article on International Wrestling Alliance's annual Red, White & Bruised show on Thursday.

The next season of Hogan Knows Best will debut on July 22. Nick Hogan crashed into a wall over the weekend with Hulk Hogan busy taking photos. The Houston Chronicle has an article on video games making it okay for guys to play dress up with games like Smackdown vs. RAW allowing players to create their own wrestlers.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading.

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