It was one thing for WWE to sweep the death of Sherri Martel 10 days ago under the rug because of a key storyline. To have an active wrestler pass away hours before a live broadcast is a different story altogether, and it may have just put the "Death of Mr. McMahon" angle to rest, perhaps permanently.

At 8:00, after the usual WWE ID open, there was a graphic reading, "In memory of Chris Benoit, 1967-2007". I for one was stunned. What was supposed to be a tribute to a fictional character, "Mr. McMahon", turned into a retrospective into the life & career of the "Rabid Wolverine". Mixing together footage from the Benoit DVD that was released 3 years ago with tributes from Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, CM Punk, HHH, Dean Malenko, Edge, Chavo Guerrero, Stephanie McMahon, & William Regal, and some classic matches, WWE, on short notice, put together one of its best shows ever.

As of now, we can only speculate on what exactly happened to Benoit, his wife Nancy (the former Woman), and their 7 year old son Daniel. Some on other newsboards have suggested that maybe carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause, citing the fact that Nancy & Daniel Benoit were spitting up blood over the weekend, which prompted Benoit to fly home on Saturday, taking himself out of a house show and the Vengeance PPV. Benoit's last match, in which he defeated Elijah Burke last Tuesday, was replayed in its entirely tonight.

In all probability, ECW & Smackdown will be dedicated to the memory of Benoit, and storylines will be put aside for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. But where does WWE go from here?

Most people on the net seem to believe that the "Death of Mr. McMahon" angle will be abruptly terminated without resolution. After the deaths of a former women's champion (Sherri) already in the Hall of Fame and a former World champion who's likely to be inducted next year, a la Eddie Guerrero, and the cameo appearance by Vince tonight, I doubt seriously that they can go back to that storyline. A quick resolution is needed, and they can say that, yes, "Mr. McMahon" survived the explosion after all.

And what of the ECW title? Johnny Nitro was a 11th hour selection to replace Benoit, and added the ECW title to his already impressive resume. They could give him some additional heel heat and put him with Burke's New Breed stable, or let him go it alone, turn face, and carry on in Benoit's stead. Additionally, they need to fill the hole on the roster created with Benoit's passing. Methinks Chris Jericho will be hearing from old storyline nemesis Stephanie again very soon about hastening his return from a 2 year hiatus. Dean Malenko would be a short term option, if he can be convinced to come out of retirement. Otherwise, I'd pick Fit Finlay to be moved to ECW.

At the end of the day, the message sent to Vince McMahon is a cold, cruel, harsh one. Death cannot be taken lightly. Vince tried for 2 weeks to convince the viewers that he was "dead", but very few bought the story. Maybe now he'll think twice before creating an extreme storyline to appease a network desperate for ratings points from certain demographic groups.

On the other hand, knowing Vince, maybe not. And that's the saddest part of it all.