Before I start, I would like to personally thank OWW for giving me the opportunity to continue as an Official Columnist on the site. As some of you may have noticed, I'm not the most positive writer around. Of course, I will make such comments where necessary, but in general I lean towards constructive criticism. That's the style I like to use and therefore, that's the style I'll mostly be sticking to. This column examines WWE's current use of Chris Benoit. Think back two years. It was around this time that Benoit was chasing the US Title. He battled his way through the tournament, before losing to Eddie Guerrero in the tournament final. From here, Benoit branched off into mini-feud with Rhyno and A-Train. It looked as if he was going nowhere. However, it was at this point that Benoit started to have his talent recognized once again. He feuded with Brock Lesnar over the WWE Title, even gaining a submission over him at Survivor Series. Meanwhile, he was made to look strong in a battle royal and also against the likes of Angle and Cena.

Things were looking up for Benoit.

It came as no surprise, following recent events, when he won the royal rumble. Personally, I did not agree with WWE's choice to have him enter at #1, but it was promising to see him get the win nonetheless. The next night, he appeared on RAW, claiming to have jumped through a legal loophole and signed with RAW, to challenge Triple H for the world title at WrestleMania. Of course, this feud became a three way with the involvement of Shawn Michaels, but the emphasis was still very much on Benoit. At WrestleMania XX, Benoit made Triple H tap to gain the title he had deserved for so long. He went on to win a re-match at Backlash, retaining the strap. Yet it was from here that things started to go downhill for the veteran...

Benoit progressed as the World Champion, but sadly, his title run was left in the shadows, while Triple H stepped up as the focus of RAW once again. Benoit barely had any time on the mic to speak his mind, WWE made it quite clear he was there for wrestling and nothing else. His feud with Kane received barely any build-up, compared to the Triple H/HBK program, which seemed to demand all the attention. Following Bad Blood, Triple H was brought back into the title picture. However, the feud was never Triple H vs. Chris Benoit. It was all about Triple H and Eugene. Benoit - the World Heavyweight Champion - was being used as a prop in this feud, retaining the title with help from Eugene twice.

Although Benoit was never given a chance to further develop his gimmick and character, he was at least made to look very strong in the ring. A five-month reign was longer than anyone but Triple H had received on RAW. At SummerSlam, Benoit dropped the title to Randy Orton, losing clean. This didn't really hurt Benoit at all though; he still came across as a legitimate threat. WWE's booking of him from here is what slowly killed off his credibility.

For the next month, Benoit was led into a small program with the other two members of Evolution - Batista and Ric Flair. A submission victory over Flair was a very positive sign that WWE would continue to make use of his abilities in a main event position. However, the attention Benoit was receiving quickly died out. He was phased into the background to make room for Randy Orton. As a result, Benoit remained in the title picture, but lost the buzz that had been created for him. It was obvious that he and Jericho were mere props in the HHH/Orton/Batista battles. Benoit competed along with Jericho in both the survivor series elimination match and the elimination chamber. Benoit was eliminated first and second respectively, hardly the way to make him look like a future contender.

At WrestleMania XXI, Benoit was shoved into the same match as the other five fringe main eventers - the Money In The Bank ladder match. Benoit was made to look strong in a ladder environment, coming the closest to grabbing the briefcase other than Edge - the ultimate winner. Things were looking up for him, or so it seemed. A feud with Edge was triggered and came to a head at Backlash, in a last man standing match. Benoit did the job here, something which although it helped Edge, didn't do him too many favours.

For the next two months, Benoit failed to make any impact on RAW, before finally being traded to SmackDown! This was a very questionable move, since Benoit had only been part of the RAW brand for just over year. His move back to SmackDown didn't seem like such a good thing for him, especially with Batista on the same show, playing a similar character but with the more dominant attitude. The writers clearly didn't know how to use Benoit and so placed him immediately in the United States title hunt, becoming fodder for Orlando Jordan at the Great American Bash.

Is this any way to treat a man like Chris Benoit" He has amazing wrestling talent, with the ability to carry just about anyone to a good match. Just under one year ago, he was world champion. So why does WWE see the need to demote him once again" Was his title reign purely a way of keeping the internet and his fans happy" They clearly have no plans for him and no idea what to do with him in general. A man like this deserves better than lying down for a much less established secondary champion.

It's not just Benoit that is affected; it's the world title. What does it say about a belt which someone can hold for almost five months, be fighting at a lower level in less than a year. WWE needs to apply a sense of levelling, so that we know who the top guys and the next guys down are. There's no point having someone flit between the two tiers, WWE will never make any firm stars that way. Benoit is obviously a main eventer, so he needs to remain in that position. I'm sure creative can think of something better for him to do than this - a heel turn perhaps" He's been face for almost three years now. Whatever happens, Benoit deserves more respect than he's getting. Hopefully, WWE will realize the talent they're wasting and make sure that former world champions never have to sink this low.

by Jack Malone --- [View Jack Malone's Column Index]..