I was a pretty huge Benoit fan at the time (I'd say one of his biggest fans), but I'd stopped watching wrestling, really, about two years earlier. I only watched sporadically. When that murder-suicide happened, I pretty much realized that the guy who was supposed to be one of the best was an absolute monster. It really made me realize that business had some real problems. Even crazier, I happened to purchase and watch his commemorative DVD on that very weekend. Seeing the images of him crying about Eddie, celebrating with his family... yeah, that was pretty wild, considering he was probably killing them as I was watching that.
Obviously, the parts of his career that were so memorable also led to the CTE, paranoia and religious fervor that swept Benoit up at the end. It helps us understand the possible "reasons" but never justifies the sick acts that he perpetrated.
As for the RAW show, I always knew when I watched it that Malenko and Regal knew something was off. If you can, go back and watch their comments (both are on youtube). Malenko weirdly sends condolences to Benoit's fans (like they'll never be able to look at him the same way). He also talks about how quiet and private Benoit was. He also just seems very numb about the whole thing, trying to sort out his emotions more than usual. Notice how he doesn't talk about the family at all. He ends it by referring to Benoit again in the light of the road and wrestling -- nothing else.
And Regal is even more telling. Only talks for like 45 seconds, and says: "All I've got to say at the moment is that Chris was the absolute hardest worker... most absorbed person with the business." He talks about one day being able to tell stories about Chris, etc. You can tell he realizes something is really wrong. He doesn't want to speak words he can't walk back.
