Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
As noted earlier on PWInsider.com, The Fox News Channel is reporting that an anonymous user out of Stamford, CT edited Chris Benoit's entry on wikipedia to feature the comments, "However, Chris Benoit was replaced by [[Johnny Nitro]] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy." The comments led to wikipedia volunteers contacting Fayetteville, Georgia authorities..
The IP in question, listed by wikipedia as 69.120.111.23, also made a series of other edits to different entries, including former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, current WWE star Chavo Guerrero, basketball star Ron Artest and HBO series The Sopranos. Many of the edits were misspelled or explicit in nature, leading one to believe that the postings were made by a hoaxer. For those of you who want to read the edits for yourself, they can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/69.120.111.23. If you click the links listed as (diff) you will see the changes made by the user highlighted in red, even if they have been removed from the wikipedia entries as they currently stand.
Although the IP address is traced back to the Stamford, CT area, it's also entirely conceivable that the user was concealing his true IP address. According to one person I spoke to with a masters in Internet technology, "They have software out there that you install on your computer that will change your IP address and location or origin that people will see on the Internet. IP spoofing is a little more technical so with this user, based on the grammar, looks to be someone young using a software program of that nature."
Given the other postings, it appears most likely the user was taking part in the act of Sporgery, where one falsifies objectionable material and attempts to credit to a third party. In this case, what may have been someone playing games may turn into a much more serious matter for the hoaxer, considering the tragic Benoit incident.
3:42 PM Update: Jason Safoutin, identifying himself as a freelance writer for wikipedia sent notice that wikipedia has actually posted an article in regard to the rumors, which you can read at this link.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
