Eddy Guerrero passes away

[UZI Suicide 0]

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/edgeeddie

[Guest Mr. Adam]

I actually only found out on Wednesday. I live in Ireland and with my new work schedule I'm rarely able to go online.

 

I was contemplating whether to watch the Take That documentary or Raw and was flicking between the two when I seen all the boys standing on the ramp. I heard the fans chanting something that I couldn't make out and when I seen some of the guys with Eddy's shirt on I had a really bad sinking feeling.

 

It's funny that you never meet someone and they can have a profound impact on your life. My father was an alcoholic and could never control it but Eddy could. I respected him so much for it and it greatly enhanced my enjoyment of his work.

 

For the next two hours I sat in silence with my family. They know I watch this and following it is a big hobby of mine but they've never seen me get this upset over it.

 

The show was a wonderful tribute and I could truly feel for every last person who was on that ramp.

 

When I met Eddy before Summerslam I was in awe of his humble nature. He signed autographs, posed for pictures and generally had a great time.

 

To others Professional Wrestling is a trivial hobby. One to be looked down on. This week it brought all of it's followers to tears and hopefully closer to their loved ones.

 

Eddie will be sorely missed.

[pochorenella 0]

Many WWE & TNA stars attended the Eddie Guerrero funeral today including Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, JBL, Rey Mysterio, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, Linda McMahon, Dean Malenko, Tom Prichard, Billy Anderson, John Laurinaitis, Edge, Lita, Jamie Noble, Shane Helms, Charlie Haas, Jackie Gayda, Mark Jindrak, Konnan, Gail Kim, Mike Tenay, Doug Basham, Christian, C.M. Punk, Billy Kidman, Torrie Wilson, Sting, Tommy Drake, Kevin Dunn, Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayes and Steve Austin.

 

Superstar Billy Graham led the service. Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, JBL, Vince McMahon, Tom Prichard, all of Eddie's brothers, one of Eddie's sisters, Chavo Guerrero, and Valerie Coleman "Graham" all spoke as well.

 

Credit: WrestlingObserver.com

[Downhome 0]

I would love to be able to go back in time and actually see that 2002 Austin/Eddie feud now.

[Guest BillyTheStud]

Who's running things in Europe right now if the McMahons, Johnny Ace, Kevin Dunn, and several agents are in the US?

[nl5xsk1 0]

From the Lance Storm thing that someone posted:

 

I was sitting in the locker room in my street clothes, as the first match headed to the ring (my interview segment was going to be after the 7th or 8th match). Vince McMahon was doing house shows at that time with Zack Gowen, and he arrived at the building and decided to shake the card up a little. He walked up to me and says, “You know what match I’d pay to see tonight? … Lance Storm vs. Eddie Guerrero for the United States Title (Eddie was champ at the time). Let’s put that match on second.”

 

That's awesome. I'm sure it was just to throw a bone to the fans of Calgary & Lance himself, but that's such a cool thing to do. Plus, if given enough time to prepare, that match would be the shit.

[claydude14 0]

Vince worked house shows? Wow.

[Guest *KNK*]

Who's running things in Europe right now if the McMahons, Johnny Ace, Kevin Dunn, and several agents are in the US?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Dreamer? Dibiase? Anderson?

[Guest Ransome]

Here's a good article from PWInsider that outlines the changes that should be made in WWE following Eddie's death, even though I unfortunately can't see WWE implementing any major changes at this stage. This is long, but worth a read:

 

WITH EDDIE GUERRERO'S PASSING, A CHANGE IS LONG OVERDUE WITHIN WWE

by Mike Johnson @ 11:30:00 AM on 11/17/2005

 

When the story of 2005 is written, Eddie Guerrero’s death will most likely be remembered as the biggest news story of the year in wrestling. A tremendously popular international performer dropping dead in his hotel room is enough to make any news outlet stand up and take notice.

 

Eddie Guerrero left a legacy inside the wrestling ring, with his classics against Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, and others. He left a legacy with his tremendous tag teams alongside partners like Art Barr and Chris Jericho. He left a legacy with the memorable moments of his WWE title victory at No Mercy 2004 and he and Chris Benoit standing center ring at Wrestlemania XX. He left a legacy of being one of the greatest in-ring performers the business had ever seen. He left that legacy with endless good matches and feuds and promos and moments, and now that legacy has ended.

 

Eddie Guerrero is dead but that doesn’t need to be the end of his legacy. It’s time for the true legacy of Eddie Guerrero to be that his is the one death that finally makes the industry stand up and take notice that it needs to police itself.

 

For many on the outside looking in, It’s easy to dismiss the deaths of so many wrestlers who are so young. Wrestling doesn’t fall under any one banner so it slips through the cracks, with the exception of the time periods where it’s a hot fad. Who’s going to pay attention to WWE when Major League Baseball players are lying to Congress about their steroid usage, only to get tripped up on roid tests afterwards? It’s “only wrestling.”

 

It’s also easy to dismiss the deaths of those in the business as causes of their own personal faults. Brian Pillman, Louie Spicoli, Rick Rude, and Curt Hennig, among others, all died far too young. When they passed, all of them were mourned within the business but within a few weeks, their fellow wrestlers shrugged and said, “That won’t be me”, went back to business and whatever they needed to do to succeed in wrestling.

 

It’s easy to point at those who have died and dismiss that they were adults and the cause of their own deaths due to their own decisions, but the bottom line is that the industry that they decided to make their livings in is equally to blame.

 

There are more than enough reasons to go around. The pressures and temptations of being on the road. The stress of gaining and holding onto a spot. The stress of continuing to work injured. The hurt of allowing one’s personal life to go to hell in order to make a professional life on the road work. The political minefield that one often has to navigate, to the point that lies become commonplace and morals become subservient to the paycheck, an endless schedule, and so many other factors that have become the norm for many professional wrestlers.

 

As a result, the industry continues to rot itself from the inside, dying a little each time a talented performer is taken from his family far before his time. None of the names I’ve mentioned will be the last, and neither will Eddie Guerrero.

 

What can make Guerrero’s passing different, beyond Guerrero being so universally loved that the Raw rating skyrocketed and the media took notice, is that someone of his importance can be the catalyst for change, and the time for change is now. Not tomorrow, not next year, not after Wrestlemania, but now.

 

THE FARCE OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS MUST END

 

If you are a professional wrestler, when you sign a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, you are told what to do creatively when you perform, where and when to travel for performances, and how to dress when you are both traveling and performing. You are required to make appearances both publicly and privately as a representative of the company (sometimes without pay). You are on the company's schedule, doing their bidding, but you aren’t an employee.

 

That farce needs to end and if WWE is going to claim they cannot end it tomorrow, they are lying. There’s no such thing as an independent contractor in WWE, because if there was, WWE certainly wouldn’t be able to strip the performers of their characters and personas on the way out the door. WWE owns everyone who signs a contract with them, and WWE wrestlers are independent contractors in word alone.

 

Athletes for all major league sports are treated as employees, and it’s time for professional wrestling to finally take a big step out away from the carny circuit that birthed it and start to truly provide for those who keep the business going. It’s time for WWE to start running their business the way Major League Baseball and other sports franchises do. It’s time to cover the costs of hotel, medical, meals, and car rentals just like every other sports team does. Lord knows the company makes enough money, even in this down time. A quick look at the financial records that are released publicly is proof of that.

 

WWE can claim that it’s better for the wrestlers in terms of taxes and things of that nature but if the company took the initiative to help oversee the change, it would actually be better for all involved. It would provide security for the wrestlers, and nurture them instead of creating a situation where they feel like have to run until they drop to succeed. WWE can claim that it wouldn’t be cost-effective, but that’s another farce. The fact of the matter is that World Wrestling Entertainment has substantial cash reserves sitting around that they are doing nothing with and have been criticized in the past by stock holders for not using. They have more then enough money to make this happen. What better way to use the financial war chest than by investing in the future of the company and it’s most important employees?

 

Without the wrestlers, WWE has nothing, and the idea that in 2005 a production assistant helping to film promos being cut by main eventers probably has a better benefit package then anyone appearing on Raw or Smackdown is downright pathetic and ridiculous. This needs to end, now.

 

World Wrestling Entertainment loves to trot out the idea that they are a “family” during times like this. Well, it’s time for the patriarch of that family, Vince McMahon, to make a hard decision and decide that everyone is under one roof in that Tower, and everyone should be treated equally. It’s time for the farce that is "independent contracts" to die.

 

ALL WRESTLERS MUST BE INSURED

 

This goes hand in hand with the last point. All professional wrestlers (and their families, as after all, WWE is one big happy family) need to insured. It is a great thing that WWE covers the costs of surgeries when injuries occur, but it’s time for the company to completely cover their performers medically.

 

Every wrestler needs to gets benefits, not just the ones that retire and take office and announcing positions. WWE needs to provide another ring of protection for those who are beating their bodies to death in order for the company to run. Without the wrestlers, you have nothing. It’s time for the business to treat their most valued assets like legitimate employees, not circus animals.

 

This shouldn’t all fall on WWE financially. Take a deduction from the wrestlers’ pay, just like any other business that covers its employees. I doubt any wrestler who deals with the daily aches and pains and has children at home is going to refuse a small percentage of his check be deducted so those kids can go to the doctor without writing a huge check.

 

It's not as if WWE doesn't already have an amazing benefit plan in place for it's office employees. According to one former WWE employee, "Our health insurance was standard issue. They took a few bucks out of each check for inclusion in the plan, which could be individual or family. Coverage was good, reasonable co-pay's, lots of in-network doctors. Dental and eye care as well. Life insurance was extra but so cheap it was silly not to do it. The 401K plan was nice. Before it started, the company would pay out a profit sharing bonus of either 5%, 10% or 15%, based upon your annual salary, depending on how much money the company made. They changed it once the 401K plan started to a 50 cent match per dollar invested with a maximum of 4% matched overall. You had to invest at least 8% of your salary to get the full match and the most you could put in was 10%. Those are pre-tax dollars, remember. Then at year's end, they would give you a bonus paid into your 401K. Maximum match was 15%, again pretax."

 

Why is it that someone sitting behind a desk in Stamford, CT is so well taken care of by the company but the wrestlers running the road and taking nightly bumps aren't unless there's an extreme case of injury or personal problems? While it’s true that some wrestlers are smart enough to invest in medical and life insurance for themselves, there are many who won’t think or care about it until it’s too late. It’s time for WWE to no longer give their wrestlers the option. They all work for the company, they all get benefits.

 

MONTHLY PHYSICALS

 

WWE needs to hire a team of medical professionals to work for the company full-time and provide full, monthly physicals to all of the wrestlers. Monthly may seem invasive to some, but let’s face it, we are working within the realm of a business where growth enhancers has been the norm for the past two decades plus. These athletes need regular EKGs and full physical examinations done every four weeks, not just for the good of the company, but for the sake of their well being.

 

"I knew Eddie wasn’t feeling very good for the last week," Vicki Guerrero told the WWE website. "He was home and kept saying he wasn’t feeling good and we thought it was just 'road tired'. So we thought he just had to rest."

 

In the case of Eddie Guerrero, I don’t know that an examination would have saved his life, but had any EKGs changes been found, Guerrero could have been in an emergency room well before it was too late. If WWE maintained a regular full-time team of medical professionals that traveled with the company to provide regular physicals, Guerrero may have been able to relate his exhaustion to them and examinations could have been undertaken. Creating a system for the future could help prevent a future tragedy.

 

It’s been proven that most State Athletic Commissions are a joke that treat their pre-show physical exams for wrestling as such and go on to collect their taxes (or in some cases, payoffs and taxes). It’s time for WWE to become a true governing body within itself and force its performers to be the healthiest they can be. It may not stop the next guy from dropping dead on their watch. Years of abuse can’t be reversed, as has been proven by all the enlarged hearts in so many dead young wrestlers, but at least those who work for the company can go to bed knowing they did everything possible to prevent it from happening.

 

DRUG TESTING

 

It’s time for the company to get serious about drug testing, and not stop when the heat is off. There are wrestlers dropping dead under the watch of the industry and when the majority of the industry falls under the watch of one company, it’s WWE’s job to do something about it.

 

WWE has tried in the past to counsel and work with those who have had personal problems and addictions. They should be commended for that, but at the same time, it’s their responsibility to make sure that everyone under their umbrella as performers are being taken care of. WWE can take the next step towards do that by providing regular, mandatory drug testing for their athletes.

 

The company also needs to get serious about drug testing. The use of growth enhancers is often overlooked as a necessary evil of the business. That evil is there because it’s allowed to be. While a physical presence is needed to an extent to have that “star look”, this isn’t the 1980s where the freak bodies were the attraction. The audience of 2005 wants to be entertained by interesting characters, creative storylines, and good wrestling matches. Bodies are secondary today. The highest rated wrestling segment of all time had nothing to do with bodies or looks - it was The Rock N' Sock Connection's "This is Your Life", which scored an 8.4 in the Nielsen ratings.

 

All WWE contracted wrestlers need to adhere to the policy. This can’t be a situation where some are policed while main-eventers are allowed to get away with anything they want. I don’t care if it’s Triple H or Big Vito, if they don’t want to play ball, take a nod from Major League Baseball and sit them out for three PPVs, without pay or royalties. Take whatever royalties they have coming during that time period and donate it to an anti-drug charity. Don’t release them because that will make it easy for them to head elsewhere and make money. Make sure that everyone knows the company is serious. What are they going to do? Complain on their websites WWE isn’t paying them because they failed a drug test? There are hundreds of wrestlers who are willing to play ball in order to get a WWE paycheck and in 2005, drug testing should certainly be a much bigger career obstacle than a dress code.

 

This has to happen. It’s time for the company to think of the long term health of their wrestlers and force everyone off enhancement products and anything else they might be using that’s illegal or harmful to their body. It’s going to be impossible to catch and stamp out everything, but an attempt has to be made and it has to be done now, internally, before an outside force steps in like it has with Major League Baseball.

 

MANDATORY TIME OFF 

 

World Wrestling Entertainment runs 52 weeks a year and has fresh TV and house shows shows on most of those weeks. WWE may may need to run 24/7 as an entity but their performers do not. It’s time that the company provide mandatory time off for their wrestlers. Some, like Undertaker, have earned part-time schedules due to their loyalty, service and position. The truth is, any wrestler who has been with the company for over a year has earned a well deserved break.

 

The mental crush of the road mixed with the physical wear and tear on the body in the ring can often be a recipe for disaster in the business. For many, once they head down the road of masking these problems, their fate is just a matter of time. All wrestlers, not just main-eventers, need to be afforded time off, to rest their bodies and their souls.

 

In a recent posting on his website, former WWE star Andrew “Test” Martin wrote, “When I started wrestling I had never seen or heard of Vicodin or Percocet or Soma. How come so many wrestlers die from these medications and football players and hockey players don't? The answer is simple...wrestlers especially WWE wrestlers work 5 days a week all year long taking bump after bump in the ring, a doctor explained it to me like this...every time you take a fall in the ring it's like getting rear ended by a car going 20 mph, so how many bumps in the ring a night do you take? Multiply that by how many times a week you work all year long..that's a hell of a lot of whiplash and pain.”

 

It’s time for WWE to give their talent a break from the pain. All talents need to be able to do this without worrying that they’ve just cut the throat of their push. Triple H took several months off after his program with Batista earlier this year. He deserved the rest from the physical beatings. When he returned, he got a big reaction and was a fresh talent again, so the positives can work in both directions. If WWE cycles talent in and out of storylines on a regular basis (not just when they suffer major injuries) the company can actually lengthen the talent’s runs, their importance to the company and their personal well being all at the same time.

 

Wrestlers are often given time off to deal with “personal issues” which at times is often a euphemism for “drug problems.” If WWE instituted a system where guys could take time off without running themselves into the ground like Greyhound dogs about to be discarded from the racetrack, there would be much less of a need for anyone to take a break for “personal issues.”

 

There are many other ideas that can be implemented for the health of the industry, but a stand has to be made and it needs to be made today. There will never be easy answers or a perfect system. There will always be those who try to work outside of it but in the end, WWE has to come to grips with the fact that as long as they are the industry (which will be forever), things have to change for the long-term betterment of that industry.

 

Eddie Guerrero's legacy shouldn't be just another wrestler who died young. It doesn't have to be just the series of great matches and feuds that he left behind for future generations to enjoy on DVD and Video on Demand. He doesn't only have to be remembered with tears and stories of the man and his greatness. He can be the after-the-fact martyr for a business that needs to change, not just for the sake of his peers, but for everyone who will come after them and for families like Guerrero's who will lose much more than their favorite wrestler the next time someone in this industry dies.

 

Vince McMahon has already won the wrestling war. His personal legacy will go down as the greatest wrestling promoter of all time. If he acts now though, he can cement his place in history as being not only the greatest of all time, but also as the one promoter who accomplished something no one before or since cared or wanted to do by truly doing the right thing for those who make his business possible – the wrestlers. He can take all the past, present, and future criticism of his company and shove those critics' faces into the mud. He can provide an aura of class to an industry that's seen as trashy and classless from the outside.

 

Vince McMahon has trumpeted in the past that when he expanded nationally, he changed the shape of the wrestling industry and brought it into modern times. It's time he does the same internally, a positive change, with a modern outlook, for his wrestlers.

 

Mike Johnson can be reached at [email protected].

[Guest Duke_The_Dog]

Steve Austin actually went to the funeral. Surprising since he didn't go to Pillman's or Owen's.

[pochorenella 0]

Austin didn't go to Pillman's funeral?? WTF, I thought they were real close buddies. He even wears that gold chain in memory of him. Owen's I can somewhat understand (not justify) since they barely spoke to each other after the piledriver incident. It seems Owen was so ashamed he wasn't able to even call Austin to apologize, and Austin never forgot that.

[iliketurtles 0]

I think Austin said Pillman's funeral was too hard to go too.

[Enigma 0]

Austin said he didn't go to Pillman's funeral because he probably wouldn't be able to handle it and probably would have had a breakdown.

[Guest heyimbro]

From RVD......

 

NOVEMBER 17 -- Eddie affected everybody’s lives in a most positive way. You have to respect his untouchable wrestling skills whether you’re inside the business, a fan or even someone that just saw him once. His personality and charisma entertained consistently without ever missing the mark.

 

Eddie took his job responsibilities and his life very seriously. He approached everything from a perfectionist’s point of view and the results showed it. Whether he realized it or not, Eddie was a teacher; sharing his knowledge with so many people that he knew he could help. Not just a role model for his fans, but he was an inspiration to his peers, in the ring, in the dressing room, and around his family which, by the way, is when I saw Eddie most content.

 

I told Eddie that when I saw him, I would think “strength,” because he always seemed to be fighting something inside, and I was impressed by his relentless endurance.

 

I enjoyed the honor of wrestling with Eddie in some kick-ass matches, and I always had hoped we could finish that debate about who’s got the better frog splash. This is a huge loss to all of us; the entire fucking world!

 

Rest in peace, Eddie. You better know you’ll be missed.

 

RVD

[CBright7831 0]

This time last week, I still didn't know Eddie was dead. I didn't get on the computer at all (for the first time since vacation) on Sunday. Little did I know the shitastic announcement that awaited me and would ruin my entire day.

[Downhome 0]

Did you not find out until RAW came on? I can't imagine how the fans who heard the news for the first time that way felt.

[Guest *KNK*]

Did you not find out until RAW came on? I can't imagine how the fans who heard the news for the first time that way felt.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

A friend of mine was completely unaware of it and was totally caught off-guard by it. He said it didnt event sink in until the end of the night that Eddie was dead.

 

I don't know how I would've reacted to hearing that he died and then seeing that video right after it.

[Guest heyimbro]

Also, Percy Pringle:

 

When I think of Eddie Guerrero, I remember a 17-year old running around backstage at the wrestling matches in El Paso, Texas in the mid-1980's. During my early years with The Von Erich's World Class Wrestling, Eddie's Father Gory, co-promoted the events there. Eddie hadn't started his ring career as of yet, so he helped out where ever he could. This included bringing the boys jackets back to the dressing room from the ring, and running to the concession stand for us. I smile as I recall one night when I was painted yellow by Matt Borne. Eddie pulled me aside as I was headed for the ring, and gave me the "heads up" on a rib that was being played on me. He told me that my dear friend good 'ol Maniac Matthew Borne relieved himself in paint bucket that I was going to be doused with. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late for me to do anything about it. When I returned colored with several shades of yellow, Eddie was there to do what he could to help me clean up. I didn't see Eddie for several years after that, but we always recounted that night and laughed.

 

I am sincerely at a total loss for words. It is late on Tuesday night, and Eddie passed two days ago. I wanted to express my feelings since Sunday, but I just don't know what to say. I wish I had the vocabulary to completely explain how my heart is aching again at another loss of a brother and friend. There have been so many. The list goes on... and on... I find myself asking will there be another, and who will it be? Yes, there will be another. The Bible tells us that when we are born, we are destined to die. I can't find any comfort recounting the names that have been etched on tombstones. What is it about this business that I have dedicated my entire adult life to? Why will we give up everything we own to pay to play the game? I don't have the answers.

 

Eddie Guerrero was a fine human being, who dearly loved the industry he was born into. He cherished his precious family. Now, we who remain cherish his memory.

 

God Bless.

 

~Percy

[CBright7831 0]

Did you not find out until RAW came on? I can't imagine how the fans who heard the news for the first time that way felt.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I found out that morning. I wake up, get up and then...

 

Dad: Eddie Guerrero died!

Me: *not hearing him good* What?

Dad: Eddie Guerrero died yesterday!

Me: WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?

[Enigma 0]

It was an absolute shock to me. I saw the news in a post-sleep haze and immediately woke up.

[Fartsauce 0]

I got the news late in the afternoon on that Sunday when my buddy called me up while I was eating in a restaurant and told me to check out wwe.com. I actually chewed him out for a few seconds wondering why he would call me on my cell phone just to check out wwe.com. He told me that Eddie Guerrero had died. The news blasted me so much that I didn't even realize I had left my cell phone in the restaurant (on the table) until the next morning. I was supposed to go to a local concert that night but didn't go because I had to get straight to my computer and check out the news myself. The news just absolutely devastated me.

[Hoff 0]

I got the news when I met up with my friends to head to the Target Center for the show. Literally an hour and a half before bell time. It didn't even really sink in until after the show. It was a surreal experience.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

I don't think either of those last two posts were worth bumping this thread, but oh well. My Eddie Tribute T-shirt arrived in the mail today.

[Hoff 0]

Actually, just the first post bumped it -- it's not bumping when it's at the top of the page.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

I guess I'm just a little surprised people are still posting about when/how they found out. I'm really not complaining or anything, honestly; actually, I was gonna post about my Eddie T getting here but I didn't want to bump it earlier, but since it already was, I figured, "hey, why not?"

[Hoff 0]

Well fuck it, if you have something to say, this is the forum.

[Guest slmon]

Now that the awful news has finally sunk in, can this fangirl just say, Damn it, Eddie - you win my heart and then you break it by dying. You have eternally my thanks, affection and prayers. Sylvia

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I just thought about Eddie Guerrero again, then I watched the Johnny Cash - Hurt video about Eddie and then the crowd chanting "Thank You Eddie", I nearly cried again. God I miss him. This thread should be made a classic, so we never forget how we reacted to Eddie's passing.

 

Thank you Eddie

[The Czech Republic 0]

This thread should be made a classic, so we never forget how we reacted to Eddie's passing.

Yeah, we can't let TSM's reactions to the death of Eddie Guerrero be lost to the ages. This should be made a classic so new posters know what not to do when the next guy kicks it.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

Good point

 

Make Czech a mod now