General Fantasy Sports

View the Forum Registry

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread


Self-edit this thread


0 Subject: Eddie Guerrero Passes away.

Posted by: wiggs
- Donor [04991311] Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:28



PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LATE EDDIE GUERRERO
by Dave Scherer @ 12:10:00 PM on 11/13/2005

I don't even know what to say about the passing of Eddie Guerrero, I really don't. As I sit here and type this, I am numb, blindsided by news I didn't see coming, from miles away. It was just Friday night that he was in the ring with Mr. Kennedy entertaining us on Smackdown, and now he's gone.

His dying, far too young, is a tragedy. There is no other way to look at it. A wife has lost her husband. Children have lost their father. Well beyond that, we as wrestling fans have lost a true champion as well, and it's just downright sad my friends.

I remember the first time I saw Eddie work, as Black Tiger for New Japan. I was a huge Japanese wrestling fan at the time and Eddie, almost literally, jumped off of the TV screen with his amazing ability in the ring. He was a guy who, the first time I saw him, I knew would be a star in the business for a long time due to the simple fact that he was an amazing wrestler. As we would later find out, there was more to him than just wrestling prowess in the ring. He also knew how to work and convey himself to the masses.

Eddie first showed the world his ability to project his character in the ring after he teamed up with Art "Love Machine" Barr as a part of the fabled "Los Gringos Locos" faction. They were the most over heel tag team in Mexico, working the fans into a frenzy with their in-ring antics and legendary feud with El Hijo Del Santo and Octagon down in AAA over a decade ago. It was clear at the time that both men had a big future ahead of them.

Fans in the US got to see them work at the "When Worlds Collide" PPV in November of 1994 and friends of mine who had not followed lucha before that suddenly understood what I had been raving about where Guerrero and Barr were concerned once they saw the show. Suddenly, lucha tapes became a huge commodity. Paul Heyman had planned to bring them into ECW and push them to the moon, but then Barr died later that month. Eddie had to deal with serious tragedy in his personal and professional life after his friend's passing. He adopted Barr's frog splash finisher in homage to Barr and came into ECW in 1995.

Watching him work at the ECW Arena was something that is hard for me, even a decade after the fact, to aptly describe. His feud with Dean Malenko produced matches that could only be described as mesmerizing, they were that good. The fluidity and grace with which Eddie moved and worked was unlike anyone I had ever seen before him, and may ever see again. All you had to do was watch him and you could tell he was a national star in the making. As an ECW fan, I knew that seeing his work up close was something that was on borrowed time. Sure enough, Eric Bischoff didn't take long to sign him to a big money deal to work for WCW, and Eddie was gone. I remember we interviewed him and Dean Malenko backstage at the ECW Arena on their last night in the company. I had spoken to Eddie before, and he was always a nice, quiet guy. But that night, he was genuinely touched by the farewell that the Arena faithful had given him, and it came across that way to me. He was a man who cared deeply about his work and appreciated those who appreciated him.

Once in WCW, the nation had the chance to watch his unparalleled abilities, and just as I thought, Eddie got over like a million bucks. His time in WCW led to his run in WWE, where he was a top character and a world champion. In the ring, there was no one like him, but putting his body on the line, night after night, would take its toll in the long run, as would the pride that he took in his work and the pressure that he put on himself to succeed.

It's no secret that Eddie had his demons. He had issues with drugs and alcohol that affected him throughout the later years of his life. The bumps that workers take throughout their career hurt more and more as the years go on. At 38 years old, there were a lot of bumps on Eddies body. It's also no secret that his run as WWE Champion took its toll on him emotionally as he put a ridiculous amount of pressure on himself to succeed. When Smackdown business was soft when he was the champ, he took it personally and it affected him more than it would most others. It was just his way, and it was a lot of the reason why he had the success that he did.

Now, he's gone, at just 38 years old. It's still so hard for me to comprehend. It hasn't sunk in really. All I can I hope out of all this is that has found peace and that the pain is gone. Rest in peace Eddie, rest in peace.

1Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:31
HOLY SH*T!!!

WOW.

And I don't even care about fantasy points.

I hope WWE does the right thing tomorrow night and again Thursday (well, today really with tapings going on today).

Best wishes to the Guerrero family.
2wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:36
wwe.com is saying that they found him in his hotel room, no details being released yet. Wow that is scary.
3Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:40
Ya know what I'd like to see? When they tape the Smackdown show today they could do 1 of 2 things and I'd be happy.

1. Cancel the regular card and storylines and just put on some great matches in his honor (ala the night after Owen Hart died).

2. Strip Batista of the title (he was losing to either Eddie or Orton today anyway) and have a tourney for the title in his honor.

I hope they find it was of natural causes or something along those lines. I really don't want to see his great legacy diminished in any way by finding something bad that led to it.
4Species
Leader
ID: 07724916
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:41
This is very sad. My condolences.

Rest In Peace, Eddie. We'll miss you.
5wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 12:53
WWE.com did not give much information on the Eddie Guerrero passing in their report this morning.

We do know that Eddie was in Minneapolis, MN waiting for the RAW and SmackDown! tapings which are being held tonight. Eddie was just 38 years old. According to sources, Eddie had breakfast this morning with Chavo Guerrero and at least one other wrestler. Chavo and Eddie had traveled together for months when both were on SmackDown!. Eddie then returned to his hotel room and when he didn't come back out when he was scheduled, some friends went looking for him and found him dead. We have no other details and do not want to speculate.

Local Minneapolis station WCCO posted the following on their website: (WCCO) Minneapolis World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, the organization said Sunday. Guerrero, 38, was found at the Marriott City Center in downtown Minneapolis. He was in town for Sunday night's "WWE Supershow" TV taping at Target Center. Police confirmed Guerrero's death, but are not yet releasing additional information. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner was at the hotel. Guerrero was a featured star on the UPN series "WWE Smackdown!" and the subject of a full-length DVD titled "Cheating Death, Stealing Life." Son of legendary Mexican wrestler Gory Guerrero, Eddie Guerrero has also wrestled with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, among other federations. His nephew, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., also wrestles with WWE. Stay with WCCO.COM for more information as it becomes available.

On behalf of everyone at this website, we want to send our condolences to the family and friends of Eddie. Rest in Peace, Eddie.
6GoatLocker
Sustainer
ID: 060151121
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 13:32
WOW, just all I can say.

RIP Eddie.

Agree with Farn.
Let's see what Vince does.

Cliff
7wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 15:16
Eddie Guerrero's sudden death has blindsided everyone in World Wrestling Entertainment. Numerous wrestlers are shocked and numb from this dramatic turn of events.

Tonight is a WWE Supershow where they do combined tapings for Raw and Smackdown because WWE is set to go overseas immediately afterwards for a long two week trip. WWE has decided to make both the Raw and Smackdown shows, tribute shows to Eddie. The usual format for the shows has been changed to incorporate tributes to Eddie. These shows will probably be similar to the Owen Hart Raw tribute show in May 1999.

Also, WWE.com immediately edited some things on the website due to his death. There was a big banner on the WWE.com television shows page earlier this morning featuring a collage of Smackdown wrestlers teaming up at Survivor Series in the interpromotional match. It has since edited off for a simple banner of the Raw logo. Also, the little arrows thing on the front page of WWE.com where you flip through previews of all the the top stories suddenly doesn't work. Eddie Guerrero's profile is still up on WWE.com, although, it's been modified a bit. Now it features a big R.I.P. banner.
8wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 17:25
Eddie Guerrero was found dead in the bathroom in his hotel room with a toothbrush in his mouth and thus he apparently died while brushing his teeth earlier in the morning. The belief among WWE personnel is that Guerrero died of heart failure. Guerrero's body was found and removed from the room by local paramedics.

Afterwards, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Chavo Guerrero visited the hotel room to say their goodbyes and reflect. WWE wrestlers and employees were visibly shaken and emotional while leaving the Marriot hotel to go the Target Center, the site of tonight's Raw/Smackdown taping. Tonight's Smackdown taping will need to be dramatically revised.
9Great One
ID: 1310468
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 18:30
Wow. Very Sad.
10Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 19:54
Just asking in advance, can we have no posting of spoilers in this thread (or anywhere) without explicit spoiler tags? For the first time in years I'm not going to read stuff this week so I can sit down and enjoy both shows without knowing in advance what happened. I'm really looking forward to these 2 shows after reading that Vince changed both shows to be tributes.
11Tree
ID: 551081321
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 22:11
i've been on vacation all week, and tonight in the Tampa airport was my first hearing of Eddie passing away, and i'm pretty floored. i called Mike Johnson up to confirm whether it was true or not, and he said it was and was pretty upset.

man. i named my team here in memory Art Barr, Eddie's former tag partner in Mexico. it kinda creeps me out even more now...
12Mike D
Leader
ID: 041831612
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 22:54


Thanks for the memories, Eddie
13The Dienasty
ID: 132591
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 23:00
Shocked. RIP Eddie.
14Bond, James Bond
ID: 53101107
Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 23:33
I am completely in shock regarding this tragic news. I didn't know anything about Eddie's passing until I read it here on this thread. Just 38 years old. Man, that just ain't right.

Certainly the WWE has gone through its share of tragic and unfortunate deaths of late and just to see Eddie's name mentioned among them....I just can't believe it.

My condolences go out to Eddie's family, friends, co-workers, and anybody that may have had the pleasure of enjoying his immense talent. RIP Eddie RIP!

15rockafellerskank
ID: 180352016
Mon, Nov 14, 2005, 21:16
For those that wish to send their condolances:

http://www.legacy.com/azcentral/Guestbook.asp?Page=Guestbook&PersonID=15674104



16Species
Leader
ID: 07724916
Mon, Nov 14, 2005, 23:42
Pretty nice show put on by WWE in tribute of Eddie. Lots of great clips from the stars that knew him. Great highlights. I had forgotten about the Chyna/Eddie mamacita IC strap storyline - hilarious. Never saw Eddie spray sewage on the Big Show! Yuck!

The wrestling was without drama and storyline, without promos - with some really good technical wrestling. Michaels/Mysterio seemed a highlight along with Angle/Benjamin. Bravo.
17Great One
ID: 1310468
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 07:41
I know Farn didn't want any spoilers, but I would say Friday's show will be even better so I will just leave it at that and tell everyone to watch.
18mike
ID: 187181017
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 13:55
I'm still in shock over this

good news (if you can call it that) is that he passed quietly. heart disease in his sleep.

now bad question. I don't have cable and was wondering if anyone knew of a place to download raw. I'd really like to watch it
19blue hen
ID: 349532121
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 14:02
No. Cheap.
20wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 15:49
The strange thing is there are so many different reports out there about how it happened. I hope that MikeDs is accurate because I have read he went for breakfast and went back to his room, and I heard he was brushing his teeth.
21Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 16:21
wiggs, watch the press conference with vince and chavo on wwe.com

chavo explains what happened.
22blue hen
ID: 349532121
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 17:11
Yeah WWE.com has a lot of video on it right now. Including clips from last night that didn't air.
23Mike D
Leader
ID: 041831612
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 17:56
Lol, that's not me in post 18 wiggs!
24wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 18:49
oops, saw mike and assumed you were the only one :)
25blue hen
ID: 349532121
Tue, Nov 15, 2005, 18:58
Yeah, otherwise I would have tried to be even more offensive.
26wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 00:07
after watching all the tributes it made me think, how many wrestlers have died while still competing?
Owen Hart and Eddie are the only 2 I can think of
27Tree
ID: 411033165
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 06:55
there are plenty Wiggs - heck, Iron Mike DiBiase (Ted's father), died in the ring.

there was a british wrestler (Big Daddy Crabtree maybe?) who died in the ring a couple of years ago.

Chris Candido was an active wrestler when he died earlier this year.

about 2 months ago an independent wrestler in massachusetts died during his match as well, when a move to the floor outside of the ring went wrong.
28Mike D
Leader
ID: 041831612
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 07:05
I think he may mean more mainstream dudes. Brian Pillman comes to mind.
29Tree
Sustainer
ID: 599393013
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 09:37
mainstream?

davey boy smith, rick rude, adrian adonis, eddie gilbert, louie spicolli, bobby duncum jr, all come to mind as pretty mainstream guys who died in the last 10 years...
30Mattinglyinthehall
ID: 2824911
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 09:43
Adonis is a good one, but I'm pretty sure he died more like 20 years ago. Rick Rude was no longer competing when he died. No idea about the others. I'm pretty sure that Moondog Spot was actually still competing in local circuits when he died.
31wiggs
Donor
ID: 04991311
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 09:53
The reason I asked the question is I really had no idea how big eddie really was in the company. Seemed like he was just another guy when he was alive, but after watching all the memorials and the news and everything, he was huge in the business. I knew they did a memorial when Owen died, but I couldnt remember them doing one for anyone else.

I forgot about pillman, he was definately still active.

I knew Davey Boy, but I thought he was done competing when he passed.

Thanks for the info.
32blue hen
ID: 349532121
Wed, Nov 16, 2005, 10:16
Eddie was supposed to be in the main event of the next pay per view. I'd call that active. And Owen died at an actual pay per view.

Rick Rude was well past his prime and not wrestling in any of the main circuits when he died, as far as I remember.
33Great One
ID: 4910431620
Thu, Nov 17, 2005, 15:44
Surprised Tree didn't mention it, but Eddie was on the very first ROH card and helped in getting them mainstream exposure.

Eddie Guerrero ROH Tribute and Thank You
34RecycledSpinalFluid
Dude
ID: 204401122
Thu, Nov 17, 2005, 23:37
My Eddie Moment...

I've been on vacation since Monday, doing honey-do stuff. Mostly cleaning the garages and shuffling things around. So, I had a truck load of crap that I took to the county dump/recycling center. Its an old beater work truck (81 Chevy) and I'm wearing grubby cleaning clothes. On the way back from the dump, I stop at a minute mart to grab a drink. On the way out, the guy in the car next to mine leans out his window and says "Hey, you look like my brother."
I say, "He must be one ugly bastard then" and get into my truck. The guy, pretty well described as a scruffy old dude you'd see at the local bar you avoid visiting, gets out of his car and taps on my window. I roll it down and he says "hey, that was a compliment."

"Oh, in that case he must be damn good lookin," I reply with a chuckle. At this point his "old lady" comes around to the window too. (BTW, this has all been friendly so far). The guy says "yeah, my brothers 43 years old. How old are you?"

"I'm 34." The woman then chimes in and says "you better last until 38."

I give this perplexed look and ask why. She responds with "Eddie died and he was 38. You know, Eddie Guerrero. We watched his last match."

At this point I begin to chuckle inside a bit, recalling this thread as my only source of info on who or what happened to Eddie. My brother in law watches religiously, so I was vaguely familiar with Eddie.

I fire back "yeah, he died while brushing his teeth or something. That sucks."

The conversation continues some more, then I say that I gotta get going. Then I leave.

So...the Gurupies made me look like I knew what I was talking about, down right S M R T. Thanks fellas.
35Mike D
Leader
ID: 041831612
Thu, Nov 17, 2005, 23:52
Cool story. Glad the collective pro wrestling knowledge of this group actually amounted to something. ;)
36Tree
ID: 34103186
Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 07:18
let that be a lesson to all who scoff about pro wrestling and the fans.

i mean, without pro wrestling fans and their wisdom you weened from from them, you would never have had a conversation with some semi-scary people at a junkyard...
37Mike D
Leader
ID: 041831612
Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 09:19
LMFAO!
38Great One
ID: 4910431620
Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 17:15
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
39Tree
Sustainer
ID: 599393013
Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 17:35
Mike's been a friend of mine for 10 years now. that is probably the best piece of true journalism he's done. i told him that much like Eddy's death, his article transcended wrestling.
40Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 17:39
this may be the best wrestling article I've read. From top to bottom its pure gold. And if it in anyway it ever leads to a change he should be commended.

If only Vince thought as sensibly as he does. Some really great ideas included in it.

Oh, and I guess I'm naive, but wrestlers have no health care? Hotels aren't covered? The cars I knew but geezus Vince, do the right thing, get these guys health care and benefits. Without them you are a pauper (well, you would have been).
41Mattinglyinthehall
Leader
ID: 01629107
Mon, Nov 21, 2005, 15:31
WWE Instates New Drug Policy!
The WWE has released further information regarding this brand-new drug policy that they are going to be putting into effect. Here is the official statement:

"In a joint meeting today with the RAW and SmackDown rosters in the United Kingdom, in Sheffield, Vince McMahon announced that within the next several weeks, a new drug testing policy will be implemented in which performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids, etc., recreational drugs, as well as abuse of prescription drugs will be banned.

In addition to the new drug testing procedure, there will also be an emphasis on cardiovascular examinations.

The specifics of the drug policy will be announced over the next several weeks. More details to follow. Check with WWE.com for the latest information."

We will continue to update you on this story when more information is released.
42Farn
Sustainer
ID: 451044109
Mon, Nov 21, 2005, 15:56
there is a live video of Vince making the announcement on wwe.com for those who wanted to watch it.

1 step in the right direction for this company. let's hope they keep going forward to fix the flaws in the business.
43Great One
Sustainer
ID: 053272014
Sat, Dec 03, 2005, 12:14
Eddie Guerrero Tribute Video - Here Without You
A band I never liked in 3 Doors Down but the song goes very well. Much better than Johnny Cash's Hurt they used on RAW which just didn't seem right.
44 Brandon notsch
ID: 11172415
Sat, Dec 24, 2005, 16:08
Eddie was a great wrestler and was funny and we can remember him by his smile his pation and his family."Vicky" if you doint understand,its the part of life.Eddies kids are proboly saying:"were are you dad "were are you sad to hear that.One more thing to remember:frog splash and Va LA raza,RIP Eddie we will miss you.
54Guru
      ID: 330592710
      Wed, Apr 12, 2006, 14:48
If you are wondering why this thread keeps sorting to the top, there is an automated spammer that keeps posting ads in this particular thread.

I'm often able to stop those at the source, but sometimes someone is clever enough to get one through.
55 Alex
      ID: 58338182
      Tue, Apr 18, 2006, 04:39
Eddie guerrero ment alot to me, me being only 15 i would tune in every week to see eddie just to lie cheat and steal eddie i will never forget you. vicki and the whole family i dont know how your feeling but i wish you a life of happiness

R.I.P
EDDIE GUERRERO , YOU WILL BE MISSED.
56 brian
      ID: 43561919
      Mon, Jun 19, 2006, 20:07
why do I have a feeling theres a cover-up in his death?
57Tree
      ID: 5561918
      Mon, Jun 19, 2006, 21:04
usually, when there's a cover up, it's to cover up the fact someone died due to years of drug and steroid abuse.

so, what are they covering up?
58 Brandon Notsch
      ID: 16583015
      Fri, Jun 30, 2006, 16:09
Eddie Guerreo was the most toughest s.o.b in the WWE, Not to take it personly from Stone Cold. I've always watched WWF and WWE and Eddie was the most favorite and loved superstar in the WWE. When you always say the magic word: Va La Raza Eddie is always watching down on us. R.I.P Latino Heat.
General Fantasy Sports

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread




Post a reply to this message: Eddie Guerrero Passes away.

Name:
Email:
Message:
Click here to create and insert a link
Click here to insert a block of hidden (spoiler) text
Ignore line feeds? no (typical)   yes (for HTML table input)


Viewing statistics for this thread
Period# Views# Users
Last hour11
Last 24 hours11
Last 7 days22
Last 30 days99
Since Mar 1, 200770052215