eddie

(transcribed from my blog, originally written 11/18/2005):

I hate being the bearer of bad news, but in my near circle of friends and fellow wrestling fans it seems I was
the first to know.......

Sunday morning I had awakened a little earlier than I wanted. This was the first day I had had the opportunity
to sleep past 8am in almost three weeks, between work, conventions, and wrestling shows (including SD in
Indianapolis that prior Tuesday). I hadn't finished editing my pictures from Smackdown so I thought I would
get back to work.

I edited my pictures from the Guererro/Kennedy match, smiling the whole way. Eddie had been his old self,
using the "Chair ruse" to fool even a seasoned ref like Charles Robinson and hand Kennedy his first
"Defeat" through a DQ. Incensed, Kennedy gathered the chair and clobbered Eddie with it, punctuating the
deed with "Disqualify THAT!"

I finished those pics, but before I went to the next match my photo editor program crashed. I shut it down,
opening the window below it to a message board.

The top headline: "Eddie Guererro passes away".

I was struck dumb. How could that be possible? Eddie couldn't just up and die like that! Selfish me, I know; I
read the post, then loaded wwe.com just to make sure someone wasn't jumping the gun.

My heart sank when it read it there, because for all the bashing some in the IWC put on that site, news like
this is never false.

With my vision blurred with tears, I wrote a quick note on the boards, suspecting the worst - Eddie had been
claimed by the demons he said he had conquered. Or could it have been that chairshot Kennedy gave him?
Eddie sold it like a concussion, was he really selling?

I grabbed my cellphone and started making calls. I couldn't get Deagen on the line, so I finally gave in and left
a message. I called GOAT next, and found out he was on his way to Minneapolis.

"Someone's not gonna be at the supershow," I announced as best I could.
"What? who?" GOAT asked nervously.
"Eddie Guererro is dead."
"WHAT?"

I broke down even harder at this point. I explained what little I knew and wished I didn't have to be the one to
tell him. I wanted him to know before he got there- as a fan who has been to even more shows than I (and
someone who had had the good fortune to meet Eddie) he had a right to know. We speculated, but we couldn't
stay on the line, as his cellphone signal was cutting out a lot.

We talked a couple more times that day and compared notes and such. Judging from some clues he picked up
on his roadtrip we figured that all the wrestlers knew about it.

I finally spoke to Deagen late that afternoon and told him all the info I had at that point.

I also told several of my friends I met up with that afternoon. The responses ranged from surprise to shock to
disbelief. How could one man, so full of life and energy, just "go" like that?

And Monday morning, when I came into work, I had questions coming to me from people who know me, but
know nothing about wrestler.

"Did you hear about that wrestler who died? Did you know him?"

It would be arrogant of me to say I knew Eddie. We had never met - I recall three distinct opportunities where
I wanted to meet him, and in two of those cases he ignored the fans completely. The third, I think, he did not
attend the autograph session- he and Batista were the main event for that show and may have had other
commitments.

Those who asked me wondered if I had ever met Eddie. I hadn't, but I knew him from his personality on tv - a
shining example of a Robin Hood character, the loveable rogue who seemed to get away with everything- ok,
almost everything.

The shows I attended where I got to see Eddie in action were always entertaining, he never held back.

-I saw him at an SD taping in Rochester, NY, the night he put Tajiri through the windshield.
-That following Sunday I saw him at a house show in Cleveland, where he wanted to apologize to tajiri to his
face. Tajiri read him the riot act in Japanese, then blurted out in plain English "What the F**k?"
-This might have been the same show, but a huge "CHEAT!" chant started in the crowd during his match,
Startled. Eddie looked at us and motioned "Cheat? ME?? Hokay...." and he looped the tag rope on the ring
ropes and moved down the apron.
-I attened an SD before No Way Out 2004 where Eddie gave us one of the most intense promos I'd ever heard
from Eddie. He referred to Brock Lesnar as "another demon he needed to conquer". I likened the promo to a
Cactus Jack promo for its intensity and borderline anger/insanity we were getting from Eddie. Despite this
wonderful promo I still thought Eddie wouldn't win the title, but he did.
-He got one of his first cracks on JBL at a SD taping in Columbus, about two weeks after WMXX. This was
the night Eddie stole JBL's hat and had the fans fill it with soda, popcorn, spit, etc. I almost came home with
that hat, but it landed on the floor near me as I sat in the lower level. Knowing security, I'd have the hat but I
would have had to leave the arena.
-I didn't see Eddie in person again for a few months, but I was part of one of the "Eddie Moments" shown on
Raw. I attended the SD in Cincinnati where Eddie showed off all the things he stole from then-GM Kurt
Angle's office, and all the "personalizing" he did to it all before it was sent to auction.
-I attended No Way Out 05, where he and Rey won the tag belts from the Bashems
-Eddie was part of a special show for Honda employees in September 05. He and Batista had a "Friendly"
match, which included a posedown, a belt shot, the ringbell hammer, and other shenanigans.
-I was also honored to be at Eddie's last show in Indianapolis.

So did I know Eddie? Not personally, no. But wrestlers and fans are a large extended family where you can
talk about each other :)
I miss you already, Eddie. I hope you and Owen are causing trouble together.

Rey Mysterio takes one
of the "Three Amigos"
(Great American Bash
2005, Buffalo)

Eddie cheats again- this time, making
an extra long tag rope (No Way Out
2005, Pittsburgh)

Eddie squares off against
"SD Draft pick" Triple H
(Detroit Draft day, 3/22/04)

Eddie, shown here in the lowrider you
see in the background, heading to the
ring for his final match vs. Mr. Kennedy
(SD Indianapolis, 11/8/2005

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