The following post is a compilation of individual posts from the old DTM Blog that was eventually combined to its own tribute page on the old DTM Webstation. It has been mostly preserved for the sake of historical context.
Yesterday morning, around 11:30 AM, I had posted the following piece on my blog:
From WWE.com:
WWE is deeply saddened by the news that Eddie Guerrero has passed away. He was found dead this morning in his hotel room in Minneapolis. Eddie is survived by his wife Vickie and his two daughters.
I just found this out a minute ago and… I didn’t see this coming. I can’t really say anything other than that a great wrestler… a great man has been lost today. And any man who has gone through the trials and tribulations as he has deserves nothing short of a worthy remembrance. One that I can’t possibly provide.
Some time later, I had posted another entry that went something like this.
So some time passed since I’ve found out about Eddie Guerrero’s passing and… you know, I have some time to let it sink in that he’s dead. And you know it’s hard to believe that just a couple days ago, he was in top form, wrestling a match against Ken Kennedy. He didn’t seem to be faulting, he seemed just fine. Looked to be having the best time of his life and posed for a run in the top spot. And then this happens….
So it’s been reported (and announced in a press conference early on) that tonight’s TV tapings (for this week’s RAW and Smackdown airings) will be a tribute show to Eddie. In essence, it’s sort of similar to the Owen Hart show they did in 99; some people talk, pay their respects, and wrestle a match or two. Vince McMahon had mentioned (in said press conference) that they might show a couple old Eddie matches (in full form or edited form?).
So yeah, this is the third time I’m posting something Guerrero-related on the Blog, with the whole thing posted on the Webstation (on the front page, no less). These three posts could have been pushed into one massive post, but the truth is I was still in a state of shock. To tell you the truth, I’m still in a state of shock. I keep thinking in the back of my mind that this isn’t a real story… that this is just another in a series of sick WWE angles, because for them to go that far wouldn’t surprise me. But after awhile, the realization kicks in that this isn’t a work and that the world has been dealt a huge blow with the passing of Eddie Guerrero.
A passing nobody ever saw coming.
So I’m doing my usual things on a Sunday morning and after taking care of some stuff, I decide to browse Inside Pulse for any wrestling-related news or any notes on potential happenings for the WWE tapings. As soon as I hit the wrestling site, I read a bit about Eddie Guerrero having been found dead in his hotel room early in the morning. I found it hard to believe at first, but I head over to the WWE site and they’re reporting the same thing.
For some reason or another, though, this hurts. Badly.
Why is this? I haven’t felt like this when other wrestlers had died. Why was this any different? I don’t know why. All I know is that it hurts.
Things that I had planned to do this day? Couldn’t get them done. Website updates? Fanfic writings? Couldn’t go through with them. I even had a hard time writing something worthwhile on the blog because it hurts so bad to know that a really talented guy has passed on. A death that came out of nowhere. No warning, no sign, no nothing. It just happened. Why? I can’t say I know, nor can I say I even care. To me, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is… well, a man who had given the audience all he had (and moreso), a man who had gone through his demons, a man who almost lost it all… had been taken from us too soon.
I’d be lying if I said I worshipped the ground that Eddie Guerrero walked on – but while I wasn’t a diehard fan, I couldn’t deny that he was a damn good wrestler and a damn good entertainer, a unique combination that seldom few performers in the business fit into. Eddie could make you smile or he could make you curse his name. He had that talent. He had that ability to suck you in his matches. The guy… damn, just writing this is hurting.
Last week’s Smackdown – the match with Eddie and Kennedy? God, was that a great match. And looking back at it now, it’s nice to know that if Eddie had to go, at least he’d gone out on top. And perhaps that’s the most distressing thing about this whole deal. I mean, look at that match. Look at Eddie in that match. Did he look like a guy who was teetering on the edge of death? Did he look like a guy at his lowest point? No, he was a man who was at the top of his game, enjoying what he did, and having the time of his life. He looked like a guy who could have been a major player for years to come… years that have been cut off.
More than twelve or thirteen hours later after first finding out the news, it still hurts. It still fucking hurts. It hurts writing this. It hurts just thinking about it. I’ll probably have a hard time sleeping tonight. And if the death of a man I don’t know personally is causing me this much grief, what could his wife and kids be going through, knowing that they’ll no longer have a husband and father to share their love with?
Maybe that’s the most distressing thing of all this: life doesn’t last forever. For all you know, you may be living your last days and never even realize it. It’s one of those painful reminders that life is too short.
So I’ve said my piece. Nothing particularly new or insightful that somebody else could have done better, but at least I got it out.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Eddie’s family and friends, hoping that they’ll be able to cope with this tragedy. And Eddie – you have done so much and gone through so much in your short life that absolutely nothing I say here and now can do you justice. So I’ll just thank you for the memories, thank you for putting a smile on my face, and thank you for being who you are. You will be sorely missed and remembered by those whose lives you touched.
Goodbye, Eddie. And godspeed.
dtm666 