Eddie Guerrero passes away, 1967-2005

[Julius Seeker]

"Eddie Guerrero passes away
Nov. 13, 2005

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 daughters Shaul, 14, Sherilyn, 9, and Kaylie Marie, 3."

-www.wwe.com

To me this is a very big deal. I very very rarely cry when a celebrity dies, but today I cry. Sometimes when you have been following someone's career, any performer, for so long, buying all the related documentaries, etc.. You get to the point where you feel like you know the person very well.

Eddie Guerrero began his pro-wrestling career on the Mexican scene during the early 80's. He later moved to Japan where he became known as "Black Tiger" and put on tons of performances with Pegasus Kid/Wild Pegasus, better known as the Canadian Crippler Chris Benoit. He entered into the North American market through ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. The three then moved into WCW, and debut WWE in January 2000 as the Radicalz.

An especially powerful documentary film called "Cheating Death, Stealing Life" was released a year ago, I got it as a birthday present from my best friend. It documents how Eddie descended into drugs and alcohol, and got to the point where WWE had to fire him, he lost his job, his wife, his family, his respect. He hit rock bottom. He quit drinking, the drugs, everything, and made his way back up, and the WWE gave him a second chance, his wife gave him a second chance (started out as a date, and then it moved up from there). The video was quite a powerful one detailing the horrible effects of alcoholism and drug dependency. In fact, he made such a come back that he was awarded the WWE Championship.

He was scheduled to win the Championship for a second time from Batista this Sunday coming at Survivor series. For anyone who knows anything about WWE current events.

It's a sad moment, for his family, because they were quite close; and had made many appearances on WWE programming recently as part of the storylines. They are a huge part of the documentary DVD as well. Guerrero will definitely be missed. He was one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

UPDATE

Here is the video of Wrestlemania XX reposted on WWE.com

http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/ ... 0celebrate

In a press report Vince McMahon has stated that both RAW and Smackdown will take a different route; they will be tribute shows to Eddie Guerrero featuring commentary from the various wrestlers as well as classic Eddie Gerrero matches. www.wwe.com has more details including an article outlining Guerrero's wrestling career.


Chris Benoit (left) Eddie Guerrero (right) holding the RAW and Smackdown Championships at Madison Square Garden, New York, Wrestlemania XX

[Zeus]

Cause of death?

[Julius Seeker]

Heart failure. He was brushing his teeth at the time. Chavo found him in the washroom in the morning. Eddie also hadn't touched any alcohol or anything in over 4 years.

[Flip]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

[Julius Seeker]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

You can think whatever you want.

[Kupek]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

And I have to be honest and say that comment makes you look like a dick.

[Chris]

yeah I despise wrestling as well but shit Flip. That was so very well, Seekerish. Jesus Christ man. Seeker practically idolized that guy and he died. me, I know I'd feel like shit when some of my favorite comic guys die. Emotionless prick

[Ishamael]

Very sad indeed. I wonder if the wrestling world will ever address the problem of its performers dying at unusually young ages or just continue chugging along as long as they make a buck? On the other hand though, I can't really blame the industry. At some point, we need to hold each individual responsible for their choices...

[Nev]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

I agree with everyone else so far, Flip. I may not have any credibility left vis-a-vis flaming people here, but that was really childish. You might not agree with his interest in this stuff, but you don't have to try to humiliate him. That was not called for.

Regarding Eddie Guerrero, very serious drug abuse (of the kind Seeker's talking about) tends to be quite hard on someone's body, so it's not incredibly farfetched to imagine that a combination of that and an incredibly strenuous training routine could have caused the heart attack, even without steroids. If steroids were involved, though, I'd agree that the WWE needs to realize what is happening to their stars, and take measures to prevent early deaths like these.

[kali o.]

"Someone give the toothbrush a title shot!"

Too soon?

Blame Vince, its his shithole industry that puts ratings above health...drug use or otherwise, Vince did it.

Anyway, I think all the people crying (especially just after the 11th) have fucked up priorities...but shit, I cry to every episode of House, so who the am I to talk? My condolences, I guess.

[Flip]

It is just my opinion and according to Seek, why should i sugar coat it? WWF is full of doped up monstrosity human beings, has been voted the most redneck sport by this forum, and is for kids. Idiolize?...

It is pathetic to be THAT so into something that is so stupid. Everyone knows it, i just said it.

[Flip]

Anyways, i dont know why i post strong mean opnions sometimes. I guess i am sorry i even brought it up. Just ignore me.

[Kupek]

It is just my opinion and according to Seek, why should i sugar coat it?

You didn't need to say anything in the first place. If you don't get along with Seeker, don't talk to him.

[Flip]

It is just my opinion and according to Seek, why should i sugar coat it?

You didn't need to say anything in the first place. If you don't get along with Seeker, don't talk to him.

Yeah, i hear ya. Its just so hard to not rub salt in the wounds of something so dorky. My bad everyone.

[Julius Seeker]

You didn't need to say anything in the first place. If you don't get along with Seeker, don't talk to him.

Well, if I have to be pathetic from Flip's point of view to be sorrowful about a performer's death, then I am fine with it. I was a large and long-time fan and I feel great sympathy for his wife and three daughters as well as his friends. I am just not the type of person who can look past all of that.

Anyways, at the risk of sounding "pathetic" I do have a lot of respect for Eddie Guerrero. He grew up son of the great Gory Guerrero; the most famous wrestler in Mexican history. From a very young age, Eddie had become accustomed to the ring, and became quite well schooled in the Mexican art of Lucha Libre (involves a lot of the crazy high flying stuff). After years of wrestling in Mexico he moved over to Japan, where he met two other future WWE title holders Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit (both of whom wrestled a style known as "technical wrestling" which is what the Japanese really like. As part of their contract with New Japan, they were able to wrestle in ECW, and made a huge name for themselves. New Japan, however, began dealing with WCW, so they all moved over there. He was on his way up.

THis is where Eddie's problems began, he began becoming a consumerholic; he felt a high while he was performing, but needed something to fill the void when he wasn't there. The worst problem he developed was alcoholism, and later on it became about pills, painkillers and such. At his worst he overdosed several times and got himself into a very bad car accident. He was on a road down. Eventually his wife, and mother of two daughters, said that she could not handle it anymore, and filed for divorce. Eddie was eventually told by the WWE that he had to go into rehab, which he did. 3 months later he felt better, felt he could do it on his own. He drank one glass of wine, then it was the bottle, then he was at the bar doing shots, and ended up getting arrested DUI. As a result, he was let go from the company. Eddie, had thrown away everything, he had no money left, no family, no job. He had hit rock bottom. He said that he only wanted to have a glass of wine like any normal person, but he knew he couldn't drink anything ever again after that.

It wasn't an easy thing, giving it all up for a ever, a year, or even a few months sounds almost like an impossible task; but to give it up for a day (as he put it), that was something he could do. The next day, he would give it up for a day all over again, and doing things this way he didn't ever touch alcohol, pain killers, or any other type of drug ever again.

He began working indie shows in Mexico, staying at cheap hotels, and eventually he got a call from Vince McMahon, who gave him a second chance. Eddie returned to the WWE arena, and from his friends point of view, he was showing a lot of heart. He was always one of the first people to work, and one of the last people to leave. His goal was always to put on the best performance of the night. With his rigid Lucha Libre/Technical style (from Mexico/Japan), he very often succeeded with that goal.

A reminder, again at the risk of sounding pathetic =P The story of how he got back together with his wife is always one I like as well. He called her up one day, and told her that he had been clean for a year. They got to talking on the phone, and then she agreed to go out on a lunch date with him. It was all he was expecting; he said that even if he could be as happy as he had been before, for just a moment, it was worth it. They went out on another date later, and then another. Still taking things a day at a time. Before he moved back in with his wife, they renewed their vows; and the interviews their children gave I found very heart warming.

He improved very drastically as a performer. Showing so much charisma and putting so much effort into everything he did. Even on shows where it did not matter, he was putting on performances of the quality that would normally only be shown on Pay Per View. The fans really got behind him, and he soon found his way up to the top of the ladder in the business. He found himself being put over the likes of Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle as the WWE champion. One of the most famous moments in the history of the company was the close of Wrestlemania 20 with him (Eddie) holding up the WWE Heavyweight Championship, and Chris Benoit holding up the WCW Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Gardens New York. There was a lot of emotion in the air. These weren't your Hulk Hogans or your "The Rocks", or Lesnar's who were chosen specifically for the purpose to be Champion. These were two guys who had dedicated their lives to the industry for 20 years, and developed themselves into International Superstars in Japan, Mexico, and even Europe before even being considered by the WWE (even though back then Japan was the largest market for Pro-wrestling, WWE was still the biggest company).

He remained one of the top guys for a while. At the time of his death, it would not be all that incorrect to say that Eddie Guerrero was the most well known Latin American wrestler (Of Mexican heritage) in the entire world. Certainly the most famous in the US and Canada. He was also one of the most loved back stage, and that is why both of WWE's shows of RAW and Smackdown have for the first time in history been cancelled (only the loss of Owen Hart has come close to the impact of this loss on the company). Instead both shows have been replaced with a 4 hour tribute show (the first half being played during RAW, the second during Smackdown) where others in the company will share their memories of the late Eddie Guerrero. As well there will be clips shown from throughout his life, growing up with legendary Gory Guerrero, his career in Mexico, Japan, and the US. There will also be some tribute matches which will have absolutely nothing to do with storylines within the company.

Even though I may be pathetic in the eyes of a certain individual for writing this. It doesn't really change the fact that it makes me feel good to honour the dead. Someone I have been a huge fan of for 10 years, since I was a kid. Someone who loved his family. Someone who fell hard and had the courage to pick everything back up and surpass all previous expectations. Someone who entertained millions throughout his career. Perhaps pro-wrestling isn't popular on this board (I know a few other people here besides me watch it), but I think that most people here can respect a life such as that of Eddie Guerrero.

[Julius Seeker]

It is just my opinion and according to Seek, why should i sugar coat it?

You didn't need to say anything in the first place. If you don't get along with Seeker, don't talk to him.

Yeah, i hear ya. Its just so hard to not rub salt in the wounds of something so dorky. My bad everyone.

Heaven forbid I post about something "dorky" on a videogame messageboard!

[Zeus]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

No, man, it was much more. He did take steroids, yes, but he also had huge addictions with alcohol and drugs. He became born again about 5 years ago and has been clean since about that time, but I guess it caught up to him

[kali o.]

Has to be steroid related. Another WWF 'unknown' young death. When will they start to actually become monitored? I guess the gov doesnt care about redneck "sports". Sorry for your loss, but i have to be honest and say it is pathetic that you cried.

No, man, it was much more. He did take steroids, yes, but he also had huge addictions with alcohol and drugs. He became born again about 5 years ago and has been clean since about that time, but I guess it caught up to him

No, I'd say the fact that he'd "grown" huge in the last little while caught up to him more than anything. No one gets that big, that ripped, that quickly cleanly.

[Ishamael]

No, I'd say the fact that he'd "grown" huge in the last little while caught up to him more than anything. No one gets that big, that ripped, that quickly cleanly.

Agreed. I remember seeing Eddie a couple years ago after he'd been off the scene for a while and I was amazed. I also remember having the same reaction with Triple H after he'd been gone a while.

[SineSwiper]

Sigh...nobody believes in bodybuilding the real way. Baseball, Olympics, wrestling. I'm sure it's in a half-dozen other avenues, too.

[Julius Seeker]

The autopsy reports are in, and the cause of death was heart failure due to undiagnosed coronary heart disease.

In other words, he developed atheroschlerotic plaques within the arteries supplying his heart muscles. It is possible that one of them broke off causing blockage; but I do not think someone that young would be at that stage; though it has been happening at even younger ages, one of the people living in my house, Lindsey, had an uncle who died this way at age 31. Still, I would think that, tragically, it was his job that did it, his intense work schedule; he worked out hours and hours a day, and for someone with heart disease, that is going to cause a huge amount of stress on the heart muscles which will eventually lead to their weakening and failure. If the second is the case, then it is possible that he already had weakened heart muscles due to heavy drug and alcohol use earlier in his life, though that is only speculation; I do not think that there is any way of confirming that.

So in other words, Eddie Guerrero died of natural causes.


On a side note; the RAW rating was the highest it has been since the day after Wrestlemania XX which it tied (Which incidently was when Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were the #1 guys on the show), and other than that, the highest rating in over three and a half years.

[Kupek]

From my understanding, steroid use can lead to various kinds of heart failure, including coronary heart disease. This was my prior understanding, and it was supported by a cursory look at some articles I found on Google when searching for "steroids heart failure" and "steroids coronary heart disease."

I think steroids is not a big problem in the sports that test regularly and have strict punishments. Baseball is currently having problems because, as I understand it, they currently don't test for it. In football, raw mass and power is much more important than in baseball, but football has very strict rules and punishments against steroid use. The Olympics also have strict rules with testing.

[Julius Seeker]

From my understanding, steroid use can lead to various kinds of heart failure, including coronary heart disease. This was my prior understanding, and it was supported by a cursory look at some articles I found on Google when searching for "steroids heart failure" and "steroids coronary heart disease."

I think steroids is not a big problem in the sports that test regularly and have strict punishments. Baseball is currently having problems because, as I understand it, they currently don't test for it. In football, raw mass and power is much more important than in baseball, but football has very strict rules and punishments against steroid use. The Olympics also have strict rules with testing.

There was no evidence of steroid usage (or any other substance usage) according to the autopsy. Though it is very possible he used them in the past. The conclusion that the doctors made was that it was linked to his heavy work rate.

Eddie was a really big guy even 10 years ago: http://members.tripod.com/S_A_J/eddieguerrero.html

[Flip]

Yeah, and Ken Caminiti died of a heart attack, too. Is that natural causes?...

[kali o.]

Seeker, you are a doctor. Natural causes my ass.

Its basically 99% certain drugs/roids played the role in his heart failure. You pick up that defect at birth/early childhood, you don't hit 38 and wonder/shrug off unusual bouts of fatigue (nevermind in an athlete). You want to play statistical likelihood here, no one is going to guess natural causes...and yes, autopsy would give a clear answer here if they wanted to (but its up to the family).

[Julius Seeker]

They have linked his condition to his drug overdoses and alcoholism in the past. That in combination with heart disease and his physically intense lifestyle is what caused the heart failure.

[Nev]

My guess is that it was very likely steroid-related (sorry, Seek).

Steroids can be very hard on the heart, as I understand. I *know* that alcohol and drug abuse are very hard on the heart. I'd guess his heart was probably weakened by the drug abuse, and the steroids came in for the final blow, though I don't know for sure. Like Kali and others have said, though, it is probably physically impossible to get that big, that fast.

I'm not against steroid use, but I am against irresponsible steroid use. If WWE is promoting this behind the scenes, and people are dying, that's a serious problem, and it ought to be addressed.

Unfortunately, I doubt the opinions of anyone on this board are likely to cause steroid policy reform in the WWE.

[Ishamael]

His death was about as "natural" as Rick James'.

[Julius Seeker]

Like Kali and others have said, though, it is probably physically impossible to get that big, that fast.

Not when alcohol and drug abuse are factored in. Guerrero was well known to have a very large problem. The symptoms surrounding his death are consistent with the lifestyle that Guerrero had lived. I do not know if steroid usage was a contributing factor or not, but it wouldn't have to be in Eddie Guerrero's case. Still, I do agree, that steroid usage is a large problem. Even where testing for steroids is available, all it takes is a masking agent.

Anyways, on topic. Along with the hundreds of other things on WWE.com, here is a new tribute video that covers some of the high moments of his career. http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/ ... dietribvid