BobBitchen
11-20-2005, 07:36 AM
Submitted by Randomguy#5
I had been a wrestling fan as a young boy, but by in large I missed most of the Attitude Era. I watched WCW maybe twice, and I never saw ECW until years after the fact. So my first introduction to Eddie came much later than the people who have been telling beautiful stories about him for so long. Truth be told, I can’t really remember a debut of Eddie, and looking back on my “rebirth” into wrestling, I can’t really remember much of him at all. I could lie, and tell you that he’s been one of my favorite wrestlers my entire life, but that’s exactly what it would be…a lie.
No, my first true memory with Eddie Guerrero is one of disgust. I hated him. The first real feud that I can remember Eddie in was the “frog splash feud” with Rob Van Dam, after Eddie had first “come back”. What he came back from, I can’t honestly tell you, as I was a pure “mark” at the time. Hell, beyond WWE.com I didn’t even know that wrestling sites existed. I wasn’t young, hell I was 18 at the time, I just didn’t care enough about wrestling at that point to really press the issue. So when Eddie came back, from either his drug rehab or a broken leg, I can’t readily tell you, he started a feud with RVD over who had the best frog splash and I hated everything about him. I was supposed to hate him. He squalled about his Latino “heeeeet” and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, it. He once cut a promo about tearing the posters off the walls of his daughters and I hated him then. Eddie made me hate him.
Truth be told, I miss that time as a wrestling fan, I think we all do. But this isn’t about being a mark, or smark, or any of the other semi-retarded phrases the Internet throws around. This is about Eddie.
This is about a man I never met in real life, just like the thousand or two of you reading this never met him. Yet, the death of this man I’ve never met had me crying on several occasions this week. Call it hero worship or whatever, but understand that it is a bizarre circumstance to feel “moved” by the passing of a celebrity. It’s not easily explained, as several of us in the Lop forums are finding out, each sharing our respective Eddie stories along with stories of our own families and friends who simply do not understand our sadness. I respect where they come from, honestly, as I’d have once considered it slightly ludicrous myself to morn the death of somebody I’ve never so much as shaken hands with.
Yet, it’s impossible to deny the impact that celebrities have on us. I can tell you again that I will cry the day James Hefield dies (ok, maybe Lars too, but its slightly more debatable), as Metallica’s music has been a part of my life for some 10+ years now. So too, has wrestling.
See, as I mentioned in the beginning, I missed a great portion of the best wrestling in history, having effectively not watched wrestling at all from 1993 or so until roughly 2000. This isn’t because I didn’t enjoy wrestling, I did greatly. It’s simply that my family moved when I was 11, and I didn’t have cable for those 8 years or so of my life. (I’ve been able to forgive my parents for it). So, it wasn’t until my local channel began airing Smackdown on Saturday afternoons when I was a senior in high school that I had my “rebirth” into the world of wrestling, and for roughly every week sense its been on my TV in some capacity. My friends and I would hunker up in a friend’s room (which smelled like rats) and watch Raw every week. Which brings me back to the beginning of this column, hating Eddie Guerrero
That same friend and I were sitting six rows back at Backlash in ‘02 when Hogan beat Triple H for his last title. Along with two slightly intoxicated individuals to my left, we successfully started a “mullet” chant during Eddie’s match with (I believe) RVD. The highlight of the evening was our having Eddie acknowledge our chant, turning and gesturing for us to shut up (he was quite heel at the time). The true highlight came when I bought the VHS years later and noticed that you can slightly hear the chant, and notice Eddie’s gesture. I still smile about that to this day.
From then on, Eddie basically took over Smackdown and became the performer that we all grew to love. How could you not? Another thread in the Lop forums discussed rather we enjoyed Eddie more as a heel or as a face. My answer to that is resounding “face”. I know his work is often considered better as a heel, but lets be realistic. His heel character has been (and could be) portrayed by many characters, especially ones of Hispanic decent. But as a face, there will never be another Eddie Guerrero. I speak only of his character, as I cannot comment on “how great of a man” Eddie was. I didn’t know him. Just like I never comment on the backstage or “real” lives of wrestlers. I write about their characters, because it’s all I know.
All I know is what I see on camera. What we think, or what we think we know as wrestling fans is always corrupted, information sent through countless channels. It’s like that game “telephone” where the tail grows taller on down the line. Admit it, when you first heard of Eddie’s death, there was a part of you that wanted to think, “this is a work”. It’s the nature of being a wrestling fan. As wrestling fans we are part cynic who wants to judge and criticize all we see, and one part fan boy, who still swoons over their favorite wrestler.
Yet, in spite of the difficulties of the situation, the world has moved on. In roughly two days, Raw will broadcast yet again, and I sincerely doubt they’ll do a third Eddie tribute show. Truthfully, I hope not, it would be more healthy for us all to move on. I wish I could say “It’s what Eddie would have wanted” but how do I know? I don’t for sure. I know that I’ll continue to pray for strength for his family and friends, as I can only fathom what they are going through, having been blessed enough in my own life to have not been placed in a similar situation. All I know, is that for whatever reason I, like many wrestling fans, have endured a small of grief in regards to this, and with the start of Raw next week, having been a week since Eddie’s death, it will be time for the rest of us to move on. Surely those close to him will have an extended bout of remorse, but it is the duty of the rest of us to move on, and leave them in peace with their thoughts and prayers.
Perhaps the hardest part of this for me, having to call my little brother (age 12) and inform him of Eddie’s death. He took it better than I did in a lot of ways, even though he always considered Eddie to be one of his favorite wrestlers (it’s always been a coin flip between Eddie, Rey, and Cena). Perhaps the writing and the Internet discussions just makes me feel more involved. Or perhaps my brother just didn’t want to cry in front of mom. In fact, when I called him tonight to remind him to turn on Smackdown, he informed me that the family house no longer gets UPN. He sounded upset to be missing the show, and I was upset for him. His response? “It’s ok…I’m holding my own tribute show. I just started a new season mode on Raw v Smackdown….I’m playing as Eddie”.
God bless that kid. There is more heart in that sentiment than in anything I’ve heard surrounding this. When I asked him how it was going he said “Not good. Eddie’s not very good in the game, and they put me in a title tournament with The Undertaker in my first match. It’s ok, I just threw him into the turnbuckle and kept drop kicking him ‘till his chest turned red, then the frog splash would beat him”.
Gotta love it man. I think that’s what it takes to get through a situation like this. A whole lot of heart and a little bit of humor. Wrestling has always been about it. The outpouring of emotion over somebody none of us has ever met has changed my perspective on quite a few different things. The beautiful works of art you see here are the works of people in the forums and pictures I’ve downloaded from all over. If you care to use one of them in any way to make a profit, please contact me first and I can point you in the appropriate direction for consent. Honestly, I didn’t bother to inform people I’d be using their work here, because I simply didn’t think they’d care. These were works that people created out of moments of weakness, a stripped down account of the human soul. These were their tributes to Eddie.
In spite of my haphazard attempts at learning Spanish, I don’t know that I ever really knew what “viva la raza” meant (means). Literally, I’m fairly certain it translates into “long live the race” or “the race lives”. But it really is so much more than that.
When Eddie dropped that line, it meant something. It wasn’t about ethnicity, it wasn’t about heritage, it was about heart. His ramblings in Sanglish transcended barriers like no other entertainer I’ve ever seen in any field. It wasn’t about the Spanish race, or the Mexican race, or even Mexican-American. It was about those people living in that moment, a race of wrestling fans untied by the love of a performer…Eddie Guerrero.
RIP Eddie Guerrero
1967-2005
Randomguy_316@hotmail.com
I had been a wrestling fan as a young boy, but by in large I missed most of the Attitude Era. I watched WCW maybe twice, and I never saw ECW until years after the fact. So my first introduction to Eddie came much later than the people who have been telling beautiful stories about him for so long. Truth be told, I can’t really remember a debut of Eddie, and looking back on my “rebirth” into wrestling, I can’t really remember much of him at all. I could lie, and tell you that he’s been one of my favorite wrestlers my entire life, but that’s exactly what it would be…a lie.
No, my first true memory with Eddie Guerrero is one of disgust. I hated him. The first real feud that I can remember Eddie in was the “frog splash feud” with Rob Van Dam, after Eddie had first “come back”. What he came back from, I can’t honestly tell you, as I was a pure “mark” at the time. Hell, beyond WWE.com I didn’t even know that wrestling sites existed. I wasn’t young, hell I was 18 at the time, I just didn’t care enough about wrestling at that point to really press the issue. So when Eddie came back, from either his drug rehab or a broken leg, I can’t readily tell you, he started a feud with RVD over who had the best frog splash and I hated everything about him. I was supposed to hate him. He squalled about his Latino “heeeeet” and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, it. He once cut a promo about tearing the posters off the walls of his daughters and I hated him then. Eddie made me hate him.
Truth be told, I miss that time as a wrestling fan, I think we all do. But this isn’t about being a mark, or smark, or any of the other semi-retarded phrases the Internet throws around. This is about Eddie.
This is about a man I never met in real life, just like the thousand or two of you reading this never met him. Yet, the death of this man I’ve never met had me crying on several occasions this week. Call it hero worship or whatever, but understand that it is a bizarre circumstance to feel “moved” by the passing of a celebrity. It’s not easily explained, as several of us in the Lop forums are finding out, each sharing our respective Eddie stories along with stories of our own families and friends who simply do not understand our sadness. I respect where they come from, honestly, as I’d have once considered it slightly ludicrous myself to morn the death of somebody I’ve never so much as shaken hands with.
Yet, it’s impossible to deny the impact that celebrities have on us. I can tell you again that I will cry the day James Hefield dies (ok, maybe Lars too, but its slightly more debatable), as Metallica’s music has been a part of my life for some 10+ years now. So too, has wrestling.
See, as I mentioned in the beginning, I missed a great portion of the best wrestling in history, having effectively not watched wrestling at all from 1993 or so until roughly 2000. This isn’t because I didn’t enjoy wrestling, I did greatly. It’s simply that my family moved when I was 11, and I didn’t have cable for those 8 years or so of my life. (I’ve been able to forgive my parents for it). So, it wasn’t until my local channel began airing Smackdown on Saturday afternoons when I was a senior in high school that I had my “rebirth” into the world of wrestling, and for roughly every week sense its been on my TV in some capacity. My friends and I would hunker up in a friend’s room (which smelled like rats) and watch Raw every week. Which brings me back to the beginning of this column, hating Eddie Guerrero
That same friend and I were sitting six rows back at Backlash in ‘02 when Hogan beat Triple H for his last title. Along with two slightly intoxicated individuals to my left, we successfully started a “mullet” chant during Eddie’s match with (I believe) RVD. The highlight of the evening was our having Eddie acknowledge our chant, turning and gesturing for us to shut up (he was quite heel at the time). The true highlight came when I bought the VHS years later and noticed that you can slightly hear the chant, and notice Eddie’s gesture. I still smile about that to this day.
From then on, Eddie basically took over Smackdown and became the performer that we all grew to love. How could you not? Another thread in the Lop forums discussed rather we enjoyed Eddie more as a heel or as a face. My answer to that is resounding “face”. I know his work is often considered better as a heel, but lets be realistic. His heel character has been (and could be) portrayed by many characters, especially ones of Hispanic decent. But as a face, there will never be another Eddie Guerrero. I speak only of his character, as I cannot comment on “how great of a man” Eddie was. I didn’t know him. Just like I never comment on the backstage or “real” lives of wrestlers. I write about their characters, because it’s all I know.
All I know is what I see on camera. What we think, or what we think we know as wrestling fans is always corrupted, information sent through countless channels. It’s like that game “telephone” where the tail grows taller on down the line. Admit it, when you first heard of Eddie’s death, there was a part of you that wanted to think, “this is a work”. It’s the nature of being a wrestling fan. As wrestling fans we are part cynic who wants to judge and criticize all we see, and one part fan boy, who still swoons over their favorite wrestler.
Yet, in spite of the difficulties of the situation, the world has moved on. In roughly two days, Raw will broadcast yet again, and I sincerely doubt they’ll do a third Eddie tribute show. Truthfully, I hope not, it would be more healthy for us all to move on. I wish I could say “It’s what Eddie would have wanted” but how do I know? I don’t for sure. I know that I’ll continue to pray for strength for his family and friends, as I can only fathom what they are going through, having been blessed enough in my own life to have not been placed in a similar situation. All I know, is that for whatever reason I, like many wrestling fans, have endured a small of grief in regards to this, and with the start of Raw next week, having been a week since Eddie’s death, it will be time for the rest of us to move on. Surely those close to him will have an extended bout of remorse, but it is the duty of the rest of us to move on, and leave them in peace with their thoughts and prayers.
Perhaps the hardest part of this for me, having to call my little brother (age 12) and inform him of Eddie’s death. He took it better than I did in a lot of ways, even though he always considered Eddie to be one of his favorite wrestlers (it’s always been a coin flip between Eddie, Rey, and Cena). Perhaps the writing and the Internet discussions just makes me feel more involved. Or perhaps my brother just didn’t want to cry in front of mom. In fact, when I called him tonight to remind him to turn on Smackdown, he informed me that the family house no longer gets UPN. He sounded upset to be missing the show, and I was upset for him. His response? “It’s ok…I’m holding my own tribute show. I just started a new season mode on Raw v Smackdown….I’m playing as Eddie”.
God bless that kid. There is more heart in that sentiment than in anything I’ve heard surrounding this. When I asked him how it was going he said “Not good. Eddie’s not very good in the game, and they put me in a title tournament with The Undertaker in my first match. It’s ok, I just threw him into the turnbuckle and kept drop kicking him ‘till his chest turned red, then the frog splash would beat him”.
Gotta love it man. I think that’s what it takes to get through a situation like this. A whole lot of heart and a little bit of humor. Wrestling has always been about it. The outpouring of emotion over somebody none of us has ever met has changed my perspective on quite a few different things. The beautiful works of art you see here are the works of people in the forums and pictures I’ve downloaded from all over. If you care to use one of them in any way to make a profit, please contact me first and I can point you in the appropriate direction for consent. Honestly, I didn’t bother to inform people I’d be using their work here, because I simply didn’t think they’d care. These were works that people created out of moments of weakness, a stripped down account of the human soul. These were their tributes to Eddie.
In spite of my haphazard attempts at learning Spanish, I don’t know that I ever really knew what “viva la raza” meant (means). Literally, I’m fairly certain it translates into “long live the race” or “the race lives”. But it really is so much more than that.
When Eddie dropped that line, it meant something. It wasn’t about ethnicity, it wasn’t about heritage, it was about heart. His ramblings in Sanglish transcended barriers like no other entertainer I’ve ever seen in any field. It wasn’t about the Spanish race, or the Mexican race, or even Mexican-American. It was about those people living in that moment, a race of wrestling fans untied by the love of a performer…Eddie Guerrero.
RIP Eddie Guerrero
1967-2005
Randomguy_316@hotmail.com