WWE wrestler remembered on RAW after untimely death

R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero.

What a tragic week it's been in the wrestling world. The sudden death of Eddie Guerrero has shocked industry workers and fans alike. Is the cause of death shocking? No, not really, but it's still pretty upsetting to see a fan favourite and hard working man in the business go without a proper goodbye or even perhaps still reaching even greater heights.

Eddie Guerrero

As I write this, it was just released that Guerrero's cause of death was from massive heart failure, linked to the drinking and drug abuse from his past. Signs of early heart disease were also found during the autopsy.

I thought that RAW's tribute show to Guerrero was well done and it made tears come to my eyes at the beginning. A show like that really smacks you hard in the head because you get accustomed to watching these huge, larger than life people on TV who let NOTHING bother them. Through the storylines, they don't seem afraid of death or any kind of action that would either cause the death of an opponent or take away their career. When I saw the Big Show cry as well as Shane McMahon, Chris Beniot and Rey Mysterio, I couldn't help shedding a few myself.

Call me a wuss, call me what you will, but this is real life, people. It really sucks that it takes a show like that or unfortunate deaths or mishaps in your life (that hopefully rarely happen to each one of us) to realize that we're only here for a short time. We should keep close ties with those friends and family that we love and make sure that they know we appreciate them. It also makes us viewers of this show realize that we are really connected to the performers. Maybe not on the same level as the traveling roster, but wrestling does make an impact with character relations with the audience. The Monday night tribute show was a reminder of our own immortalities. It also reminds us that the wrestlers are people with feelings, fears and families as well.

With Guerrero, you would have thought that the WWE would have had a harder job in having to pull the fake wrestling world screen away from him and let the fans see how great he was. I say this because if you just remember the last big feud that Guerrero had, he was portrayed as one of the vilest people on the roster. He wanted to break up a family and leave any option open to do so. While I wasn't a fan of the angle, many people attached themselves to it to see how low Guerrero would go or how the family emotions would be portrayed on TV. Hell, that's why reality-based TV shows are so damn popular. Suffice to say, Guerrero's character, contributions to the locker room moral and the WWE product was clearly executed. The whole ending of RAW where John Cena laid Guerrero's shirt in the middle of the ring and placed the belt around the waist area was probably one of the most respectful things I've seen in tribute show.

When I sat down to write this article, I was going to say a few nice things about Guerrero and then move on. I had no idea that all of the above was going to come out of me. Looking back on what I wrote, I'm really glad that this all came out and I hope you all reflect on the message and reflect on Guerrero's career. You may not have liked him at some point of his career, but he left his legacy on the business.

With that said, I'm not going to touch on anything else this week. That is my respect to Guerrero and his dedication to the profession. We'll miss you, Guerrero. Please rest in peace and I pray for your family.

Email Peter at popeyepopsolive@hotmail.com