DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - Eddie Guerrero Tributes + 'Favorite Eddie Moment' Poll
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Friday, November 18, 2005 at 5:13 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #149

Welcome one and all to the 149th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

I hope readers understood why I decided to post the Eddie Guerrero DVD Review on Wednesday instead of this particular column. I really wanted to remind people of all the great moments which Eddie has left us throughout his career. I was always going to have more of a say myself, but my objective was to first let the facts do the talking, so to speak.

If you have yet to read my DVD review of 'Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story', you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1132126446.php


APPETIZERS - R.I.P Eddie

To say that I was shocked when I saw the news of Eddie's death is an understatement. I actually first heard the news through 2 emails that were in my Inbox. I literally sat there & stared blankly at the screen for about 2-3 minutes before I went to this very website & had the news confirmed. I’m unsure I can fully describe what I was feeling, but I’ll try. I’m certain that some wrestling fans may have shed a tear. I can’t say that I did, but the feeling I was experiencing wasn’t too dissimilar. It was a lot more difficult to hold back once I saw the WWE tribute episodes of Raw & SmackDown though.

As a weekly professional wrestling columnist, I spend a great deal of my time & energy writing about different topics. It may be a weekly read to most, but I usually spend multiple days writing for upcoming columns. Not only that, but I am literally replying to reader emails almost daily. Add to that, any discussions in the LOPForums, and that’s a damn lot of time thinking & writing about professional wrestling. No matter if it’s emails, my column, or the forums, all things professional wrestling are discussed, including the wrestlers themselves.

For the above reason, it’s very difficult for myself to not have some sort of a sense of attachment to the wrestlers. It doesn’t matter if they don’t care about internet columnists, or even hate us as a general rule, that’s not the point. The point is that by commenting on their on-screen achievements, and sometimes their off-screen lives, it is difficult to detach ourselves & not feel remorse when something so saddening occurs.

And especially with Eddie Guerrero, his off-screen life was very much known to those who follow the WWE on the internet. That’s not because we are nosey or have invaded his privacy, but because part of the method that Eddie chose to get over his past indiscretions was to come clean on pretty much all the negatives he has been through. The main outlet for this was his 1 hour special that aired on network television last year, which is contained on his DVD, that I reviewed on Wednesday.

That DVD was released just after his WWE Championship win, which he so truly deserved. For that, I thank Vince McMahon. He took a chance by re-hiring Eddie after all the trouble he got himself into. He then took a further chance by deciding to give him a WWE Championship reign. While there were still many things to accomplish for Eddie, the night of his title win over Brock Lesnar combined with the in-ring celebration with Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20, will forever be etched in my memory.

But as with all true legends of the ring, it's hard to pin memories down to just a couple. Other things that will stick in my mind include the classic 10 out of 10 match against Rey Mysterio in 1997. And how about the classic heel mannerisms & looks Eddie gave that night! There is also the more recent body swivel shimmy that Eddie has done for a while & that cheeky 'Lie, Cheat & Steal' look that Eddie has perfected over the past 2 or 3 years. We don't have to think far back to remember that classic look, as Eddie used it during his final SmackDown match with Ken Kennedy just last week.

And then there were the low-rider entrances & the continual use of the words "Holmes", "Esse", "Latino Heat" & "Viva La Raza". Even the smallest things such as theme music. Man, I remember when we were in America a couple of months back & there seemed to be a lot of mobile (cell) phones that had a similar ringtone to that which began a recent version of his theme music. I couldn't resist saying to my girlfriend "Can You Feel The Heat" whenever a phone went off. I don't think I could resist saying it again if I hear the ringtone in the future!

In closing, I still am saddened by Eddie Guerrero’s death some 5 or 6 days later. He is arguably one of the greatest wrestling performers of all time (I ranked him 13th in my column #100) & I truly mean that. He will be very much missed..... by so many people.


MAIN - WWE Tributes

I thought it was also worth commenting on this week’s episodes of Raw & SmackDown. Some fans would feel that doing these tribute episodes were no-brainers. That may be fact, but the WWE should still be commended for the finished products. I thought both shows were excellently put together (yes, we get SmackDown earlier in Australia) & the company (including all employees) should be proud of what went to air.

It cannot be forgotten that this all happened so quickly. Eddie Guerrero passed away on Sunday morning, and Raw & SmackDown were both taped on Sunday night due to the impending tour of Europe. This meant that everything had to be laid out & organized in basically 12 hours. That’s not even mentioning the fact that all employees would have had to have been informed of the death, and I think I can safely presume that some would have not taken it very well. So all things considered, the finished product that we saw on our television screens was excellent.

Raw was the first show to air & I feel it started in the correct fashion. Keep in mind that there would have been some non-internet fans who would not have known of Eddie’s death! As the head of the company, Vince McMahon was the correct person to make the announcement. And he made it appropriately, in my opinion. More importantly, it was extremely fitting that all WWE employees were out there in unison. Not just the Raw roster talent & not just wrestlers. It was great to see behind-the-scenes staff out there as well. Again, many will feel that was a no-brainer of a decision. But sometimes the WWE makes decisions that appear as if they have no brains. Good to see that this was not one such occasion.

Leading on from that following point, I felt that the idea to have mainly Raw vs SmackDown wrestlers involved in matches was a good one. Skeptics may feel that it’s a way of getting around the “no storyline advancement” policy made by the WWE for this week, as the 2 shows are currently feuding. I think that is a harsh judgment & also an incorrect one. To me, the matches further prove the united front of the entire WWE. It’s saying that Eddie was not just a SmackDown wrestler, he was a WWE wrestler.

The matches themselves were also well-chosen. On Raw, there were terrific match-ups. These included Angle vs Benjamin, Flair vs Regal & Cena vs Orton. Even the lesser matches such as the diva battle royal & Eugene vs Dean were well handled & well performed. And then there was the dream match of Rey Mysterio vs Shawn Michaels. This was a terrific bout that was thankfully given the appropriate time to play out. This was great work by both performers. If I had to be critical & picky, I would have preferred that the tag-team champions of each roster be kept away from each other. But the loss won’t hurt MnM terribly. They have bounced back from losing their titles extremely well & will be more than ok in continuing that momentum now.

While on SmackDown, we had 2 especially terrific matches in Chavo Guerrero vs JBL & Chris Benoit vs Triple H. All 4 men were tremendous in the circumstances; The faces as they were both distraught & the heels, because they perfectly played their heel characters to the right extent. SmackDown contained more clips than Raw (all of which were from Eddie's DVD), but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Batista was the man who opened the show with an in-ring segment. He did as good a job as he could, although I would have preferred to see one of Chavo or Benoit out there. But who knows, maybe they weren't up to it.

Intermingled between matches on both shows were highlight packages of Eddie’s career. These were a great idea & also well chosen. Especially the early comedic efforts on Raw, which were well-placed due to the somber nature of the opening announcement & a tribute video. The mood had to be lifted & a smile had to be placed back on our faces. If the Big Show segment didn’t do that, then the Los Guerreros “Lie, Cheat & Steal” skits just had to.

Similar to the Owen Hart tribute show, we also heard words from many of Eddie’s colleagues in pre-recorded interview segments. These were all very sad & were probably the hardest to sit through for us fans. But they were also very necessary because they allowed the wrestlers to pay tribute to Eddie, whilst at the same time conveying what type of a man Eddie was. And there really was universal agreement on what he held dear to him, and to how helpful & kind he was. The hardest to get through without shedding a tear or two were Benoit, Rey, Chavo & The Big Show. But special mention must go to JBL who spoke very well & raised an excellent point that he possibly wouldn't have main-evented if it wasn't for Eddie.

In fact, another thing that these shows made me think of was how well-liked a person Eddie was. I sort of couldn’t help but pay momentary attention to how Melina & Mickie James behaved towards each other in the diva battle royal. I will stand corrected if I’m wrong, but I couldn’t think of anyone who had beef with Eddie in the past. That’s quite an accomplishment as he was known to have a temper at times. Booker T backed this up with his little tribute on SmackDown. The only person I can recall having problems with Eddie was Eric Bischoff in WCW, and that was more from a boss-employee perspective. I mean, who doesn’t have the occasional run-ins with their boss?

So to conclude, I must commend the WWE for the tribute episodes of Raw & SmackDown that have aired this week. There was a lot of class, dignity & respect shown. I’m certain that Eddie (& his family) would be proud. Personally, I hope they continue with plans for the release of an Eddie Guerrero autobiography. The scheduled release date of December-20 may have to be changed, but that's not a big problem hopefully. It would be certain to be a great read & the icing on the cake regarding the WWE's respect for a true great of professional wrestling.


DESSERT

'Favorite Eddie Moment' Poll

I have to be honest here & state that this was not my idea. In fact, in amongst all the sadness, I never would have thought of it. Just as I had finished my original column that was to be posted this past Wednesday, I received an email from loyal reader Andrew Ebling. He basically wrote that what better way to remember Eddie Guerrero than to get my readers to write in what their favorite Eddie moment was.

Andrew went onto state what I initially thought… That many people’s initial reactions would be similar & I would only get 2 or 3 moments voted for. But then he mentioned how he had been reading many tributes & all sorts of moments were popping up. So I had a look at some of tribute threads on the LOPForums & that was indeed true. Some people’s favorite Eddie moments were wrestling related, while others were more entertainment related. Some were from WCW, while others were from WWE.

So there does seem to be enough choices here to justify running this poll. More importantly, I’m hoping that voting brings back some positive memories for you all. As should the poll results, which I will post next Friday the 25th.

So just confirming the question for today’s poll. It is…..

What is your favorite Eddie Guerrero moment ever…???

Please note the use of the word “favorite”. This is very much a personal poll & your answer should be personal. Earlier on in this column, I mentioned some wrestling moments, some comedy skits, some facial looks & some dance moves, amongst others. There have been many more Eddie moments & matches which I also could have included. Just let me know which one of them was your favorite. There is no right or wrong answer here!

So get to it ladies & gentlemen. If you are an LOPForums member, it would be great if you could vote in the feedback section of the forums. The link to that thread is: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889

Otherwise, my e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com


Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I will have my annual November staple column; My Rookie Rankings. Like I said previously, this year's bunch are tough to rank, as it's a pretty even lot & I don't believe there to be a standout. As always, I'm certain my rankings may cause some controversy. So look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.











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