legend never die

voor elke sportfan is het stoppen van of overlijden van een speler een soort van kleine ramp. Een van mijn favo showworstelaars is helaas veel tevroeg overleden en is dit een soort van homage aan hem. Dit is vergelijkbaar met een ajax fan die zijn club ziet degraderen. Ik heb de carriere van eddie guererro gevold sinds 1995 op rtl 5 bij wcw, hem de overstap zien maken naar de wwf later wwe en eigenlijk geen slechte wedstrijd gezien van hem, zoveel dynamiek, zoveel passie voor de sport en de luchalibre stijl die alle mexicaanse worstelaars meedragen maken hem een uniek speler in het veld. altijd een combinatie van humor en ruw geweld bij elkaar met veel techniek en een gedrevenheid in de ring. ik weet zeker dat met mij veel liefhebbers hem zullen missen in deze sporttak

The show starts with every superstar out on the stage with black armbands. Many wearing Eddie shirts. Most wrestlers were in tears, most notably Angle, Chavito, Rey Rey, HHH, Flair, Shane and of course Benoit.
Vince came out and gave a small speech about Eddie. There was a 10 bell salute and a low rider set up on stage.
They showed a brief Eddie video. The crowd chanted, “thank you Eddie, thank you Eddie.” There was not a dry eye in the house.
Vince yelled, “Viva La Raza!” Which from him sounded strange, but was beautiful.
They then show close ups of many wrestlers. HHH is bawling, as are Angle, Chavito, Rey Rey and Benoit could barely stand he was so torn up.

Cena was the first to speak about Eddie. He spoke about how Eddie showed Cena how to find and embrace his heat. That is what Eddie was, pure heart. “But, selfishly, we will all miss him.”

- Commercial

Old clip of Show in the ring. Eddie and Chavito covered Show in sewage.

Show walks out laughing and crying. Show is having a hard time dealing with this. Kane comes out next, but due to the red lights you can’t see his eyes well.
MNM come out to face them. Melina is obviously ‘not there’ mentally, her eyes are blank.
Show and M start out. M doesn’t have a chance. Kane tags in and continues the beating. A Sidewalk Slam and he climbs, but N pulls him down to the floor.
N takes a belt to the head of Kane. N goes fort he cover of Kane - yea, right. M gets tagged in and they double team Kane. They try to Suplex Kane together, but Kane reverses and Suplexes them both. Show comes in and takes them both down.
Melina gets on the apron to distract Show. Show grabs he and plants a big wet kiss on her.
Show and Kane Double Chokeslam either M or N and get the win.

- Winners: Kane & Big Show

Lillian talks about how they got along so well and got to speak Spanish together. She spoke about how they went to Iraq together. They were together in a small group touring and talking to the troops. She spoke about how humble he was - that was the true Eddie. She said something in Spanish and broke into tears.

- Commercial
Eddie in the ring teasing Angle, talking about putting hydraulics on his wheelchair.

Angle comes out to muted “you suck” chants. His eyes are red and worn.
Benjamin comes out to wrestle Angle. They lock up and Angle gets a Wristlock on Benjamin. Benjamin bounced Angle off the ropes to get the hold released.
Angle hits a Belly to Belly on Benjamin. Angle traps him in a corner and stomps him down. Then another Suplex and two quick covers. Angle locks in a Waistlock. Benjamin gets vertical and uses his elbow to get out.
A Back Breaker give Angle another cover. He then locks in a Necklock. Angle then tears at Benjamin’s face.
Angle hit a couple of elbows to the back of Benjamin’s head. A reversal to a reversal and Benjamin hit a DDT. They get up and exchange blows. Benjamin hit a Forearm then Clothesline, followed by Samoan Drop. Benjamin went for the T-Bone, but Angle tried to counter with the Ankle Lock. Benjamin kicked out before it was locked on.
Benjamin climbed. Angle tried to pull him down, got knocked off, then Benjamin hit a hard Flying Clothesline. Angle recovered and hit a couple of Germans and an Angle Slam, but didn’t get the three.
Angle climbs, but Benjamin catches him and hit a German from the top. Angle just about landed on his head - in a bad way. Benjamin went for the cover, but Angle kicked out.
Angle locks in the Ankle Lock on Benjamin who finally taps.
Both men are drained as they put everything into the match. Angle takes off his Eddie armband and hold it high

- Winner: Angle

HBK says he never wrestled Eddie. Everything he knows of Eddie is all about religion. They had some amazing talks about being Born Again Christians. It was a quite religious bit, but so heartfelt that it brought tears to my eyes. “God Bless You , and I will see you again my friend.”

- Commercial

Old Los Guerreros bits of Eddie and Chavito. The whole Lie, Cheat and Steal thing - so well done. Little comments from his family - old comments from the Eddie special.

Chavito talks about how they were more brothers than uncle and nephew due to there only being 3 years between them. How they wrestled each other during intermissions when they were quite young. Their first matches were together. They always wanted to be tag team champs. “Chavito says he will never have another partner like Eddie. They knew what the other was doing int the ring. They knew how each other thought. You are my brother and will always be my brother. You are a great inspiration to me... Thank you... I will see you again... I love you.” Chavito held his tears in until the end, but it was obviously just a short time since he had been in tears when he started speaking.

- Commercial

HBK comes out wearing an “I’m your Papi” shirt. It is obvious his prayer on the ramp is for Eddie - reading his lips. In the ring he takes of the shirt, kisses it and tosses it to the crowd.
Rey Rey comes out wearing the same “Papi” shirt. He tosses his shirt to a young kid in the front row.
HBK walks over, shakes Rey’s hand, says something to him, then they start the match. HBK puts an Arm Wringer on Rey. Rey reverses the Arm Wringer then into a Hammerlock. HBK reverses into a Hammerlock.
They chain wrestle beautifully with a little high flying that was amazing. Back to the Hammerlock on Rey. Side Headlock Takeover on Rey into a Headlock. Rey gets to his feet and away. Catapult of Rey over the top, he Springboards back onto HBK. What a fast match.
A Chop by HBK, then a few more. HBK gets hung on the second, but ducks out of the 619. HBK on the outside and Rey flies. Both men are on the floor.
(I have never seen HBK wrestle like this - it is great. He usually wrestles bigger guys and has to rely on strength. He needs to wrestle more small guys. I did not realize that HBK had such speed and agility. I am extremely impressed with this match.)

- Commercial

Sleeper Hold on Rey in the center of the ring. Rey fights to his feet and out. HBK Chops Rey to the mat. Back Breaker to Rey. HBK keeps dropping knees on Rey’s lower back. HBK locks in a Head Lock on Rey, immobilizing him in the center of the ring. Rey fights out with elbows. Head Scissors on HBK followed by a Springboard High Cross Body and a Clothesline. Rey Dropkicks HBK’s left knee then a quick cover.
HBK hits a flying forearm leaving them both on the mat. Nip Up, but Rey sets up fort he 619, but HBK drops out again.
HBK Clotheslines Rey flipping him over and landing him on a mass on the mat. HBK climbs and hits a Flying Elbow.
Time to Tune Up The Band - but no luck. Rey hits Head Scissors and sets up again for 619. Finally he hits it and follows it with a Flying Leg Drop for the win.

- Winner: Rey Rey - dedicated to Eddie

Rey helps HBK up, they shake hands, kiss and hug. They hold each other and talk.

Batista talks about the phone call telling him Eddie died. Eddie helped him out of some tough spots. Eddie would sit down with him, pull out a bible and help him through personal problems. He says Eddie is so funny and so easy to work with because he was so funny. He says it amazed him how funny Eddie was because he always seemed to be in so much pain. But then Eddie went through the curtain and he changed - no one would believe Eddie had any troubles because he loved the fans so much.
Dave was in tears through the whole thing. I read yesterday that they had become very close recently.

- Commercial - they fucked up locally here in Maine. They advertised Eddie in a match in December here in Lewiston. I know there was a lot to take care of, but the local station should have taken care of that and not shown it.

Clips of Eddie’s life set to music.

Ashley, Maria, Christy, Victoria, Melina, Jillian, Mickie, Candice and Trish all come out for a Diva Battle Royal in ‘Papi’ shirts. They all took their shirts off together and tossed them to the crowd.
Everyone starts fighting but Maria who stands off to the side. Mickie gets tossed first, then Jillian. Maria is still not fighting - hiding in a corner.
Candice does her new move and doesn’t get eliminated. Ashley gets Slingshotted. They were trying to send her out, but her boobs got caught on the top rope, hard! She then got tossed.
Christy got tossed next, and Maria is still hiding. Candice gets tossed. Maria boots Victoria in the bum and tosses her. Maria decides she likes this, hits Trish and Melina. Trish tosses Maria. Melina and Trish go at it and Trish gets tossed.

- Winner: Melina

Melina acts like she wants Trish’s belt.

Rey talks about Eddie. Wrestling aside Rey has a lot of good memories. Both families bonded, are close. He misses Eddie and wishes Eddie was still here. Wishes it was a dream. “I love you Eduardo.” He then speaks in Spanish and breaks down. He un-velcros his mask. “We’re going to miss you Eddie, you are a big inspiration to everybody... you had a great presence. I love you.” He puts his head in his ands and takes off his mask. His face does not look up before going to commercial.
(I was kind of surprised he had the mask on for that, but his contract might have something to do with it. Though I doubt anyone gives a damn about that stuff right now. He did not have in his light blue contacts. I did not figure he would due to the tears.)

- Commercial

Recap of WMXX when Benoit won and Eddie was there.

Eugene comes to the ring - in character. Simon Dean comes out on his little scooter thingie.
Dean pulls out a bar for Eugene who doesn’t like it. Dean attacks, then does push ups. Eugene mimic him.
Eugene bites him on the bum, then Monkey Flips Dean from the corner.
Eugene goes out and plays with the scooter. Dean attacks from behind, rolls him in the ring and goes for the cover. Dean lock in a Headlock, poorly. Eugene fights out. Dean bounces Eugene’s head off the corner a couple times. Eugene gets pissed. Airplane Spin leaves them both dizzy. Dean wraps an elastic workout thingie around the turnbuckle. Eugene pulls him back across the ring and lets go. Dean flies into the turnbuckle, then hits the mat. Eugene covers for the win.

- Winner: Eugene

Benoit says Eddie is his best friend. He is a beautiful, kind hearted person. They laughed together, cried together. Eddie led by example. He could go to Eddie and pour his heart out - Eddie is the only one he could do that with. He could talk Benoit down. Eddie led by example because of everything he went through. They never left each other without telling each other they loved each other. He says he can truly say he loves Eddie. His heart goes out to Vicki and the girls. “Eddie, I know you are in a better place... I love you... I miss you.” Chris starts bawling his eyes out. “I want to thank you for everything you’ve ever given me... I love you Eddie”
Chris gets up and walks off bawling his eyes out.
(I knew Chris would be the one to make me cry myself, and he did. I never thought of one without thinking of the other.)

- Commercial

Eddie walks out to face Brock for the title. DDT, Frogsplash and then the win. Eddie then hugs his mom.

HHH says he will remember Eddie being one of the best. He was technically great, but was fun and funny. He could make you run through every emotion. Eddie will always be an inspiration. HHH brings up Eddie’s demons and how he overcame them to become who he was. “Eddie succeeded in life, where so many others would have bailed. I miss you man.” HHH tears up here. Wants Vicki and the kids to know how much they mean to Eddie. He would have wanted everyone to be there working the show the way they are. “Eddie’s up there right now. He’s lying to somebody. He’s cheating somebody, and he’s stolen all our hearts.” He gets up and walks out.
(It is nice to see true emotion out of HHH as he comes off as plastic so much lately.)

- Commercial

Flair comes out, but the camera is on the low rider. Flair looks like shit too. He is in character, but his eyes are red.
William Regal comes out to face him. Announcers say Regal was one of Eddie’s closest friends - I didn’t know that.
Flair struts then starts working Regal over. Regal quickly takes control. Flair hits a bunch of Chops and punches. Flair locks in the Abdominal Stretch. Regal unlaces Flairs boot, then gets to the rope.
Regal traps Flair in a corner and hits a bunch of Upper Cuts. Regal covers, but no three. Another Upper Cut sends Flair over the top and out. Outside Flair hits a bunch of Chops.
Back in the ring Flair hits a Chop Block on Regal. Flair locks on the Figure 4 and Regal taps out giving Flair the quick win.

Steph says she met Eddie when he came to see Vince when he wanted to jump to WWE from WCW. She says she didn’t know what to expect, but loved him. She got to work with him behind the scenes. He could send you through every emotion and loved to go out and entertain the fans. They spoke on Friday. He told Steph that he was going to be champ again and just wanted to make sure Steph knew that.
When she thinks of Eddie she thinks about how much he loves his family. They were his whole world and he lit up when he spoke about Vicki and the kids. “I’ll miss you Eddie. Everybody will miss you. We all love you.”
(When I saw them all out on stage in the beginning I flashed back to the first RAW after Owen’s death. Someone gave me a copy of that show on tape. The things that stick in my mind from that night was Steph’s face, and Mark Henry’s face. She was so young and so torn up by the loss. That was the look she had on her face when she spoke about Eddie. She looked like that lost little girl again.)

- Commercial

Eddie winning the IC title from Chyna. Then the fallout from it and how he was a shit about it behind her back.

Cena comes out in a “Papi” shirt. He gets pop, but not the usual pop. The crowd just doesn’t have it in them it seems.
Orty comes out with his dad Cowboy Bob. Orty is in character, but makes sure his armband is in place. They lock up. Headlock on Cena, then Takeover. Cena gets a Back Elbow that ps him to the mat.
They exchange blows until Orty gives Cena a thumb to the eye. Side Headlock on Cena who fights out but runs straight into a Dropkick. Orty covers, but no three.
They collide leaving them both on the mat. They get to their feet at the same time. Cena hits a Shoulder Block then Clothesline and Sit Down Powerbomb. 5 Knuckle Shuffle and Cena pumps up the sneakers.
Cena goes for the FU, but Cowboy attacks Cena from behind causing the DQ.
Orty goes for the RKO, but Cena reverses it into the FU.

- Winner: Cena

Cena takes off his “Papi” shirt. He lays it flat in the center of the ring with Eddie Guerrero, Latino Heat facing up. Cena then lays his belt across the waist of the shirt and leaves the ring.
The last shot of the night is Eddie’s shirt with the belt on it.

First of all I have to say they did an amazing job with the show. It was a beautiful tribute to Eddie. I did not want to write the RAW Report tonight. I wanted to sit and watch and cry, but I did it because I knew I needed to. I am sorry if it is not complete or correct - I just wanted to get the feel of the show out there for those who were not able to watch.

Okay, now it’s my turn to talk about Eddie. So many people have posted their feelings on Eddie’s passing, but I decided to wait until now to let it all pour out.
When I turned on my computer yesterday I went directly to Rajah.com to see if there was anything new going on in the wrestling world. When I saw the top article my jaw dropped and my heart skipped a beat, but my mind refused to compute what my eyes saw.
I clicked on the article and told my two friends who are wrestling fans who were in the room to sit down. They thought I had lost my mind. That is until I told them that Eddie had passed away at such a young age. The others in the room who were not wrestling fans also stopped what they were doing an gawked. They knew his name, even though they were not crazies fans as the three of us are.
As more information came in I updated everyone sitting with me. We were supposed to be writing, but not much work got completed. I spent more time watching Eddie clips and hunting for any insight as to what might have happened.
The hour drive home that night held on conversation of Eddie. I kept waking up last night, as is normal for me as I do not sleep well, but almost immediately the thought of Eddie’s passing would jump into my mind. It was a long, long night.
Honestly I was not looking forward to writing the RAW Report tonight. I did not know how I would handle watching more than two hours of a show, and writing about it, when the central theme would be the loss of a man who meant so much to me.
I know everyone is feeling his loss in their own ways, and none so much as his family and closest friends. He was beloved by so many, and I hope his children remember that as they grow up.
For me Eddie, passing showed me that even the strongest can die. See, November 29 will be my 6 year sobriety anniversary. While I never had trouble with alcohol I did have troubles with prescription drugs. After I got clean I watched Eddie suffer through his demons. But it was the last 4 years and his oneness about his demons that made me feel good about my success. Whenever he said anything about what he had been through and how happy he is now it just made me stronger in my resolve that I have done the right thing with my life.
A couple Eddie bits stick out in my mind. When he and Chavito broke up Los Guerreros due to Eddie losing matches for them, Chavito said he was acting as he had when he was on drugs and drinking. Eddie went to the ring and started talking earnestly about his problems. Someone in the ring yelled. “You suck.” Eddie turned and looked at the guy and said, “yea, I do suck.” It was the tone in his voice and the look in his eye when he did this that tore through to my heart. He had fallen out of character and was reliving his demons in front of us all.
I remember seeing a tape of an older PPV. For some reason I think it was a KoTR, (though it might not have been - I am unable to find the tape) but could not tell you which year. Eddie was outback doing an interview with someone, possibly Terry or Lillian. He looked like heck. It was at the height of his addiction and he was obviously truly fucked up. He got rambling about wanting to say hello to his family. He started naming off every family member he could think of at that moment. The female interviewer took a step back and just stared at him with her jaw hung open. She did not know what to do, and it was live, so she just let him ramble on and on until he could not think of any other family members to name off. It was really scary to see how bad off he was.
Then, of course there is the one scene that so many people seem to flash to when thinking of Eddie - WMXX. Nothing has been as touching or as heart warming as when Benoit turned around in the ring after winning the championship to find his close friend standing there. That hug brought more big tough guys to tears than anything else seen on WWE since the loss of Owen.
My heart goes out to Eddie’s family and friends in their time of sorrow. The only positive note I can put on this is that at least he went out at the top of his game when life was going so well. He had cleaned himself up, gotten his wife, family and friends back. He had also found a higher power. It is sad whenever someone so beloved leaves us, but at least he was given the time to put his life back in order and show those he loved most that he had the strength and love to be there for them when they needed him most. It may sound callous to say this, but it would have been much, much worse if he had left us before fighting his demons, getting back together with Vicki (an amazing woman for getting back with an addict - we are hard to deal with day in and day out) and bringing his youngest daughter into this world. He was a good man with an honest soul and will be greatly missed by everyone who has ever known or seen him.

Mood:normaal

Music: wwe eddie en chavo