R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero 1967-2005 : Not a good day to be a wrestling fan
Sunday, November 13th, 2005
According to WWE.com and some news reports out of Minneapolis today, the wrestler Eddie Guerrero has died aged 38. Ironically, their current storyline had him winning the world championship this evening.
It’s sad really, but a lot of my childhood wrestling heroes have died young. These include:
Owen Hart (aged 34 - broken neck from a wrestling stunt gone wrong)
The British Bulldog (aged 39 - heart attack)
Mr. Perfect (aged 45 - cocaine overdose)
Brian Pillman (aged 35 - heart condition)
Andre The Giant (aged 47 - heart attack)
Rick Rude (aged 40 - heart failure)
Yokozuna (aged 34 - heart attack)
Chris Candido (aged 33 - blood clot formed after an in-ring injury)
Crash Holly (aged 32 - overdose of painkillers and alcohol)
Hawk of the Legion of Doom (aged 43 - heart failure)
You may have noticed a pattern emerging there. While it may seem disrespectful to speculate so soon after Eddie’s passing, one might be able to make an educated guess at what the problem was.
300-days-a-year schedules, coupled with rampant steroid and recreational drug abuse (addiction to painkillers is common among wrestlers) tend to take their toll on the body. Therefore premature deaths in the wrestling business, unfortunately, are commonplace. However, that doesn’t make Eddie Guerrero’s death any less shocking.
On a side note, I was amazed at (and morbidly appreciative of) how quickly Eddie’s Wikipedia entry was updated. Click here to view it.