Another wrestler dies: Will Eddie Guerrero's death change things?
It’s a list that keeps on growing every year.
Being a fan of professional wrestling is not the easiest thing to admit. But for many of us, it’s not hard to admit because it’s choreographed or because it can be silly.
Lots of sports with unplanned finishes fit that bill.
It’s hard to admit because we know we watch and in some cases support an industry that has seen far too many premature deaths.
On Sunday afternoon my phone rang. It was a friend of mine who is also a wrestling fan.
“Did you hear about Eddie Guerrero?”
When I heard that a 38-year old man, trim and muscular, in the prime of his career and perhaps his life had died, I wasn’t surprised.
After all, he was a wrestler. Wrestlers die young.
Or at least that’s how it seems.
If you watch wrestling from 15 years ago, you’ll notice that there’s almost no match that doesn’t involve a performer that died young.
Everyone automatically thinks about steroids at first. But does it really matter? Football and baseball players have used steroids, but we have yet to see the type of mortality rate that exists in what the promoters skillfully call “sports entertainment.”
Whether these deaths are the result of steroid use or not, there’s no question that the life of a wrestler is not an easy one. The performers travel a lot (there is no offseason, like in football) and despite its “fake” stigma, professional wrestling does cause serious injuries.
This is not an indictment on World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon or promoters like him. McMahon has been in the wrestling business his whole life. He has done business his way, and no amount of words written by me will get him to change his way of dealing with these deaths.
But then again, this death was different. Yes, it’s true a number of former WWE wrestlers have died young in recent years. The list includes names like “Ravishing” Rick Rude, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, Ray “Big Bossman” Traylor and David “British Bulldog” Smith.
But none of those men were under McMahon’s employment at the time of their death. Of the number of wrestlers that have died in recent years, only Owen Hart and Brian Pillman were wrestling for the WWF (now WWE) at the time.
But even those deaths were different than Guerrero’s. Owen Hart’s death was a freak accident – a fall from the top of a building while preparing for a stunt. Pillman, while still a star, had been in difficult shape prior to his death and no longer a headliner.
Eddie was different. He was still at the top of his game in the ring and was a headliner. He was in the main event at a pay-per-view show Oct. 9.
His death was reported as heart failure, something most have blamed on the drug and alcohol problems that Guerrero had in the past
Will the death cause McMahon and other promoters to look at the lifestyles their employees are living? Probably not.
But maybe the death will cause the wrestlers themselves to look in the mirror and wonder if being a star in the industry is worth it.
One can only hope.
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