Any pro wrestling fan that religiously tunes in every Monday and Friday night to watch World Wrestling Entertainment can tell you about the new low its creative team has sunk. The unremitting presence of former WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero's death in the recent storylines couldn't make it any more clear.
When Owen Hart and Brian Pillman passed away in the late 1990's, the tribute shows did not advance any storylines. In fact, the late wrestlers' names were rarely ever mentioned again out of respect for their memory.
However, Guerrero's unexpected death from a heart attack in 2005 was not laid to rest.
After WWE held two tribute shows in his honor, one of his best friends, Rey Mysterio, decided to start dedicating his matches to Eddie. Guerrero's nephew, Chavo Guerrero, also began using some of his uncle's signature maneuvers, including Eddie's top rope frog splash as a finisher.
The continued honoring of Eddie was received well by fans. But it slowly went downhill after WWE's creative team recognized just how much the fans gobbled up these acts.
The dishonor started when the writers had one of the company's top "heel" or "bad guy" wrestlers, Randy Orton, go on a tirade about how he should be the top title contender instead of Mysterio. In the process, Orton berates Eddie Guerrero's name, saying, "Eddie's not up there. He's down there, in hell!"
It was also written in for Orton to trash the late Guerrero's legacy, and to attack Chavo for no other reason than that he was a relative. Orton was also told to beat up Mysterio in front of Eddie's widow at ringside.
This tasteless booking done by WWE's creative team is a proverbial slap in the face to Eddie's name. They took an easy route to make one of their top heels get a large negative reaction from the fans, meanwhile casting a gloomy shadow upon WWE as a whole. The result is that WWE continued to not win over any new viewers.
It is upsetting to know that the WWE also had the audacity to try and make money off of the death of one of its own. By placing Eddie's death in the top storyline, WWE hoped that it would recruit more casual fans and rekindle the buzz it possessed several years ago. It's quite amazing how unethical a Fortune 500 and publicly traded company like WWE can be.
Thus, maybe it is poetic justice that the Guerrero story flopped as it did. Instead of cashing in on someone's death, WWE wound up with a bad name for itself.
Another sad circumstance is how Mysterio was made to look. He was booked to win the Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 22 not because he is one of the greatest high-flying and exciting-to-watch wrestlers in history, but because he dedicated both events to Eddie. Mysterio's dedications of his matches were touching to hear, but made him look like a weak, fluke champion at the same time. Due to these dedications, one questions whether he really is one of the most talented stars on their roster.
One also has to wonder about the psyche of the wrestlers on WWE's rosters. Watching the mistreatment of one of the most highly respected names in wrestling history must affect their consciences. Eddie always managed to keep the back locker room's morale high. He was also a very spiritual man and he shared his beliefs with his comrades. The fact that their writing staff continues to take advantage of Eddie's death is a direct insult to his legacy.
Even though berating the dead has proven to stifle any new business, it doesn't look like this habit will be changed anytime soon. Last week, Chavo "quit" the business after he dedicated a match to Eddie and lost. Where the writing team is going with this is unpredictable, but one thing that is certain is the bad ratings that will ensue.
Please WWE, just let Eddie rest in peace. He has probably rolled over a few times in his grave already.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
