The Old Familiar Sting

Once again I feel obligated to post something about the death of a wrestler.

Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room yesterday. No signs of foul play or suicide. He was 38 years old.

Odds are his death ahd something to do with his struggles with alcohol, drugs, pain medication and, more than likely, steroids. Eddie had supposedly been clean for four years and had cleaned up his life, but I won't be surprised if the autopsy results reveal that those demons caught up with him again.

What scares me about all of this is that right now I'm watching Raw and I knew what they were going to do as a tribute. You could say I wrote the book on it, because, well, I did. My masters thesis was on how the WWE handled the death of Owen Hart in 1999 and so far they're following the blueprint when it comes to Eddie Guerrero.

It's creepy. I have no doubt that the tears and sentiments coming from most of the performers is real, but it's so ridiculously bizarre to think that they've all been through this before. On top of that it's just weird to expect fans to cheer for contrived matches in between the sentimental tributes from the co-workers of the deceased.

To their credit the WWE did a good job in the first 3-4 minutes, opening the show with all of the wrestlers on stage, black bands on their arms, as they tolled the bell 10 times, just like they did for Owen. And Bossman. And Mr. Perfect. And Gorilla Monsoon. And The British Bulldog. And Brian Pillman. I guess when it happens this often it's easy to get it right.

The song they chose for the memorial video was fitting though, even if you know they chose Johnny Cash (actually a Johnny Cash cover of Nine Inch Nails) just because he's back in style because of Walking the Line:

Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way