The past week has been a hard one for wrestling fans. Eddie Guerrero, a
truly beloved wrestler, was called Home far too soon. He had so much
left to do. But life is a fragile thing. You don't always get to finish
what you start. A death in wrestling is never easy to deal with, and
fans were left with heavy hearts last week. But WWE and Eddie's
co-workers were kind enough to let us mourn with them on both Raw and
Smackdown. Although criticized by some as exploitative, those critics
don't "get it." I'm sure I speak for a lot of viewers who found the
tribute shows both comforting and cathartic. Of course, the media
always feels the need to sink its teeth into any story surrounding a
wrestler's death. When I heard that MSNBC's Rita Cosby was going to
devote "Live and Direct" last Tuesday to Eddie Guerrero, I was bracing
for the worst. To her credit, Cosby's coverage of Eddie's death was
also a tribute. Rita "gets it." And you knew Phil Mushnick of the New
York Post would have something to say about it. He always does. Another
opportunity to bash the McMahons was too good to pass up. Although
given to hyperbole, he did make more sense than usual as he compared
the way steroids are treated in baseball and professional wrestling.
Then there was the FOX News coverage. On Saturday night's "The Big
Story," they had all the elements for a good discussion on the subject.
Unfortunately, the host du jour, Bret Baer, has not yet mastered the
art of juggling live interviews. His style could best be described as
"bum's rush." So with the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer and Dr.
Michael Brannon, a former wrestler, as his guests, Baer would ask them
a question, and then rush on to the next one. You see, Baer had to
hurry on to the next segment of the show where the guest was the poster
boy for steroids, Jose Canseco. What are the odds? Did baseball's bad
boy have a comment about the previous segment? Why, yes he did. He said
he was a big fan of Eddie, which I think disappointed Baer. It didn't
help that Baer's interview technique was no smoother than with Meltzer
and Brannon, and it seemed to annoy Canseco. He took Baer to task for
asking a follow-up question before he'd even finished answering the
first one. Score one for Jose, who said what viewers had surely wanted
to. Then in a surprise move, on Monday WWE acknowledged the elephant in
the room...the topic everyone had tip-toed around during the previous
week. They implemented a drug-testing policy. Sure, they've done that
before, but this time it looks like they mean business. Better late
than never, I suppose, but it doesn't help those who could have
benefited over the years had Vince McMahon not turned a blind eye to a
growing problem. That all-important bottom line seemed to cloud his
vision. It has been a week now, and life goes on. Another house show.
Another TV taping. Another
pay-per-view. There is no question that Eddie Guerrero made a
difference while he was alive. But if something good can come of
Eddie's tragic passing, maybe--just maybe--life will go on with a
difference this time. test
