One Year to the Day

It was on this day in 2005, a Sunday, that Eddy Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room. I posted something on the blog two days later that his wife, Vickie wrote. In response to it I said,

"I miss Eddy Guerrero. But to read this, it really puts it into perspective. This isn't just my television hero that's gone away. It's a husband, and a father, a brother, an uncle, and a friend to many. I'll get used to him not being on Smackdown eventually. I don't think his family will get used to him not being home, though."

Little did I know what the next year would turn into, as Eddy's name and memory were prostituted at every opportunity to make money, at diminishing returns as it turned off many fans. I hung in longer than I should have, I admit, and it wasn't until Vickie Guerrero herself became a villain in the twisted play that I gave up on WWE for the time being.

I find myself ready to begin watching their programming full time again in the near future, but this day has given me pause. Have I honored Eddy this year by patronizing the company that exploited he and his family for personal gain? Would it be a slap in the face to my favorite wrestler to absolve WWE of their past sins and go about business at usual? It's something consider. I take professional wrestling more seriously than most, but I can also separate fantasy from reality. Eddy Guerrero is dead, and that's very real. And the fact that I know casual fans who asked me months after the fact if he was really gone tells me that WWE are the ones who can't separate the truth from fiction.

Eddy Guerrero isn't coming back. I can't change that, so does it matter one way or another if I don't watch? The only thing I can think of is that if I'm unitiated, maybe at least I won't feel like an enabler the next time something like this happens.

-Andy