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The Sickest Angle Ever
August 30, 2006 by Eddie Martin

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I'm not easily offended. Not by any means. But as I browse through the OWW Hall of Shame, I realize that there is only one angle that has ever truly offended me. In the midst of all the sexually corrupt and racially stereotypical tripe that are passed off as viable plotlines, there was only ever one that sickened me to the very core. I am speaking about the angle that centered on the manipulation of Eddie Guerrero's death.

In my mind, the most disgusting aspect of this plot was the fact that it was obviously formulated straight after Guerrero's passing. On the episode of RAW commemorating Eddie Guerrero, wrestlers from both brands gathered together on the entrance ramp to pay their respects to the deceased former WWE champion. Look in the front row. Who do you see with an expressionless face" Who do you see who seemingly wishes he wasn't there" Randy Orton.

Orton was obviously informed of the angle almost directly after Guerrero's death, and was planted in the front row on the ramp. Now search your memories again, people. Who was Eddie's replacement at Survivor Series" Randy Orton. Who was the sole survivor of the match" Randy Orton. On the special addition of SmackDown! soon after the PPV, who left Guerrero's signature lowrider up in flames to fuel his feud with The Undertaker" You guessed it, Randy Orton.

The whole angle was planned out from the very beginning. What sort of a sick, mentally unhinged people would even consider this, never mind going through with it" Oh yeah, Vince McMahon and the writers of the "creative team"! Who else, huh" I can envision Vinnie Mac now. He just heard the bad news and is suddenly thinking about how much time Guerrero had left on his contract. He feels ripped off. He just lost a main-eventer, after all. Suddenly it occurs to him. Why not involve Eddie's death in a plotline" It's the biggest issue in the wrestling world today. Yeah, that ought to draw some ratings! This man is genuinely heartless.

So, considering the sheer amount of attention he received from the lowrider stunt, Vince decides to throw "gasoline on the fire" and sink to an all-new low. He decides to use Eddie's death to push Rey inevitably towards the World Heavyweight Championship and establish Orton as a monstrously despicable heel. And before you can say, "I feel sick" we have Orton declaring that Eddie is "in Hell" in order to receive cheap heat from the fans. In Hell! That hit me like a punch to the gut. It was the last straw. I couldn't even imagine why Guerrero's family and friends would allow this. I certainly wouldn't!

Eventually it dawned on me. Rey was getting that big shiny belt around his waist, so he wasn't about to complain. But what about everyone else" Eddie's family. Chavo. Doesn't he have any influence" Doesn't he care" Even Eddie's wife, Vicky, has become involved in a plot loosely based around Eddie. How" Well, apparently everyone was lead to believe that these angles were to have Eddie's spirit live on in the fans, and that it would be what Eddie wanted.

The WWE seem to have some very persuasive employees at their disposal. People who fed Eddie's family and friends the same crap they fed the fans. It may be a strong term but I believed they were brainwashed. An easy task in a time of instability, a time when Guerrero's loved ones would consider these lies comforting.

Greedy. Vile. Heartless. Call it whatever you want but know that it is wrong. Very, very wrong. If Eddie were your loved one, you wouldn't like it. And you certainly wouldn't like to hear that he is in Hell on national television, or anywhere for that matter. I hope the WWE will let Eddie's soul rest in peace but the recent angle with Rey and Chavo says otherwise. Still, we can always hope.

by Eddie Martin..

Scrib wrote:
So pretty much you are saying everybody in the Guerrero family and friend circle are idiots and are weak minded, but, somehow, you have it all figured out without being anywhere near the production of the series of events that occurred after Eddie's death. Are you kidding me"

Now instead of crying and moaning how you have pristine morals, the Guerreros are simpletons, and Rey Mysterio was so greedy for the belt that he doesn't care about anything, why don't you give me a way how the fans would still be chanting Eddie's name today" I'm tired of people bitching and moaning without any resolution or counter proposal. It's so easy to cry and complain though. I understand, though, that's what typical internet goons do. Enjoy your mother's basement!

Tim Dunn (Knoxville, TN) wrote:
To Eddie Martin....just get over it. When are all these so called "smart wrestling fans" out there just going to "smarten up"" Is there actually still fans of this form of entertainment that have been watching for the last 10 - 20 years that still get offended" Unbelievable. Eddie Guerrero's death was tragic, and no one can honestly say "Eddie would have wanted it this way", but the key figures in Eddie's life don't seem offended by what's going on at all. And why should they" Did anyone get offended by Nikolai Volkoff's portrayal of a Russian....big, mean and Communist! But the good guys always won, right" Same thing over there in Russia, the good guys won, just a few hundred thousand deaths along the way. But it was a storyline in the WWE. That's what storylines are in the WWE, they take real life and make it bigger....Austin beating up his boss....Triple H drugging Stephanie then marrying her....Piper cracking a coconut over Snuka's head....and using a wrestler's death, in this case Guerrero's to further an angle. If I recall it wasn't long ago when the late Terry Gordy's name was slandered, by Edge I believe. Was that offensive too" And for the record Eddie Martin....what you said was more offensive than any angle the WWE is doing at the present....you basically said that none of this matters to Rey Mysterio because he's the champ now. I don't know Rey personally, nor Chavo, nor Vicki, nor Randy Orton, but what I do know is that each and everyone of them would trade all the Championship belts in Professional Wrestling to have Eddie Guerrero here, alive, right now. The way it seems to me....and this goes for Eddie Martin and anyone else along those lines....if you're offended by something youy see on t-v use your remote and flip the channel. Maybe there's a repeat of Will and Grace or Friends you can watch. BUt, whatever you do....EVERYONE JUST STOP COMPLAINING!!!

Nick Currier wrote:
Eddie I truly agree with you on that one I was so offended when that happened I was shocked. I am also extremely upset that they are using Eddies death as fuel for Chavo and Rey's feud and making Eddie's wife turn on his long time best friend Rey. All of this just doesn't add up to me. It is just crazy that they can keep using Eddie's passing like this it is worng and needs to stop. Let Eddie rest in peace and be remembered for the great wrestler and man that he was instead of dragging his name through the dirt to get ratings.

damien james wrote:
i cannot agree more,the oficial mourning time for ANYTHING is always aone year,then fair game. some may think bad taste after that but at least so time to heal has past. the eddie storyline is unforgivable and disgusting.

Mike Fullilove wrote:
Hey, I just wanted to shed some light on the situation. As the old saying goes; The show must go on. In the old days of wrestling, if a wrestler passed away, on the next show they might have not had the heels show too much of what they were feeling about his passing. It's just the nature of the business. HHH wasn't too showy (except for the hug after the Benoit match), and neither was JBL...as I remember anyway. As I saw the Smackdown show, me and a friend noticed that Randy Orton came out not really showing too much sorrow for Eddie, but he wasn't hoping around doing his regular entrance, either. I think that in honor of the business, they decided to have the bad guys act as bad guys and the good guys act as good guys. Why" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT EDDIE WOULD HAVE WANTED. Eddie was a veteran pro-wrestler. He'd want the show to go on as normal as possible. I doubt that they planted the Eddie/Orton/Mysterio angle on that morning. Think about it:

Stooge A: "Vince...Eddie's passed..."
Vince: "Really" Let start an ingenious angle about it involving...Randy Orton...Crap...he's dead"!""
Stooge A: "Yessir..."

That's just not how I think it went down. Vince is cutthroat, but he's not THAT bad...(I hope)

Following the low rider incident, Chavo went on record to say that he believed that Eddie enjoyed being part of the show. I trust Chavo's word on that one.

All I'm trying to say is...wrestling is just a show...Thank you Eddie, thank you Randy Orton, you jerk

Mike Arrow wrote:
Look man, whenever there are these sorts of storylines, there will be this kind of reaction. Your kind of reaction. You seem to believe that it is disgusting (sickening) to use Eddie's death to fuel a wrestling storyline.

But looking at the past history of rey and chavo, something like this is only an extension of one of their earlier feuds. In 2005, at the beginning of the Rey/Eddie saga, Chavo said to Rey, "you will never be a Guerrero", thus prompting a street fight between the two. What's happening right now is not so different, is it"

I personally have no problem with this storyline, and I wish both rey and chavo good luck in future with their respective programs.

Yes, Eddie did die, and yes, WWE is looking to capitalise from his death. But is that so wrong"

(Just as an aside, it's not like Eddie will care, he's not in a position to make such judgements)

ADIL KHAN wrote:
I am sickened too by such a shameful angle and i am very happy that some one has finally raised his voice over it.Eddie Guerrero wheather as a heel or a face was a very respected man.I am greatly shocked to see Chavo and Vicky getting involved in it.I know that this is done to live eddie's spirit among the fans but by this way i think the WWE is creating heat among the fans.At SummerSlam what was the reaction of the fans"They booed both Rey and Chavo when they performed Eddie's Moves.What do they plan to do next"I loved Eddie Guerrero and i shed my tears over what i get to see on Smackdown.Lets not talk about Randy Orton.We know his behaviour and what kind of attitude he has but what about Vince.He cares just for money not for the respect of the great Wrestlers who served this co.What can u expect from a 61 yr old man who shows his naked butt on national telivision,who refers to his p**is as Andre The Giant, who honours superstars like Mick foley and Regal by letting them kiss his a**.If the WWE cared for the respect of the Late Great Eddie they wouldn't start such angles.Well if WWE dosen't care what about Eddie's own family.Why are they allowing them to live eddie's spirit in such a way.Owen Hart wasn't involved in any angle after his death because his widow didn't allow such acts.I would repeat Martin's words that lets hope that WWE will let Eddie's soul rest in peace. EDDIE I LOVE U AND I MISS U.RIP VIVA LA RAZA HOLMES

Matt Carson wrote:
Very intelligent article. But here's a tip on how to let the WWE know that you hate this and all of their other offensive storylines..... STOP WATCHING THEIR DAMN PROGRAMMING, STOP BUYING THEIR DAMN PAY PER VIEWS

Caleb Byrne wrote:
I have to disagree with most of the points in this column, especially your use of strong terms such as 'brainwashed'. Now, I myself am not a fan of the angle in question, but what you are forgetting is that wrestling is a crass business, often relying on subjects that or taboo or off-putting in nature to generate interest. It has been that way for many, many years. "Professional" wrestling originated in carnivals, and while WWE and TNA have put a big budget spin on it, it is still in the end the same attraction it has always been.

When it comes down to it, if Eddie's family and friends have no objections (and you can rest assured that if they did, they would let them be known) then can we, the viewers, really trash the decisions made by WWE creative" If at all, the only way we can trash the "Eddie's death" angle is for poor script-writing (which I will agree on with you). Many of your theories (and that's all they are, theories) about WWE planning this from the moment Eddie passed away, and Vince's supposed thoughts of how to make up for the loss of a main-eventer are ridiculous and border-line conspiracy theory. Orton showing no emotion on the tribute show" Perhaps he simply didn't know Eddie well enough, or that was his way of dealing with his grief" Did you stop to think of that"

In closing, perhaps you should put a little more thought into what you type. You have no right to speak for the Guerrero family, or Eddie's friends. When it comes down to it, it doesn't affect you in any way, except from the standpoint of having a pretty poor storyline on your TV, and if the Guerrero family haven't objected to the storyline, it doesn't automatically mean that they've been 'brainwashed'. Try not to come across so paranoid next time.

Jon F. wrote:
While I do admit that the exploitation of EG's death to get Orton 'heat' was WAY over the line, I feel the need to defend Vince for some reason. Come on! Vince may be a bad dicision-maker when it comes to 'wrestling' these days, but he isn't that ruthless. First of all, Rey Mysterio's push was to honor EG, not to exploit his death to get ratings. Mysterio was one of Eddie's best friends; he was basically a member of the Guerrero family in Eddie's eyes. What better way to honor him than to have Rey win the title.

You are extremely over-exagerating the exploitation of EG's death. Yes, there was some exploitation, but definately not to the extent you put it out to be. You make it sound like Vince assasinated him to do these angles. Even Vince McMahon isn't that heartless.

Stephen Y wrote:
I too find this storyline sick. Whatare they gaining in "turning" Vickie Guerrero "heel". Do you think that Randy Orton was really told of the storyline almost straight away, because I don't. People act to death in many different ways, and we will never know why his face was straight. Allegedly, Eddie was going to win the World title that night at the tapings from Batista, also involving Orton himself in the match. But still, this storyline is stupid and unwatchable, and I dont know why they should have to do this. His friends like Chavo, Rey, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and his widow Vickie. What makes the storyline worse is that Chavo isnt Chavo, he is Eddie's nephew, Rey is Eddie's best friend and Vickie is Eddie's widow.

Nathan Cortes wrote:
Well Eddie, although your column will im sure be well recieved by a lot of people, I on the other hand slightly disagree. I think although he is by no means anywhere near perfect people are quick to jump on Orton too easily. Eddie Guerrero just like Orton was a sports entertainer, Eddie has done questionable angles himself like half the WWE Roster.

Remember the thing with Dominic and who was the father, a lot of people argued that it was too far but they did it anyway which goes to the "common knowledge" of Wrestling that it is not real. They put it on to create interesting television or to build up an angle like they did with the Dominic angle. Eddie also several times in his career was called a drug addict for storylines based on his past but he wanted to do it for the sake of good tv. If you watched his DVD you would know that he loved his work a lot and had great respect for Vince for giving him another shot after his life collapsed.

It has been stated publically from people who knew Eddie that he would not of minded the angle and seen the good side of it. Like for example it helped Rey get the world title and some good feud heat with the likes of Orton.

Chances are if asked Eddie would have done a similar angle since he and everyone in the back knows that it does not actually mean anything. People over reacted a lot to this, If his family and friends have no problem participating in the angle then why should anyone who didn't know him"

Nice article though, you tried to analyze your point well and I look forward to reading more of your columns.

Paul McCarthy wrote:
i agree on every aspect and what sickens me most is they never did this to owen hart so why eddie why did they choose him" \

Michael Brown wrote:
I guess in some ways I agree with you that it was somewhat sick for Vince McMahon to come up with this but think about it for a second. Do you really think that McMahon didn't care about Eddie Guerrero himself. That all he really thought about was his ratings. Maybe he really did want to have Guerrero involved in the program in some form. And as strongly as you might feel about this the only real people who can complain is The Guerrero family and his close friends. If they aren't complaining too much about it and if they went with the angle then its not as serious as your making it out to be. And for whatever reason I don't know why, I really do believe that Eddie Guerrero doesn't mind whats been going on with the angles and would probably do it himself if that was the case.

Steven P. wrote:
This truly was a sick angle, but probably not the worst that I've ever seen. The Triple H-Kane-Katie Vick angle, espicially the infamous "casket episode" on Raw, nearly made me vomit. This Eddie-Rey-Orton-Chavo-Vickie fiasco is truly the inside of Vince McMahon's tormented mind. This isn't the sickest angle ever, but the tasteless by far. Nice job.

~Nick Eames wrote:
I've heard this argument time and time again, and every time someone brings up Rey, Chavo and Vicky. Apparently they've been brainwashed, paid off, taken advantage of and all sorts of accusations. One point that is never raised is this; these 3 people, Randy Orton, JBL and anyone else who has spoken ill of Eddie since his unfortunate death have one thing in common that the VAST majority of detractors dont. They had the pleasure of Guerrero's company and of knowing the man in some cases intimately. It would have been impossible for the WWE to force upon the Guerrero's this storyline, especially forcing Vicky or even a women representing her to become apart of the roster and partake in such a storyline.

We may not agree with it, but people who knew Guerrero closer then any of us could possibly have have evidentally made this decision that Eddie should remain in storylines for better or worse. I much prefer this to sticking Pillman's widow on the box and although the argument "who tunes in to see a storyline involving tearing a family apart over a death", no one complained when the Big Show's father's name was desecrated in his 2000 fued with the Bossman. Even thought he was dead months or even years before (I cannot recollect) the circumstance is still the mockery of a death. Wight was obviously fine with it, Guerrero's family must be fine with it and although some may not like it, it gives background to a fued and hopefully a last hurrah for Chavo Guerrero.

Cassidy Cox wrote:
this is a true column if i have ever seen one. So to all the ones on this post that say the immortal phrase "GET OVER IT" I have this to say to them. Watch a family member die and then allow it to be exploited then tell us to get over it. Now Eddies death was tragic, but so was names such as Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Curt Henning, and John Tenta but no story lines came out for them. Hmmmm...why is that could it be just as eddie said"" Could it be that the family was brainwashed or worse caused it. I don't even want to think of something that horrible for a story line but hell this is the man who wanted to use his daughters child as one (using himself or his son shane as the father)

B.L. wrote:
Wow... a lot of heat for this one -- O.k time for my two cents...First we all know that Eddie was a pro, no question. He cared about the fans and his fellow wrestlers. I'm not going to state things as fact, but I will speculate that Eddie did have a the show must go on attitude, either that or he would have quit the business long ago. People get hurt and die in this business and Eddie was in it for long enough to realize that. Second Vince has had a history of making bad decisions- at Over the Edge, the ppv that saw Owen Hart fall to his death, Vince made the call to continue on with the ppv. Owen's widow sued Vince (on the advice from Bret Hart, who we know loves Vince, before Vince could offer her any form of compensation- according to Bret and Owen's sister Diana in her book "Under the Mat"). That being said, Vicky and Chavo would have sued Vince if they believed that Eddie would not have agreed with it. On a similar note I would like to reprimand wrestling fans and suits for sweeping Owen's career/death under the rug. How about WWE hall of fame 2007" As far as Orton not wanting to be out there in front of the cameras at the tribute show, did it occur that maybe he was trying not to bawl like a little girl" Picture this: a fellow employee whom you work, travel, & live with dies suddenly, and you realize that it could have just as easily been you. Look back at Owen's tribute show and watch as men like Mark Henry weep uncontrollably. People deal with grief in many ways and I don't think that Ortan wasn't just as touched as anyone else just because he was solemn faced, and I don't think any less of those that couldn't hold it in. Until he says otherwise I reserve judgement on him.

James Baker wrote:
Dude I agree with you on some points. One the storyline is ridiculous and Vince can be very cutthroat at times (introducing God for people to buy his PPV's) but think about it. It could be a lot worse right now. Hell right now Vince can have Chavo & Vicki dating eachother and the fans would be very very pissed off. About Randy Orton who truly knows. Now I can't believe you would even think Rey's push was to exploit Eddie's death when everyone should already know that Rey's push was to honor Eddie not exploit his death. I totally agree with you that the WWE needs to let Eddie's soul R.I.P. and that if Eddie was your loved one you wouldn't for DAMN sure want to hear that he's in HELL on national T.V.

james baker wrote:
Dude I agree with you on the storyline being bad but would the storyline happen if Eddie's family and friends approved of it. Who knows. Also who knows how Randy Orton felt as a matter of fact. Who gives a damn about Randy Orton. Think about it the storyline could be a lot worse. Hell the evil genious could actually have Chavo and Vicki dating each other that would be a bunch of disgusting shit. Truly deep down in your heart do you think Rey Mysterio as champ was to exploit Eddie's death. No it was not. Up in the heavens Eddie would have wanted Rey Mysterio as the World Heavyweight Champion.

wrote:

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