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Pro Wrestling--- WWE and Rey Mysterio Team Up to Whore Out Eddie Guerrero's Memory for Profit
Is there anything that Rey Mysterio won't do to whore out Eddie Guerrero's memory whenever WWE management asks him to do so?

It was bad enough to blow up the trademark low-rider that was at ringside "in loving memory of Eddie Guerrero" two weeks after he died in order to put heel heat on Randy Orton, but now it has become a recurring theme and is apparently going to be the foundation on which Mysterio's push is going to be built for the forseeable future. Every bit of success that Mysterio has in pro wrestling matches is now being credited in storylines to Eddie Guerrero helping him from beyond the grave.

To anyone who says that Eddie Guerrero would have no problem with any of this, the only indication of whether Eddie would have wanted his memory to be exploited comes from his own actions during life. Those actions were refusing the idea whenever he was asked to exploit his late father's memory for an angle, and also refusing the idea whenever he was asked to exploit his late tag team partner Art Barr's memory for an angle.

Seriously, what would WWE management have to ask Mysterio to do before he would stand up and say "no" as many others before him have done when presented with ideas by WWE management?

The Torch's Bruce Mitchell wrote this regarding the ongoing exploitation of Eddie Guerrero's death for profit:
"This was yet another example of how low the McMahon family has sunk in the last year. Rey Mysterio has no character anymore. He just won the sweepstakes with Nephew Chavo to be the living symbol of this exploitation of a death that very well may never have happened if Eddie Guerrero hadn't felt pressure to live up to the standard that Vince McMahon set for this business."

The Torch's Wade Keller followed that up with this:
"By having played that card so often, it seemed exploitative (and it was). I can't imagine Rey is making Eddie proud these days, even if Rey thinks Eddie 'would understand the pressure to do what Vince says.' There are times to take a stand in life. What is Vince going to do, bury one of his most marketable, popular babyfaces and top Hispanic draw because he pulls Vince aside and tells him, in honor of the memory of one of his best friends ever, he'd prefer not to mention him on the air in any storylines again?"

Mysterio's Desecration is Surprising, WWE Management's Is Not
While Mysterio's desecration of his best friend's memory is surprising, one can't really say that it's surprising for WWE management to do this. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported about the Eddie Guerrero tribute shows, which were taped on the same day as his death, that he had numerous sources telling them that the shows were designed with two purposes in mind: To draw ratings and to get the McMahon family over, and also other things that Meltzer said were too bad to even print.

Also, Bruce Mitchell wrote in his annual Year-in-Review feature for the Torch that Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H actually had their tribute show lines written for them by the creative team and just acted out the scenes like they would for any other pro wrestling promo, so that everyone could see them cry about Eddie's death on television (which supports what Meltzer previously wrote).

WWE Follows Up the Royal Rumble with a Tasteful Mention of Eddie Guerrero on Raw
The day after the Royal Rumble, Triple H said on Raw that he was pissed off about being eliminated from the Rumble match by Rey Mysterio (who is on the Smackdown brand, not Raw), and since he couldn't take out his frustrations on Mysterio or on Eddie Guerrero, he would take out his frustrations on the "next best thing," Eddie's nephew Chavo Guerrero. Triple H followed that up by saying that Chavo better hope that whoever was helping Mysterio win the Royal Rumble will bail him out as well. He then followed that up by mocking Eddie Guerrero's signature moves, celebrations, and mannerisms during his match against Chavo.

As James Guttman wrote on the WorldWrestlingInsanity web site, "Did that just happen? Just when you think it can't get much worse, huh? Nothing's sacred around here. It's a pity that Triple H can't take out his anger on Eddie Guerrero, isn't it? Unfortunately, Eddie died at a young age while under contract to Triple H's family."

With the exploitation of Eddie Guerrero's death now taking place on every single show that WWE runs, the Torch's Wade Keller took a closer look at the situation and wrote this:

"Let's break down the Eddie Guerrero exploitation, giving a WWE-apologist defense: Triple H is a heel, he does mean things... Fans should be upset at Triple H for demeaning Eddie, his family, and his friends... Rey is showing great honor by recognizing the loss of Eddie Guerrero, and using his memory as an inspiration, with the context of the wrestling storyline... Rey really has something to fight for and inspire him by referencing Eddie so much...

That's all crap, though. Eddie Guerrero died. Not the wrestler, not the superstar, not the roster member, not the character - but the actual, living, breathing human being died. He died of causes related to years of abusing his body in various ways that were neither discouraged nor prohibited by WWE during his stint with the company. WWE's moral right to earn money off of his name ended the day he died.

Realistically, Eddie's autobiography should be published, distributed, and marketed tastefully. That's understandable. Incorporating Eddie's memory into a storyline to sell more tickets is not okay. It just isn't. Anyone outside of the bubble would see that. Had Eddie died in a bank robbery incident while cashing his paycheck, his death shouldn't be exploited to boost ratings or buyrates. The fact that he died due to the WWE-encouraged-and-rewarded lifestyle makes it much worse."

WWE Hits a New Low with a Segment Scheduled to Air This Friday Night
All of that was written before this week's Smackdown tapings, at which point WWE management hit a new low and Rey Mysterio went along for the ride. WWE management booked a segment on this week's Smackdown--- and Mysterio agreed to go along with it--- in which Mysterio talked about how Eddie Guerrero helped him win the Royal Rumble from beyond the grave, and then Randy Orton came out and said that Eddie Guerrero went to hell when he died.

More heel heat for Orton, and more babyface heat for Mysterio. Seriously, there are prostitutes who sell their body on the street who are lesser "whores" than Rey Mysterio, who is willingly pissing on his best friend's grave and whoring out his legacy every single week even though he could say "no" at any time and not lose his job.

Labels: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:24 PM

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