What a difference 48 hours can make...

From last week's AS I SEE IT:
"...Talking to Benoit, Jericho, and Guerrero after the show, I commented on the match and ceremonies they'd done for Brian Hildebrand in Knoxville in November, and complimented them on what they did...."

Even more ironically, earlier that same day at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton, I was with a group of people discussing the fatal car accident in July 1994 of the late WWF ref Joey Marella. It included a friend who'd been with him just hours before his accident.

Fast forward to this report from MiCasa and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer:

"Eddie Guerrero will be out of action anywhere from 3 to 6 months. As I understand it, Eddie is very lucky to be alive. The story is that he went out driving on New Year's Eve, and he fell asleep at the wheel. He totally wrecked the car, and he was actually thrown as much as a hundred feet through the sunroof. According to Meltzer's report, the only reason why Eddie survived was because he landed on soft sand. If the sunroof wasn't opened, he would have been crushed in the car, and if he had his seatbelts on, he certainly would have been killed. Eddie suffered a lacerated liver and a broken pelvis."

It should be noted that alcohol and other drugs are not said to be related to the accident.

As I said, just hours before I'd been talking with Guerrero. The earliest reports on the Guerrero accident had been on SCOOPS, and were sketchy for several days given the New Year's holiday. The information from MiCasa and Meltzer is the first that explains how serious the accident really was.

The accident and the ironic remembrance of Joey Marella's death nearly 5 years ago sent shivers up me. I clearly remember the day in July 1994 when that friend called me, nearly hysterical, with the news of Joey's death. She and many others keep Joey in their memory to this day.

It again makes one realize how precious and fragile life is. It seems we've been reminded of that fact far too often recently, with the deaths of Louie Spicolli and Michigan's Hellfire Wrestling and NSWA promoter Dan Curtis; not to mention Brian Hildebrand's continuing battle against cancer.

Eddie's accident ought to remind those in charge of wrestling's Big 3 that they'd be better off treating their workers like human beings; instead of pawns to be manipulated, or as blackmail candidates at contract renewal time. Because while wrestling is first, foremost, and always a business; real life intrudes all too quickly, and all too often. McMahon, Bischoff, and Heyman might want to give that fact some thought...before there's another ten-bell count for someone they screwed in the business.

Best wishes go out from us all here at PWBTS to Eddie Guerrero and his family. Eddie's a world-class person, as well as a world-class wrestling talent.

Until next time...

If you have comments or questions, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com