10 Times Outside Factors Totally Changed WWE WrestleMania

9. The Sad Death Of Eddie Guerrero (WrestleMania 22)

SADAM Wrestlemania VII Speech
WWE

Eddie Guerrero's late 2005 passing remains a deeply sad moment in the modern history of professional wrestling.

Any young death is, obviously, but Eddie had overcame his demons. This stirring, true story had informed his deeply deserved ascension as a main event player. That Guerrero in the end succumbed to those demons lends his legacy an ironic and stark pathos.

WWE, in response to Eddie's death...

...picked the bones of his corpse for every last morsel of flesh in an attempt to sell a pay-per-view. WWE dropped the Randy Orton big push, looked around backstage, selected the nearest, most marketable man of Mexican descent, and had him vie for the World Heavyweight Championship, cynically using his association with Eddie to craft a "tributary" babyface story.

We say this - but who are we to say this? Seeing his great, old friend Rey Mysterio triumph against his own, admittedly smaller odds is what he would have wanted. Eddie would have wanted to see Vince experience buyer's remorse (and he bought a distressing storyline). The religious Eddie would have wanted Orton to claim he was "down there in hell".

Eddie would have wanted Finlay to go over the storyline weakest World Heavyweight Champion ever in a throwaway non-title match.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!