WWE: 10 Most Influential Promos In WWE History

4. €œThank You, Eddie€

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOHgpmNj0Zw The first time I ever went to a wrestling event was a house show in Raleigh, North Carolina (my hometown). I went with my Dad, my best friend, and his father. That night, we got a main event of Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit, two competitors who are, sadly, no longer with us. The match lasted roughly twenty minutes, and in that time, both Chris and Eddie performed as hard as they possibly could. For a house show. Eddie€™s mastery of chain wrestling and the excitement it provided will never be matched. He was so talented in the ring that you only needed to see him once live to know that he was a legend. That feeling is something that I have only felt after having seen two people n person. The first was Michael Jordan, the second, Eddie. Eddie€™s surprising death in the fall of 2005 did something to wrestling that had not occurred before before. Guerrero€™s death broke all of us: fans, performers, and everyone behind the scenes. One of the best performers of all time had been snuffed out before our eyes, and everyone, no matter what their relation to pro wrestling, thought the same thing: €œIt€™s not fair.€ Vince McMahon, who helped everyone with any emotional connection to Eddie, addressed our bitterness and anguish at the start of the very next Raw. He put the tragedy into proper context and allowed for everyone in the arena that night, everyone watching at home, to grieve but to also remember Eddie€™s honor and glory as a performer. The moment the Johnny Cash-backed promo fades out and the audience begins chanting €œThank you, Eddie€ as tough guys like the Big Show and Kurt Angle break down into tears, that€™s when you know that something like the WWE truly matters. When men like Eddie Guerrero can be universally celebrated and missed, it brings the WWE universe closer together, and that is the strongest legacy that Latino Heat could ever have left us.
Contributor

Jack Manley is an aspiring writer, filmmaker, and artist from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. He currently resides in New York City.