8. The Inspirational Message
When I was a kid, Hulk Hogan was always telling his fans to say your prayers, take your vitamins and so on, but in reality, the guy was not only a juicer, but also a hard drug user. In fact, as a childhood hero of mine, hes let me down more than a few times over the years. Now, I still have a lot of love for The Hulkster, (regardless of what anyone says about him), but it was a hard pill to swallow that so much of his message was truly an act. Eddie, on the other hand, battled his demons in a very public manner, even bravely allowing his personal problems to be used in various televised storylines. His alcoholism, addiction to painkillers (and other substance abuse problems) affected him deeply, but he was more than willing to stand up and be counted when it came to facing these issues head on, as a result, Eddie became a role model for many people. We need good guys to look up to in society. We need people who do the right thing because its the right thing to do, but equally (and perhaps more importantly), the public eye needs to be turned towards people who have done the wrong thing and successfully dealt with the consequences. Wrestlers are larger-than-life characters and they need to appeal to us in the same way that 'good guy' comic book superheroes do. For a 'good guy ' to truly be a good guy in this day and age, we need to believe in them. In the real world, we understand that nobody is perfect and that everybody makes mistakes. A real-life good guy learns from the past but doesn't succumb to it. When Eddie portrayed a babyface persona, he did so with just enough darkness and roguish likeability that it was impossible not to believe in him and want him to win. Whilst Eddies in-ring persona may have encouraged fans to Lie, Cheat and Steal his real personality taught us to deal with our problems and to be brave in the face of adversity. Thats a message that a lot people needed to hear. Ultimately, he set a good example for his fans.