After a WWE house show in April of 2004, I was standing around near the entranceway talking with two friends who were, at the time, with the company. I was momentarily distracted by a man approaching security; his son was in a wheelchair and he wanted to meet Eddie Guerrero, or "The Champ" as the man referred. I quickly turned my attention back to our conversation when, a few minutes later, I turned to see Eddie Guerrero, holding a shirt and a photo, kneeling next to this wheelchair bound boy, with his arm snugly around him. The look on this kid's face was pure delight--as was the look on Eddie's.

This passing occurrence stuck with me and while I always enjoyed Eddie's work, thereafter, whenever I watched one of his matches, for some reason, my mind always flashed back to that moment in Terre Haute. From what I've been told by others, that scene was indicative of who Eddie Guerrero was.

Eddie was unquestionably one of the most entertaining workers of the past five years; aside from his ring work, he was genuinely humorous with sly, sneaky and sincere facial expressions that are rare in this business. The above notwithstanding, even the casual viewer could tell that Eddie was having a good time and truly enjoying what he was doing.

Eddie's passing was, once again, yet another shock in a proverbial long line that keeps growing. Eddie's death is sad on countless levels ... at a house show in Champaign, Illinois, exactly seven days before his passing, Eddie got on the mic after his match to thank the fans for their support. But he also thanked God, stating that, because of his past, everyday he could perform was a miracle. At the time, his words were cryptic and seemed somewhat out of place ... only a few days thereafter, his comments would seem downright eerie.

When I learned Eddie had passed away, I immediately thought of those strange post-match words. Then I started thinking about the wrestlers who have proceeded Eddie in death and the events therein, most notably, Owen Hart and Brian Pillman who were, like Eddie, on the active WWF/WWE roster at the time of their deaths.

Oddly, Pillman and Eddie both died mere hours before a large, televised show with Owen tragically dying during the actual 1999 Over the Edge pay-per-view; all three of these deaths were unexpected and truly took the company and the wrestling community off guard. Adding to the small list of coincidences is the fact that Eddie and Pillman both died in Minnesota hotel rooms.

According to reports, Eddie's past is what caused his untimely passing. Perhaps Eddie's tragic and tremendously sad passing will assist and guide others into a different direction; hopefully, it will be quite some time before we have another "Tribute" show.