This chapter to dedicated to the late, great Eddie Guerrero. When I saw the news of his death on the internet, I was devastated and I cried that day. I would like to send my prayers and condolences to the Guerrero family and his closest friends.
Chapter 44: A Tribute to Eddie Guerrero
Two weeks later...
Last week on RAW, John was in a tag-team match with Shawn Michaels against Kurt Angle and Chris Masters with a major problem...the special guest referee was none other than Daivari, Muhammad Hassan's former manager. Things were about to get ugly in the coming weeks.
RAW and Smackdown was in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis, Minnesota for a supershow and John and Nicole were sleeping in their hotel room. At about 9:00am, there was a sudden knock on the door. That woke John and Nicole up and John got out of the bed to answer the door. John opened it to reveal Delancey standing at the doorway crying.
"Delancey, what's wrong?" John asked as Delancey was still crying. "Is it Shelton?"
Delancey shook her head no and she went inside the hotel room.
"Delancey, what's the matter?" Nicole asked when she got out of the bed.
Delancey was still crying but she couldn't let John and Nicole wait any longer.
"I had a call from Rochelle and..." Delancey said.
"What is it?" John said. "Is it Dave?"
"No."
"Well, what is it?" Nicole said.
"Eddie Guerrero...he died this morning."
Delancey dropped down on her knees and was crying uncontrollably with John hugging her and trying to calm her down. Nicole sat down on the bed and felt like she was going to throw up after hearing the bad news.
"What happened?" John asked.
"Rochelle told me..." Delancey said, "that Chavo Guerrero found Eddie lying on the floor unconscious and...and then several minutes later, he was pronounced dead. The doctors don't know what happened."
"I'll bet Rochelle and Dave were pretty devastated."
"Yeah, they were."
John looked at Nicole, who still clinging onto her stomach feeling like she was ready to throw up.
"Is Shelton all right?" John said.
"Yeah, he's fine," Delancey said. "As a matter of fact, I should be with him right now." Delancey got up and made her way to the door. She stopped and looked at Nicole. "Are you gonna be all right, Nicole?" Nicole nodded her head. "Okay, I'll talk to you later."
"See you, Delancey." Delancey left the hotel room and John sat next to Nicole. "Are you all right, Nicole?"
Nicole couldn't say anything; instead, she raced to the bathroom and closed the door. Nicole went over to the toilet and threw up from the news that Delancey delivered. After a few minutes, Nicole grabbed some toilet paper, wiped her mouth, and threw the piece in the toilet. Nicole sat behind the bathtub and John came into the bathroom. Nicole looked up at John and she started crying. John walked over to Nicole and sat next to her bringing her into his strong loving arms. Nicole was still crying as John was stroking her head and back.
"Shhh. It's okay, baby," John said. "It's okay. Let it out."
Nicole was holding onto John tightly hoping she wouldn't lose him.
A few hours later, Nicole was walking around the arena trying to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. She stopped to see Rochelle curled up between the crates.
"Rochelle?" Nicole said as Rochelle looked up at her.
Nicole then sat next to Rochelle.
"Hey, Nicole," Rochelle said. "I just needed to be alone and...catch my breath."
"I understand," Nicole said. "Delancey told me that you told her the news."
"Yeah. Dave had the call and when he heard the news, he was shocked and devastated as much as I was."
"Delancey was the same. I couldn't say anything, I ended up throwing up in the bathroom. Eddie was getting his life back together but this happens. I still remember being on Smackdown and Eddie and Rey were having problems and I wanted them to be friends again. I never did accomplished that goal."
"You did what you had to do. For me, it felt kind of weird that Eddie started becoming friends with Dave. But like you said, Eddie was getting his life back together. I still remember the two being partners with 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper two weeks ago. That was so much fun seeing the three beating the crap out of your ex-fiancé, his no-good-washed-up-has-been daddy, and Ken Kennedy."
"It was fun."
"I'm gonna miss everything about Eddie. His smile, his jokes, everything. I don't think the WWE is gonna be the same without him."
Rochelle started to cry again and Nicole hugged her. Nicole then pulled away.
"So, have you done a video tribute yet?"
"No," Rochelle said. "I think I should do it right now. Will you come with me?"
"Yeah, I will."
Nicole and Rochelle got up and walked to an area where some wrestlers and Divas done a video tribute to Eddie.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Nicole asked putting her right hand on Rochelle's shoulder.
"Yeah," Rochelle said. "Eddie wouldn't want me to mope around while we have a show to do. I gotta do this."
Nicole shook her head and Rochelle sat down in front of the camera.
"You ready?" the cameraman said and Rochelle nodded her head.
He turned on the camera and Rochelle began her speech.
"I may not have been here long but I know that Eddie Guerrero was truly a great man and a great wrestler. He and my boyfriend Dave Batista have been really close friends and I'm glad I've gotten the chance to get to know Eddie as well. Um, the one thing I remember about Eddie was that he was always so goofy, so funny, and man, he would always make me laugh whenever I was down. I would like to send my prayers and condolences to the Guerrero family especially, Chavo Guerrero, and I know that Eddie would want them to be happy as well."
Rochelle got up and she hugged Nicole.
"That was good," Nicole said.
"Thank you," Rochelle said as she pulled away. "Well, I'm gonna find Dave, so I'll see you later."
"Okay."
Rochelle walked away and was greeted by John. They talked for a little bit and went their separate ways. John walked over to Nicole.
"Hey, babe," John said.
"Hey, John," Nicole said as she kissed John.
"Have you done a video tribute yet?"
"I decided not to do mine. I'm an emotional person and if I did do a video tribute to Eddie, I wouldn't be able to contain myself and...I would throw up in the bathroom again. I got something else in mind."
"I hear you, I understand. Well, I gonna do my video tribute right now."
"Okay."
John sat down in front of the camera, the cameraman turned it on and John began his speech.
"Today, you're gonna hear things from a lot of people; some you like, some you don't. But the one constant you're gonna hear, the one thing that brings truer and anything else in every word that's said...was that Eddie Guerrero was a great man. Eddie was one of the most passionate individuals about everything he did that I've ever met. On a personal level, when I didn't know anything here, Eddie helped me, not only as an in-ring partner, but as father figure, the stuff that you don't necessarily teach, the hip tosses and the body slams. Eddie went passed that and taught me to find this." John clenched his fist to his heart. "That's through all his technical prowess, that's what Eddie had best, he had this. He taught me how to find it and embrace it, good and bad. I give my condolences to the Guerrero family, Chavo, of course, and the wrestlers who were close to him like Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Rey Mysterio. Eddie was a man of faith, so I know he's in a better place. But selfishly, every single one of us will miss him. We love you, Eddie."
John got up and he and Nicole hugged each other tightly. They were unaware that Randy Orton and his dad, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, were walking several feet away from John and Nicole. They stopped and saw John and Nicole hugging each other and Randy and "Cowboy" Bob turned around and walked away. They thought the sight of that made them sick to their stomach. John and Nicole then pulled away and they walked back to the locker rooms.
A little later, in the Women's Locker Room, Nicole had finished designing something to wear for tonight. It was black one-sleeve top that she had planned to wear next Monday. It had the words "I STOLE THIS FROM EDDIE!" and Nicole thought it would bring smile and laughter among the fans. Delancey then came forward.
"Hey, Nicole," Delancey said.
"Hey, Delancey," Nicole said.
"What are you doing?"
"I was designing one of my shirts to wear for the tribute tonight."
"Can I see?"
"Sure."
Nicole gave her shirt to Delancey and Delancey looked at it. She smiled and laughed at it a little.
"This is cute, very cute," Delancey said as she gave the shirt back to Nicole.
"Yeah. I thought this would make the fans feel better," Nicole said.
"Yeah. I also wanted to tell you two things. First, we are going to be in an interpromotional Diva battle royal. So you know what that means?"
"Oh, yeah. We are going to beat the hell out of Melina and that could make me feel a whole lot better since she's done more damage lately."
"Yeah."
"What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"
"Well, this could be worse than hearing the news of Eddie Guerrero's death."
"What could be worse than hearing the news of Eddie Guerrero's death?"
"Your boyfriend going up against your ex-fiancé in the main event."
"You're right. That could be worse. Everyone's been waiting for this since I left Randy's sorry ass to be with John. And Randy's probably happy about his match with John and can't wait to beat him up."
"Nicole, you know that John is gonna kick Randy's ass and he's not gonna back down."
"Yeah, you're right. I guess Eddie's death is still shaking me and I can't think negative."
"I know how you feel."
Nicole stood up and she and Delancey hugged each other.
A little later, RAW was on and the show started with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saying a speech about Eddie Guerrero, the ringing of the bell, and a video tribute. It turned out to be a very emotional beginning for some of the WWE superstars, Divas, and the fans. After that, everyone went to the back.
"You know what?" Delancey said. "I think I wanna do my video tribute now, I don't wanna hold my feelings in any longer."
"Are you sure?" Shelton asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah."
"Alright."
Nicole and Delancey walked to where the camera was, Delancey sat in front of it, began her speech.
"I remember at Wrestlemania last year when I made my debut, the first person who said hi to me was Eddie Guerrero. He said, 'Hello, the name's Eddie Guerrero. What's yours?' I said, 'My name's Delancey Scott. It's such an honor to meet you.' He was one of my favorite wrestlers and I grew up watching him. He was always so damn funny. I mean, god, he was always such a comedian and he always put out a great performance just cracking everyone up. That was the one thing I loved about Eddie Guerrero. Rochelle Kennedy was the one who called me and told me about what happened to Eddie and I was pretty devastated. I know that Eddie would want us to be happy and he would also want us to keep the show going. Eddie and I are both of Mexican descent and I would carry on the Guerrero legacy if I had to and if I was part of the family. Eddie, we will miss you and we will keep your Latino Heat and spirit alive."
Later, it was time for the interpromotional Diva battle royal between RAW Divas Nicole, Delancey, Ashley, Maria, Victoria, Mickie James, Candice Michelle and Trish Stratus and Smackdown Divas, Rochelle, Christy Hemme, Melina, and Jillian Hall. As Lillian Garcia introduced the Divas, they all came out from the curtain wearing the Eddie Guerrero "I'm Your Papi" shirts. As they got into the ring, they took off the shirts and threw them to the fans. Nicole was wearing a white midriff tank top with the Chain Gang logo on it, white pants, the Chain Gang wristbands, the Eddie Guerrero armband and her hair was in a ponytail. Delancey was wearing a blue halter bikini top, blue shorts, blue skirted leg warmers, and the Eddie Guerrero armband. And Rochelle was wearing a black tie-dye midriff tank top with black suspenders, black pants, the Eddie Guerrero armband, and her hair was part of it a ponytail in the back and the rest of it hanging down in curls.
The match went on for about 5 minutes until it came down to Nicole, Rochelle, Trish, and Melina. Nicole, Rochelle, and Trish stared at Melina and she was completely surrounded. Actually, Melina was surrounded by three divas she hated the most. Everyone loaded on Melina and stomped away at her. Then they all picked Melina up and tossed her out of the ring! Melina got frustrated and yelled at the divas. Melina immediately left the arena. Nicole hit a double clothesline on Rochelle and Trish. Nicole then kicked Trish out of the ring but hangs onto the ropes. Rochelle and Nicole were hitting each other with right hands, and then Trish kicks Rochelle in the head. Trish hits a heel kick on Nicole and hits a whirlybird sending Nicole to the mat. All the girls fight back and forth for awhile. Nicole then throws Rochelle into the ring post and corners her. Trish then knocks Nicole with a sidekick. Trish picks up Nicole up but Nicole kicks Trish in the gut and hits the NDM on Trish. Nicole tosses Trish out of the ring and Rochelle goes to climb the turnbuckle. But Nicole climbs up too and hits a suplex off the top on Rochelle. Rochelle gets up first and she stomps away on Nicole. Rochelle picks Nicole up and Nicole counters with an elbow to the stomach. She quickly picks her up with a fireman's carry and spins her into a side walk slam. Nicole tries to eliminate Rochelle but Rochelle quickly turns around and tosses Nicole out of the ring to win the battle royal.
"Here is your winner, Rochelle Kennedy," Lillian Garcia announced.
Rochelle stood in the ring and dropped down on her knees trying to catch her breath. She started to cry and Nicole went back inside the ring to console her. Nicole helped Rochelle up and they hugged each other. The two Divas raised each other's arm in the air and they left the ring. The two went to the back as RAW went to a commercial break.
Later, it was time for the main event match between John and Randy Orton. John's entrance theme played and he comes out from the curtain with Nicole following him. Nicole was wearing the black one-sleeve shirt she designed, a yellow graffiti miniskirt, black boots, the Eddie Guerrero armband, and her straight hair was down. John and Nicole walked down the aisle and entered the ring and Nicole poses with John as he gets on one of the turnbuckles raising his title belt in the air. Nicole raised her Women's Title belt in the air as well. John and Nicole went around the ring pumping the crowd and Randy's entrance theme plays. He comes out from the curtain with his dad, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, following him. They walk down the aisle and got inside the ring. Nicole was standing behind John as Randy went on one of the turnbuckles and did his pose. He got back down, took off his "Legend Killer" shirt, and "Cowboy" Bob and Nicole left the ring. The referee called for the bell.
John and Randy lock up and Randy gets John with a side head lock and a side head lock take down. Randy then hit a back elbow to John and Randy kicks John. Randy tries to punch John, but John blocks him and punches Randy before Randy gives John a thumb to the eye. Randy hits John with a neck breaker for a two count. Randy gets a reverse chin lock on John and then John punches Randy and goes off the ropes, but Randy with a standing drop kick.
Randy hits John with an Irish whip, but when Randy charges John in the corner, both men's head collide and they both go down. John ducks a clothesline and hits a flying shoulder tackle followed by two clotheslines, a Blue Thunder Driver, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle with a Latino flair. John pumps up his shoes and gets Randy up for the F-U, but "Cowboy" Bob attacks John from behind.
After the match, "Cowboy" Bob and Randy punch John in the corner. John punches Bob and Randy and sends Bob out of the ring. Nicole kicks "Cowboy" Bob in the face and Randy tries for an RKO, but John pushes Randy off and hits the F-U. Nicole gets inside the ring and stomps Randy in the groin. As Randy and "Cowboy" Bob were walking towards the back, John and Nicole celebrated in the ring. John lays the title belt down and then takes off the Eddie Guerrero "I'm Your Papi" shirt he was wearing. He lays the shirt on the mat and places the belt on top. Nicole bends down and blows a kiss goodbye on it. The two left the ring and went to the back.
"That was a very nice thing you did, John," Nicole said. "A very nice thing."
"Thank you," John said. "Eddie would want us to continue doing what were doing and I know that he's up there smiling down at us."
"Yeah, he is."
John and Nicole then hugged each other tightly.
Later, after Smackdown was over, John, Nicole, Shelton, Delancey, Dave, and Rochelle were at the park near the lake having a little private vigil before they had to go back to the hotel. Nicole was singing "Amazing Grace."
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see
"Viva la raza, Eddie," Nicole said. "We will miss you and we will never forget you."
Everyone blew their candles and said their goodbyes and left the park in separate ways.
"My motto is do what you have to do get there." – Nicole