Eddie Guerrero passes away

[Walter Cronkite]

Eddy Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis this morning at the age of 38.

The only details available is that Guerrero came in yesterday for tonight's scheduled television tapings at the Target Center where he was scheduled in the main event. He was staying at the Marriott City Center hotel in downtown Minneapolis.

He had an early wake-up call shortly after 7 a.m. that he didn't answer. Chavo Guerrero, who he was traveling with, called the room and again got no answer. When knocks on his hotel room door went unanswered, security got the door open and Eddie was found dead in the bathroom. The belief at this time is he suffered a heart attack while brushing his teeth.

Many have noted the coincidence both of Guerrero passing away in a hotel room, similar to Brian Pillman, in 1997, in nearby Bloomington.

Guerrero was one of the best wrestlers of this generation and immensely popular within the industry.

Sources: wrestlingobserver.com

[Ryan McBain]

Autopsy planned to determine cause of death

From ESPN.com

There were no immediate signs of foul play in the death of a World Wrestling Entertainment star whose body was found in a Minneapolis hotel room, authorities said.

An autopsy to determine how 38-year-old Eduardo Gory Guerrero died was planned for Monday. On its Web site, the Stamford, Conn.-based WWE said Guerrero's body will then be flown to Phoenix and funeral arrangements are set for Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Guerrero, a featured star on the UPN show "WWE Smackdown!", was in Minneapolis for a Sunday night WWE show at Target Center.

Authorities said Guerrero didn't respond to a wake-up call Sunday morning. His nephew, fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, and hotel security at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center forced their way into the room and found the 5-foot-8, 220-pound wrestler on the floor. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

His nephew said Guerrero was open about past drug and alcohol abuse but had been sober for four years. Guerrero was married and had three children.

"This is a huge loss," said WWE chairman Vince McMahon. "Eddie was a wonderful, fun-loving human being. Eddie was a consummate performer."
Guerrero was a son of Mexican wrestler Gory Guerrero.

In February 2004, Guerrero became the second wrestler of Hispanic heritage to be WWE champion when he defeated Brock Lesnar, a former University of Minnesota wrestling standout. Guerrero lost the title four months later.

In May 2004, UPN aired the special "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story." The one-hour program chronicled his childhood and his struggle with drug addiction that almost cost him his job, family and life before his recovery and eventual capture of the WWE championship.

Guerrero grew up in El Paso, Texas. He and his three older brothers were all wrestlers.

This really sucks. I grew up watching Eddie work. He was the man.