The day of the TV taping arrived and, sure as his word, Eddie went to those in charge and presented them with my layout for his break-up with Rey. When he came to find me to let me know what had been decided, you could see the disappointment in his face. Eddie told me they liked the idea but that was not how they wanted the scene to play out. I was really not too upset about it because I understood that it was just business. Just goes to show, there is always more than one way to get the desired results. Would I have liked to see my idea come to fruition? Absolutely! However, what the company went with worked just fine due mainly to the extraordinary talents of Eddie Guerrero. He definitely made that whole thing special.
Anyone who has worked with Eddie can tell you how much he loved what he did. He poured his heart and soul into the wrestling business. I always felt that I was the same way. Maybe that’s why we got along so well. When you look at all the guys he was good friends with, they all shared an incredible passion for the business, as did I. As I stated before, you make only a few real friends in this industry and Eddie was one of them.
November 13, 2005, Minneapolis, Minnesota: another day etched in my mind. It began like any other day. It was a Sunday and we were going to tape both Raw and SmackDown that evening as we were embarking on a European tour immediately following the show. As I made my way to the lobby to check out, I had this odd feeling that something was going on. I checked out of the Marriott Hotel and decided to make the 10- or 15-minute walk to the arena with my friend and frequent travel companion Tony Chimel. The best part about walking over to the Target Center was that you never had to go outside to get there. There is an indoor route one can take to get there and that’s what we did. Funny thing is, if we had gone out the front doors of the hotel, we might have noticed all the commotion that was going on. We had no clue that anything was wrong.
At the arena, things seemed normal, nothing out of the ordinary that we could see. Of course, the first order of business was to hit catering. Even before we could get some food on our plates, we noticed something was amiss. Bruce Prichard and Michael Hayes, both influential members of the creative team, abruptly left the catering room. That eerie feeling was now getting stronger. I left without eating anything and made my way down the hall towards the production office to see if I could find out what was up. Before I got there, I ran into Derek Casselman. Derek is one of the main merchandise people working for the WWE and a fellow Canuck. The first thing he said to me was, “Is it true what they’re saying about Eddie?”
“What are they saying about Eddie?” I replied.
He continued, “Someone said they found him dead in his hotel room this morning.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I told Derek that if this was his idea of a bad joke — Derek stopped me before I could finish my sentence. He assured me it was not a joke and that was what he was hearing. I was in complete shock. Could this be true? He was so darn young, 38 years old, there was no way it could be true. I quickly made my way to the production office and everyone there was sombre. I really don’t remember who broke the news to me. It was indeed the truth; Eddie Guerrero had been found in his hotel room by his nephew Chavo early that morning.
To say I was shocked would be a gross understatement. I was devastated. Then I thought, if I was feeling this terrible, I could only imagine how his closest friends and family were taking this tragic news. As I walked out of the production office, a rush of emotions started to overtake me. I quickly ran outside the arena towards where the TV truck was parked, sat on a road case, and began to cry. Eddie’s passing touched me very deeply. It is so difficult to express the many emotions that I went through that day. He was more than just a colleague; he was our friend. Just as with the passing of Owen, to this day I find it difficult to put my feelings into words. One thing that did help comfort us during this tragic time was that the WWE mourned Eddie’s passing as a family.
Later on that afternoon, Eddie’s nephew Chavo, Chris Benoit, and Rey Mysterio arrived at the arena, clearly distraught. I expressed my sincerest condolences, told them that if they needed anything at all not to hesitate to ask, and left them to take care of what they had to do.
The crew was now setting up the arena for a special night of WWE television. Both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown would be tribute shows to our friend. First up was Raw. Every WWE superstar, referee, backstage worker, and crew member gathered on the set as Vince McMahon addressed all of us. Vince spoke about how much Eddie was loved by all those who had the honour of knowing him and how he would be greatly missed. He also said that on this day of mourning, the WWE would celebrate the life of Eddie Guerrero. Then a memorial video package aired on the big screen set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” The outpouring of emotion was overwhelming.
It was time for us to tape the SmackDown tribute show. Veteran referee Nick Patrick handled the ref assignments on this day. I thanked him for giving me the privilege of refereeing the match between Triple H and Chris Benoit. I approached Triple H to ask him what he and Chris were going to do in the match. He put a hand on my shoulder and calmly said, “I really don’t know. We are going to call it out there. He’s going over rolling me up out of the cross-face somehow. Don’t worry about it. Just count three.”
It was time for the match and I was having trouble controlling my emotions. Somehow, I managed to get myself together and made my way to the ring. As both Triple H and Chris entered the ring, it became an increasing struggle to maintain my composure. The match itself was a classic encounter featuring two of the best in the world. When it was time for the finish, I counted three and raised Benoit’s hand in victory. Triple H stood up and walked over to Chris. I exited, leaving the ring to the two superstars. They embraced and that’s when the waterworks began again for me. Triple H raised Chris’s hand and left the ring as well. Just then, Dean Malenko entered the ring, and he and Chris hugged and paid tribute to their longtime friend.
When we all finally got backstage, the first person I ran into was Triple H, who gave me a hug and said, “Good job, Jimmy, thanks.”
I thanked him and just then, Chris came up to us. He and Triple H hugged and thanked each other. Chris then turned to me, grabbed me, and gave me a big hug. We were both in tears. It was emotionally and physically draining.
As I mentioned earlier, we were all scheduled for an overseas tour to Europe and were taking a chartered flight from Minneapolis after the show. We showered, boarded the buses, and made our way to the airport. As you could imagine, the bus ride as well as the long flight to the UK were sombre and relatively quiet. It was going to be a difficult tour anyway but now the added mental strain of Eddie’s passing would make the trip even harder. Not making things any easier was the ten-bell salute before each show on the tour. It is our tradition to remember our fallen friends. Thank goodness we had each other to help us through this difficult time.
The tour finally ended and it was time to head home for almost a week. I couldn’t wait to see my wife and family. I was so exhausted that I think I slept for almost 24 straight hours. I really need to thank my wife, Audra. She is the foundation that kept and still keeps me grounded and gets me through trying times in my life. She is truly amazing and I am blessed that we are together.
One last thing I would like to say about my friend Eddie Guerrero: I would like to thank him for being such an influence on me and helping me in so many ways. He was an inspiration to so many of us. I miss you, buddy, and I will never forget you. Viva la raza!
Chapter 19
Chris Benoit
I had trouble putting my thoughts to paper when the subject turned to my gone but not forgotten friends Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero. This chapter may be the hardest of all. Searching for the right words given what happened can be a daunting task, but I feel I must address Chris Benoit. How do you find the words when you are talking about someone who was your colleague and friend? Someone who showed you a tremendous amount
of respect and you respected equally as much? How does one describe one of the most talented and dedicated in-ring performers under such trying circumstances? A man who has brought so much joy to wrestling fans all over the world and whose actions during his final days overshadowed what definitely would have been a Hall of Fame career?
On Saturday June 23, 2007, Chris Benoit was scheduled for a live event in Beaumont, Texas, for which he no-showed. It was extremely unusual for someone like Chris to miss an event. I’m not sure who contacted whom but Chris spoke with Scott Armstrong and Chavo Guerrero and informed them that his wife and son were ill and that he would be in Houston for the Vengeance PPV the following day. Sunday came and Benoit was nowhere to be found. No one knew what was going on, but everyone commented that something was not right. The show went on without Benoit, who had been scheduled to win the ECW title that night. Still, almost everyone, including myself, were wondering what was going on.
Monday, June 25, 2012, Corpus Christi, Texas. That was the night the WWE was to hold a “memorial service” for Vince McMahon, who had apparently been blown up in a limousine the week before. The talk that day was not about the show but rather where Chris Benoit was. The WWE called a talent and crew meeting that took place in the arena’s seating area. Before the meeting began, Vicki Guerrero began crying and left the arena floor. That’s when we all knew the news would not be good. A very sombre Vince McMahon began to speak and told us what they knew by that point. Chris Benoit; his wife, Nancy; and his son, Daniel; had been found dead in their home. At that time, that was all the information we had. It was decided that Raw that night would now be a tribute show dedicated to the life and career of Chris Benoit, featuring his past matches as well as comments from colleagues. All the praise and kind words about Chris Benoit spoken by his peers that night were genuine and heartfelt. However, things began to unravel once more news about the deaths was revealed.
Late that night and the next day, details regarding the deaths began to emerge. The authorities determined that Benoit had murdered his wife, then his son, before committing suicide. I will not get into the graphic details on how these murders and suicide were done. You can find that information for yourselves elsewhere. All I can tell you is that no one could believe what they were hearing. I myself couldn’t believe the conclusions the police came up with. This was not the man I knew. I knew his wife and his son. He adored Daniel. Watching a shy Daniel mimicking his dad as he warmed up before a match, matching his father push-up for push-up, Hindu squat for Hindu squat, made us all smile. How could he do such a thing to that little boy he loved so much?
As more details of the case became public, the press had a field day raking the wrestling business and in particular the WWE over the coals. They tried to place the blame on everything from steroids to unrealistic work schedules to anything else they could make up. All of a sudden, there were dozens of former wrestlers on all the cable news networks adding their “expertise” to the situation. Some were just trying to regain their 15 minutes of fame; others were furthering their own agendas, while some were just trying to explain what they believed this really was. What most of us thought was that this was an isolated incident that no one saw coming. What caused Chris Benoit to brutally kill his wife and son and then commit suicide? We may never know the truth. I can’t speak for the rest of the roster. I only know how I felt at that time.
This was a man who called me several times when I had a family emergency and had to fly home. He and Eddie would call almost daily and ask how things were going and tell me if I needed anything to please call. This was a man who a few months before his death had a conversation with me at ringside one day asking about my family. Then out of nowhere, he said that he knew I had regular riding partners but that he would like to travel together because we never had the opportunity to do so and he enjoyed talking to me. He had regular travelling partners in Chavo Guerrero and Scott Armstrong, which is why I found his idea of travelling together interesting. Maybe he meant the four of us together. I don’t know. Even now when I think back to that conversation there’s a part of me that wonders what it really was that Chris was looking for, if anything. Maybe he just wanted to expand our friendship.
It’s just so puzzling to me how this man who was so giving to his peers could commit such a terrible act. If you lined up a thousand guys and asked me to pick the one who would do such a horrible thing, Chris would be one of the last guys I’d pick. That being said, Chris had changed somewhat after his best friend Eddie Guerrero passed away. I can’t put my finger on the change, but he never seemed like the same guy or like he’d recovered fully from the loss. That doesn’t mean we saw something like this coming. Never in my wildest nightmares would I have ever expected something so horrible to happen. In my opinion he just seemed sad that his best friend was gone. He was still very helpful to young guys and mentored people such as rising star MVP. He took MVP under his wing because he saw something in him that he identified with. What that was one can only guess, but there was a bond between the two of them. To me, Chris’s relationship with MVP was just what Chris needed.
I am honestly having a terrible time finding the right words to describe my feelings. I keep going back and forth with my approach here. Maybe what I need to do is just be honest. The Chris Benoit I knew and worked with and became friends with was not the man who committed those horrible crimes. I will not profess to have known him better than anyone else or to have been closer than others. After all, he never spoke to me about his home life or any problems there may have been there. I believe he kept that all close to his chest. He was a very private man when it came to his family.
I know these were not the actions of a rational person. I will not speculate on the events of that terrible weekend. I believe no one will ever know the absolute truth about what transpired. What I do know is there is nothing that can be done to change what happened. People can choose to remember Chris Benoit any way they see fit. The WWE chooses not to mention him in their history or their DVDs and that’s their prerogative. When I think about Chris I want to remember my friend who contributed so much to the wrestling business that I love and helped so many others by passing on his knowledge. Unfortunately, his good work throughout his career and all the positives he brought to the ring will never excuse his actions that night. To this day I find it difficult to come to grips with the events of that day and make sense of it all. I suppose it will never make sense. All I can think of is that another of our brothers is gone. There are too many friends gone too soon. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding their deaths, I still miss them all to this day.
Chapter 20
My WrestleMania Moments
When I look back at some of my most significant career moments, one word seems to pop up a lot: WrestleMania. I have participated in 14 WrestleManias as a referee. There were others in which I did not referee, but performed other duties. I was a team player and did whatever was asked of me, but being in the ring was what I really preferred. When I think back to my first WrestleMania and how much of a big deal it was to me I kind of chuckle. Being a witness to how the event has morphed and evolved into what it has become is nothing short of astonishing. Who would have thought that Vince’s big gamble back in 1985 would develop into what it is today. The pageantry, the magnitude — it is simply breathtaking. The evolution of the event from my first appearance at WrestleMania IV in Atlantic City to my final one at WrestleMania XXIV was remarkable.
It may sound to some as if I’m overstating WrestleMania’s importance. I beg to differ. As a matter of fact, I think I may be understating its significance and those who have participated in one know what I am talking about. I would love to go through every match at every ’Mania that I have refereed, and believe me I have every one of them on tape or disc somewhere in my collection. Instead, I will cherry-pick just a few of my favourite matches or moments. These are the ones that are dear to me. There were so many, so the selection process
is difficult.
Let me begin with WrestleMania IV airing from within the shadow of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In all, there were 16 matches on the card, and I refereed four of them. This was my inaugural ’Mania and what a way to make an impact. Right at the start of the show, Joey Marella and I were shown walking with the Battle Royal trophy to the ring. The winner of the match would be presented with the trophy. What no one knew was that the day before, while Joey and I had a practice run walking the trophy to the ring, we accidentally broke it. Fortunately for us we were at the Trump Plaza Convention Center and there were carpenters on duty. They fixed the trophy for us and all seemed well. That was until the end of the Battle Royal. After Bad News Brown double-crossed Bret Hart to win the match, Bret got some payback by tossing Brown out of the ring and then proceeded to try to smash the trophy to bits. I said try because the carpenters who repaired it did a great job. Unfortunately for Bret, they did too good a job. Bret stomped, kicked, and did everything he could to break the damn thing but couldn’t. Eventually he gave up and just threw it out of the ring. WrestleMania was off to an awesome start.
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