I was thinking about Eddie this morning for no particular reason, and the question came to me:Was it actually necessary for him to use/abuse steroids the way he did for his career?I remember he was plenty over in WCW as lean high-flyer with great feuds with Rey Mysterio Jr and the LWO.I realize he must have felt he had to do it to appease Vince's lust for BIG SWEATY MEN when he crossed over to the WWE, but it wasn't even his size that made his breakthrough there eventually but his Latino Heat gimmick of "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!" and how he incorporated dirty yet novel crafty tactics to get his wins over opponents everyone knew he should have lost clean to. Also the hype of Low Rider Car intros. None of that required the strain of PEDs that ended up destroying him. It all seemed totally avoidable.
https://www.thesportster.com/eddie-guerrero-body-physique-transformation-over-years-photos-wwe-wcw-ecw/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y7xR48n6tk
no, of course he didn'tbut that's what being in a lockerroom with retards like Hogan saying they can't put Sting over because he wasn't 350lbs of muscle with a tan will do to your brain after about 10 years
>>20744825>no, of course he didn't>but that's what being in a lockerroom with retards like Hogan saying they can't put Sting over because he wasn't 350lbs of muscle with a tan will do to your brain after about 10 yearsIt's really fucking sad. Here's a great match he had with Dean Malenko in his ECW run for example:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAndeYqHya0It's why I support mandatory wellness policies that have teeth. Sometimes Feds need to protect their workers from themselves.
>>20744821It was until it wasnt.He was always going to be capped at a particular ceiling based on his height/look during the 90s and early 00s, not just because Vince loves meatheads but his typical peers at the time in big US companies were huge guys. So you'd always get people, whether office or fans, arguing that 'the fans wont suspend disbelief for the little Mexican beating the huge guy', and there's a bit of a point. Size & weight matter in real fights, fake fights can be fantasy but all fiction needs a consistent internal logic to suspend disbelief. So the logic can be 'Yeah hes smaller but hes XYZ other thing that evens it out.' But to sell this logic requires charisma. Being a better technical/flippy guy is worthless if you dont have the charisma to make people WANT to accept it.The Lie Cheat Steal gimmick did this exactly like you said- he got crafty wins over people he should have lost clean to, you suspend disbelief because theres the clear logic of 'yeah hes smaller, but hes too clever for them'. Same as Ric being the Dirtiest Player in The Game beating guys who 'should beat him'.He didnt need steroids, he just needed SOMETHING to be the difference maker to suspend disbelief that he can be the top guy. His gimmick became the difference maker & let him show off his charisma which is the key quality needed for that difference to land and make someone seem like the top guy/best. Which is something fans need to think- wins & losses matter because people tend to get tired of their favourite always losing, the logic breaks if 'Hes the best/he can be the top guy because XYZ' if he never actually is the top guy, because then youre SHOWING that he cant, contradicting yourself. So people dont buy them, unless they just want underdog surprise pops, which isnt the same as real connection.
>>20744888his boss was a body dysmorphic freak that was posing for muscle mags in his 70s and mocked guys who got smaller after injury. Didn't read your essay.
>>20744888>It was until it wasnt.>He was always going to be capped at a particular ceiling based on his height/look during the 90s and early 00s, not just because Vince loves meatheads but his typical peers at the time in big US companies were huge guys. So you'd always get people, whether office or fans, arguing that 'the fans wont suspend disbelief for the little Mexican beating the huge guy', and there's a bit of a point. Size & weight matter in real fights, fake fights can be fantasy but all fiction needs a consistent internal logic to suspend disbelief.So the logic can be 'Yeah hes smaller but hes XYZ other thing that evens it out.' But to sell this logic requires charisma. Being a better technical/flippy guy is worthless if you dont have the charisma to make people WANT to accept it.>The Lie Cheat Steal gimmick did this exactly like you said- he got crafty wins over people he should have lost clean to, you suspend disbelief because theres the clear logic of 'yeah hes smaller, but hes too clever for them'. Same as Ric being the Dirtiest Player in The Game beating guys who 'should beat him'.>He didnt need steroids, he just needed SOMETHING to be the difference maker to suspend disbelief that he can be the top guy. His gimmick became the difference maker & let him show off his charisma which is the key quality needed for that difference to land and make someone seem like the top guy/best.Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I wonder if he had stuck to Foreign/Indy Circuit following WCW's collapse (I know he had a a stint in NJPW, but maybe he could have found success in AAA/CMLL) would things have been different. As you mention, the pressure to become HUGE was immense in the late 90s/early 00s but I have to think Vince's WWE was the very worst epicenter for that line of thinking.
>>20744821wasn't he already on the painkiller and booze combo a lot of 90s guys utilized? he'd have been finished early regardless
>>20744821He was midcard when he was smaller, and even at his peak? He was still a short mexican so people didn't give a fuck about him. He personally felt the need to abuse roids because he was small and wasn't selling and his best friend was abusing them as well
>>20744821BECAUSE HE JUST HAD TO HOMES! ORALLEY VATO MI AMIGA MEXICANA HOMES! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN CAUSE I JUST MAMACITA ORALLE HOMES! MY GRANDMA SAID FUCK YOU TO ICE HOMES! ORALLE VATO CABRON MI AMI TU CASA
>>20744825Sting was fucked up on pills. Hogan and Bischoff were just covering for him
>>20744821neither him or Rey would have gotten to where they did without juicing hard
