The Minneapolis Star Tribune's top headline this morning is "WWE wrestler found dead in Minneapolis hotel room."
The story clarifies the timeline of Guerrero's day, noting that while he ate with nephew Chavo Guerrero earlier in the day, it was actually before they went to sleep that night after arriving in town, rather than in the morning for breakfast as reported here yesterday. The story also says police say no foul play was suspected and there are no indications of suicide.
As reported yesterday here at PWTorch.com, a WWE source says that Guerrero was discovered with a toothbrush in his mouth or hand, indicating he died suddenly while brushing his teeth. Chavo, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, and Dean Malenko visited Guerrero's room and had a chance to pay their respects before his body was taken away.
"With Eddie's history... that no doubt takes a toll on your body, and whether that had anything to do with his untimely demise, I don't know," McMahon said at Sunday's press conference.
An autopsy is planned. Guerrero, said Chavo at a press conference yesterday, had just celebrated four years of sobriety. There are sources within WWE who believe that while Guerrero kicked his drinking habit, he may have been taking pain pills recently "just to get by." At the tribute show at Target Center, wrestlers noted that Guerrero looked to be in pain backstage all the time, but once he walked through the curtain, the adrenaline kicked in and he seemed to be feeling great.
"I never saw him at work anything but sober," one WWE source says. "If he was taking anything, it wasn't out of control and it wasn't ever apparent at the shows or visible to Vince (McMahon)."
Fans at Target Center last night were respectful of Guerrero throughout the show, staying silent for the ten bell salute, chanting his name at various times, and seeming to be genuinely moved by the tributes to him by fellow wrestlers. The crowd loved when Chavo used an famous Eddie technique of taking a phantom bump to trick the ref into thinking JBL hit him with a chair, leading to the ref scolding JBL.
Batista appeared to be emotionally devastated on his way out of the hotel to the arena early Sunday afternoon, wearing sunglasses and hanging his head. He was equally emotional in a Smackdown-opening speech which will air on Friday. John Cena referred to Eddie as a "father figure" to him when it came to passing along wisdom about the industry. Benoit was by far the most emotionally moved, outright bawling during the opening tribute to Guerrero and during his pretaped segment as he detailed what Guerrero meant to him as his best friend. Many wrestlers spoke about Guerrero's love for the business.
