Whenever discussing Eddie Guerrero, this WWE Legend is always regarded as an all-around perfect package. Eddie had charisma, the look, and could go in the ring whenever he laced up his boots. From his struggles of not being able to reach main event status in WCW, to becoming the WWE champion, Eddie Guerrero faced much adversity throughout his career and in doing so, was able to captivate the WWE Universe like none other. Fifteen years after his untimely passing, Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes is still revered as one of the all-time greats from fans, his peers. and wrestlers alike, as there are a vast amount of stories shared by many of how Eddie Guerrero lied, cheated, and stole his way into our hearts forever. For me, Eddie Guerrero was the first wrestler I ever saw perform on a random episode of SmackDown when I was only an 11-year-old child, as my cousin tuned in to that night’s broadcast, giving me my first exposure to professional wrestling and my favourite wrestler till this day. In honour of the WWE Legend, I felt it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and take a look at some of Eddie Guerrero’s most career-defining moments in WWE.
Eddie & Chavo’s ‘Los Guerreros’ Vignettes
Although incredibly dated when revisited today, for its time, these vignettes featuring Eddie and Chavo Guerrero lying, cheating, and stealing their way through life made for some undoubtedly funny moments and is what propelled them to get over with the WWE Universe, to begin with.
Eddie & Rey Mysterio’s Feud Over Dominick
After suffering a loss to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 21, losing their WWE Tag Team Championship(s) to Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury on an episode of SmackDown, tensions began to boil between Eddie and Rey, thus causing Eddie to turn on Rey. Fast forward to “Eddie’s Bedtime Stories”, where Eddie revealed that he was actually Dominick’s biological father. A rather bizarre story to tell was delivered and sold with a master class by Eddie and Rey, leading up to a legendary Ladder Match at SummerSlam, which Rey won, to (re)gain custody of Dominick.
Eddie Guerrero vs The Rock (Monday Night Raw)
On the July 22nd, 2002 edition of Monday Night Raw, The Rock, who had just become the WWE Undisputed Champion at the time, was interrupted earlier that night by Eddie Guerrero and challenged him to a match later in the night. The Rock and Eddie Guerrero would go on to tear down the house, showcasing his in-ring skills, and gave us one of the coolest counters ever to the Rock Bottom, but it wasn’t enough to secure a victory for Eddie, yet both men were victor’s that night.
Eddie’s “Friendship” with Batista
After feuding with Rey Mysterio, Guerrero became the number one contender to challenge Batista for his World Heavyweight Championship, but despite that, Eddie began to make claims to The Animal that he was his friend. Batista knew of Eddie’s reputation, and although he accepted said friendship, Batista did everything he could to get Eddie to expose his true intentions. In what would be Eddie’s last pay-per-view match, he came up short and lost against Batista after hesitating using a steel chair during their match, where Eddie showed lots of character work as he did in his feud with Mysterio. The two exchanged a handshake, demonstrating respect towards each other, and after their match, Eddie went on to turn face once more. Eddie would go on to secure himself a spot on the team for Survivor Series after wrestling his last match against Mr Kennedy, which aired on November 11th. Apparently, on the date of his death, Guerrero was scheduled to face Batista and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which sadly we didn’t get to see which he was pencilled to win in order to give Batista time off to rehab an injury.
Eddie Guerrero’s Epic ‘Addicted’ Promo
On the February 12th, 2004 edition of SmackDown during an in-ring segment with the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero cut one of the most passionate promos of all-time leading up to their classic match at No Way Out. An absolutely fired up ‘Latino Heat’ brought the heat and then some, delivering a powerful speech on professional wrestling and the “high” he receives whenever he’s in the ring. This promo is one (of many) classic examples of why many of the WWE Universe long for unscripted promos, as a writer cannot capture the true ambience of passion like this. These words, the delivery, and the fire that Eddie unleashed onto Lesnar are something that must come natural, and it was that natural ability that allows this promo to remain as one of the best of all time.
Eddie Guerrero’s WWE Championship Win (No Way Out)
The Cow Palace Arena in Daly City, California was sent into a frenzy on the night of February 15th, 2004. Over 11,000 members of the WWE Universe, along with the millions watching around the world witnessed Eddie Guerrero’s emotional championship victory over Brock Lesnar, one of the most rewarding endings to a match in professional wrestling. Although Lesnar mostly dominated Guerrero throughout the near 30-minute match, Eddie showed the grit and toughness that we knew he possessed, unwilling to give up easily. After interference by Goldberg while the referee was incapacitated, Guerrero capitalized on a distracted Lesnar and one Frog Splash later, Eddie was the new champion.
As tragic as Eddie Guerrero’s passing was, being felt by fans and wrestlers alike worldwide, the influence that he left behind bars none one of the best real-life Cinderella stories ever told. Eddie’s various struggles and wherewithal to overcome his demons is one of the most pivotal tales in the wrestling industry, and society as a whole. Eddie Guerrero may be gone from this world, but “Latino Heat” will never be forgotten.