I mentioned in Saturday’s column that I wanted to post a column that I did on Eddie Guerrero right after his death a year ago today. This column was supposed to be used but I never got a chance to put it up so I would like to share this with all of you on the one year anniversary of the death of one of my favorites, Eddie Guerrero.
I was so honored that I was asked to write about the late Eddie Guerrero. I cannot think of a better person to talk about. The death of Eddie came way too soon. This man had so much more to give to the fans. I’m just so glad that I got to see him throughout the years. This is a man that gave his all throughout his career and I would love to share my thoughts on Latino Heat.
I’m one of those Johnny Come Lately fans. I didn’t start watching wrestling until the middle of 1998. I spent a good year only watching WWE’s Raw and then Smackdown. I was such a fan of the WWE that WCW’s Nitro and Thunder did nothing for me. However there were a few wrestlers that did catch my attention and caught it in a big way, and one of those wrestlers was Eddie Guerrero. There was just something about that man’s wrestling that made me want more. Eddie Guerrero helped me week after week get through some pretty bad Nitro’s and Thunders. In fact if I had any thoughts of not watching either show it was knowing that Eddie would be on at least one of those programs that kept me watching.
I guess this might not surprise you but when Eddie along with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn debuted on Raw back in January 2000; it was a major highlight for me. Now Eddie Guerrero was going to be able to showcase his talents with a company that I became loyal too. I remember that debut so well. The four rebels formerly of WCW were minding their own business sitting in the front row taking in a tag team match between the New Age Outlaws vs. Al Snow and Steve Blackman. But they got involved during this match when Road Dogg was thrown into their laps. The former WCW wrestlers who later would be called The Radicals were not pleased and took care of Road Dogg and his buddy Billy Gunn. But what really sticks out in my mind is that the night when Eddie got to do his signature move, his 5-star frog splash on Billy Gunn, something went wrong and Guerrero severely injured himself. I will never forget taking a deep breath and wondering how bad it was and feeling so very sad that the night Eddie Guerrero became a member of the WWE he got hurt.
The injury didn’t keep Eddie from showing up week after week and becoming a very big part of Raw and the Radicals. And I remember watching Eddie go from a face to one very convincing heel all within a few short weeks. I used to tell my son and husband that this guy could do movies, what a super villain he could play. It was like WWE and Eddie Guerrero were made for each other. While I’m sure leaving WCW for WWE was an important move for Eddie Guerrero, trust me signing Eddie Guerrero was probably one of THE best moves WWE ever made. Not only did the company benefit from this but so did the WWE fans. We now were able to see a premier wrestler in major storylines week after week.
This was the start of so many wonderful Eddie Guerrero moments for me. It would take me forever to list each one, but trust me there are a few that are cemented in my mind. For instance the beginning of Latino Heat. Maybe many of you were aware of the many of talents of Eddie Guerrero, and trust me I became more aware of that too. The more Raw showcased Eddie the more I saw what this man could do in and out of the ring. Teaming him up with Mamacita (Chyna) turned out to be one strong storyline. These two started out as heels but with Eddie’s humor it was hard to boo them, so they became so strong faces. I will never forget Eddie’s facial expressions, his charm, and of course his excellent wrestling during all of this. Chyna and Eddie’s chemistry was so strong that they each complimented each other beautifully, but I always thought that Eddie Guerrero was the one that really made this work. He played such a lovable guy. Well he did until Eddie started getting back into that heel mode. No matter how Latino Heat was played at the time Eddie made it all work so damn well.
Then there was my favorite character, the lie, cheat and steal guy. When this was set up with his nephew Chavo I loved it instantly. You had this terrific tag team doing some silly vignettes showcasing their “naughty” side. Talk about funny? They could show those vignettes over and over again and they would feel new to me. Eddie and Chavo were brilliant together. Chavo was another wrestler that gave his all in WCW, but yet never really seemed to go anywhere, but once he was teamed up with Uncle Eddie, Chavo shined. Eddie’s Lie, Cheat and Steal gimmick went a long way. I mentioned his expressions as Latino Heat and again during this time, just watching Eddie get away with so much had to be the funniest thing to see. Guerrero knew all the tricks. Let’s see, he would take a chair and while the ref wasn’t looking toss the chair to his opponent and lay down. This way when the ref turned around and saw a fallen Eddie the ref would think that he was knocked out with that chair. Eddie could do this so often but like everything else he did it always seemed like a new idea. That smile of his and laughter were contagious. This guy could have me laughing in no time at all.
But there was another side a side not every wrestler could portray, a very dark, viscous side and my God this man played it brilliantly. While I was so high on the fun side of Eddie I was also engrossed in Eddie Guerrero the man that made Rey Mysterio’s life a living hell by wanting to take back his “biological son.” This was a storyline that was very deep at and times it could too much, but I remember each week when I would review Smackdown no matter if I liked the latest installment of the soap opera I always raved about the performance Eddie Guerrero put on. Eddie was out for blood, he wanted custody of Rey Mysterio’s son Dominick. Dominick was supposed to be Eddie’s child and when Dominick was born Eddie being so close to Rey and his wife let the Mysterio’s raise this boy as their own.
But now the fun loving Eddie was gone and he was going to do all he could to get Dominick back and that meant he didn’t care who got hurt. Well let me tell you this man showed just why I used to say he could be in movies. He played such a heartless person. His emotions went in so many different directions. And again his facial expressions showed so much of the pain and anger this man was feeling. And don’t forget you add is near flawless wrestling during all of this and Eddie Guerrero WAS the star of Smackdown week after week. Vince McMahon showed just how much faith he had in Eddie Guerrero by giving Eddie so much to work with and Eddie in turn showed that he was more than deserving of what was given to him. Like everyone else Eddie worked with Rey Mysterio and Eddie worked beautifully together. Each one made this storyline seem real sometimes a little too real.
Eddie Guerrero was the total package. He could do it all and then some. There are two memories of Eddie that I want to leave you with. While I missed Eddie becoming the WWE champion at No Way Out in 2004 against Brock Lesnar. I remember reading just how great that match was. I remember reading the results and yes screaming when I read that he finally won the title. And what I did see what that fantastic ceremony on Smackdown when you could see a very emotional Eddie Guerrero holding that WWE title and confetti raining down on him. I remember getting emotional as well because of the reaction not only from Guerrero but from the fans that celebrated with him. This was a moment that meant so much to me. And then to top it off a month later at Wrestlemania XX Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the World Title. Now that alone thrilled me but when Eddie Guerrero, one of Benoit’s best friends came out to congratulate him that’s when I lost it. To see Eddie and Chris hug and tears flow from their eyes had to be one of the most real scenes any wrestling fan could witness. You could just feel the love and respect that these two men had for each other.
Eddie Guerrero was not afraid to show a real side of him and I still have a hard time knowing that he’s gone. Each week when I watch Smackdown I just wait for him to come out shake his shoulders and flash that smile of his. I will never forget the joy that he brought me week after week. This is said so often when someone dies but there will never be another Eddie and you know what? That’s just how it should be, because Eddie Guerrero was one of a kind.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
