Remembering Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero's wrestling career spanned three decades, from his time wrestling in Mexico, to his cruiserweight days in WCW, and finally, to his time at the top as both a babyface and heel in WWE. Eddie won several singles and tag team titles over the years, and although he only held the WWE Championship once, the moment is one of the most celebrated among wrestling fans. If he had lived, Guerrero certainly would have gone on to win more titles, but in death, he is frozen in time, a man at the peak who never came down but instead kept moving upward toward the heavens.

Eddie Guerrero's In-Ring Wrestling History

• Eddie competed in promotions like EMLL, NJPW, AAA, and ECW.

• In 1995, Eddie Guerrero signed with WCW and became a popular cruiserweight.

• Guerrero joined WWE in 1999 as part of the Radicalz.

Eddie Guerrero began his wrestling career in 1986, mostly finding work in smaller Mexican promotions like EMLL. It also would be quite early in his career that he started to work a few matches for World Championship Wrestling, the promotion he would call home for years. In the meantime, Guerrero became a master in the ring by working with names like Koji Kanemoto, Mil Mascaras, and members of the Guerrero family.

He had a pretty strong run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before joining AAA in 1992, the promotion where he would first work with close friends Rey Mysterio and Art Barr. Barr would be integral to Eddie's career as the two became a successful tag team in AAA, going by the name La Pareja del Terror (The Pair of Terror). The two would capture the AAA World Tag Team Championships from Octagon & El Hijo del Santo in 1994.

After working with NJPW and AAA for a couple of years, Eddie ventured to the United States and quickly found his first singles championship in the small Philly-based promotion, ECW. Guerrero captured the ECW World Television Championship in his first match for the company and would capture it again before parting ways after a handful of matches. After he blew up in ECW, it was finally time to settle in a promotion long term, that being World Championship Wrestling in 1995.

Guerrero became an asset of the WCW Cruiserweight division, holding the belt on two occasions, and even found himself holding the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship at one point, but wouldn't make it to the main event. Sticking with WCW until 1999, Guerrero jumped ship to the WWF alongside a few friends who made up The Radicalz, and Guerrero would break out on his whole in a quick fashion. In his first year with the promotion, Eddie would become a two-time European and one-time Intercontinental Champion.

Eddie Guerrero Had a Successful Run in WWE

• Drug abuse issues caused WWE to release Eddie Guerrero.

• Eddie Guerrero beat Brock Lesnar to become WWE Champion.

• Eddie's last match was on SmackDown versus Mr. Kennedy.

The success wouldn't last and Eddie would be let go from the WWE due to personal issues with drug abuse getting in the way of his career. From late 2001 to early 2002, Eddie started to work on smaller independent wrestling shows such as PCW, IWA Mid-South, and Ring of Honor, while also making a tour in New Japan once again. Luckily for him, 2002 seemed to take a turn in his career as he was let back into the WWE and would quickly become a part of what is known as the SmackDown Six.

This second run in the WWE saw Eddie capture numerous titles, such as another run with the Intercontinental belt, four tenures as a WWE Tag Team Champion, the inaugural WWE United States Champion, and most importantly, a stint as the WWE Champion. That would be the first and only time that Eddie was the top champion of any promotion he worked with.

These last few years of his life would give wrestling fans some of his best work, as Eddie stepped his game up when wrestling legends like Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Edge, and so many others. His final match would be against Mr. Kennedy on the November 8th, 2005 episode of SmackDown, in which Eddie won a Survivor Series qualifying match, granting him a spot on Team SmackDown for the event taking place November 27th.

Eddie Guerrero Passed Away Unexpectedly in 2005

• Eddie Guerrero died in a hotel room in Minnespolis.

• Chavor Guerrero was the one who found Eddie after he passed away.

• Rey Mysterio's World Championship chase was a tribute to Guerrero.

Chavo Guerrero has spoken about what happened next many times, including in an episode of Dark Side of the Ring about the Chris Benoit tragedy. WWE was in Minneapolis, and on Sunday, November 13, 2005, after Eddie Guerrero failed to answer a hotel wake-up call, Chavo went with security to his room. It was there that he found his cousin on the bathroom floor, unconscious and barely breathing. Eddie died in Chavo's arms at the age of 38.

Raw the next night became a tribute show. It's most remembered now for those heartbreaking images of Eddie's best friend, Chris Benoit, bawling on the stage and in a video package. SmackDown was a tribute to Eddie Guerrero as well. Any plans that involved Eddie had to quickly be re-written, including his spot on Team SmackDown for Survivor Series, which saw Randy Orton sub in as a replacement.

Even though he was gone, he lived on, as his close friendship with Rey Mysterio carried Rey to winning the 2006 Royal Rumble, which was followed by a World Championship win at WrestleMania 22. Guerrero even continued as part of storylines, including a very controversial one between Rey and Batista, where a newly heel Batista told the babyface Rey that Eddie was in Hell.

Autopsy results for Eddie Guerrero revealed that he died of acute heart failure, brought on by atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease from his past steroid use. In February 2006, WWE's Wellness Policy took effect, with many substances, including steroids, now banned. The death of such a beloved star in the prime of his life was the last straw in the heartbreaking wrestling world where so many wrestlers died before their time.

Chavo Doesn't Love the Constant Eddie Guerrero Tributes

• Chavo thinks some wrestlers use Eddie Guerrero's name only for their benefit.

• Chavo accused Rey Mysterio of latching onto Eddie Guerrero's name.

• Chavo Guerrero wasn't a fan of Sasha Banks wearing Eddie Guerrero-inspired gear at WrestleMania 32.

Eddie Guerrero is still very popular in the wrestling community, but his own nephew isn't a fan of how often he is latched onto. A while back, Chavo Guerrero was taking part in "Captain's Corner" and was asked about Rey Mysterio doing tributes to Eddie on television. He said:

"This is not a bitter thing, this is the truth. We worked hard for that last name. This whole family worked really, really hard to get that name to where it was and we’re tired of people prostituting it in a sense and using it for their benefit. So Rey Mysterio, I’m sorry that no one knows who Rey Mysterio Sr. is, Rey Mysterio Jr. No one knows who he is and I’m sorry that you have to latch on to the Guerrero family and we’re just kind of tired of it so, thank you for keeping Eddie’s name alive, thank you for keeping the Guerrero name alive but we don’t need you, we’re good, you know what I’m saying?” (h/t New York Post)

Chavo later backtracked on this statement, saying that he was playing the role of his old heel character and has nothing but love for Rey. This wouldn't be the first time that Chavo took issue with someone paying homage to Eddie. Back at WrestleMania 32 when Sasha Banks wore gear similar to Eddie Guerrero, Chavo replied to a fan's tweet with a thumbs down in response to his opinion on the look.

Eddie Guerrero's Name Lives On Today

• Eddie Guerrero is still popular in wrestling.

• WWE made a joke out of Dominik Mysterio being Eddie's son.

• The LWO faction was reborn on SmackDown.

Eddie Guerrero has been gone for almost two decades, but he is still immensely popular, unlike any other passed-on superstar. If a wrestler does the Three Amigos or a frog splash, it's certain to draw "Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" chants from the crowd. Eddie's widow, Vickie Guerrero, worked in WWE for years (and later AEW) as a manager and GM, becoming one of the greatest heels in the business. Rhea Ripley's "Mami" nickname is a wink to Eddie Guerrero's "I'm your Papi" gimmick.

Rey and Dominik Mysterio's feud partially involved Dominik wishing Eddie was his real dad. There was also been the rebirth of the LWO in WWE on SmackDown, which Eddie founded in WCW. Eddie would have one child follow in his footsteps in that ring, Shaul Guerrero, also known as Raquel Diaz, who had a stint in WWE's NXT brand.

Looking at names from outside Eddie's family and friends showcases how far his influence can reach. Several stars, such as CM Punk, Mercedes Mone, Peyton Royce, and Seth Rollins have named Guerrero a major influence on their style and decision to start wrestling. Many peers have praised Eddie's ability, such as Kurt Angle calling him the second-greatest professional wrestler of all time (behind Shawn Michaels), Chris Jericho saying Guerrero was the best performer in the world, or Ric Flair citing him as one of his top ten opponents ever. The phrase "gone but not forgotten" is used often, but in Eddie Guerrero's case, it is so true.

Years after his passing, fans still remember him, both for his in-ring talent and his charismatic ability to connect with fans in a way few others can, whether it be as a vile heel or a babyface jumping into the stands to celebrate his newly won title with the fans who had always supported him.

The article was published by TheSportster