| Eddie Guerrero | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Black Tiger II[1] [1] Eddy Guerrero[2] El Caliente[1] Gory Guerrero, Jr.[1] Máscara Mágica |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 228 lb (103 kg)[3] |
| Born | October 9, 1967[1] El Paso, Texas[2][3] |
| Died | November 13, 2005 (aged 38) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Billed from | El Paso, Texas[2][3] |
| Debut | September 18, 1987[1][4] |
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) [1] was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family.[2] He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions. In the United States,[2] Guerrero wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Guerrero's gimmick was that of "Latino Heat", a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His catchphrase became "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!," which was used in one of his entrance themes. Guerrero partly used this phrase in his autobiography Cheating Death, Stealing Life.
Despite being a villain for most of his career, he got over in and outside the ring being the youngest, yet most popular and successful of the Guerrero brothers. Guerrero was widely regarded as one of the most respected and gifted technical wrestlers in history. Throughout his career, Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. His real-life problems were sometimes integrated into his storylines. Notwithstanding these issues, Guerrero won twenty-three titles during his career, including the WWE Grand Slam Championship.
Eddie Guerrero became a wrestler, while his uncle Enrique Llanes (Yañez) and cousin Javier Llanes (Yañez) wrestled in Mexico. As a boy, Eddie Guerrero's father allowed him and Chavo Jr. to wrestle one another during intermissions in the wrestling promotions that Gory held. Gory ran wrestling promotions for nearly 15 years in the El Paso Coliseum.
Eddie Guerrero was born and raised in El Paso, Texas where he graduated from Jefferson High School and attended the University of New Mexico as well as New Mexico Highlands University on an athletic scholarship where he wrestled collegiately before returning to El Paso to train as a professional wrestler, which he loved.[4]
In Mexico, he wrestled mainly for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), teaming with El Hijo del Santo as the new version of La Pareja Atómica (The Atomic Pair), the tag team of Gory Guerrero and El Santo.
After Guerrero turned on Santo and allied with Art Barr as La Pareja del Terror (The Pair of Terror), the duo became arguably the most hated tag team in lucha libre history.[1] Along with Barr, Konnan, Chicano Power, and Madonna’s Boyfriend, Guerrero formed Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans), a villainous stable.[1][5] Guerrero later said that no matter how many people joined Los Gringos Locos, the stable was all about Art. Locos feuded mostly with El Hijo del Santo and his partner Octagón, eventually ending in a Hair vs. Mask match at the first lucha pay-per-view in America, When Worlds Collide, which they lost.[6]
Guerrero and Barr's first break would come when they were noticed in late 1994 by the owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Paul Heyman, and were approached about wrestling for him in 1995. Barr, however, died before he could join ECW with Guerrero.
In 1993, Guerrero began wrestling in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he was known as the second incarnation of Black Tiger. He became more successful upon his return when he won the Best of the Super Juniors 1996 tournament of junior heavyweights. He received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion The Great Sasuke at NJPW Skydiving J but lost the match.[7]
Guerrero won the ECW World Television Championship from 2 Cold Scorpio on his debut in ECW,[8][9] and went on to have a series of acclaimed matches with Dean Malenko before they both signed with World Championship Wrestling later that year.[10] Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship to Malenko on July 21 of that year,[11] but Guerrero regained the title on July 28.[9] Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship back to 2 Cold Scorpio on August 25.[12] The next day, they had their last match which ended in a draw in a two out of three falls match at the ECW Arena. After the match, the locker room emptied and the two were carried around the ring by their fellow wrestlers while the crowd chanted "please don't go".[13]
Guerrero returned to WCW in late 1995 along with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit with whom he had worked with in NJPW and ECW.[10][14] During his first few pay-per-view events, he competed in dark matches against Alex Wright.[15] His first televised pay-per-view appearance was at World War 3 where he competed in the 3-ring, 60-man World War 3 battle royal for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Guerrero was one of the final nine men in the battle royal until he was tossed out of the ring by Four Horsemen members.[16][17] At Starrcade 1995, Guerrero represented WCW in a WCW vs. NJPW World Cup tournament. He lost to Shinjiro Otani in the match, but WCW went on to win the series.[18]
In 1996, Guerrero received several shots at the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against Konnan at Uncensored[19] and Ric Flair at Hog Wild.[20] He feuded with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen during 1996 after Guerrero's partner Arn Anderson turned on him during a tag team match against Ric Flair and Randy Savage.[21] In late 1996, he feuded with Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) after defeating him in a match at Clash of the Champions XXXIII.[22] He started feuding with DDP to steal his nickname of "Lord of the Ring" but lost.[23] Guerrero participated in a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and defeated DDP in the final round at Starrcade 1996 to win the United States title.[24]
In 1997, Guerrero defended the United States Heavyweight Championship against Scott Norton at Clash of the Champions XXXIV,[25] Syxx in a ladder match at Souled Out,[26] and Chris Jericho at SuperBrawl VII.[27] His reign came to an end at Uncensored when Dean Malenko defeated him for the title.[28]
After losing the United States Championship, Guerrero feuded with Jericho focusing on Jericho's WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. He challenged Jericho for the title at Clash of the Champions XXXV but lost.[29] Guerrero demanded a rematch for the title. In the opening match of Fall Brawl 1997, Guerrero defeated Jericho to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship.[30] He dropped the Cruiserweight title to Rey Mysterio, Jr. at Halloween Havoc in a Title vs. Mask match where Mysterio's mask was also on the line.[31] On the November 10 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, he regained the Cruiserweight title back from Mysterio,[32] and made a successful title defense against Mysterio at World War 3.[33] After retaining the title against Dean Malenko in the opening bout of Starrcade 1997,[34] Guerrero dropped the title to Último Dragón the following day on the December 29 episode of Nitro.[35]
Guerrero feuded with Booker T. On the March 9, 1998 edition of Nitro, Guerrero's nephew Chavo Guerrero lost to Booker in a match. After the match, Guerrero suplexed Chavo to teach him a lesson.[36] On the March 12 edition of WCW Thunder, he defeated his nephew Chavo in a match and forced him to become his "slave".[37] At Uncensored, Chavo was forced to support Guerrero when he faced Booker T for Booker's WCW World Television Championship. Guerrero lost the match after receiving a missile dropkick.[38] Guerrero and Chavo feuded with Último Dragón. Chavo lost to Dragón at Spring Stampede.[39] At Slamboree, Guerrero defeated Dragón despite interference from Chavo.[40] After the match, Chavo kissed Eddie and began to display insane behavior. At The Great American Bash, Chavo got an upset victory over Guerrero.[41] They faced each other in a Hair vs. Hair match at Bash at the Beach which Guerrero won. Continuing to show his crazy behavior Chavo would shave his own head while Guerrero looked on in disbelief.[42] Guerrero saved Chavo from beatings by Stevie Ray, seeming that he would align with Chavo but he wanted his release.[43]
Despite his success and popularity, Guerrero had been one of many wrestlers who were frustrated at never being given a chance to be main event stars in WCW. These frustrations came to a head when Guerrero requested that WCW President Eric Bischoff either push his character or give him a raise for family reasons. Bischoff responded by allegedly throwing coffee at Guerrero (however, in his autobiography, Guerrero states that Bischoff accidentally knocked his coffee off the table and that it was a complete accident that he was hit). Furious, Guerrero demanded Bischoff release him from his contract on a live episode of Nitro. Guerrero then left the company for a period of months, angry at Bischoff for what he had done. Guerrero later returned to WCW, leading to the belief that maybe Guerrero's angry speeches against Bischoff were actually a work (Guerrero later confirmed it to be a worked shoot). Guerrero would later contradict himself on WWE's DVD Monday Night War claiming that he tried to put personal differences aside for the good of the company, yet found himself angry and outraged once more because of Bischoff's supposed continued refusal to elevate Guerrero and other similar wrestlers. He let Brian Adams pin him and get an upset victory in a match.[43]
On-screen, Guerrero responded to Bischoff's actions by forming the Latino World Order (LWO), which was a take-off of Bischoff's New World Order.[44] The group was an answer to Bischoff's "refusal" to push Latino wrestlers in ways they felt they deserved.[44] The LWO was formed in October when Guerrero returned to WCW, with Héctor Garza and Damien.[43] The group eventually grew to encompass almost all the Mexican wrestlers working for WCW at the time. They mainly feuded with Rey Misterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman because they wanted Misterio to join the group. He faced Kidman in a match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship but Misterio interfered and helped Kidman win the match and keep the title.[43] However, Guerrero was involved in a serious car accident on New Year's Day, 1999 that cut short the LWO storyline. Guerrero survived the accident and returned to wrestling in a matter of months.
After his return in the summer of 1999, Eddie was the founding member of the Filthy Animals stable with Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Konnan (later growing to include Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, and Disco Inferno).[45] They feuded with the Dead Pool (Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro). They received two straight victories over the Dead Pool at Road Wild and Fall Brawl.[46][47] They next feuded with The Revolution (Shane Douglas, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn). Guerrero was victorious over Saturn by disqualification in a singles match at Halloween Havoc.[48] At Mayhem, the Animals lost to Revolution in a mixed tag team elimination match.[49] When Vince Russo was fired as WCW booker and replaced by Kevin Sullivan, Guerrero asked for and received a release from his contract on January 19.[50] He signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2000 along with WCW stars Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn.
Guerrero and along with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn debuted in the WWF on the January 31, 2000 edition of Raw is War as The Radicalz, interfering in a match involving the New Age Outlaws.[51] During his first match with the WWF, a tag team match with the Radicalz against the Outlaws, Guerrero performed a Frog Splash off the top rope and severely injured his elbow on the landing. As a result, he was sidelined for several weeks.[52]
In March 2000, Guerrero began pursuing the affections of Chyna, who he referred to as his "Mamacita". Chyna initially rejected his advances, but allied with him following WrestleMania 2000, declaring that she could not resist his "Latino Heat."[52][53] Guerrero won his first WWF title on the April 3, 2000 edition of Raw is War by defeating Chris Jericho for the WWF European Championship with help from Chyna.[54][55] After Chyna abandoned Lita to be attacked by the Dudley Boyz, he and Chyna began a feud with Essa Rios and Lita, ending in a European title defense at Backlash, which was also billed as the night of Guerrero's prom (he was said to have just earned a GED). Guerrero defeated Rios after arriving at ringside in a 1957 Chevrolet, even wrestling in his tuxedo pants and a bow tie.[52][56] Guerrero successfully retained the title against former Radicalz friends Saturn and Malenko in a Triple Threat match at Judgment Day,[52][57] before finally losing the title to Saturn at Fully Loaded.[52]
Over the next few months, friction began to build between Guerrero and Chyna. Chyna was upset when Guerrero pinned her to advance in the King of the Ring tournament.[52] At SummerSlam, Chyna won the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a mixed tag match.[52][58] They had also inserted themselves in the drama between Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Kurt Angle. Guerrero claimed to not mind and then begged Commissioner Mick Foley to let him take part in a title defense between Chyna and Angle on the September 4 edition of Raw is War, claiming he was afraid that Angle would injure Chyna. After Angle knocked Chyna down with the title belt, Guerrero "accidentally" pinned her to win his first Intercontinental Championship while trying to revive her.[52][55][59] Chyna became visibly uncomfortable as Guerrero began to cheat in order to retain his title, while Guerrero was upset that Chyna was posing for Playboy magazine, even trying to invade the Playboy Mansion to stop the shooting.[52] Just when it appeared that Chyna would leave Guerrero, he proposed to her and she accepted.[52] At Unforgiven, Chyna helped Guerrero in retaining his title against Rikishi.[52][60] The engagement was called off when Guerrero was caught showering with two of The Godfather's hos (one was Victoria) claiming that "Two Mamacitas are better than one!"[52]
Guerrero turned into a villain as a result of the incident. Then, the Radicalz reunited and feuded with the reformed D-Generation X (Chyna, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and K-Kwik). They defeated DX at Survivor Series in an elimination tag team match and assisted Triple H in his match with Stone Cold Steve Austin.[52][61] Guerrero was later defeated by Gunn for the Intercontinental Championship, with help from Chyna.[52] At Rebellion, Guerrero and Malenko lost to Gunn and Chyna.[52][62] Benoit left the group to focus on a singles career while the rest of the Radicalz feuded with Lita and the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff). At Armageddon, the Radicalz defeated the Hardyz and Lita in an elimination tag team match.[52][63]
In early 2001, Guerrero feuded with Chris Jericho, Benoit, and X-Pac over Jericho's Intercontinental Championship. At No Way Out, the four men faced each other in a Fatal Four-Way match, which Jericho won.[64] Guerrero focused on the European Championship, feuding with the champion Test defeating him at WrestleMania X-Seven to win his second European Championship with help from Saturn and Malenko.[65][66] In April, Radicalz feuded with Test and his partners. Guerrero eventually left the Radicalz, siding with the Hardy Boyz and Lita. At this point, Guerrero developed an addiction to pain medication stemming from his 1999 car accident and in May 2001 was sent to rehab. To explain his absence, a storyline was created where Guerrero was "injured" by Prince Albert in a match.[67] On November 9, 2001, he was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently released by the WWF three days later.
Guerrero started wrestling on the independent circuit after his release from WWF. On February 23, he faced fellow Mexican Super Crazy on the debut show of Ring of Honor known as The Era of Honor Begins to crown the first-ever IWA Intercontinental Champion. Guerrero lost the match.[68][69] On February 24, he debuted in the Australian promotion World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) at The Revolution beating the champion Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in a Triple Threat match for the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship.[68][70] On March 1, he defeated the champion CM Punk and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship.[68][71] He dropped the title back to Punk one day later on March 2.[68] He vacated the WWA Cruiserweight title in April 2002 after returning to WWF.[68]
Guerrero returned to WWF on the April 1, 2002 edition of Raw, attacking Rob Van Dam.[72][73] He feuded with Van Dam defeating him for his second WWF Intercontinental Championship at Backlash.[74][75] After retaining the title against Van Dam at Insurrextion[72][76] and Judgment Day,[77][78] he finally lost the belt to Van Dam on the May 27 episode of Raw in a ladder match although a drunk fan jumped in the ring knocking down the ladder that Guerrero was climbing caused both Guerrero and Van Dam to think up some new moves to continue the match without any mistakes.[77][79] Guerrero then feuded with Maria, but Maria left WWE before a match could take place.[77] Chris Benoit returned to WWE the night Guerrero lost the title and reunited with him. Guerrero and Benoit feuded with Ric Flair for a while and Guerrero even lost a match to Flair at King of the Ring.[77][80] Guerrero lost a match to The Rock, challenging him for the WWE Undisputed Championship after The Rock sang a version of "La Bamba" with the words changed to insult Guerrero on the July 29 edition of Raw.[77][81]
On August 1, 2002, Guerrero and Benoit began to wrestle exclusively for WWE's SmackDown! brand. Guerrero feuded with Edge, to whom he lost at SummerSlam.[82] Eddie continued his feud with Edge, whom he defeated at Unforgiven; they then had a No Disqualification match two weeks after Unforgiven on SmackDown which Edge won thus ending the rivalry.[83] With Benoit focusing on Kurt Angle, Guerrero aligned himself with his nephew Chavo, forming the tag team Los Guerreros.[84][85] In contrast to a previous WCW storyline with his nephew, Chavo fully agreed with his uncle as their slogan stated "We lie, we cheat, and we steal, but at least we're honest about it." In order to push the new tag team, vignettes were produced, which included things such as the two finagling their way into a rich lady's house and throwing a pool party.[84]
The duo entered the eight-team tournament for the new WWE Tag Team Championship, sneaking past Rikishi and Mark Henry in the opening round,[84][85][86] before starting a feud with the newly formed tag team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. In one of the team's definitive moments, Chavo told Benoit that his former friend Guerrero was assaulted by his tag team partner Angle. Benoit ran to make the save, only to have himself locked inside a room. Guerrero then appeared in the room and assaulted Benoit with a steel chair. Benoit and Angle managed to overcome their differences and eventually defeated Los Guerreros in the tournament semi-finals.[84][85][87] Later on, Benoit and Angle won the title. Benoit and Angle then fought for a trophy for being the first WWE Tag Team Champion. Much to Benoit's surprise, Los Guerreros helped him win the match.
At Survivor Series, Los Guerreros faced the new champions Edge and Rey Mysterio and the team of Angle and Benoit for the title. Eddie made Mysterio submit to The Lasso From El Paso to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship.[88][89] They were defeated by Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) on the February 6, 2003 edition of SmackDown!.[90][91] Los Guerreros and Team Angle began feuding with each other. Los Guerreros participated at WrestleMania XIX as contenders for the Tag Team Title, along with the team of Benoit and Rhyno. Both teams lost to Haas and Benjamin in a Triple Threat match.[92] At Backlash, Los Guerreros lost to Team Angle in a rematch.[93]
Five days prior to Judgment Day, Chavo tore his biceps, forcing Eddie to look for another partner. He chose Tajiri. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship, Guerrero's second and Tajiri's first at Judgment Day by defeating Team Angle in a ladder match.[94][95] The following week, Guerrero and Tajiri managed to retain their title by cheating.[90][96] In addition, they also defeated Roddy Piper and his protegè Sean O'Haire in Madison Square Garden.[90][97] After Guerrero and Tajiri lost the titles to Team Angle on the July 3 edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero turned on Tajiri, slamming his partner through the windshield of his low-rider truck. The next Smackdown! Guerrero said he did it because during the match Tajiri had accidentally hit his low-rider. Despite being portrayed as the heel, when Guerrero asked the audience if they blamed him for doing it, the audience responded by yelling "No!" [90][98]
In July 2003, Guerrero competed in a tournament for the United States Championship. He managed to advance to the final round, defeating Último Dragón and Billy Gunn in the process,[90] where he would meet Chris Benoit.[99][100] At Vengeance, Guerrero turned to his cheating tactics, hitting Benoit with the belt at one point in the match. Guerrero tried to get Benoit in trouble by placing the title belt on top of the unconscious Benoit. It did not work, however, since he knocked out the referee earlier with a belt shot to the kidneys. The match ended with interference and a Gore from Rhyno, Benoit's own partner, who was furious at the team's failure. Guerrero himself said that this was a major point in the character of Latino Heat, since he himself realized that the fans wanted to see him lie, cheat, and steal. Guerrero pinned Benoit and won the WWE United States Championship.[101][102]
At SummerSlam, Guerrero retained his title by defeating Rhyno, Benoit, and Tajiri in a Fatal Four-Way match.[90][103] He turned face again by engaging in a rivalry with John Cena. On the September 11 edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero challenged Cena to a "Latino Heat" Parking Lot Brawl match for the United States Championship, which Guerrero won with help from his returning nephew, Chavo.[90][104] The next week, Los Guerreros defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team (previously Team Angle) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, making Eddie a double champion.
Guerrero engaged in a feud with The Big Show, which involved Guerrero giving the Big Show some laxative laced burritos and then later spraying the Big Show from a sewage truck.[90][105][106] The feud ended when Guerrero dropped the United States title to Big Show at No Mercy.[107] Four days later, Los Guerreros lost the Tag Team Championship to The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny).[85][90][108] They began feuding with The Basham Brothers, but failed to regain the titles at Survivor Series.[109] As Los Guerreros attempted to regain the tag team title, things began to go downhill between Chavo and Guerrero and animosity began to build. Chavo then attacked and turned on Eddie after he suffered a beating from The Bashams.[85][110][111] Guerrero feuded with Chavo and defeated him at the Royal Rumble to settle their feud.[112]
When Chris Benoit defected to Raw after winning the Royal Rumble, using his title shot to go for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, Eddie won a 15-man Royal Rumble style match on the January 29, 2004 edition of SmackDown! to earn a shot at the WWE Championship.[110][113] After becoming the number one contender, Guerrero elevated himself to main event status and began feuding with the WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar. At No Way Out, Guerrero defeated Lesnar in the main event to win the WWE Championship.[114][115] His next feud was with Kurt Angle, whom he defeated at WrestleMania XX to retain his title in his first big defense.[116] At the end of this event, Guerrero celebrated in the ring with longtime friend Chris Benoit, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship.[117]
In March, he started a feud with fellow Texan John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) after JBL interrupted Eddie's match with Booker T.[110][118] At Judgment Day, Guerrero defended his WWE title against JBL and retained the title after getting himself disqualified, hitting JBL with a low blow.[119] At The Great American Bash, Guerrero defended the title against JBL in a Texas Bullrope match. JBL won after Angle (who was General Manager of SmackDown! at the time) reversed the decision after Guerrero appeared to have retained the title.[120] On the July 8 edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero pulled a switcharoo with Shannon Moore, who was wrestling as "El Gran Luchadore" and wore the costume.[110][121] The next week on SmackDown!, Guerrero faced JBL in a steel cage match for the WWE title where El Gran Luchadore appeared again and cost Guerrero the match; he later revealed himself as Kurt Angle. Guerrero continued his feud with Angle again.[110][122]
At SummerSlam, Guerrero lost to Angle after submitting to his ankle lock.[110][123] Guerrero then allied himself with the Big Show. Each week Angle and his new allies Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak began targeting Guerrero and Big Show. Guerrero defeated Reigns in a singles match at No Mercy.[110][124] General Manager Theodore Long booked a Survivor Series Elimination match between a team led by Guerrero and a team led by Angle. Guerrero's team consisted of himself, Big Show, John Cena (replacing the originally chosen Rey Mysterio), and Rob Van Dam. At Survivor Series, Guerrero's team defeated Angle's team.[125] Guerrero, along with Booker T and The Undertaker, then challenged JBL for a WWE Championship rematch. Along the way, Guerrero found a partner in Booker T. At Armageddon, Guerrero and Booker's initial teamwork broke away, and the match ended with JBL pinning Booker following the Clothesline From Hell.[110][126] Afterwards, Guerrero and Booker briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to win the Tag Team Championship.[110][127]
At No Way Out, Eddie teamed up with longtime friend and sometimes rival, Rey Mysterio and defeated The Basham Brothers to win his final title, the WWE Tag Team Championship for a fourth time, with it being Mysterio's third reign.[128][129] Many expected the new champions to defend their title at WrestleMania 21, but after encouragement from Chavo,[130][131] Guerrero challenged Mysterio to a one-on-one match instead so they could "bring the house down."[130][132] The two wrestled a match at WrestleMania with Mysterio getting the win. Although visibly frustrated, Guerrero congratulated his partner.[133] After several mishaps in the weeks following WrestleMania, the growing tension between Guerrero and Mysterio finally erupted when they lost their tag team championship to the new team MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) on the April 21 edition of SmackDown!.[134] Although the next week they received a rematch to regain the title, Guerrero turned heel once again by abandoning his partner, whom he had considered "his family" earlier in the show.[135]
At the end of one episode of SmackDown!, he attacked his former tag team partner, Mysterio, leaving him bruised and bloody after suplexing him onto a set of steel steps. Guerrero, having turned heel, then adopted a new, somewhat sociopathic gimmick. During this time, he also stopped driving his low-riders down the ring and walked to the ring with a frown on his face, and reverted to using the Lasso from El Paso as his finishing move.[130] At Judgment Day, Guerrero lost to Mysterio by disqualification after hitting Mysterio with a chair.[136]
On the June 30 edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero threatened to reveal a secret about Mysterio and his son Dominick. The storyline grew to involve the families of both men, with both sides pleading for Guerrero not to reveal the secret.[137] Mysterio defeated Guerrero again at The Great American Bash, a match with a stipulation that if Guerrero lost, he would not tell the secret.[138] Yet Guerrero revealed the secret anyway on the following episode of SmackDown! - telling Dominick and the audience that Guerrero was his real father. In the following weeks, Guerrero revealed the details of the secret in a series of what he called "Eddie's Bedtime Stories."[139] During that time he now had a dark comical gimmick. He claimed that he had a child out of wedlock (Dominick) while his marriage was going through hard times. He claimed he then allowed Mysterio and his wife, who were "having trouble conceiving", to adopt the child as their own.[130] At SummerSlam, Guerrero lost a ladder match over Dominick's custody to Mysterio.[140] Their feud ended when Guerrero gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match (even with commentator Tazz commenting "the monkey is off your back now I guess").[141]
Following his feud with Rey Mysterio, Guerrero was named number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and given a title match with Batista. Despite this, Guerrero quickly proclaimed himself to be Batista's friend. Batista was well aware of Guerrero's sneaky reputation, and despite eventually accepting his friendship (initially to keep an eye on him), Batista would continually play mind games with Guerrero to expose his true intentions. A series of matches with MNM only supported Batista's suspicions that Guerrero was up to no good, as Guerrero appeared to have reverted to his cheating ways.[130] In response to Batista's suspicions, Guerrero helped Batista win a match against his tag team partners, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Christian.[142] Batista defeated Guerrero at No Mercy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in what would be Guerrero's last pay-per-view match. During the match, Guerrero struggled with a decision about whether or not to use a steel chair to secure the victory, eventually opting not to use it and losing as a result.[143] Though the two demonstrated mutual respect after the match, Guerrero seemed displeased by the loss. Guerrero told Batista that he realized how low he had sunk since losing the Championship in 2004, having attacked his best friend Rey Mysterio. Guerrero told Batista that shaking his hand at No Mercy had returned his respect to him.[130] This turned Guerrero face again.
Guerrero wrestled his final match on the November 11 edition of SmackDown!, defeating Mr. Kennedy to qualify for a place on the SmackDown! team at the Survivor Series [130][144] Randy Orton was named as the official replacement for Guerrero on the team. It was also noted that for the November 18, 2005 edition of Smackdown being pretaped, a triple threat match between World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Randy Orton, and Guerrero for the title was to take place and Guerrero was scheduled to win the match and become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
On March 13, 2004 (before WrestleMania XX), Guerrero (WWE Champion), along with The Big Show (United States Champion), Trish Stratus and Chris Jericho, made their guest appearances on MADtv as they "beat up" Jay Leno (Frank Caliendo) while Tonight Show Band leader Kevin Eubanks (Aries Spears) watched.
There have also been several DVDs and books released about his life and career, including Cheating Death, Stealing Life — The Eddie Guerrero Story (DVD, 2004), Cheating Death, Stealing Life — The Eddie Guerrero Story (book, 2005), and Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (DVD 2008). In addition, the song "We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal" that he performed with Chavo was released on the WWE Originals CD.
Guerrero's catch phrase during the later part of his career with WWE was "Viva La Raza" (which is Spanish for "Long Live the Race"). In the mid parts of his career Guerrero took the title of "Latino Heat", which was also his theme song in the early 2000s
Guerrero had appeared in many games like WCW/NWO Revenge, WWF No Mercy, WWF Smackdown 2, WWF Smackdown!: Just Bring It. WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth, WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, WWE Day of Reckoning, WWE Smackdown vs RAW, WWE Day of Reckoning 2, and WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2006. He still also appears in many WWE games as a legend, such as WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2007, and the PSP version of WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2008, and most recently on WWE All-Stars and WWE '12.
Guerrero is survived by his widow Vickie Guerrero. The two married on April 24, 1990[145] and had two daughters: Shaul Marie Guerrero (born October 14, 1990)[146] and Sherilyn Amber Guerrero (born July 8, 1995).
Guerrero also has another daughter; Kaylie Marie Guerrero (born 2002) with a woman named Tara Mahoney. He was separated from Vickie at the time, however Eddie had split from Tara before Kaylie was born. He reconciled with Vickie soon afterward, and they renewed their wedding vows.
Guerrero was also a born-again Christian.
On November 13, 2005, Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room (The Marriott City Center) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by his nephew, Chavo. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie Guerrero was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived on the scene. He was 38 years old. An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Guerrero's wife Vickie Guerrero claimed that he had been unwell in the week preceding his death. On the November 30 edition of WWE Byte This!, Chavo said that Guerrero had been working hard and was at peak physical fitness as a result, doing cardiovascular and weight training exercises every day.
The episodes of Raw on November 14, 2005 and SmackDown! on November 18, 2005 each aired as tributes to Guerrero. No WWE employees were forced to perform, although several matches took place, including one featuring Chavo, who finished the match with his uncle's frog splash. Raw started off with all the superstars and several personnel on stage, as Vince McMahon addressed the live crowd before finishing with a ten-bell salute. In addition to the Raw and SmackDown tribute shows, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling dedicated the pay-per-view TNA Genesis (which aired the evening of his death) to Guerrero.[147] while Ring of Honor named their next show "Night of Tribute."[148] Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's former developmental territory, also paid tribute to Guerrero on their television taping following his death. Many of the wrestlers there wore arm bands with "E.G." on them. Eventually, other wrestlers, primarily his nephew Chavo and friends Mysterio and Christian, paid tribute to him in their matches by using the Frog Splash, Eddie's finisher. Combat Zone Wrestling also paid tribute to Guerrero with a ten-bell salute during one of their cards.
Guerrero was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006 by Rey Mysterio, his nephew Chavo Guerrero, and Chris Benoit in Chicago, Illinois on the night before WrestleMania 22.[3] His widow, Vickie Guerrero, accepted the honor. The next night at Wrestlemania, Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Championship, and dedicated the victory and the title to Guerrero.
There have been several tributes made to honor Guerrero since his induction into the Hall of Fame, including a package that featured not only his time on SmackDown!, but expanded to his life outside the ring, that aired on the Decade of SmackDown! special on October 2, 2009; a special titantron feature of WWE Hall of Famers who had competed in the Royal Rumble, which aired before the 2011 event, included Guerrero; and a place on the WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD, as voted by fellow superstars, who placed him 11th.
Guerrero has also been featured in the game WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, which was completed during mid-2005 and Eddie provides his own voice. The game attracted some minor controversy due to an in-game story where Eddie is placed into a coffin by The Undertaker, particularly the fact that life imitated art in this sensitive instance. The coincidence was more resounding in the United Kingdom, where the game was released during the week of Guerrero's death. He also appeared as a legend in the games WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2007, WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 (PSP only) and WWE '12 and is included on the WWE Legends roster in the THQ video game "WWE All Stars."
Guerrero's family members within the business have also made numerous references to Eddie, ranging from simple guestures and anecdotes to the adaptation of his signature moves and mannerisms in the ring. When his brother Hector signed with TNA, Hector looked up to the sky and mentioned how his father and brother have inspired him and he thanked them. At WrestleMania XXVI Vickie Guerrero competed in a 10-Diva Tag Match, in which her team was victorious after she climbed the turnbuckle, pointed to the sky and connected with a "Frog splash." And on the November 15, 2010 "Old School" edition of WWE Raw, WWE Legend and Eddie's older brother Chavo Guerrero, Sr. (aka Chavo Classic) gestured to the sky and shouted "Eddie!" as he was introduced.
During the 2011 Royal Rumble match itself. Eddie's nephew Chavo Guerrero paid tribute to him by the doing one of Eddie's signature moves "The Three Amigos" (triple vertical suplex), and followed up by pointing to the sky and doing the dance Eddie used to do. On the November 28th edition of Raw Supershow, both Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk paid tribute to Eddie by using a steel chair the same way Eddie used it during a WWE Championship match.
On March 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated posted on its website an article in its continuing series investigating a steroid and hGH ring used by a number of professional athletes in several sports. This article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Guerrero who was alleged to have obtained hCG and the steroid stanozolol in early 2005.[149] At the time of the alleged steroid usage, the WWE had not yet instituted its Wellness Policy in which wrestlers are tested for substances, which was stated by WWE.com on the day the article was released.
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Eddie Guerrero | Ari Romero | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | 1987 |
| Hair | Eddie Guerrero | Negro Casas | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | Unknown |
| Hair | El Hijo del Santo and Octagón | Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr | Los Angeles, California | November 6, 1994 |
| Hair | Eddie Guerrero | Chavo Guerrero, Jr. | San Diego, California | July 12, 1998 |
| Custody of Dominic | Rey Mysterio | Eddie Guerrero | Washington D.C | August 21, 2005 |