Eddie Guerrero, Viva La Raza

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we pay tribute to the legendary Eddie Guerrero.

What’s your earliest memory of Eddie Guerrero?

Chad Gelfand: His Latino Heat gimmick and trying to woo Chyna. Those two always had entertaining segments together.

Steven Jackson: Seeing him in WCW tagging with Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. I knew there was something special about Eddie and always loved his work both in and out of the ring. I was about 7 or 8 years old and had just gotten into pro wrestling.

Juan Bautista: The feud with Rey Mysterio. My first WrestleMania was 21 and they opened up the show. Eddie was also the first wrestler who passed where I was like “damn, I’m not gonna see him anymore.” If WWE is clever enough to fit Eddie into the current storyline with Rey and Seth Rollins, it better be good.

Neal Wagner: Cruiserweight Eddie from WCW. The heel Eddie that had match of the year with Rey Mysterio at Halloween Havoc 1997. That was easily the best Eddie in WCW. That match was just amazing and it was a time when Eddie was one of the best and most consistent in-ring performers.

John Corrigan: I missed the night the Radicalz jumped ship to WWE, but I remember Eddie Guerrero’s arm in a sling and his hilarious, yet successful pursuit of his Mamacita. I couldn’t believe the night after WrestleMania 2000 when Chyna actually fell for Latino Heat.

Jack Goodwillie: Eddie Guerrero was the WWE Champion at the time I started watching wrestling, and as I’ve spoken about in the past on various roundtables and podcasts with The Wrestling Estate, I believe my first episode of SmackDown (in depth, without coming across it channel surfing) to be the June 24, 2004 episode. John Cena went one-on-one with Da Undertakahhhhhh in the main event and watching it back, the match was quite good and still holds up. But as the episode pertained to Eddie Guerrero, the WWE Champion was aligning himself against John Bradshaw Layfield in advance of their Texas Bullrope match at The Great American Bash that weekend. Eddie may have wrestled Luther Reigns that night. But the truth is JBL had as much to do with me liking Eddie Guerrero as anything. Seeing JBL’s mug on the match card slide they traditionally promote on the WWE go-home shows, it was easy for me, someone who never really watched wrestling before, to decipher who the babyface was and who the heel was. I wanted to see JBL lose so bad that Eddie Guerrero HAD to become my favorite wrestler. It turned out, however, that Guerrero was every bit as good as I could have imagined, and even better yet.

What’s Eddie Guerrero’s greatest match?

Gelfand: vs. Rey Mysterio Halloween Havoc 1997. For that era and for this and every era in the foreseeable future, that match will hold up. Two of the greatest of all time at the cusp of their physical primes executing every move to perfection and showing the world not ever to sleep on the WCW cruiserweights.

Jackson: The WWE Championship match against Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004. Technical wrestling wise, it wasn’t Eddie’s greatest match. But for storytelling, psychology and a career-defining moment, there is no doubt this was the best.

Bautista: His last ECW match with Dean Malenko. I also like his match with Brock Lesnar and the WrestleMania 20 match with Kurt Angle.

Wagner: Obviously the Havoc 97 match, but also the Brock Lesnar match from No Way Out 2004 when Eddie won the title. It was a true big man vs. little man showcase and is the only reason to watch that show. Eddie’s performance that night was next to flawless.

Corrigan: vs. RVD in a ladder match on Raw on May 27, 2002. These two veterans let it all hang out, performing death-defying stunts while incorporating time-tested psychology such as targeting the leg. Latino Heat proved that he belonged back in WWE after his forced sabbatical to get clean and sober, and Mr. Monday Night cemented his status as the highlight of Raw.

Goodwillie: A lot of people are going to say Guerrero vs. Mysterio at Halloween Havoc, and I can’t criticize it. In fact, I’d even say that’s my pick because as good as literally any other Guerrero-Mysterio match was, on that fateful night, the two just had the magic. Simple as that. Think of the best match ever, then imagine how it could have been even 1% better. That was Guerrero-Mysterio at Halloween Havoc. Of course, how could I not mention the Guerrero-Malenko classic in ECW? That match came close to matching the Mysterio match, but the production values on the WCW match probably give it an edge if the ring work doesn’t already. That said, Eddie could also make magic with Kurt Angle, and as far as WrestleMania world title matches go, Guerrero vs. Angle at WrestleMania XX is criminally underrated.

What’s Eddie Guerrero’s greatest moment/angle?

Gelfand: Winning the WWE Title at No Way Out 2004. The promo on the go-home show to that PPV where Eddie talked about his addictions and how winning the WWE Title would be an apology to his family is one of the most powerful promos in wrestling history.

Jackson: The turn on Rey Mysterio in 2005 was without a doubt Eddie’s greatest angle. How Eddie was able to become the crazed, intense heel, harkening back to their previous encounters was wonderful stuff. Moment-wise, Eddie winning the WWE Championship and embracing his mother and brother Mando is one of those moments you never forget.

Bautista: Having the Kurt Angle auction and his work with Chyna.

Wagner: Eddie winning the title and the reaction from the crowd. It ranks up there with Mankind winning the title on Raw in 1999. The crowd pop, the happiness, the tears, just everything about it makes it one of the best moments of all time.

Corrigan: All of the Los Guerreros vignettes that catapulted Eddie and his “lie, cheat and steal” mentality into the main event scene. The golf one is my favorite, but don’t forget that Emily in Spanish means “light of God.”

Goodwillie: I’d have to go with the series of angles Guerrero and Mysterio did the summer before Eddie passed regarding “Dominik’s Bed Time Stories.” The whole deal crescendos to Eddie bringing a social worker into the ring in an attempt to gain custody of his “son,” but the situation devolves into Mysterio making a challenge to Eddie at SummerSlam for “all the marbles” to which Eddie replies, “you’re on!” I’m so proud of those segments, but every time I show them to someone, whether it’s friends or even my girlfriend, they always come out of it questioning my taste. But I don’t care! Honorable mention to when Eddie chased Angle into the parking lot, Angle tells Eddie, “be careful with my car!” But Angle gets picked up by Luther Reigns in another car while Eddie goes to town on what he believes to be Angle’s car. Turns out, the car actually belonged to Smackdown GM Teddy Long.

If he didn’t pass away in 2005, what do you think Eddie Guerrero would have done over the past 15 years?

Gelfand: Eddie would have wrestled for a few more years before retiring. His body was already breaking down at that point and the WWE schedule, especially in that time period, was grueling. After his in-ring career was over, Eddie would have become Smackdown GM. That way, he could stay involved in the show, have entertaining segments and only have to work one to two days a week so he could spend more time with his family.

Jackson: Eddie would have won multiple world championships in WWE and possibly beyond. With his daughter Shaul joining WWE, he would have managed or had some influence on her career, and may even have begun training down in NXT. The one thing we all know that Eddie would have done is wrestled! In WWE or beyond, Eddie would have continued to show the world just how talented he was.

Bautista: Eddie would’ve torn the house down with CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and countless others. Chris Jericho and Guerrero would’ve had their big feud. If he left WWE, maybe Angle and him could’ve rekindled their magic in TNA. He also could’ve gone back to Japan.

Wagner: I can’t image Eddie still going at it today, but I could see more world title runs and definitely more memorable matches. Imagine getting that Mania match with Shawn Michaels and headlining a SummerSlam with Randy Orton. Someone like him and Edge, during the peak of his Rated-R Superstar gimmick, trying to out cheat each other would have been magic.

Corrigan: Well, you have to think that the Benoit family tragedy would have never happened and Vickie Guerrero would probably never appear on TV. I don’t think Eddie would have left WWE, so maybe he joins Kurt Angle and Benoit in the new ECW, and then winds down his schedule to eventually become the head trainer in NXT.

Goodwillie: I’ve ran scenarios breaking down all the possibilities, thanks to Adam Ryland software such as Extreme Warfare Revenge and Total Extreme Warfare. Wrestlers aren’t like football players or basketball players. Some guys can hit their stride in their late 30s and continue well into their 40s. I know Chris Jericho just turned 50. Happy birthday, Chris, but you fell off an absolute cliff physically. So, given Eddie’s health history with addiction and PED abuse, I wouldn’t have wanted to see him continue too much longer. That said, he could’ve had another four or five years left in the tank.

I was about to give you guys the cliff notes to my ideas, but it all sort of poured out of me and into another piece. Be sure to check that out here.

What’s Eddie Guerrero’s legacy?

Gelfand: Eddie was the total package. He was one of the best wrestlers of all time, one of the best talkers of all time and had some of the most charisma the wrestling world has ever seen. The way that he could get people to connect with him so deeply as a person and translate that to the ring is a rare quality in wrestling. People like Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy spring to mind as other wrestlers with this quality. And in this current generation, Eddie’s influence is prevalent, most famously with Sasha Banks, who idolized Eddie growing up. Banks has gone on to become one of, if not the greatest woman wrestler of her generation.

Jackson: Summing up Eddie Guerrero’s legacy in a paragraph is an extremely tough thing to do. In a way, it’s an injustice. Where do you start?! Eddie’s legacy is forever growing through the work he left behind and the impressions he made not only on fans, but the wrestlers of today. His story is one of redemption and overcoming obstacles to unparalleled success. You say Eddie’s name to any wrestling fan and they immediately light up with joy. Wrestling was in Eddie’s blood, and his respect and love for the art of professional wrestling is his legacy. VIVA LA RAZA!

Bautista: Eddie is one of the greatest wrestlers ever. An entire generation remains inspired and with the WWE Network even more wrestlers will be inspired by Eddie. Peyton Royce and Sasha Banks have paid multiple tributes to Guerrero and on the second AEW Dynamite, Jericho gave a nod to Eddie.

Wagner: Eddie will go down as one of the most consistent performers in history. Whether it was inside a gymnasium on the indies or in front of 70,000 fans at WrestleMania, Eddie gave the same effort every time and it was always as much as he could give. A master of versatility, he adapted his matches to his opponents’ strengths and was one of the greatest performers of all time.

Corrigan: He’s become the patron saint of WWE. He’s inspired today’s headliners across every company. His ability to overcome his personal demons is also inspiring for fans. Maybe he would have partnered with DDP for the resurrection of Jake Roberts and Scott Hall.

Goodwillie: He’s one of the greatest to ever do it. I’m not shy about that opinion, and I’ll tell it on the mountain any chance I get because I sorely want the younger generation of fans to understand Eddie’s greatness. He had the ability to evoke every emotion out of you, get a good match out of anybody he stepped in the ring with, do things in the ring that would make your jaw hit the floor, and all the while, entertain you with the most unorthodox segments, whether he was humiliating someone like Big Show or Kurt Angle or even himself.

Now, my love for Eddie aside, I don’t think I’d put him on a wrestling Mount Rushmore or anything like that. However, if you’ve ever been to The Comedy Store in Hollywood, the venue is littered with neon signs featuring the faces of some of the most influential comedians. It’s a very cool aesthetic and features names such as Charlie Chaplin, Andy Kaufman and Laurel & Hardy. Let’s say I were to hang a bunch of similar-looking signs in…MSG or wherever your preferred wrestling mecca might be. Eddie Guerrero would ABSOLUTELY occupy one of those spots. No, he wasn’t this crazy draw, and yes, there is merit to Angle’s theory that Eddie’s real in-ring prime probably occurred well before he ever won the WWE Championship (probably 1995-2002). Yet, no wrestler has ever moved me the way Eddie Guerrero has and he has a claim to being one of the greatest of all time. I love him and don’t miss him any less 15 years later.