Eddie Guerrero
Born	October 9, 1967 El Paso, Texas
Died	November 13, 2005 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Black Tiger II Eddie Guerrero Eddy Guerrero El Caliente Máscara Mágica
Billed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Billed weight	[undue weight? – discuss]
Billed from	El Paso, Texas
Trained by	Gory Guerrero
Debut	1987

Eduardo Gory Guerrero [1] (October 9 1967 – November 13 2005) better known by his ring name Eddie Guerrero, was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into a legendary Mexican wrestling family. Through the 1990s, he had a distinguished career, working for every major professional wrestling promotion in the United States during that period: Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Guerrero's in-ring character was that of a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His famous mantra became "Cheat to Win". Despite being a heel for much of his career, he became popular in and outside the ring.

Throughout his career, Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling, including alcoholism and an addiction to pain killers. His problems outside of the ring were sometimes integrated into his storylines. Notwithstanding these issues, Guerrero won numerous titles during his career, including the WWE Championship.

Career

Early career

Guerrero came from a legendary wrestling family. His father, Gory Guerrero, was a Wrestler in Mexico, a prominent wrestling trainer and an influential figure in Mexican professional wrestling. Fighting alongside with El Santo. His three brothers Chavo Guerrero, Hector Guerrero and Mando Guerrero all followed in their father's footsteps and became professional wrestlers. Guerrero's nephew, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. also became a wrestler, while his uncle Enrique Llanes and cousin Javier Llanes wrestled in Mexico. As a boy, Guerrero's father allowed him and Chavo Jr. to wrestle one another during intermissions in the wrestling promotions that Gory held. Gory held wrestling promotions for nearly 15 years in the El Paso Coliseum.

Guerrero was born in Juarez, Mexico and raised in El Paso, Texas 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. He debuted in 1987 in the Mexican Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre promotion. In his debut he And El Matematico wrestled against Flama Roja & El Vikingo .He became a star in Mexico long before he wrestled in the United States. In the late 1980s, Guerrero debuted in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliate World Championship Wrestling (formerly known as Jim Crockett Promotions) as a jobber. While wrestling in Juarez, Guerrero and 5 other wrestlers, were accused of statuary rape on an underage wrestling prostitute, who had become pregnant. Out of the five accused, the Mexican authorities went after Eddie, due to him being American. He then left Juarez and did not return for several years, in fear of being arrested.

In 1993, Guerrero began wrestling in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was known as Black Tiger II. In Mexico, he wrestled mainly for Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion, teaming with El Hijo del Santo as the new version of La Pareja Atómica (The Atomic Pair), the legendary 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. Along with Barr, Konnan, Chicano Power and Madonna’s Boyfriend, Guerrero formed Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans), a heel stable. Guerrero later said that no matter how many people joined Los Gringos Locos, the stable was all about Art. Los Gringos 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.

Guerrero and Barr's first break would come when they were noticed in late 1994 by the owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling, Paul Heyman, and were approached about wrestling for him in 1995. However, Barr died before he could join ECW with Guerrero. As an homage to his fallen friend, Guerrero adopted his friend's finishing move, the Frog Splash.

Guerrero won the ECW World Television Championship on his debut and went on to have a series of acclaimed matches with Dean Malenko before they both signed with World Championship Wrestling later that year. After their last match which ended in a draw in a 2 out of 3 falls match at the ECW arena, the locker room emptied and the two were carried around the ring by their fellow wrestlers while the crowd chanted "Please don't go."

World Championship Wrestling

In WCW, Guerrero found considerable singles success, winning the vacant WCW United States Championship in December 1996 at Starrcade by defeating Diamond Dallas Page. He also won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship twice in 1997. First he defeated Chris Jericho on September 14, 1997 at the Fall Brawl pay per view. He lost the title to Rey Misterio, Jr. at Halloween Havoc but called it his favorite match in the February 2004 edition of SmackDown! magazine and his autobiography (published posthumously). However he regained the title from Mysterio on November 10, 1997 on Monday Nitro. That reign came to an end on December 29, 1997 when he lost it to Ultimo Dragon on Nitro in Baltimore, Maryland.

Despite Guerrero's success and popularity, he 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 alledgely 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). The wrestler, furious, demanded Bischoff release him from his WCW contract on a live episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Guerrero then left the company for a period of months, angry at Bischoff for what he had done. However, 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 rebut this 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 continued refusal to elevate Guerrero and other similar wrestlers.

Guerrero responded to Bischoff's actions by forming the Latino World Order (or l.W.o.), which was understood by the fans to be a mockery of Bischoff's New World Order. The group was an answer to Bischoff's refusal to push Latino wrestlers in ways they felt they deserved. The group eventually grew to encompass almost all the Mexican wrestlers working for WCW at the time. However, Guerrero was involved in a serious car accident in 1999 that cut short the lWo storyline. Guerrero survived the accident and returned to wrestling in a matter of months.

After his return, he helped create the Filthy Animals stable with Rey Misterio, Jr. and Konnan (later growing to include Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, and Disco Inferno). Despite this success, he continued to be displeased with WCW management. When Vince Russo was fired as WCW Booker and replaced by Kevin Sullivan, Guerrero asked for and received a release from his contract. He signed with the WWF in 2000 along with top WCW stars Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn.

World Wrestling Federation

Guerrero and the other WCW wrestlers debuted in the WWF on January 31 2000 as The Radicalz, appearing on RAW and interfering in a match including the New Age Outlaws. During his first match with the WWF, a tag team bout pitting the Radicalz against the Outlaws, Eddie performed his signature Frog Splash off the top rope and severely injured his elbow on the landing. As a result, he was sidelined for several weeks.

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 couldn't resist his "Latino Heat".

Guerrero won his first WWF title by defeating Chris Jericho, for the WWF European Championship with help from Chyna. He and Chyna began a feud with Essa Rios and Lita, which culminated in a European title defense at Backlash 2000, 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. Guerrero successfully retained the title in matches against Saturn and Malenko before finally losing the title to Saturn on July 23, 2000 at Fully Loaded 2000.

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. On August 27 2000 Chyna won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Guerrero claimed to not mind and then begged Commissioner Mick Foley to let him take part in a title defense between Chyna and Kurt Angle, claiming he was afraid that Angle would injure Chyna. After Angle knocked Chyna down with the title belt, Guerrero "accidentally" pinned her while trying to revive her.

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. Just when it appeared that Chyna would leave Guerrero, he proposed to her and she accepted. The engagement was called off when Guerrero was caught showering with two of The Godfather's hos claiming that "Two Mamacitas are better than one!" Guerrero turned heel once again as a result of the incident and was later defeated for the Intercontinental Championship by Chyna's friend Billy Gunn.

The Radicalz reunited in late 2000, assisting Triple H in his match with Steve Austin at Survivor Series 2000. In early 2001, Guerrero feuded with Test, winning the European Championship for a second time at WrestleMania X-Seven with help from Saturn and Malenko. 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 rehabilitation. On November 9, 2001 he was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently released by the WWF three days later.

World Wrestling Entertainment

2002

Guerrero returned to RAW on April 1 2002, attacking Rob Van Dam. On April 21, at Backlash 2002 he defeated Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship. He lost the belt to RVD on May 27, 2002 in a ladder match on RAW. Guerrero then started a feud with Steve Austin, but Austin left WWE before a match could take place. Chris Benoit returned to WWE the night Guerrero lost the title and reunited with him. Guerrero then went on to have a match with The Rock, challenging him for the Undisputed Championship after The Rock sang a version of "La Bamba" with the words changed to insult Guerrero. This occured on July 29, 2002 during Monday Night Raw.

On August 1 2002, Guerrero and Benoit began to wrestle exclusively for WWE's SmackDown! brand. With Benoit starting to focus on Kurt Angle, Guerrero aligned himself with his nephew Chavo, forming the tag team Los Guerreros. 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. The duo entered the eight-team tournament for the new WWE Tag Team Championships and began 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 Kurt 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. Later on, Benoit and Angle won the WWE Tag Team Championships. 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.

Los Guerreros were then given another shot at the WWE Tag Team title and the new champions, Edge and Rey Mysterio. At Survivor Series 2002, Guerrero made Mysterio submit to The Lasso From El Paso. With this victory, Los Guerreros began their reign as the WWE Tag Team Champions, a reign that lasted until they were defeated by Team Angle at the Smackdown TV taping on February 4, 2003 in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania.

2003

Los Guerreros participated at WrestleMania XIX as contenders for the Tag Team Title, along with the team of Chris Benoit and Rhyno. Both teams lost to Haas and Benjamin in a Triple Threat Match.

5 days prior to Judgment Day, Chavo tore his biceps at the Smackdown TV taping. This forced Guerrero to look for another partner. He chose Tajiri. They won the Tag Team Title at Judgment Day in a ladder match. The following week, Guerrero and Tajiri managed to retain their title by cheating. In addition, they also defeated Roddy Piper and his protegè Sean O'Haire in Madison Square Garden. After Guerrero and Tajiri lost the title to Team Angle on July 3, 2003, Guerrero turned on Tajiri, slamming his partner through the windshield of his low-rider truck.

During the summer of 2003, Guerrero had begun driving a customized lowrider to ringside as part of his ring entrance. Guerrero would also capitalize on his "Lie, Cheat, and Steal" anti-hero image by brazenly using illegal tactics behind the referee's back to win matches on occasion. He was well known for hitting someone with a steel chair (or handing the opponent the steel chair and then pretending to be knocked out himself, just as the referee turned around), or using illegal weapons during the match. Despite (or possibly because of) his immoral tactics, Guerrero continued to increase in popularity.

In July 2003, Guerrero competed in a tournament for the WWE United States Championship. He managed to advance to the final round, defeating Ultimo Dragon in the process, where he would meet Chris Benoit. At Vengeance 2003 on July 27, 2003 in Denver, Colorado, 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 ref 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 United States Championship.

At SummerSlam, Guerrero retained his title by defeating Rhyno, Benoit and Tajiri in a four way match. He turned face again by engaging in a rivalry with John Cena. Guerrero challenged Cena to a "Latino Heat" Parking Lot Brawl Match for the WWE United States Championship, which Guerrero won. Chavo made his return in this match, assisting Guerrero in executing his Frog Splash on Cena. On September 16, 2003 at the Smackdown TV taping in Raleigh, North Carolina, Los Guerreros defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team to regain the WWE Tag Team Championships. Eddie Guerrero thus held the United States Championship and one-half of the Tag Team Championships concurrently.

Guerrero lost the United States Championship to The Big Show at No Mercy 2003 in October at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland after a feud which involved Guerrero poisoning the Big Show with some laxative laced burritos and then later spraying the Big Show with a sewage truck. Four days later, Los Guerreros lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to the Basham Brothers. As Los Guerreros attempted to regain the tag team title, things began to go downhill between Chavo and Eddie and animosity began to build, although Kurt Angle did his best to get the team back on their feet. Chavo then attacked Eddie after he suffered a beating from The Bashams.

2004

At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Chavo and Eddie fought each other, with Eddie coming out the winner. As Guerrero's popularity continued to grow, he began seeking the WWE Championship.

When Chris Benoit defected to RAW after winning the 2004 Royal Rumble, using his title shot to go for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, Eddie won a 15-man Royal Rumble style match held on SmackDown! to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. On February 15 2004 Guerrero won the WWE Championship at No Way Out 2004, defeating Brock Lesnar following interference from Goldberg. The victory made him only the second-ever Latino WWE Champion in history (following Pedro Morales). He was champion for over 4 months, including a win against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX. At the end of this event, Guerrero celebrated in the ring with longtime friend Chris Benoit, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Guerrero went on to have smaller feuds with the likes of the Big Show and Rey Mysterio. He also feuded against the then-face John "Bradshaw" Layfield, including a match at Judgment Day in Los Angeles, California on May 16, 2004 which ended in a disqualification after Guerrero hit JBL with the WWE title. The two would then later meet in Norfolk, Virginia on June 27, 2004 at The Great American Bash in a Texas Bullrope match which resulted in JBL winning the title. JBL won after Angle (who was General Manager of SmackDown! at the time) reversed the decision after Guerrero appeared to have retained the title. At SummerSlam on August 15, 2004 in Toronto, Ontario, Angle made Guerrero submit to the ankle lock. Guerrero then allied himself with the Big Show, who also despised Kurt Angle for firing him while Angle was still SmackDown! general manager.

Each week Angle and his new allies Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak began targeting Guerrero and the Big Show. General Manager Theodore Long booked a Survivor Series Elimination Match between a team led by Guerrero and a team led by Kurt Angle. Guerrero's team consisted of himself, Big Show, John Cena (replacing the originally chosen Rey Mysterio), and Rob Van Dam. At Survivor Series on November 14, 2004 in Cleveland, Ohio, Guerrero landed the Frog Splash on Kurt Angle for the victory.

Guerrero, along with Booker T and The Undertaker, then challenged John "Bradshaw" Layfield for a WWE Championship rematch. Along the way, Guerrero found a partner in Booker T. Despite losing two matches in a row as a tag team, Guerrero and Booker managed to get along. At Armageddon on December 12, 2004]] in Atlanta, Georgia, Guerrero and Booker's initial teamwork broke away, and the match ended with JBL pinning Booker following the Clothesline From Hell. Afterwards, Guerrero and Booker briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

2005

On February 20, 2005, Guerrero once again became a tag team champion, this time with long time friend and sometimes rival Rey Mysterio when they defeated the Basham Brothers at No Way Out 2005. Many expected the new champions to defend their title at WrestleMania 21, but after encouragement from Chavo, instead Guerrero challenged Rey to a one-on-one match so they could "bring the house down." The two wrestled a match at WrestleMania with Mysterio getting the win. Although visibly frustrated, Guerrero congratulated his partner. After several mishaps in the weeks following WrestleMania, the growing tension between Guerrero and Mysterio finally erupted when they lost their tag team title to new team MNM on the April 21, 2005 episode of SmackDown! Although they received a match to regain the title, Guerrero turned heel once again by abandoning his partner, whom he had considered "his family" earlier in the show.

At the end of one episode of SmackDown!, he viciously and emotionlessly beat up his former tag team partner, Rey Mysterio, leaving him bruised and bloody after suplexing him onto a set of steel steps. Guerrero 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. At Judgment Day 2005 on May 22, 2005 Guerrero lost to Mysterio by disqualification after hitting Mysterio with a chair.

Several weeks after the match at Judgment Day, Guerrero threatened to reveal a secret about Rey 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. Rey defeated Guerrero again at The Great American Bash 2005, a match with a stipulation that if Guerrero lost, he would not tell the secret. 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". 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. At SummerSlam 2005, Guerrero lost a ladder match over Dominick's custody to Mysterio. Their emotional feud ended at the premiere of SmackDown!, where Guerrero finally gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match.

Following his feud with Rey Mysterio, Guerrero was named number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and given a title match with Batista at No Mercy 2005 on October 9. Despite this, Guerrero quickly proclaimed himself to be Batista's friend. However, Batista was wary of Guerrero and a series of matches with MNM only supported his suspicions, as Guerrero appeared to have reverted to his cheating ways. In response to Batista's suspicions, Guerrero helped Batista win a match against his tag team partners, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Christian.

Batista defeated Guerrero at No Mercy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. 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. 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 WWE 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.

Eddie Guerrero wrestled his final match on the November 11 2005 episode of SmackDown!, defeating Mr. Kennedy to qualify for a place on the SmackDown! team in the 2005 Survivor Series.

Wrestling facts

• Finishing and signature moves

• As Eddie Guerrero
  • Frog splash
  • Lasso From El Paso (Elevated Texas cloverleaf or modified side figure four leglock)
  • Three Amigos (Rolling vertical suplexes)
  • Hilo (Slingshot senton)
  • Splash Mountain (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
  • Brainbuster
  • European uppercut
  • Gory special
  • Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker
  • Tornado DDT
  • Sunset flip powerbomb
  • Hurricanrana
  • Spinning headscissors
  • Top rope senton - WCW
  • Camel clutch
  • Spinning crucifix into a neckbreaker slam - 2000-2001
  • STF

• As Black Tiger
  • Black Tiger Bomb (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
  • Super Black Tiger Bomb (Second rope crucifix bomb)
  • Tornado DDT
  • Slingshot senton
  • Tombstone piledriver

• Nicknames
  • Latino Heat
  • The Late, Great

• Winning tactics
• Eddie Guerrero was known for his "I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal" motto where he often wins matches by using good tactics. Common tactics were:
  • Playing possum while opponent holds a steel chair, appearing that the opponent had attacked him. With this usually the referee was already knocked out, and whilst playing possum, Eddie would sit up and try and shake the referee awake.
  • Smashing the chair on the mat to make it sound like someone was hit then tossing the chair to his opponent, whilst lying on the ground pretending to be have actually been hit.
  • Hitting the opponent with a steel chair behind the referees back.
  • Low-blowing the opponent while the referee replaces steel chair.
  • Also, when champion or facing a champion, Eddie would sometimes use the championship belt in a similar way to the steel chair, by throwing it to his opponent and lying on the mat pretending to have been hit by it.

• Theme music
  • "La Raza" (WCW)
  • "Mamacita" (WWF) (WWE Anthology)
  • "Latino Heat" (WWF) (WWF The Music, Vol. 5)
  • "We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal (WWE) - Los Guerreros (WWE Originals)
  • "I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal" (WWE)
  • "Can You Feel The Heat" (Heel)

Championships and accomplishments

• Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion
  • AAA/IWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with "Love Machine" Art Barr
• Extreme Championship Wrestling
  • ECW World Television Championship (2 times)
• Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South
  • IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Latin American Wrestling Association
  • LAWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • NJPW Junior Heavyweight Super Grade Tag League Championship (1 time) - with The Great Sasuke
  • Super J Cup Winner in 1996
• Pro Wrestling Federation
  • PWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Hector Guerrero
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Comeback of the Year award in 1999
  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award in 2002
  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award in 2004
  • PWI ranked him # 81 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 18 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Art Barr as Los Gringos Locos in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 2 in the PWI 500 list in 2004
  • PWI Editor's Award in 2005
• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW Cruiserweight Championship (2 times)
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling All-Stars
  • WWA International Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)
  • WWA World Trios Championship (1 time) - with Chavo Guerrero & Mando Guerrero

• World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
  • WWE Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Chavo Guerrero (2), Tajiri (1) and Rey Mysterio (1)
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)
  • WWF European Championship (2 times)
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
  • Eleventh Triple Crown Champion
  • Fifth Grand Slam Champion
• Wrestling Observer
  • 5 Star Match: with Art Barr vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagón (AAA When Worlds Collide – November 6, 1994 – Hair v. Masks Match)
  • Feud of the Year award in 1994 – with Art Barr vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagón
  • Tag Team of the Year award in 1994 – with Art Barr as La Pareja del Terror
  • Feud of the Year award in 1995 – vs. Dean Malenko
  • Tag Team of the Year award in 2002 – with Chavo Guerrero as Los Guerreros
  • Most Charismatic award in 2004
  • Best on Interviews award in 2005
  • Most Charismatic award in 2005
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 2006.

Death

On November 13, 2005, Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota by his nephew, Chavo. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie was declared dead when paramedics arrived on the scene. Eddie was 38 years old. During the June 25, 2007 episode of RAW, Chavo said that when he found Eddie, the first person he called and told was Eddie's best friend, the late Chris Benoit.

An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure, caused by undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although Guerrero had not taken alcohol or illicit drugs for nearly four years, his past excesses contributed to his heart failure. At the time of his death, he had recently used narcotic painkillers.

Guerrero's wife Vickie said that he had been lethargic and unwell in the week preceding his death, but it had been attributed to the stress of continuously traveling and performing. She added that the doctors had told her that Guerrero's blood vessels had shriveled and weakened owing to undiagnosed heart disease, and that he had simply dropped into a deep sleep.

On the November 30, 2005 edition of WWE Byte This!, Chavo said that Guerrero had been working very hard and was at peak physical fitness as a result, doing cardiovascular and weight training exercises every day. There had been no symptoms or cause for concern. Chavo noted that, while many people abuse drugs for over ten years with no ill effects, Guerrero had suffered heart complications that were not detected in time to prevent his death, even though he had ceased his drug abuse some four years earlier.

Events following Guerrero's death

Guerrero was set to face Batista and Randy Orton in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship on the November 13, 2005 taping of SmackDown! (which would have aired on November 18, 2005). Stephanie McMahon hinted that Eddie Guerrero had been scheduled to defeat Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship, which would have begun Guerrero's first reign as World Heavyweight Champion and his second world championship reign overall.

The episodes of RAW on November 14, 2005 and SmackDown! on November 18, 2005 each aired as tributes to Eddie 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. A video was then shown featuring many clips of Guerrero in and out of the ring to "Hurt" as performed by Johnny Cash. A similar video was shown on SmackDown to an acoustic version of "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down.

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, while Ring of Honor named their next show "Night of Tribute". NECW (New England Championship Wrestling) also honored the fallen star with a tribute video and their show in his honor.

Guerrero was 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. His widow, Vickie, accepted the honor. Guerrero also appears in the video game, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 as a legend.

Randy Orton took Eddie Guerrero's place on Team SmackDown! at the 2005 Survivor Series and won the match as its sole survivor.

On every house show on the European tour which would led him to Germany (Leipzig, Berlin, Nuremberg), a ten-bell salute occurred and fans stood up in silence to honor Guerrero who died several days before the event.

Eventually, other wrestlers (primarily Chavo, Mysterio, Benoit, and Christian Cage) paid tribute to him in their matches by using Eddie's moves in much the same way as Eddie paid tribute to Barr by using the frog splash as a finishing move Eddie will be sorely missed..

Sports Illustrated steroid investigation

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. That article mentioned several current and former WWE wrestlers, including Eddie who was alleged to have obtained hCG and the steroid stanozolol in early 2005. ^[1]

Media

• Cheating Death, Stealing Life - The Eddie Guerrero Story (DVD, 2004)
• Cheating Death, Stealing Life - The Eddie Guerrero Story (book, 2005)
• We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal - Song with Chavo (WWE Originals)

Notes

References

• Medical examiner's report says wrestling star died natural death
• "WWE Saddened By Death of Eddie Guerrero". Business Wire. November 14, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
• "Guerrero's death spurs WWE drug policy". Chicago Sun Times. November 27, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
• "The Storied Career of Eddie Guerrero". WWE.com. Retrieved 2007-06-26.

External links

• Eddicts.com (Official Website)
• WWE Hall of Fame Profile

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