R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero
By Will Bartos
Monday. Nov 21, 1:31 AM
A tragic event in the world of professional wrestling brings everyone together.

I was relaxing on a Sunday afternoon when a friend of mine got a hold of me through IM. He asked me: "You hear about Eddie Guerrero?"

My heart literally skipped a beat. With the number of wrestlers dropping like flies as of late, I thought the impossible had happened. I directed myself to WWE’s site, and sure enough, the fear had been confirmed.

Eddie Guerrero, former WWE champion, had passed away. He was 38.

I was first introduced to Eddie Guerrero during his runs with WCW. He was much thinner then and put on a pretty decent show. His gimmick at the time was in the cruiserweights, taking on Dean Malenko and Rey Mysterio. I got re-acquainted with him back in 1997, when I saw him in Starrcade. At that point in time, he had become a very convincing heel. He had a talent for fooling the audience into believing he really was that bad.

A few years later, Eddie and a few of his buddies jumped to the WWE bandwagon, before WCW merged with WWE. He would go through many characters during his run: Latino Heat, the "boyfriend" of Chyna, Lie Cheat and Steal, and finally WWE champion. His more recent stories made him a bit more evil, with a Summerslam match going against Rey Mysterio for custody over one of Mysterio's children. Thankfully, that was NOT his last storyline. He was turned back into a face, during a run against the current World Champion, Dave Batista. Guerrero was back: Lie, Cheat, and Steal, the lowrider, the celebration. The fun was back. His last match was against a newcomer, Ken Kennedy. Guerrero won the match via disqualification: by throwing Kennedy the chair and faking as if he had been hit by it. This was vintage Eddie Guerrero. A fun match all the way to the end.

When I last saw him on television, I saw a future World Champion. He was booked right and the audience loved it. The upcoming triple threat match between him, Batista, and Randy Orton all but confirmed that Guerrero would be given the World Heavyweight Championship.

Unfortunately, he won't be finishing that run.

Eddie Guerrero had been an alcohol and drug addict for some time, stemming from a car accident in 1999. Back then, I couldn't tell that he was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. I figured that the substance abuse took a toll on his body, and the final reports confirmed that. He had recently celebrated a four-year sobriety streak, confirmed by his nephew, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. His apparent newfound religion had brought him out from the brink of despair, and propelled him to the heights of wrestling superstardom. He would win several titles during his long wrestling career, including Cruiserweight Champion, United States Champion, European Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion, and of course, WWE Champion. Eddie Guerrero also made history, becoming the first Mexican-American to win the WWE title, defeating Brock Lesnar on February 15, 2004.

I never met Eddie Guerrero. I've only seen him on television. But his death has touched many a person in many worlds, not just wrestling. A special on NBC has aired about the passing of Eddie Guerrero. Two WWE tribute shows have been taped for this purpose. The Raw show was VERY emotional. Save for a few matches, the whole show was nothing but raw emotion and competition. By the time this article hits the web, the Smackdown show will have aired as well, and it probably will feel very similar. As every entertainer will say, "the show must go on." Those who were close to Eddie and his family are probably still reeling from the suddenness of his death. The person hardest impacted seems to be Chris Benoit, his best friend and road partner for over 15 years.

Eddie didn't make a huge impact on my life personally, but his death came to me as an utter shock. I am glad to see that he had a bigger impact on the people he connected with the most. I think Eddie and I could have gotten along great, provided I actually met up with the guy. Everyone close to him (at least on the television and the web shoots I've seen) described him as a fun guy to be around. It's amazing the kind of impact he had inside and outside the ring. Everyone had kind words to say about him.

Although this sounds extremely cliché, I offer my condolences to the Guerrero family. My thoughts and prayers are with you. He will be missed.

R.I.P. "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero
1967-2005
Wrestler, Family man, Champion

WWE.com
Eddie Guerrero Page at WWE

Will Bartos

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