Yesterday, the WWE lost one of its greatest performers. You’ll no doubt read (or have already read) numerous bios, spotlighting Guerrero and his involvement in a fantastic wrestling family that started with his father Gory, continued with Eddie, and his brothers Mando, Chavo and Hector, and continues with Chavo, Jr. You’ll also read about Eddie’s struggles with substance abuse and how it nearly ended his career several years ago. I know that I’m known as the historian of the Oratory site, but I’ll spare you the
History lesson in this instance. Mine is not the first (nor will it be the last) Guerrrero tribute, so you’ll no doubt get all the history you need.
I know that I haven’t put out too many actual columns in recent months. These days unfortunately, it takes something special to inspire me to write a full fledged wrestling column. This is not because I don’t like writing. I love it. It’s largely because these days, I haven’t found much of today’s wrestling very inspiring. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those elitist marks that piss all over everything that the WWE does and swears by Japanese wrestling and the US Indies. I’ve simply found that there’s far more entertainment and not enough sport in today’s WWE product. That’s just the way my tastes lie. I haven’t been completely against the WWE in recent years. I still watch it, as there are still some good reasons to watch the shows.
One of those reasons just passed away.
EARLY MEMORIES OF EDDIE GUERRERO
The first time I saw Eddie Guerrero in action, was in the 1993 Top of the Super Jr. Heavyweight tournament. I had begun collecting wrestling tapes around 1992, and fell in love with the Japanese Jr. Heavyweight Division. Seeing Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio mix it up with the likes of Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Shinjiro Ohtani and loads of others was an incredible thrill. Especially since the average person didn’t have access to Japanese wrestling at the time. A year or so later, I was watching another Jr. Heavyweight tournament and saw a wrestler called Black Tiger II. He was fantastic. Before too long, I found out that this guy was also Eddie Guerrero.
As I continued to watch wrestling over the years, I found that some of my fondest memories and favorite matches seemed to involve Eddie Guerrero. WCW was getting kind of stale back in 1994 when they co-produced the “AAA When Worlds Collide” PPV. There, the general public got their first real look at Guerrero on the US stage. And what a look it was! Guerrero and his partner Art Barr were the hated team of Los Gringos Locos. Their gimmick was fantastic. In the US, you could always count on a Russian team or a Japanese team to be the heels. They’d shout at the fans about how their country is great and how Americans are terrible. Most recently, we saw this in the USA v. Canada angle with the Hart Foundation in 1997. Well, in the Mexican AAA promotion, we saw the same thing, but it was Guerrero and Barr embracing the United States and getting incredible heel heat for it. You could often see Guerrero and Barr coming down to ringside walking backwards and swinging their arms like they were swimming the back stroke in a blatant reference to Mexicans being referred derogatively as “wet backs”.
The match at this PPV was a Mask v. Hair match between Guerrero & Barr against 2 of AAA’s biggest babyfaces in Octagon & Hijo Del Santo. It was by all accounts a virtual 5 star match which saw Los Gringos Locos lose the match, and their hair. This loss was the greatest thing to happen to either them in their entire careers, as WWF, WCW and the fledgling ECW quickly took notice of this fantastic team and were lining up to offer both Guerrero and Barr a shot at the big time. Tragically though, Only one of them would make it, as Art Barr would be found dead less than 3 weeks later. Drug use was speculated as the leading cause in his death. Eddie would go to ECW by himself and distinguish himself as one of the best workers in the promotion with a series of absolutely phenomenal matches with Dean Malenko. I remember watching Malenko and Guerrero go at it on more than one occasion not just in ECW, but in Japan as well, and they were a true sight to behold .
NOT ALL OF EDDIE’S VICTORIES TOOK PLACE IN THE RING
As happy as I’ve been with Eddie’s in-ring talent, I can honestly say that I’m even happier with how his life changed outside of the ring. When he died, Eddie had just celebrated 4 years of being clean of drugs and alcohol. This was something that he was extremely proud of, and had just the previous day or so ago, told Chavo this very thing. Eddie had also recently accepted Christ and was very proud of his new life as a Christian.
The last couple of years of Eddie’s career have been a testament to the victory that Eddie has achieved over the various demons that have plagued him during his career as a wrestler. Like many wrestlers, Eddie struggled quite a bit with drugs and alcohol. In May of 2001 Eddie was working for the WWE when he was checked into rehab to sort himself out. After leaving rehab, he began working house shows with the WWE, but in November of 2001, Eddie was arrested on a DUI charge and was subsequently released by the WWE. Eddie took the time to straighten himself out, and refocus. After working with several independent groups over the course of the next several months, Eddie made his return to the WWE and threw himself into his work with a vengeance. For the next 2 years, we were treated to some of the best stuff that Eddie produced during his entire career. Eddie was rewarded for his new lease on life with a rise up the card from mid-card singles competitor to Tag Team Champion alongside his nephew Chavo. The best was yet to come in 2004 though, as Eddie would defeat Brock Lesnar at the No Way Out PPV to win the WWE Title. This was the culmination of a Cinderella story here, as Eddie struggled from the lowest points in his life to not only regain his career, but to ascend to the top of the Wrestling world and the World Title. In a very emotional moment, Eddie would celebrate with Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 20 after Benoit finally won the RAW World Heavyweight Title.
So often, we watch wrestlers work their asses off, and receive nothing in exchange for it. Internet fans whine and cry about how so many deserving wrestlers don’t get their day in the spotlight. Guys like Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn come to mind. In 2004, we saw 2 of the best workers in the US get their just due, as both Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit reach the mountaintop after nearly 20 years of climbing. For those of us who had been watching them for most of their careers, it was easily the high point of the year. I couldn’t have been happier for Guerrero and Benoit. Benoit came back from a neck injury that most people thought should have ended his career. Eddie came back from an abuse problem that just as easily could have ended his career. Eddie was rewarded for changing his life. And we as fans got to share in the reward by still being able to watch and appreciate Eddie as he took his place as a legitimate main event player in the WWE.
PASSING THE TORCH: THE ORIGIN OF THE FROG SPLASH
It was in ECW Guerrero began using the Frog Splash as his own personal finisher. What a lot of new fans don’t know, is that the Frog Splash was actually Art Barr’s finisher. After Barr’s death, Eddie began using the move as a tribute to his partner. Eddie never stopped honoring his fallen partner. He took the Frog Splash with him from ECW to WCW and of course into his celebrated run in the WWF. Most fans just looked at the move as Eddie’s finisher of choice. Those of us who knew though, understood that this was Eddie’s way to pay respect to Art Barr and in his own way, make sure that he would not be forgotten. Hopefully now, Art can personally tell Eddie thanks for keeping his memory alive. It would be a fitting tribute for Eddie to maybe see the floundering Kerwin White revert back to Chavo Guerrero and truly honor his Uncle.
There’s no way that Chavo would have wanted to boost his career at the cost of Eddie’s life. But I can think of no better person to continue to honor Eddie Guerrero than his nephew. Just as Eddie honored Art Barr by adopting the Frog Splash as his own, I’d love to see Chavo adopt the Frog Splash in rememberance of his Uncle Eddie. It would be quite similar to a torch being passed down from one worthy competitor to another. And a fitting tribute to a great wrestler, and a fantastic entertainer.
GOING OUT ON TOP
I’m very glad that in the end, Eddie went out as a babyface. Eddie had recently been a heel, feuding with Rey Misterio. After going a few rounds against Batitsta, Eddie appeared to be trying to lull Batista into thinking that they were friends. It looked to me like they may have been using this angle as a way to give Eddie some new life as a bigger heel, but we never found out, as Eddie was still playing the role of a babyface when he died. In the end, this was for the best. I recorded Smackdown and watched it the night before Eddie died. Eddie’s last televised match was a DQ victory over Ken Kennedy, and an almost perfect send off for Eddie, despite the fact that we didn’t know at the time that he was going anywhere. Eddie recently gave his life to Christ, and was very proud of his newfound Christianity. I don’t find it unbelievable that God knowing that he was going to be calling Eddie home, decided give him one last night to go out in style and give the crowd something to remember him by
We got to see Eddie come down to ringside one more time in a tricked out ride. We got to see the “Latino Heat” of old, flipping switches and making his car bounce to the delight of the crowd. And we got to see Eddie “Lie Cheat and Steal” one last time. He wrestled a grat match, and damned if he didn’t use my favorite sneaky trick “The ghost chair shot” to win the match. (and for those of you who are curious, this spot isn’t new. I saw Michael Hayes of the Freebirds do this to Rick Steiner nearly 15 years ago. It was a great spot then, and Eddie did it even better this past week.). Eddie might not have pinned Kennedy, but he still went out with a victory and left to the crowd’s adoration.
I have to say that I’m extremely happy that this was the last match that I saw of Eddie before he passed away. That match made me happy. We all wish that we knew that this would be the last time that we’d see Eddie on this earth. If we did, we’d have given him a longer ovation. We’d have told him how much we appreciated him and everything he gave us during his career. I imagine that Eddie would have grabbed the mic and thanked us for supporting him through thick and thin, and for being there cheering for him at the end. As far as I’m concerned though Eddie, you didn’t need to thank us. You went out there and put your body on the line for us. You gave your best every night. You were a wrestler in world of Sports Entertainment. You were one of the reasons why I still turn on the WWE. And whether you were a face or a heel, I still cheered. That’s how good you were. And that’s how I’ll remember you.
Good Bye Eddie. Thanks for giving me a reason to keep watching.
-Corey
