WRESTLER OF THE DAY (Series 2) - EDDIE GUERRERO

[RIPPA]

 

Is Eddie Guerrero your favorite wrestler?

 

He isn’t mine.

 

But that is totally okay.

 

Two years ago – I started the Wrestler of the Day Gimmick in the hopes of generating content. I started on the 8th anniversary of Eddie’s death knowing that Eddie was beloved by many. And that is the thing with Eddie – he doesn’t have to be your favorite wrestler for you to love him. Honestly – I can’t think of a single person who doesn’t appreciate Eddie… at least none that aren’t doing it as an attention seeking bit (and if you are – Fuck You). I can’t think of a single other wrestler like that (maybe Jushin Liger? *shugs*)

 

We all seem to have an Eddie Guerrero story. Mine is how he wrestled Ultimo Dragon in a card held less than two minutes from where I currently sit on the day that I met Dean for the very first time. (A match that the Eddy/Ultimo photo that has been all over this website came from.)

 

Dean will tell you about seeing Eddie on his first trip up to the ECW Arena.

 

Today – I reboot the WOTD again starting with Eddie on what is now the 10th Anniversary of his death.

(Natural has a wonderful post that I am linking too – http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4287-eddie-guerrero-passed-away-10-years-ago-today/)

 

The original WOTD thread

Luchawiki

WIKI

 

[RIPPA]

 

 

EDDY GUERRERO/LOVE MACHINE ART BARR vs. EL HIJO DEL SANTO/OCTAGON:  Masks v. Hair - AAA When World Collide PPV: (REV RAY) 

This was the first real lucha show I had ever seen and it took this one match to make me an Eddy Guerrero fan and an Art Barr fan. Despite the fact that the PPV is in LA, the red, white and blue clad super dicks draw almost unparralled hate from the fans.  Topped off with Art rattling the fan's cages even more by doing "the swim" and assorted other cheap heat tactics to whip the Mexican fans into a frenzy. Eddy almost lawn darts Santo as he rana's him off of Art's shoulders and then they put away Octagon with a superplex followed by the measuring stick of Frog Splashes by Barr. Santo and Octagon rally hitting a great double tope. The psychology comes into play as Santo gets pinned, putting him out of the second fall and thus the whole legacy of the Santo family is in the hands of his partner who rallies to keep the team alive. The final falls starts out with a mix of stuff, Eddy uses Santo's finisher on him, Octagon saves, Santo goes for it and Barr saves. Eddy busts out his father's Gorry Special.  Eddy and Art attempt the sterio topes which ends up with Eddy faceplanting on the floor.  Barr tombstones Octagon rendering him DEAD for the rest of the match. Santo gets killed by Gringos double teams until a miscue and Barr's arch rival Blue Panther runs in and kills him with a piledriver, evening the score and leaving it down to the second generation wrestlers settling the score with each other. Eddy busts out the New Japan Juniors offense but can only get two counts. Eddy's suplexes attempts are eventually blocked and Santo rolls up Eddy as Barr says "where am I?", and the Gringos lose their hair. It's sad that Barr would die shortly after this as with his skills at drawing heat, you've got to wonder what whould have happened had he made it to New Japan and ECW like he was supposed to. Also present at the match was the late Louie Spicolli. You can also listen to Mike Tenay of the past, the one that could and was allowed to actually call matches.

 

 

 

EDDY GUERRERO vs. DEAN MALENKO :  2/3 Falls ECW farewell match. (REV RAY)-  Dean and Eddy had lots of matches that were better than this, but from a crowd heat and respect stand point, I don't think it can be equalled.  This is one of the classiest moments in wrestling I have ever seen.  The crowd was extremely vocal in this as both got their names cheered at the beginning of the match followed by very loud chants of "Please Don't Go".  The match it self is good in that both guys counter stuff that they had been beaten with during the feud.  Eddy takes the first fall after the two fight over a backslide with a cradle.  Malenko quickly scores the second fall after countering an Eddy hop out of the corner into a double leg slam and then into the Texas Cloverleaf.  Each guy kicks out of each others big moves and the match ends when Dean rolls up Eddy and bridges, but Eddy catches Dean's arm so he ends in a draw.  Both guys give their farewells, including Dean who's character of the Shooter never spoke on camera until that moment.  It's a situation that I don't think can be duplicated again.

 

[RIPPA]

The period when Eddie was fired and barnstormed US Indies and we all lost our collective minds

 

 

 

[RIPPA]

Eddie on the 500

 

V1 - #4

V2 - #12

V3 - #39

V4 - #66

V5 - #75

V6 - #2

V7 - #1

 

God maybe we were the fuckers disliking Eddie just to be different. God Bless

[Craig H]

I've spent the bulk of my morning in tears. I knew that I probably should stay away from Twitter and Facebook because it was just going to get the waterworks going, but I figured what was the point when I was already sad thinking about his passing.

 

One of my favorite Eddie moments is a weird one. It was the World War 3 match where the winner would win the title. At that point, Eddie didn't cut promos, he didn't really have his swagger, he was just amazing. So amazing that he totally captivated a young teenage me and immediately became my favorite wrestler. I was CONVINCED Eddie could win that match and become champion. We had a black box to get PPV and other channels for free, so my friends were over watching, and I was talking up Eddie a ton and then was really bummed out when he was eliminated. Looking back, it was pretty clear why and how Eddie became my favorite wrestler of all time.

 

Man...this has been a really rough morning. For me personally, there aren't many people I wish were still alive, but Eddie is one of them. I didn't know him personally, I never met the guy, but he's a part of me that I will never let go of or forget.

[Raziel]

I consider myself priveledged to have seen 90% of the ECW Malenko/Gurrerro matches live, including being part of that crowd for the sendoff.  

 

Gurrerro is who got me into seeking out international tapes to see the mindblowing wrestling I was missing.

[Pete]

 

 

 

Ray and I were front row of the Elks Lodge balcony for this one... Ki was scheduled against a "mystery opponent" and we all lost our ever-loving minds when "LATINO HEAT!" hit the PA. Awesome, awesome match live... it was the lightest we'd ever seen Ki work to that point because you could tell how much respect he had for Eddie.

[RIPPA]

Pete and Ray's review for aforementioned match

 

 

EDDY GUERRERO vs. LOW-KI for the ICW "World" Title : 

PP: Low-Ki beat Eddy Guerrero to retain the ICW heavyweight title. The whole building went absolutely unglued the second "LATINO HEAT!" came over the PA. Eddy truly brought his A-game to Queens, busting out tons of matwork he probably hadn't used in public since before he came to WCW. Ki hung right with him, and you could tell that he respected the hell out of Eddy as this was the lightest I'd seen him work against anyone since he teamed with Santo 

last April. At one point Ki goes for a sunset flip on Eddy, who simply pulls his foot away from Ki's grasp and cinches in a leglock. It's a bizarrely cool spot. Later Ki hits his three-kick combo (which he's thankfully sped up on so it isn't as absurd as it used to be), only for Eddy to grab Ki's foot on the third kick and slap on an STF; Ki stretches for the ropes but Eddy pulls his hand back at the last second so Ki has to use his other hand to get to the ropes for the break. This was an AWESOME sequence. Finish has Eddy go for the frog splash and miss it. Ki drops Eddy and goes up top for a 

Phoenix Splash; Eddy moves out of the way but Ki rolls through and hits a rollup for the clean finish. I heard where someone complained that Ki refused to job to Eddy here, but IMO the finish was fine. Eddy comes in and puts over the promotion's "ace" in a tremendous match... nothing wrong with that in my book. What's important is that this 

was the Eddy of old out there, and he was clearly jazzed to be performing in front of a crowd that respected him. <Rant mode> That said, the throwback behind us from the Storm-Devine match spent the entire match yelling drug/alcohol/DUI insults at Eddy. Folks, I'm a big believer in karma- I believe Australia lost the World Cup bid in their last game because they had felt the need to put 31 goals on the board against American Samoa in an previous qualifier. And I sincerely hope that jackass fucks up at his workplace and winds up in Eddy's predicament. </Rant mode>

 

RD :  This was really great.  As Pete mentioned, this wasn't the usual Ki murderlizing people beating we were used to seeing.  Eddy was bring out the wrestling holds, including the Gory Special and the Reverse Gory Special in the match.  This was a really really good match, but I was really annoyed by the jerks behind us chanting DUI at Eddy.  This are the same type of guys who'd probably mark out if the Sandman made the show.  Eddy looked good here and there is a great potential for some indy shows coming up as long as he stays healthy.

[supremebve]

My best Eddy memory was when me and my best friend bought tickets to Raw, only for there to be a snow storm the day of the show.  The snow was bad enough that Metro shut down, and we'd have to drive into DC in order to get to the show.  We were huge wrestling fans, therefore we got into my friends Hyundai Accent and decided to drive to the Verizon Center.  We spun out, full 360 degrees, three different times, but we made it to the show.  We got there and the arena was next to empty, so they moved us down to the floor.  That Raw was the Raw where Eddy Guerrero won the battle royal that got him the title shot against Brock Lesnar at No Way Out.  After the show, Eddy walked down the aisle shook all of our hands and thanked us for braving the weather and coming to the show.  I was a huge fan of Eddy before that, but that moment made me feel better about being a wrestling fan than any other moment in my life.  R.I.P. Eddy, I'll never forget the day you made me feel like risking my life to see you wrestle was 100% worth it. 

[Brysynner]

Listening to the Jericho podcast today with Chavito and Malenko. They sort of discuss Eddie being the best of all time and I think you can make a legitimate case of him being the best of the modern era. He was great as a heel and a babyface. Completely different in each role he was in, changed everything to get over as a face or be the most hated man in America as a heel. Eddie was probably the only wrestler where I'm 100% certain every night someone would've stormed the ring and tried to beat him up if they didn't see the previous attempts fail miserably. Eddie, I believe, had the most fan run-ins in the WWE. To get that type of heat in the 2000s of WWE Inc. is insane. Eddie was the only one who could make you forget about everything you knew about wrestling and have you believe everything Eddie was doing was real and he was the most evil motherfucker to ever walk into a wrestling ring. So yes, Eddie Guerrero is the best of the modern era and I believe wrestling has not recovered from his loss.

[BurningBeard]

Crazy, time flies - I could give or take his matches pre 2002 and never really bought into him until Los Guerreros started and he got a bloody haircut! From there he quickly skyrocketed into one of my favourites because he was finally showing he was the whole package. Such a good run.

 

I couldn't buy into him as a heel when he turned on Rey because he was so beloved by me and the crowd but goddamn did he try hard to turn the crowd - that brainbuster on the steps was killer.

 

His death didn't affect me as much as my childhood favourites did (Perfect, Rude, Bossman) but the more time has gone on the more I realise how much we missed out on A LOT of potential great fueds and matches

[Brysynner]

Quoting from my own Facebook

 

 

I don't really talk about my love for professional wrestling. Normally I'll post photos or share stuff to win free tickets but I'm gonna talk about Eddie Guerrero today. Today is the 10th anniversary of his passing and words cannot do justice just how great he was at his job. He was the last to get fans believe everything was real and legit. He could you to cheer him and want to share in his joy or he could get you to hate him and want to jump the barrier and attack him. There's no one in wrestling today that can do that.

The first time I can remember watching Eddie was in 1995 on SportsNet Philly or whatever channel ECW was on at like midnight and being awestruck because I had never seen anyone do the stuff he and Dean Malenko were doing at the time.

Then Eddie went to WCW and got to hang with Ric Flair, Konnan, Lex Luger, Sting and we got the "Eddie Guerrero Is My Favorite Wrestler" angle with his nephew Chavo Guerrero Jr., we got get lucha style matches against Rey Mysterio Jr.

Then later on Eddie goes to WWF (now WWE) and becomes Latino Heat, goes on to Lie, Cheat and Steal his way up the WWE rankings. Winning matches by grabbing a steel chair behind the ref's back, hitting the mat with it and tossing it to his opponent while he acts like he got hit with the chair. Later on Eddie got to pin Brock Lesnar in the middle of the ring for the WWE Title. We got some bloodbaths that made JBL a top wrestler and one of his final angles with Rey Mysterio over who was the real father to Rey's son which had the memorable promo with a darkened arena, a steel chair and Rey's mask. No words were spoken but everyone hated Eddie 100% more than they did before he walked out.

So for today, watch something related to Eddie Guerrero. Hell enjoy a free month of the WWE Network and just watch a shit ton of Eddie on the Network (which is on my list of things to do when I get home). If the idea of signing up for the Network is not practical, there's a ton of Eddie stuff up on YouTube. Yes some of it will be campy, but it is all awesome and worthy of a couple minutes of your day.

Rest in Power Eddie

[RIPPA]

[Playa Shunna Ver 3.0]

I saw Eddy live a few times.  I got to go to the first ROH show and see him and Super Crazy up close.  There were some bad matches on that show, and some future super workers, but no one brought the class and polish that Eddy did.  It's hard for me to watch that match back.  I went to the show with my friend Joe.  His story and Eddy's story kind of mirror each other.  He was a drummer in a touring band.  They were involved in an accident, and he suffered some injuries.  He worked hard to get back to playing, but could never play at his previous level.  He was always in pain and became hooked on pain pills.  We spent so many nights where I tried to pull him out of his depression.  We talked about everything, we talked about nothing.  We went to that show and Joe was in a good place in his life.  He was putting it back together, recently engaged, and he seemed really happy.  He was also clean.  We had a great time.  He had a smile that was ear to ear, and that smile was on his face the whole time.  Just like Eddy, Joe was always trying to outrun his demons.  eventually they caught up with him and he passed away.  I didn't go to his funeral....I didn't go to his wake.  We shared a love of music and wrestling.  I just remember being so happy that night.  I always remember that show and always link the 2 together.  They both gave me a ton of great times and memories.  Eddy was an amazing wrestler.  I'm always up for an Eddy match, and I don't think the guy ever had a miss in his career.  He could make lemonade out of lemons.  He's always in my top 5, and tonight I plan to watch a few Eddy matches before bed.  Sorry to derail this into a personal story....it just kind of came out.  I was looking for the Observer bio on Eddy from when he passed, but it is not on line. I have it in print.  If you have not read it, hunt it down.  It is amazing,  

[Lawful Metal]

My favorite Eddie match was against the Rock on a throwaway Raw. Eddie interrupted Rock and cut a promo about how his children idolized him but he caught them hanging a Scorpion King poster in their room. It was so over the top but it was greatness. The match was great too but way too short and way too pointless. A Rock - Eddie feud would've been magical.

[Michael Sweetser]

It's a sobering thought but Eddie Guererro's greatest legacy may end up being that his death directly led to the creation of the WWE Wellness Policy.  It's not perfect, but that has directly led to a toning down of standard WWE style, fewer overall injuries and even saving some lives. 

 

Back to the wrestling - and I think this match is really underrated:

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

 

Tempus fugit. Rest in peace Eddie. 

 

And the actual reason I wanted Phil to review Mania 20:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xituiu_eddie-guerrero-vs-kurt-angle-wrestlemania-20-part-1-2_sport

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6co46_wrestlemania-20-eddie-guerrero-vs-k_sport

[The Natural]

 

Is Eddie Guerrero your favorite wrestler?

 

He isn’t mine.

 

But that is totally okay.

 

Two years ago – I started the Wrestler of the Day Gimmick in the hopes of generating content. I started on the 8th anniversary of Eddie’s death knowing that Eddie was beloved by many. And that is the thing with Eddie – he doesn’t have to be your favorite wrestler for you to love him. Honestly – I can’t think of a single person who doesn’t appreciate Eddie… at least none that aren’t doing it as an attention seeking bit (and if you are – Fuck You). I can’t think of a single other wrestler like that (maybe Jushin Liger? *shugs*)

 

We all seem to have an Eddie Guerrero story. Mine is how he wrestled Ultimo Dragon in a card held less than two minutes from where I currently sit on the day that I met Dean for the very first time. (A match that the Eddy/Ultimo photo that has been all over this website came from.)

 

Dean will tell you about seeing Eddie on his first trip up to the ECW Arena.

 

Today – I reboot the WOTD again starting with Eddie on what is now the 10th Anniversary of his death.

(Natural has a wonderful post that I am linking too – http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4287-eddie-guerrero-passed-away-10-years-ago-today/)

 

The original WOTD thread

Luchawiki

WIKI

 

Great minds think alike so the saying goes with us both wanting to pay tribute to Eddie Guerrero. Glad you liked my post so.

[The Natural]

Cool to read posters Eddie Guerrero memories.

 

My favorite Eddie match was against the Rock on a throwaway Raw. Eddie interrupted Rock and cut a promo about how his children idolized him but he caught them hanging a Scorpion King poster in their room. It was so over the top but it was greatness. The match was great too but way too short and way too pointless. A Rock - Eddie feud would've been magical.

 

I feel for Brian Fowler when this match is brought up as he missed out on seeing Eddie live on the post Vengeance 2002 RAW. That Rock Bottom counter was so crisp.:

 

 

It's a sobering thought but Eddie Guererro's greatest legacy may end up being that his death directly led to the creation of the WWE Wellness Policy.  It's not perfect, but that has directly led to a toning down of standard WWE style, fewer overall injuries and even saving some lives. 

 

Back to the wrestling - and I think this match is really underrated:

 

 

I still remember this match. First one I remember seeing the heel getting a standing ovation, deserved for Eddie's efforts that night.

[odessasteps]

The only time i met Eddy was at the Brian Hildebrand fantasy camp at the 2000 Pillman Show. He seemed moved when i said i loved he named his low rider "love machine" as i was a big fan of Art and Los Gringos Locos.

I didn't see his match(es) from the show on its own, so here is the 2000 show, which of course includes the Benoit/Regal match.

The eddy/d-lo match starts at 1:50:20.

[The Natural]

 

 

[Curt McGirt]

One of the biggest regrets of my entire life is always gonna be Smackdown coming to Champaign and me not going. Mere days later, Eddy was dead. It might've even been his last time on air. I wanted to go just to see him, really...

[The Z]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk5HkA7_1s0

 

 

[Greggulator]

Is Eddie Guerrero the greatest wrestler of all-time? I think there's a case to be made. Like, an excellent one. I'm no expert on New Japan or lucha. But his tournament stuff in Japan was always great. And I know lucha nerds will know more in-depth things, but it really feels like that Locos vs. El Hijo/Octagon match might be the greatest match in that style ever (and maybe just ever). That write-up explains the story so well, of family legacies and betrayals and faith in friendships and the struggle for justice.

 

The Eddie/Dean stuff in ECW doesn't click as well now, but that's not their fault. Those matches directly inspired so many wrestling nerds with the slightest of athletic abilities to pursue the craft, and that's what they held-up as the bellwether. It's like they were Minor Threat -- they essentially invented a style of music with an accompanying ethos (sXe), but then that style evolved into garbage like Earth Crisis or any number of hardcore bands from New Jersey. No one who followed them was able to match the emotion of an athletic rivalry. The send-off was the first of its kind in American wrestling and, yes, can never be duplicated -- the emotion and respect was real.

Eddie in WCW was spectacular. I think he and Dean did an amazing job translating the aerial cruiserweight style for a US audience, particularly one that evolved more from watching Tully and Arn than Hogan and Savage. Eddie was a mat wrestler who sometimes flew, whereas Dean was a smaller guy who grounded flyers but was harmed by their offense. The Eddie/Rey match from Halloween Havoc is still a perfect match and arguably the best match from he late 90s WCW style. My favorite random Nitro match ever is Eddie and Juvi (LWO era dudes, with Juvi playing Stevie Ricardo as a fawning toadie) against Rey and Kidman. It's just this insanely well-executed match.

Then Eddie was in some of the best matches in WWE history, once he mastered a more theatrical style. Eddie/Brock and Eddie/JBL were amazing. The Smackdown Six wouldn't be what it was without him and Chavo. But his legacy with Rey was the apex -- Eddie's dead eyes when he finally turned on Rey; screaming at the mask in the ring; tormenting Rey and Dominic. I absolutely loved that feud, which culminated in some of the best wrestling goofiness of all-time, with the custody of a child hinging on the fate of who could grab a briefcase on top of a ladder first.

So, yes, I think he might be the best wrestler ever. He mastered every style possible, and also invented a few along the way.
 

Eddie Guerrero Is My Favorite Wrestler.

[NikoBaltimore]

I'm not sure if the thread from 10 years ago is still somewhere in the archives, but holy crap was that day intense.  Was doing yardwork and felt like taking a break and checking the board.  As soon as I saw the news my jaw hit the floor and I was in a weird state of shock the next couple days.  Sometimes I cried, sometime I just fired up matches and watched them.  There's been many wrestling deaths before and after Eddie, but I never seen one draw the reaction that his did aside from legends like Piper and Dusty (Warrior too)  That thread was just so sad with people feeling numb and sad and definitely not wanting to believe it was true.  What really got me is that he had his book and DVD where he explained all the hell he went through.  For all we knew he over all of that and was champion.  That just really hurt a lot to see his past catch up to him after seemingly overcoming it.  It would be similar with Jake Roberts, if he passes after overcoming all he went through that would hit extremely hard.

 

And Player Shunna, holy crap that's one helluva story.