Eddie Guerrero was a Mexican-American wrestler who was born into a distinguished family of Guerrero wrestlers. His passion for wrestling and entertainment came naturally to him. Prior to entering the leading rings in the United States, he fought in Mexico. He also participated in extreme wrestling competitions, which allowed him to get the title. In addition to being extremely popular with wrestling fans due to his magnetic personality, he became the top wrestler on SmackDown, the television wrestling program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His remarkable versatility as well as gimmicks caught the attention of the audience and he was able to win several championships before his career was brought to a h alt by drug problems. He soon regained his position by winning the WWE Tag Team Championship, which returned him to the main ring. He continued to compete for prestigious titles. However, Eddie's career was tragically cut short by his untimelydeath. He is fondly remembered as one of the most spectacular wrestlers of his time and continues to inspire aspiring wrestlers.
Childhood and youth
Eddie Guerrero was born on October 9, 1967 in El Paso, Texas, to Gory Guerrero, a former professional wrestler, and Gerlinda. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1985 and then went to the University of New Mexico on an athletic scholarship. Soon he was consumed by student wrestling.
His brothers - Mando, Hector and Chavo - are also professional wrestlers. He had two sisters, Maria and Linda. Often, Chavo and Eddie accompanied their father on wrestling-related promotions and wrestled each other during breaks.
Career
Eddie Guerrero joined CMLL, a professional wrestling organization in Mexico City, and became a member of the Mexican freestyle wrestling federation (Lucha libre) Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. He, along with El Santa, created a team that was known as "The Atomic Couple".
He later partnered with Art Barr and they soon became a notable duo. Paul Heyman of Extreme Championship Wrestling wanted to join them, but Barr passed away in 1994 before they could team up.
He later started wrestling in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was popularly called the reincarnation of the Black Tiger. His comeback in 1996 proved successful as he won the junior heavyweight tournament.
He won the ECW Championship in his debut matchfor ECW in 1995 and later signed up for World Championship Wrestling. He competed in WCW and mostly wrestled Terry Funk.
Since 1996, he has won a series of titles. It was primarily the US Heavyweight Championship. He defended the title in 1997 by defeating Scott Norton. He then admitted defeat and gave his title to Dean Malenko. Later in 1997, Guerrero fought and won the heavyweight championship.
For Eddie, the appearance of his brother Chavo in the ring was very dramatic. They regularly feuded and appeared in different commercials. The family aspect of the duo attracted more viewers.
He formed the 1998 Latino World Order (LWO) under Eric Bischoff's WCW Championship.
The LWO was mostly Mexican wrestlers working for WCW. However, the LWO was brought to a h alt when Eddie was injured in a car accident. Upon his return, he founded Dirty Animals with Rey Mysterio Jr. and Konnan.
Eddie Guerrero joined the World Wrestling Federation in 2000 and soon won the European Championship and his first Intercontinental Championship. His addiction to pain medication resurfaced around this time and he went to rehab. He was later arrested for drunk driving and consequently was kicked out of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation).
He wrestled as an independent wrestler from 2001 to 2002 and won the WWA (World Wrestling All-Stars) Heavyweight Championship. He relinquished this title when he later returned to the WWF.
EddieGuerrero won his second Intercontinental Championship when he returned to the WWE (former WWF) in 2002. He soon began wrestling for SmackDown and formed the Los Guerreros team with Chavo. The duo soon won their first WWE Tag Team Championship. His fame grew.
At the height of his career, through a series of matches and championships in 2004 and 2005, Eddie established his position by retaining several titles including WrestleMania and the Tag Team Championship.
He defeated Brock Lesnar and it made him a Grand Slam champion. He then fought Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX and retained his title.
He defended his WWE title on Judgment Day when he defeated JBL (John Bradshaw Layfield). The match, however, was bloody.
He lost to Kurt Angle at SummerSlam. Later, after Guerrero joined Big Show, Angle often harassed them along with Luther Raines and Mark Jindrak. Guerrero's team included: Big Show, John Cena and Rob Van Dam. They eventually defeated Angle's team.
Eddie Guerrero was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship and was supposed to fight for the title match against Batista alone but lost to him.
Guerrero, Booker T and The Undertaker called JBL. It was a rematch for the WWE Championship. Guerrero and Booker T performed as a team. However, during the match, they nevertheless dispersed and performed on their own. As a result, they fought: The Undertaker against Eddie Guerrero, and JBL against Booker. Eddie and Booker teamed up again, but failed to win the title.
Bthe final match, which took place on November 11, 2005, he fought Kennedy.
Awards and achievements
Eddie Guerrero has been inducted into the WWE, AA, Wrestling Observer newsletter and halls of fame.
He was the 11th greatest wrestler of all time in a WWE poll. Ric Flair, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Sean Michels consider Guerrero the greatest professional wrestler ever.
Private life
Eddie Guerrero married Vicki Guerrero on April 24, 1990 and has two daughters, Shaul Marie and Sherilyn Amber.
During a brief separation from his wife, Eddie had a relationship with Tara Mahoney. As a result of this relationship, Kaylee's daughter Marie was born. Although the wrestler reconciled with his wife, he and Tara continued to be close friends.
Death of Eddie Guerrero
He died on November 13, 2005 at the age of 38 in Minneapolis. He was found unconscious in a hotel room by Chavo, who attempted CPR. However, the medical workers who arrived declared him dead. An autopsy revealed death from acute heart failure, which was a consequence of atherosclerosis of the cardiovascular system. Eddie Guerrero's funeral was held at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale, Arizona.
