Eddie Guerrero: 
The Man Who Lied, Cheated, and Stole His Way Into Our Hearts

November 13, 2005, we lost one of the absolute greatest wrestlers in history. Make no mistake about it, Eddie Guerrero was, and still is considered in a class of his own. While most fans will consider the Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Andre The Giant as some of the biggest names in wrestling history, I am willing to bet you’d be hard pressed to find a wrestling fan who doesn’t at least know the name Eddie Guerrero.
At No Way Out in 2004, Eddie finally won the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar. It’s absolutely crazy to think of a wrestler Eddie’s size beating Brock Lesnar these days, and while his win wasn’t exactly “clean,” it was still the culmination of so many years of hard work from a man who never gave up despite all his demons and roadblocks he faced in his life. It’s reasonable that people have even forgotten that he beat Brock that year considering that match was a small understatement on his true crowning achievement: beating Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 20.
The entire match was magnificently built, Angle calling out Guerrero’s past addictions, believing he was not worthy of holding the prestigious belt. Despite everything, Eddie was the champion that the fans deserved and needed at that time. In very much the same vein as the late great Roddy Piper, Eddie was cheered and loved for everything that would booed and hated for by almost any other superstar. His charisma was unparalleled, and when he was at the top of his game, there are few people who could match his speed and skill in the ring. He kept up with Kurt Angle and could go almost move for move with him without missing a beat.
Wrestlemania XX was a grand spectacle all by itself. The fact that an event like this lasted twenty years was worth the show itself. Even back before all ppv’s were $9.99 on the WWE network, people paid close to sixty dollars for a ppv. Despite the fact that there was no shortage of established headliners on the card, they could have gone with Lesnar vs. Angle again or Goldberg, anyone really, they chose to give the biggest moments to two superstars, despite being well-known, who were not necessarily “headliners” just yet. They chose to bet on two guys, who they believed could deliver and allowed them to showcase just that on the grandest stage of the grandest stage of them all!
Now, it’s easy to exclude Chris Benoit from anything wrestling related due to his horrific crime, and the WWE has absolutely done the right thing, in my opinion, by erasing him from WWE history. The entire situtation has put them in a bind, because of Wrestlemania 20 being their biggest event at the time, but there is no denying the absolutely heartwarming moment at the end with Eddie and Chris hugging as they both held their respective world titles in hand. There are so very many moments in Wrestlemania history, it’s possible to say every single one of them has some event worth remembering, and as much as the WWE wants everyone to forget it, this is it. At the very least, this moment should be remembered for Eddie Guerrero. This was just as much his moment as Benoit’s and it was the culmination of so much blood, sweat, and so many tears spilled in the squared circle over the years.
Eddie Guerrero had a storied career, I don’t think there is a single person that would even consider questioning that. Even in WCW, people knew that he was going to be a star. He was a guy that fans could either love, or love to hate, and I truly believe that he had full control over the crowd in deciding how they perceived him, a talent that so few wrestlers past or present have ever had.
This article is not a memorial to Eddie, nor is it a typical tribute to his crowning achievement. This article is just a fan remembering why he was a fan. When he was alive, I admit, like many, that I took him for granted and didn’t realize how amazing he was. Now that I am older and can reflect on it, however, I see that he deserved every highlight, every main event, every storyline, every title, and every fan that ever expressed their love for that crazy, lying, cheating, stealing, madman we know as Eddie Guerrero. Happy Birthday Eddie, I certainly hope that you are watching down from heaven and seeing everyone paying tribute to you, and how you will never be forgotten, us fans will never let that happen. VIVA LA RAZA!