In fairness to WCW, they stuck with Eddie Guerrero through his alcoholism and a near fatal car crash. He was hardly the ideal employee to handle. Despite the problems, Guerrero was still one of very best in-ring talents in world during his 1996 - 1999 WCW run. Eric Bischoff perhaps didn't value this prestigious talent as much as he should have done, leading to an angry backstage confrontation in 1998. Guerrero demanded to Bischoff that he either push his character or give him a pay raise. The WCW President shouted Guerrero down, 'accidentally' spilling hot coffee on the star in the process. Eddie ended up taking time off, his mind turned vehemently against his employer. At the turn of the millennium, WCW's haphazard booking had got too much for him. The company had squandered his talent, so he asked for and got his release. They didn't put up much of a fight to keep him, choosing to allow him to leave. He straight away signed with the WWF, becoming a notable star in the latter period of the Attitude Era. There were more substance abuse problems, including a brief WWF release, but Guerrero cleaned up and was back a short time later. By the mid decade he had became the franchise star of the Smackdown brand, a WWE Champion and the widely considered best wrestler in the world. Tragically he died in 2005, aged 38 he had succumbed to acute heart failure.
