10 Wrestlers Who Turned Down Title Reigns
7. Eddie Guerrero
More than 15 years have passed since the death of Eddie Guerrero, but Latino Heat is as missed by fans today as he has been ever since the horrible news broke. Where Eddie was in his career at the time of his passing shouldn't come into the discussion - he'd be terribly missed whatever - but the fact that he had seemingly put his demons behind him and was primed for another run at the top made it sting that little bit more. Eddie Guerrero died with a single World Championship reign on his résumé, but his career was worth far more than those numbers suggest.
It could have been more, but Eddie himself turned down the title for fear of the damage the spotlight could do. The first refusal actually came when Eddie himself was WWE Champion, and Latino Heat requested the title be taken off him so that Eddie could deal with some personal issues. If you were ever wondering why Bradshaw seemed to fly from the middle of the card to the top, you have your answer.
A year later, Eddie was once again in position for a run as champion. Batista was WWE Champion but The Animal was nursing several injuries, so management decided to go with Guerrero on top. Latino Heat reportedly declined the championship reign, just a few short months before he passed.
With Eddie Guerrero, there are always going to be many 'what if' discussions, but they do seem trivial in the face of what happened. We were lucky to be able to watch Eddie, no matter the list of titles.