10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Oct 14)
7. JBL Insisted He Put Over Chavo Guerrero To Honour Eddie
Perhaps the most emotional episode of SmackDown in WWE history, the November 18, 2005 broadcast was written as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero. Monday Night Raw had been the same, putting across the sadness and shock tearing through the promotion following Guerrero's untimely passing just days earlier.
For Chavo Guerrero, it was important that he was able to wrestle on SmackDown and honour his uncle. Even though WWE management told Chavo that he didn't have to work, Guerrero desperately wanted to do so. Stepping up, JBL blurted out that he wanted to wrestle Chavo and also put him over in the middle of the ring.
During an interview with Eric Bischoff for the Bischoff On Wrestling podcast, Chavo revealed that JBL lobbied hard to put Guerrero over clean as a whistle. Recognising his place on the WWE totem pole, Chavo didn't want to rock the boat by having a main event guy job to him.
JBL viewed things differently, this was a way to create some positive energy for the program and give Chavo and the fans something to hold onto. He insisted repeatedly that he be the one to lose.