10 WWE Storylines That Horribly Backfired
8. The Exploitation Of Latino Heat
Eddie Guerreros sudden death in November 2005 cast a pall over the professional wrestling world. The man was one of the most popular guys in the locker room, genuinely liked and respected, even loved by the people he worked with to say nothing of his connection with the crowd. Although several men in WWE could lay claim to being close friends of Guerrero among them his nephew and erstwhile tag team partner Chavo Guerrero it was Rey Mysterio that would benefit the most by the association. WWE had long noted the sizable chunk of their audience with a Latino/Hispanic background, and believed that Mysterio, a world-class high flyer running a luchador gimmick, was perfectly positioned to be their Latino babyface star. Eleven weeks to the day after Guerreros death, Mysterio would win the 2006 Royal Rumble to obtain a World Heavyweight Championship title shot at Wrestlemania 22, a match he would win but it wasnt plain sailing. You see, in typical carny style, the WWE would use the intervening time to and abuse Guerreros legacy, family and popularity again and again. Randy Orton shored up his heel heat by crashing Eddies trademark low rider only two weeks after his death, later claiming that Eddie was in hell, while Triple H hinted that divine intervention from Guerrero had helped Mysterio win the Rumble. Mysterio would receive some of the worst reactions of his career to date as world heavyweight champion, with a very vocal portion of the fanbase criticising him for cashing in on Eddies death by constantly namechecking the popular star. Chavo would make it worse: every one of his storylines for a full calendar year was based around mourning his uncle. 2006 saw WWE go into Latino Heat overkill, to the extent that the only person today who can legitimately get a pop by association is his widow Vickie who, as a bitchy, cowardly heel management figure, pretty much refrained from doing so in recent years until her very last action with the company, thereby ensuring that she showed more class and pro wrestling acumen than any of the wrestlers that knew her husband.