10 WWE Title Reigns That Never Lived Up To The Victory
2. Eddie Guerrero (2004)
No Way Out 2004. The ref is down. Goldberg has just flattened WWE Champion Brock Lesnar with a spear, and Eddie Guerrero is sizing Brock up for a shot with the WWE Title belt. But then, to the shock of everyone, Lesnar ducks, and hauls Guerrero up for an F5.
The dream is crushed.
Fortunately, ‘Latino Heat’ nails a tornado DDT onto the belt, followed by a frog splash to win the SmackDown brand's top prize and send the crowd wild. Nobody thought it would happen, but Eddie Guerrero had climbed to the top of the mountain - and the celebration ceremony on the following Friday was utterly joyous moments!
Sadly, a great match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX was as good as it got for Eddie's run, as with a dearth of major stars on the roster, Guerrero began feeling the pressure of being the top guy and quickly relinquished the belt to an over-pushed JBL.
That the last visual of Eddie’s sole WWE Title run is him covered in blood is a travesty, and after his tragic passing in late 2005, on the cusp of his next run with the World Title, it means the one time we had ‘Latino Heat’ on top lasted barely three months.
RIP Eddie Guerrero. Gone for nearly 17 years but never forgotten.