There are few wrestlers that occupy a position in the hearts of fans quite like Latino Heat. Eddie Guerrero is, to this day, probably one of the most loved and respected WWE alumni in history and thats ten years after his untimely death. The youngest, and probably the most talented, of the Guerrero family, Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes had been a WCW mainstay for five years before he, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit decided to leave at the beginning of 2000. It was the WWF that would make Guerreros name and turn him into a major star, however. A stiff, intense technical standout in the ring almost on a par with Benoit and Malenko, Guerrero had something that the other two didnt, something you cant teach sheer, gonzo charisma and chutzpah. Coupled with an ability to talk, the only thing that got in Eddies way (apart from Eddie himself) was his size. The WWF, later WWE, simply didnt know how to book smaller men in heavyweight main events without running the tired underdog cliché. Eddies best years in the business in terms of performance were twofold. Firstly, between 2000 and 2001: his drink and drug problems would cause his release from the WWF in 2001, but hed return clean and sober the following year, leading to his second period of true greatness between 2002 and 2005. Always magic in the ring, Guerrero managed to intensify the crowds connection with his character following his successful rehabilitation, and never lost it, even after a notoriously disastrous heel angle with Rey Mysterio. Throughout the crapfest of a feud, the crowd were practically begging Eddie to turn babyface again. His matches for the title against Lesnar and with Chavo Guerrero as Los Guerreros are well documented, so heres a bona fide classic you may never have seen: Eddie Guerrero versus Ric Flair at the 2002 King Of The Ring pay-per-view. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1294w0_ric-flair-vs-eddie-guerrero-king-of-the-ring-2002_sport
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.