How Good Was Eddie Guerrero Actually?
9. Promos
Out of all the “WCW should push the cruiserweights!” guys, Guerrero was the most realistic. It was very obvious to everybody - with the unfortunate exception of WCW decision-makers - that Guerrero had the personality and verbal skills to rise up the card.
It didn’t take long for the WWF to grasp what they had with Guerrero. While his characterisation was stereotypical, fiery sex-wanter Guerrero was a riot throughout 2000. Even under the trappings of his one-dimensional character, Guerrero oozed charm with his attempts to seduce - and stay out of trouble with - Chyna. Not everybody is capable of playing WWE characters with gusto. Some look visibly embarrassed, or unable to project the silliness of it all. Guerrero was a joy.
There was a dark side to Eddie Guerrero, whose relative failings in WCW were not exclusively the result of its systemic incompetence. He was an angry perfectionist who demanded the absolute best from himself. He could be very moody when he felt that his immense talents went overlooked; this resulted in several missing months from the WCW chapter of his career. In 2005, playing heel in a twisted telenovela with Rey Mysterio, Guerrero harnessed this side of personality to genuinely chilling effect. The man was utterly incredible as the biological father of Dominik Mysterio, strutting from mode to mode with an effortless panache.
The cruel relish with which he bragged about it; the overfamiliarity of his “Dominik, what’s up, homes?” greeting; the latent menace of a sick man foaming at the mouth over imminently destroying somebody’s life: Eddie was as diabolical as possible for a modern wrestling heel to get.
8/10