How Good Was Eddie Guerrero Actually?

4. Moments

Eddie Guerrero
WWE.com

The euphoric celebration of the WWE title win is the ultimate Eddie Guerrero moment. Eddie was too small and or too much of a liability for this to happen - and yet, he was too talented for it to not happen. This uneasy dichotomy enhanced the agony and enormity of the moment. People forget that Goldberg interfered because it doesn’t matter; Eddie deserved it, and it was actually handled and structured in a way that didn’t make Eddie look like a fluke champion. 

Eddie was robbed of the actual ultimate moment. WWE is never going to broadcast his shared celebration with Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20 again, and for many fans, the emotion behind the scene has evaporated. Benoit is too evil. The brutally physical manner in which Guerrero and Benoit ascended is too questionable. Was it really worth it? In 2004, though, he earned the moment several times over. 

The “I’m your papi!” promo is so iconic that it has heavily influenced Monday Night Raw under Triple H.  

There’s the usual 2000s WWE sh*t to wade through - quite literally, in the case of Guerrero spiking the Big Show’s burrito with laxatives - but the sheer force of Guerrero’s roguish personality, without making it good per se, allowed him to get away with it. 

His frog splash variants don’t dominate the WWE big stunt highlight reel - Mick Foley and (somehow, still) Jimmy Snuka dominate that field - but Eddie’s splash onto John Cena in their parking lot brawl and his splash onto JBL from atop a steel cage ruled. 

8/10

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!