1. The Great Champion
Eddie Guerrero could have gone down as one of the greatest champions in the history of the WWE, or of pro wrestling in general. Sadly, well never get to see that day. He was taken from us too soon. From his priceless showmanship, his great matches and his keen wrestling mind, to his inspirational life story and lofty place amongst wrestling royalty, Eddie Guerrero had all the ingredients needed to make a superstar. It had to happen eventually... In February of 2004, Guerrero won the WWE championship, the biggest prize in all of wrestling. His reign as champion lasted just four months before he dropped the belt to JBL at the Great American Bash. Guerrero successfully defended the belt against major stars like Kurt Angle, Triple H, Booker T, Rey Mysterio and others, but most of his wins were via DQ, which didnt help solidify Latino Heat as a main event-level star, at least from a booking perspective. One wonders just how much the WWE office was behind him during those four months. Could his run have been longer? Could he have been booked better? Who knows? I wasn't there, so I can't say. I will say that the time in question was an era of WWE pulling out all the stops to recapture the waning interest of casual fans. They tried all sorts of stunts to reignite the interest of the in-crowd and to create a new generation of superstars. A lot of mid-card wrestlers (most of whom were wholly deserving, but poorly promoted, in my view) were called up to main event status during this time and Guerrero was one of them. However, he was, in my view, the best of them all and certainly the one with the most potential to stay in the main event position. Sadly, we never got to see this potential realized and that is probably the most tragic thing on this list (from a fans perspective). There was truly no limit to what he may have accomplished as WWE champion had he lived longer and been given a stronger, more definitive, run at the top. Alas, now well never know, but we can at least be happy that Eddie Guerrero, that most deserving of competitors, held the biggest wrestling title in the world at least once in his life. All things considered, Guerrero was able to match the pace at the very top levels of the sport and would certainly have been given other title runs in the future. If promoted correctly and given the freedom to run with his character, there is no doubt in my mind that Guerrero would have joined the ranks of the elite as a truly great champion. However, in the eyes of all true fans he is already there, both as a wrestler and as a Human being. Viva La Raza - CQ