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Eddie Guerrero is one of the most iconic and influential WWE Superstars of all time. During his time with WWE, Latino Heat was able to build some great relationships and become the WWE Champion.
Although he hit his prime in the mid-2000s, Guerrero tragically passed away on Nov. 13, 2005. His sudden death left the WWE Universe stunned as there was so much more that he could've achieved had he been blessed with a few more years.
Even though his tenure with the company lasted just over five years, he managed to touch a lot of lives and inspire a generation of new Superstars, who still idolize him.
Kurt Angle has called him the second-best wrestler of all time, while WWE has listed Eddie Guerrero as the fifth-greatest wrestler in the SmackDown history.
"[Eddie] could have been the absolute greatest of all time because when I wrestled, he was still in that top three we were talking about, so Eddie had it all. He was so entertaining, but he also had all the technique. He was such a great wrestler and he got it. He got finishes. He knew how to structure them."
Several current and former WWE Superstars have also shared some interesting backstage stories related to the former WWE Champion. Let's look at five such stories following the Eddie Guerrero's 53rd birthday.
#5. Eddie Guerrero didn’t want Rey Mysterio to lose his mask at Halloween Havoc
Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero were the closest of friends, which allowed them to deliver great matches and a memorable rivalry WWE. Their WCW Cruiserweight Championship at WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 was one of the most iconic matches of their respective careers.
According to Mysterio, the original plan was for him to lose his mask during the match, an idea he wasn’t really in favor of. However, Eric Bischoff threatened to sue Mysterio if he didn't do so, which made Mysterio even more unhappy with the decision.
However, Eddie Guerrero didn't want Mysterio to unwillingly lose his mask and backed his friend up against Bischoff.
"I remember getting in there a day or two early before the pay-per-view and we saw Eric [Bischoff] at the Betty Boop Bar, at the MGM Grand [Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada], which is right there at the entrance and I remember I wanted to talk to him. And it was very brief, but I told him that I wasn't comfortable doing that match, especially, well, I wasn't comfortable losing my mask. And he was like, 'Rey, you have to do what you're told [because] you're under contract or else you'll be in breach of contract', so he was really getting at me that day. That whole week was a nightmare, man."
"Eddie [Guerrero] did tell me, 'if you don't want to do this, we don't have to,' so he was backing me up 100%."
WCW changed the outcome of the match at the last minute, and Mysterio won the match and the title from Eddie Guerrero during the show instead. The story speaks to how much he respected Mysterio and his beliefs during their time together.
#4. Eddie Guerrero ensured Dominik Mysterio was comfortable during their storyline
In 2005, Eddie Guerrero took part in a noteworthy rivalry with his friend Rey Mysterio that turned into a bizarre but memorable storyline. During an episode of WWE Untold titled ‘Rey, Eddie & The Rumble’, fans got to learn about a story about Dominik and Eddie Guerrero from the time when they were filming for the storyline.
"I remember very vividly the scene where I was filming with Eddie in the park. We did maybe 5 or 6 takes, and after every take, he would ask me, "Are you ok?", and then he would hand me a twizzler. I believe I was in third grade at the time. Everyone would ask me, "So, who really is your dad? Is it Eddie? Is it Rey?" And I'd be like, "Well, it's Rey." That was always the question every time I got back. Still to this day, people are like, "So who really is your dad?"
While Eddie and Rey had a very heated rivalry on-screen, Eddie was kind enough to make sure Dominik to ensure that the young man didn't feel too much pressure.
#3. Vince McMahon saw Eddie Guerrero’s potential when he was with The Radicalz
In 2000, Eddie Guerrero debuted in WWE as part of The Radicalz along with Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and Perry Saturn. The faction interfered in a match involving The New Age Outlaws on the Jan. 31, 2000 episode of RAW and established themselves as faces on the flagship show.
Speaking on his podcast Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho revealed that Vince McMahon saw Eddie Guerrero as the breakout star of the faction long before anyone else noticed him.
"When he came to WWE with [Chris] Benoit and Dean [Malenko] and Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero came as The Radicalz, about two weeks in, I was talking to Brian Gewirtz, who was the head writer at the time, and he said, we were talking about Benoit. 'We'll work with Benoit - we'll do this. We're going to have you do something with Eddie.' I said, 'okay, that's fine.' And he says, 'Vince says Eddie is 'The One'' because at the time, this was pre-Latino Heat. Eddie didn't have that personality yet and Vince saw it two weeks in. He said, 'Eddie's the star.' I said, 'Eddie over Benoit, over Perry, over Dean?' He said, 'Vince says he's the star.'" Jericho noted, "and look what he turned into."
While Guerrero still hadn’t debuted his iconic Latino Heat persona, McMahon was able to spot the Mexican WWE Superstar's star power. Eddie would go on to become the WWE Champion years later.
#2. John Cena learned a lot about wrestling from Eddie Guerrero
John Cena is one of the most famous WWE Superstars of all time. Cena has managed to turn his name into an international brand. He is recognized as one of the finest entertainers to emerge from WWE. Notably, Cena is another WWE Superstar who has thanked Eddie Guerrero for his guidance and knowhow on several occasions.
Cena appeared on the After the Bell podcast with Corey Graves where he spoke about the time when Eddie Guerrero competed against him for 25 minutes in South Africa. During the match, he revealed some secrets that helped him grow as a wrestler.
"I remember the first time Eddie was like, 'Okay, just you and me here tonight. I'll see you out there tonight.' It was an outdoor tennis court in South Africa, and we went 25 minutes, and it was awesome. He was kind enough after the match, and I would be like, 'Eddie I heard this out there, why did you tell me to do that?' And that's when his face lights up like, 'Okay, now I get to tell you some of the secrets. This is what you do, this is what you don't do, this is why I did this, did you hear when they were like this, and I said this, and I said shut up, and don't do anything that's because we missed it. It was too late.' So, like, that's how I learned to wrestle."
This shows that Eddie Guerrero was not only one of the best wrestlers WWE ever saw, but he was also ready to help out younger talent and give them a platform to build their careers.
#1. Eddie Guerrero got into a real fight with Kurt Angle
Earlier this year, former WWE Champion, JBL, shared an interesting story from 2004 with the WWE Universe. JBL has worked with some of the best WWE Superstars, and he was fortunate to have shared a locker room with Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle.
JBL recalled a match between Guerrero and Angle that didn't go as expected. Afterward, the two men came to the back and got into a real-life fight. Eddie Guerrero decided to leg dive Angle, and the well-known rivals got into a brawl.
Head of Talent, John Laurinaitis, had to jump in and separate the two WWE legends to break up the fight.
“I was sitting in a dressing room one time all by myself...I’d always sit near Eddie Guerrero. I enjoyed talking with Eddie, BS’n with Eddie and I’m in the dressing room on this day and Eddie is in the ring with Kurt Angle. Well, apparently, something happened in that match. And as they come back, Eddie and Kurt get into a physical fight. Eddie leg dives an Olympic gold medallist. Now, Kurt Angle was not good in high school. He was not really good in college. He was the best in the world.”
“As they come back down the hall, I can hear this whole fight going on and I’m the only one in the dressing room. And as they get back through, Eddie is on this side of the door and Kurt is on the other side. Head of talent relations John Laurinaitus shuts the door and leaves Eddie with me on the other side in this big empty dressing room.”
“So he comes and sits next to me but he’s just staring at the door and he’s breathing so loud you can hear him breathing. And I looked at him – he’s still looking at the door – and I looked at him again and said ‘Eddie, why would you leg dive a gold medallist?’ And he says ‘because I’m STUPID!'”
This is one of the most interesting WWE backstage stories about Eddie Guerrero that we’ve heard from a former WWE Superstar.
