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Eddie Guerrero was an inspiration for many current wrestlers who grew up watching the former WWE Champion. CM Punk has expressed that Guerrero helped him a lot when he was still an up-and-coming wrestler on the independent circuit.
Before Guerrero reached the pinnacle of wrestling in 2004, he was released by WWE in November 2001 due to a drunk driving incident. He returned to the indies and even wrestled a young CM Punk at IWA Mid-South Wrestling and International Wrestling Cartel.
The current AEW star spoke about Latino Heat on Wednesday when he was presented with the Iron Mike Mazurki Award at the Cauliflower Alley Club’s Awards Banquet.
"I had very limited experience with going out and just kind of winging it," Punk said. "I'm an indie kid. We would sit down and map everything out from A to B and man, if you got concussed or the ring broke or a riot broke out or something happened, you didn’t know how to zig or how to zag. You learned on the fly."
He continued:
"But Eddie, that night, made me realize how garbage I actually was, and made me feel like, 'Man, there's so much room for improvement.' And if this guy is willing to step in the ring with me wearing basketball shorts and Doc Martens, I need to up my game to show him respect because none of this is about me." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
CM Punk ended up wrestling Eddie Guerrero five times in March and April 2002. Guerrero later returned to WWE and became one of the hottest acts in the company. He won the WWE Championship in 2004 and was primed for another world title run when he passed away at the of 38 on November 13, 2005.
Eddie Guerrero's legacy is still alive and well in today's WWE
It's been almost two decades since Eddie Guerrero passed away but his legacy can still be seen on WWE television. A new version of Guerrero's Latino World Order was introduced earlier this year with Rey Mysterio as the leader, and Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro and Zelina Vegas as members.
WWE also began using Guerrero's "Viva La Raza" catchphrase for the LWO's entrance theme. Even Dominik Mysterio of the Judgment Day grew his hair out into a mullet, reminiscent of Eddie's Latino Heat days.
What's your favorite moment in the career of the late, great Eddie Guerrero? Share your answers in the comments section below.
