What’s the story?
Former WWE Champion and current SmackDown Live announcer John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently sat down for an interview with ESPN UK. During the interview, JBL paid homage to his former in-ring rival Eddie Guerrero, who passed away in 2005, by stating that no one would have heard of JBL if it wasn’t for Latino Heat.
In case you didn’t know...
Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minnesota by nephew Chavo Guerrero Jr., and an autopsy later revealed that he had suffered from heart failure due to heart disease that had gone undiagnosed.
The heart of the matter
Here’s what JBL had to say about working with Eddie Guerrero:
"We did the storyline where we gave Eddie's mother a heart attack in El Paso, which almost got me killed. I literally had a police escort out of El Paso and all the way to Odessa. The police told me not to come back, that they thought I would get killed. It was that great. We set an attendance record at Staples Center [in Los Angeles] a few weeks later, and because of Eddie Guerrero, he molded my character. Eddie wanted my character to work.
He then went on to credit Gurrero as the man who made it possible for him to have an incredible run at the right time:
"If it had been anybody but Eddie Guerrero, you would have never heard of JBL. But because of Eddie, I had that incredible run, and it was just the right time. I had the perfect foil in this incredible Latino star, who was one of my best friends."
What’s next?
JBL really thrived off of his feud with Eddie Guerrero and went on to be one of the longest reigning champions in WWE history. He is likely to join Eddie in the Hall Of Fame in the years to come.
Sportskeeda’s take
I can remember JBL and Eddie Guerrero putting on some great matches during their feud on SmackDown and a great title match as well. Eddie will always be missed and truly should be recognised as a huge pillar in JBL's career.
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