Eddie Guerrero Rememberance Thread

[biggs]

Today is the six year anniversary of Eddie's untimely passing. Considering he's my favorite wrestler of all time, I wanted to start a thread where we can discuss our favorite Eddie Guerrero memories.

I'll do a longer write up later today after church, as there's too much to cover in the time I have right now, but I'll never forget how my parents ordered No Way Out 2004 for me, even though we knew it was going to be a one match card. Seeing Eddie win the belt was one of the happiest moments for me as a wrestling fan.

[Jules]

I watched the RAW tribute show again yesterday. It remains quite moving still today.

[President Jeff]

My favorite moments of Eddie we're some of his matches in WCW, mostly with Rey. As well as his Latio Heat stuff with the Lie, cheat and Steel. Some of his segments with Chavo has me laughing for hours.

[President Jeff]

Also his, I think last match in ECW with Dean Malenko, best 2 out of 3 falls, Great match. I recomend everyone to go youtube it

[Kaji Fireson]

When I saw the title of this thread, the first thing I thought of was No Way Out 2004, because I can't begin to tell you how much that match with Lesnar impacted me, watching it and seeing Eddie FINALLY win the big one, not to mention the match itself (more than a few matches I've written with big guy vs. little guy have had spots pretty much stolen wholesale from this match, and for my main character Kaji, his signature move "Backdraft" is, in my mind, Lesnar's spinebuster on Eddie in that match).

Since biggs already mentioned No Way Out, though, I guess what I'll mention is Wrestlemania, perhaps for no other reason than how Chris and Eddie could stand in the middle of the ring at Wrestlemania 20, each a world champion. I think it's pretty hard to overstate two guys made famous outside of WWE triumphing over two WWE staples on the same night to have that triumphant moment.

[Kaji Fireson]

Oh. Sorry for double post, but I wanted this to have it's own post. I found a poem I wrote in memoriam. Go easy on me, I wrote it in 2005, before I really knew anything about writing poetry.

You faced many challenges in your life,
Both external hurdles and internal strife.
Inner demons haunted you many times,
You were accused of (and committed) your fair share of crimes.
In the end, though, you were an okay guy...
You defeated those fiends and found a new high.
You entertained people and you did it well.
While at it, you triumphed and a champion fell.
You were the man now, and you walked confidently,
As you defended your honor and title successfully.
However, all good things must come to an end...
And another replaced you as the man among men.
You sank into a rut, but then you came back,
You found a new friend who helped fill in the cracks.
With the help of this friend and the support of the fans,
You regained your image and became a new man.

And then it ended.

Far be it for mere mortals to judge our God's will
But for our money, we'd rather have you here with us still...
Whatever the reason, what's done is done...
While you were here, it was a great deal of fun.
In the end, however, all men must play their parts...
You lied, cheated, and stole...and made off with our hearts.
God bless you and may you rest in peace.
Our mourning of you will never cease.
As you rest in heaven on that godly plaza,
your fans down below will cry "Viva la Raza!"

[Jules]

I know jack about poetry, but a touching tribute Kaji. I think my overall memory of Eddie is that he always had that magical power to evoke some emotion in you as the audience. I don't think there was ever a time when I felt ambivalent about Eddie Guerrero, in no matter what guise. His work was always watchable, which is quite incredible given the workload of a the wrestlers of Guerrero's era. Truly, one of the genuine greats of the modern age.

[Reaver]

Nov 13, 2011 11:03:45 GMT -4 President Jeff said:

My favorite moments of Eddie we're some of his matches in WCW, mostly with Rey. As well as his Latio Heat stuff with the Lie, cheat and Steel. Some of his segments with Chavo has me laughing for hours.

edit: STEAL

lol better

[biggs]

Nov 13, 2011 11:04:45 GMT -4 President Jeff said:

Also his, I think last match in ECW with Dean Malenko, best 2 out of 3 falls, Great match. I recomend everyone to go youtube it

Of if you have the 3-Disc Eddie Guerrero set, it's on that one.

The fact of the matter is that Eddie Guerrero is the only wrestler that I would consider a personal hero of mine. From the first time I saw him wrestle, he was one of my favorites. I still remember the first match I ever saw him in. It was a WCW Monday Nitro, where he fought and defeated The Barbarian. As you could probably guess, it was your standard big man vs. little guy match, where Eddie got physically dominated in the early going, but he managed to get the win. I think I was in like fifth or sixth grade at the time, and being small and bullied myself, I really related to Eddie.

Through the rest of my childhood and teen years, I always got fired up when Eddie was on TV. I remember being devastated when WWE fired him. But it was incredibly inspiring how he cleaned up his life, and came back even better than ever. During his second run in WWE, that was when Eddie was firing on all cylinders. You could tell that he took nothing but pride in his work, and whatever his role was on the show he gave it his all. His matches with Chris Benoit were always amazing, his work with Kurt Angle was superb, and even his matches with JBL had such an intensity to them that they were entertaining despite Bradshaw. It got to a point where watching Eddie Guerrero perform wasn't just a highlight of watching a wrestling show for me, it was the highlight of my week every week.

Another reason that I absolutely loved Eddie Guerrero and looked up to him was his stance on his sobriety. On the DVD "Cheating Death, Stealing Life" he has a monologue about how if he thinks about being sober for his whole life, it's impossible, it seems undoable. But if he wakes up and says, "You know what, I can be sober today," then it makes it doable.

(*warning about to get super real, and super open about my life*) Now I was never addicted to drugs, but at the time, I was addicted to online pornography. I had just become a Christian not too long before the DVD came out, and it was something I was still battling. (Heck, I still battle the temptation every day.) But after seeing that interview, I decided to take the same stance on my purity. I wake up every morning now, and tell myself, "I don't have to look at pornography today." and it really works. Eddie helped me in that area of my life. (I later found out that this idea was based on a passage in the Bible, particularly Matthew 6:34.)

To me, Eddie was more than just a professional wrestler, he was an inspiration and my hero. I remember the day that he died was one of the few times I've cried as an adult. The only other time I've cried was when my Grandma passed away. I will never forget the joy that Eddie brought me week in and week out, and I'll always hold onto the lessons he taught me through his life, the value of work ethic and pride in what you're doing, as well as taking challenges one day at a time. When I die, if I go to heaven, I hope that Eddie's there, and that I get to meet him, and have him give me a Frog Splash! There will never ever be another wrestler like Eddie.

[Jules]

That 2 out of 3 falls match can be watched through the link below.



I would also recommend, to anyone interested, looking for the famous Guerrero/Benoit match from NPJW in 1996 (Black Tiger v Wild Pegasus, I think). A genuinely 5-star match.