WRESTLING NEWS
The Tragic Life Of Eddie Guerrero
By RUSS GOOD
Eddie's Wrestling Family
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes was born October 9, 1967, to Salvador "Gory" Guerrero, a well-known wrestler and promoter in Mexico, winning championships with EMLL as well as several titles in the US. Eddie Guerrero was the youngest of Gory's four sons, and all of them were prominent wrestlers in US and Mexico.
His Dislike For Masks
In his first appearance at the AAA promotion as Máscara Mágica in 1992, Guerrero's teammates helped him remove his mask, explaining to the crowd that he would represent his father and family as Eddie Guerrero. "The only time a wrestler strips off his mask is when he loses it in a match," Eddie explained, "No one had ever done something like that before."
Losing A Tag Team Partner
In 1993, Guerrero became friends and tag team partners with "Love Machine" Art Barr, and he recalled their friendship as more of a brotherhood. Barr passed away in his sleep on November 23, 1994, at 28, and Guerrero admitted that he was blindsided by the news, saying, "I got a call in Japan...I couldn't accept it."
A Brief ECW Career
Guerrero joined ECW in April 1995, defeating 2 Cold Scorpio for the ECW World Television Title at their Three Way Dance event. He began a feud with Dean Malenko, but on August 26, 1995, the two technical masters stepped inside the ring amidst "please don't go" chants from the fans before they left for WCW.
Altercations At WCW
Even after having one of the best matches of his career against Rey Mysterio in WCW Halloween Havoc, Guerrero lacked direction afterward, leading to disagreements with Eric Bischoff. After an argument with Bischoff at a New Year's party, Guerrero took an unsafe dose of Renutrient and fell asleep at the wheel, driving off an embankment.