Most can remember when they heard the news. Perhaps it was the photos plastered all over the internet, or a wrestling buddy calling you to tell you what he just heard. Or maybe you didn’t learn until Raw the next day, when a very emotional tribute show was held in honor of Latino Heat.
Eddie was in his hotel room after a show and dinner with his nephew Chavo. When nobody had heard from him the next morning, Chavo was alerted and found Eddie on the floor of his room. Eddie was already gone. It was not until many weeks later that we learned the cause of death of the beloved grappler. Eddie had untreated heart disease and an enlarged heart from his years of drug abuse. Those close to him claimed he had just celebrated four years of sobriety, but his autopsy might have suggested otherwise.
The next few weeks in WWE proved difficult for most. Performers that knew and loved Eddie found it hard to deal with his death, especially to be able to perform. Many dedicated their next few matches in honor of his memory. Other wrestlers who had known and loved Eddie, most notably Batista, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, and his own nephew Chavo Guerrero, were given a chance to express their sorrow via taped messages that aired on WWE programming the week after his death. Many sobbed, a few flat out cried. We were left with a big impression of who Eddie was and just how many loved him, and that he was gone way before his time.
I remember Eddie Guerrero quite fondly. I grew up watching his early WWE years as a member of the radicals, to his metamorphosis into “Latino Heat,” his tag team with Chavo, and finally as WWE Champion. Eddie was a great champion. He was entertaining, funny, great on the mic, and one hell of a performer between the ropes. He was, after all, born into wrestling, his father being the legendary Gory Guerrero from Mexico, and his brothers Chavo Sr, Mando, and Hector were legendary grapplers in their own right. I remember those great matched with Kurt Angle, the matches with Benoit, the "Lie, Cheat and Steal" motto, and of course those lowriders he made his entrance in. Eddie was larger than life. Whenever he was onscreen, Eddie was always showing us something special.
But his own will to succeed may have been his greatest demon. Eddie had abused steroids and other drugs throughout his career. His desire to rise to the top fueled his willingness to abuse his own body. And at 38, his body could take no more.
It’s hard to believe that five years have come and gone so quickly. However, Eddie is still fondly remembered, never to be forgotten, and his death has in fact helped make the wrestling business a little safer. Shortly after his death, WWE introduced the wellness policy, a new program implemented to protect the health of its performers. Under the policy, WWE randomly checks performers for traces of performance enhancing drugs, including steroids, painkillers, and other such poisons. Wrestlers are given the treatment needed, and even former performers are welcome to seek help under WWE’s wallet.
Eddie Guerrero was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. His wife, Vickie, has since become an onscreen character, coming into her own as a great performer in her own right. Eddie also left behind three daughters, the oldest of which recently signed by WWE to follow in her father’s footsteps. His matches and antics can be relived on many DVD releases as well. Eddie’s case, while extremely sad, proves that not all wrestlers must die in vain, their names tarnished forever. Eddie’s lives on forever.
So today, we remember a true great, a legend, a champion of sports entertainment. A man who was able to overcome his demons and achieve his greatest dreams. And now, indeed, heaven has some “Latino Heat.”
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