Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero, he was widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential professional wrestlers of all time.
| Eddie Guerrero | |
|---|---|
Guerrero in 2004 | |
| Birth name | Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes |
| Born | October 9, 1967 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | November 13, 2005 (aged 38) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Acute heart failure |
| Alma mater | New Mexico Highlands University |
| Spouse(s) |
Vickie Guerrero (m. 1990) |
| Children | 3; including Shaul Guerrero |
| Family | Guerrero |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Black Tiger (II) El Caliente Eddie Guerrero Eddy Guerrero Gory Guerrero Jr. Máscara Mágica Latino Heat |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Trained by | Gory Guerrero |
| Debut | September 5, 1986 |
| Part of a series on |
| Professional wrestling |
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Guerrero performed in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions, and in the United States he performed for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and most notably World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). Guerrero's gimmick was that of a "Latino Heat", a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His catchphrase became "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!" and was used in one of his entrance themes; he partly used this phrase in the title of his 2005 autobiography, Cheating Death, Stealing Life. Despite being a heel for most of his career, he was popular in and out of the ring and was at the peak of his career as a face during 2003–2005, becoming the top wrestler on the SmackDown brand in 2004. He experienced various substance abuse problems, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers; these real-life issues were sometimes incorporated into his storylines.
Guerrero spent much of his early career wrestling in Mexican promotions and forming a popular tag team with Art Barr. After the death of Barr, Guerrero received his first mainstream exposure in the United States in 1995 by joining ECW and winning the ECW World Television Championship two times. Later that year, Guerrero moved to WCW, where he became WCW United States Champion and WCW Cruiserweight Champion and also led the Latino World Order. He left WCW in 2000 after the company failed to elevate him to a main event spot.
He moved to WWF during the Attitude Era with his WCW colleagues Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn, who formed a group called The Radicalz. Guerrero went on to win the WWF European Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship before he was released in 2001 due to addiction issues. After being rehired in 2002, he formed Los Guerreros with his nephew Chavo, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship, and established himself on the SmackDown brand. He climbed to main event status and won the WWE Championship, his sole world championship at No Way Out 2004. He lost the title later that year but remained a popular main eventer until his death on November 13, 2005.
He was posthumously inducted into the WWE, AAA, Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Hardcore halls of fame.