If you’re a wrestling fan of a certain age, this time of year always brings a tinge of sadness.
20 years ago this week… November 13th, 2005 to be exact… saw one of the most tragic days in the history of professional wrestling, with the passing of Eddie Guerrero.
A month prior to his passing, Eddie celebrated his 38th birthday. Obviously, I’m not sure how old all of you are, but 38 years is an insanely short time to be on this planet, even though the world of wrestling still viewed 38 as somewhat “old” back then.
At the time of Eddie’s passing, John Cena (28) was the WWE Champion, and although Batista (36) was close in age, “The Animal” was still viewed as a youngster because he was still new to the business.
To show how times have changed, there are currently six members of the WWE roster who are 38 years of age or older… CM Punk (47), Becky Lynch (38), AJ Styles (48), Cody Rhodes (40), Joe Gacy (38), and Dexter Lumis (41)… that are holding a championship as of the moment I type this sentence. Beyond that, there are three more… Ricky Starks (almost 36), Ethan Page (36), and Ludwig Kaiser (35)… that are holding a championship at the moment and are within striking distance of 38 years old. John Cena (48), Seth Rollins (39), Jey Uso (40), Gunther (38), Naomi (38 in a couple weeks), Erik (41), Ivar (41), Kofi Kingston (44), Xavier Woods (39), Finn Bálor (44), Nia Jax (41), Shinsuke Nakamura (45), LA Knight (43), Sami Zayn (41), Johnny Gargano (38), Tommaso Ciampa (40), Shawn Spears (44), Candice LeRae (40), Matt Hardy (51), and Jeff Hardy (48) have all been champions at some point in 2025, too.
You get the point.
Anyway, back to Eddie…
Like many of you, I still vividly remember when I first heard about Eddie’s death. It was one of those moments that make you literally say out loud, to nobody in particular, that there’s no way the news was real.
Once the initial brain fog had been lifted, and once it really began to sink in that he was gone, I started to think about Monday Night Raw. I assumed we would get something similar to what we had six-and-a-half years earlier, when the WWF dedicated an entire episode of Raw to Owen Hart after Owen tragically passed at the Over The Edge pay-per-view 24 hours prior.
With Raw Is Owen, I was definitely emotional as I watched it live, but it was more a surreal feeling than anything else. Obviously, it was a unique situation that none of us had ever experienced before. Adding to it was the fact that I was never a huge Owen Hart fan back then. I understood how good he was in the ring, but people like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind, Ken Shamrock, The Undertaker and others were getting my fandom more at the time.
Things were different with Eddie, though. He was already on my all-time favorites list at the time of his passing, so his death really hit me hard. The Eddie tribute shows were very difficult to sit through. I went through so many different emotions during both shows.
Of everything I saw and heard on Raw and Smackdown, though, do you know what sticks out in my mind the most?
Chris Benoit’s reaction on Raw.
Even as I watched it live, Benoit looked like a completely broken man. There was a lot of people crying on the stage, and some of them were even crying hard, but Benoit was openly weeping, his face a reddened, wet mess with tears streaming down his cheeks. Like I said, he came across as a broken human being. I’ve said it before, but I think Eddie’s death was a major key to the downfall of Benoit, and it flipped a switch inside of him. I don’t think he was ever the same again, and 19 months later, the final weekend of Benoit’s life took place.
The reaction of Chris Benoit is a big part of why it’s still hard for me to watch the Eddie tributes, two decades later. It was sad at the time, but knowing what would eventually happen to Benoit’s wife, Nancy, his son, Daniel, and to Chris himself makes the entire thing all the more upsetting.
When I think back to Eddie Guerrero’s death, I can’t help but think about what the WWE would’ve been like if the death never took place. Rumor and innuendo states that Eddie was on the verge of winning the World Heavyweight Championship at the time of his passing. That would’ve made him a two-time World Champion for the company, and his popularity was as strong as ever. Even if he wasn’t set to win the World Title immediately, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it would’ve happened eventually.
As skilled as he still was in 2005, how much longer do you think he would’ve wrestled if he didn’t pass away? As we’ve already discussed, he was 38 years old, but he had the mileage on him as someone who had been a pro wrestler for 19 years at the time, not to mention the wear and tear that his addictions put on his body. I’ve seen people say that Eddie would probably be wrestling today if he kept living. That would’ve been asking a lot… a… lot… of him. He would’ve recently celebrated his 58th birthday. There aren’t exactly a ton of 58-year-olds wrestling on the scene these days, and there damn sure aren’t any of them in big-time promotions. R-Truth is the oldest member of the WWE roster at 53, but AEW features Billy Gunn at 62 (although he hasn’t wrestled for the company in a year-and-a-half), Jeff Jarrett at 58 (although he hasn’t wrestled for the company since January), Dustin Rhodes at 56, Chris Jericho at 54 (although he might not even be with the company anymore), Adam Copeland and MVP at 52, and Christian Cage at 51.
If you want to say that Eddie would be a “special attraction” that could work a match or two in a given calendar year, I’d allow it. Anything even remotely resembling a full-time schedule would probably be out of the question, though.
I want to go back to 2005 for a minute now. Let’s say that Eddie didn’t pass away on that November morning. Think of the people that he could’ve worked with.
He wrestled with and against John Cena in the past, but all of the matches were before Cena reached the top of the WWE mountain. In fact, the last time Eddie and John faced each other on television was in September 2003, a full six months before Cena even won the United States Title for the first time. Eddie facing an entirely different John Cena would’ve been a blast.
On multiple occasions, I’ve said that Eddie Guerrero vs Shawn Michaels is one of my all-time biggest “dream match” scenarios that we never got to see. Maybe we could’ve seen it in this scenario.
How about Bryan Danielson? He was really beginning to build buzz on the independent scene as an incredible in-ring performer at the time of Eddie’s death. Can you imagine if Eddie was still wrestling in WWE when Danielson signed with the company?
Similar to what I said about Eddie and John Cena, there’s something to be said about Eddie and Edge. They worked a bunch of times in the “Smackdown Six” era, but that was multiple years before either man became a main event player in WWE. Dastardly heel Edge, aligned with Lita, against the beloved Eddie Guerrero would’ve been a blast.
Eddie and CM Punk had three matches against each other in 2002 for the IWA Mid-South promotion, but again, they were both completely different wrestlers… and completely different men… in completely different areas of life back then. Seeing the 2006, 2007, 2008, etc. version of Punk against Eddie would’ve been really cool.
The list of new/renewed opponents for Eddie goes on and on.
While I don’t think Eddie would be an active in-ring competitor these days, there is one aspect of modern-day WWE that Eddie would obviously fit in like a glove.
The work that Eddie could’ve done over the last few years with Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio would feed families for generations to come. Who is Dom’s REAL father? We could’ve seen a match between Eddie and Rey, Eddie and Dom, or some sort of combination.
Dom working with Rey has done wonders for his career, but man, working with Eddie would’ve been an accelerant, and precisely the type of ignition that his career needed to take him to the next level quicker. Sure, Dom is doing great as it is, but the heat he could’ve had for going against Eddie… or the adoration he could’ve had for siding with Eddie… may very well have had him as a main event player by this point.
Man, all this talk about Eddie is making me miss him more.
I miss his matches, his promos, and his effortless natural charisma. The way that he made everything he did look so easy. He might be the smoothest in-ring performer in the history of wrestling, finding a perfect blend of crispness and physicality that helped him to stand out then and to still do so today.
I also miss the man himself. It was mentioned again in the column I posted last week, so I don’t need to post it with detail here, but he might be the most humble wrestler I’ve ever met. The extent in which he was able to turn his life, both of the personal and professional varieties, around is something that should never be forgotten.
I want to take this time to share some of my favorite Eddie Guerrero matches and moments. There are a million of them, but I’ll just narrow it down to a few in each category, in no particular order.
Favorite Matches
– vs Rey Misterio Jr. at WCW Halloween Havoc 1997: When it comes to in-ring chemistry between opponents, this might be one of the sport’s greatest examples. The match clocked in at 13:51, and it was 13:51 of pure art in athletic form. Wrestling has never seen anything like Rey in 1997. He was able to defy gravity with some of the most mind-blowing offense that American wrestling fans had ever seen, but Eddie decided he wanted to bring brutality to the table. He went out of his way to physically harm Rey at every possible chance he got. Eddie wasn’t often much larger than his opponent, but that was the case here, and he physically bullied Rey. With Eddie’s Cruiserweight Title and Rey’s mask both on the line, both men wrestled with a sense of desperation that you could feel through the screen.
– with Art Barr vs El Hijo del Santo & Octagon at WCW/AAA When Worlds Collide 1994: Do you like heat in your professional wrestling matches? How about storytelling? Guerrero and Barr, known as Los Gringos Locos, were Americanized heels working in Mexico (although this show took place in Los Angeles), and they were hated by AAA fans. El Hijo del Santo and Octagon were beloved… especially EHdS, the son of El Santo, who just so happened to be the biggest star in the history of Lucha Libre. That’s a good start. How about some more heat? Guerrero and Barr put their hair on the line in this match, while EHdS and Octagon put their masks on the line. If you’re not aware of Lucha Libre lore, know that a masked luchador putting their mask on the line is the biggest possible stipulation that there can be. You could feel the tension in the air as the fans in the building were nervous and excited all at the same time. The match itself was great, but it was carried by the passion of the AAA fans, who were rising and falling with every move, counter, reversal, and attempt at a finish.
– vs Dean Malenko at ECW Hostile City Showdown 1995: This was at a time when the overall ECW product was looking to show off as much violence as possible. Two matches before this one, Axl Rotten faced Ian Rotten in a Barbed Wire Baseball Match, and it seemed like every match on the card featured at least one wrestler that ended up bleeding. That’s not what Mr. Guerrero and Mr. Malenko were bringing to the card here, though. They stood out by bringing real deal, genuine, world class technical wrestling. Their time in ECW was their introduction to many wrestling fans, and both men wanted to make sure that they made a connection. They succeeded, and it helped to carry them to their time in WCW and beyond.
– vs Shinjiro Otani at WCW Starrcade 1995: The theme of the show was the “World Cup Of Wrestling” that featured WCW wrestlers facing wrestlers from New Japan in almost every bout on the card. This was one of those matches. Otani was one of the top junior heavyweights in New Japan at the time, while Eddie was still brand new to WCW and showing off in their cruiserweight division. From the sound of the opening bell, these two went wild, working at a lightning quick pace. For me, this match gets a lot of love because it was my first instance of seeing what Eddie was truly capable of in the ring. The previous two matches I mentioned took place before this one did, but I didn’t watch them when they took place, and only checked them out well after the fact. I became a fan of his right away here, and that fandom never once went away.
– vs Kurt Angle at WWE WrestleMania 20: Does he have better matches? Perhaps. However, this will always be something special in my heart, as Eddie was the reigning and defending WWE Champion, walking into WrestleMania in a marquee spot, defending his title against one of the sport’s all-time greats. I really enjoyed the work that both men put in here, and the match finish was the perfect example of Eddie’s “lie, cheat, steal” mentality, and how much fans loved him for it.
Favorite Moments
– Post-Match Embrace With Chris Benoit To Close WrestleMania 20: Two best friends that had been all over the world together, hearing the same thing for their entire careers… sure, they were great wrestlers, but they were too small in stature to ever reach the top of the sport. After nearly two decades as pros, there they were, on the biggest stage in all of wrestling, Eddie as the WWE Champion and Chris as the brand new World Heavyweight Champion. As confetti fell from the ceiling of Madison Square Garden, both men hugged as tears streamed down their faces in what should’ve been one of wrestling’s greatest feel-good moments. Life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, though. 20 months later, Eddie would be dead, and 19 months after that, Chris would be, as well. It’s still difficult for me to wrap my head around that.
– “I Am An Addict” Promo On Brock Lesnar Leading Up To Their Match At No Way Out 2004: R-Truth gets a ton of credit and praise, and rightfully so, for cutting a promo that was able to make Brock Lesnar break character and start laughing on live television. For my money, though, what was even more impressive was Eddie Guerrero making Brock get choked up with his promo, forcing Brock to fight back tears. This was back when Eddie’s personal demons were being brought up on television, and it allowed for Brock to get cheap heel heat by mentioning Eddie’s issues with addiction. Eddie’s response was more of a personal therapy session than a wrestling promo, seeing him mention the fact that his addiction issues not only cost him his job with the company, but also cost him his family, as his wife had walked away and took their kids with her. He mentioned the journey that he had to go on to find recovery, sobriety, his job, his family, and himself again. Fans were hanging on every word he said, and he was able to cleverly spin his issues, declaring that he had a new “addiction,” which was to the love he receives from those fans, and to the pursuit of the WWE Championship. He said that addicts will do anything, and step on anyone, to get their fix. It added a new level of intrigue for their upcoming match, and it was an absolute masterclass in weaving real life situations and on-screen storyline.
– Winning The WWE Title At No Way Out 2004: Pretty natural to include this after mentioning the previous promo. As much of an Eddie Guerrero fan as I was at the time, I don’t think I really expected him to win here. WWE was almost always the land of the giants, and when you compare Eddie to Brock Lesnar, it’s pretty clear who should be Vince McMahon’s “favorite.” Yes, it was interference from Goldberg that helped Eddie pick up the win, but if you ask any Eddie fan who was watching it live, not one of them cared. The best part about the win was Eddie’s reaction. Immediately, he went into the crowd to celebrate with fans, and then found his mother and brother to celebrate with them. Just a beautiful moment overall.
– Latino Heat & His “Mami”: Obviously, this is more than one singular moment, but I don’t care. I’m still including it. The on-screen relationship between Eddie and Chyna was so entertaining, even though it had no business being that way. It allowed a chance for both Eddie and Chyna to showcase different sides of their personalities than fans were used to seeing, and that only made people love them more.
– Post Heel Turn Promo On Rey Mysterio In 2005: After Eddie surprised the wrestling world by turning heel on his long-time friend Rey Mysterio, he cut a fantastic promo on Smackdown. Appearing completely unhinged, Eddie would pull Rey’s mask out of his pocket and start screaming at it as if Rey’s head was still inside of it. He was in full “abuser” mode, with the “look at what you made me do” and “do you think I like doing this” comments. Then he went and turned his attention to the fans, berating them for living vicariously through him and “stealing” his passion, love, and energy. Like I said in the previous entry, this was something that really allowed for Eddie to showcase a different side to him, and it worked very, very well.
As a father, my heart hurts for Eddie’s three daughters, who lost him when they were all young. As a husband, my heart hurts for Vickie Guerrero, who lost him right when their marriage and their lives were getting back on track after his battles with addiction. As a pro wrestling fan, my heart hurts for myself and people like me, who lost him when he clearly had so much more to give to the business.
I can’t believe that it has been 20 years since Eddie passed away. I’m glad that his memory lives on after all these years, though. Not only do we have the Rey and Dominik Mysterio storyline still going strong, but wrestlers still perform Frog Splashes like Eddie did, as well as do his Three Amigos suplexes. You’ll still hear “Eddie” chants from crowds all over the world.
What are some of your favorite Eddie Guerrero matches, moments, and promos? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Kyle Fletcher vs Ace Austin: Fletcher continues to show that he really might be the “next big thing” in AEW, having great performances each and every time he steps foot inside a ring. 2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for him.
Ilja Dragunov vs Johnny Gargano: Another very entertaining match in the Open Challenge series. No complaints here. Keep it going, WWE.
Austin Gunn & Juice Robinson vs FTR: The Bang Bang Gang, as an act, are as ice cold as it gets. That doesn’t take away from what they’re capable of in the ring, though. FTR, on the other hand… well, they’re FTR… we already know that they’re going to deliver excellence.
AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs Finn Balor & JD McDonagh: I can’t imagine that the team of AJ Lee (it’s too easy a joke to make) is going to be long-term champions, but I’m going to enjoy their matches for however long I have to watch them.
Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio: Rey’s surprise return to WWE programming was a fun way to start this out, and their back-and-forth promo was fun, but I really like the talk about Eddie Guerrero being Dom’s “real” father. It’s the easy comment to make, but it was still enjoyable.
Orange Cassidy vs Claudio Castagnoli: I like how the match built up nicely as it went along, starting off relatively slowly until reaching a nice pace at the end, with both men really finding a nice groove. Matches like that can often be a blast to watch.
Je’Von Evans vs Saquon Shugars: I said it about Kyle Fletcher, but it’s also something that can be said about Je’Von Evans. He continues to show why he might be the “next big thing” in NXT, and perhaps WWE, in general. All he does is have great performances against anyone he faces. 2026 looks like it could be huge for him.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs Asuka & Kairi Sane: A fun tag match that features four women who are on some impressive rolls in the ring. Sometimes, you don’t need much more than that.
Chelsea Green: Congratulations to the new WWE Women’s United States Champion. She put an end to the 133-day reign of Giulia, which might go down as one of the worst title reigns in recent memory, as she did next-to-nothing over those 133 days. She’s such a dynamic talent, but it sure seems like WWE has no idea what to do with her.
This Week’s Playlist: “Out The Window” by Kehlani… “The Only Heaven You’ll Know” by Caskets… “Closure” by Caskets… “Make Me A Martyr” by Caskets… “Golden” by Huntr/x… “Renee” by Lost Boyz… “Touch Me Tease Me” by Case & Foxy Brown… “Nolia Clap” by Juvenile, Wacko & Skip… “Candyman” by Dirty… “Left, Right, Left” by Drama… “Caprice Music” by Tum Tum… “A Favor House Atlantic” by Coheed and Cambria… “Goodbye, Sunshine” by Coheed and Cambria… “Corner My Confidence” by Coheed and Cambria… “Someone Who Can” by Coheed and Cambria… “Hold The Line” by Toto… “I’ll Be Over You” by Toto… “Feel Good Inc” by Gorillaz & De La Soul… “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus… “Sex On Fire” by Kings Of Leon… “The Kill” by Thirty Seconds To Mars… “Miss Murder” by AFI… “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” by Panic! At The Disco… “Never Let You Go” by Third Eye Blind… “Back In Black” by AC/DC
