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Guerrero: From rags to riches

By Rennie Detore

TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 7, 2004 

Eddie Guerrero wasn't supposed to headline a "Wrestlemania," much less
the 20th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden next Sunday. And he
certainly didn't seem like the ideal WWE superstar to enter the event
wearing the company's World Heavyweight Title.

He's too small. 

He's too "ethnic." 

He doesn't have the personality. 

He wrestles too much like a cruiserweight. 

Those are just of the few inane criticisms of Guerrero, the son of
legendary wrestler Gory Guerrero, that almost kept the
second-generation performer from reaching his potential. That, coupled
with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Eric Bischoff snagged Guerrero from ECW to fill out WCW's
cruiserweight division and to feature some of the greatest wrestlers
in the world on "Nitro." Guerrero naturally belonged in that group.
But Bischoff, the brash, yet smug, president of WCW, made Guerrero's
role with the company very clear: He's a tremendous wrestling talent
but not a featured performer.

Any of the aforementioned reasons would have sufficed. 

During one of Guerrero's first WCW matches, against Dean Malenko, the
company shamelessly cut away from the contest to feature Hulk Hogan.

Guerrero's situation with WCW hit its lowpoint in 1998, when Guerrero
asked for his release, and Bischoff denied him. The gifted Guerrero
would be forced to work for a company that provided him no opportunity
for advancement.

Guerrero's turbulent year concluded on New Year's Eve, when he
suffered serious injuries in a car accident. Guerrero fell asleep at
the wheel of his car, driving at 130 miles per hour. He crashed and
was launched forward through the top of his car. Guerrero survived but
only because he wasn't wearing his seatbelt.

Guerrero later admitted to being under the influence of liquid ecstasy
at the time of the crash. It was around that time when Guerrero began
dabbling in pills, more specifically muscle-relaxing drugs, a problem
becoming associated with wrestlers dying young.

Eddie started to slowly head down that road. 

With his personal life becoming more suspect, Guerrero's professional
plight also continued. He did little in WCW upon his return from
injuries in the summer of '99.

Guerrero finally left WCW in January 2000 and arrived in WWE,
alongside fellow WCW mid-carders Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and
Malenko. The buzz around the foursome's arrival quickly ended when
Guerrero suffered a dislocated elbow during his first WWE match on
"Smackdown," one day removed from his debut.

The Radicals, as they were dubbed, did little and eventually disbanded
when Malenko retired. Saturn, Benoit and Guerrero again found
themselves toiling amongst mid-card wrestlers, a situation they
thought would improve upon leaving WCW.

Guerrero did, however, find his character niche during his WWE
mid-card days, tapping into his "Latino Heat" gimmick while working
with Chyna.

But the moderate success Guerrero found didn't blossom, partially
because of his recurring problems with drugs and alcohol. On June 4,
2001, Guerrero showed up for work in an inebriated state. WWE acted
quickly and sent Guerrero to a drug rehab facility. Unfortunately,
Guerrero checked himself out after four months and returned to work
later that year, only to be released after a DUI and another car
accident, albeit a minor one.

Guerrero, who had wrestled in Europe, Japan, Mexico and just about
every major city in the United States, was now unemployed and sitting
at home. He certainly wasn't thinking about being a world champion or
headlining WWE's biggest pay-per-view, "Wrestlemania."

Guerrero sought out help upon his release and returned to rehab. He
kicked his addiction to painkillers, attended AA meetings and later
won his job back with WWE, returning in spring '02.

Later that year, Guerrero began performing at a main-event level and
garnered cheers from the WWE audience, despite his overtly heel antics
with his "Latino Heat" persona and "Cheat to Win" mentality.
Mainstream fans finally got it: Guerrero's time as a forgettable
opening-match performer was over.

Guerrero captured his first world title last month against Brock
Lesnar at "No Way Out." Eddie's tears meant more than just winning a
title but were catharsis after a long personal battle that eventually
lead to professional success. After his title win, Guerrero embraced
his mother and other family members in attendance.

And in one week, the superstar often overlooked for more traditional
heavyweights will enter WWE's biggest pay-per-view, "Wrestlemania XX,"
as, ironically, the company's heavyweight champion to defend against
Kurt Angle.

The storyline heading into that match will be whether or not Guerrero
can retain his title. Away from the soap opera sports-entertainment
world, Guerrero's real-life drama somewhat mirrors the on-air
storyline.

Can Guerrero persevere and continue to avoid the pitfalls of
professional wrestling and be the kind of world heavyweight champion
he was destined to be?

Guerrero proved critics wrong before, the ones who said he wasn't the
prototype of a "Wrestlemania" headliner, and he's probably equally as
determined to do it again.

Rennie Detore's Pro Wrestling Insider appears Sundays in the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


--- Internet Rex 2.29