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Submitted by Xan on Sunday, November 13, 2005 at 12:04 PM EST
 "I've been hanging around this place. I've been looking through your space. I've been waiting for you. I've been waiting for you." Nearly two years since I first started writing wrestling columns, and I'm finally getting around to focusing on one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation, because finally he's done something worth being excited about. I've long held that Chris Benoit is the greatest wrestler in the world. Who's second is a debate that I've waged with myself for quite a long while. There was a time I believed it was AJ Styles, and time has proven that to be wrong. I once believed it was Brock Lesnar, who seemed to envelop Goldberg like brawn and brawling with Curt Hennig's pure wrestling ability. But, unfortunately, the WWF pushed him too hard, too fast and he adopted the WWF main event style of being a brawler first, wrestler second and quickly lost any passion he had for the business. So, that's two down. Who's left? Well, basically Triple H--who calls himself the greatest wrestler alive today--and Kurt Angle--who embodies everything a professional wrestler should be. Both of these are solid candidates, but I'd take Kurt Angle in a pinch just because he has a more varied and entertaining offense. Conspicuous by his absence in this discussion is Eddie Guerrero. Eddie is a tremendous performer, and finally won his first headliner title last year, but in the last couple of years he's become much more of a gimmick than a wrestler; and has hence failed to excite me. Too many times he'd have a brilliant performance in the ring that would become overshadowed by whatever way it was he would "Lie, Cheat, and Steal" in that particular match. It became so it wasn't important whether he won a match or lost--it was only important that he fool the referee at the expense of his opponent to make us--the audience--laugh and cheer his actions. If he won, so much the better. But, if he lost--at least we were entertained. It has been said that man cannot survive on bread alone. It is at least as true that a wrestler cannot survive solely on gimmick. Especially not one as talented as Eddie Guerrero. People think I'm crazy when I say Chavo is the better of the Guerrero's, but really what has Eddie become? Isn't he just the guy that cheats to win and gets cheered for it? Wasn't he a bust as the WWF Champion for exactly that reason? And, didn't he let it get him down to the point where he blamed himself completely for Smackdown's troubles, yet continued using the same gimmick? Meanwhile, Chavo broke away from his uncle, became THE force in the Cruiserweight division, and if the bookers were paying any attention at all has secured himself a spot in the U.S. Title division at the very least. Eddie Guerrero became WWF Champion after his feud with Chavo last year, but which guy has actually been elevated? Which guy's been a consistent performer since that time? It's not Eddie. "All the places you would go, all the people that you know. I've been looking for you. I've been looking for you." There are lots of wrestlers out there that I've run hot and cold on. Edge is one, Christian another, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar are other prime examples. But, one guy who I've always seemed to both love and hate at the same time is Eddie Guerrero. While I loved his talent when I first saw him wrestle for World Championship Wrestling, I hated his outfit, I hated his "happy go lucky" attitude, and I really thought he was wasting his gifts. When he debuted in the WWF, I loved his return to a brash, cocky heel attitude, but I hated the whole "Latino Heat" nickname and gimmick, and I hated that he was involved with the "9th Wonder of the World". But, more than anything, I loved that he had so much natural talent for the business and hated the way he pulled a Scott Hall with it. In 2002, when he was paired with Chavo Guerrero and became part of the fabled Smackdown Six, I loved that he was making waves on the show, I loved that he was showing his thing and actually getting a chance in the spotlight again, and that he was becoming one of the big dogs of the blue brand. However, I hated that he was being wasted as part of a tagteam. Even if it was when tag-team wrestling was a big highlight of the show, it still felt like some of the most talented wrestlers on the planet were being wasted in the tag division. And now we whine because there's no great tag action. Can't have it both ways, I suppose. But, one thing came out of that was the gimmick he's had ever since: We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal. As I stated earlier, I hated that gimmick because it's what Eddie Guerrero became. He was no longer the great wrestler putting on excellent matches. He was a clown performing for our amusement. So, while I loved the entertainment that this gimmick at times afforded me, for the most part I hated it because I saw the "Lying, Cheating, Stealing" gimmick as the Darth Vader to Eddie's Anakin. In other words, it consumed him, and--in a way--killed him. Many of the truths we cling to depend on our own point of view. The other thing I've always hated about Eddie Guerrero? His frog-spash finisher. Most of the time it looks like it makes no impact, and for years when someone moved out of the way, he went right into a forward somersault, dropping the suspension of disbelief. Of course, now that I know he uses it as a tribute to his late best friend, Art Barr, who invented what he called "The Pump Splash, I love him a little for it. "And all them pretty people up in El Cerrito Place; they all got something in their pockets; all got something on their face. They roll down to La Brea where it meets the boulevard a-singing Hallelujah while they dance over the stars. They all think they're going far." So many people out there still see him as one of the best in the world. I get arguments from all corners that he's still great and they still enjoy watching him wrestle. His match a few weeks ago against Kurt Angle is being praised as a match of the year contender. Come again? Kurt's match against Shawn Michaels, Michaels vs. Benjamin, Michaels vs. Edge--Street Fight, and Triple H vs. Randy Orton--Royal Rumble I can all see as being legitimate match of the year contenders. But Eddie vs. Angle from Smackdown? Hell, that wasn't even the best match they've had against each other. That would probably belong to SummerSlam '04, and even their Wrestlemania match was better. The only thing the match on Smackdown did was to build to the Wrestlemania contest between Eddie and Mysterio. What I want to know is why have so many of you insisted on pulling the wool over your eyes for so long? It sure seems to me that the people that think Eddie Guerrero has still been one of the best wrestlers in the world over the last year or so are the same people that think Randy Orton has become a consistent performer, that Christian is any better now than he was two years ago, that JBL was a horrible champion, and that Rob Van Dam is one of the most overrated performers of all time. And, for all of you that think Eddie Guerrero truly has been great in the last year--and I give him all due credit for putting JBL over the way he did--I'd like you to look to his past performances. He was the engine that made the cruiserweight division go for awhile in WCW. His performances against the likes of Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio, Jr. were what made the Cruiserweight division pop into the big time on Nitro and Thunder. His Latino World Order was an enormously successful parody of the New World Order. He was, in short, the best thing going in wrestling for that time period. After his accident that nearly cost him both his career and his life, he was never quite the same in that organization, though. It took a move over to the WWF with his buds, the Radicalz to set things right, and to create the character that has come to define him: Latino Heat. Those were the days Eddie Guerrero was something. Those were the moments of his career that should be praised. I've seen the opinion that Chris Benoit's World Title win was a Lifetime Achievement Award, but really, when you look at his consistent level versus Eddie's, I'd have to say Guerrero's was more the gift. All of those who dispute that, those that aren't willing to hold Eddie to the high standard he's set are doing him a grave dis-service. You think you've been positive with that opinion? Think again. I don't hold with the overwhelming IWC negativity, but sometimes criticism is warranted. Sometimes it's just. And this is one of those times. Chavo was right. Eddie's been an embarrassment to the Guerrero clan, and shame on those of you who propogated the myth and helped to hold Uncle Eddie back. "Me? I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby all night long. All night long. All night long." I've been hoping and hoping and hoping that we'd see the return of the old Eddie. A chance for Mr. Guerrero to be the bad, bad man(no disrespect to John Cena), which is always how he's best. Roddy Piper used to say that when he was good, he was good, but when he was bad he was better. Nobody in their right mind could argue that the same isn't true for Eddie Guerrero. When he's a heel, he's one of the world's greatest wrestlers. He can tell a story in the ring like nobody's business, and his wanton attitude makes everything he's doing seem more real than just about anybody else in existence. He's capable of being THE MAN. So, it's been a long night for me, because over the course of at least the last year, and probably more like 18 months, I've been trying to get a glimpse of the Eddie Guerrero I know and love. There were sparks of it in his feud with JBL. There were shards when he took on Kurt Angle every single fucking time. But, there's never been a complete picture. Eddie Guerrero shouldn't be the guy pandering to the crowd, or the tiny face defending the honor of Latino immigrants. He should be kicking ass, taking names, and loving every single frickin' minute of it. That's the guy I haven't been able to find. "Somebody said they might have seen you where the ocean meets the land, so I've been out here all night looking for your footprints in the sand. Did you hear the ocean singing? And baby did you sing along as you danced over the water to some old forgotten song? Or were you even here at all?" You see, Eddie Guerrero is one of the few guys that the WWF has given a second lease on life to. After he came over with Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko from WCW as a member of the Radicalz(If you don't know this story, I documented it in The Northern Star--Under Construction Part I. Take a gander over there and then jump back.) he was pretty much on fire. Every member of the Radicalz was, actually, and he won the European Title from Chris Jericho the night after Wrestlemania 2000 and stole the heart of Chyna. But, that wouldn't be the last WWF female's heart he stole. He eventually became romantically involved with Lita, which helped bring about a stellar storyline that involved Eddie being in a sort of ad-hoc stable with the Hardy Boyz. Big things were happening, all of them--and the angle--were getting over in a big way, but then Eddie drove high and drunk and crashed his car into some guy's gate. Shortly after he was released by the WWF. A hot WWF career was suddenly sidelined, the writers suddenly had to scramble for how to use Matt, Jeff, and Lita, and a guy who looked like a future major player was suddenly without a job. However, Eddie soon cleaned up his act, was accepted back into the company, and was promptly paired again with Chris Benoit, who was returning from a severe neck injury. This Eddie Guerrero was like the LWO Leader in some ways. He was brash, he was cocky, and he showed no regard for the rules or for anyone else. However, he was also somewhat tentative. It was like he was running scared. And, to be fair, he probably was. It's not easy to have the cloud of addiction hanging over your head in a high pressure job. Then something amazing happened--people started liking Eddie Guerrero's heelness. They enjoyed his antics. The kinds of acts that would normally cause us to boo a wrestler became something to cheer because of the original way in which he would cheat his opponents. Instead of his character being someone to revile, he was someone to revel in. That's cool. That's entertaining, and it's certainly a helluva lot of fun. One thing it's not, though, is Eddie Guerrero. When he's good, he's good; when he's bad, he's better, remember? The "Lying, Cheating, Stealing" motto, the lowrider, the 3 Amigos were all enjoyable from the perspective of the sheep, but those of us who've been watching Eddie Guerrero for 10 years knew it wasn't what Latino Heat was all about. "Me? I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby all night long. All night long. All night long." He was almost there during his tagteam with Booker T. When his team kept losing and he was being defeated in the matches and The Book-man was getting upset with him, it seemed like everything was going to go wrong for their tagteam, and therefore everything was going to be right with the world, because Eddie was going to be a heel again. Then...it didn't happen. Instead, Eddie switched immediately back to another tagteam; that being with his former foe, Rey Mysterio; and they promptly won the tag titles their first night together, on the same night as Chavo Guerrero won himself the Cruiserweight Title again. It looked like it could be a dream come true and a new version of the Latino World Order...but no. Instead we got the face team of Eddie/Mysterio, and a kinda/sorta tweener Chavo. Fuck. Since then, Chavo's done his best to show myself and other correct thinkers the real Eddie. He's tried to pull Eddie out of his shell. He wanted Eddie to beat the living hell out of Rey Rey, and he tried to encourage Eddie to do it. He goaded his uncle into challenging his partner to a match at Wrestlemania. Surely this time we'd get the explosion, we'd get the heel Eddie back, right? Nope, he lost and shook the hand of his friend. WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!!!! It seems I'm looking in vain. "Somehow I wound up in the desert, just after daylight. There's a Joshua tree growing; that's a place you've always liked. These pioneer town people ain't got too much to say, and if they might have seen you, they ain't giving you away. Now it's been two days." So, don't presume to tell me Eddie Guerrero is one of the best wrestlers in the world. I've seen him in more matches, in more situations, with more varied opponents, and in more circumstances than most of you have. I know the man is damned good, and I know he can perform the hell out of almost every other wrestler out there. But the fact of the matter is that the Eddie G that went face back in 2002 is not the Eddie Guerrero that can light the world on fire with his performances. For whatever reason, his passion just isn't there fully as a face like it is when he's a heel. Maybe it's because it's more fun to be a bad guy, maybe it's because his best matches tend to be against guys he's close to and they are usually faces, or maybe it's just because he just loves being evil. Now we get to see him be evil again, and it's beginning to look like I was wrong to criticize those of you who continued to love Eddie's performance. Not because he was so great during that time, but because I now believe this was something he had to go through to get to where he is going. This is not the return of the cocky, brash Eddie of the past. This is something more. It's like he's become soul-less. And not in the Dead-man Undertaker style or in the amusingly cheesy way of Gene Snitsky, but rather just a man that doesn't give a damn anymore. His character is now that of a man who will do anything he has to to get what he wants--or, more accurately, what he needs. Instead of being cocky and sarcastic, he's cool, calm, collected...and vicious. In short, he's quite possibly the perfect heel playing the role that he was born to play. He gave one of the great promos of all time last week on Smackdown, and in that he said he was getting his Latino Heat back from the fans and from Rey. Good. I still don't like the "Latino Heat" nickname, but nobody would be more happy than your Ambassador of X if this blaze that's been ignited with the Guerrero character turns into a raging inferno. Expect it to happen. Everyone's sold on John Cena as the future of the business. I don't doubt it, but every Buffy needs their Spike, every Angel needs his Lindsey, and every Gandalf needs his Sauron. If there's any doubt in your minds that Eddie Guerrero can be the main event foil to John Cena, strike it. If you can't, that's fine, because just like the player that makes 3 shots in a row in NBA Jam, he's heating up, and he'll burn that doubt right out of you before 2005 ends. Scorch it in stone. I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby, I've been looking for you baby all night long. All night long. All night long." I'm done looking for the Eddie I once loved. He's gone for good, I believe. But in his place is a man who is destined to main event Smackdown for years to come, and that's a good thing. 8 years ago, another main eventer lost his smile and eventually became a bigger icon than he ever was beforehand. Hopefully Eddie Guerrero's smile, along with his lowriders, are gone for good and his fortunes will improve just as much. The look on his face when he watched Mysterio get pounded by wrestling's newest sensation, MNM, when he told Mysterio he wasn't going to fight him the following week, and when he gave that awesome promo last week on Smackdown was absolutely stellar. When he told Mysterio he advises against a return this Sunday and that he'll hold Rey's life in his hands, it made my blood run cold. I thought to myself, "This is just the beginning for Eddie Guerrero." He's always been good in the ring, folks, now he's becoming a star. "Think I'll go back to the city, back to El Cerrito Place. That's the last time that I saw that pretty smile upon your face. I've been looking for you baby." We don't need to see that smile back on Eddie's face again, or the 3 Amigos, or especially that cocky little shake he does. No, esse. I like the Eddie we've gotten a glimpse of the last few weeks. And Holmes, I'm looking forward to seeing how he heats up the summer. I love the new and improved Eddie Guerrero, and hope your hearts are warming to him, as well, the way he ought to be. Bad and loving it. I would be willing to lay even money that someday soon I will no longer consider Chris Benoit the best wrestler in the world. I now foresee the Human Torch that "Latino Heat" is becoming shooting past "The Wolverine" to that spot. Something I never would have believed possible 6 weeks ago. But now, no goal looks unachievable for him. Flame on, Eddie. Flame on. Long days, pleasant nights
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