Just like Raw and Smackdown, Heat and
Velocity are just a little bit different this week.
There are no matches this week and the shows are dedicated
to videos remembering Eddie Guerrero. As a result I
am combining the reviews since its hard to really review
a tribute show. If you watched Raw and Smackdown you
have probably seen most of this already.
Heat
Segment one opens with Todd Grisham and
Jonathan Coachman in the studio where they show a clip
of all the WWE superstars standinging at the top of
the ramp on Raw Monday. They read an email that one
of the fans had sent in about how Eddie's story was
an inspiration for others to get clean. From here, they
show a video off the Eddie DVD reflecting on Eddie's
childhood and how he got started in wrestling. After
that they show a skit of Eddie and Chavo during the
Los Guerrero's days and they close with a video of Eddie
auctioning off items he stole from Kurt Angle.
Segment two starts out with highlights
of Eddie winning the WWE title from Brock Lesner at
No Way Out 2004. They show footage from after the match
when he calls home to his wife Vicky. They close the
segment with Stephanie McMahon's memories of Eddie,
which was previously shown on Raw this week.
Segment three opened with John Cena's
memories of Eddie which was previously shown on Raw.
They close showing a video of him winning the Intercontinental
title from Chyna back when they were together.
Segment four opened with Triple H's memories
of Eddie which were previously shown on Raw. They share
another email from a fan this time about Eddie being
the first mexican WWE champion. They close out the show
with the Eddie tribute video that they showed on Smackdown
this week.
Velocity
Segment one opens with Steve Romero and
Josh Matthews in the studio and they take us to Batista's
in ring promo from this past Friday's Smackdown. After
that, they go to Dean Malenko sharing his memories of
Eddie.
In Segment two they show another video
from the Eddie DVD where Eddie talks about his family
then they go to a video where his brother, Mondo Guerrero
tells a story about Eddie wrestling a stuffed monkey
when he was four. They close with Lillian Garcia sharing
her memories of Eddie.
Segment three opens with Vince sharing
his memories of Eddie which was previously shown on
Smackdown. They follow that with a video of how Eddie
got started in wrestling. This was the same one that
was on Heat. After that, they showed the closing minutes
of Chavo's match with JBL from this past Friday's Smackdown.
After the match, Chavo gets on the mic and thanks the
fans which is exclusive footage.
Segment four opens with highlights of
Los Guerreros winning the tag team titles from Edge
and Rey Mysterio. They follow that with the Los Guerreros
skit that they showed on Heat. Josh and Steve read an
email from a fan in the UK who waited nine hours to
meet Eddie. They show an old bit where Eddie has the
fans dump stuff in JBL's hat. They close out with the
Eddie tribute video.
IN CLOSING
These aren't really shows that can be
reviewed since they are tribute shows. If you watched
Raw and Smackdown this week, there's quite a bit of
repeat stuff here but also some new stuff that you didn't
see on those shows.
I have to say that of all the deaths of
wrestlers in recent years, this one has really hit me
the most hard. I think with Eddie its a case where I
watched him work his way up from ECW with those fantastic
matches with Dean Malenko and then from there he went
on to WCW where he had the great matches in the cruiserweight
division and was a fantastic heel there. As great as
he was then, I had no idea what heights he'd reach in
WWE. I think it was when they paired him with Chyna
and he did the "Latino Heat" gimmick when
you could really see Eddie's personality just jump out
at you. I always knew what a great wrestler he was,
but with this he finally got to show how entertaining
he could be. Unfortunately it was shortly after that
when he had the personal problems and was fired by WWE.
I remember hearing that Eddie would be wrestling for
an upstart independent promotion where he was signed
to have a dream match against Super Crazy. That promotion
was Ring of Honor.
That was the drawing card that got me hooked on ROH
and I've been watching them ever since. Eddie straightened
his life out and went back to WWE. Shortly after that
he regained the IC belt and they looked to be setting
up a match with he and Steve Austin. They did a really
funny skit in a bar where Eddie once again stole the
show but Austin walked out on the company shortly after
and the match never happened. Then of course he formed
the tag team with Chavo as Los Guerreros. It was fun
watching that team rise up as Smackdown having great
matches with Angle and Benoit and also Edge and Rey.
They later feuded with Shelton Benjamin and Charlie
Haas. Then Eddie branched out to singles with the lie,
cheat and steal gimmick. They tried to make him a heel,
but he was so funny doing the gimmick that the crowd
cheered him. That was the thing about Eddie. For as
great of a wrestler as he way, he was an even better
entertainer. This all led to Eddie Guerrero defeated
Brock Lesner for the WWE title at No Way Out 2004. I
remember hearing that Eddie was supposed to win the
title that night, but even as a smart fan I didn't believe
it. There were other times were finishes were changed
at the last minute and for some reason I expected that
to happen again. I can remember marking out like an
8 year old when Eddie hit the frog splash on Brock and
became the WWE champ. It was a short reign since they
needed to build up a new heel in JBL, but its one of
my fondest WWE memories. Earlier this year, Eddie was
once again turned heel and put in a program with Rey
Mysterio. I thought he really delivered some great promos
and I can remember in particular one where he was standing
in the ring yelling at a Rey Mysterio mask that was
just absolutely incredible. Then he was given that horrible
Dominic storyline, but once again he made it work about
as well as anyone could have. Then they moved him into
a feud with Batista, but again the fans cheered him
even though he was supposed to be the heel so they had
to turn him back babyface. For a guy only 38 years old,
he really did have one hell of a career. It really hits
me hard when I think he's only four years older than
me, found dead in his hotel room while in the prime
of his career. It hits WWE even harder. Eddie was really
the heart and soul of Smackdown. He was always a major
part of the show and that isn't a void they can just
fill by calling up the next guy from OVW. Eddie was
in my opinion the best all around wrestler I've ever
seen. I can't think of anyone who had the combination
of being one of the best technical wrestlers and also
being one of the most entertaining guys on the show.
Usually, its one or the other. Eddie had it all and
its a real shame his career was cut short. He'll truly
be missed but will never be forgotten.
