He had the ability, at any given time, to have a match worthy of all-time greatness.Įddie's matches with the likes of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle are teaching materials in wrestling schools across the country. He was a technician, with a knowledge for, and understanding of, the business rivaled by few, if any. A second-generation performer, he had respect for the business and it showed every time he stepped foot inside the squared circle.
#Where did eddie guerrero die professional
To many people, Eddie Guerrero was one of the finest professional wrestlers to walk through the ropes. To this day, I still have no idea how I managed to finish that edition of Raw.
Legitimate tough men like Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and John Layfield were weeping and vulnerable. My sadness only intensified that much more when pictures of the mourning Superstars came across the television. For the first time in my "adult" life, I found myself openly breaking down, crying uncontrollably at the site of Eddie's image on the broadcast, with Johnny Cash's "Hurt" playing in the background. Others have blamed alcohol abuse and depression.Raw that night was excruciating. Some believe it was steroid abuse and severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). There has been widespread speculation about his motives. Sometime between June 22 and 24, 2007, Benoit allegedly murdered Nancy and their son, Daniel, before taking his own life. Toffoloni said that Nancy felt if he continued to wrestle he was going to deteriorate both mentally and physically, and it would lead to his tragic downfall. She described him as being "so grief-stricken-on a monumental level." Nancy Benoit kept worrying that something would happen to Chris. Those who knew Benoit could tell that there were some serious things going on with him.īenoit's sister-in-law, Sandra Toffoloni, said she had never seen him as upset as he was following Guerrero's passing. Every arena, every city-it all reminded him of Guerrero. He refused to see his loved ones and only made things worse by not taking any time off from WWE. Jericho and others said Benoit became more and more of "hermit" after Guerrero's death. They'd often be described as "brothers" by WWE's commentary team on account of their close relationship, which even back then-during a time when Internet rumors and "dirt sheets" weren't as prevalent-was well-known. Their moves meshed together flawlessly, with each trading their signature blows and chops to the chest. When watching Benoit and Guerrero together in the ring, it was clear that the two men didn't just respect each other but understood one another. It was a near 30-minute spectacle that many felt was their best showing together, at least in WWE. One of their most memorable matchups came at Vengeance 2003 for the US Championship. Their first match was on the October 10, 1995, episode of WCW Nitro and the pair would go on to have countless others. Some of their best bouts came when they were pitted against one another. RELATED: Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Lawsuit and ‘Confidential’ Resolution, ExplainedĪs with most wrestlers, the fact that Benoit and Guerrero were such good friends made them great opponents inside the squared circle. Chavo Guerrero said it was as if Benoit lost "a spouse or something." It wasn't until Guerrero's death that he really began letting his feelings out. In the past, Benoit's pals and relatives said he had never really shown emotion before. Jericho noted how Benoit was letting out “deep, hitching sobs" during Guerrero's funeral and had to be consoled. When they saw each other at the funeral, Jericho recalled getting a hug from Benoit that was "the most desperate, saddest ‘I’m hanging on for dear life’ hugs that you could ever get." The three men had earned their wrestling chops in ECW, WCW and NJPW during the 1990s.
When Guerrero died in November 2005 of an enlarged heart, Benoit's world came tumbling down.Ĭhris Jericho, close friend of both Guerrero and Benoit, said Eddie's death broke Benoit to his core. Their embrace to close out the show is one of the most iconic shots in wrestling history. They each won big at WrestleMania 20 in 2004, with Benoit nabbing Raw's World Heavyweight Title and Guerrero capturing SmackDown's WWE Championship. The two men came up in the business together and were extremely close in both WCW and WWE-wrestling countless matches against one another on a nightly basis. Benoit had been living in Georgia at the time with his wife, Nancy, and their son, Daniel, and was having loads of success in WWE after being transformed from a mid-carder in WCW to main-event player on Monday Night Raw. Guerrero's transition into WWE was very similar but happened on SmackDown.
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