Eddie Guerrero passes away

-Posted from WWE.com-

WWE is deeply saddened by the news that Eddie Guerrero has passed away. He was found dead Sunday morning in his hotel room in Minneapolis. Eddie is survived by his wife Vickie and daughters Shaul, 14, Sherilyn, 9, and Kaylie Marie, 3.

The cause of death is unknown at this time. An autopsy will be performed in Minneapolis on Monday, and Eddie's body will then be flown to Phoenix. Funeral arrangements are set for Thursday in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Eddie Guerrero was born into Mexico’s first family of professional wrestling in 1967. The son of the legendary Gory Guerrero, it was only natural that Eddie, along with his three older brothers, would pursue a career in sports-entertainment. With wrestling flowing through his veins, Eddie began his in-ring training at a very young age. In fact, Guerrero had mastered the dropkick by his third birthday.

Eddie moved from his family’s backyard ring to the professional circuit in 1987 when he debuted as “Mascara Magica” or “Magic Mask” in Mexico. After teaming with his brothers, Guerrero broke out on his own, crafting his skills in the lucha libre world. Eddie then moved on to Japan, wrestling as Black Tiger. It was there that Guerrero first met good friend Chris Benoit.

After moving back to Mexico full time, Eddie began teaming with El Hijo del Santo, who was the son of Gory Guerrero’s long-time associate El Santo. Eddie and Santo eventually broke up, with Eddie forming a duo with Art Barr. The pair would feud with Santo in one of the most heated rivalries in lucha libre history, which culminated in Guerrero and Barr losing a hair vs. mask match to Santo and Octagon in November 1994.

Eddie then moved on to ECW, where he gained his first full exposure in the United States. Not long after his ECW debut, Guerrero defeated 2 Cold Scorpio for the ECW Television Championship, a title he held twice before moving to WCW. Guerrero's ECW stay will always be remembered for the amazing match he had with Dean Malenko before leaving the promotion. After the match, which many consider to be one of the greatest ECW matches ever, the crowd showed their appreciation for Guerrero by giving him a standing ovation.

Guerrero spent four years competing in WCW. While there, he was a part of numerous memorable rivalries with the likes of Booker T, Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko, Ric Flair and nephew Chavo.

On Dec. 29, 1996, Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page in the finals of a tournament to crown a new United States Champion. He also went on to capture the Cruiserweight Championship on two separate occasions before leaving WCW.

On Jan. 31, 2000, four new faces showed up on Monday Night RAW and shocked the sports-entertainment world. They were former WCW wrestlers Benoit, Malenko, Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero – The Radicalz. The faction immediately got involved in a match between the New Age Outlaws and Al Snow & Steve Blackman, marking the beginning of Guerrero’s amazing WWE career.

Over the next five years, Eddie Guerrero overcame many obstacles to reach the top. In his first WWE match against the Outlaws, Eddie suffered a dislocated elbow, but returned to action in a short time. On April 3, 2000, he claimed his first piece of WWE gold, defeating Chris Jericho to win the European Championship. He would go on to win that championship one more time in 2001.

After The Radicalz went their separate ways, Eddie began a relationship with his “Mamacita,” Chyna. In fact, it was Chyna that Eddie defeated in September 2000 to claim the Intercontinental Championship. After their split, Eddie’s demons got the best of him. He subsequently took time off from the ring in 2001 to deal with his personal issues.

Upon his return in 2002, Eddie’s career skyrocketed to new heights. He won the Intercontinental Championship again in May 2002, this time from Rob Van Dam. Eventually, Eddie moved to SmackDown where he teamed with nephew Chavo to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship. He would win that championship three more times, as well as the United States Championship, but his greatest moment came in February 2004.

On Feb. 15, 2004 in San Francisco, Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar at No Way Out to become WWE Champion. He had reached the pinnacle of the industry, and went on to headline WrestleMania XX against Kurt Angle. No one will ever forget the scene at the end of the show, when Eddie joined long-time friend Benoit in the ring to celebrate moments after Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Eddie later formed an alliance with another old friend, Rey Mysterio, and the duo would win the WWE Tag Team Championship in early 2005. This was Eddie’s final run as a champion, as the duo split up after WrestleMania 21 and began a bitter rivalry, highlighted by numerous breath-taking matches.

At No Mercy on Oct. 9, 2005, Eddie’s 38th birthday, Eddie squared off against a new amigo, Batista. He was unable to win the World Heavyweight Championship from the Animal, but their friendship was cemented when Batista led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Latino Heat afterwards. A little more than one month later, Guerrero competed in his final televised match on the Nov. 11 edition of Friday Night SmackDown where he defeated Mr. Kennedy.

Beh, I never liked Eddie that much - though better than Chavo. It's still sad to see him pass away like that. At the age of 38 and with a typical wrestler's body and health, it's intimidating to hear he's been struck down by a heart attack (fark.com). At least we still have The Rock.

I grew up watching the WCW and the WWF/WWE with my old man...some of the best hours of my childhood, no doubt. I live 45 minutes out of Minneapolis, and was chilled and saddened to hear of Eddie Guerrero's passing. He wasn't my favorite, but he was still part of the experience when I was growing up. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and colleagues tonight.

I figured it was a heart attack. No official word yet though. It is interesting however that not to long ago, WWE did a show and Eddie's "Mother" had a heart attack..

-Repost WWE.com-

Celebrating Eddie Guerrero
November 14, 2005


WWE was deeply saddened by the loss of Eddie Guerrero, who died Sunday morning in Minneapolis. In response, the entire WWE family gathered on RAW to remember Guerrero. Superstars from both rosters took part in interbrand matches dedicated to their dear, departed friend. Between matches, Eddie’s peers paid tribute with video messages. Many cried, all were overwhelmed with emotion. Each cited stories particular to their friendship with Eddie, but all spoke of his inspirational role in their lives, his love for his family and his uncanny ability to summon any emotion and convey it to an appreciative crowd. Eddie was remembered as a consummate in-ring technician and exceptional performer. He is missed, and in the words of Stephanie McMahon, he will always be a champion.

The night began with a 10-bell salute as WWE Superstars stood in silent remembrance. As Mr. McMahon introduced a special video tribute, the fans in attendance chanted, “Thank you, Eddie!”

I liked eddie guerrero he was cool and its a crying shame that he died so young and with three kids too. I remember watching no way out where he won the title and him jumping into the crowd and all his family were there and there was a whole loada "viva la raza!" goin on and he had finally gotten rid of that hideous mullet. I'm gonna miss eddie and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.