Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes ( October 9 , 1967 – November 13 , 2005 ) , better known by his ring name Eddie Guerrero , was a Mexican - American professional wrestler . Born into a legendary Mexican wrestling family , Eddie Guerrero managed to maintain the storied legacy of his family . Through the 1990s , he had a distinguished career , working for every major promotion in the United States during that period : Extreme Championship Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment . Guerrero ' s in - ring character was that of a crafty , resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match . His famous mantra became " Cheat to Win " . Despite being a heel for much of his career , he became popular in and outside the ring . Throughout his career , Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling , including alcoholism and an addiction to pain killers . His problems outside of the ring were sometimes integrated into his storylines . Notwithstanding these issues , Guerrero won numerous titles during his career , including the WWE Championship . Professional wrestling career . Early Years ( 1987 - 1992 ) . Fro 1987 until Guerrero wrestled in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre ( EMLL ) ( now Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( CMLL ) , World Wrestling Association ( WWA ) in Mexico and World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) in the United States . Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion ( 1992 - 1994 ) . In Mexico , he wrestled mainly for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , teaming with " El Hijo del Santo " as the new version of La Pareja Atómica ( The Atomic Pair ) , the tag team of Gory Guerrero and El Santo . After Gueerrero turned on Santo and allied with Art Barr as " La Pareja del Terror " ( The Pair of Terror ) , the duo became arguably the most hated tag team in lucha libre history . Along with Barr , Konnan , Chicano Power , and Madonna ' s Boyfriend ( Louie Spicolli ) , Guerrero formed " Los Gringos Locos " ( The Crazy Americans ) , a villainous stable . Guerrero later said that no matter how many people joined Los Gringos Locos , the stable was all about Art . Locos feuded mostly with El Hijo del Santo and his partner Octagón , eventually ending in a " Hair vs Mask Match " at the first lucha pay - per - view in America , " When World ' s Collide " , which they lost . Guerrero and Barr ' s first break would come when they were noticed in late 1994 by the owner of Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) , Paul Heyman , and were approached about wrestling for him in 1995 . Barr , however , died before he could join ECW with Guerrero . New Japan Pro Wrestling ( 1993 - 1996 ) . In 1993 , Guerrero began wrestling in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) , where he was known as the second incarnation of " Black Tiger " . He won the NJPW Junior Heavyweight Super Grade Tag League Championship with " Great Sasuke " in 1993 , which made him the most successful Black Tiger . He became more successful upon his return when he won the Best of the Super Juniors 1996 tournament of junior heavweights . He received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion The Great Sasuke at NJPW Skydiving J but lost the match . Extreme Championship Wrestling ( 1995 ) . Guerrero won the ECW World Television Championship from 2 Cold Scorpio on his debut in ECW , and went on to have a series of acclaimed matches with Dean Malenko before they both signed with World Championship Wrestling later that year . Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship to Malenko on July 21 of that year , but Guerrero regained the title on July 28 . Guerrero lost the ECW Television Championship back to 2 Cold Scorpio on August 25 . The next day , they had their last match which ended in a draw in a two out of three falls match at the ECW arena . After the match , the locker room emptied and the two were carried around the ringby their fellow wrestlers while the crowd chanted " please don ' t go " . World Championship Wrestling ( 1995 - 2000 ) . Return ( 1995 ) . Guerrero to WCW in late 1995 along with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit with whom he had worked with in NJPW and ECW . During his first few pay - per - view events , he competed in dark matches against Alex Wright . His first televised pay - per - view appearance was at " World War 3 " where he competed in the 3 - ring , 60 - man World War 3 battle royal for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship . Guerrero was one of the final nine wrestlers in the battle royal until he was tossed out of the ring by Four Horsemen members . At " Starrcade 1995 " , Guerrero represented WCW in a WCW vs . NJPW World Cup tournament2661 series . He lost to Shinjiro Otani in the match , but WCW went on to win the series . " United States Champion ( 1996 - 1997 ) . In 1996 , Guerrero reveived several shots at the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against Konnan at Uncensored and Ric Flair at Hog Wild . He feuded with Ric Flair and the " Four Horsemen " during 1996 after Guerrero ' s partner Arn Anderson turned on him during a tag team match against Ric Flair and Randy Savage . In late 1996 , he feuded with Diamond Dallas Page after defeating him in a match at Clash of the Champions XXXIII . He started feuding with Diamond Dallas Page to steal his nickname of " Lord of the Ring " but lost . Guerrero participated in a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and defeated DDP in the final round at Starrcade 1996 to win the United States title . In 1997 , Guerrero defended the United StatesHeavyweight Championship against Scott Norton at Clash of the Champions XXXIV , Syxx in a " Ladder Match " at Souled Out , and Chris Jericho at SuperBrawl VII . His reign came to an end at Uncensored when Dean Malenko defeated him for the title . World Wrestling Federation ( 2000 – 2001 ) . The Radicalz ( 2000 ) . Guerrero and along with Chris Benoit , Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn debuted in the WWF on the January 31 , 2000 episode of " Raw is War " as The Radicalz , interfering in a match involving the New Age Outlaws . During his first match with the WWF , a tag team match with the Radicalz against the Outlaws , Guerrero performed a Frog Splash off the top rope and severely injured his elbow on the landing . As a result , he was sidelined for several weeks . Latino Heat and Intercontinental Champion ( 2000 ) . In March 2000 , Guerrero , who was wrestling as a villain , began pursuing the affections of Chyna , who he referred to as his " Mamacita " . At the time Chyna was allies with Chris Jericho and initially rejected his advances . The night after WrestleMania 2000 , on the April 3 , 2000 edition of " Raw Is War " , Guerrero faced off against Jericho for the European Championship that Jericho had defeated Kurt Angle for the previous night . During the match Chyna turned on Jericho and helped Guerrero win , and later explained her actions by declaring that she could not resist his " Latino Heat . " After Chyna abandoned Lita to be attacked by the Dudley Boyz , he and Chyna began a feud with Essa Rios and Lita , ending in a European title defense at Backlash , which was also billed as the night of Guerrero ' s prom ( he was said to have just earned a GED ) . Guerrero defeated Rios after arriving at ringside in a 1957 Chevrolet , even wrestling in his tuxedo pants and a bow tie . Guerrero successfully retained the title against former Radicalz friends Saturn and Malenko in a Triple Threat match at Judgment Day , before finally losing the title to Saturn at Fully Loaded . The two slowly began to become popular with the fans but over the next few months , friction began to build between Guerrero and Chyna . Chyna was upset when Guerrero pinned her to advance in the King of the Ring tournament . Then at SummerSlam that August , Guerrero and Chyna wrestled a mixed tag team match against Trish Stratus and Val Venis , who at the time was the reigning Intercontinental Champion . The Intercontinental Championship was on the line in the match , and whoever scored the pin would win the title . Guerrero ' s team won the match , but Chyna scored the pin on Trish and became a two - time Intercontinental Champion . Although Guerrero said he didn ' t mind that his partner was the champion , on the September 4 " Raw is War " he went to WWF Commissioner Mick Foley and asked to be inserted into Chyna ' s title defense against Kurt Angle claiming that he did not want Angle to hurt his " mamacita " . During the course of the match Angle knocked down Chyna with the title belt and Guerrero laid on top of her to try to revive her . However , this resulted in Guerrero " accidentally " pinning Chyna as her shoulders were still on the mat , and thus Guerrero won the match and his first Intercontinental Championship . Chyna became visibly uncomfortable as Guerrero began to cheat in order to retain his title , while Guerrero was upset that Chyna was posing for " Playboy " magazine , even trying to invade the Playboy Mansion to stop the photo shoot . Just when it appeared that Chyna would leave Guerrero , he proposed to her and she accepted . At Unforgiven , Chyna helped Guerrero in retaining his title against Rikishi . The engagement was called off when Guerrero was caught showering with two of The Godfather ' s hos ( one was Victoria ) claiming that " Two Mamacitas are better than one ! " The Radicalz reunion and departure ( 2000 – 2001 ) . Guerrero turned into a villain as a result of the incident . Then , the Radicalz reunited and feuded with the reformed D - Generation X ( Chyna , Billy Gunn , Road Dog , and K - Kwik ) . They defeated DX at Survivor Series in an elimination tag team match and assisted Triple H in his match with Stone Cold Steve Austin . Guerrero was later defeated by Gunn for the Intercontinental Championship , with help from Chyna . At Rebellion , Guerrero and Malenko lost to Gunn and Chyna . Benoit left the group to focus on a singles career while the rest of the Radicalz feuded with Lita and the Hardy Boyz ( Matt and Jeff ) . At Armageddon , the Radicalz defeated the Hardyz and Lita in an elimination tag team match . In early 2001 , Guerrero feuded with Chris Jericho , Benoit , and X - Pac over Jericho ' s Intercontinental Championship . At No Way Out , the four men faced each other in a Fatal Four - Way match , which Jericho won . Guerrero focused on the European Championship , feuding with the champion Test defeating him at WrestleMania X - Seven to win his second European Championship with help from Saturn and Malenko . In April , Radicalz feuded with Test and his partners . Guerrero eventually left the Radicalz , siding with the Hardy Boyz and Lita . At this point , Guerrero developed an addiction to pain medication stemming from his 1999 car accident and in May 2001 was sent to rehab . To explain his absence , a storyline was created where Guerrero was " injured " by Albert in a match . On November 9 , 2001 , he was arrested for drunk driving and was subsequently released by the WWF three days later . Independent circuit ( 2001 – 2002 ) . Guerrero started wrestling on the independent circuit after his release from WWF . On February 23 , he faced Super Crazy on the debut show of Ring of Honor known as " The Era of Honor Begins " to crown the first - ever IWA Intercontinental Champion . Guerrero lost the match . On February 24 , he debuted in the Australian promotion World Wrestling All - Stars ( WWA ) at The Revolution beating the champion Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis in a Triple Threat match for the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship . On March 1 , he defeated the champion CM Punk and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match for the IWA Mid - South Heavyweight Championship . He dropped the title back to Punk one day later on March 2 . He vacated the WWA Cruiserweight title in April 2002 after returning to WWF . Return to the WWF / E ( 2002 – 2005 ) . Raw ( 2002 ) . Guerrero returned to the WWF on the April 1 , 2002 episode of " Raw " , attacking Rob Van Dam . He feuded with Van Dam defeating him for his second WWF Intercontinental Championship at Backlash . After retaining the title against Van Dam at Insurrextion and Judgment Day , he finally lost the belt to Van Dam on the May 27 episode of " Raw " in a ladder match Guerrero then feuded with Steve Austin , but Austin left the WWE before a match could take place . Chris Benoit returned to WWE the night Guerrero lost the title and reunited with him . Guerrero and Benoit feuded with Ric Flair for a while and Guerrero even lost a match to Flair at King of the Ring . On an episode of Raw , Eddie Guerrero came out interrupting The Rock the night after he had won the undisputed title . Guerrero then challenged him to a match after cutting a long promo for the main event that night . Guerrero lost a match to The Rock , challenging him for a # 1 contendership for the Undisputed Championship . SmackDown ! and Los Guerreros ( 2002 – 2003 ) . On August 1 , 2002 , Guerrero and Benoit began to wrestle exclusively for WWE ' s SmackDown ! brand . Guerrero feuded with Edge , to whom he lost at SummerSlam . Guerrero continued his feud with Edge , whom he defeated at Unforgiven ; they then had a No Disqualification match two weeks after Unforgiven on " SmackDown " which Edge won thus ending the rivalry . With Benoit focusing on Kurt Angle , Guerrero aligned himself with his nephew Chavo , forming the tag team Los Guerreros . In contrast to a previous WCW storyline with his nephew , Chavo fully agreed with his uncle as their slogan stated " We lie , we cheat , and we steal , but at least we ' re honest about it . " In order to push the new tag team , vignettes were produced , which included things such as the two finagling their way into a rich lady ' s house and throwing a pool party . The duo entered the eight - team tournament for the new WWE Tag Team Championship , sneaking past Rikishi and Mark Henry in the opening round , before starting a feud with the newly formed tag team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit . In one of the team ' s definitive moments , Chavo told Benoit that his former friend Guerrero was assaulted by his tag team partner Angle . Benoit ran to make the save , only to have himself locked inside a room . Guerrero then appeared in the room and assaulted Benoit with a steel chair . Benoit and Angle managed to overcome their differences and eventually defeated Los Guerreros in the tournament semi - finals . Later on , Benoit and Angle won the title . Benoit and Angle then fought for a trophy for being the first WWE Tag Team Champion . Much to Benoit ' s surprise , Los Guerreros helped him win the match . At Survivor Series , Los Guerreros faced the new champions Edge and Rey Mysterio and the team of Angle and Benoit for the title . Guerrero made Mysterio submit to The Lasso From El Paso to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship . They were defeated by Team Angle ( Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin ) on the February 6 , 2003 episode of " SmackDown ! " . Los Guerreros and Team Angle began feuding with each other . Los Guerreros participated at WrestleMania XIX as contenders for the Tag Team Title , along with the team of Benoit and Rhyno . Both teams lost to Haas and Benjamin in a Triple Threat match . At Backlash , Los Guerreros lost to Team Angle in a rematch . Teaming with Tajiri and United States Champion ( 2003 – 2004 ) . Five days prior to Judgment Day , Chavo tore his biceps , forcing Guerrero to look for another partner . He chose Tajiri . They won the WWE Tag Team Championship , Guerrero ' s second and Tajiri ' s first at Judgment Day by defeating Team Angle in a ladder match . The following week , Guerrero and Tajiri managed to retain their title by cheating . In addition , they also defeated Roddy Piper and his protégé Sean O ' Haire in Madison Square Garden . After Guerrero and Tajiri lost the titles to Team Angle on the July 3 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Guerrero turned on Tajiri , slamming his partner through the windshield of his low - rider truck . The next " Smackdown ! " Guerrero said he did it because during the match Tajiri had accidentally hit his low - rider . Despite being portrayed as the heel , when Guerrero asked the audience if they blamed him for doing it , the audience responded by yelling " No ! " In July 2003 , Guerrero competed in a tournament for the United States Championship . He managed to advance to the final round , defeating Último Dragón and Billy Gunn in the process , where he would meet Chris Benoit . At Vengeance , Guerrero turned to his cheating tactics , hitting Benoit with the belt at one point in the match . Guerrero tried to get Benoit in trouble by placing the title belt on top of the unconscious Benoit . It did not work , however , since he knocked out the referee earlier with a belt shot to the kidneys . The match ended with interference and a Gore from Rhyno , Benoit ' s own partner , who was furious at the team ' s failure . Guerrero himself said that this was a major point in the character of Latino Heat , since he himself realized that the fans wanted to see him lie , cheat , and steal . Guerrero pinned Benoit and won the WWE United States Championship . At SummerSlam , Guerrero retained his title by defeating Rhyno , Benoit , and Tajiri in a Fatal Four - Way match . He turned face again by engaging in a rivalry with John Cena . On the September 11 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Guerrero challenged Cena to a " Latino Heat " Parking Lot Brawl match for the United States Championship , which Guerrero won with help from his returning nephew , Chavo . The next week , Los Guerreros defeated The World ' s Greatest Tag Team ( previously Team Angle ) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship , making Guerrero a double champion . Guerrero engaged in a feud with The Big Show , which involved Guerrero giving the Big Show some laxative laced burrito s and then later spraying the Big Show from a sewage truck . The feud ended when Guerrero dropped the United States title to Big Show at No Mercy . Four days later , Los Guerreros lost the Tag Team Championship to The Basham Brothers ( Doug and Danny ) . They began feuding with The Basham Brothers , but failed to regain the titles at Survivor Series . As Los Guerreros attempted to regain the tag team title , things began to go downhill between Chavo and Guerrero and animosity began to build . Chavo then attacked and turned on Guerrero after he suffered a beating from The Bashams . Guerrero feuded with Chavo and defeated him at the Royal Rumble to settle their feud . WWE Champion ( 2004 - 2005 ) . When Chris Benoit jumped to " Raw " after winning the Royal Rumble , using his title shot to go for Triple H ' s World Heavyweight Championship , Guerrero won a 15 - man Royal Rumble style match on the January 29 , 2004 episode of " SmackDown ! " to earn a shot at the WWE Championship . After becoming the number one contender , Guerrero elevated himself to main event status and began feuding with the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar . At No Way Out , Guerrero defeated Lesnar in the main event to win the WWE Championship . His next feud was with Kurt Angle , whom he defeated at WrestleMania XX to retain his title in his first big defense . At the end of this event , Guerrero celebrated in the ring with longtime friend Chris Benoit , who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship . In March , he started a feud with fellow Texan John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) after JBL interrupted Guerrero ' s match with Booker T . The rivalry would soon turn personal when at a non - televised live event , JBL caused Guerrero ' s mother to suffer a ( kayfabe ) heart attack . At Judgment Day , Guerrero defended his WWE title against JBL and retained the title after getting himself disqualified , hitting JBL with the championship belt . The match witnessed Guerrero bleed heavily mid - way in the match , and later cause him to go into shock after the event had ended . At The Great American Bash , Guerrero defended the title against JBL in a Texas Bullrope match . JBL won after Angle ( who was General Manager of " SmackDown ! " at the time ) reversed the decision after Guerrero appeared to have retained the title . On the July 8 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Guerrero pulled a switcharoo with Shannon Moore , who was wrestling as " El Gran Luchadore " and wore the costume . The next week on " SmackDown ! " , Guerrero faced JBL in a steel cage match for the WWE title where El Gran Luchadore appeared again and cost Guerrero the match ; he later revealed himself as Kurt Angle . Guerrero continued his feud with Angle again . At SummerSlam , Guerrero lost to Angle after submitting to his ankle lock . Guerrero then allied himself with the Big Show . Each week Angle and his new allies Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak began targeting Guerrero and Big Show . Guerrero defeated Reigns in a singles match at No Mercy . General Manager Theodore Long booked a Survivor Series Elimination match between a team led by Guerrero and a team led by Angle . Guerrero ' s team consisted of himself , Big Show , John Cena ( replacing the originally chosen Rey Mysterio ) , and Rob Van Dam . At Survivor Series , Guerrero ' s team defeated Angle ' s team . Guerrero , along with Booker T and The Undertaker , then challenged JBL for a WWE Championship rematch . Along the way , Guerrero found a partner in Booker T . At Armageddon , Guerrero and Booker ' s initial teamwork broke away , and the match ended with JBL pinning Booker following the Clothesline From Hell . Afterwards , Guerrero and Booker briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to win the Tag Team Championship . Storyline with Rey Mysterio ( 2005 ) . At the Royal Rumble , Guerrero entered at # 1 and lasted 28 : 11 before being eliminated . In a humorous skit before the Rumble , he drew his number the same time Ric Flair drew his . In an attempt to get a better draw , Guerrero switched his number with Flair ' s ( and stole Flair ' s wallet in the process ) . Theodore Long made him return both items before the match . Flair would enter at # 30 . At No Way Out , Guerrero teamed up with longtime friend and sometimes rival , Rey Mysterio and defeated The Basham Brothers to win his final title , the WWE Tag Team Championship for a fourth time , with it being Mysterio ' s third reign . Many expected the new champions to defend their title at WrestleMania 21 , but after encouragement from Chavo , Guerrero challenged Mysterio to a one - on - one match instead so they could " bring the house down " . The two wrestled a match at WrestleMania with Mysterio getting the win . Although visibly frustrated , Guerrero congratulated his partner . After several mishaps in the weeks following WrestleMania , the growing tension between Guerrero and Mysterio finally erupted when they lost their tag team championship to the new team MNM ( Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury ) on the April 21 episode of " SmackDown ! " . Although the next week they received a rematch to regain the title , Guerrero turned heel once again by abandoning his partner , whom he had considered " his family " earlier in the show . At the end of one episode of " SmackDown ! " , he attacked his former tag team partner , Mysterio , leaving him bruised and bloody after suplex ing him onto a set of steel steps . Guerrero , having turned heel , then adopted a new , somewhat sociopathic gimmick . During this time , he also stopped driving his low - riders down the ring and walked to the ring with a frown on his face , and reverted to using the Lasso from El Paso as his finishing move . At Judgment Day , Guerrero lost to Mysterio by disqualification after hitting Mysterio with a chair . On the June 30 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Guerrero threatened to reveal a secret about Mysterio and his son Dominick . The storyline grew to involve the families of both men , with both sides pleading for Guerrero not to reveal the secret . Mysterio defeated Guerrero again at The Great American Bash , a match with a stipulation that if Guerrero lost , he would not tell the secret . Yet Guerrero revealed the secret anyway on the following episode of " SmackDown ! " – telling Dominick and the audience that Guerrero was his real father . In the following weeks , Guerrero revealed the details of the secret in a series of what he called " Eddie ' s Bedtime Stories " . During that time he now had a dark comical gimmick . He claimed that he had a child out of wedlock ( Dominick ) while his marriage was going through hard times . He claimed he then allowed Mysterio and his wife , who were " having trouble conceiving " , to adopt the child as their own . At SummerSlam , Guerrero lost a ladder match over Dominick ' s custody to Mysterio . Their feud ended when Guerrero gained a victory over Mysterio in a steel cage match . Storyline with Batista ( 2005 ) . Following his feud with Rey Mysterio , Guerrero was named number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and given a title match with Batista . Despite this , Guerrero quickly proclaimed himself to be Batista ' s friend . Batista was well aware of Guerrero ' s sneaky reputation , and despite eventually accepting his friendship ( initially to keep an eye on him ) , Batista would continually play mind games with Guerrero to expose his true intentions . A series of matches with MNM only supported Batista ' s suspicions that Guerrero was up to no good , as Guerrero appeared to have reverted to his cheating ways . In response to Batista ' s suspicions , Guerrero helped Batista win a match against his tag team partners , John " Bradshaw " Layfield and Christian . Batista defeated Guerrero at No Mercy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in what would be Guerrero ' s last pay - per - view match . During the match , Guerrero struggled with a decision about whether or not to use a steel chair to secure the victory , eventually opting not to use it and losing as a result . Though the two demonstrated mutual respect after the match , Guerrero seemed displeased by the loss . Guerrero told Batista that he realized how low he had sunk since losing the WWE Championship in 2004 , having attacked his best friend Rey Mysterio . Guerrero told Batista that shaking his hand at No Mercy had returned his respect to him . After the match , Batista called Guerrero back out and sang " Happy Birthday " and , along with the crowd , celebrated Guerrero ' s 38th birthday . He would make his entrance , once again using his signature low rider , turning face once again . He wrestled his last match , airing November 11 , defeating Mr . Kennedy using his signature lie , cheat , and steal tactics , which allowed him to advance to the Survivor Series team . On the date of his death , a triple threat match between himself , Batista , and Randy Orton was supposed to take place to air on the next episode of Smackdown for the World Heavyweight Championship . Some reports say Guerrero had been scripted to win the title so Batista could take time off to heal from an injured back . Death . On November 13 , 2005 , Eddie was found unconscious in his hotel room by his nephew , Chavo . Chavo attempted CPR before alerting Paramedics , but Eddie was pronounced dead at the scene . An autopsy revealed that Eddie had died from heart failure brought on by a blocked artery . A ceremony in honor of Eddie was held on an edition of Friday Night Smackdown ! . Eddie was inducted by his nephew into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 . On the 10 year special edition of Smackdown ! , Eddie was honored , as the anniversary was on Eddie ' s birthday .