Original subtitles

When they split the brands, there were a lot of skeptics to the fact that

SmackDown couldn't stand on its own two feet.

And now that we're celebrating a thousand episodes of this show and it

to be a wonderful standalone brand, that's because of Eddie Guerrero.

He was the SmackDown locker room. He's one of the top entertainers, one of the

best guys who will ever grace that ring.

I love, I cheat, I steal!

You gotta build a Mount Rushmore for SmackDown.

First person's face that goes up there is Eddie Guerrero.

When I got to WWE, yeah, there was that sense. I've arrived, you know, this is

it. And I was so determined to show Vince I had potential.

I think that was really important for Eddie to prove to himself and to

else that, you know, the love of wrestling and the love of what he did

resonated.

At this point in my career, you know, it was going great.

Opportunities happened that I never dreamt about.

How did it go sour? Jeez.

You never think that, you know, WWE was going to fire him. I think Eddie kind of

played with that, you know, quite a bit.

throughout his days of drug abuse and using alcohol.

And then, you know, when the day came that, you know, they did fire him and he

had to actually work for the bottom up, you know, go through rehab. And he had

to learn that he had to do it for himself and not for everybody else to be

and sober.

It was my fault.

Nobody's fault but my own.

I think I really had to prove myself. You know, WWE, they know.

They know what's going on. I did a lot of independent work.

And I guess they were watching.

And we did. We talked. And they took me back. They gave me another opportunity.

That's Eddie Guerrero!

That's Rick Flair's apparently son, Eddie Guerrero! Eddie Guerrero making

presence felt here with the Intercontinental Champion!

I think when WWE had...

confidence in him again, that he could be employed and he could work again and

still take care of himself.

He was very grateful and humbled about it. I had a lot of doubts about myself

and about going back.

But as far as them wanting me,

I always kind of knew in my heart that I might have a second chance.

Eddie Guerrero was on the first roster list of stars to be designated to

SmackDown. And there was a small group, Eddie being one of the team captains of

that group, that really wanted to champion the brand of SmackDown. And of

course, our goal was to make it better than Monday Night Raw.

Well, the reimagining of SmackDown was a long -term project that needed to also

net short -term results.

We knew Edge was going to be a long -term main eventer. We knew Kurt Angle

going to main event more WrestleManias. We knew Rey Mysterio was going to be a

huge superstar for us. But we also needed someone who could come in

from Raw.

and immediately ascend to the top of SmackDown while we took the time to

all of these other personalities. And no one was more qualified to become an

instant sensation than Eddie Guerrero.

We had all these great talent on SmackDown, and what we decided to do as

was make SmackDown a wrestling show.

I remember watching SmackDown, and I knew that was the show for me overall.

But I just remember seeing him, and I was just instantly hooked.

Everything about him was just off the charts. His lying, cheating, stealing to

the matches he had. I think Eddie was a huge part of SmackDown, and for quite a

while was the face of the brand.

Viva la raza!

Alasky Bastille!

Latino Giroda Lejones, yeah, man, you know, that's what I grew up with, you

know, those are my homies.

Just a part of me, I just take it to another extreme.

I never pictured myself being entertaining in that funny way.

You got the deer in the headlight. Look, look, look. You look like this.

No, no. I mean, if I had a camera, I'd take a picture. You're funny.

He could take a crowd and go on a roller coaster of emotions with them. He can

make you love him one second and literally five seconds later be booing

hating him. He was just that good at changing emotions and stuff. And he

also, in that same couple minutes, just... have you in tears laughing it

feel for him you tell eddie this is what you need to say to bromo he couldn't he

couldn't remember it but it was always something special

the

only thing is he was cheating

but you totally got that moment And he was clever. He was too clever not to

appreciate.

Wasn't it you that stole my memorabilia? That was for a good cause. That was for

charity. I don't give a damn what it was for. That was mine.

It was the one that the fans took to very quickly.

Even though he lied, cheated, steal, the fans loved him for it.

Everything about him, I was just like instantly hooked. And I knew that I

to become a celebrity superstar.

Every other dream that I ever had just kind of went out the window, and I knew

had one goal in life.

You like Eddie Guerra?

You know, Eddie at home was very quiet. And, of course, with me and the girls,

we always, you know, had family day where it was movies and, you know, eat

and make pellets on the floor. And, you know, he would watch all the Disney

movies for the girls that they wanted until they fell asleep.

He just, he was at home, and he liked to relax and kind of be quiet.

de -stress from the road. And then as soon as that red light comes on the

and he gets into the doors of the arena, he turns into this other person. And

it's because he loved what he did so much.

And he was so happy at work. He was happy at home, don't get me wrong.

But there was something about when he walked into that arena and it was

showtime. He was in love with what he did.

And that was something that made me happy because he had different loves. He

the love of his home and he had the love of the arena. And then to go out into

the arena and see the fans, he loved to look everyone in the eye and make eye

contact and let them know, I see you. And that was important to Eddie.

Here's your winner and the new WWE Champion,

Eddie!

WWE Championship.

Wow, man. You worked so hard all your life, you know, for something. And, you

know, days, months away from your family to obtain something

like this.

And sometimes this dream seemed

so unobtainable to me, you know, that it was hard.

for me to believe when it actually happened.

I mean, this is everything that he became sober and clean and wanted to be

better when he had his second return to WWE.

This was everything that had happened previous in his life, that this was the

moment that he was able to prove to himself that he could do this all by

himself. Eddie was able to prove to himself and everyone around watching

match that night that It's not about the size, it's about your heart. And the

heart wins every time.

It opened doors for everybody.

What Eddie did was he made a statement that night that size doesn't matter.

Eddie was that person.

He was the guy that started it. He started the whole, you know, era of

anything's possible. It doesn't matter how big or small you are. You can make

your dream come true.

The day you beat Brock.

The next night, you're walking out, and that's the big litmus test.

And the place gave an eruption like I've almost never heard. It was like Stone

Cold at its heyday at The Rock. I mean, it was unbelievable.

And I'll tell you, Eddie, when he held the title, he did it with dignity and he

did it with pride. He really matched well with the fans.

Backstage, Eddie Guerrero was a genuine pain in the ass.

Eddie Guerrero...

Wanted to know every single solitary detail of every single solitary segment

that he was in. And that's because he was a second generation superstar with a

lifetime of experience.

So he brought a micromanagement style to his

performance that every top performer should have. Eddie's insight and ability

to.

navigate through action. You think of a parking lot brawl, and you immediately

come up with things that should be involved.

Eddie's ability to really innovate and use everything more than

would be expected was the greatest thing that Eddie Guerrero taught me. Use all

of your surroundings to your advantage. And I think this is what helped him

really develop the lie -cheat -steal personality.

Well, you have to remember, Eddie was very honest.

He was actually brutally honest.

He watched the whole show.

He watched everybody wrestle.

He watched the first match all the way to the last match. Eddie always went out

of his way to give advice to every single wrestler that wrestled on the

That's what made Eddie special.

And I'm very, very thankful to work under the wing of Eddie Guerrero and

not probably all of his secrets, but most all of his secrets.

He is an integral part of the style that I have today. I take so many of his

teachings and try to use them every day. I'm very grateful for having worked

with him.

A complete, utter shock.

I was just trying to accept the fact that he was gone.

I got a call from Ed Kosky, who told me that Eddie Guerrero had passed away.

We found out it was a Sunday morning, and it was about 6 .30, and we get a

doorbell that rang.

And at first I thought I was dreaming. I didn't know. And Eddie was on the road.

He was in Minneapolis, and I didn't understand why the doorbell was ringing.

thought maybe it was my front door neighbor that needed something.

So I got up, and when I opened the door, all of Eddie's family was there.

And so when I opened the door, his sister started crying.

And they came in and said they had to talk to me.

And that person had told me that they had contacted the family. They didn't

to let me know since I was alone with the girls. They wanted to let the family

come over to my house and let me know what was going on.

By 7 .30, my whole world had changed.

And I missed a call from Eddie, you know, like around 4 .30. And I just

understand why he was calling so early.

When he called, it was a missed call, and I thought, well, maybe he just got

and he went back to bed, so I didn't think anything of it. And I don't know

it was something that he, you know, was going through or he was trying to call

me before he passed away.

I still keep all his voicemails. I mean, it's still something that's very

special to me because I like to know that it was the last one that he talked

and he was trying to call.

It was unreal for him.

Gosh, for like a month, everything just seemed like it wasn't true.

But little by little, you don't understand what God's reasonings are,

why things happen.

But I know that Eddie's in a better place than we are, and I will see him

one day, and that's something that I live for.

Eddie was in the prime of his life, 38 years old, in the prime of his career.

Eddie loved to perform more than anything else, whether he's booed or

was cheered. He loved to perform for all of you.

Eddie's goal every night, Eddie's goal every night was to steal the show.

So tonight, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that Eddie would want the show to

go on, and so it shall.

Amazingly enough, I think one of the most memorable moments having to do with

Eddie Guerrero on SmackDown with the tribute to Eddie Guerrero because it

put forth the impact of how much Eddie Guerrero meant to the WWE Universe.

They had me go out and speak and I was just so heartbroken. I was literally

devastated.

If I know anything about Eddie Guerrero, I know that he would hate to see me in

this ring crying like a little baby.

Well, Eddie, I'm sorry, I just can't help it because I just can't believe

gone.

It was hard being out there, like really hard. I think mostly it was hard

because I was falling apart.

Like after all these years, it's still pretty hard to talk about.

If a lot of today's superstars claim they were influenced by Eddie Guerrero,

then I would suggest their attention is placed on the right person in history.

I don't believe SmackDown would still be around if Eddie Groh wasn't here. He

made it so special.

He made SmackDown magical.

When you transcend time, I think it's one of the greatest legacies you can

and it shows how great that person is.

Eddie's one of the great ones.

He's one of the top entertainers, one of the best guys who will ever grace that

ring.

But I think for the guys who were there, the fans who watched them, it means

much more than that.

I would put him at the very top as far as being the guy that made

the biggest difference on SmackDown.

Eddie's legacy is unique.

He had gratitude for being able to be in that ring. Eddie wanted the

satisfaction of those fans leaving that arena and being happy with that show.

This is a business that fed our family and it provides so much entertainment

that this is...

This is what it was about, you know, was Eddie wanted the show to keep going on.

If he was hurt or, you know, when he passed away, I know that the show went

and that's what he would have wanted to do. And that's a legacy that he would

want to leave is that, you know, the show goes on, and that's how it should