Original subtitles

I would call Mysterio and Guerrero two of the greatest Latino wrestlers in the

history of world wrestling entertainment.

A dream team.

We really bonded and connected because Eddie was definitely a mentor.

Almost like brothers.

Man, we had some great, great times. A lot of fun.

And then like every marriage, eventually you're going to bump heads.

We wanted to be the bad guy.

Behind the scenes.

There's an element of tension and natural competition.

They brought television's best soap opera to WWE SmackDown.

Hey, Ray, this is your son Dominic's daycare.

The crazy thing about it is, is you have to understand you're dealing with real

human beings, real life.

Dominic is Ray's son.

Don't hurt my son!

Oh, like, that's real heavy stuff, man.

What happened to brotherhood, SP?

It all escalated so fast.

He wanted a fight. I gave him a fight.

When two legends collide,

their rivalry stays pinned in our minds forever.

This is where we break down the legendary stories behind the greatest

of all time.

I'm Freddie Prinze Jr., and this is WWE Rivals.

This one is very near and dear to my heart, and by far my favorite, Eddie

Guerrero versus Rey Mysterio.

And in order to properly invest in this, we have to talk about Lucha Libre as a

whole. My grandmother from Boqueron, Puerto Rico, was the first person to

show me a wrestling match.

And she says, Lucha is the struggle. It's the fight between the two men.

Even though its roots were from Mexico, in America, this was an opportunity for

the American Chicano to have someone to grab onto.

Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio were the greatest two Latino stars of all time.

Two of the greatest stars of all time. You hate to even pigeonhole them and say

Latino stars.

You can kind of see the effect that they had on a young man like me when they

were wrestling. And I know they've had that effect on even younger people who

watched them and saw them as heroes.

Hello, my name is Eddie Guerrero, a friend to you, but also a professional

wrestler. First time I saw Eddie Guerrero, I was just a fan.

Eddie was going and he was wrestling at the auditorium in Tijuana.

wrestling next to my uncle, Ray Mysterio Sr.

Ray Mysterio!

It's just amazing how life itself circles around.

You know, I never would have thought that one day I was going to become his

great partner and then his great nemesis.

Eddie Guerrero up top!

Jackknife! Eddie Guerrero had the talent and...

He had it all. He had it. He had the legacy, the name, Guerrero.

Me growing up with Mexican Lucha Libre, you always hear about the stories about

the Guerreros being that they came from Gory Guerrero, the legendary partner of

El Santo.

You know, in my life, I always wanted to be like my dad.

They used to call him Ave de las Tempestades, which means...

Thunderbird. And the reason they called him Thunderbird, he'd go into the

people, you know, take an ass.

I want to be as good as my dad. I want to be as good as my brothers, you know.

And little by little, I learned that I couldn't live like that because it was

killing me.

You know, I had to learn how to live my own story and make my own story. I'm a

second generation wrestler. When I was born, I came out of my mom. I drop

the doctor. That's right. You don't mess with me, Jack. I got blood flowing in

my vein.

Wrestling blood.

Now Eddie Guerrero wears the American colors, red, white, and blue.

As you can hear, that really infuriates the Mexican fans.

In the world of Lucha Libre, you have the técnicos, which are the good guys.

What's Guerrero got to do? A poke in the eyes.

And you have the rulos, which are the bad guys.

Eddie's character, he had the flip mode switch.

Here goes Guerrero off the road. Front kick in midair by Guerrero. He can be a

técnico or he can be a rulo.

To be able to dominate both worlds, that's a gift.

If you had asked me back then, man, would you love to work at it, I would

said yes.

I was a skinny, scrumpy little kid that had this passion for lucha libre.

Prior to becoming Rey Mysterio Jr., I remember my first match.

My uncle comes up to me and he says, what do you think about this name or

name? And I'm thinking to myself, wait, you're saying I'm not going to be Rey

Mysterio Jr.?

He goes, no, no, no, you got to earn that.

That takes some work.

Within about a year and a half to almost two years, I walk out to the ring, and

right before the match is getting ready to start, my uncle walks out.

And I'm thinking to myself, whoa, what's going on here?

You know, he grabs the mic, and tonight there will be history in the making.

He will now be known as...

It was like a new beginning for me.

The first time that I kind of understood what they were all about is when they

came in and like that explosion of wrestlers that came in to WCW. The debut

Rey Mysterio Jr.

A sensation from Mexico.

And I'd never seen any of this stuff.

It was amazing.

Watch out!

Mysterio is up and down!

Springboard somersault off the top rope!

The vertical leaping abilities on the ropes.

Ray Mysterio in WCW, he was a superhero, you know, which is why I fell in love

with this business, period.

Eddie, the moment he walked out, you're watching.

You didn't change the channel when Eddie Guerrero was on.

Off the top.

When Eddie and Ray would go out there and say a few words in Spanish, it was,

can speak to my people in our language.

Everybody will be okay with it.

They change the dream.

I think that Ray has the same kind of love that I have for this business.

Ray wrestles because he loves it in his heart.

And that's the main drive in him.

And I believe that to be so in my life.

And that's what I see in Ray.

In WCW is where we really bonded and connected. My personal life and my

you know, and as a mentor. Because Eddie was definitely a mentor.

Eddie and I had something very, very special.

Chemistry that not just happened outside of the ring.

It happened inside the ring. It happened any time we were around each other.

It all started in September of 1997.

Eddie and Ray finally put hands on each other.

It's wild because both men seemingly never stopped in the ring. It felt like

constant movement, like rushing water.

So much offense and so much intensity and everything they did was so crisp.

Watching them, you knew it was something special and magical. Whenever they were

in the ring together, you're just left speechless and left in awe of the fact

that I felt like that as a kid still holds true now.

What a comeback

for the kid!

The mask is one of the most important symbols that represents Lucha Libre.

Some very sacred, some very spiritual, some very personal that you take with

because when you lose your mask, you cannot wear it anymore.

That's part of tradition and lucha libre.

What does the mask mean in lucha libre?

Everything.

It's your heart and your soul.

You wear it as your face.

Try to unmask him. Now this would be the biggest insult he could do to this guy,

right? On screen.

Eddie Guerrero was playing the ultimate disrespectful villain by trying to take

the mask off of Rey Mysterio.

It was as if I was to say to you, okay, I'm going to take your face away.

I'm going to change everything about you now. And now you're just a human being.

What was really interesting about that battle was that at the same time that we

were seeing it played out on screen, behind the scenes, The people that were

control of WCW were also trying to get Rey Mysterio to start competing without

the mascot.

I just felt that being able to see his face would enhance his character because

the audience could feel his emotion even more. But I didn't really understand

the connection, the legacy, the history, the cultural relevance

of the mask to Rey.

Apparently, the word going around was that I was losing my mask.

And it came down to Halloween Havoc. Well, I tell you what, Tony, there's

to be a fight here. Let me tell you something. What's at stake here?

Guys, livelihood's at stake here.

The mask is Ray.

You're not relating to Ray Mysterio like he's an average human being.

You're relating to Ray Mysterio like he's something different.

Because Ray is the mask.

You know, I know he had a lot to prove that night.

Nice arm drag by Mysterio. Don't try this at home.

I didn't want to give up something that was part of my beginning.

Our mask is our legacy. A torch that was passed on to me by my uncle.

And a surfboard maneuver here, pulling back on the skin, getting on the back,

and here again, he's kicking on the mask. Hey, he's got the mask ripped.

So it's 1997, Halloween Havoc. Eddie was running through people, and here comes

Ray. Ray Mysterio Jr.

There's always got to be a bad guy, and I think Eddie kind of liked being the

bad guy.

Then you've got this perfect, you know, the perfect baby face.

He's got the mask ripped, ripping at the eye hole of Mysterio.

Eddie Guerrero tried to rock.

Rey Mysterio of his entire heritage by trying to take that mask away.

There was a lot of politicking going on backstage, and it was a big deal for him

to lose his mask. He didn't want to lose it. Rey Mysterio Jr.

just will not quit.

What I think made Rey Mysterio so believable in his fight to maintain his

heritage and who he was is that he was fighting that fight for real.

You know, I know he had a lot to prove that night, and so did I.

I always wanted to take care of Ray.

One of my favorite matches of my career.

It was just a great moment in time.

I

was

so proud of him and happy for him because...

He not only deserved it, man, he stole the show.

This rivalry that I had with Eddie, he was able to let me show the world

what I can deliver.

I come to work with my heart, and all you do is

step on it.

And I'm tired of it.

I had been trying to get out of WCW for a while. I hated being around that

locker room.

It got to a point where I was taking work home and I was just real depressed

home.

So you start drinking a little more and start taking a pill here and a pill

there and start going downhill, you know.

By the grace of God, I'm a recovering drug addict and alcoholic that works

day to stay sober, that works every day to walk in the path of God.

Eddie has some demons.

Eddie was a phenomenal worker.

He was a really good dude. He was just a generous, loving guy.

I was so excited about working in WWE, you know, because

Vince gives people opportunities.

Watching Monday Night Raw, that first appearance, that brought a smile to my

face. And he's one of my guys that I fell in love with in WCW. He's a big

It almost happened as a way of Eddie opening doors for not just me, but for

ones that were coming after him.

There's something about Rey Mysterio.

If I really have that value, maybe I need to go to the place where the

stars in the industry come from.

He is the sensational.

Oh, yeah.

The high -flying Rey Mysterio. He makes his debut next.

One of the first moves I made as lead writer of SmackDown was to bring in Rey

Mysterio. That was one of the best moves I made.

Look at Rey.

Look at Mysterio. Oh, my God. A crossbody from the top of the cage.

Rey Mysterio is a revolutionary, indeed evolutionary performer.

There's a reason luchadors didn't make it in America, because they had masks

For Ray to be able to relate like that, that's beyond amazing.

We're doing Ray's video, and that, it's even more awesome. I mean, I'm so happy

for him.

Orale, you know, he deserves it, you know, and he's worked hard.

This is a, it's, I'm on cloud nine right now for Ray and for myself.

Man, we had some great, great times.

A lot of fun. You know, not just going out, just having fun, just being buds.

He was always around.

I would see some cowboy boots, you know, at our guest bedroom, like, right in

front. And I was like, man, I knew Eddie was here. So I would walk downstairs,

and there he was, you know, sitting in the kitchen, you know, having breakfast,

you know, with my dad and my mom.

And I remember just, you know, having, like, breakfast burritos with him.

Eddie Guerrero and Ray Mysterio was just a natural tag team.

They traveled together.

They practically lived together on the road. They loved each other. It was a

natural.

As I would call Mysterio and Guerrero a dream team.

Arguably two of the greatest Latino wrestlers in the history of world

entertainment. We had wrestled against

each other, but we had never teamed up. This was complete magic together.

That's a great way to kick off 2005, you know.

becoming tag team champions.

And then like every marriage, eventually you're going to bump heads.

There's nobody that can keep up with us, man. I mean, Rey Mysterio versus Eddie

Guerrero. WrestleMania 21, hoes. The biggest night of the year, man. This is

history, este vato.

I think you thought I was there.

I knew it.

Oh,

I'm dead serious.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. We are live in Hollywood, and this is

WrestleMania.

You put Ray and Eddie, first match of WrestleMania 21, you know exactly what

you're going to get.

You're going to start off with a hot match where they can go, follow that.

And it just sets the bar right off the bat. And you knew you were going to have

a great match.

Over the top rope by Ray Mysterio.

Mysterio across the ring.

He got him.

Mysterio got him.

Eddie, at the time, he wanted to be a bad guy.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

I hadn't seen him in this state of mind prior to our rivalry, but I knew he

could get there very easily.

It all escalated so fast.

Eddie tapped into that

play that he knew would trigger me.

Not this.

No, no, Eddie, put him down.

Bleeding, mask torn.

I mean, what else could happen to me?

At that point, the fans knew it's done.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are still in shock over the trance -like beating.

of a man this man once called his family ray mysterio he's changed i don't know

this eddie guerrero i didn't want to do it ray why'd you make me do it

you can see it in eddie guerrero's eyes especially when he had that promo where

he was sitting in the ring and the lights were dim and he was explaining to

his pain and his anger you were stealing my passion my

Energy, you are still in my Latino heat.

It made you go, whoa, this is an Eddie we've never really seen before, and he's

dangerous.

When you get to the frustration of, I can't beat this guy, and Eddie Guerrero

can't beat Ray Mysterio.

Latino heat's in trouble.

Big one, not connected.

Come on, Ray.

Look at this. And a chop.

Eddie Fendish, wow.

Wow. Wow. It's because he can't beat Rey Mysterio.

What can I do to get that edge on Rey Mysterio?

I'm going to get in his head.

I know a secret.

Your secret, Rey.

The one you don't want your son Dominic to know.

The story behind the battle over the custody of Dominic came from Bruce

and Eddie Guerrero himself.

The storyline came from Eddie Guerrero's book.

Eddie Guerrero had written about his problems with drugs and alcohol, and

had a child with another woman during his separation.

What if that child were Dominic?

Now, you have to understand you're dealing with real human beings, real

Dominic is Angie and Ray's son.

My dad looked at me and he goes, I want to talk to you about something.

And I thought I was in trouble, like right off the bat, because no parent

that to you and it's like something good is going to happen.

So I was already freaking out. He was like, so the company wants to do a

storyline with you and me and Eddie.

And I was like, do I have to do it? And he goes, no, you don't have to. He goes,

but they're going to pay you.

I said, oh, okay.

I really enjoyed being part of such a rich storyline.

that included family members, which you hardly ever see.

It was very, very special.

Hey, Ray.

This is your son Dominic's daycare.

I remember very vividly the scene where I was filming with Eddie in the park.

And after every take, he'd ask me, are you okay? And then he would hand me a

Twizzler. Yeah, is it good?

Do you like bedtime stories? I love bedtime stories, Uncle Eddie. Well.

Uncle Eddie promises to tell you a bedtime story

you'll never, ever forget.

You know, whether it was in the match or the skits that we were doing, he just

wanted things to be done the best way possible.

Hey, Ray Ray, I know you were looking at that. What do you say, Holmes?

You think I should tell everybody our little secrets?

This storyline was completely outside of the realm of what was typical for WWE

then, or quite frankly, any time.

Get on your knees and beg me not to tell the truth.

We've never really had a storyline that was completely based around the

offspring of your good guy superstar.

It was tight.

I'm sure he didn't mean it, but just the way he was like, it's just...

I don't know, with him. And, like, I know afterwards he was just like, hey,

mijo, it's okay. Like, I didn't mean it.

Dominic! Dominic!

Ray is not your father!

I'm your father, Dominic!

I'm your papi.

I'm your papi.

It's hilarious.

I mean, the whole idea of the whole storyline, it was like, come on.

But you got invested.

Is it true, Dad?

Is it really true?

My teachers were concerned because I wasn't in school, and what they were

was what was on TV.

It was this real -life connection.

You know, and Eddie, when you talk about spitting venom, man, there was nothing

like Eddie spitting venom at Ray.

You can tell when something like that comes off good because they're close in

real life. You know, Eddie's probably watched Dom grow up, and for him to

this low and try to bring it out on TV and try to embarrass not just Ray but

whole family and to confuse Dominic, like, if you go back and watch Dom's

his little eyes is just...

You know, he was younger than me, and you just want to, like, hold him. You're

like, it's going to be okay no matter who's your puppy. Like, it's going to be

okay. So it just really brought you in, you know. So, yeah, I loved Eddie, but

in this particular storyline, I was ready to see him get what he deserved.

They probably didn't want to hear the rest of the story, but I bet all of you

do.

There are audience members today that still wonder.

Eddie Guerrero brought television's best soap opera to WWE SmackDown.

Uncle Eddie.

It worked so well because everybody knew how good of a relationship that Ray and

Eddie had.

When you add that element of reality into a storyline, like, you're drawn in,

right? How can you not be? Like, especially now, like, as a father, like,

the custody of my kids, oh, like, that's real heavy stuff, man.

Prove it to me.

Prove it to everybody that you can beat me one last time.

SummerSlam for the custody of Dominic.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in the history of the WWE, the custody

of a child will be determined in a ladder match.

The whole family gets involved.

And it makes you want to see a man get...

be down for what he's doing to this other man on national television.

Briefcase is hanging up in the center of the ring, and you have to grab a

ladder, climb that ladder, and pull that briefcase where the custody papers are

in.

And Eddie Guerrero with a cheap shot. Typical Guerrero fashion to start off

matchup. As fans, we're not truly watching.

To see which superstar is going to get custody of a child.

We're watching to see the good guy win.

I remember watching this with my mom,

and my mom was like, what?

You know, like, she hated Eddie, and I loved seeing her reaction because it

so...

The fight over a custody of a child, it was beyond just like creepy, pushing the

edge. Wow.

And you wanted to see Eddie get destroyed by Ray.

Watching it live there as a kid, you know, it really did put things in

perspective.

Just hearing the shots of ladders and like.

You know, the sound of the mat, everything was just, you know, so

I did worry, you know, because I didn't want either of them to get hurt.

I

remember

falling, and I landed on top of the ladder, then on the mat.

It was a pretty rough landing.

At the time, you don't feel none of that.

Your adrenaline is going, and you're just focused on the tap.

Oh, my God, that was ugly.

Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Dominic, get over there!

Get Dominic!

Being in the ring and the cameras rolling, I was scared, man. Like, I

used to that. So my heart would be beating, my hands would be sweating, but

just knew that I had to go in there and do what needed to be done.

Dominic's shaking the ladder!

Looking back at it now, I really did try to shake it, and I couldn't move the

damn thing.

You can't move it! Not strong enough.

We still give him a brief for that.

Slides in and he grabs the ladder and he's like,

son, you should have shook that ladder.

What's the matter with you?

Give me a hug.

When you're passionate about your sport, every little moment counts.

No, look at this.

And that's what made Eddie so special.

Eddie went out there and it's magic.

Freaking magic.

It's inexplicable. You can't explain this guy.

You've got to understand, when he walked out, it was like an electric cord that

wasn't grounded. Just electrified a freaking arena.

Oh, my God. Oh,

my God. I never saw nothing like that.

Here we go.

Eddie had such a huge heart that he wanted you to do good.

And Eddie gave me that blessing to be able to go out there and perform as his

best tag team partner or perform as his number one rival.

We were at a SmackDown taping the last time I had a chance to see Eddie.

I was getting ready to leave the arena, and I said bye to everyone.

I remember walking up, said, hey, I'll see you Sunday, okay?

Perfect. Gave him a hug, kiss, and we left.

Minneapolis, 2005,

November.

When I arrived to the arena,

They broke it to me right then and there.

Yeah.

Damn, it's hard.

When I arrived to the arena, they broke it to

me right then and there. Eddie just passed.

No, no, no, no.

I remember leaving my stuff, and I jetted over there.

You know, I made it there as fast as I could.

I was in denial.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

They found Eddie Guerrero at the hotel.

Eddie's heart gave out brushing his teeth, and it was horrible.

Absolutely horrible, because it was...

It just was a huge hole in my heart, and I think a hole in the industry overall.

The doctor spoke to the coroners, and they let us walk into his room and say

goodbye.

And we just paid our respects.

Paid our respects, and it still wasn't denial. I couldn't believe.

that this was really happening.

I remember kneeling down and just bawling, crying. We had lost

a fine soul.

You know, one of the best friends you could ever have.

I guess we all have our life.

From beginning to end written out, we just don't know when our ending is going

to come.

This hit me hard. And when I heard about this, a big part of me said it was

fake.

Because I needed to believe that it was.

And I hated learning the truth that he was gone.

What I wouldn't give to have Eddie here now.

I mean, there's only one Eddie Guerrero, man. People talk about him as Reverend

for very good reason. And when he died, it was just like part of us died with

him.

I found out about Eddie Guerrero's death at the Target Center at the arena in

Minneapolis.

I saw all these signs that said, rest in peace, Eddie.

And as a kid, it just didn't quite hit me.

And I had this big smile on my face, and this guy walked up to me and goes, did

you hear?

I go, hear what?

He goes, Eddie Guerrero passed away.

And I just remember everything at that moment just stopped for me.

I felt like someone hit my heart, but the glass didn't shatter.

And then I took a look around, and I saw those signs again, and I was like, this

can't be real.

This can't be real.

Eddie Guerrero has passed away.

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.

My brother, I love you.

Even now, to this day, I would say I've seen my dad cry.

I can count on one hand how many times I've seen him cry.

One of those times being Eddie.

I'd see him upstairs, like, just sitting on the couch by himself and just, like,

looking back at pictures, voicemails, texts.

I was one of my dad's best friends, and to see him go like that so suddenly was

a shock to everybody.

I want to dedicate this Royal Rumble to my brother, to mi

hermano, Eduardo Guerrero.

Y 'all know he's watching us, right?

Oh man, Royal Rumble, 2006.

Very special moment for me.

For the 19th consecutive year, the road to WrestleMania begins at the Royal

Rumble. Paying homage to Eddie tonight in a lowrider, here comes Mysterio.

Coming out with the lowrider, hitting the switches, bouncing up and down.

There was an empty spot.

I needed Eddie there.

But he was there in spirit.

I have 28 guys following me, so it's not looking too good for me right off the

get -go.

2006 Royal Rumble is an incredible moment.

The fight that Ray was fighting is the same fight that Ray and Eddie fought for

their entire career.

It was a fight against the perception of...

what an American wrestling champion was supposed to look like.

And that is what made this Rumble match so poignant.

Rey Mysterio dedicated his matchup to his late great friend, Eddie Guerrero.

Rey Mysterio! He did it! He did it! He did it! He did it! No way! Rey Mysterio

did it!

The explosion of the fans.

This was a picture -perfect moment.

It was such a great moment that I had to let Eddie know.

It was not just one person, it was two. I couldn't see the other one, but he

knew he was there.

Rey Mysterio carries the soul of Eddie Guerrero to one more WrestleMania main

event. Shakespeare.

It's a beautiful play unfolding right in front of your very eyes.

It's beautiful.

It's great, bud!

And you know the late, great Eddie Guerrero, Cole, is looking down upon

he's so proud.

Winning that title at WrestleMania 22 was the peak of my career and

a tribute to Eddie because Eddie would have loved

to have seen me as a champion.

I think it really hit him when he got home because I would just see him

at the title.

It wasn't real to him, but it was real for us,

and it was really cool to see.

To me, it's one of the toughest things that a person could be asked to do.

Ray has to carry the legacy of Eddie Guerrero.

that's virtually impossible to do.

And Ray did it. And Ray did it magnificently.

You know, if Eddie Guerrero's looking down, brother, he's smiling from ear to

ear.

We're at the cemetery where Eddie is sleeping profoundly, and it hurts.

It really hurts.

I'd rather keep the nice memories in my head and in my heart.

I miss you.

And I wish you were still here.

And I know you would be so proud of Dominic.

We talk about you all the time.

You've inspired so many of us.

I feel at peace right now.

The way I had a sense of happiness.

He's constantly in my heart and in my mind. And, you know,

it's not a day that passes that I don't think about him.

Amen.

I love these two men so much. I don't mean loved as in past tense.

I just mean they are beloved to me.

We just felt such a connection.

I don't even know how to explain that feeling. Like, oh, I'm going to get

up. That's okay.

These were Latin American men who brought Lucha Libre to the mainstream

it work. And I don't think any other two men could have pulled off what they

did.

Ray Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero are two of the best. Not in the business today.

It's just two of the best ever.

They change the game. You know, they inspire so many people to be larger than

life.

When you have two guys like that that just want to give their very best to the

fans, you know, you can't go wrong.

Deep down inside, you're thinking of all these moments, and it's making every

time we step in the ring just mean that much more.

We both love to deliver.

And what better way than to do it with your best friend, with your brother?