There are few names that have become legendary in the world of wrestling and Eddie Guerrero is one of them. He made a name for himself around the world, working for AAA, NJPW, ECW, WCW and WWE. He was one of those wrestlers that was a master in the ring and on the mic, cutting some of the most memorable promos in the industry.
Eddie's career-defining run was on SmackDown where he won the WWE Championship off Brock Lesnar and successfully defended it at WrestleMania XX against Kurt Angle. Months later, he would die of heart failure, leaving a hole in the wrestling world that has yet to be filled.
10 The European Champ Goes After a Big Samoan
There was a period in Eddie's career that he held the now-defunct European Championship and was partnered with the late Chyna. During that reign, Eddie was scheduled to defend his title against Rikishi, father of The Usos, on SmackDown. As he walked to the ring with Chyna, Eddie cut a ridiculous promo where he claimed to be European and stated that it would be a disgrace to his title to have a Samoan hold it. He then brought up Rikishi's big ol' booty, a frequent talking point in that era.
9 Eddie Tries to Pick Up Chyna
Eddie and Chyna's on-screen relationship was a source for a lot of great promos and backstage segments. Prior to that relationship starting, Eddie came to the ring with the late Chris Benoit at his side for a match with Chris Jericho, who had Chyna with him. Eddie let an odd promo loose about how excited he was to wrestle Chyna at WrestleMania.
Like "excited" excited.
Just to make it a little extra uncomfortable for everyone involved, Eddie opened the promo by talking about how he was going to spank Jericho. That's not a mental image anyone needed.
8 Taking Over WCW Nitro
Prior to becoming one of the top names in wrestling with WWE, Eddie was one of many underappreciated talents at WCW who eventually jumped ship. On a 1998 episode of Monday Nitro, Eddie would walk out to the ring and cut a brutal promo on Eric Bischoff about how much he hated working there. While it was probably just a work, there's no doubt that there was more than a little truth to it since it was only a couple of years later that he and his friends popped up in WWE.
7 Forming the LWO
As WCW took the NWO concept and essentially subjected it to a slow death by overplaying their hand, Eddie jumped into the mix and tried to do something interesting with it. During a match between Hector Garza and Damian, he walked out of the ring and unleashed another promo about how he was tired of Eric Bischoff.
Eddie used the moment to form the Latino World Order, a confederation of luchadores in WCW fighting for an equal share of the pie. Again, the line between reality and fiction is really blurry on this one as their frustrations came from a very real place.
6 Latino Heat Comes for Right to Censor
During her heyday in the WWE, Chyna was one of the several female wrestlers to pose for Playboy. While debuting her Playboy cover on Raw, she was interrupted by Stevie Richard's Right to Censor faction. Naturally, Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero, Chyna's kayfabe fiance, came to her defense, cutting a passionate promo that sold the whole bit. He was, as always, brilliant on the mic alongside Chyna.
5 Eddie and The Rock
Arguably one of the top guys on the mic of all time, The Rock oozed charisma when he cut a promo on pretty much anyone. This time, Eddie came out to cut a promo on him on Raw in 2002. He made it perfectly personal by bringing up how much he loved The Rock.
Rocky did his thing, laying the verbal smackdown on Latino Heat. Two of the best in the business played off each other perfectly, creating a memorable segment. Eddie even hyped his own mullet, which isn't an easy task in any era.
4 Chavo Catches Eddie's Heat on WCW
Eddie and his nephew Chavo had a long history together, both in WCW and WWE. In 1998 leading up to their match at WCW's Great American Bash, Eddie cut an amazing promo that went from crazy to unsettling calm and back again. Eddie even brought their family into the mix. At one point, he was literally on his knees, begging Chavo not to show up at the pay-per-view because Uncle Eddie didn't really want to fight him. Somehow, calling himself Uncle Eddie made the promo even more uncomfortable.
3 Eddie's Ladder Match Promo
At SummerSlam 2005, Eddie and Rey Mysterio, another legendary wrestler, had one of the strangest matches of all time. The ladder match itself wasn't strange but what it was over was a little odd. The winner of the match got custody of Rey's son, Dominick.
The angle wasn't great but Rey and Eddie sold it like true professionals. This included Eddie getting in the ring on the last SmackDown before the pay-per-view and cutting a brilliant heel promo to put the perfect menacing spin on their extremely personal feud.
2 Eddie's Addictions
On the go-home episode of SmackDown leading to No Way Out, Brock Lesnar and Eddie Guerrero hopped in the ring and cut promos on each other. Lesnar tried to take a shot at Eddie for his issues with addiction. Watching it now, it serves as a reminder of why Lesnar needs Paul Heyman on the mic.
Eddie owned up to it, unleashing a raw promo about how he lost everything due to substances and how he fought his way back. The real emotion that came through resonated with the fans in attendance and watching at home. Eddie would defeat Brock at No Way Out to become the WWE Champion.
1 Taking His Latino Heat Back
One of Eddie's closest friends backstage and in the ring was Rey Mysterio, another legendary wrestler. They even operated as a tag team on SmackDown for a time. That all came to an end when Eddie betrayed him and suplexed Rey into the ring steps.
The following week, Eddie walked into the ring, sat down on a chair and the lights went down. Alone in the spotlight, Eddie gave one of the best heel promos of all time while screaming at his former friend's mask, saying he did what he did because Rey was stealing his Latino Heat.