Late WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero Once Told ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ Mark Henry ‘If I Was You, I’d Be Dead or in Jail’
WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero is one of the most complete packages in pro wrestling history. “Latino Heat” is one of the best in-ring wrestlers ever. And his charisma and mic-work — especially as a heel — were always top-notch. The only thing that Guerrero didn’t have was heavyweight size. That may be a good thing, though, based on what he once told the “World’s Strongest Man,” Mark Henry.
Eddie Guerrero says he would have been a nightmare if he was a big man
The late Eddie Guerrero was a cruiserweight in the pro wrestling world, standing 5-foot-8 and weighing around 220-pounds.
This smaller (by pro wrestling standards) stature is what allowed Guerrero to hone his high-flying style. It also likely gave him the chip on his shoulder that helped him deliver his arrogant, fiery promos.
On a recent episode of Busted Open podcast, the 6-foot-4, 350-plus-pound Mark Henry told a story about an interaction with Eddie Guerrero where “Latino Heat” talked about how different he would be if he had the big man’s size:
Eddie was known for not backing down to anybody. … He made me look in the mirror, him standing behind me and him saying, ‘Who do you see?’ And I kind of joked, and he said, ‘That’s your problem. You too fun-loving. If I was you, I would be dead or in jail. Everybody would do what I asked them to do when I asked them to do it, or I would destroy them. That was his mentality.
Mark Henry on Eddie Guerrero
This interaction tells you all you need to know about Guerrero. On top of the skills and the personality, he had the confidence and the mentality that set him apart from most others. It is what “Latino Heat” is one of the greatest and most underrated WWE superstars of all time.
‘Latino Heat’ is one of the most underrated superstars in pro wrestling history
Part of the famed Lucha libre Guererro family in Mexican pro wrestling, Eddie Guerrero got his start south of the border and in New Japan Pro Wrestling early in his career.
The Texas native’s first wrestling gig in the States was with Paul Heyman’s ECW in 1995.
From there, he became a star in WCW. Guerrero held multiple belts in the promotion and famously led the Latino World Order (LWA) at the height of the Monday Night Wars in the late 1990s.
In 2000, Guerrero moved with fellow Radicalz Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn to WWE (then the WWF). “Latino Heat” would become the sixth superstar ever to win the WWF/WWE Grand Slam of four different belts in a career. Between 2000 and 2004, Guerrero won the WWE Championship, WWE Tag Team title, the Intercontinental title, and the European title.
Although many of his contemporaries — like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Shawn Michaels — consider Guerrero one of the best of all time, and current wrestlers from Sasha Banks to Montez Ford attribute some of their success to Guerrero’s influence, “Latino Heat” isn’t often mentioned among the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Some of this is likely due to his problems with drugs and alcohol out of the ring, which led to his tragic death at age 38 in 2005. It’s also true that he never got the push he probably deserved from people like Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon.
No matter the reason, “Latino Heat” should get more recognition among the greats than he does.
Like Sportscasting on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
