World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. - Cheating death, stealing life: the Eddie Guerrero story

by EDDIE GUERRERO

with MICHAEL KRUGMAN

In Memory

It is said the true measure of a man can be determined not by how many times he falls down, but how many times he picks himself back up. Eddie Guerreros life is a celebration of just that. Its a story about inspiration, about a man who succeeded in times when countless others would have failed. His strong family roots coupled with his faith in God gave him the power to rise above adversity and help those around him when they themselves were in need. This made Eddie a World Champion both in and out of the ring. Eddie was unwavering in his determination to succeed in the business he loved with all his heart. He looked forward to the challenge of creating his own identity and taking the famed Guerrero name into the twenty-first century while paying homage to the family members who paved the way for him. He was the consummate performer and loved being in front of the fans. Every move he made had a purpose, everything he did had meaning. From the moment he walked through the curtain, he had you on the edge of your seat. Nothing was ever wasted or taken for granted. Its rare that someone so humble has such a profound effect on the lives of the people who were privileged enough to be around him. Eddies influence on the professional wrestling business will be felt for generations to come as he will be immediately regarded as one of the squared circles greatest competitors. To quote his older brother Mando, Eddie was born to wrestle. God bless you, Eddie, for youll never know how deeply you touched us all. Youll be in our hearts and minds forever. Watch over us. Viva La Raza!

Vince McMahon

Eddie Guerrero

1967-2005

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2005 by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

World Wrestling Entertainment, the names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves, and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos and trademarks are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Nothing in this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

This book is a publication of Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license from World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Photos on pages 4-24, 40-104, 112, 196, 229, 230, 237, 240, 271, 272, 274, 278, 280, 298, 299, 300, 332, 334, 336, 337, 338 Courtesy the Guerrero family. Photos on pages 132, 150, 156, 159, 168, 175, 186, 194 Courtesy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Photographs.

All other photos Copyright 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Guerrero, Eddie.

Cheating death, stealing life : the Eddie Guerrero story / by Eddie Guerrero with Michael Krugman.1st Pocket Books hardcover ed.

p. cm.

1. Guerrero, Eddie. 2. WrestlersUnited StatesBiography. 3. WrestlersSubstance useUnited States. I. Krugman, Michael. II. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

GV1196.G84C43 2005

796.812092dc22

[B] 2005049171

ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-9353-6

ISBN-10: 0-7434-9353-2
eISBN-13: 978-1-439-12177-1

This Pocket Books hardcover edition December 2005

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Designed by William Ruoto

Visit us on the World Wide Web http://www.simonsays.com http://www.wwe.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contactSimon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com.

Para mi papa, Salvador Gory Guerrero, quien me inspir y me ense todo.
Te extrao da a da.
Con todo mi amor.

February 15, 2004

You did it, I thought as the crowd at San Franciscos Cow Palace roared their approval. You really did it. Now you can breathe again.

Though Id worked my entire life for this moment, nothing couldve prepared me for the reality. I was the WWE Champion! Id reached the top of the wrestling mountain! There is no greater honor in this business.

I had beaten Brock Lesnar, a great champion almost twice my size, in an arena overflowing its capacity with fans, most of whom were Chicanos there to see me, Latino Heat, try to win the biggest match of my career.

It was truly an amazing night, made even more incredible by the fact that just two and a half years earlier I wasnt even working for WWE. Id been let go after my lifetime of drug and alcohol addiction had finally sent me hurtling to the lowest point of my entire life.

If someone had told me then that I was going to be the standard bearer for World Wrestling Entertainment, the biggest and best wrestling company on the planet, I would never have believed it. In fact, I didnt even believe it when WWE CEO Vince McMahon first told me that he was planning on awarding me the belt.

Nobodynot even myselfhad ever seen me as a main eventer, as a guy who could be trusted to represent the best a wrestling promotion had to offer. It was Vince, God bless him, who really believed in me. And his faith in me gave me the confidence to go out and give Brock Lesnar the match of my life.

For me, winning the most prestigious title in our sport was the fulfillment of a dream. Im not talking about a dream that I had when I first started in the businessthis was a dream from ever since I can remember, when I was a little boy watching my father, the legendary Gory Guerrero, wrestle, or seeing how proud my brothers Chavo, Mando, and Hector were when they wore championship belts.

Lord knows, it hadnt been easy. The wrestling business is like nothing else. It takes a very strong personality to live the life of a professional wrestler. Its not so much what goes on inside the ringits everything that goes on outside of it as well. The twenty minutes or more we spend inside the ring, thats the fun part. Its the rest of our lives thats the real battlethe ruthless backstage politics, the constant traveling, the endless mental and physical aches and pains.

My friend Dean Malenko says it all the time: This business isnt for everybody.

For example, look at the brief career of Nathan Jones, the seven-foot-tall Australian wrestler who had a run in WWE back in 2003. Heres a guy that was a legitimate badass, that did almost ten years in a maximum-security prison for committing armed robberies. But a year in the wrestling business broke him.

Fuck this, Nathan Jones said. I cant take it anymore.