The late Eddie Guerrero was a larger-than-life legend before his passing, with the unique ability to get crowds either completely on his side, laughing with him, or to hate him by the time he dropped the microphone. At the time of his passing in November 2005, the 38 year old former WWE Championship was on the verge of a feud with Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Guerrero’s success was due in part to his relationship with then-executive Vince McMahon after he made the jump to the WWE years prior from WCW. Former WWE star Matt Hardy recently discussed Guerrero on his “Extreme Life With Matt Hardy” podcast and said that McMahon loved Guerrero.
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“Vince loved the entertainment aspect behind him,” Hardy said. “I think when the Radicalz came over, Eddie, by far and away, was Vince’s favorite, just because of his personality. Even with Chris, I think Chris Jericho was looked at by Vince as somebody who had a good personality, but I still think that Eddie even superseded what he saw in Chris… He connected with his humor. It really won Vince over. Vince was such a huge advocate for Eddie Guerrero at the end.”
Guerrero died on November 13, 2005 after suffering cardiac arrest in a hotel room, and those across the wrestling world took time to acknowledge the legend on social media and share memories of “Latino Heat” this week. In addition to the podcast, Hardy also posted a tribute on X (formerly Twitter) to Guerrero, sharing not only a photo, but a full five-minute long match between the pair where Guerrero scored a win over Hardy off a counter.
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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
