Seven years ago today I won the WWE Championship from my dear friend Eddie Guerrero in a Bull Rope Match in Norfolk, Virginia. Bull rope matches can be terrible because you are so limited-I had hundreds over my career and some were pretty bad! This one went well.
The finish went perfect with Eddie squashing me in the corner and unknowingly causing me to win. Eddie had lost a tremendous amount of blood at the first match we had in the Staples Center a month before. So, we had to be careful with Eddie because he was still having problems from this. However, Eddie-as he always did-rose to the occasion and carried me through another title match.
I could never have had the run I had without the “feud†with Eddie. We had near riots in the southwest when we wrestled, including the best when I needed a police escort out of El Paso.
The idea for Eddie’s mom to have a heart attack on mother’s day was all Eddie’s. No one saw it coming. Eddie had been busted open that day by an errant fist-as had I, I think mine was called a “receiptâ€, ha. All this added to the drama.
The lead up to this should have been filmed. Eddie, Chavo Sr and I were sitting in a dressing room thinking up this idea when Chavo, jokingly, said that Mrs Guerrero should take a big boot from me. Eddie got mad that Chavo would even joke about it, so Chavo took it one further. Chavo then said that Mrs Guerrero should pack a blade and juice! Eddie and Chavo almost got into a fight over this, it was hilarious.
Needless to say when working with Guerreros it went perfect. Eddie’s mom went down and I was holding her-though making it look like I was threatening her-and it looked so real the crowd went completely silent-I mean completely silent, it was eerie.
After the match Eddie had given his mother flowers-this was their hometown and the Guerrero name is like the Von Erichs in Dallas or Funks in Amarillo. When I hit the ring and Vicki and her daughters started crying and Mrs Guerrero went down and the EMTs came it started to get very real.
Eddie is on the canvas yelling orders for me to leave before the riot happens. However, having been in a couple of riots before I knew the one thing I could not do was turn my back on the audience, that’s when bad things happen. So I backed out of the arena as fast as I could without seeming like I was hurrying. Security was yelling at me to leave, they knew how serious this had become.
We had my car packed and the state police ready to escort me out of town, which they did. If I would have stayed I would have probably been killed. Eddie actually pulled a few friends aside and smartened them up before hand so they wouldn’t get carried away.
The police took me all the way out of town. We got out of there so quick no one knew we were gone. I then pulled over and thanked them and they went back to El Paso and I had to drive to Odessa to fly out.
I had been busted open underneath the eye and was bleeding badly by this point-I am also in only my trunks and boots. All my clothes are in the trunk-we got out of there in such a hurry that our only concern was a quick exit not my clothes.
I see a border check point guard ahead on I-20. I am horrified. The cop pulls me over and sees this guy in trunks, no shirt and blood on his face!! I wish I had this on camera. I tried to explain and he finally let me go with the instruction to at least put on a shirt-hey, I was in decent shape then-it wasn’t so bad!
Very few thought we could handle a main event. We ended up setting an attendance record in Staples Center in a couple of weeks and sold out arenas everywhere off this feud.
Eddie hated being a baby face, he was always giving me ideas of what to say. I could never have done this character with someone other than Eddie. I cleared everything I was going to say with Eddie first and most of the time Eddie would come up with something much better.
We had a fan jump in the ring in one match and little Hebner took the guy out-fast. However, I was wrestling Eddie for real because Eddie wanted a piece of the guy! I was telling Eddie let me have him since I am the heel-thankfully Little Hebner had punted this guy into next week and security had taken him out.
Probably the most fun time in my career, though I had a lot of fun times and worked with great people. I am sitting on an island right now retired about to go play golf because of Eddie-I only wish he were her to enjoy it with me.
He always called me “essie†but I can’t even spell it so I’ll just say thanks Eddie!! I love you!
