Dark Pegasus Video Review: Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (Disc Two)

Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero, Disc Two by J.D. Dunn Chris Jericho – Latino Heat: Jericho says that Eddy had always relied on his workrate to get over, and that served him well, but when he came to the WWE, he realized that he had a marketable personality as well. He admits that Eddy did better stuff with Chyna than Jericho ever could. European Title: Chris Jericho (w/Chyna) vs. Eddy Guerrero (04.03.00). Eddy was coming off an elbow injury. He cuts a promo about Chyna wanting his Latino Heat, which turned out to be true. Eddy storms the ring but gets lofted into the corner. Eddy rolls through a powerbomb, though, and hits a dropkick to the face. They take it to the floor and chop it out. Eddy runs but jumps Jericho as he’s rounding the corner. Back in, that leads to a suplex, but Eddy stops to talk to Chyna and misses his frogsplash. Eddy charges but gets knocked into the referee. Jericho hits his double powerbomb and the Lionsault, but there’s no ref. Chyna counts instead and raises Jericho’s hand. Oh, but she turns on him with a DDT! She pulls Eddy on top and revives the ref to give Eddy the win and the European Title at 5:38. This was good fun, and it scores even more points for the WWE having enough faith in Eddy to resurrect his career. **1/2 Matt Hardy – Master of Psychology: Matt says Eddy would make it up as he went along and worked off the crowd. Matt says it was fun wrestling with Eddy because he liked Eddy’s style. King of the Ring Qualifier: Eddy Guerrero (w/Chyna) vs. Matt Hardy (06.08.00). Matt comes out firing, staying ahead of Eddy on the mat and hitting a tilt-o-whirl backbreaker. Eddy reverses the Twist of Fate for two, and they busts out a series of reversals that the crowd appreciates. Eddy comes out of it with a neckbreaker. Matt catches him going up, but Eddy hits a Northern Lights Suplex. The frogsplash misses, and Matt launches Eddy into the buckle. Matt misses a charge, though, and Eddy finishes with a flying huracanrana at 4:10. Hot match for being under five minutes. **1/2 Jerry “The King” Lawler – Frogsplash: Lawler talks about wrestling Hector and then having the privilege of calling matches for Eddy. He puts over Eddy’s charisma. Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Eddy Guerrero (Backlash – 04.21.02) . Eddy Guerrero made his triumphant return on the first Raw after the brand split and laid RVD out. Eddy eats a spinning kick early, but he blocks a charge with a Dragon Screw. Rob hits a crappy floatover suplex. Eddy cuts him off on top, but Van Dam clotheslines him on the top rope to counter a superplex. That sets up a flying kick and a back handspring into a moonsault. Van Dam knocks him to the floor and moonsaults on him off the apron. He hits the legdrop from the apron to the crowd barrier. Back in, Eddy comes back with the tilt-o-whirl backbreaker and Mexican Surfboard (into a Dragon Sleeper. Yikes!). That leads to the Gory Stretch, but Van Dam won’t give up. The slingshot senton gets two, and Eddy hits a brainbuster into a backdrop suplex. He goes up for the frogsplash, but Van Dam blocks with an enzuigiri. Van Dam sets up for a superplex, but Eddy counters with a SICK sunset flip powerbomb. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Rob hits the spinning wheel kick, so Eddy grabs the title belt. Rob takes it away from him (and bumps the ref in the process). Eddy gives RVD a neckbreaker on the title and finishes with the frogsplash at 11:42. This was one-sided, but they picked the right one side to dominate. Eddy really needed this kind of dominating performance to cement his comeback, and kudos to Van Dam for letting Eddy turn him into his bitch. It paid off too, because the two had a memorable feud and both guys came out of the summer the better for it. ***1/4 Jeff Hardy – The Perfect Wrestler: Jeff calls Eddy a role model because he and Matt grew up watching him. He credits Eddy for teaching him a lot. Intercontinental Title: Eddy Guerrero vs. Jeff Hardy (04.29.02). They take it to the mat early, and Jeff actually dominates. Eddy offers a handshake and then double-crosses him. Eddy knocks off his ‘do-rag with an uppercut. The slingshot senton misses, and Jeff hits his splits cover for two. Things bog down a bit, but Jeff hits his splits legdrop and goes up. Eddy crotches him on the top and sets up for the brainbuster. Jeff knocks him for a flip and hits the Whisper in the Wing, but they fall into Charles Robinson. Eddy grabs his IC Title and blocks a pescado from Jeff. That sets up the frogsplash at 6:50. **1/2 Edge – The Conclusion: Edge said that they both had such great expectations of one another that they were disappointed in their 2002 matches… with the exception of the last one. No DQ: Eddy Guerrero vs. Edge (09.26.02). Ah yes, this match. Back and forth action early. Some woman in the crowd provides a really distracting scream until some industrious fan shoots her in the neck with a poison dart… hopefully. Eddy grabs a chinlock, but Edge fights out of it and hits a powerslam. Edge goes up, but Eddy catches him with a superplex for two. Eddy fires away and hops on Edge’s shoulders, but Edge drops him on the top rope and pulls out a ladder. He charges with it like a battering ram but knocks out the referee. EPIC BUMP~! Eddy jumps Edge from behind and tosses him back in, but he misses the frogsplash as we go to break. When we come back, Eddy is stomping Edge down in the corner. We have a new ref, and no one is even bothering to check on the health of the first one. Finally, the other refs come down as Eddy calms things down with a sleeper. We learn that Edge hit a spear during the break. Edge goes up, but Eddy catches him with a huracanrana. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Eddy is pissed now, and he pummels Edge from a wristlock position. That sets up a springboard huracanrana attempt, but Edge counters to a SICKENING powerbomb. Eddy’s head bounced around on that one. Edge can’t cover but goes out and gets the ladder. Eddy dropkicks it back into Edge and goes out to pick up another ladder. Eddy sandwiches Edge in between the ladders and delivers the slingshot senton into the ladder. Eddy gets two off that, even though Edge’s shoulders are on the ladder. That’s kind of stupid, but not as stupid as getting a pin on the top of a Hell in a Cell. Eddy sets up the ladder and goes up. Edge catches up with him, and they slug it out. The fans inch toward the edge of their seats, and they’re not disappointed as Eddy hits a sunset bomb off the top of the ladder! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Eddy sets Edge up in the corner with a ladder and charges, but Edge backdrops him into the ladder! Eddy lands right on his neck. Edge sets up a ladder in the opposite corner for some reason, but Eddy catches him. This time, Edge wins the slugfest on the top of the ladder and hits the EDGECUTION OFF THE TOP! ONE, TWO, THREE! Edge finally polishes off the feud at 16:42. Awesome match for free TV, and it probably would have been the MOTY had “the Smackdown Six” not been on such a tear during the last half of 2002. Eddy gets a standing ovation in the loss. Eddy had momentum coming out of this, and the feud served its purpose of making both guys viable main eventers for WWE Blue, but they shoved Eddy back into a tag team with Chavo for nearly a year instead. ****1/2 Chavo Guerrero – Los Guerreros: Chavo talks about getting props from Rob Reiner and going from heels to faces by being even more heelish. Opening Match, WWE Tag Team Titles: Team Angle vs. Los Guerreros (Backlash – 04.27.03) . Team Angle brings a giant Kurt Angle picture with them in tribute to Kurt, who was recovering from neck surgery. The Guerreros were babyfaces at this point, even though they cheated like bastards… maybe I should say because they cheated like bastards. The fans eat Eddy up with a knife, fork, spoon, and one of those little sporks you get at Dairy Queen. Shelton plays heel-in-peril until Team Angle start cheating. Turnabout is fair play, as Gorilla Monsoon always said. Benjamin chokes Eddy down with the tag rope, and they work in the AWA Special. Eddy tries to charge to his corner, but Haas scoops him up and spikes him down. Eddy counters a backbreaker to a headscissors and makes the HOT TAG TO CHAVO! Chavo cleans house on Team Angle. Charlie accidentally avalanches his own partner. Shelton gives Chavo a sick powerbomb but turns around into a missile dropkick from Eddy. Eddy delivers the Triple Verticals to Haas and adds a frogsplash. Shelton pulls Chavo off the cover and trips him up while he’s going for a suplex. Haas lands on top, and Team Angle retain at 15:04. The Guerreros are not satisfied, though, so they steal the tag belts and ride off in their low-rider. Solid tag formula plus Eddy’s personality equal an excellent opener. ***1/2 John Cena – Low Rider: Cena puts over Eddy’s personality. He says Eddy was his first major feud and credits Eddy for breaking him in and teaching him psychology. Cena says he bought one of the low riders they used as a gift for Eddy. Latino Heat Parking Lot Brawl: Eddy Guerrero vs. John Cena (09.11.03). Cena’s pre-match rap is pretty edgy, and it emphasizes how bland he’s become as a character. This match takes place in the parking lot among a circle of cars and superstars. Eddy charges for a big brawl but gets suplexed on the top of a car. Cena grabs a lawnmower and charges with it, but Eddy sidesteps him. Cena brings in a shovel, and they take turns missing swings with it. Eddy chokes him out with a seatbelt from one of the cars, but Cena locks him in the trunk. He starts to talk trash, but Eddy uses the emergency latch and knocks the trunk lid into his chin. Eddy puts Cena into one of the cars and rams his face into the horn. CIGARETTE LIGHTER TO THE CHEST! Eddy charges and gets backdropped on the hood for two. They slug it out, and Cena gets tossed onto the hood. Chavo Guerrero smashes Cena in the head to keep him in place, and that allows Eddy to hit the frogsplash off a nearby van at 8:12. This was on the verge of unintentional hilarity at points, but you have to admire the creativity of using the vehicles as weapons. Sadly, no cup-holder strangulations, though. **3/4 Chavo Guerrero Sr. – Family Rivalry: Chavo says Eddy didn’t really have the support that the older brothers had because their dad had retired by then and Chavo, Mondo, and Hector were off doing their own things. Chavo says Eddy surpassed him. Chavo Guerrero (w/Chavo Guerrero Sr.) vs. Eddy Guerrero (Royal Rumble – 01.25.04). What a waste this feud was. It could have been an epic family breakup. Instead, it’s a brief midcard stop for Eddy on the way to the title. Chavo slaps Eddy hard in the face. They jockey in the corner. Chavo tags him with a chop to the chest. Cole changes his story from “the Guerreros were happy until Chavo turned” to “the Guerreros have never liked each other.” Eddy returns the chop in the corner. They exchange chops in the center of the ring. Eddy gives him a thumb to the eye. Chavo huracanranas both of them out of the ring. Chavo distracts the ref while Chavo Sr. trips Eddy as he’s going up the ring steps. Back in, Chavo gets vicious with forearms. Eddy turtles until he can get a jujigatame (cross armlock). Chavo makes the ropes. Chavo delivers the Triple Verticals. Eddy blocks the third. Chavo goes for a Tornado DDT, but Eddy blocks and hits Chavo with the Triple Verticals. Eddy finishes with the anticlimactic frogsplash at 8:04. Eddy kicks Chavo Sr. in los juevos for revenge. He ties Chaviejo to the ropes and makes him watch as Eddy beats the hell out of Chavito. In retrospect, Chavo probably should have gone over so Eddy could have had a ready-made challenger while they built up JBL. ** Vickie Guerrero – Champion: Vickie says Eddy was honored to work with Brock. She says she is said because she missed the match, but we do get the great moment of Eddy calling her on his cell and thanking her for standing behind him. WWE Heavyweight Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Eddy Guerrero (No Way Out – 02.15.04). This was odd, mostly for the fact that there just wasn’t enough time to build a feud between them. In fact, Lesnar’s major feud was with Goldberg, which put Eddy behind the 8-ball right off the bat because it made the championship secondary to Goldberg. But, hindsight is 20/20. Brock shoves Eddy backward and tells him he ain’t nothing. Eddy gets his feet up to block a charge, but Brock blocks a huracanrana and helicopters Eddy across the ring. Brock tosses him around like a ragdoll and destroys Guerrero with a running knee. Brock belly-to-bellies Eddy all the way to the outside. Eddy is just getting murdered in there. Eddy tries a little strategy by wrapping Brock’s leg around the ringpost. Brock just yanks Eddy into the post. Brock drops Eddy with a Fireman’s Cradle Suplex for two. Eddy counters a chinlock to a jawbreaker and dropkicks Lesnar’s knee. Brock explodes with a clothesline. Lesnar delivers shoulderblocks in the corner. He tries another high knee, but Eddy ducks out of the way! Lesnar topples over the top, injuring his knee even further. Back in, Eddy drops Brock with a suplex. He charges but takes a hotshot for two. Brock talks trash, but Eddy takes him down into an STF. Brock shoves out of a figure-four. Crowd chants “Goldberg!” Eddy slips out of a suplex and headscissors Brock down. Eddy goes back to the leg and finally locks in that figure-four. Lesnar pulls himself to the bottom rope. Eddy slaps on another STF, but Brock just brushes him off. Brock just MURDERS Eddy with a spinebuster. ONE, TWO, THR–NOO!!! Brock suplexes Eddy and yells, “Just die!” Brock applies a gutwrench lock to wear Eddy down even further. Eddy starts to power up, so Brock tosses him across the ring. Eddy headbutts him and goes back to the knee. Brock pops up, but Eddy sends him down with another headscissors. Eddy delivers the Triple Verticals and goes up. Eddy comes off for the frogsplash, but Brock rolls out of the way. Brock hits the F5, but sends Guerrero into Referee Brian Hebner. Brock covers, but there’s no ref. Lesnar brings in the title belt, but Goldberg slides into the ring and SPEARS HIM! Eddy covers. ONE, TWO, THRE—NOOOOO!!! Eddy sees that the ref is still groggy, so he picks up the belt and…MISSES! Brock picks him up for the F5, but Eddy counters to a DDT on the title belt. Eddy hits a frosplash. ONE, TWO, THREE! New champion! (30:05) Tremendous, long match. It felt a little like Flair vs. Vader from Starrcade with Guerrero just whittling away. Goldberg’s interference was a bit of a blight on the match, but since it didn’t lead directly to Guerrero’s win, it’s forgivable. ****1/2 That one has aged very well, and it’s such a great moment that I bumped it up 1/4* from my initial rating.

The 411: This was an uneven era for Eddy. He took nearly a year off to deal with his drug addiction, came back on the indy circuit, and then returned better than ever. It's not surprising that they didn't mention his 2001 firing because Chris Benoit was largely responsible for the WWE intervening for Eddy's own good. Ironic, isn't it?
Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]