William Regal shares moving tribute to Eddie Guerrero on his birthday
Eddie Guerrero is being honored by the WWE Universe today on what would have been his 57th birthday. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time, Guerrero made his name in AAA, NJPW, ECW, WCW, and WWE. The late great legendary grappler was just celebrated by another top talent who made his name in squared circles around the world: William Regal.
Latino Heat tragically passed away on November 13, 2005, at the age of 38. The second-generation star grew up in the business, as his father, Gory Guerrero, was a wrestler, promoter, and booker. Eddie debuted in 1986 for CMLL, and Paul Heyman brought him to ECW in 1995, which was seen as his first big break. Guerrero spent just over four years in WCW and around six years with WWE.
The former Filthy Animal shared the ring with numerous top stars during his career. Eddie won his first match against Lord Regal in January 1996 on WCW Nitro, then won two rematches that same summer. Guerrero and Regal teamed for the first time to defeat Rob Van Dam and Spike Dudley in April 2002 on WWE RAW, then months later teamed with Chris Benoit to beat Jeff Hardy and The Dudleys.
Regal took to X/Twitter today to remember Guerrero by responding to WWE's birthday tweet. The Vice President of Global Talent Development declared Eddie the best all-around pro wrestler ever. The former AEW star also praised his close friend as exceptional in more ways than one.
"Without a doubt in my mind Eddie was the best all round Pro Wrestler ever. An exceptional in ring command and ability to wrestle anyone in the world without ever meeting them until the bell went, entertaining skills and presence and exceptional (once he figured it out) talking ability. And a very close friend. The greatest.x," William Regal wrote.
Eddie Guerrero has been inducted into three wrestling Hall of Fames. WWE inducted him into their 2006 Class, AAA inducted him in 2008, and the Hardcore Hall of Fame honored Eddie in 2015.
WWE legend on if Eddie Guerrero were alive today
Eddie Guerrero was WWE's eleventh Triple Crown Champion and the sixth Grand Slam Champion. He was set to win the World Heavyweight Championship at the time of his death.
Dutch Mantell recently discussed Latino Heat's impact on the business and what Eddie Guerrero would be doing if he were alive today. The former Zeb Colter believes Guerrero would be working a non-wrestling role for the company.
"If Eddie was in the business today, first of all, I think he's passed his working years but I do think he would make a great, not a manager, but an advisor-consultant type to a Spanish heel. Then you could tell a great story about that because he was a good talker and he could go out there. I think he would be good for maybe a year, a year and a half, and then let him ease off. He would be the type to have a retirement match and I think it would draw well. Eddie Guerrero was just tremendous, he was a tremendous talent, he had a tremendous head for the business and the people loved him," Dutch Mantell said. [From 01:52 to 02:55]
Eddie Guerrero wrestled his last match on November 8, 2005, at SmackDown in Indianapolis. He defeated Mr. Kennedy by DQ in a four-minute Survivor Series qualifying match.