{"id":38591,"date":"2019-02-15T18:36:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T23:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=38591"},"modified":"2019-02-23T15:35:40","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T20:35:40","slug":"15-years-ago-today-eddie-guerrero-wins-the-wwe-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/02\/15\/15-years-ago-today-eddie-guerrero-wins-the-wwe-world-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Years Ago Today: Eddie Guerrero Wins The WWE World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was 15 years ago today that &#8220;Latino Heat&#8221; <strong>Eddie Guerrero<\/strong> pinned <strong>Brock Lesnar<\/strong> at <em><strong>No Way Out<\/strong><\/em> in 2004 to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, marking a remarkable comeback story and the first World title of his career.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38593\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38593\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38593\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/11_NWO_021504_259-ad094d76040e67eab5ae10a54c7a8c00-e1550272506326.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38593\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While one of WWE&#8217;s most beloved stars in the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, the shocking upset of &#8220;The Beast&#8221; was one of the biggest moments in WWE history. In the closing moments of the match, Guerrero amazingly landed his Three Amigos &#8211; three consecutive German Suplexes &#8211; on the much larger Lesnar but failed in his follow up to land his patented Frog Splash. For many fans, it seemed to signal the end of Eddie&#8217;s championship opportunities in the match. Lesnar recovered first delivering an F-5 that many assumed would end the match. But Lesnar&#8217;s F-5 knocked out the ref, and the match continued.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38595\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38595\" style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38595\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/hqdefault.jpg 480w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/hqdefault-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/hqdefault-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/hqdefault-265x198.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With the ref out, Lesnar grew frustrated and headed out of the ring and brought his title belt into the ring, with the intent to use it as a weapon on the fallen Guerrero. But a run-in from Bill Goldberg, followed by a spear, took out Lesnar before any damage could be done. Guerrero and the ref finally came around and went for the pin, but Lesnar kicked out at two. The ref once again dropped down, still in pain. With the ref out once again, Guerrero then picked up the title belt for his own use. But Lesnar came too and caught Eddie with a kick to the stomach then immediately hoisted him up for a second and final F-5. But Guerrero countered the move, instead DDTing Lesnar into the title on the canvas, then quickly went top rope to deliver a Frog Splash on the fallen champion. The ref groggily pulled himself over to make the count, and in three seconds, Eddie Guerrero was the WWE World Champion.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eddie Guerrero wins WWE Championship\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dkx-p_JpYyk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It capped an amazing second run for Eddie in the WWE, after his first run was marred with controversy. Following a stellar career in Mexico, <strong>ECW<\/strong>, and <strong>World Championship Wrestling (WCW)<\/strong>, Guerrero jumped ship from WCW to WWE in January of 2000, alongside <strong>Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit<\/strong>, and <strong>Perry Saturn<\/strong>, to form the <strong>Radicalz<\/strong>. The former 2x WCW Cruiserweight Champion, WCW US Champion and 2x ECW World Television Champion was expected to explode into a major player with the WWE, and he soon began adding more gold upon his arrival. He became a 2x WWE European Champion and WWE Intercontinental Champion, but by the end of 2001, his substance abuse had taken its toll on his career and the man himself. Following an arrest for drunk driving in November of 2001, he was released from the WWE.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero: WWE European Championship Match - Insurrextion 2000\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xhEMu5p5xb0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Instead of spiraling further into his demons, Guerrero saw his release as a wake-up call. He went to rehab to clean himself up and found strength in his faith, becoming a Born Again Christian. He beat his addictions and found work on the independent circuit to get back into proper ring shape. He worked all over the world, returning to <strong>New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong> for the first time since 1998, as well as working for new upstart indie promotions like <strong>Ring of Honor, IWA Mid South, ICW New York<\/strong> and <strong>International Wrestling Cartel (IWC)<\/strong> in the US, <strong>International Wrestling Association (IWA)<\/strong> in Puerto Rico, and <strong>Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA)<\/strong> in the UK. He even briefly held the IWA Mid South Heavyweight Championship, defeating a young star named <strong>CM Punk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[Free Match] CM PUNK vs. EDDIE GUERRERO vs. REY MYSTERIO (3\/1\/02)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a5EULLFRv9E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In April of 2002, he was a new man with a new lease on life and WWE welcomed him back with open arms. He immediately began to feud with his old ECW running mate <strong>Rob Van Dam<\/strong>, winning the Intercontinental Championship for his second time at Backlash. That summer, he formed <strong>Los Guerreros<\/strong> with his nephew, <strong>Chavo Guerrero Jr.<\/strong>, and alongside <strong>Kurt Angle, Edge<\/strong>, Chris Benoit, and <strong>Rey Mysterio Jr.<\/strong>, they became part of the SmackDown Six, the men credited with saving <em><strong>SmackDown<\/strong><\/em> from cancellation &#8211; and in a way, helping the WWE survive the departures of the Attitude Era&#8217;s main event stars like <strong>The Rock<\/strong> and <strong>&#8220;Stone Cold&#8221; Steve Austin<\/strong>. Eddie would go on to win three WWE World Tag Team titles with Chavo, and add a WWE United States Championship during his second run, but nothing could top that moment on February 15, 2004, when a groggy <strong>Brian Hebner<\/strong> counted the 1-2-3 and raised Eddie Guerrero&#8217;s hand as the\u00a0NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38596\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38596\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38596\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/pnerd_102202015_eddieguerrero-e1550273537199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38596\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was 15 years ago today that &#8220;Latino Heat&#8221; Eddie Guerrero pinned Brock Lesnar at No Way Out in 2004 to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, marking a remarkable comeback story and the first World title of his career. While one of WWE&#8217;s most beloved stars in the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":38594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[774],"class_list":["post-38591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wwe-universe","tag-eddie-guerrero"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}