Latino Heat snuffed out

Latino Heat has stopped burning and the whole world feels the chill. World Wrestling Entertainment superstar and former champion Eddie "Latino Heat" Guerrero, originally from Mexico, died from unknown reasons in his hotel room on Nov.14. He was 38.

Eddie Guerrero’s fame began in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He later moved to World Championship Wrestling where he won several titles, including the cruiserweight title, before moving to World Wrestling Entertainment. It was here where he won the Intercontinental Championship, one half of the Tag-Team Championship, among others. In February 2005, he won the WWE Heavyweight Title.

Eddie Guerrero recently fought with current champ Batista but he lost to him at the last WWE Pay-Per-View.

In the most recent episode of WWE Raw (which won’t be aired here for another couple of weeks), Eddie was honored with a 10 bell salute as the entire roster stood in a somber moment. The episode also featured several video messages from other WWE superstars, including Eddie Guerrero’s closest friends.

The death of Guerrero sent shockwaves of grief and disbelief that could be felt here in the Philippines. It was my first day of school coming from sem break last Monday, and from the time the news spread and until today, hardly any of the guys were talking about their new professors or what books they needed. Instead, people were talking about what caused Eddie’s death, or when did it happen, or what happens now to wrestling now that Eddie’s gone. Latino Heat occupied more conversations than Managerial Accounting or Sociology. Eddie was an icon and an idol for most guys my age, some girls, too.

I wasn’t surprised at people’s reactions to his death. Eddie Guerrero was one of those wrestlers that fans all over the world could easily love and, depending on the storyline, hate. He wasn’t the biggest guy in the business; he certainly wasn’t the strongest, nor was he the fastest. He was the craftiest and by far the funniest. Combine that with his infamous, real-life background of drugs and alcohol, a past that he has buried being sober for four years, and you’ve got the perfect underdog. People, in a sense, could relate themselves to him. He wasn’t the drink-your-vitamins-and-say-your-prayers hero that Hulk Hogan was, and he didn’t look as chiseled as current World Champion Dave Batista. Eddie looked fairly small for a heavyweight champ, but he did take down some giants during his career. His catch phrase was "Lie, cheat and steal." Guerrero was a trickster, and in several matches, would feign being knocked out to gain an advantage or plant weapons on opponents to get them disqualified. His presence added a pseudo-sitcom dimension to the WWE. He was a mischievous character, and, for me, the most entertaining superstar in present-day wrestling.

The loss of Eddie Guerrero marks the biggest tragedy to happen to the wrestling industry since the death of Owen Hart. Of course, I can’t speak of Eddie the person, I can only speak of the Eddie Guerrero we saw on TV, the wrestling character. He was one of, if not the most entertaining and unique individuals that I’ve seen step inside that wrestling ring. He embodied wrestling as "Sports-Entertainment." Latino Heat will be surely missed.

* * *

Read more about Eddie Guerrero’s career on wwe.com.

For questions, comments or corrections, please e-mail me at emailcarlramirez@yahoo.com.