From the Shelf- Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (Disc Three)

Disc Three

WWE Championship- Eddie Guerrero © vs. Rey Mysterio from WWE Smackdown! 3-18-2004
Rey Mysterio won a gauntlet to earn this shot. Feeling out process to start and Rey catches Eddie with a hurricanrana for 2. Sunset flip by Rey gets 2 and he hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors sending Eddie to the floor. Back in, Rey goes for the wheelbarrow bulldog but Eddie blocks and sends Rey into the corner midsection first. Eddie grabs the hammerlock and he works over the left arm of Rey. Rey makes the ropes to break so Eddie drop toe holds Rey into the Fujiwara arm bar. Rey breaks with a snapmare and he hits a monkey flip to Eddie. Bodyscissors by Rey takes Eddie to the floor and he hits the Asai moonsault to the floor as we go to break!!!
Back from break and Eddie hits the superplex to Rey. Eddie covers Rey for 2 and he slides Rey to the floor. Back in, Eddie grabs a standing arm bar but Rey fights out. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Eddie gets 2. Hammerlock by Eddie and he puts Rey in the hangman position. Rey counters into the small package for 2 and Eddie hits a clothesline. Eddie goes back to the hammerlock and he bridges to add more torque. Eddie stomps away and covers Rey for 2. Key lock by Eddie but Rey fights out. They botch the springboard moonsault DDT spot (Rey needs to stop trying to repeat that, it’s once in a lifetime) and he covers for 2. Springboard seated senton by Rey gets 2. Eddie blocks a springboard moonsault press but Rey catches him with a DDT for 2!!! Eddie charges in the corner but eats boot and he comes back with the Three Amigos. Rey counters the third into the O’Connor roll for 2. Eddie hits the Third Amigo and he goes up. Frog Splash misses and Rey hits a dropkick to the back. 619 by Rey and he misses the Drop of the Dime. Inside cradle by Eddie gets 3.
Winner and Still WWE Champion- Eddie Guerrero ***1/2 ( Really good match from these two, as expected. Rey had the crowd thinking he could win the title at points and Eddie was game for letting Rey look like he can compete with the top talent. )

WWE Championship- Eddie Guerrero © vs. JBL from WWE Judgment Day 2004
JBL cuts a promo before the match guaranteeing victory and promising to make Eddie’s mom his maid. Eddie attacks to start and JBL bails. Eddie follows out and he works over JBL on the floor. Eddie sends JBL into the post and he tosses JBL over the announce table. Eddie chokes JBL with a cable and back in, Eddie hits some rights knocking JBL back to the floor. JBL tries to walk out so Eddie attacks from behind. Eddie tosses JBL back into the ring and Eddie steps on the face of JBL a few times. Eddie tosses JBL to the floor and JBL sends Eddie into the steps. Rights by JBL and he tosses Eddie over the announce table. Back in, Eddie hits some rights but JBL catches him with a big boot. Elbow drop by JBL gets 2. JBL works over Eddie in the corner and he goes to the side headlock. Eddie fights out but JBL overpowers Eddie and goes back to the side headlock. Eddie fights out again and he catches JBL with some arm drags forcing JBL to bail. Eddie goes for the slingshot pescado but JBL catches him and hits a fall-a-way slam on the floor!!! Eddie hammers away on JBL and he charges but JBL backdrops him onto the announce table that doesn’t break!!! Back in, JBL hits a swinging neckbreaker for 2. They slug it out and JBL ducks sending Eddie over his back for 2. Bearhug by JBL but Eddie fights out. Dropkick by Eddie and he hits two amigos but JBL blocks the third. Clothesline from Hell misses and JBL goes for a powerbomb but Eddie escapes. Rights by Eddie and he turns to run the ropes but he collides with the ref. Eddie backdrops JBL to the floor and Eddie follows out. Eddie tosses JBL across the announce table but JBL comes back with a SICK chair shot. Eddie is GUSHING blood as a result!!!!!!! There’s literally blood all over the chest of Eddie after about thirty seconds. JBL nails Eddie with steel steps and back in, JBL hits the Clothesline from Hell. JBL gets frustrated as he realizes the ref is still out cold. Another ref runs out and JBL covers for 2!!! JBL goes for another Clothesline from Hell but Eddie ducks and JBL collides with the new ref!!! JBL powerbombs Eddie and the original ref recovers. JBL covers for 2!!! Crowd is beginning to get crazy hot for Eddie. Sleeper by JBL but Eddie breaks with a back suplex. JBL hammers the back of Eddie but Eddie is LATINO HEATING UP~!!!! Rights by Eddie and he knocks JBL down. Eddie goes for a crossbody but JBL catches him. He goes for the fall-a-way slam but Eddie counters into a DDT!!! Eddie goes up and misses the Frog Splash. JBL grabs a chair to distract the ref and he grabs the WWE Title. Eddie goes low to block and he nails JBL with the belt for the DQ!!! Eddie nails JBL with the belt and a chair after the match, busting JBL open. He nails JBL with a second chair shot and then finishes his attack with a Frog Splash. The refs try to get JBL out of the arena but Eddie attacks him once more for good measure.
Winner by DQ- JBL ***3/4 ( The DQ finish was so unsatisfying after the war we just witnessed. The wrestling in the first half of the match was pretty good but that chair shot took this to another level and Eddie’s cut made this match legendary. )

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship- JBL © vs. Eddie Guerrero from WWE Smackdown! 7-15-2004
Eddie chops away to start and he goes to send JBL into the cage but he blocks. They slug it out and Eddie knocks JBL down. Back suplex by Eddie gets 2. JBL stun guns Eddie into the cage and he begins to climb. Eddie stops him and goes for a crossbody but JBL catches him and hits the fall-a-way slam. JBL climbs again but Eddie again follows up and he slams JBL’s face off the cage, bringing him down to the mat. Eddie goes for the Frog Splash but he misses. JBL climbs again but Eddie crotches him to bring him down for 2. Forearms by Eddie and he hits the Three Amigos. Eddie climbs but JBL stops him and hits some rights. JBL follows up and he hits a superplex to Eddie as we go to break.
Back and JBL goes for the Clothesline from Hell but Eddie catches him with a dropkick. Eddie goes low on JBL for 2. Spinebuster by JBL gets 2. JBL climbs the cage but Eddie stops him and follows up. Eddie brings JBL down with a side Russian leg sweep and both men are down. Sleeper by JBL and he uses his wrist tape to help him choke Eddie. Eddie runs into the cage sending JBL into it to break the hold. Eddie sends JBL into the cage for 2. Eddie sends him head first into the cage again for 2. JBL backdrops Eddie into the cage for 2. They slug it out and JBL hits the Clothesline from Hell for 2!!! We go to break.
Back and JBL climbs the cage. Eddie stops him and he follows up. They go back to the mat and JBL goes for a fall-a-way slam into the cage but Eddie counters into the DDT for 2. Eddie climbs the cage but JBL follows and they slug it out on top of the cage. Eddie tries to get off the cage but JBL grabs the leg to block. JBL knocks Eddie back into the ring and he hits a powerbomb for 2. JBL climbs the cage but Eddie stops him and follows up. Eddie kicks JBL off the top rope and Eddie is on top of the cage. Eddie HITS A FROG SPLASH OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE!!!!!!! Eddie covers for 2!!! DDT by JBL and he climbs the cage. Eddie follows up and they slug it out on top of the cage again. El Gran Luchadore comes into the cage and he grabs Eddie’s leg, which allows JBL to escape!!! El Gran Luchadore tries to leave the cage but the door is chained shut so he starts to climb out. Eddie follows up and he pulls off the mask, revealing Kurt Angle!!!!
Winner and Still WWE Champion- JBL ***3/4 ( A worthy follow up to the Judgment Day and Great American Bash matches. I liked the interchanging between climbing the cage and going for near falls to create different forms of exciting sequences. I wish the crowd was just a bit louder, it probably could have pushed this into great territory. )

WWE Championship Series Match- Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero from WWE Smackdown! 4-15-2005
This is part of a mini tournament for the chance to challenge John Cena. Feeling out process to start and Angle overpowers Eddie. Eddie works over the arm of Angle and he grabs the Cross arm breaker but Angle counters into a roll-up for 2 to break. Hip toss by Eddie and Angle bails. Back in, Eddie hits another hip toss and he arm drags Angle into the arm bar. Angle escapes so Eddie catches him with the Three Amigos. Eddie goes up for the Frog Splash but Angle bails as we go to break.
Back and Angle hits some uppercuts. Angle hammers away on Eddie in the corner and he steps on the back of Eddie. Suplex by Angle gets 2 and he goes to a rear waist lock. Eddie fights out so Angle hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Angle goes for the Angle Slam but Eddie counters into a hurricanrana for 2. The kick out sends Eddie into the ref and the ref is hurt. Eddie grabs a chair and he tosses it at Angle. The ref doesn’t see it so they play hot potato with the chair. Eddie plays dead but Angle dumps the chair out of the ring to hide the evidence. The ref still sees it and questions Angle, allowing Eddie to roll him up for 2!!! Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Eddie and he hits some rights. Release German suplex by Angle gets 2. Backbreaker by Angle gets 2 as Eddie gets his foot on the bottom rope. Snap mare and Angle grabs a bodyscissors. Eddie fights out and Eddie charges in the corner but misses. Release German suplex by Angle gets 2. Angle puts Eddie on top and he follows up. Eddie fights Angle off and he goes for the Frog Splash but eats knees!!! Angle covers for 2 as Eddie gets his foot on the ropes as we go to break.
Back and Angle slams Eddie for 2. Rear waist lock by Angle but Eddie starts to fight out again. Angle goes for the Angle Slam but Eddie counters it into a DDT. They slug it out and Eddie hits Two Amigos as Angle escapes the third and hits the Angle Slam for 2!!! Eddie catches Angle with a small package for 2!!! Roll-up by Eddie gets 2!!! Rolling German suplexes by Angle gets 2. Eddie counters an Angle Slam into an arm drag and he hits the Three Amigos. Eddie goes up and hits the Frog Splash for 2!!! Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Eddie blocks. Small package by Eddie gets 2!!! Angle finally catches him in the Ankle Lock and he rolls through, sending Angle crashing into the ref. Angle grabs the chair but Rey Mysterio comes out and takes him out with a seated senton. Rey grabs the chair which forces Angle to bail. Rey goes to help Eddie but Eddie gets nervous when he sees Rey with the chair. The distraction allows Angle to shove Rey and the chair into Eddie for 3!!!
Winner- Kurt Angle **** ( Oh man, that was an awesome wrestling match. The hot near falls, the great chain wrestling exchanges, and fun comedy made for an absolute blast of a match. Not a big fan of the finish but it helped keep building toward the Eddie/Rey split. )

Steel Cage Match-Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio from WWE Smackdown! 9-9-2005
Eddie attacks to start but Rey fights back with rights. Eddie sends Rey into the cage and Eddie drives Rey head first into the cage multiple times. Springboard moonsault press attempt is block but Rey catches Eddie with an arm drag to come back. Monkeyflip by Rey and Rey wants to do the 619 but he can’t because of the cage. Dropkick by Rey gets 2. Rey climbs but Eddie stops him and follows up. Eddie goes for a super electric chair but Rey counters into a sunset flip powerbomb off the top. Rey climbs again but Eddie stops him again. He pulls Rey down causing his leg to get caught in the ropes. Rey is in pain as we go to break.
Back and Eddie begins to climb but Rey stops him. Rey follows up and Eddie takes him down with a side Russian leg sweep off the top. Eddie presses Rey but Rey hangs onto the cage and begins to climb. Eddie stops him and they slug it out on top of the cage. Rey tries to get to the floor but Eddie holds on to Rey and drags him back to the top. Rey dropkicks Eddie taking both men crashing to the mat. They slug it out and Eddie hits a DDT on Rey. Eddie goes for the door but Rey stops him. Wheelbarrow bulldog by Rey and both men are down as we go to break.
Back and Rey climbs the cage. Eddie follows up and goes for a super powerbomb but Rey blocks. Rey tries to climb over the cage but Eddie stops him. Frankensteiner off the top by Rey and he climbs. Eddie follows and Rey misses a crossbody off the top of the cage!!!! Eddie goes for the door and he almost down the steps but he stops and reenters the cage. Eddie goes up and hits the Frog Splash for 3!!!
Winner- Eddie Guerrero ***3/4 ( Great match that concluded their summer long feud. A good mix of high impact maneuvers with good brawling to show the hate that these two have for each other. I loved the finish since Eddie’s whole obsession for the feud was beating Rey and he decided to do it definitively instead of winning the cheap way by escaping the cage.)

World Heavyweight Championship- Batista © vs. Eddie Guerrero from WWE No Mercy 2005
Feeling out process to start and test go to the test of strength. Eddie climbs the ropes to try and fight out of it but Batista tosses him down to the mat. Eddie bails to regroup and back in, Batista grabs a head lock. Eddie backs Batista into the corner to break and he throws some shoulders into the midsection of Batista. Batista charges in the corner but misses and we are back to a standstill. Batista goes back to the headlock but Eddie breaks. Slams by Batista gets 2 and Eddie bails again. Eddie grabs a chair but after thinking about it decides to drop it. Batista grabs Eddie by the neck but Eddie snaps Batista’s neck off the ropes. Eddie goes up and hits a Frog Splash to the back for 2!!! Eddie stomps on the back and he grabs the bodyscissors. He then applies a chinlock but Batista powers up and rams Eddie into the corner to break. Dropkick to the back by Eddie and he grabs the half crab. Batista makes the ropes to break. Eddie grabs the tag rope but again refuses to take the easy advantage. Basement dropkick by Eddie and he hammers the back of Batista. Camel Clutch by Eddie but Batista powers out again and grabs Eddie in a Bear Hug. Eddie fights out and he dropkicks the leg of Batista. Eddie looks for a Texas Cloverleaf but Batista catches him with a small package for 2. Eddie hammers the chest of Batista in the corner and he leaps over Batista, where he loses his footing and knocks the ref down. DDT by Eddie and he grabs another chair. Eddie goes to use the chair but again he can’t come to hit Batista with it. He tosses the chair to the floor and he hits some rights. Batista rams Eddie into the corner and hits some shoulders to the gut. Corner clothesline by Batista and he hits a backdrop. Spear by Batista and he goes for the Batista Bomb but Eddie escapes. He goes for the sunset flip but Batista blocks and hits the spinebuster for 2. Batista goes for an elbow drop but eats knees and Eddie hits the Three Amigos. Eddie goes up for the Frog Splash but Batista moves. Spinebuster by Batista gets 3!!!
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion- Batista ***1/4 ( Pretty good match, but the storyline overpowered the match in my opinion. Eddie struggled with his emotions was a nice touch but it made for long pauses in the match and killed momentum throughout. )

Bonus:

Survivor Series Qualifying Match-Mr. Kennedy vs. Eddie Guerrero from WWE Smackdown! 11-11-2005
This is Eddie’s last match and the winner of this match joins Batista’s team at the Survivor Series. Drop toe hold by Eddie and he goes for the STF but Kennedy grabs the ropes to block. Hammerlock by Eddie but again Kennedy goes to the ropes to break. Kennedy slaps Eddie so Eddie pokes the eye to return the favor. Eddie hammers away on Kennedy and knocks him down with an uppercut. Eddie chokes Kennedy with the tag rope but Kennedy pulls Eddie into the turnbuckle to come back. Kennedy chokes Eddie with his boot in the corner and he hits a face wash in the corner. Kennedy covers for 2 and Kennedy goes to the hammerlock. Eddie elbows out and hits a back suplex to come back. Eddie cleans house and hits Two Amigos. Kennedy escapes the third and charges in the corner but eats elbow. Rights by Kennedy but Eddie sends him into the ref to stop that. Eddie grabs a chair but he sees the ref is recovering, so he tosses the chair at Kennedy. The ref sees Kennedy with the chair and he calls for the DQ!!!
Winner by DQ- Eddie Guerrero ** ( Eddie went out doing what he did best: Lying, Cheating, and Stealing.)

The 411: The real Eddie Guerrero set to get is Cheating Death, Stealing Life which has an incredible documentary on Eddie's comeback plus most of Eddie's all-time great matches. However, this is still a pretty sweet collection of matches from Eddie's career and reminded me of just how great a worker Eddie was. This set is well worth your time with some classic matches and is a great symbol o the greatness of Eddie Guerrero.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]