5 Reasons Eddie Guerrero's Greatest Rival is Rey Mysterio (& 5 Why It's Kurt Angle)
Eddie Guerrero is one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the history of the art form. He has proven that he can work with anyone and have great matches. Latino Heat began his career in Mexico and went to Japan, ECW, and WCW before cementing his legacy as an all-time great in WWE.
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Through the years he's had great rivalries. As The Black Tiger, he had a great rivalry with Wild Pegasus/ The Pegasus Kid. He had a great rivalry with Dean Malenko in ECW and Ultimo Dragon in WCW. There are two rivalries, however, that stand out; Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio. Which rivalry was better? Here are five reasons it's Rey and five it's Kurt. You decide.
10 Why It's Rey: Their Rivalry Is Long-Standing
Both Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guererro were veterans of the ring with accomplished careers well before they came to the WWE. Both men got their start in Mexico and competed all over the world before WWE. It was a classic match in WCW that began a rivalry that spanned nearly a decade. That 14-minute match did as much to usher in a new style of wrestling and for smaller wrestlers than any match in the history of the sport. From that match to their clashes on SmackDown, these on-screen frienemies would put on classic matches every time they faced one another.
9 Why It's Kurt: The Main Event
Though Eddie Guererro was always seen as a great worker. He had been a tag team champion and Intercontinental Champion in WWE. He was a Cruiserweight Champion in WCW. He had never been the heavyweight champion, however. He had wrestled near the top of the card, but he had never been in the main event.
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It was not until his rivalry with Kurt Angle and their Wrestlemania 20 Heavyweight championship bout that he was seen as a main event player. His match with Kurt put him in the main event regularly until his untimely death. He would go on to have the main event matches with John Bradshaw Layfield, Dave Bautista, and even Rey Mysterio.
8 Why It's Rey: They Had The Best Smackdown Angle Ever
"I'm your Papi Dominic! I'm your Papi," Eddie Guererro shouted from the top of a ladder on an episode of SmackDown. It was the landmark promo from arguably the best storyline in the history of SmackDown. What made this angle so compelling was how it mixed in real-life events. When Eddie had issues with addiction, he was fired from WWE. He lost everything, including his marriage. Eventually, he was re-hired by WWE. As the storyline goes, he had a relationship with a woman who would end up marrying Rey Mysterio. She got pregnant while dating Rey, and Eddie thought it was his baby.
7 Why It's Kurt: It Brought Out The Best In Kurt's Character
Most people in the wrestling business who were around when Kurt Angle began his wrestling career said he took to the business like a fish to water. From his Wrestlemania 19 Match with Brock Lesnar to his battles with HHH there was little doubt about his capabilities in the ring. His mat acumen garnered him the nickname, "The Wrestling Machine." Kurt began to show his chops as an entertainer with backstage segments with Vince MacMahon and Steve Austin. It was his rivalry with Eddie Guererro that he put both of those elements together. His rivalry with Eddie allowed him to bring together his mat skills and his willingness to do anything on camera against one opponent.
6 Why It's Rey: They Brought Lucha Libre To The Masses
Unless you were a hardcore tape trader in the 1990s or lived on the East Coast, there is a pretty good chance you were not familiar with Lucha Libre or Japanese strong-style wrestling. Eddie Guererro and Rey Mysterio brought Lucha to the fore-front with their rivalry. Eddie added elements of Japanese- style wrestling from his days in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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Both were able to take elements of Lucha and Japanese wrestling and combine it with American storytelling and catch-as-catch-can wrestling to form this hybrid style that was a forerunner to much of the style we see in today's wrestling. They influenced many of the wrestlers we see today.
5 Why It's Kurt: The Entertainment In Sports-Entertainment
During much of their rivalry, Eddie Guererro was doing his lie/cheat/steal gimmick. Kurt always leaned in on his Olympic gold medalist persona. During their rivalry, it was obvious from their reputations, the matches were going to be outstanding. It was the elements of entertainment they brought that made what they did so well.
For example, Eddie would take the championship belt while the referee's back was turned and throw it to Kurt then pretend that Kurt hit him with the belt. Kurt recruited his brother to stand in like a twin for him. Nothing was more iconic than Eddie unlacing his boot and while Kurt was trying for the ankle lock, sliding out of the boot and rolling up Kurt for the win.
4 Why It's Rey: In-Ring Chemistry
It is often said that professional wrestling is not ballet. Accidents happen and people get injured. Sometimes people get injured because they do not click well with their opponent. That was never the case with Eddie and Rey. Their in-ring chemistry was something to be admired. In their matches, Eddie was always the heel and Rey was always the babyface. Rey gave himself to Eddie, and there were times during a match where Eddie would give it to Rey pretty good. Rey knew when to make his comeback and Eddie knew how to feed Rey's comeback. They both knew how to feed off of one another and the crowd.
3 Why It's Kurt: It Brought Out The Best In Kurt
Angle had bigger opponents in his career. He wrestled with the likes of Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, and HHH. However, none of those opponents brought out the best in Kurt Angle like Eddie Guererro. Eddie was just as good in the ring as any of the aforementioned wrestlers.
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However, Kurt was able to use his chops as an entertainer--especially his comedic side--during the matches with Eddie in addition to the backstage and in-ring angles. Both Angle and Guererro were able to bring together elements of their characters during their rivalry.
2 Why It's Rey: Rey Had Eddie's Number
One of the more interesting parts of their rivalry was that Eddie Guererro never beat Rey Mysterio clean. Not only that, but Rey also won an overwhelming majority of their matches. This is evidence that wins and losses do not matter in professional wrestling especially when both performers come out looking better after the match.
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Rey and Eddie always did a wonderful job of making one another look good during their matches. In the big moments, however, Rey would have the upper hand over Eddie.
1 Why It's Kurt: Styles Make Fights
There is an old saying in combat sports; "Styles make fights." Eddie's rivalry with Kurt was so good because their styles were so different, yet they made that clash something that was must-see when they wrestled. Kurt was the NCAA National Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist grappler, while Eddie was the Lucha Style high-flyer who had made his bones wrestling all over the world. Angle had to keep Guererro ground and slow the pace down while softening Guererro for his patented ankle-lock. Eddie wanted to speed the pace and hit Angle with drop-kicks and flying head-scissor takedowns.
