Eddie Guerrero passed away far too soon on November 13h, 2005. He was a complicated man who loved his family, but Eddie also wasn’t perfect. His memory will live on through those he inspired and his family. Shaul Guerrero remembers that time she spent with her father well.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Shaul Guerrero admitted that there were times when she was scared of her father. She was wowed by his character on television, but had to say that she did feel scared around the man he was behind the scenes, because she saw it all.
“My dad scared the sh*t out of me growing up. It’s no secret that he struggled with alcohol and drugs. I think unfortunately growing up until I was 12 or 13, that was pretty much all I saw. It was a complicated relationship with my dad. I didn’t really get to know him until I was 13, 14, 15. He passed when I was 15.”
She also spoke about how much Eddie Guerrero loved the business and even her last name encourages promoters to push her to top spots. She has to remind them that she hasn’t wrestled in six years, but she is a Guerrero, so there are pretty high expectations.
“I don’t know how he was Eddie Guerrero half of the time. My dad loved this business so much, he was constantly thinking about wrestling. No one can be him. It was getting overwhelming in good ways. I think when I announced my comeback, I was getting a lot of bites from promoters, which was very humbling. But they also wanted to put me in the very top positions, which I was like ‘I haven’t wrestled in 6 years.’ It was overwhelming. When I first went into wrestling, I went into the largest and most prestigious company in the world. I am very grateful for that, but that also comes with the biggest amount of pressure. It was so intense, not to mention the Guerrero way, go hard or go home. High expectations are just in the family. I was having panic attacks just going to training sessions.”
Shaul Guerrero was also told by someone in WWE that they didn’t want to give her the Guerrero name in the company in case she sucked. That pressure to be Eddie Guerrero’s daughter still sticks with Shaul Guerrero years after his sad passing.
She also announced in recent memory that all personal appearances were cancelled, and she was withdrawing from the spotlight. That is much easier said than done, especially when your last name is Guerrero.
What’s your favorite memory of Eddie Guerrero? Sound off in the comments!
Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the quote