On the latest episode of Something To Wrestle With, JBL talked about the 20th anniversary of Eddie Guerrero’s passing. He discussed Eddie’s passing and recalled how the news was especially shocking because Eddie had turned his life around. He confirmed that he and others close to Eddie did not go on the European tour until after the funeral, where he delivered part of the eulogy.
JBL also looked back at his match with Chavo Guerrero on the tribute show for Eddie. He noted that he went to management to ensure the correct finish was booked. You can see highlights below:
On Their Relationship:
“I was good friends a lot of those guys, but very close with Eddie. And also, Eddie was completely clean and sober. Not that that added — I won’t even dream about saying what what could have happened or didn’t happen. I’m not gonna dream about that. But Eddie was completely sober. Eddie was not on anything, you know? And then he passed away just unexpectedly, brushing his teeth one morning. I mean, I think that added to a lot of it. If you had seen a guy that, you know, he had to leave WWE. They’re all hooked on something, and they go to rehab, and doesn’t work. And all of a sudden you hear about them passing away. You might understand it. I think, much harder with Eddie, because you had a guy here who was a clean and sober, who was a good Christian man, and did so much for so many people. And I think that’s one of the reasons that added to how unexpected this was.
“I remember walking into Minneapolis, I guess, the Target Center that day. And I remember seeing Chavo and Rey together, and I knew something was horribly wrong. The first people I saw. They were over by one of the cases in the back by what used to call magic, the props department. And I walked over there and of course, they told me. And it was horrifying, incredibly sad news, beyond sad news. But it was really shocking. And I think a lot of that came about because Eddie had such a good lifestyle and a clean lifestyle. And then all of a sudden, something happens one morning, unfortunately, it was his time.”
On the Eddie Tribute show:
“My wife was going to meet me in Europe and go on the European tour with me. I think we were going to Italy first — I think, I can’t remember. And she had just landed in Italy, and I called her and told her that Eddie had just passed away. And he was a groomsman at my wedding. His family was there at my wedding, and we were very close. And she literally didn’t leave the airport. She got on a flight, flew right back to America so she could be at the funeral down in — I guess it was Phoenix, or wherever it was in Arizona. So we didn’t go straight overseas. We went to the funeral. I believe that’s right, went to the funeral first…. I’m not 100% sure about that.
“Yeah, it was — you know, you get there and you find out that one of your best friends has passed away and leaves his whole family. And you’re packed to go to Europe. You call your wife, she flies back. And I believe that’s how everything happened, is what I think happened. It was a long time ago, and it’s pretty traumatic. So I could have some of this wrong. If I do, forgive me, it’s not on purpose. And then all of a sudden you’ve got to wrestle a match. I remember that night I was gonna work with Chavo. And the initial plan was for me to go over. I said, ‘There is no way in hell I’m doing a tribute show for Eddie Guerrero, wrestling a Guerrero, and doing anything but doing a job right in the middle of the ring to a frog splash.’ And Vince completely agreed. So did everybody. And so they changed the finish. And that’s obviously what we did.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something To Wrestle With an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
