WWE – Viva La Raza: The Legacy Of Eddie Guerrero – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story



For some reason a lot of wrestlers end up leaving long before their time is up, and I don’t mean retiring from the ring. There are numerous reasons that wrestlers leave this world way too early, whether it be by natural causes or nefarious purposes. We miss their entrance music and the way they stroll to the ring. Their signature moves just won’t mean the same thing if performed by another wrestler. Hearing their catchphrases and watching their sly smile flashed at the camera will be missed beyond belief because we had grown used to seeing it so much. All of those things and much more ring true when we lost one of the greatest performers and men in the entire wrestling world…Eddie Guerrero.

Eddie was just like the rest of the wrestling world in that we watched him every single week on television, and that’s all us as fans really knew about him. That is all we really knew of his personality, appearance, and the way he carried himself. Sure there was the occasional moment of seeing him live in the ring or even meeting him at an autograph signing or something, but that’s about it. Yet there was something different about Eddie Guerrero and it’s that he knew how to bring the fans into his life beyond wrestling by just being himself and also being extremely entertaining. Over time and moving from ECW to WCW and finally to WWE, he joined the ranks of Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin of guys that we would always cheer no matter how bad he tried to be. Eddie just had something about him that those who knew, or even just saw him, loved.

Throughout his wrestling career, he strived to be the best every single time he stepped through those ropes. He also made sure that whoever he wrestled against looked just as good or perhaps even better then him too. And by focusing on making every match the best one he had ever been in; Eddie became one of the most technically sound and talented wrestlers the world has ever seen. He can fly through the air with the cruiserweights and hold his own in a brawl when the big boys step up. Eddie has held almost every title imaginable from Cruiserweight to Tag Team to United States to Intercontinental and even the WWE title. His legacy was not only showing everyone how good he was but how good he made every other person he interacted with.

This DVD set focuses on the career of Eddie Guerrero and the people whose lives he was a part of and touched on a daily basis. Some of his greatest matches are shown here going all the way back to his days in ECW and his time in WCW. All of that leads up to his breakout super stardom in WWE when he was at the top of his game – not only a wrestler but an entertainer, prankster, and friend to millions. You can’t help but notice some of the great names he went up against throughout his career; and even though he lost some of those matches, he never failed to give it every ounce of energy he had in him. His bouts with Ric Flair, Edge, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, and numerous others will delight you whether you are a fan of the true aspect of wrestling or one that watches it just for the fun and entertainment. Eddie knew how to bring everything together and make sure that no matter who was watching him; they were watching with a smile on their face.

Sadly there is a downside to this collection and it has nothing to do with Eddie Guerrero, because it is hard to find much fault with him. Sure he had his demons — we all do. Eddie battled personal issues and problems but had appeared to clear all of those up long before his sudden death and was a walking miracle while still on this Earth. No, my problem lies with parts of his career that have been excluded from this set due to the fact that the late Chris Benoit was a part of them. Some of the best moments in Eddie’s career are not viewable here because Benoit was in them and that is not strange because they were so close. One particular moment stands out and it is Eddie’s arrival into WWE as part of a group called the Radicalz that included Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko. The four men have defected from WCW and made their appearances together in WWE in the form of an awesome group that took the company by storm. It’s just a shame that part, along with others, of Eddie’s career had to be wiped clean because of the appearance in them of one bad egg. I can’t say I don’t understand WWE’s stance on the whole situation, but it’s just upsetting to miss out on some of those moments. It is especially upsetting not being able to have footage from the episode of RAW right after Eddie’s death and having the matches, tributes, and memories all available to see again.

~ Vickie Guerrero � Early Eddie

~ Hardcore TV April 8, 1995: ECW World Television Championship Match � 2 Cold Scorpio Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Oooo man Eddie is decked out in red, white, and blue all over the place. And for those of you who have watched strictly WWE your entire lives, know that 2 Cold Scorpio was known as Flash Funk during his short run in Connecticut. This is also Eddie’s first match in ECW and Scorpio had no problem putting the belt on the line against the newcomer. Well, the match starts out a little slow but then gets rolling nicely and ends a bit unexpectedly but with some nice respect after all is said and done.

~ Dean Malenko � A New Style In ECW

~ Hostile City Showdown April 15, 1995: ECW World Television Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Dean Malenko – Now here is some fun with old school ECW and it has nothing to do with extreme rules or a hardcore match. Two ring technicians have a great back and forth match showcasing their talents and the respect from the crowd is shown in multiple ovations and chants. This match is full of nice moves, holds, and great reversals that make it incredibly fun to watch. The different exchanges they go through only to end up at a standoff are awesome and I miss stuff like this in matches nowadays. Let’s not forget that this match goes on for close to twenty-five minutes too.

~ Jim Ross � Arrival In WCW

~ Starrcade December 27, 1995: Eddie Guerrero Vs. Shinjiro Otani – I’ll admit that I’ve never seen this match before and know nothing about Otani at all either. One thing is certain and it’s that this match is fantastic. Guerrero and Otani display great moments of technical wrestling while also just destroying each other with great move after great move. Powerbombs, brainbusters, flying bodypresses, and even some submission moves are thrown in here. It sure as hell didn’t take long for Eddie to make a name for himself in WCW.

~ Ric Flair � U.S. Title

~ Hog Wild August 10, 1996: United States Heavyweight Championship Match � Ric Flair Vs. Eddie Guerrero – I would have paid damn good money to see this match in 1996 if Eddie was at his prime like he was right before his death. Strangely though you’ll see Eddie has full control throughout this entire match over Flair who was a centerpiece in WCW at this time. It’s not really much of a good match as it is rather one-sided and then the ending comes up rather abruptly.

~ Chris Jericho � Battling For Respect

~ SuperBrawl February 23, 1997: United States Heavyweight Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chris Jericho – Quite amazing how little the crowd gave a damn about these two guys back then and just a few years later they’d be in the central spotlight. Even though there wasn’t much crowd reaction though; they put on a hell of a match here. Both guys put on a really good show with some technical mat work to start and then head into the high-flying they were known for around the middle points of their careers. Jericho and Eddie had a great chemistry together and with their in-ring talent along with some charismatic personalities; they told some wonderful stories from the opening bell to the finish.

~ Rey Mysterio � Striving For Perfection

~ Nitro November 10, 1997: WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio – Rey Rey still had his match on at the time and he was doing the whole question mark mysterious man thing too. This is a rematch from the recent Halloween Havoc where Rey’s mask was at stake and Mike Tenay points out that many considered that for match of the year. Here we have a match that is good but not nearly anything that merits any type of award because it only lasts about five minutes.

~ Dean Malenko � Rivalry Renewed

~ Starrcade December 28, 1997: WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Dean Malenko – While usually I’d enjoy anything from these two as is evident with their match from ECW, this one wasn’t nearly as good. A lot of stalling and just overall boring moments in the match make it long and dull. It seems to drag on halfway through and even though it was cool seeing them in the ring together; but this wasn’t the best way to start up their feud again. This particular match has nothing on their earlier match in this set from ECW that just absolutely blows this one out of the water.

~ Chavo Guerrero � Adapting Wrestling Styles

~ Slamboree May 17, 1998: Eddie Guerrero Vs. Ultimo Dragon – Chavo was accompanying Eddie at the time and the stipulation here is that Chavo gets his freedom if Dragon is victorious. Dragon has a great style and Eddie does as well even though they are both rather different. The two men could have had a much better match but the pace of this one just was very slow and overall kind of blah. Then the aftermath of it sees Chavo beating down Dragon and screaming to Eddie how that was “his out,” but he won’t lay a hand on Eddie. And there are still people who wonder why WCW failed when there was crap like this going on and matches that never lived up to their billing?

~ Chavo Guerrero � Ring General

~ Nitro August 3, 1998: Juventud Guerrera Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Juventud had already lost the match by now and it’s quite a shame he did. Eddie actually looks a tad smaller then he had in recent years in WCW too. Weird. Ok, this match lasts all of four minutes and Juvi gets in a lot of offense but then Eddie picks up the win out of nowhere. Not much of a match.

~ Vickie Guerrero � Car Accident

~ Thunder June 24, 1999: Psychosis Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Eddie’s mullet is ponytail strong here and he’s apparently getting back at all the former Latino World Order (LWO) members that walked out on him. Psychosis still has his mask and I loved that mask because of the horns. Psychosis is a bit sloppy here with a few bad spots and almost missing Eddie completely with a spin kick early on in the match. Eddie slows things down a lot by working on Psychosis’ leg a good bit and just being a dominant heel. I like this match a lot and really enjoyed these two working together even though Eddie was carrying most of it on his shoulders.

~ Chris Jericho � Latino Heat

~ Raw April 3, 2000: European Championship Match � Chris Jericho Vs. Eddie Guerrero – I loved Eddie’s whole thing with Chyna and he hadn’t even been in the WWE but about three months at this point and was already in the spotlight. Two former WCW cruiserweights going at it in a WWE ring, whoda thunk it? For only being a seven minute match, these two put on a good show but it was more for angle advancement purposes then anything. Behold the true beginning of “Latino Heat.”

~ Matt Hardy � Master Of Psychology

~ SmackDown June 8, 2000: King Of The Ring Qualifying Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Matt Hardy – Man, associating himself with Chyna and getting new entrance music brought Eddie right into the fan-favorite crowd really quickly. This was possibly the first time in the ring together for these guys and it is obvious with some cautiousness and a lot of hesitation at times, especially from Hardy. When they are running full force on all cylinders though, it’s some good stuff. Eddie looks to barely break a sweat here though.

~ Jerry “The King” Lawler – Frogsplash

~ Backlash April 21, 2002: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match � Rob Van Dam Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Eddie had just returned to the WWE about three weeks prior to this match after being released a year before and then resigning. Eddie was really starting to bulk up at this point and being much more physical in his matches to go along with his technical wrestling and high-flying maneuvers. Might as well call this one the “Battle Of The Frog Splash” since it was both men’s finishing moves. I actually liked both equally as Eddie’s was pulled off very quickly and he came down severely hard on his opponents. RVD could twist and turn his body to land it from anywhere in the ring and he always just seemed to float when he was up in the air. Seems the quicker and more violent frog splash would win this time out.

~ Jeff Hardy � The Perfect Wrestler

~ Raw April 29, 2002: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Jeff Hardy – This match came off a bit better then Eddie’s match with RVD even though he and Hardy are very similar. The main difference is that Jeff Hardy is smaller then RVD and a lot quicker so his style seemed to mesh with Eddie’s better and it made for some interesting little parts of the match that went back and forth with you never quite knowing who’d come out on top. It’s a pretty short match, but this was Eddie really bringing about his evil side and showing that he’d do whatever it took to win.

~ Edge � The Conclusion

~ SmackDown September 26, 2002: No Disqualification Match � Edge Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Wow, to think they gave this away on free TV back in 2002. Edge and Eddie put everything on the table here and just let it all hang out. After watching this match, I wonder how either one of them could even attempt to stand up. One moment sees Edge flip Eddie head over heels into a ladder propped up in the corner which has Eddie land right down on the back of his neck. I thought he was dead. Man, this is just PPV caliber easy and I’m not talking about a regular PPV either but something like WrestleMania or SummerSlam. I’m not sure I ever saw this match before and if this really was my first time or my thirtieth time then there are many more viewings to come because it is fantastic.

~ Chavo Guerrero � Los Guerreros

~ Backlash April 27, 2003: WWE Tag Team Championship Match � Los Guerreros Vs. Team Angle – Team Angle consisted of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin who would go on to be known as The World’s Greatest Tag Team and rightfully so. Los Guerreros were obviously Eddie and Chavo. I love the portrait of Kurt Angle that Team Angle brings down to the ring with them. And in a weird note, Chavo always looked older then Eddie did when on screen together after WCW. All four of these men really put on a good show here in a fun match that sees a lot of good technical wrestling and a decent amount of innovation from all four of them. In an ironic twist, it would be the “cheating” part of the Guerreros mantra that would do them in.

~ John Cena � Low Rider

~ SmackDown September 11, 2003: Latino Heat Parking Lot Brawl � John Cena Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Awesome! This is when Cena was trying seriously to be a thug and would try dropping some rhymes before every match. And this is like a Lumberjack Parking Lot Brawl as wrestlers surround the wrestlers along with the circle of cars. He may be a ring technician, but Eddie could beat the hell out of anyone when he needed to. So it is kind of all a bit predictable and not very long, but I enjoyed this one. The ending with Chavo helping Eddie out and then seeing Eddie deliver a frog splash down onto Cena who is on a car was a cool visual and wicked THUD sound.

~ Chavo Guerrero Sr. � Family Rivalry

~ Royal Rumble January 25, 2004: Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chavo Guerrero – Chavo and his Uncle Eddie had numerous matches over the years from WCW to WWE and they usually went back and forth with who got the victory and also who was playing the face and heel. Chavo is the heel here with Chavo Sr. in his corner and the crowd really digging into him. This is a great match as those between these two usually are, but this one happens to be incredibly short. It is actually under ten minutes and should have culminated on another PPV to be given more time.

~ Vickie Guerrero – Champion

~ No Way Out February 15, 2004: WWE Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Brock Lesnar – Without a doubt this is one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time and had to be one of the match-of-the-year contenders back in 2004. Lesnar was the man-beast tearing a path through all of WWE and then had Eddie put in his way and no-one really expected a different result from what Lesnar had seen in all his recent matches and that’s domination. Goldberg was in WWE at the time and kind of had a little feud going with Lesnar stemming from the Royal Rumble so he played a part in this match, but not enough to take away from the specialness of it.

Eddie and Lesnar put together a very good match that saw excellent technical wrestling work along with a lot of power moves. Lesnar’s power would always factor in and seemingly put the match away for him before Eddie made another miraculous comeback. What makes this match even sweeter is that the finish saw classic Eddie using the belt to his advantage and just being conniving and sneaky to turn the momentum in his favor. And then seeing him deliver that frogsplash and listening as the crowd counts along for the 1-2-3 still gives me goosebumps for what is one of the greatest moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling.

~ Rey Mysterio � True Champion

~ SmackDown March 18, 2004: WWE Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio – Yeah yeah, you all know I can’t really stand Rey Mysterio but the guy is good. I’m sorry, he’s really damn good in the ring and putting him up against Eddie who just won the WWE Title makes this an excellent match before it even gets underway. You will find it hard to pinpoint even a single slow moment in this match as both men keep a very hectic pace with a lot of near falls and an awesome display of wrestling ability.

~ JBL � Heated Rivalry

~ Judgment Day May 16, 2004: WWE Championship Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield – JBL was petitioning for his version of America at the time and pretty much put down anyone with even the slightest amount of Mexican heritage in them. He gives one hell of a heel promo before the match though which makes the crowd even that much more into Eddie. I really like this match a lot because it is just brutality above all others from both men. Eddie’s face is a dark crimson red almost throughout the entire match and it stains the canvas up big time. Making things even more enjoyable is the aftermath which sees these two men just go at it with even more hatred and force. A kind of crappy ending takes a little away from it but the blood everywhere makes up for it.

~ JBL � Wrestling A Live Wire

~ SmackDown July 15, 2004: Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship � Eddie Guerrero Vs. JBL – As if a match without tons of steel around them wasn’t violent enough; now they step inside the cage. The other main difference this time around is that JBL comes to the ring as the champion instead of Eddie. This match wasn’t nearly as good as some of their earlier bouts, but I don’t think it was supposed to be when it was used more to set up another feud. Seeing Kurt Angle in a luchador pair of tights is just messed up.

~ Michael Cole – Entertaining

~ SmackDown April 14, 2005: WWE Championship Series � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Kurt Angle – I can’t remember what the WWE Championship Series was exactly, but Michael Cole fills us all in that the winner goes onto a triple threat match for the WWE Title. This was a pretty good match for a while, but again it was focused more on setting up a future storyline. Rey Mysterio’s interference on behalf of Eddie ended up in a feud between the current tag team champs at the time.

~ Rey Mysterio � Born With Charisma

~ SmackDown September 9, 2005: Steel Cage Match � Rey Mysterio Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Eddie went serious heel by this time and didn’t smile or joke around but was just serious and vicious. This was even a kind of messed up feud that dealt with Rey’s son and a whole adoption storyline going on. Even though kind of short, this match is great with all the talent the two had and how well they worked with each other. It also tells a wonderful story with the goodness of Rey and the evil that was brewing in Eddie.

~ Batista � Losing A Friend

~ No Mercy October 9, 2005: World Heavyweight Championship Match � Batista Vs. Eddie Guerrero – Eddie’s final PPV match would be against someone that is not one of my favorites, but it’s not like that could be helped and Eddie can make anyone entertaining anyway. Sadly it would take a lot to make this match very good because no matter how much fun Eddie is Batista just plods along and keeps it rather dull and boring.

~ Remembering Eddie

The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and the interview segments look flawless of course and most of the match footage looks great too. If you’ve ever watched old ECW though then you know that never looked to good to begin with, but it’s still very watchable.

The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and all comes through just fine without any problems or static.

Los Guerreros Vignettes – A series of great vignettes with Eddie and Chavo when they would lie, cheat, and steal to get whatever they wanted and get out of any situation that came about. Vignettes include: Baby Carriage, Pool, Low Rider, Golf, Valet, and even some Outtakes. These are absolutely hilarious on their own and then the outtakes make them all even better. My God, Eddie was just insanely funny.

Chris Jericho Meets Eddie for the First Time – Jericho shares a story of when he first met Eddie down in Mexico. It’s a short one minute tale that is pretty funny.

SmackDown November 11, 2005: Eddie’s Final Match � Eddie Guerrero Vs. Mr. Kennedy – This match actually had a lot of significance to it. Kennedy was still undefeated at the time and the winner of this match would also go on to join the SmackDown team to face the RAW team at Survivor Series. It’s kind of strange that it almost seemed as if Eddie knew this would be his last match ever because of how he performed, but I know he did that in every single match. Here you see his vintage smirk, the big smile, the Three Amigos, and even the cheating and deceiving that would ultimately win him the match. It’s not a classic by a long shot, but it is just straight up Eddie G. all the way.

TrailersBehind Enemy Lines: Colombia, Hell In A Cell, and The Life And Times Of Mr. Perfect


As much as I love the Cheating Death, Stealing Life DVD set, this one is even better. There we had the story of Eddie Guerrero, but here we have a reflection of his life. Maybe not all the matches are top notch or even that much fun, but each and every one of them reflects the person that Eddie was. If it was meant to be a technical masterpiece, then that was what he made it out to be. Maybe the match was supposed to be a little bit of comedy and set up an angle advancement or feud; well then Eddie made sure that is exactly what happened. What makes Viva La Raza even better are the stories from friends and family that get told with so much emotion that it truly hits home. I’ve met a number of wrestlers face-to-face in my lifetime but never had the pleasure of meeting Eddie. And if you’ve watched wrestling at all for the past ten or more years then you know who he was and what he was all about. I challenge each and every one of you to not crack a smile or even laugh out loud when you see some of his antics in the ring or even out of the ring. I issue an even stiffer challenge to everyone and wonder if you can make it through this collection without shedding some tears for it’s true that I did.

Viva La Raza really does tell the legacy of Eddie Guerrero and how much he meant to everyone in the world of wrestling and still to this day. My one complaint is that so much stuff needed to be left out thanks to the awful mistakes one man made in his life, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t plenty of good Eddie footage to last all our lifetimes. Make sure you grab this collection now if you are a wrestling fan, and maybe even if you’re not. For those of you that never got to witness much of Eddie or didn’t see him at all then let this be your starter kit because it is phenomenal. Odelay! Viva…LA RAZA!

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WWE Home Video presents Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero. Featuring: Eddie Guerrero, JBL, Ric Flair, Rey Mysterio, Edge, John Cena, Matt Hardy, and many more. Running time: 540 minutes on 3 discs. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: November 11, 2008. Available at Amazon.com