Crazy Chavo Guerrero – WCW, 1998
History
Chavo Guerrero, Jr. should have been on top of the world. Earlier in the year, he had lost a match to his uncle Eddie that placed him in Eddie’s service – which consisted of wearing a T-shirt that read “Eddie Guerrero is my favorite wrestler” and having Eddie force him to cheat in order to win matches. Finally, at the Great American Bash, Chavo had defeated his uncle and won his freedom. Then things got weird.
On the next Thunder, Eddie took on Chris Benoit. He was still depressed about losing at the Bash. After Eddie tapped out to the Crossface, Chavo came out from the back. Eddie quickly left as Chavo told the cameras that Eddie was still his favorite wrestler.
On Nitro, Chavo put in another appearance as Eddie took on Alex Wright. Alex won while Chavo babbled on the microphone. Eddie slapped him and Chavo started talking about a game of Monopoly from the night before. Eddie called him a wacko, but Chavo corrected him. His name was Chavo. C, H, A, V, O.
Thunder saw Eddie taking on Hugh Morrus (now known as the voice of Velocity, Bill DeMott). Toward the end of the match, Jimmy Hart grabbed a chair and was getting ready to level Eddie. Chavo ran out from the back and attacked Jimmy. Eddie lost the match, and, weirded out by his nephew, headed for the back as fast as he could.
Nitro saw Eddie taking on Little Dragon. This time, not only did Chavo wander out to the ring, but Chavo also had a friend – a wooden hobby horse named Pepe. Eddie grabbed the horse away from Chavo, which gave Little Dragon the opportunity to roll Eddie up for the win. Eddie whacked Little Dragon with Pepe. Chavo scrambled to collect the pieces of Pepe, only to be run to the back by Eddie.
Things got even stranger on Thunder as it appeared Chavo had OD’d on Warner Brothers cartoons. Chavo came out to the ring and cautioned the crowd to be very quiet, because he was hunting Eddie. Chavo set up a box (labeled Acme Eddie Trap) held up by a stick with a string tied to it, and then baited it with a burrito. Wile E. Coyote would have been proud. He then hid behind the ring and called out Eddie. Eddie, unamused, came out and gave Chavo a brainbuster on the concrete, before whipping out some scissors and chopping off a chunk of his nephew’s hair.
On Nitro, Chavo was dressed oddly for his match against Johnny Swinger – he was wearing a hardhat. Chavo finally gave in to the referee’s demands and removed the helmet, only to try and cover his missing hair with one hand. Chavo won the match and then trimmed Swinger with a pair of scissors he’d also brought to the ring. Chavo then proposed a hair vs. hair match against Eddie at Bash at the Beach.
On Thunder, it was Eddie’s turn to respond. Eddie said that he would not only accept the match, but also shave Chavo bald at the PPV, because “no one likes bald people.”
Chavo took on Lenny Lane on Saturday Night. He won, then chased Lenny and the referee out of the ring with his scissors. With no one else available, Chavo chopped at his own hair.
At Bash at the Beach, Chavo had a warm-up match against Stevie Ray before his match with Eddie. Chavo made sure to dedicate the match to his favorite wrestler – Eddie Guerrero. Unfortunately, Chavo lost the match by submitting to Stevie Ray’s devastating pre-match handshake.
Eddie was unprepared for his match with Chavo. Seriously. How do you prepare to have your nephew biting you on the rear end? Anyway, Eddie wound up winning the match and grabbed the clippers. Chavo grabbed them away and shaved his own head. Eddie left as Chavo was still cutting away.
On Nitro, Eddie was still celebrating the fact that his magnificent mullet was intact as he took on Mongo McMichael. Unfortunately, halfway through the match Chavo came out wearing a cowboy hat and riding Pepe. As Eddie was getting ready to finish Mongo off with his frog splash, Chavo climbed into the ring (disqualifying Eddie) and started riding Pepe around the fallen Mongo. Eddie shoved Chavo into Mongo and left as Mongo destroyed Chavo.
This trend continued on the next Thunder as Eddie took on Psychosis. As Psychosis climbed to the top, Chavo took a swing at him with Pepe. Chavo missed, so he punched Psychosis, giving Eddie the opportunity to score the win. Chavo turned around and rode Pepe back to the locker room.
On Nitro, things got weird yet again. Eddie was taking on Konnan. Halfway through, Chavo and Pepe came out with one difference – Chavo was dressed as Konnan. Chavo also bragged that he and “P-Dawg” were `bout it, bout` it. Chavo distracted Konnan, which let Eddie get the advantage. Unfortunately, the advantage didn’t last long as Eddie saw how Chavo was dressed and was mortified. Eddie tried to nail Konnan with Pepe but failed (and got disqualified for the effort). Konnan then grabbed Pepe and clocked Eddie with Chavo’s noble steed before throwing Eddie out of the ring. Chavo was gone practically before Eddie hit the floor.
We got the same on Saturday Night – Chavo ran in during Eddie’s match with Fit Finlay. This time, however, Eddie showed compassion – rather than letting Chavo take a tombstone, Eddie saved his nephew and wound up taking one himself.
This was the end of the Chavo-Eddie feud. Chavo was destroyed by Stevie Ray at Road Wild (over a notary stamp), then went on to a feud with Chris Jericho over the fact that Jericho had destroyed Pepe.
Analysis
For whatever odd reason, this worked. Chavo was able to show off his charisma (much better than his later incarnation as the Misfits in Action’s Lieutenant Loco) and Eddie has the charisma and in-ring skills to spare to pull off almost anything. This is doubtless why Chavo was paired with Chris Jericho after his feud with Eddie ended.
Although this gimmick seems like it would have been a career-killer, it actually got over with the crowd. The crowd was chanting for Chavo during all of Eddie’s matches, hoping he would be coming out. This sort of thing does have a limited shelf life, but it worked well here, especially considering that the entire Chavo-Eddie feud (including the “servitude”) ran for over six months.
Where are they now?
Chavo and Eddie are both in the WWE, where they are on Smackdown. Eddie recently held the Tag Team titles with Rey Misterio, and Chavo is a former Cruiserweight champion.
As for Pepe, well, that’s a different story. From time to time, Pepe has been seen on Ebay, having been rescued from the WCW warehouse after the WWF buyout. Won’t one of you give this poor horse a home?
Next Week
We stay in the same time period as we take a look at an angle that’s “Fair Enough.”
