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CALDWELL'S MEDIA CLUB: Eddie Guerrero DVD review Day 1 - First match in ECW, influence of Art Barr, Vickie Guerrero comments on Eddie Nov 14, 2008 - 3:37:32 PM
On November 23, 1994, the "Love Machine" Art Barr was found dead at his home in Springfield, Oregon.
As we follow through the Eddie Guerrero story on the "Viva La Raza" DVD produced by WWE over the next 25 days, it's important to establish the significance of Barr's influence on Eddie Guerrero's life, both inside the ring and as Eddie dealt with the same personal struggles that he witnessed with his close friend, Art Barr.
It won't be an easy or comfortable story to look at, but it will be an important story.
The DVD starts with Eddie's widow, Vickie Guerrero, recapping Eddie's early childhood growing up in the Guerrero wrestling family before Eddie branched out on his own in Mexico working with Art Barr.
Their first significant break came on the "When Worlds Collide" PPV put on by WCW and AAA in November 1994, just a few weeks prior to Barr's death. Vickie says Barr was the "brains behind the operations" and Eddie deferred to him on the direction of their tandem.
Barr's sudden death tore up Eddie, as his brother, mentor, and guide was no longer there to help him with the decisions he faced at the beginning of 1995.
In a Sept. 1995 Torch Talk with Wade Keller, Eddie said, "It tore me up. It tore me up big time, personally." Eddie was the quiet one in the Barr-Guerrero tandem, and he kept his responses short-and-sweet when answering questions for the Torch Talk.
Eddie wanted his break in wrestling, and he faced a decision to continue struggling in Mexico with a poor economy, tour full-time with New Japan, or break onto the national scene with ECW where he would have an opportunity to gain exposure. Without Barr by his side, Eddie turned to his other two closest friends, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit.
All three of them ended up in ECW during 1995 and the first match on the "Viva La Raza" DVD is Eddie Guerrero's first ECW match. He faced 2 Cold Scorpio for the ECW TV Title and captured the belt in 17 minutes.
Looking at the match with a set of glasses dated 2008, the match looks like just another X Division/cruiserweight style match with high-impact dives, somersault dives, and lightning-quick exchanges.
In 1995, though, Eddie, Dean, and Benoit were bringing a new, faster style to pro wrestling that ECW owner Paul Heyman picked up on and wanted to make part of his TV shows. ECW wasn't only about hardcore wrestling, but bringing the cruiserweight style to the national scene. Eventually, Eric Bischoff followed suit in WCW and brought in the trio later that year.
Said Eddie in the 1995 Torch Talk: "When I got there (to ECW), I thought it was violence and crazy until I learned and understood what Paul E. was trying to do."
In the April 8, 1995 match against 2 Cold Scorpio, Eddie dazzled the tough-to-please ECW Arena audience with an array of highspots that helped create the legacy he hoped to carry on for Art Barr, who he considered like a brother to him.
The match, and subsequent matches against Dean Malenko, helped put Eddie on the map as one of the top wrestlers in pro wrestling who no one in the mainstream had previously every heard of.
"They (ECW fans) are educated in wrestling and they appreciate you," Eddie said in 1995. "I was surprised when they appreciated me and Dean's matches and Scorpio's. That made me feel good because they like violence."
Video Selection: Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr with Tonya Harding in Mexico.
Over the course of 25 days, I will be reviewing the "Viva La Raza" Eddie Guerrero DVD recently put out by WWE. I'll be looking at the significance of each of the 25 matches on the DVD as well as establishing the context of events that were occurring at the time of each match.
EDDIE GUERRERO DVD REVIEW ARTICLE LIST
- Intro on DVD review series.
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