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CALDWELL'S MEDIA CLUB: Eddie Guerrero DVD review Day 3 - Eddie gets his break in WCW, steals the show at Starrcade '95 Nov 16, 2008 - 4:17:14 PM
About 13 years ago, WCW presented Starrcade '95 that featured a best-of-seven WCW vs. New Japan tournament and also the return of Ric Flair to company prominence as the WCW World champion.
The headline-grabber was Flair for re-capturing the World Title, but the show-stealing match was Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ootani in a 15-minute classic that was rated ****1/4 in the Torch Newsletter.
The match was that good, with Eddie and Ootani delivering an array of highspots that flowed perfectly in the context of trying to win a pro wrestling match. A simple springboard dropkick seems rather elementary in 2008, but at the time, Eddie and Ootani wowed a national crowd that probably had no idea what they were watching.
Listening to the commentary from Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes, there was a sense of this being important, but not as important as cracking jokes and telling old wrestling stories. The cruiserweights filled a spot on the card, delivered great athleticism, and told a good story, but they weren't big enough to be considered at the Hogan, Savage, Flair level in late 1995.
Jim Ross says on the Guerrero DVD that the cruiserweights didn't always get the credit they deserved when WCW had the big names well past their prime. That didn't bother Eddie, though. As I described yesterday in reviewing one of Eddie's most-memorable matches in ECW, Eddie was simply looking for his break on the national scene.
Moving to WCW was a tough decision for Eddie, as he had a soft spot for the ECW fans and Paul Heyman for giving him a chance. But, it was also about trying to make the most of his career. With Art Barr's death still very much a part of Eddie's psyche, he realized the need to seize opportunities to provide for his family, even joining WCW to simply fill in a role.
"Basically it's an opportunity to go nationwide," Eddie told Wade Keller in a 1995 Torch Talk. "You know, that's the way I look at it. ... You only get so many years to work and you have to take advantage of those years. When you have an opportunity to make money, you're dumb if you don't take it."
Guerrero knew the value of his opportunity. He wasn't trying to work with Ric Flair in the heavyweight division or challenge Hulk Hogan for top merchandise sales. Eric Bischoff gave him a clear role and he embraced it as an opportunity to move up the card by stealing the show, such as at the Starrcade '95 PPV.
Eddie said about his initial concerns: "I just didn't think they were going to use me right, the small man's complex and all that."
He was worried when he joined Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit in joining WCW, but hearing Eric Bischoff define his role put him at ease.
"Eric told me what he wanted," Guerrero said. "They didn't lie to me. They were completely honest with me. That's what I liked about them."
Eddie had only been with the company for a few months at the time of Starrcade '95, but Ric Flair was already taking notice. Flair knew Eddie from a very young age when Eddie was deeply involved in his family's wrestling business in Texas, so it was only a matter of time before Flair vs. Guerrero took place. Tomorrow, I'll look at that August 1996 match-up.
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.
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AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?
