WWE has had many rivalries, however only a few beg to answer the question of who was better. There was Hulk Hogan vs Macho Man Randy Savage, Bret Hitman Hart vs Shawn Michaels, Triple H vs The Rock, and John Cena vs CM Punk.
However, one feud that does not get enough credit is Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. These two superstars were technical masters. They were amazing in the ring as well as out.
The entertainment value that both brought to the business is unparalleled. They were serious athletes, but also hilarious comedians. Like many performers at the top of their game, Kurt and Eddie also had egos.
This was evident in a real fight after a Smackdown taping in 2004. It’s true, It’s true more on that later. First, let’s look at the rivalry between the Olympic gold medalist and Latino Heat.
Kurt Angle Arrives In WWF
Undoubtedly, one of the greatest debuts ever belongs to the legit Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Angle overcame many obstacles to get where he was. He won a gold medal with a broken freakin neck.
He debuted at the 1999 Royal Rumble against another submission specialist, Tazz. In Angle’s rookie year, he won the Triple Crown of the WWE and became King of the Ring, which was unheard of.
He competed against the greats like HHH, The Undertaker, and the man he defeated for the WWE title The Rock.
As time went by Kurt Angle became one of the top Superstars to ever compete. Angle had a classic series of matches with Chris Benoit. These included ladder matches, last-man-standing matches, and submission matches.
He also went on to captain the WWF team during the Invasion Angle. He feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin. During the invasion, Austin turned his back on Team WWF. At Unforgiven 2001, Kurt Angle defeated Austin to win his second WWF Championship.
Unfortunately, he lost it several days later. Kurt turned heel aligning himself with Austin and the Alliance. However at Survivor Series in a match where the winner takes all, Angle helped Team WWE defeat Team Alliance.
It wasn’t long until Angle started a feud with returning Triple H. Triple H and Angle were the last two superstars standing at the 2002 Royal Rumble, which Triple H won. At Judgement Day, Angle lost a loser shaves his head match to Edge.
At first, Kurt Angle wore a wrestling headgear with a wig. After a few months, the shaved head added to the Olympic hero’s ruthless aggression. He also faced off against John Cena at Cena’s debut in Chicago, IL.
Eddie Guerrero’s “Latino Heat” lands in WWF
Eddie Guerrero was always a standout talent. The youngest brother from the famous Guerrero family could always be counted on to have outstanding matches. Eddie was one of the highlights of WCW’s cruiserweight division.
He also defeated DDP Diamond Dallas Page in the finals to win the US title at Starrcade 96. He scored a victory over Chris Jericho to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. After that, he lost the title to another fellow luchador Rey Mysterio Jr. at Halloween Havoc 1997.
The match was an instant classic. Eddie was also known as the founder of the Latino World Order aka the LWO. The group currently on Smackdown is the sequel, Eddie was the OG.
After a feud with his nephew Chavo Guerrero, Eddie along with Rey Mysterio formed the group called the Filthy Animals.
Despite having fun and working with his friends and family, Guerrero asked for his release from WCW in 2000. He knew he would have a better chance elsewhere.
Eddie and Mamacita
Eddie Guerrero arrived in WWF in 2000. However, he did not show up alone. His friends Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn left WCW too. WWF was in for a radical change of landscape.
Now known as the Radicalz the group immediately went after DX. Unfortunately, Eddie injured himself in his first match in WWF using his patented frog splash.
Originally they were booked to defeat the New Age Outlaws, however, due to the injury plans changed. The Radicalz joined forces with HHH and became his mercenaries. Eddie then turned his attention to Chyna.
After Chyna started receiving a lot of attention, Guerrero declared that Chyna was his Mamacita. Chyna was with Eddie’s rival, Intercontinental champion Y2J Chris Jericho.
During a match with Jericho, Chyna helped Eddie win the Intercontinental title. She claimed she could not resist his ” Latino Heat. “
Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero – The Early Years
Many fans tend to forget the Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angles rivalry started in early 2001, not 2004. At Summerslam Guerrero and Chyna competed in an intergender match vs Val Venis and Trish Stratus. Val was at the time the Intercontinental Champion.
Whoever pinned Val would be the new title holder. In a surprise, Chyna won the title. Eddie initially claimed he wasn’t upset. However, on Raw is War on September 4, 2000, he demanded to be put in a match Chyna had with Kurt Angle.
During the match, Kurt hit Chyna with the belt. Eddie claiming he was protecting Mamacita covered her up. This ended up being a three-count, and Guerrero won the Intercontinental Championship. When the spotlight was put on Chyna, Eddie’s jealousy took over.
Eddie’s Demon’s
After breaking up with Chyna, Eddie turned back to his friends the Radicalz. He feuded with the new face version of DX. He remained a mercenary for HHH and Stephanie McMahon.
After losing the Intercontinental title to Billy Gunn, he focused on the European title. With the Radicalz’s help, Eddie defeated Test for the title at Wrestlemania X-Seven.
Shortly after this, his addiction to pain medicine from a 1999 car accident began to become apparent. On Nov 9, 2001, he was arrested for drunk driving and released from WWF.
Eddie Guerrero’s Return to the WWF
When Eddie Returned to WWF on April 1, 2002, he attacked RVD. This altercation led to several matches. The two Frog Splash innovators traded the Intercontinental championship back and forth.
Much like the matches with Rey Mysterio in WCW, these matches with RVD need a second look. Most notable is the ladder match between these two on Monday Night Raw.
After losing the Intercontinental title, he began to feud with two legends Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ric Flair.
Los Guerrreros vs Team Angle
During the 2002 Draft, Guerrero ended up on Smackdown. Eddie aligned himself with his nephew Chavo Guererro. Together, they were called Los Guerreros. The duo lived by the mantra;
“We lie, we cheat, and we steal, but at least we are honest about it.”
Los Guerreros became a big hit. Eddie’s star, in particular, kept rising. The team became involved in an eight-team tag team championship tournament.
In the finals, Los Guerreros faced off against Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. Kurt had also been drafted to Smackdown. Reluctantly, Angle and Benoit became tag team partners. Together, they won the tournament.
However, the war was far from over. At Survivor Series 2002, Los Guerreros won the Smackdown tag team championship.
It’s True It’s True
Shortly after Kurt Angle went back to his heel ways, he formed Team Angle, which included himself, Charlie Hass, and Shelton Benjamin. They were a wrestling machine. It was too much for Chavo and Eddie, as they lost the titles to Team Angle.
Unfortunately, Chavo had a bicep injury after this match. Eddie was forced to find a new partner in Tajiri. They defeated Team Angle to win the Smackdown tag team championships.
Not to be outdone, Hass and Benjamin, now calling themselves the world’s greatest tag team, defeated Tajiri and Guererro. Angered, Eddie turned on Tajiri. Eddie, now heel, went on to win the United States Championship.
After defending the title against the likes of Benoit and Edge, Eddie lost the US title. Shortly after that, Chavo returned, and Los Guereros picked up where they left off, winning the Smackdown tag titles. After losing to the Basham Brothers, Chavo blamed Eddie.
Kurt Angle arrived to try to keep the peace between the two but it was too late. Backstage Kurt Angle was trying to calm Eddie Guerrero down. However, Angle added fuel to the Latino heat by saying “Chavo was right. Eddie was selfish.”
On January 8, 2004 edition of Smackdown. Kurt Angle confronted both Guerreros. He wanted both family members to shake hands. Chavo stabbed his nephew in the back and instead made the rivalry more personal.
The next week Eddie teamed with Kurt Angle vs Chavo and his father Chavo classic. During the match, Chavo classic gouged Kurt Angles’s eye. He couldn’t see and ended up giving the Angle Slam to Eddie.
Angle rolled out of the ring holding his eye. Angle went back to the dressing room leaving Guerrero to be beaten by his family.
Eddie Guerrero wins the Undisputed Championship…Viva La Raza
Eddie did get even at The Royal Rumble when he defeated Chavo. The following night on Smackdown, Eddie Guerrero was mysteriously attacked. A Smackdown Royal Rumble was set up to declare a new contender for Brock Lesnar WWE Championship at No Way Out.
Surprisingly, Eddie Guerrero returned and won it all. The Final two were Eddie and Kurt Angle. You could see Kurts’ jealousy start to come forward. As we all know Eddie Guerrero won and defeated The Beast in arguably his best Latino Heats finest moment.
However, Kurt Angle also punched his ticket to mania defeating Big Show and John Cena in a number one contenders match. The next night February 19, 2004, on Smackdown Chavo Guerrero challenged Eddie to a WWE Championship Match.
Chavo Classic was named a special guest referee. Before the match Chavo classic was mysteriously attacked just like Eddie was a few weeks ago. Somehow Kurt Angle was nearby. Kurt made himself the special guest referee.
Eddie ended up successfully defending the title, but after the match, Kurt Angle showed his true colors, attacking the champion. It was Angle who was the selfish one all along. Angle also was responsible for the attacks.
The next week as Kurt Angle was explaining his actions it was Eddies turn for Revenge. Eddie attacked Kurt Angle. As Smackdown GM Paul Heyman arrested Eddie Guerrero.
As Eddie was being taken out in handcuffs, Angle taunted him saying “You’re going to jail. You’re a disgrace as a champion” When Eddie got out of jail, Paul Heyman demanded Eddie apologize for his actions.
As usual, Eddie lied and did not apologize. As punishment, he was put in a match with Paul Heyman which might not seem like a big deal but he was also handcuffed. During the match Kurt Angle attacked Eddie, leaving the champion a broken mess.
Kurt Angle claimed he would be a champion fans could be proud of. This led to WrestleMania XX. The title was on the line Guerrero vs Angle. These two legends were about to collide on the grandest stage of all.
WrestleMania XX
Like all Angle vs Guerrero matches this one was a classic. Held at WrestleMania XX in Madison Square Garden, fans knew they were in for a technical clinic. Angle walked to the ring with chants of “You Suck”.
The proud champion Eddie Guerrero was welcomed like a hero. The match started with Kurt Angle getting the upper hand on Eddie. Kurt immediately targeted the head with a few headlock takedowns. Eddie countered these with arm bars and a series of arm drags.
Finally, Kurt caught the champion in an abdominal stretch. Eddie broke out of it and dropkicked Angle to the floor. As he went for a dive from the top rope, Angle moved and Eddie hit his ribs on the barrier.
Now, a target was on the champion as Angle went to work punishing the ribs. He repeatedly shoulder-tackled Eddie in the corner. After that, he wrapped his legs around Guerrero causing unbelievable abdominal pain.
No matter what Eddie Guerrero would not give up. At one point in the match, Kurt Angle attempted to suplex Guerrero off the top rope but Eddie blocked it and attempted a frog splash.
Unfortunately, again Angle moved and Eddie further injured his ribs. Now angle was viscous as he stomped Eddie’s midsection. He followed that up with a few German suplexes. Every time Kurt tried for the pin Eddie kicked out.
Frustrated Angle went for the angle slam but Eddie reversed it into an armdrag followed by his favorite move three suplexes or “Three Amigos”. On the third suplex angle, Eddie got caught in an ankle lock.
He managed to fight off the Olympic gold medalist. His Latino Heat took over and the champion was all fired up. Finally, Kurt was face up on the mat. Eddie went for his patented frog splash, but could not get the win.
Angle again went for a second ankle lock but Eddie reversed it into a pin. Angle again kicked out. Kurt Angle went for a belly-to-belly suplex but was caught by a vicious flying DDT. Eddie Guerrero was going to win this match. Eddie went for Frog Splash.
Kurt moved out of the way, and Eddie came crashing down. Kurt Angle again grabbed the ankle, and Eddie again kicked Angle off. It appeared Eddie was in pain. He began to loosen his wrestling boot to relieve the pressure on his ankle.
Kurt grabbed Eddie in the ankle lock a 4th time. It appeared Eddie was a goner but the boot fell off and Eddie rolled out of the way. He caught a surprised angle in a rollup and won the match.
Eddie was never injured. He cheated, but he was honest about it and walked away from WrestleMania still WWE Champion.
The Infamous Locker Room Fight
Eddie was having issues. Even as WWE Champion, Eddie Guerrero was in a lot of pain. Due to several injuries, Eddie was upset that he could not give Angle the matches Eddie wanted to give.
According to most, it was rare to see Eddie lose his temper, but when he did it wasn’t pretty. One such incident occurred on Smackdown following WrestleMania XX. Knowing he could not defeat Guerrero alone, Angle assembled a team.
This version had two monsters Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrack. In a spot, Jindrack and Reigns attacked Guerrero on Smackdown. Supposedly they were a little too stiff. As a result, Eddie blamed Kurt.
As Kurt was waiting backstage, Guerrero shoved the Olympic gold medalist. Kurt shoved him back. Then Eddie’s temper took over and tried to double leg takedown, Kurt Angle.
That’s right, he tried to takedown legit Olympic Gold medalist Kurt Angle with an amateur move. Big Show broke up the fight. According to Kurt Angle himself, “he was picked up like a puppy by one hand of Show.” He also grabbed Guerrero with the other hand.
Eventually, Kurt Angle tried to make up with Eddie, however, Eddie was very reluctant at first. Finally, after a week went by Eddie Guerrero apologized to Kurt Angle. On The Kurt Angle Show, Angle talked about his relationship with Guerrero.
“Eddie and I were brothers, We fought like brothers. Then forgave each other the next week. There were days when he couldn’t move. Some days he was energetic.
No one knew what was going on. I had a lumberjack match with him and he could not go. He was holding onto the ropes saying don’t touch me. I said I have to it’s the next spot.
You can’t blame WWE. Eddie knew something was wrong, he just did not want to find out what it was. Eddie Guerrero would have been alive today if he had gotten checked out.”
Angle as GM of Smackdown
Kurt Angle began to have reoccurring neck issues so for a time being he was put in a wheelchair with a broken leg after a chokeslam to the concrete. He was also made Smackdown GM after McMahon fired Paul Heyman.
As the GM he cost Eddie Guerrero the WWE title against JBL. At the Great American Bash Eddie Guerrero defended that title in a bullrope match vs JBL. The object of the match was to touch all four corners in succession.
At the end of the match, Eddie touched three corners, but because they were tied together, so did JBL. As Eddie went to jump over JBL in the final corner, Bradshows shoulder hit the buckle first.
The referee did not see this and awarded the match to Guerrero. As GM Kurt Angle came to the ring, Angle and JBL robbed Eddie Guerrero of the WWE Championship with the help of instant replay.
In a rematch with JBL in a steel cage, Eddie Guerrero was again robbed by a masked luchador. Eddie caught him and pulled off his mask revealing none other than Kurt Angle.
This revealed that Angle was faking an injury the entire time. Due to those acts, Vince McMahon fired Angle as GM.
SummerSlam 2004
Eddie had enough. He challenged Kurt Angle to a match at Summerslam 2004. Kurt Angle claimed Eddie couldn’t beat him without cheating. It was another amazing masterpiece.
This time Eddie tried to outwrestle Kurt. He even had Angle in the ankle lock. Kurt Angle did not expect that. Angle grabbed the ropes to escape. After an eye gouge, Kurt grabbed the ankle lock but Eddie wouldn’t give up.
Latino Heat would make a mini comeback including an Olympic slam, but like a shark, Kurt would pick the ankle. Eddie’s ankle would never be the same. Remembering their WrestleMania match Kurt Angle started to unlace Eddie’s boot.
As Angle went for an angle slam and again Kurt got the DDT. Eddie went for a frog splash but missed. Kurt Angle took off Eddie Guerrero’s boot and locked in the ankle lock, But Eddie pulled Angle into the referee.
Then with the ref out cold Eddie used the boot on Angle. With Angle out cold, Eddie hit an amazing frog splash, but Angle kicked out. As Eddie was getting frustrated, Kurt grabbed the exposed ankle and put on the ankle lock.
Eddie was screaming in pain trying not to give up but he just couldn’t help it. Eddie Guerrero tapped out. The two fought one last time on September 9, 2004, Smackdown in a lumberjack match. The match ended in a brawl.
Sadly, the following year, on November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero passed away. Kurt Angle was in reality one of Eddies best friends. Eddies death affected the entire world. It was so unexpected. Eddie Guerrero was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.
Kurt Angle went on to achieve status in WWE and TNA, becoming a multi-time champion. He is in both the WWE and TNA hall of fame. At WrestleMania 35, Kurt Angle retired from wrestling.
Not many rivalries as competitive as this exist today. When you have two athletes of this caliber you are bound to get a combustible element. Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero brought out the best in each other.
They gave everything they had night after night. We as fans are very grateful to witness this rivalry.
