Most people who know me know I am a big wrestling fan. Probably too big, but still, a big wrestling fan. That is also a huge reason this site is named what it is. One of my top 5 favorite performers of all-time was the late Eddie Guerrero, whose 2005 death is one of way too many in the wrestling sports-entertainment world. Also, perhaps the most tragic (bad as the Benoit thing was, I feel no sympathy towards his suicide…although I may would agree his wife Nancy, who was a valet named Woman in ECW and WCW, was moreso), as Eddie had faced countless demons in his life and had finally seemed to defeat them before his death. Many folks can recall his stint with the WWF WWE well, and some fans can recall his WCW exploits with the Latino World Order, as well as his feud with his nephew Chavo. What many do not know is even before that (and his famous ECW run with Dean Malenko) is that he was part of one of the best tag teams of his era. While this run came not in the WWF, or WCW, or even ECW, it was arguably the most hated tag team in the world, and in fact headlined a Pay-Per-View entitled “When Worlds Collide.” The PPV, hosted by Mexican wrestling association Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), was one of the first exhibitions of lucha libre style wrestling in America. That style would eventually become famous in America as the style used by a large majority of the cruiserweights in WCW during the Monday Night Wars. That tag team that Guerrero was a part of was la Pareja del Terror. However, that team was part of a much larger stable called Los Gringos Locos. Guerrero and his partner, the criminally underrated (and also, unfortunately, late) Art Barr, lost a classic hair v. mask match to the hero tag team of Octagon and el Hijo del Santo (the son of El Santo, only the biggest legend in Mexican wrestling history), which set the stage for what would have been their triumphant ECW run. Sadly, shortly after the bout, Barr was found dead in his Portland, Oregon home, which killed the hopes of a successful American run for the team. Interestingly enough, Guerrero refused to do any angle that may disparage his friend, or be used as a sympathy ploy for Guerrero. Twelve years later, Eddie’s nephew (the aforementioned Chavo), two best friends in the wrestling world (Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio, Jr), and even his widow Vickie were involved in numerous angles that invoked his name or what was being done to his name (the most heinous example was Randy Orton’s “Rey, he’s not up there. He’s down there…in hell” during a promo on SmackDown shortly after Eddie’s death). His one tribute to Art Barr was taking his signature move and making it his own: the frogsplash that many associate with Guerrero. While this may seem like a long-winded post (and it is), this is where the “ElGringoLoco” comes from. It’s merely the singular form of that great stable back in the day, and oddly enough the 3 first letters of the term are Eddie’s initials (Eduardo Guerrero Llanes). In a sad side note, Barr, Guerrero, Black Cat, and Louie Spicolli from the Gringos Locos are now dead, and 5th member Konnan is in bad, bad shape.
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