By Luis Gonzalez
Borderzine
EL PASO — Grabbing the wrestling ring ropes with both hands, in one swift move Eddie Guerrero landed on the top turnbuckle facing the ring and then launched off the turnbuckle into a backflip.
The jump he had learned from his legendary father Gory Guerrero was short, but in midair there was no turning back, no stopping the drill. In a split second his life was in serious danger, but then Hector Rincon, his training partner, stepped in catching Guerrero in mid-flight breaking his fall. The impact knocked Rincon out.
“When I came to,” Rincon says. “I was lying on the ring, Gory Guerreo, Eddie’s dad was trying to straighten my nose and Eddie was behind Gory snickering. They said my nose was completely underneath one of my eye sockets.”
That is just one of the many stories Rincon, now 48, recalls of the time he spent learning the craft of lucha libre alongside Eddie Guerrero, one of the best El Paso has ever produced, from Gory Guerrero, one of the best the sport has ever seen.
For those familiar with professional wrestling Gory and Eddie Guerrero need no introduction, especially around these parts.
Family of legends
Before his untimely death, in November 2005 at the age of 38, Eddie was at the top of the wrestling world. Considered one of the best in the business, he showcased his abilities on a nightly basis on the biggest stages with a Lucha Libre style that he learned in El Paso and went all over the world to perfect, but which is not always embraced by World Wrestling Entertainment, the biggest wrestling organization in the world.
Eddie’s father, Gory, is a legend. He helped shape the craft of Lucha Libre like few in history have been able to do in any sport. Some of the holds wrestlers and luchadores use on a nightly basis are named after him — he invented them…
Finish reading El Paso’s Lucha libre fighter keeps famed Guerrero tradition alive
