I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel
Welcome readers to "Storee Time with the Great Brown Hope".
This time of year is usually rough for me.
I've been a wrestling fan for many years. In some occasions, the entertainers were more than just someone to root for. Eddie Guerrero was a hero of mine. Someone I could relate to, someone I can cheer for and cry with (more on that later). He was the face of our people, he knew it and he wore it like a badge of honor.
Eddie Guerrero seemed too authentic to be just an on-screen role. The man was gold on the microphone, catering to the crowd just as well as he was able to piss them off. And just as great as he was with addressing the audience, he delivered the goods in the ring. Night in, night out, this vato loko left it all in the squared circle.
Eddie Guerrero was more than successful, racking up numerous title reigns for numerous promotions around the world. The man was becoming a legend, a legend that we will forever know as Latino Heat.
Twas the early morning of February 15th. My father, my younger brother, and myself were finishing up our shift at the construction site. This was gonna be a huge night for us. We were excited, we were thrilled, we, were ready.
February 15th, 2004, at No Way Out, it was set to be Brock Lesnar(C) vs. Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship.
Fans of all varieties can probably agree that no one really believed Eddie would win this match. The entire build up to this match was platinum ready to bend to your likeness to sell for top dollar! Eddie was coming in as the underdog; still we cheered, and still we believed.
He was our hero.
We weren't about to give up on our hero.
The match kept me glued to my television the entire duration, doing everything in my power not to blink or turn away. Back and forth action ensued, Lesnar using his power to his advantage constantly wearing down Eddie.
Eddie began to outsmart Lesnar, placing him in submissions to slow his momentum.
Plenty of oh's and ah's, just as there was plenty of OUCH! YIKES! and OWW!
Momentum continued switching sides, Goldberg made an interference, Lesnar scared us into thinking he had it won, only for Eddie to win it in true, Eddie Guerrero fashion.
The referee counted 1
The referee counted 2.....
THREE!!
The tears that followed I cannot describe. Tears of happiness for the hero that I had witnessed endure numerous struggles in and out of the ring for many years. He was at a point in his life where he was beginning to turn things around. He wanted to be at the top of the mountain, and he made it.
Eddie Guerrero went from cutting the rawest, heaviest promo ever cut on a microphone to winning the biggest prize in the wrestling business; the WWE Championship.
He did what not many wrestlers do in this time and times before and celebrated his victory. He didn't wait til the next night on RAW for a formal congratulations. No. He jumped into that crowd and celebrated with his people, 11k strong, at Cow Palace in Daly City, California.
Eddie shared an embrace with his mother, as the tears she shed only made me cry even harder.
The sense of realness some of these characters instill on their fans is what makes this sport worth my time of day, any day. That night was a historic night I will never forget.
There he stood, with his belt, and a California flag in hand. He had finally made it.
For that one moment, I was a believer.
For that one moment, I wanted to dream.
Dont forget to follow The Great Brown Hope on all his socials. And follow us on our Main Event Wrestling Network socials as well at our linktree below.
Dont forget to hit that heart button at the bottom.
(this chapter of Storee Time with The Great Brown Hope has been brought to you by Four Loko. Drink Four Loko.)
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Playlist
Playlist
Johnny Cash "Hurt"
3 Doors Down "Here Without You"
Boyce Avenue "Hear Me Now"
Bizzy Bone ft. DMX, and Chris Notez "A Song for You"
Kid Frost "La Raza"
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