JBL has lifted the lid on his 2004 rivalry with Eddie Guerrero and how he nearly caused a riot in El Paso.
During JBL’s year-long reign with the WWE Championship, his most famous storyline was his rivalry with Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero was one of the most beloved babyfaces in the WWE, and contrasted perfectly with JBL’s uber-heel persona.
Guerrero being one of the most loved Latino wrestlers of all time. JBL’s loud-mouthed, anti-immigration Texan character clashed with him to make a perfect storm of heat that still reverberates to this day.
While the feud had many memorable moments, the most iconic actually involved Guerrero’s real-life mother. At a house show in Guerrero’s hometown, JBL’s antics caused her to have a (in storyline) heart attack.
This enraged the local crowd. The locals in El Paso, Texas, were ready to rip JBL’s head off, and it helped make him one of the companies’ biggest heels.
JBL spoke about this incident on Twitter. He revealed that he had a police escort out of time, as they believed he could be killed if he remained in El Paso. He claimed that he drove off in his wrestling gear, to avoid causing a riot in the arena.
“The police gave me an escort out of town and told me to drive to Odessa, Texas and fly out from there. They told me they thought I would be killed if I stayed in El Paso. I had to leave so fast to prevent a riot I was driving in my wrestling gear. Chavo Sr and Eddie’s idea to do this-we sold out the Staples Center off this storyline. When this video aired, everything changed-JBL had heat like few have had. I owe everything to Eddie and the Guerrero family. Viva la raza.”
