Eddie Guerrero's race nearly kept him from winning a title

According to Bruce Prichard, Eddie Guerrero nearly lost out on a chance at the WWE title because of his race. During an appearance on his podcast, Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, he discussed Eddie Guerrero's title win, the benefit it had for him, and how his race nearly prevented him from winning the WWE Championship.

.@bruceprichard Recalls Backstage Altercation Nearly Becoming A Fight Between Two Former #WWE Teams - @WrestlingInc #STWhttps://t.co/CUs6C4bUIU

— Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard (@PrichardShow) November 21, 2020

The late great Eddie Guerrero was the underdog coming into his match with Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004. Prichard recalls that Eddie Guerrero benefited the most from the match and that he was pretty much a logical, but least expected choice for the champion.

"I think that Eddie did [benefit the most], and it was from a place of looking at who's going to be the next guy. Who are we going to focus on to take us to another level? Kurt [Angle] was discussed in all these different things, but we had never had a champion like Eddie Guerrero. Eddie was over.He was primed for the picking, and Eddie was, when you looked at the roster, probably the least probable to be the champion. But also, [he was] the real logical choice that you would choose to be the champion." H/t Wrestling Inc

Eddie Guerrero nearly had his push stopped because he was Mexican

Bruce Prichard recalled how Eddie Guerrero nearly lost out on his title opportunity because he was Mexican. He suggested that there was a lot of backstage opposition concerning putting the title on Eddie Guerrero, mainly because Latino Heat was so small. However, Prichard feels that another underlying factor was Eddie Guerrero's Latino heritage.

Its been 15yrs since Eddie Guerrero's passing. Not a day goes by that he isn't remembered or doesn't continue to inspire wrestlers around the world.🐐 #EddieGuerrero pic.twitter.com/d6QuuYYWJ6

— Josh Alexander (@Walking_Weapon) November 13, 2020

"So he had it all, and I think a lot of people felt that it was a bad decision. "[They] felt that Eddie was too small, and the fact that he was Mexican. All these things were like, 'Ah, he's a little guy'. I don't know. There was just opposition, but in the end, I remember thinking, 'he's the guy.' He was just the guy at that time, and I think Eddie needed that title." H/t Wrestling Inc

It is a shame that there was even the question of Eddie Guerrero's race playing a factor in preventing his well-deserved title reign. Fortunately, the majority of the backstage personnel had the sense to put the title on Latino Heat. Imagine living in a world where fans were never treated to Eddie Guerrero's championship win.