Salvador Guerrero Llanes (January 7, 1949 – February 11, 2017), better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero Sr., and also known during the 21st century as "Chavo Classic", was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He was best known for his work in Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF),

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA), and

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE) and for being the father of third-generation wrestler

Chavo Guerrero Jr. Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federatio ...

He was the oldest son of Salvador "Gory" Guerrero, and part of the Guerrero wrestling family. He was the oldest

WWE Cruiserweight Champion The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

In 1977, Chavo competed for

NWA Western States Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

. Guerrero later moved his family to California so he could compete in Los Angeles's

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

and San Francisco's Big Time Wrestling. In NWA Hollywood, he feuded with

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

for the

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...

. Between 1979 and 1980, he held the title 15 times.

Various territories

He spent the early 80's splitting his time between

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

Mid South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

, CWF, and

Houston Wrestling Houston Wrestling/Gulf Athletic Club is a now-defunct professional wrestling promotion that ran from the mid-1920s through 1987. Originally run by the Sigel family, it reached its greatest popularity under Paul Boesch. History Houston's wrestlin ...

. In 1982, Guerrero feuded with

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

over the

NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship started in 1979. It was formed by a split in lineage from the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship caused by the retirement of champion Nelson Royal the same year. The first champion, St ...

. In 1983, he feuded with

Gino Hernandez Charles Eugene Wolfe Jr. (August 8, 1957 – February 2, 1986) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Gino Hernandez. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the Dallas, Texas-based promotion World Class ...

. The feud resulted in Loser Leaves Town matches, Texas Death Matches and a Mexican Chicken Match. In 1984, he teamed with his brother

Hector Guerrero In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

. They had rivalries with The U.S. Express, from whom they captured the NWA United States Tag Team Titles from and The Breakdancers of

Brickhouse Brown Frederick Seawright (August 11, 1960 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Brickhouse Brown. He was a top heel in several Southern promotions in the 1980s and 1990s. Professional wrestling caree ...

and Mark Ragin. In 1985, Hector and Chavo then traveled back over to

, where they feuded with

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known ...

. They then engaged in a rivalry with

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams over the

UWF Tag Team Championship The UWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Universal Wrestling Federation from 1986 until the promotion closed in 1987. It was formerly known as the Mid-South Tag Team Championship from 1979 until 1986 when Mid-South Wrestling b ...

. In 1986, they wrestled

The Fabulous Ones The Fabulous Ones were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn that was active between 1982 and 1991 with brief reunions during the 1990s. The Fabulous Ones competed primarily in North American territories such a ...

on multiple occasions for Mid South.

AWA and EMLL

In 1988, Mando and Chavo stopped in the

AWA Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

. They went after the

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

held by

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...

's team of

Badd Company Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song. Hi ...

(

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company with Pat Tanaka and for his time in the World Wrestling ...

and

Pat Tanaka Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the ...

). However, they were unable to capture the titles in multiple attempts. In 1990, Chavo teamed with his brothers Mando and Eddie in

EMLL Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mex ...

. He competed with his brothers in multiple trios matches.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2004, 2010)

In 2004, Guerrero began working for

(WWE), joining his son Chavo Jr. in a feud with his younger brother Eddie. While with WWE, he competed as 'Chavo Classic’. On the May 20, 2004 episode of Smackdown, Chavo Classic became the oldest

in history, defeating Chavo Jr. and

Spike Dudley Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with E ...

in a triple-threat match. On the April 1 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Classic and Chavo Jr. lost to Spike Dudley and Rey Mysterio. On the April 22 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Classic and Chavo Jr defeated

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

in a 2-on-1 handicap match. On the May 13 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Chavo Classic defeated

Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...

thanks to outside help by Chavo Jr. On the June 3 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Chavo Classic retained the Cruiserweight title against

Funaki Funaki (written: 船木) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Kazuyoshi Funaki (born 1975), Olympic ski jumper * Mari Funaki (1950–2010), Australian contemporary jeweller, designer, metal-smith and sculptor *Masakatsu ...

, thanks to outside help from Chavo Jr. He lost the title to

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pro ...

less than a month later. On June 15, 2004, he was fired by WWE for no-showing multiple ''SmackDown!''

house shows A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that t ...

. On the November 15, 2010, "Old School" episode of ''Raw'', Guerrero returned as Chavo Classic, driving

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

to the arena.

Lucha Underground (2016)

Chavo Classic first appeared on

Lucha Underground Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists Media Group. Partly owned by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured c ...

talking with

about the upcoming match of the latter against his son

in a ''Loser Leaves Lucha match''. During the match, Classic, who was in the attendance, turned on Mysterio, helping his son win the match, but

Dario Cueto Luis Fernandez-Gil is a Spanish actor and professional wrestling personality. In the 2000s and 2010s, Fernandez-Gil appeared in films including ''The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down'' and '' Jack and Jill'', as well as television shows includ ...

ordered to restart the match, and Mysterio hit the ''619'' on Classic and defeated Chavo Guerrero, leaving Lucha Underground without the Guerreros.

Personal life

Chavo was the son of Gory Guerrero and the older brother of Mando,

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, and

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...

. He grew up in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

He had two children, wrestler Chavo Jr. and daughter Victoria,Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story'', p. 16. and he was the brother in-law of

Vickie Guerrero Vickie Lynn Benson (formerly Guerrero, née Lara;Guerrero, Eddie. ''Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story'', p. 53. born April 16, 1968) is an American professional wrestling personality and manager. She is best known for her t ...

. In July 2016, Guerrero and his son were named as part of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

lawsuit filed against WWE that alleged wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. Over a year after his death, US District Judge

Vanessa Lynne Bryant Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Early life Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University with ...

dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.

Death

On February 11, 2017, Guerrero died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

, at the age of 68.

Other media

In 1978 he co-starred with

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

in the movie '' The One and Only'' as a wrestler called Indian Joe. He is the subject of the song "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" by

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...

and is featured in its music video. The 2017 Netflix series,

GLOW Glow or GLOW may refer to: In science and technology In computing and telecommunications * Glow (JavaScript library), an open-source JavaScript library created by the BBC * Glow (Scottish Schools National Intranet), a telecommunications project i ...

has its 7th episode dedicated to Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time)NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior H ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) *Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling **ACCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) – with

*Eastern Wrestling Federation **EWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

Empire Wrestling Federation The Empire Wrestling Federation (EWF) is an independent wrestling promotion based in Covina, California. It is owned and operated by Jesse Hernandez. The EWF is also tied to Hernandez's wrestling school, ''The School Of Hard Knocks''. The EWF is ...

EWF Heavyweight Championship The EWF Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in the Southern California-based Empire Wrestling Federation independent promotion. It was established in 1996, with Bobby Bradley as the first champion, who defeated Zuma t ...

( 1 time) *Hollywood Heavyweight Wrestling **HHW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *International Wrestling Federation **IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

( 15 times) **

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship ...

( 11 times) – with

Raul Mata Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

(2),

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (September 18, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on September 18, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontar ...

(1),

Gory Guerrero Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexi ...

(1),

Butcher Vachon Paul Vachon (born October 7, 1937) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is a member of the Vachon wrestling family. He is perhaps best known by his ring name Butcher Vachon. Professional wrestling career Paul Vachon grew up as one of t ...

(1), Victor Rivera (1),

The Canadian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(1),

(1), El Halcon (1), Black Gordman (1) and

Al Madril Alberto "Al" Madril (born March 20, 1950) is an American retired professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Madril began his wrestling career in 1970. During the first half of the decade, he competed in Pacific Northwest Wrestling, th ...

(1) **

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For the majority of its existence the title was promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libr ...

(

)¹ *

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

(

) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him # 130 out of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "

PWI Years ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

" in 2003. * Southwest Championship Wrestling / Texas All-Star Wrestling **

SCW Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship The SWCW Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title in Southwest Championship Wrestling, challenged for by lighter weight wrestlers. It lasted from 1981 until 1985, when it was abandoned after SWCW was sold to Texas All-Star ...

( 1 time) **

SCW World Tag Team Championship The SCW World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joe Blanchard and based in San Antonio, ...

( 1 time) – with Manny Fernandez **TASW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (

) – with Al Madril (1) and himself (1)³ **Texas All-Star USA Heavyweight Championship (1 times) * Vendetta Pro Wrestling ** Vendetty Award—2014 Co-Special Guest star of the Year (w/

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...

) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

** WWA Trios Championship ( 1 time) – with Mando and

Eddy Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...

WWA World Trios Title (Mexico) history
At wrestling-titles.com *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Two professional wrestling championships have been named WWE Cruiserweight Championship by WWE: * WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007) – originally established as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship by World Championship Wrestling in 1996, ...

( 1 time) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Best Wrestling Maneuver (1986) Moonsault block ¹When Chavo Guerrero won this championship, it was still officially recognized and sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and was primarily defended in

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

, an NWA affiliated promotion in Mexico. After the promotion's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance, they kept the title and continue to use the NWA initials. However, the NWA no longer recognizes or sanctions it.
³Defeats Al Madril to claim Madril's part of the championship, though he quickly surrenders the titles on the same day.

References

;General sources *

External links

Chavo Guerrero Sr.: A Legend (Official Website)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrero, Chavo 1949 births 2017 deaths Los Guerreros American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent People from El Paso, Texas Professional wrestlers from Texas Professional wrestling managers and valets Professional wrestling trainers American male professional wrestlers Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Texas 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Champions NWA World Light Heavyweight Champions NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champions NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA Americas Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions