Shocking Real-Life Fight Between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle

One night, things kicked off for real backstage between Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Had it not been for Big Show (AEW’s Paul Wight), things could have ended much worse for these two legends.

Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, shown here in their 2004 WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XX, were like brothers outside the ring. With brothers, things tend to get a bit physical from time to time. In one instance backstage, the two of them got into it!
Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, shown here in their 2004 WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XX, were like brothers outside the ring. With brothers, things tend to get a bit physical from time to time. In one instance backstage, the two of them got into it!

The Real-Life Altercation Between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle

Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle were two of the best to lace up a pair of wrestling boots. When they stepped through those ropes in their prime, magic took place. But by 2004, Eddie was in a lot of physical pain due to a car accident that almost left him unable to walk in 1999.

In an April 2017 episode of Talk Is Jericho, Kurt Angle had a lot of praise for Eddie Guerrero, saying that Eddie, at his peak, was one of the best wrestlers in the world.

"That car accident really inhibited what he could do after that," Kurt explained. "In other words, he had limits. He could still do a lot, but not like he used to."

Angle continued, "I used to watch him in WCW and would go, โ€˜Wow! This kidโ€™s incredible!โ€™ But he almost couldnโ€™t walk again after that accident. Eddie was banged up when I wrestled him. You could tell by the way he bumped. He would bump really hard like a big man.

"It seemed like he was always hurting. You would see him earlier in the day, and he looked like an old man, you know? It was like heโ€™s still that good despite being banged up the way that he was. I couldnโ€™t imagine wrestling Eddie in 1998."

According to Kurt Angle, he had one of his best matches against Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania XX but admitted that he always wondered what it would have been like to wrestle Eddie in his prime.

"As good as he was in 2004 and 2005, he had to have been ten times better [in WCW]. Thatโ€™s mind-blowing! He could have been the absolute greatest of all time.

"When I wrestled him, he was still in that top 3. Eddie had it all. He was so entertaining, but he had all the technique, too. He was just such a great wrestler. He got finishes, and he knew how to structure [a match]."

Why Was Eddie Guerrero So Angry with Kurt Angle?

Due to physical limitations caused by that fateful car accident in 1999, Eddie Guerrero could not show the same kind of physicality in the ring that he once could. This bothered him, and it wasnโ€™t rare for him to go off on people backstage when things went amiss in the ring.

"The night I got into a fight with Eddie, oh, man. When Eddie snapped, he flicked a switch. And thatโ€™s the problem. When Eddie got mad, you couldnโ€™t change his mind. He was going to get pissed, he was going to cut a promo on you, and he would tell you like it is.

"The problem is, we had to jump Eddie out in the ring, but I didnโ€™t touch him. We had these two big goon guys- Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns.

"They were beating the hell out of Eddie. And we got heat on him to end the show, and I was waiting in the back because I wanted to thank Eddie, but remember, I didnโ€™t touch him. He comes straight up to me, and he blames me for it! I said, โ€˜Woah, I didnโ€™t touch you!โ€™

"โ€˜Yes, you did, Angle!โ€™ – and this and that.

"This is like the fifth time he had confronted me in the past month, so I shoved him. I just wanted to see what he would do. And he didnโ€™t do anything, so I shoved him again, and he double-legs me.

"He could have sucker-punched me, but he double-legged me! I thought, โ€˜He did not just double-leg an Olympic gold medalist!โ€™ (laughs)

"So I laid the hips into him, and I started choking him out nice and slow.

"The problem is, Big Show, who gave me little guy syndrome that day, he actually grabbed me by my singlet, and he picked me up like a puppy.

"He then picked Eddie up with the other hand, and he walked me over to one side of the room, and he walked Eddie over to the other side of the room, and I looked at Big Show and said, โ€˜Donโ€™t you ever, ever touch me again!โ€™

"I mean, he made me feel like an eight-year-old kid! I was pissed! I was like, โ€˜Donโ€™t you ever, ever grab me by my singlet and pick me up and walk me across the room like that!"

"It was really embarrassing, but thatโ€™s how strong Big Show was."

After Big Show separated the two men, Kurt wanted to make amends right away, but Eddie wasnโ€™t ready.

"You know Eddie has a temper," Angle confessed. "Five minutes after my fight, I walked over to him, and I said, โ€˜Iโ€™m sorry, Eddie. Iโ€™m sorry for what happened.โ€™ And he goes, โ€˜Iโ€™m not ready yet!โ€™ Oh, God!

"So I said, โ€˜You what?โ€™ and he goes, โ€˜Iโ€™m not ready to be sorry,โ€™ so I pushed him again! I wanted to fight this poor kid, but he didnโ€™t want to double-leg me again, so he was standing there, and JBL got in between us.

"I tried to call him that night, but he wasnโ€™t ready again, but finally, one week later, he came to me and apologized."

Aftermath

"Eddie and I were brothers," Kurt Angle later admitted.

"My brother Eric and I, we fought all the time, so I didnโ€™t mind. I knew Eddie was very much like my brother Eric. He had a temper, and he would let it fly every once in a while, and we would get over it. And we did.

"Eddie got mad at me a million times, but knowing he was just like my brother, Eric, okay, we can forgive each other the next day and move on, but the whole, โ€˜Iโ€™m not ready yet, it got to me, man! I wanted to kick his butt!" (laughs)

Bruce Prichard witnessed the two of them going at it in the back. He had this to say about what he saw on an episode of Something To Wrestle.

"It was a short skirmish, and Eddie got upset," Prichard recalls.

"Kurt and Eddie had been out in the ring beforehand, and, man, if Kurt Angle wants to take you and do something with you, heโ€™s going to do it. And Eddie was a little pissed off because Kurt wasnโ€™t listening to him.

"They came back, and Eddie was pretty upset. Eddie attacked Kurt, tried to double-leg him, and take him down, and Kurt just front face-locked him before they were pulled apart very quickly."

Prichard also revealed the conversation that took place between JBL and Eddie following their second fight.

"JBL said, โ€˜Eddie, heโ€™s an Olympic gold medalist. What the f**k were you thinking?โ€™ and Eddie, just putting his head down, like, โ€˜I know, man. Iโ€™m just so stupid!โ€™ But that was it, just two guys pretty heated after a match, and Eddie trying to double-leg Kurt and Kurt wasnโ€™t going anywhere."

When it comes to brothers, a wise unknown author once said, "Theyโ€™re not fighting, theyโ€™re just expressing their love for each other through a bit of physical violence!" The same could easily be applied here with this story.

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JP Zarka is the founder of Pro Wrestling Stories, established in 2015, where he guides the site's creative vision as editor-in-chief. From 2018 to 2019, he hosted and producedย The Genius Castย with Lanny Poffo, brother of WWE legend Macho Man Randy Savage. His diverse background includes roles as a school teacher, assistant principal, published author, musician with the London-based band Sterling Avenue, and being a proud father of two amazing daughters. He has appeared on the television showย Autopsy: The Last Hours Ofย and contributed research for programming on ITV and BBC.