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 a Mexican-American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. 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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

(AWA), and

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(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 is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Fe ...

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

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1977–1981)

Chavo Guerrero - Go Chavo Go - Championship Wrestling program - 7 October 1977

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 and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

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 (1981–1988)

He spent the early 80's splitting his time between

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

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 riv ...

, CWF, and

Houston Wrestling Houston Wrestling/Gulf Athletic Club was a professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1925 through 1987. Originally run by the Sigel family, it reached its greatest popularity under Paul Boesch. History Houston's wrestling legacy began shor ...

. 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 the hardcore wrestling, deathmatch style of professional wrestling t ...

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, Stev ...

. In 1983, he feuded with

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

. 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 (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

. 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 a ...

. They then engaged in a rivalry with

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams over the

UWF Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, the UWF Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship contested in the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and its predecessor, Mid-South Wrestling. The title was established in 1979 as the Mid-South Tag Team Cham ...

. In 1986, they wrestled

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

on multiple occasions for Mid South.

AWA and EMLL (1988–1990s)

In 1988, Mando and Chavo stopped in the AWA. 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), is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Di ...

'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. His ...

(

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian-Canadian 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 Worl ...

and

Pat Tanaka Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1961) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as one half of The Orien ...

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

EMLL Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

. 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 WWE Cruiserweight Champion in history, defeating Chavo Jr. and

Spike Dudley Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing ...

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 actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

in a 2-on-1 handicap match. On the May 13 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Chavo Classic defeated Jacqueline thanks to outside help by Chavo Jr. On the June 3 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Chavo Classic retained the Cruiserweight title against Funaki, thanks to outside help from Chavo Jr. He lost the title to

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

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

house shows A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their ...

. 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 professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where h ...

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, United Artists Media Group. ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured List of former Lucha Underground p ...

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 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 (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, and

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

. He grew up in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

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), better known as Vickie Guerrero, is an American former professional wrestling personality ...

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

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

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 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 in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

, at the age of 68.

Other media

* In 1978, he co-starred with

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...

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 a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

and is featured in its music video. * The 2017 Netflix series, '' GLOW'' 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 professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Created in 1943, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World J ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) *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 professional wrestling promotion, 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 Scho ...

** EWF Heavyweight Championship ( 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 ( 11 times) – with Raul Mata (2),

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (April 5, 1931 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on April 5, 1931, in Hamilton, Ontario to G ...

(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 (October 7, 1937 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a member of the Vachon wrestling family. He is perhaps best known by his ring name Butcher Vachon. Professional wrestling career Paul Vachon grew u ...

(1), Victor Rivera (1),

The Canadian ''The Canadian'' () is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Pacific introduced this serv ...

(1),

(1), El Halcon (1),

Black Gordman Victor Manuel Barajas (born October 5, 1936) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler under the name Black Gordman. He teamed up with Great Goliath in Mexico and Los Angeles during most of his career. Gordman won the NWA Americas Tag Team Cha ...

(1) and

Al Madril Alberto 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, the Po ...

(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 Lib ...

(

)¹ *

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(

) *''

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

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

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

" in 2003. * Southwest Championship Wrestling / Texas All-Star Wrestling ** SCW Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

SCW World Tag Team Championship The SCW World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Southwest Championship Wrestling from its establishment in 1980 until 1984, when the title was abandoned. History References {{Reflist External links SWCW World Tag Te ...

( 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 Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, 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 ...

** 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 best known for his tenures in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A prominent member of ...

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

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

** WWE Cruiserweight Championship ( 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 Wee ...

'' ** 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 Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

, 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 Guerrero family American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent Professional wrestlers from El Paso, Texas Professional wrestling managers and valets American professional wrestling trainers American male professional wrestlers Deaths from liver cancer in Texas 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American 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 NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions