Review of Viva La Razza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero

On the week of the third anniversary of the death of Eddie Guerrero, the WWE released Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero on DVD. This 3-disc DVD set contains 26 of his matches spanning his tenures in ECW, WCW, and the WWE.

The Interviews
The set up of this DVD is that prior to every match, someone from Eddie's past will comment about their experiences with him. These interviews are all new. The most touching interview clips are the ones by his widow, Vickie Guerrero. The love, warmth, and pride she displays in these interviews are touching and is in direct contrast to the character she portrays on TV.

Match Selection
As far as the matches go, the first disc has matches from his time in ECW and WCW. Disc two contains matches from the beginning of his tenure on the WWE until his WWE Championship victory over Brock Lesnar. Disc three follows his championship reign and end with his final match against Mr. Kennedy.

It must be noted that only one match on this DVD, his championship victory of Brock Lesnar, has appeared on another non-PPV DVD release. Many of the matches on this DVD are being shown for the first time in this format.

That is great news for fans that have Cheating Death, Stealing Life in their DVD library. The only drawback though is that for the first two discs of the set, all of the must-see matches from his pre-WWE Championship days are on that DVD. While all the matches on this DVD are entertaining, it isn't until the final match of disc 2 that we get to see a must-see Eddie Guerrero match.

The biggest edit I noticed on this DVD is that the chair shot after his final match against Mr. Kennedy is not shown. Since I still occasionally get emails about that it, I'd like to point out that it was in no way responsible for his death.

The Benoit Edit
The stories of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit are intertwined. Due to the actions of Chris Benoit, his legacy has been erased by the WWE and he is not mentioned on this DVD. While I understand the reasoning behind this decision, it does make this DVD lose something. It's like trying to tell the story of Paul McCartney and avoiding mentioning John Lennon. It just doesn't seem right.

While I respect the decision not to include any Benoit matches, not mentioning him at all in the interview pieces takes away from the story of Eddie Guerrero. There is no mention of the Radicalz on the DVD or the story behind their jump to the WWE together. And their post-WrestleMania XX celebration was just as much about Benoit as it was Eddie. At least Nancy Benoit made it onto this DVD as she was a valet for Ric Flair in one match on this DVD.

Overall Recommendation: This DVD is really good and deserves a place in the DVD library of every wrestling fan. While I don't think it is a good as Eddie's first DVD, Cheating Death, Stealing Life, it is still a worthwhile purchase for any wrestling fan. If you already own Cheating Death, Stealing Life, you don't have to worry about this being a repeat of that DVD. Only one match repeats on this DVD. If you don't own Cheating Death, Stealing Life, you might want to check out a limited-edition special promotion that Best Buy is running. For $40, you get this 3-disc set, that 2-disc set, No Way Out 2004, and the RAW Tribute Show. FYE is selling a 4-disc version of this DVD set with the SmackDown tribute show. While I have seen neither of these special editions, I have read numerous reports that have stated that both tribute shows feature the Benoit edit.

Disc 1

• ECW ’95: vs. 2 Cold Scorpio
  
• ECW ’95: vs. Dean Malenko
  
• Starrcade ’95: vs. Shinjiro Otani
  
• Hog Wild ’96: vs. Ric Flair
  
• SuperBrawl ’97: vs. Chris Jericho
  
• Nitro ’97: vs. Rey Mysterio
  
• Starrcade ’97: vs. Dean Malenko
  
• Slamboree ’98: vs. Ultimo Dragon
  
• Nitro ‘98: vs. Juventud Guerrera
  
• Thunder ’99: vs. Psychosis

Disc 2

• RAW ‘00: vs. Chris Jericho
  
• SmackDown ‘00: vs. Matt Hardy
  
• Backlash ’02: vs. Rob Van Dam
  
• RAW ’02: vs. Jeff Hardy
  
• SmackDown ‘02: vs. Edge in a No DQ Match
  
• Backlash ’03: Los Guerreros vs. Team Angle
  
• SmackDown ’03: vs. John Cena in a Latino Heat Parking Lot Brawl
  
• Royal Rumble ’04: vs. Chavo Guerrero
  
• No Way Out ’04: vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
  
• Bonus Footage: 6 Los Guerreros Vignettes

Disc 3

• SmackDown ’04: vs. Rey Mysterio
  
• Judgment Day ’04: vs. Eddie Guerrero
  
• SmackDown ’04: vs. JBL in a Steel Cage Match
  
• SmackDown ’05: vs. Kurt Angle
  
• SmackDown ’05: vs. Rey Mysterio in a Steel Cage Match
  
• No Mercy ’05: vs. World Heavyweight Champion Batista
  
• SmackDown '05: vs. Mr. Kennedy in his final match