I've got to be happy with myself when this ride is over.
— Eddie Guerrero
When I started wrestling, I hounded my dad to teach me. Eventually, he gave in, but he was careful to instill in me a respect for other wrestlers. He wanted to be sure I wasn't going to hurt anyone.
As I grew up, Dad was more involved in training than promoting. He brought the same style to his training that he did to being a father - strong and strict.
Being the youngest, I was a bit of a mama's boy. I was really protected as I grew up, almost like I was in a bubble.
To me, wrestling is therapy. No matter how bad my personal situation is, when I step into the ring, all my troubles disappear. My baggage stays in the back where it belongs.
I was miserable in WCW. I knew I wasn't going to go any higher there, and jumping to WWE hadn't even crossed my mind. I couldn't stop wondering, 'Is this it? Is this what I worked my whole life for?'
How can you beat someone that's already lost everything?
I couldn't change by myself. I needed my faith and belief in Christ to give me the strength to break free and allow people to help me to change.
Wrestling just comes naturally to me. It wasn't like there was this moment where I said, 'This is what I'm going to do.' It's just what I did. It was my life.
Dad always enjoyed sports, and he decided to join a Guadalajara gym to learn how to box. What he didn't realize was that they didn't teach boxing at that particular gym - they taught 'lucha libre.'
There is one good thing about reaching the bottom. When you get there, there's nothing left to do but fight your way back up or die.
I honestly can't describe what goes on in my head when I'm out there. People who don't wrestle can't possibly understand it. When I'm in the ring, I don't feel any pain. I'm in another world out there.
I lie, I cheat, and I steal.
In my freshman year of high school, I don't think I had a single date. I was really shy, really timid and quiet. I had my first real date when I was a sophomore, with a girl from church.
I've always had an aptitude for wrestling. I can't explain it - it's like a gift. To this day, I don't always know how or why I do certain things.
It took more strength and hard work than I would've believed myself capable of, but with God's grace and strength, I managed to lift myself up and become a better person that I'd ever imagined - I believe I have become a loving husband, a compassionate father, and a stronger wrestler.
The twenty minutes or more we spend inside the ring, that's the fun part. It's the rest of our lives that's the real battle - the ruthless backstage politics, the constant traveling, the endless mental and physical aches and pains.
Since the day I was born, wrestling has sustained me and my family. It's the way my father fed me; it's the way I feed my kids. More importantly, wrestling is my greatest release. It's been such a blessing for me. I can step into the ring and let it all go - all my anger, all my frustration, all my pain.
If you're not cheating, you're not trying.
