Vickie Guerrero: Playing the villian role to perfection

For Vickie Guerrero, El Paso native and All Elite Wrestling star, her infamous “Excuse me!” catchphrase, was accidental.

She first uttered those words during a 2007 episode of World Wrestling Entertainment’s Smackdown when she forgot her lines during a promotional interview. 

“The fans are very educated in knowing when something is wrong, so they started yelling at me and telling me to go home or that I don’t deserve to be there,” Guerrero said. “I yelled back, ‘Excuse me!’ in frustration. And the louder I yelled that, the crowd got louder in return to me.”

What Guerrero thought were her final moments in the wrestling business became a historic night that launched a 17-year career as one of the most hated heels, a villain, in the business. 

“The fans love to hate me,” Guerrero said. “From having someone  smile at me and then giving me a dirty look or a horrible hand gesture, makes me happy. To make that one fan go home hating me and enjoying that I was able to get them upset is something that I live for every night that I perform with AEW.”

In AEW, Guerrero is the manager of Nyla Rose, a former AEW Women’s World Champion.

“Being the heel manager that I am, you want to have the biggest person on the roster to take care of you because my mouth is always going to get me in trouble,” Guerrero said. “It’s been almost three years, and we’re having a great time. Nyla is such an incredible performer.”

AEW is a new professional wrestling promotion. It began in 2019 but is considered one of the largest in the United States. 

On Feb. 8, AEW will debut in El Paso at the County Coliseum. 

At 5 p.m., the event will have matches for its AEW Dark show, which is taped for YouTube, then have its AEW Dynamite show, aired live on TBS, and finish with AEW Rampage, which is taped for TNT on Friday. 

“All the wrestlers are just excited to be in El Paso, and I’m honored to show them my home,” Guerrero said. “It’s going to be three shows in one night. It’s a great way for the fans to get everything out of their dollar.” 

Along with Guerrero, AEW world champion MJF and wrestling legends like Sting and Chris Jericho are expected to appear. 

Guerrero said she is excited to visit her family and friends.

“El Paso is such a great city and home to me because Eddie and I were both born and raised here,” said Guerrero, who grew up in Horizon City and attended Clint High School.

El Paso is more than just where Guerrero was born, it was also where she met her husband, the late-great Eddie Guerrero, an El Paso native and an all-time legend in wrestling.

Guerrero said she met Eddie on a blind date in 1986 at the Graham Central Station nightclub on Lee Trevino.

“My best friend and his best friend knew each other, and we were both single, just kind of dating around,” Guerrero said. “He was late. I think he was like, two hours late. He was always late in his life. He was on Mexican time. He showed up, we met each other, and he goes, ‘I’m going to cruise around the club, I’ll be back later.’” 

Guerrero said they instantly fell in love.

“We danced all night to the point I broke curfew,” she said. 

Coincidentally, Guerrero said she and Eddie’s families knew each other.

“My mom said that my grandfather used to make Eddie’s dad’s boots and robes at a leather shop,” Guerrero said. “Eddie and I played in the same playpen when we were 2 years old. We call it fate that we got to meet each other again.” 

They would date for four years until 1990 when they married. Years later, they would have two daughters. 

Guerrero saw Eddie’s journey in his wrestling career, from starting in Mexico to wrestling in the industry’s most well-known promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in the WWE. 

“Eddie exceeded the expectations of not only the family, but the fans,” Guerrero said, “He lived, slept and ate wrestling.  That was so important to him. To be able to prove to not only to himself, but to his family he was able to make it to WWE.  To have his legacy still be talked about today is incredible.”

Guerrero carries on her husband’s legacy.

“Every time I go into the ring, I picture Eddie sitting across the top rope,” she said. “He’s always with me. That’s something that carries with me, and I don’t take it for granted.”

Guerrero has a few months left on her AEW contract and said she is working on multiple projects. 

“I have my ‘Excuse Me!’ podcast, and I am writing an autobiography about my life with Eddie before and after he passed,” Guerrero said. “As long as I can keep running down the ramp and do a cheat spot (tricking the ‘good guy’) for the fans, I’ll be there.”

Fans can follow Guerrero on her Instagram @guerrero_vickie. 

Email El Paso Inc. reporter Luis Rios at lrios@elpasoinc.com or call 915-534-4422 ext. 132.