Former WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff has stated that cruiserweight sensation Juventud Guerrera was his own worst enemy inside the squared circle.
A mainstay of World Championship Wrestling’s cruiserweight division in the mid-to-late nineties, the masked marvel that referred to himself simply as ‘The Juice’ had plentiful wars with the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr., Billy Kidman, Chris Jericho and shocked the world when he pinned Ultimo Dragon to capture the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on the inaugural episode of WCW Thunder on January 8, 1998.
Following singles success, Guerrera joined forces with Konnan, Mysterio and Kidman to form The Filthy Animals but was released from his contract in 2000 following an arrest on a tour of Australia. Juventud had allegedly attacked police officers who had attempted to detain him in the hallway of his hotel.
Now, Eric Bischoff has taken to his 83 Weeks podcast in order to discuss Guerrera and how, though he was talented between the ropes, the star was his own worst enemy:
“It’s unfortunate that Juventud couldn’t get of his own way outside of the ring. He couldn’t keep himself out of trouble, he was always in the middle of some kind of shenanigans. He just couldn’t keep himself out of trouble. He was like a 16 year-old kid, he was going to crash every party, steal every hubcap, whatever he could get away with, he was going to try to get away with it. Had he been a little bit more mature and professional, I think Juventud Guerrera would’ve been, maybe not Rey Mysterio, but you would say both names in the same sentence.”
Juventud made the most of life away from WCW by competing for TNA and eventually World Wrestling Entertainment alongside Super Crazy and fellow WCW alumni Psicosis as The Mexicools. Unfortunatley for the star, his stint with the wrestling giant lasted less than a year and he was released from his contract following a match in which he used the banned 450 splash.
The last time the Mexican sensation performed between the ropes was on February 29, 2020, when he teamed with his Mexicool partners to defeat The Preston Kindred for Battle Championship Wrestling in Australia.
Credit for the interview: 83 Weeks