The world of professional wrestling lost a classic superstar from one of the most legendary wrestling families of all time. Chavo Guerrero Sr. passed away on Saturday afternoon at the age of 68, and the news was brought forth by his son Chavo Guerrero Jr. For those that are wondering and aren’t truly aware of the lineage, he was the oldest son of Salvadore “Gory” Guerrero and he was the older brother of the late Eddie Guerrero.
He may be gone, but the world will never forget the man known as “Chavo Classic.”
The news was first revealed on the Instagram of his son, Chavo Guerrero Jr., on Saturday afternoon. Chavo posted a very touching tribute to his father who died just about a month after being diagnosed with liver cancer.
As reported by WrestleZone , Chavo Guerrero Sr. worked in a lot of different wrestling promotions throughout his career. He was a member of the NWA and the AWA while later in life, he became part of the rosters for WWE and Lucha Underground.
One thing that a lot of people may not remember or even know is that he became the oldest WWE Cruiserweight Champion in history. In May of 2004, Chavo Classic was involved in a Triple Threat match on SmackDown which saw him take on his son and Spike Dudley. When all was said and done to capture the title.
Chavo Classic would go on to hold the title for a little under a month before losing it to Rey Mysterio. Before that, though, he had even successfully defended it in a match against Funaki, but that was due in part to his son Chavo Jr. helping him out.
In 2016, Chavo Classic joined up with Lucha Underground and was involved in a feud between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero Jr. Being involved in wrestling last year meant that he had been in the business for more than 45 years after starting out in 1970.
He’s a man who garnered a lot of respect from anyone who was in the ring with him or simply had the honor of meeting him. Even in his ’60s, he earned a lot of respect and popularity from younger crowds as fans just took to him and loved seeing him on camera and in the ring.
The official website of WWE also made notice of Chavo Classic’s passing with an announcement on their main page. As news of his passing began to spread, a number of different superstars began showing their respect on social media.
RIP #ChavoGuerrero … a true pioneer and legend in this business. It was a pleasure to know him,… https://t.co/DOecpRzaUA
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) February 11, 2017
Chavo Guerrero Sr. is survived by his two children, Chavo Jr. and Victoria. He was also the brother-in-law of Vickie Guerrero who was married to Eddie until his unexpected death in 2005. Chavo Classic’s other brothers were Mando and Hector who have also been in the wrestling business.
It is not yet known if Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live or TNA Impact will pay note of his death or pay tribute to him on their shows this week.
Chavo Guerrero Sr., better known as “Chavo Classic” for so many years, was a pioneer in the world of wrestling and he had the history of his family to back it up. The world has already lost so many big names from the Guerrero family and this could not have been easy for Chavo Jr. to take. Whether it was in WWE, Lucha Underground, or any other promotion, the professional wrestling world was better with him in it and it lost an icon on Saturday.
[Featured Image by WWE]
