The story of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit is still one of the most emotional and difficult topics in wrestling history. More than 20 years after they reached the top of WWE together, Eddie’s daughter, Sherilyn Guerrero, has now opened up with personal thoughts about Benoit and his tragedy.
Eddie and Benoit’s friendship extended far beyond WWE. Before becoming stars in America, both wrestled together in promotions like NJPW, ECW, WCW, and later WWE.
In WWE, the two became major parts of the famous “SmackDown Six” era. They helped transform in-ring wrestling during the early 2000s. One of the biggest moments in their careers came at WrestleMania XX. After Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship and Eddie kept the WWE Championship earlier that night, the two shared an emotional hug in the ring.
Sherilyn Guerrero shares her positive personal experiences with Chris Benoit
Now, speaking on the Smooth Vega Podcast, Sherilyn talked about growing up around Benoit and his family. Even after the terrible events of 2007, she said her memories of him are all about love and family.
“My interactions with Chris were great. And like I said, it goes back to earlier, my dad really made sure that wrestlers felt safe around him, and that they could relax. And I feel like that’s what really tore him (Benoit) apart, was not having that safe space anymore. For how long they’had known each other, even before I was born, Chris and Nancy, they were family,” Sherilyn said.
According to Sherilyn, Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy Benoit, and their son Daniel were considered part of the Guerrero family. Because of those memories, she said she still feels comfortable talking positively about her own experiences with Benoit, even though many people see his name very differently today.
“I always talk about Chris because I have my personal experiences, like anybody does on this earth, and has the right to talk about their experiences. I get, with the business, it hits hard, it’s not something they highlight because of what he did and where that all came from. That business was wild back then. It was a wild business. Luckily, they reeled it in a bit,” Sherilyn said.
“Chris Benoit was an uncle to me, truly. I never had any bad experiences. He was a joy to be around, run around with the kids. With Daniel, little Daniel, he was an angel. Nancy was my mom’s best friend, and she would come on her own just to hang out at the house. They did love each other from what I saw, and Chris loved us so much, and we loved him,” she added.
Sherilyn also spoke about the impact Eddie Guerrero’s death had on Benoit. Eddie passed away in November 2005 from heart failure at the age of 38.
“Chris went through a lot after my dad passed away. And I just feel like it just shows the safe space that my dad was for a lot of people, to where they really respected him to say, like ‘Eddie really showed us God, he showed us love,'” Sherilyn said.
Sherilyn also acknowledged why WWE rarely talks about Benoit now because of the horrific murder-suicide involving Nancy and Daniel in June 2007. Still, Sherilyn said that her personal memories are different from the tragedy that befell later.
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