Sasha Banks shares the story of how she found out about Eddie Guerrero's passing.
On Sunday, November 13, 2005, Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away at the age of 38. Later that night, WWE filmed its upcoming episodes of Raw and SmackDown, which became tribute shows to the Hall of Famer.
Appearing on Ariel Helwani Meets, The Boss, who has always been vocal about her love for Eddie and how he inspired her, recalls being in the arena that night without yet having the knowledge of what had happened. Here is what she said:
"I was and it's kind of crazy how the universe works and how that happened to be in Minneapolis where I lived at the time. I was so excited to go to that show. All I wanted to do was to show Eddie Guerrero my sign. All I was thinking about was, 'Oh my God, I hope Eddie sees my sign.' I won second-row tickets that night from doing this autograph signing with Ashley Massaro, and I remember going into the arena and I saw all these signs that said 'Rest in Peace, Eddie Guerrero.' I was so confused. I was like, 'Well, maybe Minneapolis doesn't like Eddie because it was advertised as Eddie Guerrero vs. Undertaker, which I just assumed everybody loved The Undertaker, versus Batista. A fan came up to me and he told me that Eddie Guerrero passed away that night and everything inside of me just broke. I couldn't believe that my hero passed away."
She continued on to say, "I was crying like a little baby. I was in my mom's arms just bawling. I couldn't believe it, but I was just like, 'Wow, I have to watch it. I'm here for Eddie.'"
Touching upon the influence Eddie Guerrero has been on her, Banks says that she never forgets and is very thankful for him. With the anniversary of his death having just passed, Sasha says she was on tour that day but definitely had a shot for him that night.
"I always do. I walked upstairs and I see my accolades; my trophies, my statues, my figures, and I see my figures of Eddie Guerrero and I wouldn't be in the main event of WrestleMania, I wouldn't be in The Mandalorian, I wouldn't be in all these first-time evers if it wasn't for Eddie Guerrero. It's so crazy that he had such an impact on my life that he made me fight for my dreams. I am so thankful for him, and I definitely had a shot for him that night," she said.
Up next for Sasha is the traditional elimination match at Survivor Series this Sunday, where she will be serving as the captain for the SmackDown Women's team. Fightful will have live coverage of the event tomorrow beginning at 7 p.m. ET. For more information about Survivor Series, including the full card, click here.
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.