Sasha Banks gave an emotional tribute of Eddie Guerrero during a conversation with his widow, Vickie.
Banks and Vickie were in the Royal Rumble last weekend and met backstage to discuss the man who left a major impression on them both – and the wrestling industry.
Eddie Guerrero was at the peak of his enormous popularity when he died in November 2005 at the age of 38.
But his legacy lives on with his wife Vickie – a surprise entrant in the Rumble, three children, and Banks – who has continually cited Guerrero’s influence on her wrestling style and character.
“Wrestling is the only thing that I’ve ever loved and I really feel like wrestling saved my life,” said Banks. “Eddie (Guerrero) was the first person I ever saw on TV and I was instantly hooked.
“I knew right when I saw him that I wanted to do exactly what he did. My whole life I’ve been like ‘watch Eddie, watch Eddie, watch Eddie’ and I wanted to be just like him.
“He inspired me and I want to inspire people in the same way that he inspired me. I want little girls to feel how Eddie made me feel when I watched wrestling.”
In an emotional conversation, Vickie Guerrero also paid tribute to Banks for continuing to carry the spirit of her husband in modern-day wrestling.
“To have my husband be such an influence on her career and to motivate her to have the career that she’s having meant the world to us,” she said.
