Masked Luchadores in TNA

[Hard Hit Prince]

The current roster of TNA Impact Wrestling has a lot of different talents with a variety of styles, but one thing that its lacking is masked wrestlers. I don't mean masked like Abyss, I mean luchadores like Jigsaw at Destination X and we know that those characters usually can get involved easily with the crowd and the fans by his in-ring ability and with that, selling merchandise.

The Rey Mysterio type of babyface is very easy to book if given the opportunity, it's an easy solution for money and popularity and by them you can create better heels, because it is always sad and chocking to see this type of wrestler get beat down. He could easily work in the X-Division, the Tag Team Division and even the main event without any problem. Now since Jigsaw is actually an american luchador he could easily cut a promo and get noticed fast, but would it work in the current state of TNA? Would you like to see it? Would you rather trust in an american luchador or would you please the Mexican fans by hiring some mexican luchador?

So take some time and think about that matter and tell me if you would like to see some of this type of wrestlers in TNA, and if you know someone that would fit in here tell us and explain.

 

[GameOver]

a mask is irrelevant for most, it's just a costume. unless ofcourse the guy underneath doesn't look camera worthy like Rey Mysterio that looked like he was still in puberty.

It's about the talent of the person and the ability to capture the crowd, not whether they are "luchadores" or not. It would work in TNA atm cause they have an XDivison world champ so smaller guys are more prominent, it wouldn't work in WWE where the bigger ground based men are more prominent.

The problem with XDivision, Lucha style is it's mostly flash doing as many moves as possible in the shortest possible time with no real rhyme or reason and that for me is the main reason they don't get over past the mid card in the American style, and if you watch AAA for instance there is more dramatic/comedic effect, WWE and TNA take things too serious in that respect.

 

[Fansince1992]

I went to a small local wrestling event about 3 months ago. Only about 200 people attended with which about half were kids. There were Rey Mysterio Masks on sale there. They sold really well and A LOT of the children who attended wore Masks while watching the action. On a Side note Mark Haskins a british wrestler who was in TNA was on the card and he was fantasic, a real High Flier

I think having 1 or 2 small masked hi fliers like Sin Cara and Rey would do wonders for Merchandise sales of any organisation, but like a previous poster said their size would not put them any higher than Mid-Card although they could make pretty good underdog main eventers.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Well you had Suicide around for a while but since Kaz and Daniels are onto bigger and better things there's no place for him unless you'd want someone else to play him.

They also tried to repackage Amazing Red as a luchador called Sangriento but they didn't end up doing anything with it. I think it was actually the same time Sin Cara debuted. Maybe it was in response to that.

 

[PDX_RipCity]

a mask is irrelevant for most, it's just a costume. unless ofcourse the guy underneath doesn't look camera worthy like Rey Mysterio that looked like he was still in puberty.

But for some it can obviously be very useful and successful....Rey Mysterio....ummm, that's the point.

It's about the talent of the person and the ability to capture the crowd, not whether they are "luchadores" or not.

Again, proving the OP's point. But it's that black and white....why weren't Jushin Liger or Ultimo Dragon mega-stars in America? And why was Mankind a long-term success, but the the Patriot not a long-term success? You logic is all screwed up. Masks are just masks, correct, but the person under the mask plays a big role in whether that gimmick will actually take hold or not.

The problem with XDivision, Lucha style is it's mostly flash doing as many moves as possible in the shortest possible time with no real rhyme or reason and that for me is the main reason they don't get over past the mid card in the American style, and if you watch AAA for instance there is more dramatic/comedic effect, WWE and TNA take things too serious in that respect.

And what's wrong with a successful upper-mid carder? And there's handful of instances in the past where masked wrestlers have become legit main-eventers. Also, just because its a masked gimmick doesn't mean it has to be a AAA lucha, it can be whatever you imagine it to be with a little creativity. Ditto with in-ring style, just because they have a mask doesn't mean they have to wrestle lucha either.

 

[PDX_RipCity]

Always been a fan of luchadores, masked-wrestlers, and more comic book/cartoon-like gimmicks. So you've sold me already. But the key to selling an idea to corporate is if it will make money, so from that perspective, I think you have a potential winner as well. Selling more merchandise can never be bad, so makes sense from all angles to me.

Here are some masked wrestlers that I'd like to see added to the TNA X-Division roster...

Delirious - Good ROH talent, and he's worth throwing some money at, as he brings other skills besides just in-ring wrestling, and could find a backstage role as well. Delirious has a cool unique gimmick and he's capable of working great matches.

El Generico - Gotta sign Generico. Another ROH talent, but dude has charisma and an awesome gimmick. Could easily be pushed as X-Division champion and would be a great mid-card talent.

Well you had Suicide around for a while but since Kaz and Daniels are onto bigger and better things there's no place for him unless you'd want someone else to play him.

They also tried to repackage Amazing Red as a luchador called Sangriento but they didn't end up doing anything with it. I think it was actually the same time Sin Cara debuted. Maybe it was in response to that.

Great points...

Amazing Red - TNA should resign him if they can. He's a good little spot monkey and maybe you can get more out of him if you throw a mask on him. The Sangreinto gimmick was stupid though, but....maybe a new Suicide?

 

[Cereal Killer]

Agree with what you say...

I think that more Lucha Libre's would be a great idea. TNA's talent is great and all but is lacking international wrestlers IMO.

Would like both as well; Mexicans and Americans. Mexicans have more experience and the American guys would probably be better in the promos because they know the language better and like you said; get noticed fast.

Stick in some Luchadore's and some Purerosu (japanese style) guys IMO and that would fix the talent and make it much more interesting.

Some Luchas in mind for TNA:

Rey Mysterio: Misused in WWE (only 3 world championships!) and would be great in the tag and x division. Would also fit in heavyweight division. 1 or 2 more title runs would be a great way to end off is career and for him to capture some glory seeing he only has 3 world titles in his "shelf".

Sin Cara: Misused by WWE IMO. Why isn't he a champion yet? Maybe not heavyweight division but tag and x division would do the trick.

Rubix: Was in the x divison tournament and was most favoured out of the lot! Last year, some losers of the tournament still stayed in TNA, I think him as well as others should do that too.

Don't really know that many Luchadores but these 3 I have in mind. What happened to Sangriento? Was a great alternative to Sin Cara.
A great division for these guys is the mid-weight division. If one of the mexicans won the TV title, we could see them every week!

 

[waylon p]

I am all for it. I especially like the idea of adding a few lucha stars and a few puro stars into the mix.

But a lot of people responding to this thread seem to have lost touch with reality. Merchandise? Who are the biggest lucha stars in American wrestling history? There is Rey mysterio, mil mascaras, juventude guererra, lismark jr, and other guys (like macho man and Eddie guerrero ) who did not use the mask. Of the ones who used the mask, only Rey sold any merch worth speaking of, and only because he had the huge marketing force that is Vince McMahon behind him. Masked lucha doers do not sell merch in the U.S. to think otherwise is folly. It could happen again, no doubt. Just do not hold your breath waiting.

Also, just because a guy is a high flyer and wears a mask does not make him lucha. A lot of guys mentioned in this thread are not. Psichosis? Really? I am only going to let el generico count because I am generous. (he is a parody of lucha libre, folks.)


I would love to see more lucha in TNA. But do not fool yourselves into thinking they are merchandising gold, because that is ludicrous.

That being said, I say yes. More lucha and more puro. I likes me some of that idea.

 

[EdReed]

I think luchadores would be a great addition to the x-division. The problem is another promoter has the exclusive rights to use AAA wrestlers in the U.S.

 

[HBsam31]

I don't think they should go overboard, but a couple of masked Luchadores would be ok with me as long as they were good wrestlers to and not just acrobats. They did WCW well, and Rey Mysterio has attained great success. We can't expect everyone to be like Rey, but I think if used correctly a couple of these guys could help TNA's X division a lot.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

i would love to see el generico. i realy did think there was a chance we would see him at destination x but it dident happen. another luchadore i would like to see would be samuray del sol. i have seen a few times know wrestling for czw and every time i see him he never disapoints. also i think a luchadore tag team would work well in tna. at the moment you can't realy say that they have a tag division so it would help out here and they could also wrestle singles matches to. so it would be a win win situation.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The Lucha Libre style is something that I don't think generally works with most American fans. As one poster pointed out, it's mostly about just doing one high spot after another. The times I used to be able to watch AAA, that's almost all that the matches consisted of. If you're a spot mark, then it's definitely the style for you.

However, just because you bill a wrestler as a Luchadore or he happens to actually be a Luchadore means nothing if said wrestler can't get the fans behind them. Not too long back, didn't Amazing Red portray a Luchadore character in TNA for a while? Remember how well that got over? He didn't get anymore over under the mask than he did just being himself. Why? No personality, no charisma, no ability to make a connection with fans. Look at Sin Cara in WWE as he suffers from pretty much the same thing, well that and he can hardly speak a word of English.

To me, there's nothing particularly wrong with wrestlers that have a lot of spots in their arsenal. The problem is if spots is all they bring to the table. They just don't get over. Why do you think only a handful of wrestlers from the X Division have moved onto the upper mid-card and main event levels in TNA? A bunch of Cruiserweights wearing masks won't make a big splash in TNA without a reason for people to rally behind them other than the fact that they're spot monkeys wearing flashy masks.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Look at Sin Cara in WWE as he suffers from pretty much the same thing, well that and he can hardly speak a word of English.

Much as it pains to me to say this, much as it makes my fingers ache and my eyes bleed and my balls pop, Sin Cara has actually got pretty well over by just doing flips. Badly executed flips most of the time, but flips nonetheless. I dunno - maybe WWE fans are just like the ladies I bring back to my house for a night of disappointment and terror; they just really like mood lighting. And Barry White. And power drills.

Speaking of making a connection with the fans, Jigsaw (masked wrestler extraordinaire) seemed the most over of the new batch of X wrestlers by a country mile. Give that gentleman a push and say no more about it.