Sin Cara has really improved!

[Isaac Kaye]

The tag team division has received somewhat of a resurrection in recent months, almost to the extent that I am excited when I come to buy a PPV (not quite yet!). I've been particularly impressed with the Prime Time Players, who initially annoyed me, and the new partnership between Rhodes and Sandow is also intriguing, yet probably not the best way to boost them in singles action (esp Rhodes who has lost a lot of steam recently).

It almost seems too obvious to pair Mysterio and Cara, but it's a great combination and they are an exciting and fast paced tag team. I though Cara really struggled to gel with other guys in singles competition, and in most cases was not given enough time to work a good match. His style is awkward, and too often his matches ended up looking like this way. The best match I've seen him in was this match with Christian last year (which I believe was his first loss). Christian seemed to be able to work a really good match with him (which was still a little clumsy at times) Unfortunately not evreyone possesses the experience and ring craft that Christian does. Here is the match for those of you that haven't seen it. It's terrific!

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It's probably no surprise that Cara's in ring work has improved since teaming with Mysterio, he has cut out the extreme and sloppy offence and has started to sell much much effectively and I think placing him in this tag team has done wonders for his in ring style. So...

Do you think Cara has improved or do you think Rey is just a positive influence on his style within their team?

Will Cara be ready for an upper midcard push soon?

What other changes does he need to make to his gimmick to make it to the next level?

IK

 

[The_Vigilante]

I remember that match, it was solid. I think they should keep the tag team going for a while, it works well, the kids love it and WWE needs to keep up the momentum they've recently built up for the Tag Team division. When Kane & Bryan inevitably split and feud, it's going to take a good, high profile face team to keep the division going along side Rhodes Scholars, the Rey-Cara can be that team. Long term he may get a run as U.S or I.C champ, but I can't see him doing any better than that unless they manage to book him in a serious feud with someone.

 

[Nate DaMac]

They're doing exactly what they need to be doing. I don't know if there was a language barrier or if it was just a string of bad luck, but he has become more known for his botches than anything else. It was really hindering his growth. Putting him with Rey, who can do just about every Cara can do but also has a great track record when it comes to match quality, is only going to be a good thing. He can learn from someone who had to go through the same thing when he first came in to the WWE.

I kind of feel like it's a step backwards for Rey, but if they can keep this momentum up, they can be the new faces of tag team wrestling right now. They're never going to be unpopular.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

They're doing exactly what they need to be doing. I don't know if there was a language barrier or if it was just a string of bad luck, but he has become more known for his botches than anything else. It was really hindering his growth. Putting him with Rey, who can do just about every Cara can do but also has a great track record when it comes to match quality, is only going to be a good thing. He can learn from someone who had to go through the same thing when he first came in to the WWE.

I kind of feel like it's a step backwards for Rey, but if they can keep this momentum up, they can be the new faces of tag team wrestling right now. They're never going to be unpopular.

I think the botches were due to the complexity of his move set. Even top guys were struggling to sell his offence because there was that much going on. You obviously don't want to take all of his offence away, because that's makes him unique, but toning it down has worked wonders. I watched a few matches and some guys didn't even know which direction to sell his moves, and it looked really damn messy.

It's interesting to see Rey losing quite a bit since he got back, but it can't hurt him these days, and it made the Miz look pretty good when he beat him at Summer Slam. They're an exciting tag team. I guess when they need a top babyface to move up they'll ask Rey how his knees are and throw him in anyway!

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think the botches were due to the complexity of his move set.

True, but watching him run through his repertoire makes me think it might be better to tone down the complexity somewhat. Even when he doesn't botch, there's a hesitancy in the reactions between Sin and his opponent that often makes the maneuvers look stilted and ill-timed.

It's not totally Sin Cara's fault. It's the job of the opponent to get in position to receive those high-flying moves and timing is a difficult thing to handle when you're involved in a lightning-fast routine. Some opponents are better at it than others, and I remember Chavo Guerrero getting chewed out after a match because he missed some of the timing patterns with Sin.

And I still cringe every time I see Sin trying to wrap his feet around the other guy's neck for that flying ankle-toss move.....missing it.....and watching the opponent somersault through the air anyway. Oy.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

True, but watching him run through his repertoire makes me think it might be better to tone down the complexity somewhat. Even when he doesn't botch, there's a hesitancy in the reactions between Sin and his opponent that often makes the maneuvers look stilted and ill-timed.

It's not totally Sin Cara's fault. It's the job of the opponent to get in position to receive those high-flying moves and timing is a difficult thing to handle when you're involved in a lightning-fast routine. Some opponents are better at it than others, and I remember Chavo Guerrero getting chewed out after a match because he missed some of the timing patterns with Sin.

And I still cringe every time I see Sin trying to wrap his feet around the other guy's neck for that flying ankle-toss move.....missing it.....and watching the opponent somersault through the air anyway. Oy.

Yeah I agree, I've seen so many guys struggle to really know what's going on. In most cases they've scarcely finished selling the previous move and suddenly he's flying at them again. I think he wrestled Tyson Kidd a few months ago (before his injury) and Kidd seemed to cope with his style quite well. The bigger guys find it much harder.

 

[RD_21]

Having watch Mistico for a year in CMLL I can honestly tell you I never seen him botch once over there that I can remember at least. The guy is awesome, unlike most high flyer, over there the guy receiving the move is playing a big part, but you can see the guy doing the move really wrapping his leg around his opponents and grabbing them during huricanrana and move like this.

I think he has improved but to the American style wrestling. I was mad when people where saying he was nothing special or bad when I saw what he could do in CMLL, I just wish he would use La Mistica has a finishing submission again like he was doing over there, other than that I'm fine with him.

 

[Radical]

I agree. Sin Cara has improved a lot. I really enjoy his matches.

His pairing with Mysterio is excellent. Mysterio in the ring and out of the ring can communicate with Sin Cara very well and I think he is a great mentor and partner for Sin Cara getting adjusted to performing in the WWE.

There was a Backstage interview (on WWE's YouTube page) with Rey and Cara (I believe after they won the match to be in the Tag Team Tournament Finals) and it was good because Sin Cara actually talked ... in Spanish ... but of course Rey can translate and add his own thoughts in English.

I really hope Sin Cara keeps rising and eventually wins the US or IC Title and then who knows maybe even better than that.

 

[Jaystrong322]

Sin Cara needs to develop more of an American style like Rey and Del Rio did. Most of the WWE roster does not compliment a true luchador in the ring. Personally, I am not a fan.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Sin Cara was never bad to begin with. They signed a luchador and within the space of a month had him competing against wrestlers trained in WWE development to compete at a certain degree of speed and consistently maintain a certain quantity of moves, the exact opposite of wrestling in Mexico. Then when he got suspended and returned, he rarely made a mistake, but due to wrestling fans having tendencies of latching onto any negative they find and making a joke out of it, the "Botch Cara" mock name was created, unjustly.

Since returning from injury hes been fine. One poor match was reported and immediately following that match, he was reported to have felt down on himself for the performance. Every performer has a bad performance, it's inevitable, hes been paired with Rey Mysterio and since they began their on-screen relationship, due to Rey having gone through the same scenario back in the nineties, hes obviously had someone to learn from.

And just to note, for those who've watched Rey's early ECW stuff, whether he was facing another luchador such as Juvetud Guerrera or an American like Dean Malenko, Rey made a shit-ton of errors, some were even highlighted on the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD. Lucha libre and WWE's style of performing are two different beasts, Sin Cara has been doing well since day one.

 

[SD619]

Every performer has a bad performance, it's inevitable, hes been paired with Rey Mysterio and since they began their on-screen relationship, due to Rey having gone through the same scenario back in the nineties, hes obviously had someone to learn from.

And just to note, for those who've watched Rey's early ECW stuff, whether he was facing another luchador such as Juvetud Guerrera or an American like Dean Malenko, Rey made a shit-ton of errors, some were even highlighted on the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD. Lucha libre and WWE's style of performing are two different beasts, Sin Cara has been doing well since day one.

Completely agree. The advantage that Rey had over Cara was that, in his earlier days, Rey had matches mostly with other luchadores or guys like Malenko. They helped him have good matches and also adapt to the American style. Unfortunately for Cara, there are not many wrestlers that can have a good match with someone with his style of wrestling. No wonder, his best match was with Christian (someone who can make others look good).

The teaming up with Rey has helped Cara a lot. Not only does he botch less, he now gets MUCH better reaction as a result of his association with Rey. Considering that Rey can't wrestle as well as he used to and probably has a few years(at best) of wrestling left, this is a great way of utilizing him.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Has Sin Cara really improved, or has he been working about half as much in each match? Because I can tell you one thing: Rey Mysterio is consistently a great worker. The wonderful thing about using guys that need to improve in tag teams, is they only need to work between 40-60% of the match, depending on who carries. I'm not saying he hasn't improved, but I'm also saying it's likely Rey is just really making things look better.