Sin Cara WTF - More NXT Tag Team Woes

[DCLXVI]

I watch my wrasslin on Hulu so I just got caught up this morning and watched NXT and Superstars.

After weeks of following this NXT tag tournament to face The Ascension, the winners of the tournament were Sin Cara and Kallisto. WTF? Sin Cara doesn't even cut promos and kind of straddles the line of wrestling in NXT and WWE... they spent months building up The Vaudevillains who have a really interesting gimmick (love the black and white entrance and promos) and are a team that would work in comedic situations as well as serious matches. Them losing pretty much rendered the whole tournament pointless. Who benefits from Sin Cara facing The Ascension?

I then watched Superstars and Sin Cara defeats Justin Gabriel in a singles match. Do they just put him all over the place because he's a good hand? I know Superstars is the b-rate show but they could at least be putting over up and coming talent.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Who benefits from Sin Cara facing The Ascension?

Sin Cara and the WWE. Sin Cara is still in the top six merchandise sellers in the company because his mask and image are extremely appealing to kids.

You also totally ignored the second half of the team, Kalisto. He's the big winner in them winning the tournament because he's truly the next Rey Mysterio-type guy for WWE (he should have been all along, his work as Samuray del Sol was outstanding for a couple of years before they signed him). They went with the obvious masked luchadores team, like how Sin Cara used to team with Rey Mysterio, they're over with the crowd, this isn't Mistico Sin Cara either, it's Hunico Sin Cara who plays the role much better and is far less skeptical to botches because unlike Mistico who never went to development and trained in WWE's style before he went and ruined himself on Raw, Hunico has spent years in development and knows how to work.

Lance Storm said it best yesterday on Twitter, just about everyone likes The Vaudvilians, but if you have aspirations for them to go far you're going to be sorely disappointed. They're guys with an over the top gimmick. An over the top gimmick, e.g. Adam Rose recently, Fandango previously, and so many more examples can be used, only go so far in WWE. The Vaudvillians aren't meant to be taken seriously while Sin Cara and Kalisto are guys who they can easily market, make money off of and are extremely talented.

Why did Sin Cara and Kalisto win? Because any other option would have been stupid.

 

[DCLXVI]

Do you think had they not fired El Local and slapped Sin Cara into the team with Kallisto they would have won? They were not exactly a super serious tag team with El Local's goofiness and the "LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA" chants... and if Sin Cara is so valuable to the company why "demote" him to NXT? Regardless of what you say, he was an established star so when he starts walking out and wrestling in NXT tag matches that is a clear demotion in most people's eyes.

 

[DCLXVI]

Whoever is "playing" Sin Cara, I am not super clear on the history of the character (didn't watch for a couple years) but I know the new one is better and less botch prone.

 

[#tamale]

He's not being demoted to NXT. He is helping Kalisto enter the minds of fans and what better way to do that then a luchador tag team. This is all setup so Kalisto can become the next Rey.

Luchadores don't really need to cut promos. Cool mask, amazing high flying moves, sweet entrance, that's pretty much it.

 

[DCLXVI]

I can see the need for a luchador tag team... I just think The Vaudevillains have something special, and more to their characters than say Adam Rose or Fandango... they can be entertaining taking a beating or winning... they also seem to be the most cohesive team out of the bunch and I'm wondering why someone hasn't used that gimmick before. As far as over the top goes - hey look at The Dust Brothers now... who would have thought Goldust would still be doing this 20 years later and the Stardust character is pretty out there.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Whoever is "playing" Sin Cara, I am not super clear on the history of the character (didn't watch for a couple years) but I know the new one is better and less botch prone.

The wrestler under the Sin Cara mask is Jorge Arias, who first appeared in WWE playing the "dark" Sin Cara and would later wrestle under the moniker of Hunico. He's physically larger than the original Sin Cara, AKA Mistico, and he's not quite as fast or agile. However, as you pointed out, he doesn't botch moves all that often and, from an overall perspective, has a more solid game inside the ring than Sin Cara. He can do the high flying stuff, maybe not as spectacularly, but he's also a lot more comfortable doing more than just the high flying offense.

I know some people have asked why WWE doesn't want guys who're known for high spots to do them so much and the perfect reasons why were given not long after Sami Zayn, AKA El Generico, signed with NXT. Trips wanted him to cut back on the number of high spots because A. there was more of an impact when doing them more sparingly due to the audience not getting burned out on them and B. Zayn wouldn't burn his body out so quickly. I always thought the latter made the most sense because with WWE's touring schedule, someone who relies on little more than high spots will most likely burn his body out in a relatively short time.

 

[Mustang Sally]

.... he doesn't botch moves all that often and, from an overall perspective, has a more solid game inside the ring than Sin Cara.

Which can also be interpreted to mean he's easier and smoother for his opponents to work with. I've maintained it had to be hard as hell to be in the other corner from the original Sin Cara because he'd be launching those improbable, high-flying maneuvers and his opponent had damn well better be in the right spot to receive them, lest they be screamed at afterward by Vince McMahon. I would bet others in the company disliked having to work with.....and usually job to.....the first Sin Cara.

The new guy is much better. If part of it has to do with management restricting the high-risk flying stuff, so much the better....but the new Sin Cara is much easier on the eyes when he works. It adds up to a more realistic looking match.

Also, Dragon Saga makes a fine point pointing out the merchandise sales Sin Cara's mask probably generates. Now that the fans don't have Rey Mysterio's mask to purchase, they have a good alternative. This alone might account for the number of victories the man is allowed to gather: the more masks he sells, the more he wins.

Athletic competition at it's finest.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There's another angle no one is mentioning but that is SOOOO blatantly obvious...

WWE has just lost it's two mexican stars... Alberto Del Rio due to the slap heard around the world and Rey Mysterio to a blatant "sue me" situation... Rey is gone... it's not if it's when WWE let him go...

That presents WWE with a major problem... They not only need to combat the racism accusations but also replace Mysterio and quickly...

Kalisto is that guy clearly... so they need to get him over quickly with the fans so they can get him to the main roster and start the merch flowing. At the same time, had the team of Lucha's NOT won the tourney, then those "anti-Mexican" rumors actually gain creedance... perhaps Mexican wrestlers CAN'T do it cos someone stops it...

The Vaudevillans will get their time, but right now WWE NEEDED to put Sin Cara and Kalisto over...and they'll go over the Ascension, they've been ready for the main roster for a while so it's no real issue they lose... same as for Neville when he loses...but in 3 months time Sin Cara and Kalisto are needed to be ready to go on the main roster... so that's what's behind this.

 

[DCLXVI]

Why would they be considered racist? How many times did they put the belt on Alberto Del Rio? They even gave him a mouthpiece and he came out in a fancy car and you could hear crickets when he came out on his last run and vocally didn't give a shit. As far as a masked luchadore wrestler, I don't think WWE is "keeping them down"... it's a storyline driven show, if your capacity to do promos is to cross your arms and nod your head how far can they go with you? I also don't see people accusing Mexican wrestling federations of being racist for not using a lot of American wrestlers.

 

[DCLXVI]

That's also lame to say Kalisto is "that guy" because they have to hurriedly combat racism. His promos suck and the "Lucha" chant thing he does will never get over in WWE. Nobody has complained how horribly Japanese wrestlers have been used in the WWE and they have some of the best wrestlers in the world.

 

[royalroadweed]

Isn't the ascension heel? I think they might have wanted to avoid a heel vs heel match.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Yeah I was disappointed too. But it was to be expected since the didn't want to have a heel/heel matchup.

I do hope that they will push the Vaudvillians at some point since I quite like them. Yeah they're over the top, but that's completely fine, WWE needs more over the top and less generic angry dudes.