Tito Santana On Why Vince McMahon Created El Matador Gimmick, What Wrestling Needs Today

Tito Santana spent 11 years in the WWE during the 80s and early 90s where he was a four-time WWE champion. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 and he was asked what moment he most remembers from his career when he spoke to Andy Malnoske of Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.

"Coming from a small town ? I keep saying this ? but the first time I stepped into Madison Square Garden. It was a huge place and the wrestling fans were nuts," recalled Santana. "I had a lot of great moments, but coming from a small town that was a real pleasure stepping into MSG."

Towards the end of his WWE run Santana adopted an El Matador gimmick which played off his Hispanic heritage. However, Santana was not a fan of the gimmick and he explained why.

"The reason I didn't like it is because they promised they were going to do something with it and they didn't do anything with it. It was something that Vince created just to ex me out," stated Santana.

For someone who came up during the 1970s and then made his mark during the 80s wrestling boom, Santana provided a unique perspective when asked what's missing from today's era.

"First of all, it needs competition. I do think that old school works. The WWE is completely different as it's entertainment and TV. They rehearse the whole match and the guys don't understand psychology," said Santana. "Old school still works and I'm glad to see there's a rise of new organizations and I wish them nothing but the best."

Tito's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post, or viewed via the video player at the top.

You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.