Sin Cara Says Latin American Talent Are Not Given A Chance To Succeed In WWE
Since Andrade requested and was ultimately granted his release earlier this year, the conversation about WWE's treatment of Latin American talent has been resurrected. Over the years, many have criticized how Hispanic wrestlers have fared in the company, mentioning how main event caliber Superstars would go months without appearing on television.
Speaking to Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman on the Wrestling Inc. Daily, former WWE superstar Cinta de Oro (fka Sin Cara, Hunico) detailed his frustrations with the lack of prominent Latino representation in WWE.
"I never wanted to get into this conversation, but I feel like we need to now," Cinta said. "It's true. With everything that is going on in the world, the Latinos or Mexicanos can never really join forces to do something powerful. It's always been other people. You can see what's happened nowadays when the Black Lives Matter movement started. It was great to see all them join together and do something positive for everybody, for the community. And when that happened everybody in WWE was a champion, right? Bobby Lashley, New Day, all those guys. Which is great, they're good friends of mine and I love them, but what about us? We want a shot. We want an opportunity."
Beyond the lack of pushes, Cinta noted he's noticed trends with how WWE positions their Latino talent on the card.
"You realize certain things. Now that Andrade asked for his release, they kept Santos Escobar as champion last week," Cinta said. "Now they took the championship off him, and they made Raquel [Gonzalez] a champion in NXT. Which is great, you know, I understand. But why do you have to wait until something like that happens to give an opportunity to the Latinos, to the Mexicanos, because something negative came out about your company? It's very obvious, and it's very sad for a lot of the boys that are there right now.
In the time since the interview was recorded, Kalisto has been released from WWE, but numerous other Latino superstars are active on the main roster. Cinta cited a number of names that he saw take over on the independent scene, but have still yet to get their due in WWE.
"For Angel Garza, for [Humberto] Carrillo, for Lince [Dorado], for Kalisto, for [Gran] Metalik. All those guys are very talented. They can give excuses for certain things, like, 'Oh, he isn't physically fit.' Look at Kalisto! Kalisto is in the best shape of his life, and he hasn't wrestled in like 180 days on television," Cinta said. "Look at Metalik. Metalik was a world champion wherever he went. In Japan, in Mexico, he'd hold like five, ten titles at the same time for one time in his career. He has never done anything close to that in WWE. Garza was an independent worker that was well-known all over the place, doing a lot of things. Carrillo is an amazing talent. He's a young kid who can wrestle well, but unfortunately they don't give those guys an opportunity to really succeed. It's tough, it's a tough situation, but now people can see I didn't leave because of my ego or because I thought I was better than anybody else. I just wanted a shot."
Despite his frustrations with his former company, Cinta is enjoying his time as an independent wrestler. While 2020 took away a lot of opportunities, Cinta emphasized he's ready to get back inside the squared circle as soon as possible.
"I'm an independent wrestler right now," Cinta said. "Anybody that wants to contact me can contact me at the social media I have. I'm ready to work anywhere. In Puerto Rico, in Mexico, anywhere. There's a lot of plans in the air right now, but there are a few things that I don't want to say anything yet because nothing's confirmed yet, but there's a lot of plans going on. I just want to tell you that Nacion Lucha Libre in Mexico is about to start again. That's going to be something great for a lot of wrestlers that are independently working right now and want an opportunity in Mexico.
"Unfortunately with AAA, we haven't had any contact since the appearance that I made. There were a lot of back and forth, and a lot of yes no yes no, but at the end of the day I understand with the pandemic there's not a lot of negotiations going on with a lot of the companies. It's a part of life, it's a part of the business. I'm just keeping myself patient, keeping myself focused on my path to what I want to accomplish."
Earlier this month, Qatar Pro Wrestling announced a massive international event for 2022 with both WWE, AEW, NJPW, and ROH stars booked to appear. Cinta is also scheduled to have a match, and while he doesn't know who he'll square off against, he's most looking forward to just being in a pro wrestling locker room again.
"I haven't been there," Cinta said. "There were plans, but then everything stopped. But I'm very excited to go over there and showcase my talent. [The owner] is an awesome person. I'm just happy to go over there and start working and showcase my talent. It's going to be an amazing show. I know a lot of my friends are going over there. I'm just excited to be back in the locker room, talking with the boys, being able to reconnect with a lot of them, and just get in the rhythm of wrestling and doing what we love. I know it's not 'til next year, but time flies brother. Time flies. I don't know who I'm going to wrestle, and I don't really mind, but whenever I get to work I'm going to be excited."
You can follow Cinta de Oro on Twitter @CintaDeOro. Cinta de Oro will make his Qatar Pro Wrestling on February 26, 2022! For more information please visit www.QPW-Wrestling.com. You can find the full audio and video from Cinta's interview below: