10 Next Big Things In Wrestling That Totally Flopped

9. Sin Cara

Vladimir Kozlov
WWE.com

Sin Cara was Triple H's first "guy" in his guise of developmental head honcho. To his credit, on paper, the signing of the former Místico was a very sound one: with Rey Mysterio's knee in a right state, Cara, an incredibly popular in-ring whizz, was his natural successor.

Unfortunately, whether it was through sheer belief in his ability - or, cynically, a rush to cover himself in glory via osmosis - Trips elected not to send Cara to developmental. He instead learned how to wrestle on the left side on the house show circuit for a brief on-the-job training exercise. As became painfully (and often hilariously) apparent, this was not sufficient. Cara botched his very first entrance, misjudging the trajectory of his trampoline jump like a sugar-stricken toddler. Then came the in-ring botches: Cara in Mexico was a tornado of convoluted rotations; in WWE, he was an unnatural, ungainly disaster, singularly failing to deploy even the most rudimentary of good lucha things.

To put into proper perspective just how disastrous this all was, Cara remains in contention for a Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame spot as a result of his in-ring game and drawing prowess throughout his CMLL heyday. This, after becoming such a botch merchant that WWE fans the world over differentiate him from his successor not by referring to him as the Original Sin Cara, but Botch Cara.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!