10 Obscure International Wrestling Championships
10. Mexican Championship (WWE)
When the masked grappler, El Gran Luchadore, made his hugely anticipated Smackdown debut in the mid-2000s, few could have predicted the level of fanatical hysteria the latino superman would bring to the blue brand. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch but nonetheless, one thing is for sure...he was definitely there.
In April of 2004, Smackdown was ruled by former Acolyte hardman, John “Bradshaw” Layfield; who had morphed into a Texas business mogul seemingly overnight. As part of his feud with then-WWE Champion, Eddie Guerrero, the freshly repackaged “JBL” would embark on a war of sorts on Latin America, walking the line of xenophobia with those south of the US border.
As part of this war, JBL would take his anger out on “Mexican Heavyweight Champion”, El Gran Luchadore after Smackdown GM, Paul Heyman, alleged that the Latino champ had punked out JBL at an airport. The results did not favour EGL, who took a savage pummelling from the Texan as a result.
The masked Mexican would return to Smackdown TV three months later to once again challenge JBL; this time in a “champion vs champion” contest, following JBL’s WWE Championship victory over Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash. The beatdown that followed would take a similar path until former champ, Guerrero, made a surprise appearance. Guerrero, himself decked out in El Gran Luchadore attire, would switch places with EGL and fire back on JBL’s assault; eventually causing Bradshaw to flee the ring and get counted out in the process.
The Mexican Champ would make his third and final appearance on Smackdown a week later during the WWE Championship rematch between Guerrero and JBL inside a steel cage. With both men atop the cage, it was neck and neck competition as to who would walk out victorious...until El Gran Luchadore made his presence felt once more; this time grabbing Guerrero’s leg, preventing him from escaping the cage and allowing JBL to retain his gold. Post-match, an exchange ensued between the two men which would reveal EGL to be Kurt Angle; reigniting the Guerrero/Angle feud from WrestleMania XX.
Underneath the mask, EGL would see several men don the hood during his various incarnations; originally played by Paul London during his first outing, followed by Shannon Moore in the second instance, in addition to the aforementioned masquerades by Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle. With the JBL/Guerrero feud over and the Mexico/USA storyline having run its course, El Gran Luchadore and his Mexican Championship disappeared just as fast as it had materialised.