10 Original Failed WWE Pushes You Completely Forgot About

4. Essa Rios - Papi Chulo

Papi Chulo
WWE

Long before Essa Rios was a dynamic C-show light heavyweight, Papi Chulo was a...dynamic C-show light heavyweight.

Something of a wasted talent on a bigger stage, Rios' repackaging as firebrand babyface alongside Lita in early 2000 ultimately did more for the latter than the former, but it appeared to be a noble effort to repackage a weekend show favourite into something more palatable.

As a bit of a sleaze in fur coat, coloured shades and ostentatious leather...everything, his aesthetic was Attitude Era bargain bin by mistake. Looking more like a Tiger King talking head than a pro wrestler, Chulo then kicked all that into his own cocked hat with jaw-dropping high spots rather similar to those done by the masked Mexican star Aguila that had suspiciously disappeared just before his debut.

Like virtually every character trapped on Metal/Jakked at the time, he did nothing but work and worked for nothing. Only as Rios did he claim the Cruiserweight Title and a feud with Eddie Guerrero that snuck him on to PPV in the company's glorious and all-things-to-everybody year 2000.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.