10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Oct 22)
5. WWF Creative Wanted To Brand Aldo Montoya As A Soccer Star
Long before he was playing the renegade character of Justin Credible in ECW, that same wrestler filled the role of Aldo Montoya in the WWF. Having been a lower-card jobber for much of his tenure, the guy must have been delighted to be handed a proper gimmick. When he was handed his mask, it's likely Aldo felt differently.
Looking for all the world like he was wearing a jock strap on his head, Montoya failed to catch on with audiences despite his 'Portuguese Man Of War' nickname. Originally, the WWF's creative braintrust had something different in mind for the performer.
On a recent episode of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, Bruce Prichard recalled the writing team telling Vince McMahon that Aldo Montoya would portray a famous soccer player. Shooting the idea down, McMahon pointed out that it would be relatively simple for people around the world to find out that Aldo wasn't actually a footballer.
Right there and then, Aldo's gimmick was tweaked to include the mask. It's difficult to imagine Aldo Montoya getting over even if he was to become a 1995 version of Cristiano Ronaldo.