When Paul Levesque (Triple H) took over as Vice President of Talent Relations, he stated that he would be signing talent from all around the world. Hes been true to his word, with talent coming in from the UK, South Africa, Australia and Bulgaria, to name a few. He also turned his attention to the long-running wrestling scene in Mexico and stunned the world by signing lucha libres biggest star, Mistico. He had been on WWEs radar for quite some time before signing. Agents with a knowledge of worldwide wrestling had recommended Mistico as a potential signing in the middle of the last decade, and he had even turned down an offer in 2007, preferring to stay with CMLL in Mexico. At the end of the decade, as well as headlining for CMLL, Mistico was also making frequent trips to Japan to wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He looked like he was building up his experience of wrestling around the world, much like Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero had all done previously. In 2011, as the Mexican economy continued to fail, he finally signed a contract with the WWE. He was unveiled at a press conference in Mexico City, under his new WWE name of Sin Cara (literally Without Face). The WWE felt that he was the perfect man to spearhead their drive into the Mexican market. Ordinarily, a new talent is asked to report to Florida to work in developmental initially, to get them used to the WWE style. Sin Cara refused, feeling that it would be an insult for a man of his stature in Mexico to go to developmental. He was pushed straight to the top of the card, teaming with John Cena on his second ever Raw. He was given an elaborate entrance, vaulting over the ropes from the floor (with the help of a not particularly well concealed mini trampoline) into the ring. His matches took place with the lights dimmed to a dark blue hue. He captured the imagination of children and shifted plenty of merchandise. It all seems pretty rosy so far. But it all went wrong. His refusal to go to developmental proved costly. While he was used to wrestling lucha style with fellow Mexicans to whom the style was second nature, WWE wrestlers were not Luchadors. He started off with a foe who would be familiar with the style in Chavo Guerrero, but after that, things went downhill. He began to make obvious errors in live matches, losing his balance on the ropes or coming perilously close to injuring his opponents with clumsy manoeuvres. He then failed a Wellness test and rather than accepting his punishment, he decried it to the Mexican press, which did not go down well in WWE HQ in Stamford. Upon his return, he was embroiled in a feud with an imposter Sin Cara (who is now ironically playing Sin Cara instead of Mistico) and was relegated to the mid-card. The end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 were littered with injuries and he could never get any momentum going. The final straw was when he wrestled Alberto Del Rio, a fellow Mexican, and dislocated his finger while executing a tope dive outside the ring. He immediately signalled that he could not continue, which visibly infuriated Del Rio, who felt that he should have continued with the match. He was released from his contract in March this year. His refusal to learn English properly, along with his refusal to go to NXT to learn the style, and his general backstage attitude (it was reported that he carried himself like a star, far above his place in the WWEs pecking order) did not endear him to his colleagues. His WWE tenure was a horrible failure, and the man behind the mask probably wishes that Sin Cara had never existed.
Dean Ayass is a well known name to British wrestling fans. A commentator, manager, booker and ring announcer who has been involved in the business since 1993, Dean's insight into the business is second to none.
