15. El Hijo Del Santo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa80Z1ZeNWQ Recently retired due to a back injury, the son of the biggest legend in lucha libre history became a huge star on his own, thanks in part to being a better in-ring wrestler than his father. A savvy businessman, he would only make season appearances on television to avoid overexposure, as he made his living touring the country and didn't want to be too familiar to the audience. In 1998, the WWF made a deal with Univision for a Spanish-language lucha libre show with a mix of WWF and Mexican talent (Santo's far from the only one, but he's by far the most recognizable to English-speaking fans). Santo was brought in as the star, and he had a number of fun matches, though they were short because it was a half hour show. The relationship was doomed from the beginning, though, as WWE wanted the talent to unmask. They were so magnanimous that they even offered Santo a $5,000 bonus! Thankfully, someone (likely Jim Cornette) intervened and he didn't walk out right there.
David Bixenspan
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Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
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