Those Who Paved the Way

With all the events that happened last week during Wrestlemania 27, there is one event that could get lost within all the festivities. The WWE Hall of Fame. Now I'm not going to talk about the hall of fame ceremony but more about the people who paved the way for the Hispanic influence in the organization.

Now there are a couple of people who I would like to highlight in this blog: Tito Santana and Chavo Classic.

Tito Santana, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004, started wrestling in 1977 in various promotions, until he moved to the WWE in 1979. During this time in the WWE, he won the King of the Ring tournament in 1989, a two-time tag team champion and a two-time intercontinental champion, according to his wikipedia page. In addition, he won the very first match at Wrestlemania 1. After his time in the WWE, he would wrestle in three more organization until his semi-retirement in the 2000s. He would make one more appearance in the WWE during the 'old school' edition of Monday Night Raw in November 2010.

Chavo Classic, or also known as Chavo Guerrero, Sr., is a part of the Guerrero wrestling family that includes Eddie Guerrero and Chavo's son, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. He wrestled in Japan, the World Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s, according to his wikipedia page. He would eventually find his way to the WWE in 2004 when he teamed up with his son, who was feuding the Eddie. During his tenure, he would capture the Cruiserweight title in a triple threat match that included his son. He would only hold the belt for a month when he lost it to Rey Mysterio. Like Santana, he made an appearance during the 'old school' version of Monday Night Raw when he was the driver of Alberto Del Rio's car.

Both of these guys are considered to be pioneers for the influence of Hispanic wrestlers in the WWE. Even though they were not main event talent, like their counterparts today, they did showcase their skills in the ring. They proved that Hispanics could mess with the big boys of the business and be entertaining at the same time. Without these two legends, who really knows if there would be a Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio or Sin Cara in the business today. Santana and Guerrero laid the ground for the Hispanic influence in the WWE. And Mysterio, Del Rio and Sin Cara are adding onto that road. Who knows, maybe someone will be writing a blog post about how these three wrestlers are laying even more of a foundation for future wrestlers down the road.

In other news, Sin Cara made his television debut last Monday on Monday Night Raw. In case you didn't see it or what to watch it again, check out the video below to see his amazing entrance.

-Christopher J. Valverde

Follow me on Twitter: @xfactor7806



*Photos courtesy of WWE and gvocom.com*