The Shining Stars, the tag team from Puerto Rico, has finally debuted on Raw after the fans were teased for weeks with their vignettes. Though they failed to generate much of a crowd reaction on their re-debut, a strong storyline and a believable back-story can still help them succeed in the WWE.
Amidst the hullabaloo about their repackaging people forget about their wrestling genes and any wrestler/tag-team can turn it around if they are given a solid gimmick (Just look at the New Day.) Here are five things that people forget about them:
5. Trained by Carlos Colon Sr.
Both members of The Shining Stars have learned the ropes from a WWE Hall Of Famer, Carlos Colon Sr., who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014.
Carlos Colon Sr. is a Puerto Rican great who now works as a WWE representative in his homeland promoting the house shows of WWE. He has even won the WWC heavyweight championship a record 26 times. Carlos Colon Sr. is also credited for bringing international superstars like Randy Savage, Ric Flair etc. to wrestle in Puerto Rico.
Although an accomplished star, his career is not short of controversy. The backstage murder of Bruiser Brody in 1988 at his wrestling promotion is a black spot on his legacy which cannot be washed away with time. However, Colon should be praised for his commitment to the wrestling business and revolutionizing the Puerto Rican wrestling scene.
4. Primo and Epico are heirs to WWC
Primo’s father and Epico’s uncle, Carlos Colon Sr. is the owner of World Wrestling Council (WWC) along with Victor Jovica. Both the cousins have learned the tricks of the trade in their home promotion.
Even if they are unable to find their footing in the WWE with their new gimmick, they can fall back on their home-grown promotion. WWC is a wrestling promotion where they can showcase their skills not only as wrestlers, but even as bookers as they will have the opportunity to promote local talent.
Also, Primo along with his real brother Carlito (who is the current WWC Champion) can be what Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon are to the WWE. If you add Epico to this mix, we can have a 3-way fight for control, which is sure to excite the Puerto Rican wrestling fans.
3. Epico was a baseball player earlier
Like so many stars that were involved in sports during their growing up years, Epico too was involved in sports during college.
He attended the Western Michigan University and played baseball for the Western Michigan Broncos. The baseball team was founded in 1911 and is a part of the Western Division of National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division-I which is based in Kalamazoo.
However, Epico gave up baseball for wrestling, which runs in his family. He has been an active wrestler since 2004 and showcased his talent across various promotions like Prize Glory Wrestling, WWC, Pro Wrestling Zero1 and of course WWE.
2. Primo was a part of the second longest reigning tag team champions
Everyone knows that this would be Primo’s third gimmick in the WWE. But, not many people know that one of his reign as a WWE Tag Team Champion was the second longest in the history of the WWE.
Since the WWE tag team championship was introduced in 2002, it has been held by a lot of respected superstars like Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Jericho, Big Show etc. and to stand above such above such names deserves respect.
Primo along with his real Brother Carlito (known as “The Colons”) won the WWE Tag Team Championship within two weeks of debuting on the roster by defeating Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. At WrestleMania 25, The Colons defeated John Morrison and The Miz to become the first unified WWE Tag Team Champions.
Their reign as champions was ended after they were defeated in a triple threat tag team match at The Bash in June 2009. They were champions for 280 days, only behind Brian Kendrick and Paul London, who held the title for 331 days. However, their record is sure to be broken by the current champions The New Day who have reigned for 277 days till date.
If the WWE creative builds The Shining Stars as a heel tag team to challenge The New Day they can generate a lot of heat and finally find their missing connection with the fans.
1. A sister who can be a part of storylines
Yes! There is a female Colon. Stacy Colon is the real sister of Primo. She has been a performer in WWC and was involved in a storyline with Carlito in WWC.
Since Primo and Epico no longer have the service of Rosa Mendes as their manager, WWE can explore the possibility of hiring Stacy. Stacy can also be easily written into storylines as she is no alien to the ring.
In WWC, she was in a love story angle with Konnan, and was hit in the head very hard by a guitar in one segment and it looked so real that the Puerto Rican audience went wild. She can be an asset to the team as she can take a hit as well as enact storylines.
Since Carlito has openly expressed his desire to return to WWE, The Shining Stars with Carlito and Stacey can even form a heel stable as well. Having “The Colon Family” or “The Caribbean Cools” can give a lot of leverage to the WWE creative to build storylines around the cousins.
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