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WCW’s use of luchadors remains a mixed part of the company’s legacy. On one hand, the promotion took a chance on these sensational athletes and featured them on a prime-time wrestling show in ways they never had in a major US promotion before. On the flip side, though, they were largely relegated to working inconsequential matches and serving as cannon fodder for bigger stars. To make matters worse, the company showed an ongoing lack of respect for masks as top stars from the Mexican tradition lost their hoods and it rarely seemed to mean as much as it should have for their characters’ journeys.
The Latino World Order was one of the few concentrated efforts at getting luchadors over, as Eddie Guerrero got a meaty storyline and Rey Mysterio worked an intriguing role as a key opponent to and eventual member of the faction.
What if WWE reintroduced the group today, with Mysterio at the helm? This article takes a look at the possibilities.
#5 The Lucha House Party gets a rub
It’s not as though WWE doesn’t already have a band of Latino stars working together, as the Lucha House Party was a popular act on 205 Live that has since crossed over to bolster Raw’s anemic tag division. The group of Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, and Kalisto has worked well for the most part but lacks a marquee star to really get them over, especially on Raw.
If Rey Mysterio were to helm a new Latino World Order, it would be only natural for him to absorb the House Party guys under his banner. To be fair, it’s likely a win-win situation. Kalisto, Dorado, and Metalik would benefit from the association with a star of Mysterio’s magnitude, and Mysterio would do well to team up with younger guys who can still go full throttle in the style that Mysterio grew famous working back in the day.
#4 WWE recruits from Lucha Underground
The formation of a faction built around Rey Mysterio as its leader and centered on a Latino identity may call on WWE to recruit additional talent to fill out the group’s ranks, or to have additional Latino stars who aren’t involved, and can demonstrate WWE has a more diverse talent pool than just one minority faction would represent.
If there’s one natural spot to go looking for new recruits who fit the demographic of interest, it would be Lucha Underground. No, not everybody there is a luchador, but talents like Texano or Dragon Azteca could be interesting additions to the mix.
Lucha Underground talents have benefit of some national exposure, especially to hardcore fans, while also largely coming across as fresh faces to the bulk of the WWE main roster audience. Cherry picking a few key talents could be instrumental to the LWO getting over and helping to build new stars.
#3 A faction war
Back in the relatively early stages of the Attitude Era, WWE set up a gang warfare angle, highlighted by The Nation of Domination, Los Boricuas, and the Disciples of Apocalypse. The angle was in questionable taste for the racial breakdown of each representative group, and questionable for the program not producing many good matches. Nowadays, WWE would surely be more careful about booking an angle like that. Just the same, a mid-card stable invited battled with other groups.
A relaunched Latino World Order could spur on other rival groups to emerge. They’d also be natural nemeses for The Undisputed Era when they get called up from NXT, given the relatively small size and top notch work rate associated with Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish.
Faction vs. faction programs can be tricky to book effectively, but when done right can create a variety of single and tag match permutations to showcase everyone involved.
#2 Rey Mysterio in a lot of tag and trios matches
Rey Mysterio is in his mid-forties. That doesn’t make him incredibly old by everyday standards, or even as a veteran legend wrestler in this era. However, for a smaller guy whose entire ethos is built on being lightning quick and a high flyer, Mysterio’s age is starting to show itself in an uptick of injuries and not being quite as quick as he once was in his prime.
It’s in Mysterio and WWE’s best interests to put him into situations in which he can be protected from having to take extra dives and bumps or endure long sequences of working matches as a solo act.
Mysterio leading a new LWO would mean that he could spend some time as the froup’s mouthpiece or corner man while still popping crowds and that when he does work tag team, six, or eight-man bouts, he would have natural partners to group up with on a regular basis.
#1 The battle for Andrade Almas’s soul
On a superficial level, one might assume that WWE would limoncellos Andrade "Cien" Almas in with the Latino World Order if it were to make a comeback. After all, Almas is probably the top young Latino singles star working in WWE today, both in terms of raw talent and his he has been booked, so why wouldn’t WWE involve him in a high profile Latino stable?
More interesting than Almas joking the LWO out of the gate, he could play something like a bizarro Rey Mysterio from the original version of the group. Whereas Mysterio was a face who wanted to stay on his own but was eventually compelled to join up after he lost a math to Eddie Guerrero, Almas could be the heel to arrogant to sign on, and feud with this faction. Maybe he’d ultimately come around with a face turn, or maybe the stable would edge heel to meet him where he’s at. Regardless, it could mean the most interesting work Almas has done since moving up to the main roster.
