Sin Cara's Sudden WWE SmackDown Push Is a Misguided Move

With the swiftness of a well-placed dropkick, Sin Cara has darted up the WWE SmackDown ladder.

The blue brand is once again living up to its "land of opportunity" nickname as a low-card star finds himself thrust into the United States Championship picture. It's an odd move in the vein of Jinder Mahal's surprise push.

Between May and September, Sin Cara only had two TV matches to his name, per CageMatch.net. The high-flyer was a non-factor, someone it was easy to forget was even on SmackDown. But that has changed in a hurry.

On Tuesday night, he was the aggressor in his third straight match against U.S. champ Baron Corbin, the luchador atop The Lone Wolf lacing him with punches.

Where did all this come from? And why?

Rolling Stone columnist Aaron Oster was among those confused about Corbin following up his big wins over AJ Styles this way:

There's reportedly a clear reason for both this sudden increase in exposure and Sin Cara getting a sneaker line. According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson: "Both are part of a renewed push for the Mexican star as he recently signed a new multiyear contract with World Wrestling Entertainment."

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Even with that bit of backstage knowledge in hand, Sin Cara being elevated to title contender status is a head-scratcher.

The masked Superstar is an average overall performer. He's fine in the ring. His mic work is nothing memorable. Throw in his presence and persona, and it all adds up to serviceable.

That's why it wasn't controversial to keep him at the bottom of the pile. He's the kind of solid-not-spectacular wrestler who is best suited to be a regular at house shows but a rare sight on TV.

SmackDown has more promising talent to focus on each week.

The man under the Sin Cara mask (Jorge Arias) is a more dependable worker than the man he replaced (Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde). But he's not someone who has been able to stand out. It's hard to name five eye-catching matches he's had with WWE.

Credit: WWE.com

In fact, he doesn't have a one-on-one match rated higher than 1.5 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t the Internet Wrestling Database).

Pushing him on SmackDown's limited stage means that guys like recent NXT transplant Tye Dillinger have to wait out the show on the bench. WWE could be focusing more on Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder's splintered relationship and eventually give Rawley a solo run. It could bring up NXT stars like Hideo Itami and Andrade "Cien" Almas and get a long look at them.

Those last two names blow Sin Cara out of the water in terms of ring skills. SmackDown would up its electricity level by trading one of them for the man giving Corbin fits at the moment.

As for Dillinger and Rawley, they are unproven commodities. 

WWE isn't as sure what it has in Dillinger and Rawley. It knows what Sin Cara is—the WWE equivalent of a career backup quarterback. To give him airtime over those emerging talents is a safer but less exciting route.

But the company has chosen to focus on Sin Cara for the moment, giving the luchador ample opportunity to prove WWE was smart for doing so.