7 Ways the New Luchador Era Is Good for WWE

In many ways, 2011 has been the year of the luchador.

Rey Mysterio won his first WWE Championship (even if he lost it later that night), the WWE signed Sin Cara (a.k.a. Mistico), Sin Cara entered into a Mask vs. Mask feud with Hunico and now Epico has joined them all on the main roster.

The WWE that started the year off with just one luchador now has four, or five if you include Primo.

And you can consider me a big fan of the WWE's decision to bring in more high flyers.

Why? Well here are seven ways that the new luchador era is good for the WWE. 

7. Possible

No one will ever "replace" Rey Mysterio, who—though he certainly has critics—is still one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business.

But the WWE should do anything and everything in its power to at least try to replace him, and this recent influx of luchadores is a good way to start.

Neither Sin Cara nor Hunico nor any of the other luchadores are going to be be able to attract a fan base as big as Mysterio's or get as over as he is anytime soon. That's OK, though.

The point with the WWE signing these high flyers and bringing them to the main roster is not to replace Mysterio. It's to ease the loss of Mysterio when he leaves the WWE, presumably within the next few years.

Mysterio's departure will leave a huge gap in the WWE's "little man" department and will also hurt the company's appeal to the Hispanic viewing audience, so bringing as many of Mysterio's fellow luchadores (as long as they are quality ones) might offset that a bit. 

6. A Different Style of Matches

The WWE has a number of high flyers on its main roster, such as John Morrison, Evan Bourne and Justin Gabriel.

But it's a rare occasion when two high flyers face each other one-on-one, and typically, a wrestler with a high-flying skill set is paired against a mat-based technician or a power wrestler.

That often turns out to be fine, but there are plenty of fans out there who would rather see matches that involve two high-flyers as opposed to just one.

Bouts between guys who take to the air more often than not bring us a nice change from the typical WWE match formula where the baby face shines, the heel beats him up and then the face comes back at the end of the match to get the victory.

When one high-flyer faces another, it tends to be an incredibly competitive match, with each guy trying to outdo the other with some sort of crazy move.

I love those types of matches for one reason: They're different.

5. An Improved Undercard

The feud between the two Sin Caras left a sour taste in my mouth because it was rushed and didn't produce the quality of matches that I thought it would.

But the recent surge of luchadores in the WWE has made me think back to WCW in the mid-to-late 1990s when luchadores dominated the cruiserweight division.

You had guys like Psicosis, La Parka, Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon and Juventud Guerrerra putting on great matches that really improved the quality of the undercard, especially on pay-per-view.

These matches were almost always entertaining and exciting, and they showcased the talents of guys who were probably never going to get a push into the upper mid-card or main event scene.

Not a problem.

I really enjoyed watching the luchadores blow the roof off the building during undercard matches, and with the WWE increasing its focus on luchadores, perhaps the company is thinking that they will do the same thing for WWE that they did for WCW.

4. The Emphasis on Smaller Wrestlers

I don't have much faith in the WWE ever bringing back the Cruiserweight division and the Cruiserweight Championship.

But there's nothing wrong with the WWE putting an emphasis on wrestlers would actually fit into that division if the company had one.

If no wrestling company had big enough grapefruits to showcase smaller wrestlers, then we never would have seen guys like Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio reach the levels of superstardom that they achieved.

Thus, it's a good idea for the WWE to give these luchadores a chance to shine, especially when there are a number of other small wrestlers currently on the WWE roster.

If the WWE actually lets guys like Hunico and Sin Cara win matches and look good in the process, then fans will start to believe that they can hang with bigger guys who consistently work at the top of the card.

That will benefit not only the luchadores and anyone who's under 6-feet-tall, but the WWE in general, too. 

3. The Return of the Stable

The increase in the number of luchadores in the WWE seems to be leading to the return of one of the biggest lost arts in professional wrestling: The stable.

Yeah, we saw The Nexus last year and The Corre earlier this year, but for the most part, factions have been few and far in between over the last several years.

That's a problem that needs to be fixed.

As long as they're not overdone—see TNA—then stables can really contribute to a wrestling promotion by helping improve story lines and elevating wrestlers.

Epico, Hunico and Primo certainly seem to be forming some sort of faction of their own, and I'm excited about where it might go.

Of course, there's always a chance that the WWE screws this stable up like it does to most others, but for now, I'll take an optimistic stance and say that big things could be on the horizon for SmackDown's new trio. 

2. International Appeal

You know why The Great Khali stuck around the WWE for so long or why guys like Yoshi Tatsu and Jinder Mahal are on the main roster?

Two words: International appeal.

Vince McMahon is always looking to expand his business outside of North America, and that's why you see guys who are either legitimately from other countries or are billed as such getting a spot on TV. McMahon wants wrestling fans from those countries to tune in each week so that they can watch their hometown hero.

That's exactly what's happening with the new luchador era in the WWE.

The Hispanic viewing audience is a big target for the WWE, and Epico and Primo are from Puerto Rico while Hunico and Sin Cara are from Mexico.

Vince realizes that fans from those countries will be much more likely to tune into Raw or SmackDown if someone they can relate to is a big part of the show. If all those fans see is wrestlers from the United States and Canada, then they're probably not going to watch the WWE nearly as often.

1. More Tag Teams

We beg and clamor for it all the time: An improved tag team division.

We thought we were getting it with the formations of Air Boom and the Awesome Truth, and we even had a little faith in teams like the Usos getting a push as a top tag team.

But the WWE's tag team division is basically in the same spot it's been in over the last several years.

Enter Hunico, Primo and Epico.

Those three guys could easily form a tag team that allows any of the two to team up on any occasion, and that would provide an instant jolt to the tag division.

Also, with rumors that Averno could be coming into the WWE to form a tag team with Sin Cara, we could even be getting two tag teams out of the WWE's new luchador era.

I don't know about you, but that sure sounds great to me.