El Gran Luchadore
Encyclopedia
El Gran Luchadore is the name of a masked Mexican professional wrestling
character in World Wrestling Entertainment
, seen on its SmackDown! brand in 2004. El Gran Luchadore (loosely translated from Spanish
to "The Great Fighter/Wrestler," "Luchadore" is also an incorrect spelling, luchador is the correct spelling) was mainly used as a jobber gimmick to put over other wrestlers.
The first WWE superstar to wrestle as the El Gran Luchadore was Paul London
on April 22, 2004 in a squash match against John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), Paul Heyman
convinced Bradshaw to accept a match with the "Mexican Heavyweight Champion" after hearing that El Gran Luchadore punked out Bradshaw at an airport.
Next up was Shannon Moore
on July 8, 2004, billed as the "champion of Mexico
", would face WWE Champion
JBL in a champion vs. champion match (no titles on the line). A second squash match for JBL took an unexpected turn when El Gran Luchadore pulled a switcharoo with Eddie Guerrero
(in El Gran's costume) who came back fighting. When JBL finally clued that it was Guerrero, he ran away from the ring getting counted out in the process, allowing El Gran Luchadore to pick up his first victory.
The next appearance of El Gran Luchadore was on July 15, 2004 edition of SmackDown!. During a Steel Cage between Guerrero and JBL which saw both men sat on top of the Cage, exchanging punches until El Gran Luchadore ran down and climbed into the cage. This El Gran Luchadore held Eddie Guerrero's leg, allowing Bradshaw to climb down the side of the cage to win. After the match El Gran Luchadore tried to get out of the locked door, but then decided to climb out the way he came in. Eddie Guerrero got to his feet and climbed up the cage struggling to get him back into the cage. Luchadore was able to get away, but in the struggle Guerrero pulled the mask off of him, revealing him to be the supposedly injured Kurt Angle
.
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
character in World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, seen on its SmackDown! brand in 2004. El Gran Luchadore (loosely translated from Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
to "The Great Fighter/Wrestler," "Luchadore" is also an incorrect spelling, luchador is the correct spelling) was mainly used as a jobber gimmick to put over other wrestlers.
The first WWE superstar to wrestle as the El Gran Luchadore was Paul London
Paul London
Paul Michael London is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
on April 22, 2004 in a squash match against John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
convinced Bradshaw to accept a match with the "Mexican Heavyweight Champion" after hearing that El Gran Luchadore punked out Bradshaw at an airport.
Next up was Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
on July 8, 2004, billed as the "champion of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
", would face WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
JBL in a champion vs. champion match (no titles on the line). A second squash match for JBL took an unexpected turn when El Gran Luchadore pulled a switcharoo with Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
(in El Gran's costume) who came back fighting. When JBL finally clued that it was Guerrero, he ran away from the ring getting counted out in the process, allowing El Gran Luchadore to pick up his first victory.
The next appearance of El Gran Luchadore was on July 15, 2004 edition of SmackDown!. During a Steel Cage between Guerrero and JBL which saw both men sat on top of the Cage, exchanging punches until El Gran Luchadore ran down and climbed into the cage. This El Gran Luchadore held Eddie Guerrero's leg, allowing Bradshaw to climb down the side of the cage to win. After the match El Gran Luchadore tried to get out of the locked door, but then decided to climb out the way he came in. Eddie Guerrero got to his feet and climbed up the cage struggling to get him back into the cage. Luchadore was able to get away, but in the struggle Guerrero pulled the mask off of him, revealing him to be the supposedly injured Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
.
See also
- Los ConquistadoresLos Conquistadores (professional wrestling)Los Conquistadores was the name of a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation, with the team consisting of two masked wrestlers known as 1 and 2 . The original team consisted of José Luis Rivera and José Estrada , but several other wrestlers made use of the gimmick in...