Representation matters across all industries, and for former WWE star Sin Cara, having reggaeton star Bad Bunny as the only Latino draw at this year’s WrestleMania wasn’t nearly enough.
The Mexican wrestler, who now fights in the independent circuit in Mexico under the name Cinta de Oro, recently talked about the lack of Latinos in the WWE with Inside the Ropes. He also said that those Latinos who are added to the roster at some point, aren’t given the same opportunities as other wrestlers.
The lack of respect, he says, culminated into the WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, which, for its 37th iteration, featured no Latino professional wrestlers performing.
“You know, the main Latino star at WrestleMania was Bad Bunny – and he’s not even a wrestler,” the El Paso-born wrestler says. “Great for him, right? You know, he did an amazing job and that was awesome but if I was a performer, if I was a wrestler, a Mexican wrestler, a Latino wrestler and I’m not there, then I would have been upset, really upset about it, because I’ve been there, I’ve been busting my butt, I’ve been doing everything to make sure that I get an opportunity and then you don’t get it…It’s tough, man, it’s tough.”
When asked about the WWE’s plans to recruit more wrestlers out of Mexico, Cinta de Oro agreed with former WWE star Andrade that the move wouldn’t make sense if the new Mexican talent were just going to “[sit] in the locker room.” Last month, Andrade requested that the WWE release him from his contract.
“Now [the WWE is] saying that they want to go to Mexico and get more talent – for what?” Cinta de Oro says.
“Sitting in catering? Doing the same thing? Putting us on the side – just because you can pay us, you want to keep us not achieving our dreams? That’s why [Andrade] left. That was the main thing.”