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WWE: Looking back at the many highs and lows of Sin Cara’s career

By Graham GSM Matthews

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 25: Mexican American professional wrestler Sin Cara poses for pictures during the photocall to announce the WWE Lucha Dragons at Hacienda Los Morales on June 25, 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/LatinContent via Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 25: Mexican American professional wrestler Sin Cara poses for pictures during the photocall to announce the WWE Lucha Dragons at Hacienda Los Morales on June 25, 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/LatinContent via Getty Images) /
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Low: More injuries and rebranding

Rey Mysterio wasn’t the only masked phenomenon cursed with injuries, as Sin Cara suffered his fair share during his first two years in WWE. As noted, he missed time at time at the end of both 2011 and 2012, and in Aug. 2013, he dislocated his finger while wrestling Alberto Del Rio.

He quietly disappeared from WWE TV again after that and when we saw Sin Cara again, he was being portrayed by a different wrestler entirely: Hunico.

It was apparent from his height and shoulder tattoo that someone else was under the mask, all but confirming that Mistico’s time in WWE had come to an end.

It had been rumored for over two years that Mistico’s departure was inevitable, so WWE chose that opportunity to give the character a fresh coat of pain by having him beat Del Rio in shocking fashion on an episode of Raw that December.

The company still saw value in Sin Cara and decided to reboot the persona by giving him a short-lived singles push. His winning ways were cut short when he was defeated by Del Rio in early 2014, and it was back to mid-card purgatory for him after that.

By that point, it was painfully obvious that any chances of Sin Cara taking off on his own was gone. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being damaged goods and was better off helping elevate others.

High: The Lucha Dragons

Sin Cara worked so well with Rey Mysterio that it seemed only logical that WWE would give him another shot in the tag team ranks. He wrestled a few matches on NXT TV in the summer of 2014, which seemed strange at first considering he never had any ties to the black-and-gold brand.

However, once it was revealed he had formed an alliance with newcomer Kalisto, his presence on the show began to make much more sense.

The two had strong chemistry from the start and wasted no time in taking NXT’s stagnant tag team scene by storm.

Collectively known as The Lucha Dragons, the duo won a number one contender’s tournament before unseating The Ascension as NXT Tag Team champions at TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way.

Their reign was far from remarkable, but did serve as a bridge between The Ascension and later tandems such as Blake and Murphy and The Vaudevillians.

Shortly following their loss of the NXT Tag Team Championship, they made the move to the main roster and had a fun run for themselves there as well.

While The Lucha Dragons were never able to win the WWE Tag Team Championship during their time together, they did have one standout match with The New Day and The Usos at TLC 2015.

Another injury to Sin Cara in early 2016 paved the way for Kalisto to branch off into singles competition before they officially went their separate ways in the 2016 WWE Draft.

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