During the early 90s, there was this feud that WWE missed out on by about two years. In 1991, former two-time Intercontinental and Tag Team champion Tito Santana returned to WWE. This should’ve been the right time for a high caliber wrestler such as Santana to thrive as himself.
With Bret getting his shine and HBK rapidly on the rise, Tito Santana could’ve been a name in the tag ranks and a threat to the IC title. WWE probably could’ve given him a modern gimmick for the times. Instead, Santana became El Matador.
This gimmick was just right for WWE at this time. The company was on brand creatively.
El Matador vs. Mantaur: WWE’s David vs. Goliath
So, you have this talented wrestler dressed as a bullfighter because why wouldn’t a bullfighter be in WWE? We’ve got dead men, morticians, a convict, clowns, three police officers, a thief, two giants, and a tax preparer. Why not a matador?
Tito Santana did this role for almost two years before leaving for the northeastern indies. In January 1995, the Mantaur arrives in WWE. Now, this was kind of weird because the company was just starting to move away from the really outlandish gimmicks. They were still being presented on TV but WWE just wasn’t jumping at odd characters regularly.
But here was Mantaur, half-man and half-bull. I don’t know why they just didn’t call him Minotaur…or Manimal. He had a little steam coming in and Corny as a manager. Before the year was out, his push slowed to nil and he was released.
A Missed Undercard Feud
I always felt that WWE could’ve brought Tito Santana back with “El Matador” as a nickname and not the whole gimmick—because it’s 1995 and we’re done with that—and had him feud with Mantaur. Would he have been the Mantaur killer? That’s the reason for bringing him back. Ultimately, Sid ended up being the matador and putting Mantaur away.
Tito vs. Mantaur wasn’t going to main event WrestleMania or RAW. There was never going to be an In Your House 3: Bulls On Parade or anything. This would’ve just been an ongoing feud mostly on the B-shows with probably a tag bout on RAW before ending as the opener to an In Your House.
Still, the feud was there and WWE ran feuds that were larger wastes of time—such as the gang war in 1997 with Los Boricuas, Disciples of Apocalypse, and the Nation of Domination.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
