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Former WWE Superstar Epico had a lengthy run with WWE. Debuting in 2010, Epico's WWE career lasted 10 years before he was released by the promotion in 2020.
For the majority of his career, Epico teamed up with his cousin Primo in a variety of gimmicks. Such gimmicks included Puerto Rican timeshare salesmen, bullfighters and much more. Epico is a former WWE Tag Team Champion, winning the titles with his cousin in 2012.
Epico recently sat down with Sportskeeda's Dr. Chris Featherstone for another episode of UnSKripted to discuss a variety of topics in the world of professional wrestling.
Let's take a closer look at 5 things we learned from Epico Sportskeeda interview.
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#5 The story behind how the Los Matadores gimmick was created in WWE
One of Primo and Epico's most famous gimmicks during their run in WWE was as Los Matadores. Primo and Epico would be rebranded as Diego and Fernando, portraying bullfighters. The team would also have a mascot, dressed as a bull, known as El Torito.
When asked about the origins of the Los Matadores gimmick, Epico revealed that it was originally their idea, but it turned out to be something very, very different:
"The matador gimmick was actually, it was kind of our idea. The original idea was for us to put some masks on. We wanted to replicate the Conquistadores, from the 90s, Edge and Christian and before them Estrada and Jose Luis Rivera, two fellow Puerto Ricans. So, we wanted to do something like that, similar. So we could wrestle with Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio, who at the time weren't doing much. So one day at TV we were talking and we asked Rey and Sin Cara "hey man, would you guys like to do a program with us man, and maybe do a mask vs mask match where obviously you would win and then down the road, everyone knows it's Primo & Epico, then we put our hair on the line and you guys can shave our head." They liked the idea, i liked it because it doesn't matter who wins or loses, it's how you perform, how you get it over. It would give us good exposure, a couple of pay per view matches to get our stock up again. "
Despite initially pitching to be masked heels, Epico and Primo were told that plans had changed. Instead of heels, WWE had decided they were now going to be babyfaces with a mascot, which was to be a little bull:
"When we took this to Vince, we went directly to the head, we went directly to Vince, he was always good to us and respected us, gave us the time when we knocked on his door. He loved the idea, he loved the concept, he wanted to go for it, we even flew on the private jet just to meet with him. Me, Primo and Torito. But then, plans changed instead of being heels, they told us we were going to be babyfaces and we were going to have a mascot. A little bull. So, we were like, "Ah, there goes that ok, i see it's not looking well"
#4 Epico's thoughts on Andrade's WWE release
Former WWE United States Champion Andrade was recently released from his WWE contract. Andrade had previously requested his release from WWE, which was initially denied.
However, this past weekend, WWE announced the departure of the former NXT Champion from the company. When asked about his thoughts on Andrade's WWE departure, Epico revealed that Andrade is a close friend of his:
"He's a really good friend of mine, we've always stayed in touch. Even after i was let go, he was one of the first ones to call me, to make sure i was ok. I said "yeah fine, i knew this day was coming." We know when we sign this contract, there's an end date on it. Sooner or later it's going to come. Yeah, i was about a month out from fufilling my term, my contract, so i'm pretty happy with my stay there, 10 years."
Epico also revealed that he had recently spoken to Andrade since his release and that he considers the former NXT Champion to be one of the best wrestlers in the world today:
"I'm happy for him, he's put his time there, he's put his time outside of WWE. He deserves a better spot and now doing his own thing nobody can cut his wings off, he can go fly high and do what he knows what to do best. Right now, he's one of the best in the world, second to none. On top of that he's one of my good friends, i was just talking to him today, cracking some jokes and just talking about his future and the future looks bright for him."
#3 Epico's dream opponent is WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero
WWE dream matches between past and present superstars are often debated by fans in the WWE Universe. Every professional wrestler also has their dream opponent that they wished they were able to face off against. Epico is no different in that regard.
When asked who his dream opponent would be, the former WWE Tag Team Champion revealed that a WWE Hall of Famer was his dream opponent:
"My dream opponent has always been Eddie Guerrero. Maybe one day in heaven we can lock up"
When asked if there was an active professional wrestler that he would like to face off against, Epico stated there were friends of his that he hoped to square off against one day. Former WWE Superstars such as former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio, Sin Cara and the recently released Andrade were all listed as names that Epico hopes to face in the future:
"I would love to wrestle Alberto Del Rio, who's a good friend of mine. Sin Cara, which I got coming up in Puerto Rico, that should be a great one. I've never locked horns with Andrade, I would love to do one with him. Those three are the top of my head right now because, number one, they're close friends of mine and secondly I consider them [as] top 3 [or] top 5 in the wrestling industry overall."
#2 Pitching to bring Carlito back to WWE and canceled plans to be the 'Puerto Rican Playboys'
Primo and Epico had several WWE gimmicks during their careers. After being a bullfighting tag team known as Los Matadores for several years, the tag team was repackaged in 2016 as Puerto Rican timeshare salesmen, known as The Shining Stars.
However, Epico revealed that Primo and himself had initially pitched a completely different gimmick to WWE, which involved the return of Carlito to WWE. But, the idea ultimately fell through when a return between Carlito and WWE could not be worked out:
"The gimmick was what it was. If i told you the gimmick that we were really going to debut. We pitched this idea to bring Carlito back, as good old Carlito. We pitched some vignettes for him where we show him in a yought in Miami. Where it doesnt show it's him, you just see girls in the yought and talking to this one dude with an apple and then you would be like "oh who the hell is that," and then you see me and Primo talking to somebody [and] you just see his hands, no apple. Then at the same time at RAW and SmackDown, you start seeing people laid out in the back and then security cam[era] footage would show guys in hoodies just walking out, you don't even show us beating them just as the damage was already done. Then you start putting two and two together, then we go to a club [and] have a meeting with him and we had some cool stuff and Vince was liking it. So, [we] were like "let's call Carlito." We started that process and it never happened. I don't know [why], something with money. It was a big miscommunication there. So i don't know what happened."
After the gimmick with Carlito fell through, Epico revealed another gimmick that was pitched to both Primo and himself by WWE officials. Shockingly, it involved the tag team being repackaged into a team known as the 'Puerto Rican Playboys.' The gimmick involved them being the "Puerto Rican version of Hugh Hefner" in WWE, wearing gold robes and singlets:
"We're going to go forward with you two. We're like, "Alright, what's the plan?" "Urgh, we'll get back at you." Then, the gear lady then calls me [and says] "hey you need to come over, we need to measure you for some gear." Then, when i see the gear, it was gold tights with a singlet and a Hugh Hefner robe [which was] gold and black. I go, "What the hell is this for?" and they go "can you guys order gold boots?" and then the following week they go "yeah you guys are going to be called the 'Peurto Rican Playboys', you're going to be the Puerto Rican version of Hugh Hefner. We were like, "Are you serious? You sure you want to do this?" We took some pictures, and Primo said "man, this is brutal".
Fortunately for both Epico and Primo, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon canceled the idea as he was not a fan of the new gimmick:
"Luckily Vince didn't like it at the end. The day we were going to debut it, he was like, "Ah, come back to me next week, we'll do something different"
#1 Epico's opinion on Bad Bunny being featured on WWE television and WrestleMania 37
WWE announced this week on Monday Night RAW that rapper Bad Bunny will face off against The Miz at WrestleMania 37. The match will mark Bad Bunny's in-ring WWE debut.
The rap star has become a regular fixture on WWE television since the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January, being paired up with Damian Priest and feuding with The Miz and John Morrison.
When asked to give his opinion on Bad Bunny's involvement in WWE and WrestleMania 37, Epico revealed that he thought it was great for business. The former WWE Tag Team Champion stated that Bad Bunny's involvement brings a lot of new viewers to the product, which is what WWE wants:
"That's great, that's great for the business man. People might hate me for saying this, but you need eyes that are not your regular viewers. You need viewers, other viewers that don't watch wrestling. That's what WWE is looking for. It's been done for decades and decades. That's what wrestling does. You have to grow the business to a certain level. So, now you're here, what do i have to do to get to this level? Well, you need a superstar, a megastar. Who is the hottest singer right now? Bad Bunny. Everywhere Bad Bunny goes, there's a lot of eyes following this kid. He's a good kid, i wont be suprised if he steals the show. He's one of us, he's passionate about wrestling."
