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Lucha Dragons

Lucha Dragons
Kalisto (front) and Sin Cara (back) in March 2015
Tag team
MembersKalisto
Sin Cara
Name(s)Lucha Dragons
Billed heightsKalisto:
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Sin Cara:
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Combined
billed weight		368 lb (167 kg)[2][1]
Billed fromMexico City
DebutJuly 24, 2014
DisbandedJuly 19, 2016
Years active2014–2016

The Lucha Dragons were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Kalisto and Sin Cara. They previously wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they were one-time NXT Tag Team Champions. Their name is a reference to their lucha libre style of wrestling. They won the NXT Tag Team Championship after defeating then champions The Ascension on September 11, 2014, at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way.[3]

History

[edit]

NXT Tag Team Champions (2014–2016)

[edit]

Jorge Arias reprised his Sin Cara character towards the end of 2013.[4] After a brief winning streak,[5] as 2014 progressed, Sin Cara was unsuccessful in winning four battle royals: the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX,[6] a battle royal for the United States Championship in May,[7] a Money in the Bank qualifying battle royal in June, and a battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground.[8][9]

Meanwhile, on the July 24 episode of NXT, after failing to win the NXT Tag Team Championship from The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) with his former partner El Local at NXT TakeOver on May 29,[10] Kalisto announced he and El Local had parted ways and revealed Sin Cara as his new partner.[11][12]

Over the next weeks, Kalisto and Sin Cara won a tournament to become the number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship.[13] On September 11 at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, Kalisto and Sin Cara, now billed together as "The Lucha Dragons", defeated The Ascension to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions, their first WWE professional wrestling championship.[3] They successfully defended their titles in a rematch against The Ascension two weeks later on the September 25 episode of NXT.[14]

They then began a rivalry with The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch),[15] which culminated in a title match at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in which The Lucha Dragons retained. [16] The Lucha Dragons lost the championship to Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake on the January 15, 2015 episode of NXT.[17] They then lost a rematch to Blake and Murphy at NXT TakeOver: Rival.[18] The duo then began to appear less frequently on NXT, losing a number one contenders tag-team match to Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady on the March 11 episode.[19] During this period, they also began to appear off-and-on on WWE's main roster show Main Event, winning matches against the likes of Curtis Axel and Heath Slater.[20] The Lucha Dragons made their return to NXT for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but lost to Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe in the first round.[20]

WWE Tag Team Championship pursuits (2015–2016)

[edit]
Kalisto performing the Salida del Sol on Viktor

The Lucha Dragons made their official main roster debut on the March 30, 2015 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania 31, in which they teamed with The New Day to defeat the team of The Ascension, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in an eight-man tag team match, with Kalisto scoring the pinfall.[21] On May 31, at Elimination Chamber, The Lucha Dragons competed in the first-ever tag team Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but failed to win.[22] The Lucha Dragons received another title shot on August 23 at SummerSlam in a fatal four-way tag team match, but were once again unsuccessful.[23]

In November, after Seth Rollins vacated the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to a legitimate injury, WWE held a tournament to determine a new champion and Kalisto started to wrestle in the singles competition as well.[24] After defeating Ryback in his first round match on the November 12 episode of SmackDown,[25] Kalisto was eliminated in the quarterfinals on the November 16 episode of Raw by Alberto Del Rio.[26] At Survivor Series on November 22, The Lucha Dragons teamed up with The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) and Ryback in a five-on-five elimination tag team match against The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) and Sheamus and King Barrett in a winning effort.[27] On December 13, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, The Lucha Dragons received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by The New Day in a triple threat ladder match, which also included The Usos.[28] The Lucha Dragons once again failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 22 episode of Super SmackDown Live!, where they were defeated by The New Day.[29]

After Sin Cara had been sidelined with a shoulder injury in late December 2015,[30] Kalisto defeated United States Champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match with John Cena in his corner on the January 7, 2016 episode of SmackDown.[31] On the January 11 episode of Raw, Kalisto defeated Del Rio to win the United States Championship, his first championship on the main roster and his first singles title in WWE.[32] He dropped the title back to Del Rio on the January 14 episode of SmackDown,[33] but won it back at Royal Rumble.[34] On the Fastlane pre-show, Kalisto defeated Del Rio in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the title.[35] Kalisto defeated Ryback to defend his United States Championship at the WrestleMania 32 pre-show,[36] whereas Sin Cara competed in a seven-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship at the time held by Kevin Owens.[37] On the April 11 episode of Raw, The Lucha Dragons entered a tournament to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were eliminated in the first round by The Dudley Boyz.[38] Kalisto then rekindled his rivalry with Ryback,[39] and eventually defeated him once again on May 1 at the Payback pre-show to retain the title.[40] On May 22 at Extreme Rules, Kalisto lost the title to Rusev[41] and failed to regain the title in a rematch against Rusev on the May 26 episode of SmackDown.[42] On the Money in the Bank pre-show, The Lucha Dragons defeated The Dudley Boyz. On July 19, Kalisto and Sin Cara announced that they mutually disbanded as a tag team and would enter the 2016 WWE draft as singles competitors.[43]

Championships and accomplishments

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See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Kalisto's WWE bio". WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Sin Cara's WWE bio". WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (September 11, 2014). "WWE NXT Takeover live results: Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "Raw news: Contract signing, Punk-Hunter follow-up, Bryan "kidnapping" follow-up, Barrett & Sin Cara return, Henry & Langston, Miz & Kofi, Slammys, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE SmackDown results - 12/20/13 (3-ON-2 handicap)". WrestleView. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Andre the Giant memorial battle royal". Wrestleview. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  7. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 5/5: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – PPV fall-out, U.S. Title battle royal, IC Title re-match, Shield vs. Wyatts, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  8. ^ Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Raw results – 6/16/14 (Stretcher match main event)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  9. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Battleground PPV report 7/20: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV – Cena defends WWE Title, IC Title battle royal, Usos vs. Wyatts Tag Title match, more". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  10. ^ "James' WWE NXT TakeOver report 5/29: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live special on WWE Network". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  11. ^ Namako, Jason (July 17, 2014). "WWE NXT Results – 7/17/14 (Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn)". Wrestleview. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  12. ^ James, Justin (July 25, 2014). "James's WWE NXT report 7/24 – Week 108: Charlotte defends NXT Women's Title, Rusev faces NXT Champ; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  13. ^ Trionfo, Richard (July 31, 2014). "Complete NXT spoilers from Full Sail leading into Takeover". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  14. ^ Twiss, Andrew (September 13, 2014). "The former Kenta makes his official in-ring debut and more: WWE NXT TV spoilers from Full Sail Live". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  15. ^ Howell, Nolan (October 30, 2014). "NXT: Zayn topples Titus in rematch". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  16. ^ James, Caldwell. "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover results 12/11: Complete virtual-time coverage of Neville vs. Zayn for the NXT Title, Itami & Balor, Charlotte, Kevin Steen/Owens's debut, Corey Graves retires". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  17. ^ James, Justin. "WWE NXT Report 1/28 - Week 137: Zayn-Owens contract signing for "Takeover," #1 contender tourney continues, Emma returns, Charlotte in tag action; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  18. ^ Parry, Josh (January 15, 2015). "NXT news: Next live special announced, full spoiler Results from Thursday's NXT TV tapings". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  19. ^ Hurley, Callum (March 11, 2015). "WWE NXT Results – March 11, 2015". pwmania.com. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  20. ^ a b Prentice, Matt (February 18, 2015). "WWE news: SD TV taping spoilers - Main Event results, Dark matches, NXT tag team, crowd size, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  21. ^ Caldwell, James (March 30, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 3/30: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - WM31 fall-out, Lesnar seeks & destroys, WWE Title match teased, Sting on WWE Network". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  22. ^ Caldwell, James (May 31, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE E. Chamber PPV report 5/31: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of WWE Title match, Cena vs. Owens, two Elimination Chamber matches, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  23. ^ Plummer, Dale; Tylwalk, Nick (August 24, 2015). "SummerSlam 2015 takes flight in Brooklyn but doesn't quite stick the landing". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  24. ^ Alvarez, Bryan (November 5, 2015). "Seth Rollins out 6-9 months with knee injury". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  25. ^ Plummer, Dale (November 12, 2015). "Smackdown!: The World Heavyweight Title Tournaments wraps up round one across the pond". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  26. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (November 16, 2015). "Raw: The title tournament finds its final four in Greenville". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  27. ^ Caldwell, James. "11/22 Survivor Series Results – Caldwell's Complete PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  28. ^ Meltzer, Dave (December 13, 2015). "WWE TLC 2015 live results: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  29. ^ Plummer, Dave (December 23, 2015). "Smackdown!: Live Super shows delivers two title matches for the holidays". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  30. ^ Parks, Greg (December 31, 2015). "12/31 WWE Smackdown: Parks's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  31. ^ Plummer, Dave (January 7, 2016). "Smackdown!:Two title matches headline Smackdown's move to USA Network". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  32. ^ Tedesco, Mike (January 11, 2016). "WWE Raw Results - 1/11/16 (Brock Lesnar returns)". Wrestleview. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  33. ^ "WWE Smackdown spoilers: Last Man Standing match booked for Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  34. ^ Caldwell, James. "1/24 WWE Royal Rumble PPV Results – Caldwell'S Complete Live PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  35. ^ Johnson, Mike (February 21, 2016). "Complete WWE Fast Lane PPV Coverage". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  36. ^ Caldwell, James (April 3, 2016). "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Pre-Show Results – Caldwell's Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  37. ^ Caldwell, James. "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report on Main PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  38. ^ Caldwell, James (April 11, 2016). "4/11 WWE Raw Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  39. ^ Caldwell, James (April 25, 2016). "Payback Line-up Sunday – McMahon Family Decision, U.S. Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  40. ^ Meltzer, Dave (May 1, 2016). "WWE Payback live results: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles; Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  41. ^ Caldwell, James (May 22, 2016). "5/22 WWE Extreme Rules PPV Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  42. ^ Parks, Greg (May 27, 2016). "5/26 WWE Smackdown Results – Parks's Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  43. ^ Johnson, Mike (July 18, 2016). "WWE tag team done". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  44. ^ a b "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  45. ^ "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  46. ^ "WWE United States Championship". WWE. Retrieved 16 February 2020.