Conquistadors were they ever taken seriously?

[Zen411]

I was just getting into wrestling at the time so I didn't follow week to week. I was surprised conquistadors were at the end of the survivor series match where Fuji turned on demolition. Were they ever a legit team or always a joke?

[Sir Woodrow]

The Incans took them very seriously

[Joe Neglia]

Never. They were introduced in November 1987 and were immediately jobbing for mid-card tag teams like Killer Bees in every match. They had no real gimmicks beyond the suit, no entrance, no promos, nothing. They'd get wins over other jobbers on occasion, but we're talking Omar Atlas and Brady Boone. They got a win over the Bees in February of 88 due to Earl Hebner working a whole show as a heel (it's listed as Earl, at least, might be Dave, but it was to help put over the evil twin Heb angle), but otherwise, they were just there to take pins.

[Mozenrath]

Well, they won the tag titles! With some mighty asterisks.

[The Heenan Family]

I think Prichard said the Conquistadors at Survivor Series 88 were Jose Estrada and Johnny Rodz. Rodz surprised me because it's usually Jose Luis Rivera. I don't know if he screwed up or if Rivera was injured. Apparently not long after that the team disbanded so maybe it was a contractual thing.

[BlackoutCreature]

Dec 23, 2018 21:49:52 GMT -5 The Heenan Family said:

I think Prichard said the Conquistadors at Survivor Series 88 were Jose Estrada and Johnny Rodz. Rodz surprised me because it's usually Jose Luis Rivera. I don't know if he screwed up or if Rivera was injured. Apparently not long after that the team disbanded so maybe it was a contractual thing.

According to Wikipedia Johnny Rodz last match for the WWF was in 1985. Wikipedia could be wrong, but I think it's more likely that Prichard just screwed up the name.

[Joe Neglia]

I've never been real sure what happened at the end there. For a brief time, both were still in the company, but while one remained a (solo) Conquistador, the other was working as a babyface jobber under his real name. I read something on Wikipedia or thehistoryofwwe.com, I forget, that implied there was some sort of in-ring break-up of the team, with one turning face, but I've yet to see conclusive evidence of this.
Regardless, they could very well have split in a way that made them incapable of working together legit at an earlier point in time and Rodz was recruited to get the advertised team through a show(s).

[cabbageboy]

They were a fun team though regardless of their jobber status. I recall some L.A. show on the old 24/7 service where they wrestled The Rockers and it was a really enjoyable match. The same show had the Blue Blazer vs. Barry Horowitz and that too was a terrific match. That's one area where the WWF had it all over every other promotion, namely having jobbers that could have been pushed commodities elsewhere. In fact in some cases guys like Iron Mike Sharpe were in fact pushed elsewhere.

[horsemen4ever]

They won a match. I saw them beat Terry Taylor and some other guy (Sam Houstan maybe?) anyway it lead to Taylor becoming the Red Roaster.

[wildojinx]

Well, they did do a commercial for the Ice Cream Bars:

[Joe Neglia]

Dec 23, 2018 23:18:36 GMT -5 horsemen4ever said:

They won a match. I saw them beat Terry Taylor and some other guy (Sam Houstan maybe?) anyway it lead to Taylor becoming the Red Roaster.

It was Taylor's TV debut (and heel turn). It was months into their run and done strictly for the heel turn. They weren't winning matches on either side of that match.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5avTZ-PFMdA

[Deleted]

Estrada & Rodz were a different masked team, the Medicos in Puerto Rico.

You'd see them every once in a while on WWF matches from the arena shows. (As themselves, not under masks.) They were like the last stop before the babyface team got to face the heel champions.

[A Platypus Rave]

nah, they were the masked jobbers.

That was their entire purpose.

[Mozenrath]

I kinda wish they'd bring the gimmick back out, it's been long enough.

[Deleted]

Dec 24, 2018 0:55:54 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I kinda wish they'd bring the gimmick back out, it's been long enough.

I mean, Angle just did it like two months ago.

[Mozenrath]

Dec 24, 2018 4:59:19 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

Dec 24, 2018 0:55:54 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I kinda wish they'd bring the gimmick back out, it's been long enough.

I mean, Angle just did it like two months ago.

It crossed my mind, but I was meaning more like, the jobber tag team, not a Calgary Kid type ruse. Dusting off recognizable but "local" jobbers, probably NXT people ready for TV but not quite, to give teams a couple of wins here and there.

[A Platypus Rave]

Dec 24, 2018 12:57:30 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Dec 24, 2018 4:59:19 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

I mean, Angle just did it like two months ago.

It crossed my mind, but I was meaning more like, the jobber tag team, not a Calgary Kid type ruse. Dusting off recognizable but "local" jobbers, probably NXT people ready for TV but not quite, to give teams a couple of wins here and there.

<_<
Chris Daniels can return to his most famous gimmick!

[Squirrel Master]

I used to mark for the masked teams like The Killer Bees, The Conquistadors and especially The Ding Dongs.

Theres not enough shenanigans in tag team wrestling these days.