Los Conquistadores

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=Los Conquistadors
type=T


caption=The original Conquistadors
names=The Conquistadors
Conquistador #1 & #2
Los Conquistadors
Uno & Dos
members=Numerous wrestlers have portrayed
heights=N/A
weights=N/A
debut=1987
disbanded=On going appearances
promotions=WWF/E|

Los Conquistadores was the name of a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation, with the team consisting of two masked wrestlers known as "1" (or "Uno") and "2" (or "Dos"). The original team consisted of José Luis Rivera and José Estrada (Sr.), but several other wrestlers made use of the gimmick in 2000 and 2003. The original costume was golden spandex bodysuits and golden masks, but later teams have varied it to blue and gold Japanese-style wrestling masks with elaborate shoulder pads while still using the name.

History

The Originals

The original Conquistadors were a masked team consisting of José Luis Rivera and José Estrada (Sr.) two Puerto Rican wrestlers (but billed as Mexican wrestlers) who were used mainly to make other teams look good in the ring. The full golden bodysuits and masks meant the two were immediate attention grabbers, but as the losses piled up, it became clear they were not destined for greatness. The Conquistadors won so few matches that it was considered an upset if they beat mid-card teams such as The Killer Bees or The Rockers or even fellow “jobber team” The Young Stallions.

The sole highlight of the Conquistadors' 1980s stint was their first and only pay-per-view appearance, as part of the 10-team (20 man) elimination match at the Survivor Series 1988. The Conquistadors were the last team left on their side, but were only bit players in the double turn of The Powers of Pain and Demolition. The Conquistadors' remained in the ring for over 5 minutes while The Powers of Pain and Demolition battled outside the ring. The countout was in effect, eliminating previous teams from the match. However, the referee never counted out Demolition and Powers of Pain and prevented one of the biggest upsets in WWF history from occurring. The team spent the rest of 1988 and 1989 losing to established teams, except for a surprising victory over The Fabulous Rougeaus in Canada. In 1989, Conquistador #1 (Rivera) started to appear on his own as “The Conquistador” while #2 (Estrada) appeared only sporadically before both masked men left the WWF.

Revivals

2000

During 2000, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian feuded, competing in the first-ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC) match. The Hardy Boyz captured the WWF tag team championship in a steel cage match at Unforgiven. The next day on "Raw", Commissioner Mick Foley scheduled a Ladder match between the Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian for the tag belts, stating that it would be the last match between the teams. Edge and Christian lost, and Foley declared it was time for another team to challenge for the gold.

When Los Conquistadors made their “shocking return” weeks later, they didn't look physically like Rivera and Estrada but instead looked and acted more like Edge and Christian, a suspicion that was boosted by Los Conquistadors immediately targeting the Hardy Boyz in the hopes of getting a shot at the titles. On the October 16 "Raw", they beat The Dudley Boyz, and a few days later, they won a tag-team battle royal on "SmackDown!" to earn a title shot. After the match, Los Conquistadors were congratulated backstage by Edge and Christian. Since they were seen with Los Conquistadors, Edge and Christian claimed there was no way they could be Los Conquistadors, as people suspected.

Their title shot came at No Mercy, where they defeated the Hardys using tactics similar to those employed by Edge and Christian, especially when Conquistador Dos hit the Unprettier (Christian's finisher) for the win.cite book|title=The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire|last=Hardy|first=Jeff|coauthors=Hardy, Matt, and Krugman, Michael|publisher=WWE Books|date=2003|pages=160|isbn=978-0736821421] Backstage, Edge and Christian (who looked like they just came out of the showers) politely challenged Los Conquistadors for a title shot the next night. On "Raw", Edge looked confident as he made his way to the ring. Edge found Christian backstage seemingly put through a table. When asked, Christian replied he was attacked by the Dudley Boyz. So, Edge was left to fight the Los Conquistadors by himself. Edge was shocked when Los Conquistadors put up a fight and quickly defeated him. When Christian showed up at ringside, Los Conquistadors unmasked themselves, revealing themselves to be Matt and Jeff Hardy. They explained that they had attacked Edge and Christian's hired goons (Christopher Daniels and Aaron Aguilera, who had doubled for Los Conquistadors in backstage segments) backstage and stole the costumes.

As Edge and Christian complained, Commissioner Foley came to ringside and declared that Edge and Christian's title victory the previous night was official. At the same time, because the Hardy Boyz had just defeated the champions, he ruled they were now the tag team champions. After being outsmarted by the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian gave up the golden costumes of Los Conquistadors.

2003

On the July 17 2003 edition of "SmackDown!" Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore assumed the roles of Los Conquistadors in a match in which they were defeated by Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman. Unlike previous versions of Los Conquistadores, Conway and Eugene wore blue and gold masks with exposed mouths, similar to the mask of Último Dragón, along with blue shoulder pads.

On July 27 2003, another set of Conquistadors participated in the "APA Invitational Barroom Brawl Match" at Vengeance, where they were soundly beaten up by the APA. In this case, the men under the masks were Rob Conway and Johnny Jeter, who were both working in Ohio Valley Wrestling at the time.

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves
**Slingshot catapult, clothesline combination - José Luis Rivera & José Estrada
**Sidewalk slam (Uno), falling reverse DDT (Dos) combination - Edge & Christian
**Diving leg drop, diving splash combination - Matt & Jeff Hardy

Championships and accomplishments

*World Wrestling Federation
**WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) - Edge & Christian (1) and The Hardy Boyz (1)::Note: Both reigns count for the team portraying Los Conquistadores, not Los Conquistadores

References