Tito Santana

"Tito was a solid, reliable, fun to watch wrestler. I always viewed him as the ultimate gentleman and competitor. Great athlete and always good for an entertaining match. The promo skills didn't have to be great to make him great at the time. And an awesome tag team wrestler too."

[7.0] "good workhorse babyface that can create some good highlights that stood out in an era where that is few."

[8.0] "Great fiery babyface who earned two reigns with both the WWF Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships across different eras of the company, as well as winning one of the lesser-known pre-PPV King of the Ring tournaments, and lastly, a Hall of Fame induction. Lots to enjoy about Tito's performances, and you have to think there were missed opportunities in his career somewhere but he did great and I'm a big fan. It's certainly a fun bonus that he held the ECW Championship for a time). Prior to the WWF, he was an NWA Western States Tag Team Champion with Ted DiBiase and won the bizarre Gold Cup Tournament (1981), it would have been interesting to see what might have happened in his career if he'd taken a break from the WWF to go back to places like AWA, JCP, NWA, CWF, Japan, etc, versus being kind of a runner-up or even enhancement after Strike Force. I certainly saw potential in late 80s babyface Tito to be a player. In middle age (and beyond), he also had success on the independents, renewing hostilities with old foes in title fights with Terry Funk, Don Muraco, Bill DeMott, Greg Valentine, Vladimir Koloff, Bob Orton Jr., King Kong Bundy, The Honky Tonk Man, Smash, Axe, and among others. He continued to wrestle deep into his 60s (his latest listed match in 2022), and from what I've seen, he has been able to perform pretty adequately for the types of shows he was on (these weren't PWG / HOG / Beyond / ACTION type cards). P.S pretty cool that he was secretly the first man to pin The Undertaker."

[7.0] "Started off as a top tier jobber, with the ability to make literally anyone look good against him. Stuck around long enough to evolve into a very good babyface in his own right, and always delivered a solid in-ring performance. Lack of presence on the mic let him down."

[6.0] "A good white meat babyface. His resume is not that strong on great matches but that is really down to the era and company he worked in. He was dependable hand although he does get a little over rated these days compared to what he actually brough to the table."

[9.0] "Definitely a trailblazer in the WWE/WWF. While his promos weren't great, he was pretty good in the ring and a hard-worker. Perfectly did well in his role, however I think he should've became WWE champion."

[8.0] "Great worker. He always played the face role so well in the ring. His in-ring style still looks good today. Had good charisma and decent mic skills. He had good matches with bad wrestlers in his era. Never was going to be a huge star in top promotions but very good mid card star."

[7.0] "A solid mid card baby face and he was perfect for the IC divions. Tito was like Steamboat, he could never be anything but a baby face. Also one of the few guys not to let the biz destroy his personal life and was able to transition into a role as a school teacher post full time in ring career. Santana never fell into that 1980's rock star trap that ruined a lot of wrestlers lives, so kudos!"

[8.0] "Great wrestler. Its a joy to watch his matches. But he got caught in the middle of other gimmicks. One generation earlier he would have been a top ten wrestler in any promotion."

[9.0] "He may be my favorite babyface wrestler of all-time. It broke my heart to learn that he was the second choice behind Bret Hart for a world title run in 1992, because I think he would've been a fantastic champion and would have provided great matches, just as Bret did. I liked him best as part of Strike Force with Rick Martel, but their breakup feud seemed to never get an ending. Santana was one of the greats."

[7.0] "An absolute victim of bad timing and lukewarm skills away from the ring. Was already aging out and losing his lustre when the WWE really started picking up steam. Tremendous in the ring and a star maker. Just couldn't get any shine on himself."

[9.0] "One of the best babyface wrestlers of all time, who had the ability to make anyone look like a million dollars. Tito was never a main event guy, but he was someone you could trust to elevate a promising character to the next level. The only reason I'm not giving him a 10 is his lack of promo skills, because Tito Santana was an outstanding babyface in every other way."

[9.0] "A childhood favorite that has stood the test of time! Tito was one of Vince's not so secret weapons, he was an absolutely excellent (near flawless) worker for the whole decade of 83 to 93 and elevated the WWF while there. While he could work a solid match with anyone, he had over the top chemistry with Greg Valentine, Don Muraco, Paul Orndorff & Curt Hennig. Tito could bring out the best in a heel that otherwise had a significantly difficult time with making things work after the bell rang (Papa Shango immediately springs to mind). Others have touched on the fact that Tito was a proven star maker, sometimes it takes a great heel to make a face - Tito Santana is a perfect example of when it takes a great face to make a heel (watch his work with Shawn Michaels when some still wanted to cheer for the ex-Rocker). At worst he was "just another body", but usually made the most of even those moments; see his work with giants like Earthquake and monsters like The Barbarian. Tito was also an endurance man, so expect loads of "broadways", but fear not - you'll almost always get to see The Flying Jalapeno/El Paso Dela Muerte. I'm not sure what things seem like to others retrospectively, but rest assured any "lack of mic skills" did not matter - he was OVER. and on some personal notes: man was I pissed at Rick Martel for ditching MY GUY as a kid. I mean, it was almost ok because it was Arn n Tully - but everyone did great work that night and i was drawn in like the mark I want to be. While i love Arn n Tully, that night proved I cared about Tito more (no small feat! ). Unfortunately the latter era of his career was rather mediocre - but as mentioned, he certainly left his mark on MANY careers, even when he was considerably further down the card than in the 80's."

[9.0] "The most criminally underrated and underappreciated wrestler ever. Tito wasn't the guy to win a World Title, but he was a perfect midcard wrestler who could really do no wrong. You gave him an opponent to carry a good match of, he can do it. You gave him a monster heel to squash him, he can make said heel look 10x better. Absolutely outstanding talent that doesn't get enough recognition today."

[7.0] "Tito was a solid midcarder during the Rock 'n' Wrestling Era. He was good in the ring & had some memorable spots. To this day, whenever I see someone do a flying forearm, I still think of it as a Flying Burrito."

[9.0] "Super underrated. The midcard, talent-making, reliable star of the 80s/90s. Having great matches against a variety of differingly talented opponent - always putting on great matches and making them look good. HBK, Barbarian, Funks, Demolition, Rougeau, Hercules and many more all look great. Also a top star when the IC belt was treated as more of a secondary top belt, where he aided the division for years! Truly a legend."

[9.0] "Gran luchador. Subestimado, mereció mucho más. Técnica, carisma y credibilidad en los movimientos lo hacen merecedor de ser uno de los mejores de la historia. Top 100."

[6.0] "Just so so. Was okay as intercontinental champion. Tag team with Martel was unremarkable and surprising that they held the belt for so long. After splitting from Martel was just a typical opening match guy."

[8.0] "Tito in his prime could've been considered one of the best wrestlers in the world. Easily one of the most popular wrestlers of the early to even late 80s. Just a shame WWE doesn't like to acknowledge anyone pre 85 besides Bruno because Tito, in my opinion, is a bona-fide legend. Classic matches with Valentine and Muraco. Hugely popular with the Latino crowd, and this is a fact, a good draw whenever asked to main event MSG. Tito #1"

[7.0] "Tito Santana seemingly couldn't get a break. He competed at the first eight WrestleMania's and won one match. He went from a legit over babyface to a jobber, which is a huge shame because he is actually very good in ring. For his time, we was one of the most exciting guys to watch. His matches against Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage prove that but during his 13 year WWE career he was never given the proper stage in which to show that."

[10.0] "Great wrestler. I don't know much about him or grew up with him, neither. But his work is great. He was a mid-carded mostly in his career and an Intercontinental title veteran. He is just one of those wrestlers who will always be a babyface never a heel just like Ricky Steamboat. His feuds with Don Muraco and Greg Valentine were the peak of his career. His El Matador gimmick I was not a fan of. That made him a jobber which was sad to see in his career."

[7.0] "Tito Santana was a good worker, a good hand in the ring, and a very good babyface. With a little more charisma and fire, I think he would have had a better run and possibly avoided being relegated to jobber status."

[7.0] "He never seemed to really hit the "big time" but was always a pretty solid midcarder. I liked him as a solo performer and his tag-team matches with Rick Martel."

[9.0] "super firery babyface comback... tons of 4 star type matches... just missed the real boom of tv as he had just peaked as a performer in the early 1980s... but then was part of a great tagteam run with martel. the matador gimmick seamed to kill santanas passion for wrestling and his career fizzled to a forgettable end but for a decade santana was a constant top 10 guy in wwf"

[8.0] "A very solid hand in the ring, he could make any opponent he was against look like a million dollars. Arguably the second most over face in the WWE in the mid 80s, he had two very successful Intercontinental title runs, having a great series against Greg Valentine as well as Randy Savage. He was also a fun to watch tag team wrestler in Strike Force along with Rick Martel and once they broke up, they were also able to put on some really good matches too. He more than held his own against Mr Perfect in an IC Title decider in the early 90s before putting over guys like Warlord and Barbarian (which were fun matches too). El Matador was mostly forgettable (besides maybe the Wrestlemania match against Michaels), however he remains throughout his time in the WWE as one of the more talented, under rated wrestlers."

[5.0] "Ah poor Chico Santana. A competent in-ring performer, so-so charisma, he toiled pointlessly in WWF's midcard for a surprising amount of years, when one would have expected him to try out WCW (who would put a belt on anyone) for even one year. Puzzling loyalty to Vince considering the shitty gimmicks and matches he booked Chico into. Seriously, name one interesting Tito Santana match ever. That didn't involve Rick Martel. Yeah I thought so."

[8.0] "Tito's speed-based offense set him apart in the '80s WWF scene, and he always played a great babyface. While he never quite made it to the main event, he still made a fine career for himself both as a single and tag team wrestler (in the latter case, most notably as part of Strike Force with Rick Martel). He picked up two reigns each as Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion, got a win in the first-ever WrestleMania match, and even held the ECW World Title in its Eastern Championship Wrestling days. Incredibly, at age 62 he still makes regular appearances on the indy scene, and still has enough of his old speed left to avoid looking like just another nostalgia act."

[9.0] "A 6. 91 is shocking for a legend like Chico (as he was described by Jesse Ventura back in the day) a great intercontinental champ and WWF Tagteam champ he was a solid worker back in the day not quite WWF world champion material but if crud like the miz and the great khali were world champion's maybe he should have been given a run......."