Lince Dorado explains why he left WWE.
Lince Dorado was a member of the Lucha House Party along with Kalisto and Gran Metalik during his time in WWE. All three of these luchadores are now free agents with Kalisto going first and Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado being released in November 2021.
Now, in a new interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Lince Dorado is explaining why he needed to be free of WWE, despite the fact that he says he had a great rapport with Vince McMahon.
“Before I asked for my release, I remember telling the [WWE] office, ‘If this is the best you have for us, it isn’t enough,’” Dorado says. “We spent weeks, months, and years presenting something that wasn’t stereotypical, that wasn’t generic. I had six years there total, and by the third year, I saw my glass ceiling—and I was so determined to break it.
“They understood I was a luchador, but they didn’t understand the story or the motive or the creative thought that went into being a luchador. All they saw was, ‘This is just a guy in a mask that does incredible things.’ One of the things we told Vince McMahon was that wrestling, for us, was the easy part. We wanted to be superstars. I didn’t want to be WWE’s Spanish star. I wanted to be represented as a WWE star who happened to have Latino culture and background. But they saw me only as a high-flyer. I knew I could be so much more, and that’s what I am working to become.”
“There were no layers to my character in WWE, so there is so much for me to show,” Dorado says. “I had great rapport with Vince, John Laurinaitis and Michael Hayes—the problem was a disconnect between what they thought about lucha libre and what we all know about lucha libre.
Dorado also explains that he left a lot of money on the table, but he was willing to do that for his freedom.
“I hate quitting, but I left with two years left on my contract. I left behind more money than I’ll ever see the rest of my life, but I’ve been poor. I’ve been broke, I’ve been homeless, I’ve been in the street, I’ve been in the ghetto—and I survived. I’ll survive without WWE, too. I want more, and I need more.”
Moving forward, Dorado will be represented by masked Republic, a move that will help him get back to his roots.
“They trust there is something in me, and I trust that there’s something in them that will elevate both of us. We have the potential to take over the entire lucha libre market.”
Lince’s former partner, Gran Metalik, now known as Mascara Dorada has already begun picking up major bookings for himself with GCW. Learn more here.
