Ric Flair on Tito Santana

[DevoJetBoy]

Tito Santana is one of the all-time most underrated, in my opinion. He still wrestles on the independents too! And yes, a very kind man as Naitch points out. There's a solid Ric Flair/El Matador Tito Santana match on YouTube that's worth checking out!

[richardvanoudheusden]

Tito is the most underrated wrestler ever. He was so great and deserved more.

[flexlife]

Tito Santana was one of the best, deserves more recognition.

[emptyhand]

I remember Tito back in his AWA days. He was one of my favorites.

[jamesm]

Tito absolutely could have been world champ. His Intercontinental match in the old Boston Gardens back in 86 against the Macho Man was classic!

[flexlife]

Tito/Valentine Tito/Savage feuds were great

[GHOST]

One of my favorite matches as a kid was Shawn Michaels vs Tito Santana at WrestleMania 8

[jonmccormick]

Tito/Chico had massive NYC/MSG heat/energy. He was Bruno #2 for the younger generation. The fact that he made his Mother hand scrub floors at night while he struggled on the mat didn't matter. When Chico lost a match his Marks really got depressed and felt let down. Best Wrestler to every carry the WWE IC belt and was a class act all the way.

[bobbyhulll]

Tito was great in the AWA as was Martel

[kevinhansen]

Tito was a great company man, he pushed a lot of great guys. Shawn's first singles WrestleMania success was beating Tito. I still think that Santana should have had one last run with the IC belt though. After Warrior dropped it, he could have run with it, he proved that with his matches against Mr. Perfect that summer. Of course, Kerry eventually got the belt from Perfect, and I'm not knocking him, he was a great talent too. I just think that Tito Santana could have been more than a guy to give the up and comers a push.

[steveos]

I think Vince should have pushed Tito right after the tag title win vs the Harts. Seeds could have been sown between Bret and Cheeko

[goodcitizen]

My first live wrestling event I was a kid in 1981 or 82, something like that. Tito was in the AWA and wrestled in Ladysmith, WI. I want to say it was against Nick Bockwinkle but it may have been someone else. Got his autograph and felt like a million dollars that day. Class act to everyone in that gym that day.

[gslide]

Agree, Bret was better as a pick but also agree with Ric that Tito would have done nicely. The main reason is Tito was undeniably WAY over still. He could deliver in the ring athletically (was younger than Ric) and for those who bring up his talent enhancement (Tito was no jobber) times Vince could have easily devised a strategy to elevate him. Vince's magic was invincible back then, Tito as transitional champ would have been an easy spell.

[trapdoorfloyd]

Tito to me was like King from the Tekken video games. 🐯

[faybianp]

Tito was on the rise and then focused on tag team wrestling. He then won gold with Ivan Putski. They did the power and speed thing very well. Then most people remember Tito defeating Don Muraco for the IC title. That wasn't even Tito at his peak. When he lost that belt to Valentine he learned the figure four leg lock (which was Greg's signature finisher/ ankle brace and all) and recaptured his IC title. He then lost it to Savage and then bounced around. It wasn't until he replaced Tom Zenk from Can Am connection to form Strike for with Rick Martel. That dynamic duo found tag team gold as well. THIS was the point where Tito could've had a brief run at the top but he would have needed a major push BUT instead creative thought it wise to make him... a matador??? WTF... never found his way after that because traditional baby faces were not in anymore. He could've done a heel turn with Pedro Morales (former WWF Champion and first grand slam champion) as manager. Pedro could've guided him and mentored Tito to a WWF/WWE title (short run like Backlund or Slaughter but it still could've worked/ 2 babyfaces that turned heel and captured gold). Promo's would've been a challenge but his in work performance with a mean streak twist could've been enough to get him over

[txfreethinker]

Tito was the WWF Intercontinental Champion for quite a while, so I agree he could have done pretty well. Tito Santana is a very underappreciated wrestler in my opinion.

[chrischar]

Tito had already been devalued at that point

[adamrobinette]

Vince definitely appreciated the hell out of Tito. He even had him beat The Undertaker in Barcelona for a crowd that saw him as a superhero, before he, storyline wise, had his 'first' loss to Hogan. I don't know how he would have done as champion. But as a builder of young talent, he was amazing. His match with Shawn at WrestleMania was fantastic.

[randylynch]

Bret was the right choice because he was a legit megastar overseas and that's what kept WWF afloat in mid 90s. Tito was a good babyface but his window had definitely closed by 1992

[glasschin]

Could have gone with Tito if they hadn’t already given him that silly el matador gimmick