In a move that was a long time coming (and many had thought to have already taken place), WWE.com has officially announced the release of Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde from the WWE as of yesterday, March 26. Luis Alvirde is better known as Mistico in Mexico and was the original man under the mask for the Sin Cara character in the WWE. Sin Cara made his WWE debut on RAW on April 4, 2011, coming to the aid of Daniel Bryan and the accomplished high-flyer would make his in-ring debut against Primo the following week on RAW. Over the next few months, Sin Cara racked up an impressive undefeated streak that lasted until the July 1 episode of SmackDown, where he was defeated by Christian. After participating in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match that year, Sin Cara’s problems in the WWE would begin as Sin Cara would be suspended for 30 days for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy (which Alvirde claimed that he had no idea what he tested positive for as all he received was routine knee injection while in Mexico).
The character of Sin Cara would return to the WWE on the August 12 edition of SmackDown, but the man under the mask would be Jorge Arias. This would all be done to set up a rivalry between the original Sin Cara and the “impostor” Sin Cara, later dubbed “Sin Cara Azul” and “Sin Cara Negro” based on the differing colors of their masks and ring attires. After the two Sin Cara’s attacked each other in back-to-back weeks, Sin Cara Azul and Sin Cara Negro faced off at WWE Hell in a Cell in October and the feud came to its conclusion on the October 16 episode of SmackDown as the two Sin Cara’s faced off in a Mask vs. Mask Match with Sin Cara Azul winning and forcing Sin Cara Negro to unmask. Now unmasked, the former Sin Cara Negro became known as Hunico, enlisting the help of Camacho, continuing his feud with Sin Cara. Sin Cara and Hunico were on opposite teams at the 2011 Survivor Series and this event would see the first of many injuries suffered by Sin Cara as Sin Cara suffered a patellar tendon rupture while diving out of the ring during the match, sidelining Sin Cara for six months.
Sin Cara returned to television on the June 1 episode of SmackDown and would soon rekindle his feud with Hunico, defeating Hunico at No Way Out. After another unsuccessful stint in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, Sin Cara would form a tag team with Rey Mysterio and the team would ultimately become the #1 Contenders for the WWE Tag Team Titles at WWE TLC, but Sin Cara & Rey Mysterio would never get their title opportunity as, later that same week, Sin Cara was put on the shelf again, this time due to a knee injury.
At the 2013 Royal Rumble, Sin Cara would make his return in the Royal Rumble Match, but would be eliminated by Ryback. Sin Cara would then join back up with Rey Mysterio and, together, they would defeat then WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No in a non-title match. Once again, Sin Cara & Rey Mysterio were poised for a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles, but Sin Cara would get injured for a third time. Sin Cara would eventually return on May 15 on WWE Main Event and would wrestle on and off before taking some time off after he dislocated his ring finger in a match against Alberto Del Rio. Luis Alvirde’s final appearance as Sin Cara was at a WWE Live Event on October 19 in a match against Alberto Del Rio. Starting on December 2, Jorge Arias started portraying the Sin Cara character on a full-time basis and, in late January, Luis Alvirde stated that he would be returning to compete in Mexico and that he was done with the WWE. Alvirde also stated that he owns the rights to the Sin Cara character, but that was later proven to be false.
What was your favorite Sin Cara moment? Post your comments in the box below.
