WWE News: Andrade mocks Rey Mysterio after RAW and calls himself the "new face of the Latinos"
What's the story?
Although Ricochet ended up winning the gauntlet match to determine the challenger for AJ Styles and the US Championship at SummerSlam, another moment during the match stood out for very different reasons.
After he eliminated Rey Mysterio, to the shock of many, Andrade ripped off the mask of the legend. He mocked the Lucha Libre icon afterwards, claiming that "he was the new face of Latinos".
In case you didn't know...
Andrade and Mysterio had a series of fantastic matches with each other on SmackDown earlier this year. It was thought that it would lead to a WrestleMania match between the two, but nothing came from it.
The heart of the matter
Since the two Latin wrestlers had great chemistry, a WrestleMania match between the two would have been a big way to showcase not only both men but also pass the torch from one to another, so to speak.
It didn't happen, and Mysterio was moved to RAW while Andrade remained on the Blue Brand. During the build-up for AJ Styles' opponent at SummerSlam, it was revealed that Mysterio, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Andrade and Ricochet would compete in a gauntlet match for the right to challenge "the Phenomenal One".
Mysterio started the match and eliminated both Cesaro and Zayn. Being ever the opportunist, Andrade and Mysterio had a back-and-forth showing before "El Idolo" eventually eliminated Mysterio. After the win, he continued to attack Rey and even ripped off the majority of his mask.
Later in the night after the match was long over, Andrade took it upon himself to continue to rub salt in the wounds of one of the most beloved Superstars of all time.
Since it is a huge deal in Mexican and Lucha Libre culture to rip off a Luchador's mask, Andrade recalled other times in his career in which he did the same thing to others.
What's next?
If this isn't a set up for a bigger match down the road, then what was the point of having Andrade rip off the mask? It has to be setting up a match on a bigger stage for Mysterio to put over Andrade as the new Latino star. Mysterio needs to pass the torch metaphorically as he cannot keep up this pace for much longer.