History Wrestling / TitoSantana

** The Hart Foundation ([[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil Neidhart) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith) at WMIII.

** The Funks ([[Wrestling/TerryFunk Terry]] and Hoss [Dory Jr.]) (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/JYD at WMII.

'''Mercedes Solis''' (b. 1953) is a semi-retired [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] from Mission, Texas best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1980s as '''Tito Santana.''' He started his career in Florida in 1977 and also worked in Georgia, [=WWE=], the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation, Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, and the [[Wrestling/TerryFunk Funk family]]'s Western States Wrestling promotion in Amarillo, TX before making his home in [=WWE=]. Santana is a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]], a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts the first time with Ivan Putski and the second time with Rick Martel as Strike Force and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html NWA ECW Heavyweight Champion]] (see below under TheCameo). He was inducted into the [=WWE=] Hall of Fame in 2004.

!! Tropes Associated with Tito Santana:

** At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} King of Trios 2012'' Night 1, September 14, 2012, the Spectral Envoy ([=UltraMantis=] Black/Frightmare/Hallowicked) were supposed to face the Submission Squad, but they were not there, so three names were drawn from a hat. The first was [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger]], who was there. The second was Kazuaki Mihara of Osaka Pro. The third was Wrestling/StanHansen, who was not there. They tried [[Website/{{WrestleCrap}} Kwang (Savio Vega doing a lame masked ninja gimmick in WWE from 1994-1995)]], who was not there. They tried Tito Santana, and he was there. The Envoy won after [=UMB=] rolled Tito up from behind for the pin.

** In a dark (non-televised match), Tito d. [[Characters/WWENewGeneration Papa Shango]] at WMIX.
* Website/{{WrestleCrap}}: The "El Matador" gimmick.

* BashBrothers: Rick Martel, Ivan Putski, Junkyard Dog, Pedro Morales

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Has said that he suggested ideas for how he could turn heel but nothing came of them.

** At ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} King of Trios 2012'' Night 1, September 14, 2012, the Spectral Envoy ([=UltraMantis=] Black/Frightmare/Hallowicked) were supposed to face the Submission Squad, but they were not there, so three names were drawn from a hat. The first was [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger]], who was there. The second was Kazuaki Mihara of Osaka Pro. The third was Wrestling/StanHansen, who was not there. They tried [[{{WrestleCrap}} Kwang (Savio Vega doing a lame masked ninja gimmick in WWE from 1994-1995)]], who was not there. They tried Tito Santana, and he was there. The Envoy won after [=UMB=] rolled Tito up from behind for the pin.

* {{WrestleCrap}}: The "El Matador" gimmick.

* TheCameo: Made one appearance in Wrestling/{{ECW}} on August 8, 1993, wrestling three matches, including defeating fellow 1980s great Don Muraco for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html NWA ECW Heavyweight Title]], and never wrestled for the promotion again.

* TheWorfEffect: Acknowledged by Wrestling/JimCornette in his commentary on the Tito Santana-Kelly Kiniski match on ''Volume 5- Beat Me If You Can'' of the ''[[http://store.vcientertainment.com/product/Wrestling/477 Wrestling Gold]]'' series that if you faced Tito and beat him in [=WWE=] in the mid-80s that meant that you were on the way up and if you faced Tito and lost that meant you weren't. This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[BizarroUniverse Bizarro World]] version of Wrestling/TheUndertaker, with a ''[[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania]]'' record of 2-7.

** In a dark (non-televised match), Tito d. [[Characters/WWENewGeneration Papa Shango]] at WMIX.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: His real last name is pronounced "So-LEASE," not like "So-LISS."

* TheWorfEffect: Acknowledged by Wrestling/JimCornette in his commentary on the Tito Santana-Kelly Kiniski match on ''Volume 5- Beat Me If You Can'' of the ''[[http://store.vcientertainment.com/product/Wrestling/477 Wrestling Gold]]'' series that if you faced Tito and beat him in [=WWE=] in the mid-80s that meant that you were on the way up and if you faced Tito and lost that meant you weren't.
** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[BizarroUniverse Bizarro World]] version of Wrestling/TheUndertaker, with a ''[[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania]]'' record of 2-7.

** Demolition (Ax and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champions]] Strike Force for the titles at WMIV.

* ArchEnemy: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Slick, Rick "The Model" Martel (after Strike Force's split at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} V''), Demolition

* PartsUnknown: "Tocula, Mexico," making Santana possibly the most normal wrestler to be billed from a nonexistent place.

** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[BizarroUniverse Bizarro World]] version of Wrestling/TheUndertaker, with a ''[[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania]]'' record of 1-7.

** Wrestling/ShawnMichaels (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Tito at WMVIII.

** Tito won the first-ever ''[[Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}}]]'' match, defeating the Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose under a mask).

'''Mercedes Solis''' (b. 1953) is a semi-retired [[{{ProfessionalWrestling}} professional wrestler]] from Mission, Texas best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1980s as '''Tito Santana.''' He started his career in Florida in 1977 and also worked in Georgia, [=WWE=], the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation, Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, and the [[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Funk family]]'s Western States Wrestling promotion in Amarillo, TX before making his home in [=WWE=]. Santana was a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]] and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts the first time with Ivan Putski and the second time with Rick Martel as Strike Force. He was inducted into the [=WWE=] Hall of Fame in 2004.

* ArchEnemy: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Rick "The Model" Martel (after Strike Force's split at ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]]'' V), Demolition

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Has said that he suggested ideas for him to turn heel but nothing came of them.

** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[{{BizarroUniverse}} Bizarro World]] version of Wrestling/TheUndertaker, with a record of 1-7.

** Tito won the first-ever ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]]'' match, defeating the Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose under a mask).

** The Funks ([[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Terry]] and Hoss [Dory Jr.]) (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/JYD at WMII; the Hart Foundation ([[{{Wrestling/BretHart}} Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil Neidhart) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith) at WMIII; Demolition (Ax and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champions]] Strike Force for the titles at WMIV; The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Strike Force after Martel walked out on the match at WMV; The Barbarian (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Tito at WMVI; [[{{ForeignWrestlingHeel}} The Mountie]] (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito at WMVII; and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Tito at WMVIII.

** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[{{BizarroUniverse}} Bizarro World]] version of Wrestling/TheUndertaker. Tito won the first-ever ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]]'' match, defeating the Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose under a mask), and then proceeded to ''lose'' all his subsequent WM matches: the Funks ([[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Terry]] and Hoss [Dory Jr.]) (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/JYD at WMII; the Hart Foundation ([[{{Wrestling/BretHart}} Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil Neidhart) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith) at WMIII; Demolition (Ax and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champions]] Strike Force for the titles at WMIV; The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Strike Force after Martel walked out on the match at WMV; The Barbarian (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Tito at WMVI; [[{{ForeignWrestlingHeel}} The Mountie]] (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito at WMVII; and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Tito at WMVIII.

[[quoteright:203:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/titosantana_2723.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:203:"''ARRIBA''!"]]

'''Mercedes Solis''' (b. 1953) is a semi-retired [[{{ProfessionalWrestling}} professional wrestler]] from Mission, Texas best known for his work in [[{{Wrestling/WWE}} WWE]] in the 1980s as '''Tito Santana.''' He started his career in Florida in 1977 and also worked in Georgia, [=WWE=], the [[{{Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation}} American Wrestling Association]], Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, the [[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Funk family]]'s Western States Wrestling promotion in Amarillo, TX before making his home in [=WWE=]. Santana was a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]] and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts the first time with Ivan Putski and the second time with Rick Martel as Strike Force. He was inducted into the [=WWE=] Hall of Fame in 2004.

* TheCameo: Made one appearance in [[{{Wrestling/ECW}} ECW]] on August 8, 1993, wrestling three matches, including defeating fellow 1980s great Don Muraco for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html NWA ECW Heavyweight Title]], and never wrestled for the promotion again.
** Defeated [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Champion]] [[{{Wrestling/JeffJarrett}} Jeff Jarrett]] in a non-title match on the January 10, 2000 ''[[{{Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro}} WCW Monday Nitro]]''.

* StillGotIt: As [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7J0FQcQlAQ this clip]] from [[{{Wrestling/CHIKARA}} CHIKARA]] 2012 King of Trios Night 1 proves.

* TheWorfEffect: Acknowledged by [[{{Wrestling/JimCornette}} Jim Cornette]] in his commentary on the Tito Santana-Kelly Kiniski match on ''Volume 5- Beat Me If You Can'' of the ''[[http://store.vcientertainment.com/product/Wrestling/477 Wrestling Gold]]'' series that if you faced Tito and beat him in [=WWE=] in the mid-80s that meant that you were on the way up and if you faced Tito and lost that meant you weren't.
** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[{{BizarroUniverse}} Bizarro World]] version of [[{{Wrestling/TheUndertaker}} The Undertaker]]. Tito won the first-ever ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]]'' match, defeating the Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose under a mask), and then proceeded to ''lose'' all his subsequent WM matches: the Funks ([[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Terry]] and Hoss [Dory Jr.]) (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/JYD at WMII; the Hart Foundation ([[{{Wrestling/BretHart}} Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil Neidhart) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and [[{{Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith}} Davey Boy Smith]]) at WMIII; Demolition (Ax and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champions]] Strike Force for the titles at WMIV; The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Strike Force after Martel walked out on the match at WMV; The Barbarian (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Tito at WMVI; [[{{ForeignWrestlingHeel}} The Mountie]] d. Tito at WMVII; and [[{{Wrestling/ShawnMichaels}} Shawn Michaels]] (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Tito at WMVIII.

* PartsUnknown: "Tocula, Mexico"

** This also contributed to his status as the sort-of [[{{BizarroUniverse}} Bizarro World]] version of [[{{Wrestling/TheUndertaker}} The Undertaker]]. Tito won the first-ever ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]]'' match, defeating the Executioner ("Playboy" Buddy Rose under a mask), and then proceeded to ''lose'' all his subsequent WM matches: the Funks ([[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Terry]] and Hoss [Dory Jr.]) (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/JYD at WMII; the Hart Foundation ([[{{Wrestling/BretHart}} Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] and Jim "The Anvil Neidhart) and "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/Jimmy Hart) d. Tito/The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and [[{{Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith}} Davey Boy Smith]]) at WMIII; Demolition (Ax and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) d. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champions]] Strike Force for the titles at WMIV; The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]] d. Strike Force after Martel walked out on the match at WMV; The Barbarian (w/[[{{Wrestling/BobbyHeenan}} Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]]) d. Tito at WMVI; [[{{ForeignWrestlingHeel}} The Mountie]] d. Tito at WMVII; and [[{{Wrestling/ShawnMichaels}} Shawn Michaels]] (w/Sensational Sherri) d. Tito at WMVIII.

'''Mercedes Solis''' (b. 1953) is a semi-retired [[{{ProfessionalWrestling}} professional wrestler]] from Mission, Texas best known for his work in [[{{Wrestling/WWE}} WWE]] in the 1980s as '''Tito Santana.''' He started his career in Florida in 1977 and also worked in Georgia, [=WWE=], the [[{{Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation}} American Wrestling Association]] and in the [[{{Wrestling/TerryFunk}} Funk family]]'s Western States Wrestling promotion in Amarillo, TX before making his home in [=WWE=]. Santana was a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]] and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts the first time with Ivan Putski and the second time with Rick Martel as Strike Force. He was inducted into the [=WWE=] Hall of Fame in 2004.

* TheWorfEffect: Acknowledged by [[{{Wrestling/JimCornette}} Jim Cornette]] in his commentary on the Tito Santana-Kelly Kiniski match on ''Volume 5- Beat Me If You Can'' of the ''[[http://store.vcientertainment.com/product/Wrestling/477 Wrestling Gold]]'' series that if you faced Tito and beat him in [=WWE=] in the mid-80s that meant that you were on the way up and if you faced Tito and lost that meant you weren't.

* CharacterDerailment: Repackaged as "El Matador" in 1991

* TagTeam: Strike Force, with Rick Martel

"'''''ARRIBA'''''!"

* ArchEnemy: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Rick "The Model" Martel (after Strike Force's split at ''[[{{Wrestling/WrestleMania}} WrestleMania]] V), Demolition