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The Latino World Order was an underrated WCW concept that featured the luchadors and Mexican wrestlers of WCW uniting. Eddie Guerrero was able to showcase a new side to his persona by leading a group during his vicious heel run. WCW had the New World Order leading the storytelling on the show as the hottest act in wrestling.
There was already a split between the Wolfpac and Hollywood factions, but this was a completely different concept. Eddie led the LWO as its own group outside of the nWo and just wanted to use a similar name to get back at management. There was a story that got overlooked due to WCW having too many things going on. The Latino World Order deserves more credit today as a great ripoff of the nWo with many talents benefiting.
The LWO Was An Interesting Premise For Original Motive
The origin of the Latino World Order is rarely discussed since it had such a short run. However, it started from that memorable promo where Eddie Guerrero called out Eric Bischoff and spilled coffee on himself to mirror a backstage moment. The promo bashing Bischoff was confusing since both were heels and fans were unsure of what was scripted or not.
Eddie took some time off before returning as the leader of the Latino World Order. The concept spanned from Bischoff being a huge voice behind the New World Order faction as the top heels on the show. Guerrero starting the LWO after his promo running down Bischoff made it feel more interesting that he was starting his own version of the group inspired by the nWo but wanting to accomplish something different.
The LWO started with Eddie rallying the other luchadors from Mexico with the shared thought of wanting a bigger role on the show. Instead of waiting for their turn, they became a tight unit looking to make their voices heard. WCW gave them more television time each week due to Guerrero delivering great promos and showing the first signs of his tremendous character work.
It Was A Great Chapter In The Eddie Guerrero Vs Rey Mysterio Feud
The epic rivalry between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio featured many great moments in WWE and WCW. Rey and Eddie were close friends before even getting their biggest breaks in WCW and WWE together. WCW had a few different versions of their rivalry at various points. The infamous Halloween Havoc 1997 mask vs hair match was the peak, but they had a great story the following year with the Latino World Order.
Eddie playing a heel character made the LWO a villainous act that clashed with various faces in the cruiserweight division. Mysterio did not want to join up with his enemy despite being the only luchador from Mexico to not partner up with the rest of them. Respected cruiserweight standouts like Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis joined to add some credibility since the others had less television time.
Billy Kidman and Mysterio were the main faces to have issues with the LWO as the two top cruiserweight faces. Rey was eventually forced to join the group after losing a match to Eddie, and it added to the storytelling. Guerrero and Mysterio were perfect clashing together and improving the overall act with this story making perfect sense.
The LWO Has An Underrated Legacy
WCW’s biggest flaw was not finding an effective way to showcase their younger talents in a way where they grew as performers into programs with bigger names. The Latino World Order could have easily had some fun feuds with New World Order members, but they never intertwined. Even with the limited ceiling for their upside, the wrestlers involved still delivered something special.
WWE still makes solid money off the WCW merchandising rights for LWO shirts. The Latin fan base loved the act since it was showing pride in their heritage while also telling an interesting wrestling storyline. Rey Mysterio even benefited from sabotaging the group in an endearing fashion as a face. Billy Kidman also took huge strides in becoming a breakout cruiserweight star.
It all came back to Eddie Guerrero and his ability to lead a compelling angle when given the chance. Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis felt more important due to their roles in the group. Mysterio and Kidman became the two most exciting stars as faces with a real story in play. Guerrero did the most impressive work of them all leading the group and creating moments for everyone involved. The LWO started off as an extension of Eddie’s heat with Bischoff and became a surprisingly successful ripoff of the nWo for WCW.