Juventud Guerrera Recalls Why "The Mexicools" Were Released From WWE

Legendary luchador Juventud Guerrera was on a recent episode of Talk Is Jericho. He and Chris Jericho discussed their interactions and matches in ECW and WCW. Guerrera talked about what he was doing after WCW went under in 2001.

"Well, I got released around 2001 in WCW, and then from 2001, 2002, 2003, I got my first tryout in WWE," Guerrera recalled. "And people were like, 'Why did they give you a tryout? You already have a name and stuff like that. I just want to have another shot again on the major leagues. That's one other thing from a lot of people. 'Oh, Juvi's very picky. He's b*tching about everything.' I don't think I was ever like that. I don't think I ever was saying, 'Oh, I don't want to lose to you,' but you know, internet is very bullsh*t. I just want to have a job. I just want to have fun.

"I did this tryout, and then I remember after the match, the little match that I had, it was pretty good and everybody was clapping. I was like, 'oh, yes, I think they're gonna call me.' Never called me, a year passed and then another year, and then I was kind of losing my hopes. I was like, what the hell is happening? I don't know why, but WWE was so different than WCW. They never liked the small guys, and it was one maybe small guy. It was just one spot, not two or three or four."

Guerrera spent a few years working in various promotions including NOAH and TNA. When Guerrera joined WWE, he was put in a group with Super Crazy and Psicosis called The Mexicools, and he revealed how the name of the group was created.

"I went to WWE, and then I think it was kind of the same situation with Psicosis and Super Crazy, I think the three of us were looking for a job but separately," Guerrera said. "They hired us together, and they didn't know what to do with us. I remember it was Vince [McMahon], Chavo [Guerrero] with Johnny Ace (John Laurinaitis) and myself.

"They're like, 'We need a name for a group. I think we're gonna put it together. We want to know if you have a name for the group,' and I was like, 'What is cool? What about if we put Mexicools? And then Vince didn't understand me. 'What? What did you say? And Johnny Ace was like, 'He said Mexicools.' And Vince popped his eyes. He's like, 'Oh, I like that! I like that name! It's pretty good!' He called everyone like, 'You gotta put this name on the screen now. Mexicools!' That's how we became The Mexicools.

The Mexicools were typically portrayed through Mexican stereotypes. They often came out to lawn mowers, and Guerrera gave his opinion on the portrayl of The Mexicools.

"I never liked it," Guerrera admitted. "I wanted it to be pretty much like Alberto Del Rio's gimmick, but the three of us. So I was telling my boys, 'Let's try to dress nice.' I don't know what happened. I think they took it in the wrong way. Super Crazy, he was like, 'Ah, no, we don't like that.' I was like, 'Come on, guys. Give it a try. Let's see how it works.' They said, 'Ah, We don't feel like it. It's not good. I don't think maybe it's good for us,' but I feel like they took it against me.

"I wanted to give the Mexican people a little bit of respect because they already knew about the Mexican gardeners and all of that, and I think for me, that was already corny. It's like, no, let's try to give something different for the audience. The name is super cool. Why we don't go for that line, be cool. The t-shirt was also a lawn mower, and I didn't like it. We tried to make it cool. We cut it up. We put some bandanas. We put some glasses, but that was something that I never spoke about because I don't like to talk bad about people because when you talk bad about people, in a little bit, you talk bad about yourself."

Guerrera was the main talked of the group, and he recalled the high praise from Vince McMahon. Jericho also added in another high remark that McMahon said in a meeting in front of the locker room.

"The first week, we got the name, and then we go into TV in California. That was the first time they gave me the mic, and then we cut promo," Guerrera stated. "We got a huge reaction, and then a week later, Vince had a meeting with all the superstars. He was releasing people or about to release people. He was like, 'When you go home, you're gonna remember the face of these guys. When I see you, I want to see the face I see in you guys. I haven't seen this sh*t in a long time. I want you to see these guys, the Mexican guys, how they are in the ring.' We were like, holy sh*t. Is he really saying that here in front of everyone,' and then I remember [Chris] Benoit, Eddie [Guerrero] and you, you came along with us, and you gave a thumbs up.

"He actually said something else, too, that you might have forgotten," Jericho added. "He was talking about 'grab the brass ring, make things happen. Anybody can be a world champion, and I can see someday The Mexicools being the world champion in WWE. Three of them being the world champion. They're sharing the world championship. This is what can happen to you in WWE,' and I remember thinking, 'The f*cking Mexicools are not going to be the World Heavyweight Champion. Juvi's gonna love that, but he did say that though."

The Mexicools were short-lived, and Guerrera's time in WWE was only around six months. He opened up about what went wrong with the group and why he ultimately got released.

"I never spoke about this situation. I had this incident in Australia" Guerrera stated. "I was like, okay, maybe I gotta take a break. I gotta be more mature. Just focus on my work. I wasn't doing any type of drugs, but Psicosis was doing it. Nobody knew, even myself because I wasn't even living with him. Super Crazy was two hours away from Mexico City. We only saw each other on TV. Psicosis, he missed flight connection because he couldn't get up from the plane. They took him to the hospital, and they find out he's a WWE wrestler and then they call WWE. WWE sent a limousine to pick up Psicosis.

"I was coming to the arena. Johnny Ace was like, 'Juvi, what the hell happened?' And I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' He was like, Psicosis missed a house show on Sunday, and they called us and he's in the hospital. I was like, 'You got to be kidding me. No way.' He's like, 'Yeah, you didn't even know?' I'm like, 'No, I don't live with him.' I got blamed, big time. It's like, 'Psicosis is gonna be here in two hours, and Vince wants to see the three of you guys.' I was like, 'Holy sh*t. That was a week after we had this meeting where he put us over, big time, and I like god damn it, really? No f*cking way.

"It was Psicosis, Super Crazy and myself, and Vince was yelling at Psicosis and Psicosis just had his head down. I was like apologizing for him. It was terrible because I wanted to do something for us, and I guess Psicosis, he didn't really care. He was just doing whatever he was doing. After that happened, he was just on his own. I guess they took it against me, and then six months later, I have to go and get a visa in Mexico. They didn't give it to me.

"That was so weird because I was already working for WWE. I already have these visas from WCW. I love Psicosis. I love everybody, and everybody makes mistakes, but in the moment, where we really want to make it, it really hurts because I really want to go back and make a good statement. They didn't give me the visa. They just let me go. I didn't have a chance to go back because I didn't have a visa."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.