Lucha Legend Fights Stranger Things Creature In Doritos Commercial

By Eric Mutter

Of all the things you would expect to collide, lucha libre, Doritos, and the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things" would be one of the least likely combinations. And yet here we are after Doritos released a new commercial featuring the one of "Stranger Things'" most terrifying creatures taking on the most legendary luchador in the history of lucha libre.

Released yesterday on YouTube, the commercial takes place at a wrestling event in the Hawkins Coliseum in Hawkins, Indiana (the town "Stranger Things" is set in), where El Santo is set to wrestle the villainous P. Redford. Before the match can begin, however, a hole appears in the ring, and the Demogorgon, the monstrous antagonist of "Stranger Things" that lives in the alternate reality called The Upside Down, crawls out from under it.

Santo then engages the monster in combat as the rest of the arena fleas. Despite suffering a nasty scratch and being sent through a table, Santo ultimately rallies with the help of a mariachi band, whose music harms the Demogorgon. Santo then sends the creature back to The Upside Down with a hurricanrana and celebrates quickly before jumping in after it.

Long-time lucha fans will recognize the Santo in this commercial as his son, fellow lucha libre legend El Hijo del Santo. Hijo del Santo was known for his runs in AAA and CMLL during the 90s and mid-00s, a short run on WWE's "Super Astros" program during the late 90s.

Arguably Hijo del Santo's biggest career highlight however was at AAA When Worlds Collide in 1994, where he and partner Octagon defeated Love Machine Art Barr and future WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero in a mask vs. hair two out of three falls tag team match. The match was given five stars by Dave Meltzer and was included in the "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story" DVD released in 2004.

Perhaps even more interesting than the commercial is that it was filmed in Arena Coliseo in Mexico City, an arena Hijo del Santo has been banned in ever since he left CMLL, who owns the arena, for good in the mid-2000s. It is believed CMLL was unaware that Hijo del Santo was part of the commercial when it was filmed.

The commercial is only the start of an eventful year for the 558-year-old lucha libre legend. Hijo del Santo will next be seen in Japan, where he'll be appearing for the lucharesu theme promotion Dragon Gate in late July.

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