The goal of every wrestler is to become a champion including Los Conquistadores. Nothing solidifies that more than winning gold.
The Conquistadores dressed as the object of their desires. Even though they were often defeated, their desire to obtain gold could not be.
Los Conquistadores – José Estrada Operates
José Estrada was born in Santruce, Puerto Rico, in 1946. He migrated to New York as a teenager. He served with the U.S. Army in the Vietnam war.
Estrada made his pro wrestling debut with World Wrestling Council in his native country in 1975. He was packaged in a tag team called “Los Super Medícos” (literally “Super Medics”).
They wore white wrestling gear and masks. They sometimes wore white medical shirts too. They were simply named Super Medícos I and Super Medícos II (Johnny Rodz). Estrada would bounce back and forth between WWC and the World Wrestling Federation.
Medícos won the WWC North American Tag Team Championships each time Estrada returned to the company. Their first title win was on Christmas Day 1976.
Their second reign started in 1981 when they beat Los Pastores (better known as “The Sheepherders” and “The Bushwhackers”).
Every match in their short-lived feud was a bloody battle. The New Zealanders regained their titles a month later. In 1983, they beat King Tonga and El Gran Apolo for the titles.
They finally won the WWC World Tag Team Championships by defeating Pedro Morales and company owner Carlos Colón.
Tonga teamed with Hercules Ayala to avenge their earlier title loss. Their main strategy was to remove the Medíco’s masks. They were usually quick enough to keep their faces covered.
Their next feud was against another masked team called The Invaders (represented by Invader I and Invader III). They exchanged the titles a couple of times.
Both Medícos spent some time in the WWF under their real names during this title reign. Only Estrada returned to WWC.
After one title defence, the new Medíco II was unmasked as Don Kent. As he did not originally win the titles with Estrada, the Medícos were stripped off the belts.
Medíco I started teaming with Black Gordman. They would win the titles together. After losing the titles, they had the obligatory break-up feud.
Medíco I began his first singles run in the company as a babyface. He defeated Gordman to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship for the first of three reigns.
He had multiple stints the WWF as Carlos José Estrada. In this first month, he defeated Tony Garea in a tournament final to win the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship.
The title had been inactive for six years. He lost it to Tatsumi Fujinami just three days later. Fujinami took the championship to Japan.
Estrada competed in all of the WWF’s cross-promotional tours with New Japan Pro Wrestling while he was with the company. The Junior Heavyweight Championship would remain in Japan until it was finally retired.
Jose Luis Rivera makes a name
Jose Luis Rivera was born in Mayaquez, Puerto Rico, in 1953. He claims he used to compete in amateur wrestling in gyms. He made his pro wrestling debut in April 1973. Once he built up enough experience, he relocated to Florida.
He competed in Championship Wrestling from Florida as “Matt Rivera”. He was told to use an Anglicized name to appeal to local audiences.
He was an enhancement talent who lost all of his matches. But he still got to face legends like Billy Graham and Ivan Koloff.
In 1982, he became an enhancement talent for the WWF. He competed under his nickname “Mac Rivera”. He went on a long losing streak.
It was interrupted by a one-off win as the masked “Red Demon”. He later picked up two surprise wins over “Baron” Mikel Scicluna. Scicluna claims he was under the impression that he was meant to win their bout in Madison Square Garden.
It appeared that Rivera was beginning a push. He went on a winning streak at house shows. This would eventually translate into a televised winning streak. But then his biggest singles match saw him be cemented as an enhancement talent.
Actor Mr. T had competed in the main-event for the first WrestleMania. News of the real-life tensions between him and Roddy Piper got leaked to the press just in time to promote WrestleMania 2.
Mr. T was due to face Piper in a boxing match at the event. Bob Orton, Jr. challenged Mr. T to a “warm-up match” prior to the pay-per-view. Orton had a warm-up of his own against Rivera. The “Ace Cowboy” won by technical knockout.
Rivera was then repackaged as part of a tag team with Randy Colley. Colley was best known for his success as ‘Moondog Rex’ of the Moondogs.
In 1984, he found himself as the only Moondog in the WWF. The character did not work well as a solo act. He pitched the idea of ‘Demolition’.
Colley competed as the original Smash. Even though he had changed his look, he was still too recognisable as a Moondog. He was replaced within his own tag team.
Rivera and Colley became The Shadows. They both wore masks to reduce the chances of fans recognising them from their previous characters.
They won their first match at an untelevised event. One of their opponents was Lanny Poffo. They would then go on a long losing streak.
Their first feud was with the Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels). The Shadows lost every time. But the two teams became close friends.
They both worked hard to make both teams look good during their matches. The Shadows didn’t have individual names. The announcers improvised by calling them “Light” (Colley) and “Dark” (Rivera).
This was eventually dropped due to concerns it was racially insensitive. They were renamed Shadow No. 1 and Shadow No. 2 respectively.
Due to their similar physiques and their faces being covered, referees and announcers would genuinely get them confused. This was then worked into their gimmicks, even though another team was doing it.
B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell looked nothing alike. Yet few people could tell the Killer Bees apart when they put on their masks.
They took advantage of this to swap places without the referee or opponents knowing. When the Bees did this, they were outsmarting the heels. When the Shadows did this, they were cheating. The two teams engaged in a feud where the Bees won every encounter.
They feuded with nearly every tag team. They were formidable opponents despite the fact they almost never won. One of their rare victories was over another makeshift team with Poffo.
The beginning of the end happened when they feuded with The Young Stallions. Shadow No. 2 would sometimes pick up singles wins against Jim Powers.
Shadow No. 1 never tasted victory. Neither of them could overcome Paul Roma. Colley then left the company once more.
Creating Conquistadores
In 1987, Vince McMahon approached Estrada and Rivera and told them they will be Los Conquistadores. They had no idea what a conquistador was, but they instinctively told Vince it was a great idea.
The word conquistador translates as “conqueror”. This is exactly what the original conquistadores in history were. They were sailors from Spain and Portugal who explored new lands, acquiring new treasures, and expanding the British Empire. They would shape the world as we know it. This could not be more different from wrestling’s Conquistadores.
Los Conquistadores dressed from head to toe in gold, aside from a black trim for their mask holes. It was hard to see, but they had gold flames on their faces, and gold crowns where their ears are.
They were a new version of The Shadows. They would use the fact that they looked identical to switch places without their opponents knowing.
But they were still enhancement talents who lost nearly every match. Rivera was named Conquistador Uno, and Estrada was named Conquistador Dos. Even though they were both from Puerto Rico, they were billed as being from “Somewhere in Latin America”.
Both men made their only WWF pay-per-view appearances at Survivor Series in 1988. They competed in a traditional Survivor Series match for tag teams.
The winning team had to eliminate all of their opponents. In this variation, eliminating one opponent also eliminated their regular tag team partner.
Conquistadores were on Demolition’s team. They also partnered with the Brainbusters, The Bolsheviks, and the Fabulous Rougeaus.
Their opponents were led by the Powers of Pain. Their team included the Rockers, the Young Stallions, The Hart Foundation, and The British Bulldogs.
Uno surprised fans by withstanding a lot of punishment during the match. Fans were left confused when Demolition were eliminated, and Mr. Fuji appeared to switch sides to the PoP.
Before fans could figure out what was happening, they saw that the Conquistadores had outlasted everyone else. However, Fuji would trip Uno, setting up the PoP for the win.
The Conquistadores continued to be enhancement talents. They would score occasional wins over established teams such as the Killer Bees, and other participants in their Survivor Series match.
They frequently scored victories over other enhancement talents. Each of these victories were passed off as shock wins.
During their run as a tag team, both men had phases where they competed under their real names. Rivera had a brief run as “The Conquistador”, implying that Estrada was done with the team. They would reunite for a while before formally splitting.
Estrada had short stints with the WWC before leaving the WWF properly in 1989. Rivera remained for another year.
He mainly competed as “The Black Demon”. No matter what the character was, he was still an enhancement talent that could only win against other enhancement talents.
Despite their low position on the roster, they claimed that everyone respected them backstage. They were friends with Andre the Giant.
Even Hulk Hogan asked them what they wanted to do in matches, even though Hogan was always booked to look strong against them.
Conquistadors Go On A Conquest
Estrada competed as Super Medíco I for the rest of his career in WWC. He quickly won the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
This led to a feud with Chicky Starr. Just like with King Tonga years earlier, his favourite strategy was to keep removing Medíco’s mask. Medíco would be more concerned about concealing his identity than winning the match.
This strategy helped Starr to win the title, and also to retain it on occasion. He would use it too often. Medíco countered the trick by covering his face with face-paint. Medíco focused on his opponent and regained the title.
In 1990, he reformed Los Super Medícos with a new partner; Super Medíco III. The man under the mask was his son José Estrada, Jr.
They quickly became a top tag team. They won the WWC World Tag Team Championships twice, taking the older Medíco to a total of five reigns.
They also held the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championships twice. Estrada retired in 1993 to become a wrestling teacher.
Rivera signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling. He competed as “The Black Angel”. He lost all three of his matches.
None of them were televised. One of those matches saw him challenge Tom Zenk for the WCW World Television Championship.
He then went back to Puerto Rico and joined the American Wrestling Federation. He won the AWF Americas Championship in his debut match.
It was the first championship of his career. He held the title twice during his time there. Rivera then went to WWC. He retired in 1994 to become a corrections officer.
In 2005, both former Conquistadores returned to the WWC ring. Rivera and Dr. Cesar Vargas beat Estrada and his son Rico Suave.
Estrada would return in 2007 as a manager. Rivera would compete sporadically in various Puerto Rico promotions.
He used his name recognition to help the New Wrestling Stars promotion get established. He used the ring name El Sultán Jose Luis Rivera as part of his self-important heel persona.
Rivera was inducted into the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014. Estrada was inducted into World Wrestling League’s Salon de los Inmortales in 2015, and Rivera was added in 2019. Both men would do multiple Spanish-language interviews wearing their masks.
Estrada, Jr. is best known for his time in the Los Borricuas stable in WWF. He was in Edge’s television debut. A minute into the match, Edge performed a flip over the top rope unto Estrada and broke his neck. He left the company before finishing his recovery. He retired in 2009.
Suave competed until he was severely injured in a car crash in early 2025. He died from heart failure stemming from injuries sustained in the accident.
In 2002, Rivera had to debunk rumours that he had passed away. The wrestler that had died was Hurricane Rivera, who was of no relation. Rivera continues to compete on rare occasion.
Conquistadores Find A New Attitude
Ten years after both Conquistadores had left the WWF, the company was in its Attitude Era. This was one of their biggest boom periods.
It can be argued that their tag team division was at its strongest. Edge and Christian reached the top of the ladder – literally and figuratively – at WrestleMania 2000.
Even though they were only together as a team in WWF for less than three years, they are still considered to be one of the all-time best.
Upon winning the World Tag Team Championships, they became classic heels. They did whatever they could to retain the titles while exerting the least effort.
They would cheat, get themselves disqualified or counted out on purpose, or get title defences cancelled. The Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) overcame these tactics and won the titles at Unforgiven.
Commission Mick Foley then mandated that Edge and Christian could not challenge for the titles as long as the Hardyz were champions.
The Canadians changed strategy from trying to extend their title reigns to trying to shorten the Hardyz’ title reign. They interfered in title defences and tried managing the Mean Street Posse. Nothing worked.
Edge and Christian were forbidden from entering a battle royal to determine new contenders for the titles. But the match revealed a new threat from Los Conquistadores.
Commentators played along with the concept that they had returned from a decade-long hiatus. The eye holes on their masks being covered up and the black trims on their masks were gone.
The babyface announcers would voice fan speculation that it was the former champions under the masks. The fact that fans sometimes saw both teams in the same place at the same time made them even more sure of the ruse.
Los Conquistadors defeated the Hardyz for the titles at No Mercy. They used a lot of Edge and Christian’s signature moves throughout the contest.
At one point, Dos attempted a dive out of the ring and injured his arm on the floor. Dos would then use Christian’s Unprettier finisher to win the match.
Later that night, an exhausted Edge and Christian persuaded the surprisingly rested Conquistadores to give them a title match the next night.
Edge wound up working the match alone after Christian was attacked backstage. Christian had picked up the same injury from the attack that Dos had suffered the night before.
Edge easily overpowered both champions at first despite being outnumbered. But then the Conquistadors suddenly began fighting like the Hardyz and won. Christian came out to check on Edge. The Conquistadores removed their masks to reveal they were the Hardyz.
Foley then came out and showed footage and Edge and Christian confessing to being the Conquistadors at No Mercy. He then made the situation more confusing.
He said that even though Edge and Christian decided to break his mandate, he was retroactively allowing the title change.
He also retroactively changed the match that just happened and declared the Hardyz the new champions. He also reinstated his previous mandate.
The identities of “Ricky and Sparky” were later revealed to be Aaron Aguilera and Christopher Daniels in outside interviews.
Aguilera is best-known for his very short run in WWE as Jesus, the lackey of Carlito Carribbean Cool. His only storyline strongly implied he had stabbed John Cena in an after-hours club.
He endured a lengthy burial by Cena before taking time off for neck surgery. He had a try-out match in 2007, but wasn’t re-hired.
He spent most of his time on the indies, but spent the final years of his career in Japan. Daniels went on to be one of the biggest names in the indies for the next twenty years.
The Edge and Christian of Los Conquistadores made an appearance in the WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2011 video game.
They were additional attires for Edge and Christian that were unlocked in a side-quest in Rey Mysterio’s Road To WrestleMania mode story.
But Christian is presented as Uno, and Edge as Dos. If you use the costumes, you may sometimes here character specific commentary where Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole debate the identity for the Conquistadores.
Conquistadores Feel Ruthless Aggression
A new variation of Los Conquistadores made a random appearance on an episode of SmackDown in 2003. They put over the new WWE Tag Team Champions Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio. The guys wore black masks with gold details, and trunks with blue shoulder pads.
The Conquistadors later returned as filler characters in the “APA Invitational Barroom Brawl Match” at Vengeance.
This was a brawl held on a makeshift bar set near the entrance. The rules stated that participants had to keep fighting and drinking until one person was left standing.
Bradshaw was declared the winner after Funaki, who had no physical contact with anybody, fell off his bar stool. It is unclear why Faarooq was not declared a co-winner.
Rob Conway worked both matches as Uno. Nick Dinsmore was Dos for the tag title match, while Johnny Jeter was in the Brawl.
All three men were on developmental deals, and had been working in Ohio Valley Wrestling. All three would be called up to the WWE roster, and became World Tag Team Champions.
Conway was called up to the main roster with Jon Heidenreich and the Basham Brothers. He was added to La Résistance as an “American Sympathizer”.
His main purpose was to compensate for his teammates lack of experience and chemistry. René Duprée was drafted to SmackDown, and Sylvain Grenier and Conway hit their stride as aa tag team. They won the tag titles three times. He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after his release.
Dinsmore is best known to fans as Eugene, the (kayfabe) nephew of Eric Bischoff. He was an adult with severe learning disabilities that just happened to be a wrestling prodigy.
Eugene was a massive hit with fans at the time, but his character is not looked upon favourably since. He got into trouble after being found unconscious in a hotel lobby, having taken too many painkillers he had no prescription for.
The timing was a public relations disaster for the company. Eddie Guerrero had passed away a few weeks earlier. This led to the WWE creating their Wellness Policy. Dinsmore continues to use the character on the indie circuit.
Jeter returned to the main roster as the smallest member of the Spirit Squad. They were a group of five male cheerleaders. All five of them held the tag championship simultaneously under the Freebird Rule.
The idea was abandoned after Mitch sustained an injury. The group was formerly ended in a skit where D-Generation X mailed them back to OVW.
Jeter was originally supposed to return to feud with former leader Kenny, but this was scrapped. He was offered to return years later with Kenny and Mikey, but he turned it down.
An unofficial Conquistador debuted in 2005. Bradshaw had been repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield. His first storyline was that he resented Eddie Guerrero being WWE Champion because he was a Mexican immigrant (Guerrero was actually born and raised in Texas). The aim was to make him a heel for the large Hispanic audiences that chose SmackDown over Raw.
His first opponent under the gimmick was “El Gran Luchador”. It was meant to be a Conquistador, but they could not get a costume together in time.
So they had Paul London put on a simple mask and cape to portray “The Champion of Mexico”. Layfield easily squashed his much smaller opponent.
El Gran would also become Layfield’s first opponent after he won the WWE Championship. This time he was dressed from head-to-toe in green with gold trims. More like a Conquistador. This time, they heavily emphasized that El Gran and Guerrero were friends.
Layfield dominated the match at first. After El Gran was knocked out of the ring, a second El Gran hid him underneath the ring and took his place.
This second El Gran wanted fans to know he was Eddie Guerrero in disguise. The announcers made it clear for anyone who wasn’t getting it. After Layfield abandoned the match, the imposter (in Eddie’s voice) gave props to Eddie and asked for Eddie’s music to be played.
El Gran made one final appearance. Guerrero had a rematch for the title in a cage match. As Guerrero was poised to win, El Gran interfered to stop him.
Guerrero pulled the man’s mask off to reveal Interim General Manager Kurt Angle. This was a surprise to fans as he had been using a wheelchair to sell injuries from an attack by Big Show. Those who knew the real reason for the prop knew that Angle was still recovering from yet another neck surgery.
Gold Medal Conquistador
The gimmick for the first Crown Jewel PPV was the ‘WWE World Cup’ tournament. The winner would be declared “The Best in the World”.
Raw General Manager Baron Corbin tried to claim a spot in the tournament with a rigged qualification match. He set up a battle royal with masked enhancement talents representing different countries. The Conquistador represented Mexico.
The Conquistador sat out on the floor while Corbin made short work of the other opponents. When they were all eliminated, Conquistador re-entered the ring and defeated Corbin. He immediately unmasked after the match to reveal he was Angle.
A week later, Corbin attempted to punish Angle by putting Conquistador in a handicap match against the Authors of Pain in a handicap match. The Conquistador was squashed easily. He was then forcibly unmasked to reveal he was unsigned rookie Billy Bain.
Los Conquistadores may be best known for always losing. They still managed to achieve a measure of immortality. Nobody knows when the Conquistadores will turn up again. But it is a golden guarantee that they will.
