| Latino World Order | |
|---|---|
 The LWO logos used by WWE since 2023; the left version reflects theMexican flag, while the right version reflects thePuerto Rican flag | |
| Stable | |
| Leader | Rey Mysterio (2nd leader) |
| Members | Cruz Del Toro Joaquin Wilde Dragon Lee |
| Name | Latino World Order |
| Billed from | Streets ofLos Angeles (WCW/WWE) |
| Former member | See below |
| Debut | October 5, 1998 (WCW) March 31, 2023 (WWE) |
| Disbanded | January 11, 1999 (WCW) |
| Years active | 1998–1999 (WCW) 2023–present (WWE) |
TheLatino World Order (abbreviatedlWo orLWO) is aprofessional wrestlingstable primarily consisting of wrestlers withLatin American backgrounds performing inWWE on theRawbrand. The stable consists of second leaderRey Mysterio,Cruz Del Toro,Joaquin Wilde[a], andDragon Lee. Mysterio is a former one-timeUnited States Champion and Lee is a former one-timeSpeed Champion as part of the stable. Lee is currently one-half of theWorld Tag Team Champions along withAJ Styles.
Originally performing inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1998 to 1999, the group was led byEddie Guerrero. In 2023, it was revived in WWE by new leader Rey Mysterio, who is the only wrestler to be a member of both versions of the group.
The group's name, created by American actorJason Hervey during his time working backstage as a producer with WCW, is a parody of theNew World Order (nWo) stable.
The LWO was formed in late 1998 afterEddie Guerrero's spat withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) headEric Bischoff in a real-life conflict that was turned into a storyline.[1] The group was the idea ofJason Hervey, an actor and friend of Bischoff who was working in a creative position in WCW.[2] The stable was originally supposed to revolve aroundKonnan, but it was given to Guerrero after Konnan joined thenWo Wolfpac.[2]
On August 17, Guerrero cut ashoot interview, where he claimed to want out of his WCW contract.[1] After being taken off television for several weeks, Guerrero returned on the October 5 edition ofMonday Nitro, forming the LWO with several other Mexican wrestlers.[2][3] The group consisted of the majority of the Mexican roster, as well as Guerrero's friend Art Flores, who played the role of a bodyguard named Spyder.[4]
The group consisted of almost every major Mexican wrestler on the WCW roster includingPsychosis,La Parka,Hector Garza, andJuventud Guerrera. Their main feud lay withRey Mysterio Jr., after he refused to join the group.[4] They also feuded withBilly Kidman, Mysterio's on-and-off American tag team partner. Mysterio was forced to become a member after losing a match to Eddie Guerrero.Chavo Guerrero Jr., Eddie's nephew, wasn't included in the stable as he was deemed "mentally unstable" by the group and rejected as a member.
A car accident suffered by Guerrero on January 1, 1999 would help bring a premature end to the LWO.[5] Three days later, the two factions of theNew World Order reunited, and before long, various members of the LWO were found lying unconscious backstage. The nWo approached the LWO and demanded they immediately disband or face further consequences. The next week,Ric Flair also asked the LWO to disband and fight for WCW, promising he would treat them better than Bischoff did and also promising them money, women and limousines. Every member except Mysterio agreed, removing their LWO shirts and exiting the ring. Mysterio, who was not originally a willing member of the group, proved himself the most loyal when he refused to remove his LWO colors. The nWo beat him down and forcibly tore off his LWO shirt, leading to a feud between Mysterio andThe Outsiders.
The reunited nWo also betrayed their only Latino member, Konnan, who objected to the brutality used against Mysterio, leading them to form a team against The Outsiders. As Eddie Guerrero healed and made his in-ring return, he and Mysterio formed a popular new group, which included Konnan, known as theFilthy Animals.
In 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (renamed toWWE in 2002) acquired certain assets and television footage of WCW, including the LWO trademarks.[6] Rey Mysterio, who was contracted under its parent AOL Time Warner, would not join the company until later in 2002. Over 20 years later on the March 31, 2023, episode ofSmackDown, Rey, who was set to be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2023 later that night, and was scheduled to wrestle his son,Dominik Mysterio, atWrestleMania 39 that weekend, revived the LWO and invitedLegado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar,Joaquin Wilde,Cruz Del Toro, andZelina Vega) to join LWO as the group had aided Rey in his fight againstThe Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio,Finn Bálor,Damian Priest, andRhea Ripley) for several weeks prior.[7][8]
On Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, Escobar, Wilde, Del Toro, andBad Bunny assisted Rey in his match against Dominik, who was assisted by Bálor and Priest. Rey went on to win his match against Dominik and celebrated with his wife, Angie, and his daughter, Aalyah, in the ring.[9] Afterwards,Zelina Vega confronted night 1’s musical performerBecky G backstage in order to make her an honorary member of the LWO.[10][11] On the April 7 episode ofSmackDown, the LWO lost their first match as a team with Rey and Escobar losing to The Judgment Day's Dominik and Priest.[12] The LWO earned their first victory on the April 24 episode ofRaw with Rey defeating Priest by disqualification when Priest threw a steel chair at Rey. The LWO also debut a new entrance music, which paid tribute to the original founder and leader of the stable, Eddie Guerrero.[13][14] On the May 5 episode ofSmackDown, Bad Bunny helped the LWO save Rey from an attack from The Judgment Day, leading to Mysterio giving Bunny an LWO shirt..[15] On the following night atBacklash, Vega failed to win theSmackDown Women's Championship from Ripley and Bad Bunny defeated Priest with the assistance ofSavio Vega andCarlito.[16]
Vega defeatedLacey Evans to qualify for the2023 women'sMoney in the Bank ladder match on the June 2 episode ofSmackDown[17] whereas Escobar defeatedMustafa Ali to qualify for the 2023 men's Money in the Bank ladder match on the June 9 episode ofSmackDown.[18] However, Vega and Escobar failed to win their respective Money in the Bank ladder matches in thenamesake event.[19] Escobar and Rey then faced each other in theUnited States ChampionshipInvitational tournament finals on the July 28 episode ofSmackDown,[20][21] where Escobar went on to faceAustin Theory for the title after Rey suffered akayfabe injury and was therefore unable to continue.[22] On the August 11 episode ofSmackDown, Escobar was taken out by Theory before the match started. Due to Escobar's injury, WWE OfficialAdam Pearce allowed Rey to take Escobar's place for the title match and defeated Theory to become the new United States Champion.[23] This marks the first title win in the stable's history. On the September 9 episode ofSmackDown, Escobar requested Rey for a dream match for the United States Championship.[24] Two weeks later onSmackDown, Rey defeated Escobar to retain the title. After the match, the pair were attacked byThe Street Profits andBobby Lashley.[25] Asix-man tag team match between the LWO against Lashley and The Street Profits atFastlane was made official the next day onSmackDown LowDown.[26] On the following week's episode ofSmackDown, Lashley and The Street Profits took out Wilde and Del Toro, leaving the LWO a man short for Fastlane.[27] At Fastlane on October 7, Carlito made his permanent WWE return and joined the LWO to defeat Lashley and The Street Profits.[28]
AtCrown Jewel, Rey lost the United States Championship toLogan Paul, ending his reign at 89 days. During the match, Escobar appeared at ringside to snatch away a set of brass knuckles from a member of Paul's entourage but left the brass knuckles at the side of the ring while chasing Paul's entourage away only for Paul to use it on Rey to win the match.[29] On the November 10 episode ofSmackDown, Carlito accused Escobar of purposefully leaving the brass knuckles in the ring at Crown Jewel. After Carlito's match with Bobby Lashley, Escobar attacked Rey as Rey was checking on Carlito, turning heel and leaving the LWO.[30] It was later reported that Rey had undergone surgery for his injured knee and will be out for at least six weeks.[31] On the following week ofSmackDown, Escobar chastised Rey for not sticking with him while kicking Vega, Wilde and Del Toro from Legado del Fantasma.[32] A match between Carlito and Escobar was announced forSurvivor Series: WarGames.[33] A day before the event, Escobar took out Carlito in the ring and backstage.Dragon Lee saved Carlito from Escobar and SmackDown General ManagerNick Aldis allowed Lee to face Escobar as Carlito's replacement at Survivor Series: WarGames but Lee lost the match.[34][35] On the December 1 episode ofSmackDown, Escobar defeated Wilde and continued attacking him after the match, with Lee coming out to save Wilde. It was later announced that Lee will face Escobar in theUnited States Championship #1 Contender Tournament the following week, which Escobar won.[36][37] On the December 5 episode ofNXT, Rey announced that Lee will replaceWes Lee (who had to drop out as he needs back surgery) to face "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio for theNXT North American Championship atNXT Deadline. At the event, Rey accompanied Lee to the match, and Lee defeated Dominik to win his first title in WWE.[38][39] On the December 19 episode ofNXT, Lee successfully defended his title againstCharlie Dempsey andJoe Coffey in atriple threat match. After the match, Dempsey's stable, The No Quarter Catch Crew, beat down Lee. Wilde and Del Toro then ran out to save Lee, which led to Lee, Wilde and Del Toro facing The No Quarter Catch Crew (Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp, & Myles Borne) atNXT: New Year's Evil on January 2, 2024, in a six-man tag team match. However, Lee missed the event due to travel issues, and a returning Carlito joined Wilde and Del Toro to win the match.[40][41][42]
On the January 5, 2024 episode ofSmackDown: New Year's Revolution, Del Toro and Wilde brawled with Los Lotharios (Angel Garza andHumberto Carrillo; later shortened to Angel and Berto), who formed an alliance with Escobar a few weeks prior to reform Legado Del Fantasma, at ringside during the United States Championship #1 Contender Tournament finals match between Escobar andKevin Owens.[43] The next week, Del Toro and Wilde were defeated by Los Lotharios in a tag team match with Carlito brawling with Escobar at ringside.[44] Wilde and Del Toro participated inNXT'sDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, defeatingChase University'sDuke Hudson andRiley Osborne on the January 16 episode ofNXT but lost toCarmelo Hayes andTrick Williams in the semifinals two weeks later.[45][46] Despite teasing a reunion with Wilde and Del Toro in December 2023,[47]Elektra Lopez made her SmackDown debut on the January 26 episode ofSmackDown to assist Escobar defeat Carlito to reunite with Legado Del Fantasma.[48] Vega and Carlito entered their respective Royal Rumble matches at thetitular event as the 17th and third entrants respectively. Vega was eliminated byShayna Baszler andZoey Stark whereas Carlito eliminated Escobar and was eliminated by Bobby Lashley.[49][50][51] Rey returned on the March 1 episode ofSmackDown to help Carlito defeat Escobar in a street fight match. Two weeks later on the March 15th episode ofSmackDown, Rey would challenge Escobar to a match. The following week, Rey would lose to Escobar due to an interference by his son, Dominik.[52] This led to a tag team match between Rey and Dragon Lee, who became an official member of the LWO, and Dominik and Escobar set for Night 1 ofWrestleMania XL. However, Lee was found attacked backstage and rendered him unable to compete for the match.Andrade was then named as Lee's replacement, and Rey and Andrade went on to defeat Dominik and Escobar at WrestleMania XL. On the April 26 episode ofSmackDown, after Rey and Lee (who had returned from the attack) defeated Los Lotharios in a tag team match, Escobar revealed that it was Carlito who attacked Lee. Carlito then attacked Rey and Lee, turning heel and leaving LWO.[53]
At Night 2 of the2024 WWE Draft, LWO (including Carlito) were drafted to theRawbrand.[54] It was later revealed that Rey pulled some strings to get Carlito drafted to Raw alongside LWO to ensure that Carlito pays for his actions against the stable, reigniting the feud with The Judgment Day in the process.[55]
In November, Lee joined theSpeed Championship #1 contender's tournament, defeating NXT'sNo Quarter Catch Crew'sTavion Heights andAkira Tozawa in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. He then received abye to the championship match, where he defeatedSpeed ChampionAndrade for the title on the November 15 taping ofSpeed aired on November 20.[56][57] On the January 25, 2025 episode ofRaw, Vega was separated from the group and was moved over to the SmackDown brand via atransfer window.[58] Despite being drafted to Smackdown, Vega is still a member of the LWO.[59] In early 2025, LWO started a feud with American Made afterChad Gable, who lost to a debutingPenta, went on a quest to learn the ways of lucha libre and returned as El Grande Americano. On theWrestleMania 41 Night 1 pre-show, Mysterio stated that he would not be able to compete against El Grande Americano due to injuries on SmackDown the night before. Instead,Rey Fenix would replace Mysterio to fight Americano but lost.[60]
OnWWE X AAA Worlds Collide, Mysterio opened the show as a neutral guest of honor, whileDragon Lee andCruz del Toro competed in a six-man tag team match, whileLince Dorado filled in for the injuredJoaquin Wilde. They lost toOctagón Jr.,Aero Star, andMr. Iguana by pinfall.[61] Wilde and Del Toro, representing the LWO, then joined Dorado inWWE Evolve for a multi-episode event taking on The Vanity Project.[62]
| I–II | Leader(s) |
|---|---|
| * | Founding member(s) |
| Members | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Guerrero (I) | October 5, 1998 * | January 1, 1999 |
| Héctor Garza | October 5, 1998 * | January 11, 1999 |
| Damián | October 5, 1998 * | January 11, 1999 |
| El Dandy | October 8, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Psychosis | October 12, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| La Parka | October 19, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Spyder | October 26, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Rey Mysterio Jr. | November 16, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Juventud Guerrera | November 22, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Ciclope | December 3, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Silver King | December 5, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
| Villano V | December 14, 1998 | January 11, 1999 |
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| Members | Joined |
|---|---|
| Rey Mysterio (II) | March 31, 2023 |
| Joaquin Wilde | March 31, 2023 |
| Cruz Del Toro | March 31, 2023 |
| Dragon Lee | March 29, 2024 |
| Members | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Santos Escobar | March 31, 2023 -November 10, 2023 |
| Carlito | October 7, 2023 -April 26, 2024 |
| Zelina Vega | March 31, 2023 -January 27, 2025 |
| (L) | Leader(s) |
|---|
| Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type | Promotion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legado Del Fantasma | Santos Escobar (L) Joaquin Wilde Cruz Del Toro Zelina Vega | 2023 | Stable | WWE |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| Career | | |
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