Crazy Manny Explains El Generico’s Debut And Origins

Speaking recently on The Spotlight, IWS’s Crazy Manny shared some details behind the development of El Generico and how the luchador character originated (via Fightful). According to Manny, El Generico resulted due to an unscheduled absence for an IWS match. You can find a highlight on the topic and watch the complete interview below.

On how El Generico came to be: “Sami was literally one of my neighbors growing up, he lived a street away from me. He started coming to IWS shows as a broom boy. He would sweep the ring and sneak in early and would be practicing early and taking bumps. One day, TNT, his opponent didn’t show up and he was like, ‘give me the kid.’ We put an Octagon mask on [Sami]. The Generico mask is actually an Octagon mask. We put an Octagon mask on him that somebody had backstage, and we named him El Generico, the generic luchador. He went out there and had his first match. I’ll never forget, he did the Super Crazy corkscrew moonsault to the outside and when he landed it, he just went, ‘Ole!’ because he didn’t know what to say, and the crowd went insane and started ‘Ole, Ole, Ole,’ and it just took off. We all know what happened with him.”