Juventud Guerrera On His Reaction To Losing His Mask In WCW, How ‘The Juice’ Gimmick Started

In a recent interview on Talk Is Jericho, Juventud Guerrera discussed how his ‘The Juice’ gimmick came together in WCW, his reaction to losing his mask, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Juventud Guerrera on how his ‘The Juice’ moniker started in WCW: “Everything started with Juventud – nobody could say it. Everybody was like, ‘It sounds stupid, how do we say it?’ Somehow, someway, somebody just started calling me Juvi. From Juvi, I think Konnan was the guy who said Juvi Juice. ‘Give me some of that Juvi Juice.’ Then from there, The Juice came along. The Rock was doing his name, and then it was like, you’re gonna be The Juice. Later on, it was like the imitator compared to him.”

On his reaction to losing his mask in a match with Chris Jericho: “That was shocking because when I started my career, no wrestler wanted to lose his mask. You always wanted to have it. My dad still had his. So, for me to lose it and be in the position of losing the mask was not something I really wanted to do. In a way, something was telling me, maybe you can do it. I was just happy to be there. I just went with the flow. But yeah, it was shocking. I didn’t know how the people were going to respond or how they were going to feel about me. I always tried to look good and have a good look, but when you have a mask, you’re a little bit shy. But when you took my mask, it was perfect. I remember I was trying to pull the mask little by little. We didn’t have this planned. Then you just came and took it away. Little by little, I started to show my face. I looked straight to the camera and I was like, ‘Well, this is me.’ I went into the corner and I pulled my head out. I now had this gimmick of ‘Juice’ without the mask. I think people really started to like it a lot with my personality without the mask and the charisma. I think it was a little bit better without the mask.”

On whether he thinks he was more popular with or without the mask: “I think a little of both. That was very interesting because I now had this new gimmick of ‘Juice’ without the mask. I think people really started to like it a lot with my personality without the mask and the charisma and stuff like that. I think it was a little bit better without the mask.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.