In 1998, Gill beat Christian to win the WWE Light Heavyweight Champion. In fact, Gill even defeated Marc Mero in a match where Mero declared he would retire if he was unsuccessful. In fact, Gill was a reliable grappler for many years, battling a venerable who’s who of WWE Superstars throughout his career including Goldust, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Bob Holly, Sean Waltman, Billy Gunn, The Steiner Brothers and Shane McMahon. ( WATCH)īut Duane Gill wasn’t always a cartoonish parody. Par for the course for this goateed underdog. Gillberg leaned over the ropes, mugged for the camera and was quickly disposed of. Stumbling through a truly unimpressive pyrotechnic display, the relative unknown caused Jerry Lawler to sarcastically exclaim, “He could win this whole thing!” Well, not quite. In January of 1999, the bullhorn sounded the sixth entrant in the Royal Rumble Match, and out from the entrance tunnel came the man they call Gillberg to a thunderous ovation. It was soon revealed that Edge and Christian had donned the hoods to outsmart the champions, leaving the WWE Universe to wonder what happened to the original masked competitors. The Conquistadors ventured back to their mysterious Latin American abode until they seemingly returned to action in 2000, defeating The Hardy Boyz for the World Tag Team Titles. They were one of the final two teams in the match, but ultimately couldn’t handle the brute force of The Powers of Pain.
The Conquistadors, however, did find some success, appearing as part of a 10-team Survivor Series Elimination Match at the 1988 edition of the pay-per-view. The masked men competed in WWE rings throughout the ’80s, mostly as cannon fodder for the dominant teams of the era, like Demolition and The Hart Foundation. WWE Hall of Fame ring announcer Howard Finkel introduced them as hailing from the ambiguous “somewhere in Latin America,” leaving ’s chances of tracking them down somewhere between slim and none.
There’s not a whole lot of information known about these golden-clad combatants. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO PLAYLIST) Barry Horowitz Now, take a look back at some of ’s favorite journeymen. They earned the silent respect of the WWE Universe, who often knew the fate of these competitors before the bell rang. Though these combatants looked like they might be better suited as plumbers or electricians and had win-loss records to match, they still had the determination to step into the ring and ply their craft. In fact, they didn’t even have entrances. No high-energy rock music signaled their entrance.
Their ring gear was most likely a drably-colored pair of trunks with worn boots and a satin jacket.
These journeymen didn’t have bulging biceps. However, back in the day, a small group of sports-entertainers were notorious for different reasons, most notably their proclivity for being on the losing end. Muscular physiques, flashy ring attire and cool catchphrases make them stand out in the mind of the WWE Universe. WWE will always be known for its larger-than-life Superstars.