31 Faces of Fear: Vampiro

For the month of October, we are going to run through some of our favorite wrestlers that inspire fear in their competitors and fans alike.

Ian Richard Hodgkinson is best known by his ring name Vampiro, a gothic wrestler with a bit of a punk vibe. A fringe player in WCW, he never quite found the mainstream success he had battling luchadors in Mexico.  He didn’t wreslter the lucha style.  Like a lot of his contemporaries in the late 90s, he was a brawler.  The clash of styles plus his flair for the theatric made the Canadian really popular in the Mexican promotions.  When he made the leap to WCW, he didn’t make much of an impact.  After all, there was already a gothic dude who wore similar face paint already in that promotion, Sting.  Coincidentally, his most famous feud was a minor one with Sting.  He spent the rest of his time facing the luchadors that he had worked against in previously in Mexico.

Now, he works primarily as a booker and occasional wrestler in Mexico.  Most know him for his turn as a color commentator on Lucha Underground.  He’s a controversial figure.  He’s recently gotten into arguments with John Hennigan about his booking practices.  He’s also dating Sexy Star and got a lot of flak for how he booked that match with Rosemary and others.  If there’s another season of Lucha Underground, will he be around?  Or does his troubles actually enhance his image on the show?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVJ-yqG88Ts

The 90s and early 2000s had a glut of gimmick matches.  For Vampiro, it makes sense to revisit his Graveyard match with Sting that took place in May of 2000.