On February 17, 2022, WWE released Spanish commentator Carlos Cabrera from his contract. This ended an era for the Latin-American wrestling community as Cabrera was the last of the old guard in terms of WWE’s original body of Spanish broadcasters. Dating back to 1994, he and Hugo Savinovich were the ‘SAP Version’ voices for the WWF, later WWE, for nearly every single televised broadcast until October 5, 2011, when WWE fired Savinovich. According to sources, it was not an amicable split. 11 years later, Carlos Cabrera has also been let go. To put it into perspective, Cabrera has had a longer stint as a commentator than Michael Cole. WWE’s most tenured commentator in English. 1994 to 2022, 28 years to Michael Cole’s 25 who started in 1997. Cabrera and Savinovich, are ingrained into the entire Latin-American community of the WWF/WWE in a way that not even Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are. So, of course, to a lot of those fans, they bring big name value and nostalgia as the voice of so much of WWE’s history.
Hugo Savinovich & Carlos Cabrera Back Together Again
But, just like how times change, so do the faces we recognize. While WWE’s Spanish identity is now led by Marcelo Rodriguez & Jerry Soto, Hugo has kept busy the past few years since his WWE firing. Primarily as one of the commentators for AAA. But more controversially, for dabbling into wrestling journalism. His own Wikipedia article sums this new endeavor of his in detail:
“Hugo is currently a pro wrestling reporter in the spanish speaking community. He is part of Lucha Libre Online, along with Javier González and Michael Morales Torres. His work of reporting has been quoted by sources like Forbes, New York Post, among others, but not for his good work.
Lucha Libre Online, the project that Savinovich works on, has been criticized for its tabloid style of journalism and its tendency to clickbait. Savinovich himself has been criticized for allegedly taking a victim position when criticized, claiming that he cannot do anything wrong by being a religious pastor.”
With that in mind, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that Hugo, with a long-standing partner now by his side again, is lobbying for a spot in AEW while at the same time attempts use his status and platform to badmouth Cabreras’ replacement Jerry Soto.
The header reads: “Jerry Soto ISN’T Pro Wrestling.”
The header reads: “Tony Khan can CHANGE WRESTLING with Hugo Savinovich & Carlos Cabrera.”
Would They Change Things?
Could Hugo & Carlos CHANGE wrestling? How would they? By giving AEW a more presentable Spanish commentary team?
Hugo lobbying for a spot in AEW isn’t anything new. He’s done it since the company’s formation in 2019. That year, he called the company’s first batch of Pay-Per-View events. But was not brought back. Once again, Wikipedia seems to detail:
“Cody Rhodes appointed Savinovich as a commentator for All Elite Wrestling (recently allied with AAA) sometime that he accepted. Savinovich participated in two PPVs in Spanish for AEW, however, due to contractual problems with AAA and other internal issues with AEW, he was not hired again.”
I realize it’s not exactly the most endearing thing to be using Wikipedia as a source. Though in this case, it’s more of a summary of details. To emphasize that the critical observations surrounding the former WWE commentator aren’t just this writer’s opinions. It’s a perception so detailed, it’s embedded into the man’s personal life profile monitored by a very large community. The point being that if AEW had any interest to bring in Hugo Savinovich specifically, he would’ve been there long ago. Because he in fact was there, but was quickly dispatched and the company showed no interest whatsoever to try and bring him back. Instead, opting for a commentary team with zero experience or even a firm Spanish dialect in Alex Abrahantes and Dasha Kuret.
I don’t doubt that Hugo & Carlos could be a great addition to AEW for their Spanish broadcasting front. The two together boast over a century of Spanish language broadcasting experience. However, the means by which they look to do it is what’s questionable, utilizing their clout over the Latin-American community and slandering their replacements. While journalists doubling as broadcasters or wrestling personalities isn’t necessarily something new, there is a sense of sliminess to it here. Solomonster of Solomonster Sounds Off works for House Of Glory. Brian Zane from Wrestling With Wregret works for the independent scene and had a stint in ROH. Chris Charlton started out as a podcaster and writer before becoming NJPW’s translator and now English broadcaster. Being a cross between a wrestling journalist and being a direct part of wrestling is not something new. But this feels so very different. If Hugo and Carlos do end up with AEW, it wouldn’t be something earned. It would feel like something gained through peer pressure.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world.
