We see a massive pushback on diversity in Hollywood for a few reasons. The product is crap; the studios are shaming people into consuming it. Cassandro takes an entirely different approach, and it pays off.

Cassandro is about a man named Saul who wants to be a wrestler in Mexico. While Saul isn’t the biggest or fastest wrestler in the Lucha Libre world, he makes up for it by being entertaining. He dawns the name Cassandro and dresses up in makeup and flamboyant outfits. At first, the crowd hates the gimmick and yells homophobic slurs at him; however, Cassandro eventually wins over the crowd with his antics, and they start cheering for him. Even his promoter tells Cassandro’s opponents to let him win because the crowd is so into it.

Saul starts attending wrestling school more to become better at his craft. He starts winning more, and eventually, every stadium chants his name. He even earns a title match against famed wrestler El Hijo del Santo.

Outside of the ring, Saul is in a relationship with a man who is ashamed to be with him publicly or even acknowledge they’re a couple. Saul also wants to make his mother and family proud of him as a wrestler. The movie doesn’t preach. It doesn’t shame you for thinking Cassandro is a ridiculous-looking wrestler. And the point of this movie is that if you work hard enough and put together a good product, nobody cares about the other things. Cassandro failed because he was gay; he did because he was good at his job.

Its approach makes Cassandro stand out in the diverse storytelling landscape. It doesn’t exploit Saul’s sexual orientation for sensationalism. Instead, it treats it as a facet of his identity, no more defining than his love for wrestling or his commitment to his family. This distinction is vital. In a time where diverse characters are often reduced to their differences, Cassandro gives us a character whose depth transcends labels.

Similar things have been done in wrestling with varying degrees of success. In the WWE, the team of Billy and Chuck was massively successful, and the due were fan favorites for their time together. However, in AEW, Sonny Kiss recently got released because his gimmick was simply that he was gay and didn’t string together any matches of value or make the fans care about him.

In essence, Cassandro is a lesson for modern storytellers. It shows that audiences resonate with authenticity. Diversity isn’t just about showcasing different faces but providing genuine narratives that humanize, not tokenize. As Saul finds acceptance and success not just as a gay man but as a talented wrestler and a devoted son, we are reminded that real stories lie in the intricate web of our multiple identities, and it’s about time Hollywood took note.

World War Joe