The past decade of professional wrestling has definitely left many fans from the late nineties feeling cold. Years pass by and wrestling fans both nation and worldwide are left to ask themselves what do they want out of pro wrestling in today’s age? Do they want the bright lights and over-the-top characters of WWE? The throwback booking that NXT has shown can work today? The dedication to the craft and kayfabe that Ring of Honor provides? The jaw-dropping moves you see in AAA and CMLL? As a fan that felt his interest in wrestling dwindling, I asked myself all of these questions throughout the past year. Everything changed this October when I found a television show that combined all of these things into one electric package.
I found Lucha Underground.
Lucha Underground is a television show first, and it excels at being a TV show with flying colors. Not only do characters like Johnny Mundo, Dario Cueto, Sexy Star, and Chavo Guerrero burst through the seams with their personality and charisma, but everyone on Lucha Underground has a purpose to them and never feels like they exist only to fill up space.
Lucha Underground not only manages to rival the presentation of the WWE, but it found the secret to having its own style rather than being a rip-off of what people are used to. The Temple that the luchadores fight in week in, week out gives off a seedy and gritty vibe, fitting right in with the aesthetic of Robert Rodriguez’ El Rey Network.
Matches in Lucha Underground give the viewer little time to breath as the fighters lay it all on the line with moves that either devastate their opponents bodies or defy gravity entirely. Wrestlers like Prince Puma and Fenix deliver four-star matches on a weekly basis, and even hosses like Mil Muertes and Big Ryck make you grimace with their power moves against the rest of the roster.
LU is the alternative to mainstream pro wrestling that I have seen fans beg for. Not only does it succeed at the fundamentals of being a pro wrestling TV show, but it’s easily become the most progressive wrestling show possibly in American history.
Women like Sexy Star and Ivelisse aren’t just given just as much time to brawl with each other as their male counterparts, but they take on the men in weekly battles of the sexes. When I first heard of Lucha Underground’s plan to make inter-gender matches a common reality, a part of me cringed thinking back to the days of the WWF’s “Attitude Era”. My fears were for nothing though as the woman that can arguably be claimed to be the top star of LU, Sexy Star, not only went toe-for-toe against burly monsters like Son of Havoc and Pentagon Jr, but she promised to rip Chavo Guerrero limb from limb after he betrayed with a chairshot to the head.
Lucha Underground isn’t as serious as you may think it is, but it takes everything about itself extremely seriously. One of its competitors is a reincarnated dragon brought back in human form after dying during the medieval ages and another is a waiter down the street from a mariachi restaurant that got hired on the spot. But all of this is played straight, no winking at the audience or “oh, isn’t all this so silly?” tones given to anyone.
I’ve watched promotions like Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor for years now and I can with sincerity that Lucha Underground is the best alternative to mainstream wrestling since Extreme Championship Wrestling came onto the scene. Every complaint I have heard about the WWE in the modern age from too much saturation, not enough character development, weekly episodes don’t feel important, is answered by Lucha Underground. Some of the camera angles during the matches can be too hectic for me, and frankly Matt Striker sounds like a creepy lil’ bastard when commentating during women’s matches, but the flaws of LU are very few for me.
If you want to watch something new in the world of pro wrestling, you owe it to yourself to watch Lucha Underground on El Rey Network and UniMas. You can check out new weekly write-ups of the latest Lucha Underground episodes here starting with the show’s return on Jan. 7th.