It’s not every day that a brand spanking new wrestling promotion debuts on network television. But last Wednesday, Lucha Underground premiered on the El Rey Network. Apprehensive at first, I thought the first episode of ‘Underground was pretty good. Maybe a bit overproduced, but when the alternative yields such low quality TV, I suppose that’s the lesser of two evils. Episode two saw more of the same sinister backstage segments, but I knew what to expect this time and thus found Episode 2 to be more enjoyable. So much so that I decided if somebody has to talk about Lucha Underground, it might as well be me.
Let me first say, before we start breaking things down match-by-match, I like the opening credits quite a bit. I live about 25 minutes from the “Lucha Underground Temple”, and think the producers did a top notch job scouting the scariest skylines in Southern California. The feel to this show is gritty and reminds me of any and every edition of The Def Jam wrestling games. We’re almost immediately meeted by former WWE Superstar and voice of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Matt Striker. Striker is joined by Vampiro, who looks like comedian Jim Norton, yet covered in tattoos. My good-natured jabs at the former Juggalo Champion are meant in no way to disparage his ability behind the announce desk. Striker and Vampiro are drawn to the action like no other announce team working today, and with no network or app to sell, they spend 100% of their time calling the action in the ring.
As soon as cameras hit the squared circle, we see Big Rick AKA Rycklon AKA Ezekial Jackson smoking a cigar in the ring. I’ve never seen that. Ever. Even when watching old matches featuring audience members smoking, I’ve never seen a wrestler smoke in the ring. I’m not 100% sure what to think of it, but I’m fairly certain it drew the sort of heat wrestlers have a hard time getting these days. The opening match was good and most likely the match of the night. I wasn’t enjoying Johnny Mundo last week, and I wasn’t seeing much I liked during the onset of this match. But about midway through, he stepped up the pace and I started to see the old Johnny Nitro shine through. The highlight of the match was undoubtedly the finish which saw the double 450° splash from both Mundo and Prince Puma. Puma is the one to watch in Lucha Underground, but anyone who doesn’t know how great Richochet is, probably isn’t reading this blog.
What I really enjoyed about the opening segment prior to the first match, was that it was fast paced. Three heel wrestlers were able to introduce themselves and establish the basis for an off-the-cuff grudge match with two face wrestlers in less than two minute. The WWE and TNA could take a lesson from this example of how less is, sometimes very often, more. Also, despite the length of the first match, there weren’t any distracting commercial breaks to draw you out of the action, which have become commonplace during every episode of Raw.
The backstage segments and vignettes, though almost comically commercial at times, are very well put together and reminiscent of Robert Rodriguez himself, perhaps in honor of his El Rey Network. Konnan’s talk with Prince Puma in regards to trusting Johnny Mundo was suspenseful and only outdone by another Konnan promo later in the night, where he spoke of Prince Puma and his rich family lineage. Konnan has always been an unusual character in the wrestling industry, and I’m glad to see his wise cracking ways back in action as a manager and mentor. I can only hope we get to hear, “You like my hat? Touch it. That’s enough!”
I don’t like the idea of a regular inter gender division. Maybe that’s a bit too traditional of me, but I don’t enjoy it and I think it’s a step in the wrong direction. I think an inter gender gimmick or tag team could be interesting and even enjoyable, but not as an every week addition to the show. Personally, not my cup of tea. But too each their own. A good match overall. Sexy Star is a phenomenal competitor, and I’ll argue that Lucha Underground could very well feature the best women’s wrestling on Network television in the United States. Chavo Guerrero is off to a great start in this promotion so far, and it’s not because of this match. But more on that shortly.
It was an honor to see someone like Blue Demon, Jr. on American television, but I wasn’t enjoying this match, whatsoever. It wasn’t his fault, I’m just not willing to give Mil Muerte any sort of chance. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m really tired of Ricky Banderes attempting to make the same character work everywhere he goes. I was especially detached from the gimmick when his lady friend licked Demon in the face, and said it was from Muerte. But the execution of the match was enough to properly support my bias against Banderes and disqualify this from any match of the night contendership. I was worried by this point that Lucha Underground was already falling into lazy habits when this, the main event, seemed as though it would close out the broadcast.
But low and behold, Chavo Guerrero comes to the rescue and attacks Blue Demon, Jr. However, he didn’t stop there. Following his initial chair shot to Demon, Guerrero proceeded to attack referees and even nailed his partner from earlier in the night, Sexy Star, with a chair shot to the head. As medical personel attempted to transport Demon to the back, Chavo only continued his onslaught against his former friend. He ended the show by sitting in the same chair that knocked out Sexy Star and Blue Demon. He smiled and chuckled to himself, soaking in the rain of boos, as the crowds chanted, “Why Chavo Why” along with a flurry of Spanish obscenities. I thought this was great, and not just because it ended the show on a better note than Mil Muertes could have. But because it was the first step towards building Chavo as a crafty veteran and the evil black sheep of the legendary Guerrero Family. While Lucha Underground has been fortunate in many of it’s talent signings, Chavo Guerrero could be the diamond in the rough that Christian Cage proved to be for TNA.
I think that Lucha Underground is off to a very strong start, considering some of it’s natural handicaps. I certainly think they need to tone it down with the cinematic stylization, and I could deal with a little less of the crane camera that hovers above the ring. The overall camera work gives the action and promos the look of something that’s clearly been edited, and in an industry that struggles with honesty, doctoring footage should be the last thing anyone needs to explain. I hope this national platform serves to help WWE and NXT take notice of Prince Puma AKA Richochet, as well as other lesser known independent and international stars associated with the program. Going in, I was worried Lucha Underground would suffer from the same mistakes as Wrestling Society X and Lucha Libre USA, but thusfar I’m pleasantly surprised. I’ll be back next week to discuss the third episode of Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network. Until next time, mi nombre es Mark Haggerty y nos vemos la próxima vez! ¡Adios!
