So after the appalling show that was Fastlane and even from the PPV before that, I have found myself moving away from the WWE and trying to find alternative wrestling promotions for me to get my teeth stuck into. If you genuinely believe that WWE is the only main wrestling promotion out there, then you are sadly mistaken. There are amazing promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Chikara that really do know how to put on a show but the one that seems to captivate me is Lucha Underground.
Lucha wrestling or Lucha libre originated in Mexico and the style of wrestling couldn’t be more different from the style the WWE perform. When people mention Lucha wrestling, some people are drawn to Sin Cara and Kalisto who are currently being underused on the WWE roster and also the legend Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, but that style of Lucha wrestling that the WWE put on isn’t true Lucha. Lucha is as fast as it is hard hitting and this is truly shown on Lucha Underground.
Lucha Underground portrays itself as an indie show, but it can’t be further from the mark. With the segments between matches directed by none other than Robert Rodriguez, Lucha Underground seems to succeed where many other promotions fail to hit the mark – it tells a story. Each character is lovingly built up into a feud with another luchador and each feud has some rhyme or reason behind why they are fighting. The promo segments give off a dark vibe that feels very ‘Sin City’ and this adds further backstory to the current feuds taking place in the temple.
One of the biggest draws of Lucha Underground and the style as a whole is the fact that every wrestler tells a story. A luchador wears a mask when he wrestlers in the ring and the biggest shame a luchador can face is when he has his mask removed and is exposed for who he really is – it is from these stories that you really do get you behind a wrestler. Some of the characters include King Cuerno, a hunter who stalks his prey before he enters into a feud with them and Mil Muertes, who is built like a tank but has one of the most intriguing backstories that I have ever come across in a wrestling promotion, and is still unfolding as the weeks go by.
When wrestlers in the WWE face each other, I find it tends to become stale and boring after a few matches and I find myself skipping a lot of the action to finish, but in Lucha Underground, this is not the case. Some luchadores wrestler each other for weeks and each match is unique with different moves showcased each time. That is because of the unique style of wrestling that this show offers.
The Lucha style is possibly one of the fastest and hardest hitting styles that I have ever come across. It involves a lot of flips and twists and each luchador has the ability to throw themselves over the top rope into the wrestlers outside. In some cases, it is just a dive but other wrestlers, such as Johnny Mundo (who many will recognise as John Morrison from WWE,) manages to twist into a corkscrew dive as he flies over the top rope and the chops that each luchador delivers look and sound brutal. The other factor that makes this promotion stand out is that male and female luchadores wrestle each other and the matches are evenly balanced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZleMFPqows
But where this promotion really does stand out is that every belt means something. The Heavyweight Championship belt was held by Prince Puma, the first champion, for over a year before he lost it and he put on some amazing titles defences to ensure the gold stayed around his waist. They also have the ‘Gift of the Gods’, which sees luchadores compete for seven medallions. After each of the medallions have been won, those wrestlers are entered into a seven way match to see who takes away the ‘Gift of the Gods’ belt, which grants them a title shot.
Lucha Underground bases itself heavily on the old Aztec principles of war, which also adds to another side of storytelling that is rarely seen in wrestling today. The owner is always mixing it up and upping the stakes which means no two episodes are the same.
WWE need to look closely at their own format and the format that Lucha Underground provides and rethink their strategy. If WWE could pull off what this promotion manages to succeed at doing every week, then I would be more inclined to stay tuned.
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