Lucha Underground – The Story So Far
By Carl Gac
When our own Rob Wolkenbrod spoke to Lucha Underground Executive Producer Eric Van Wagenen before the show started, he told us fans could expect something different to WWE and TNA.
Having watched the first couple of episode,s it’s plain to see they have definitely produced exactly that.
Something different but not always something better. Fitting into the El Rey Network style, the show feels like it’s being shot in the film style. Whilst the in ring action is good you get the feeling they want to make it just as much about vignettes and backstage goings on.
At the top of the company there’s the heel owner/promoter Dario Cueto, who comes across as a Spanish version of the evil Mr McMahon character, whether that’s a good thing or not, I have yet to decide.
They brought in some of the best talent from AAA south of the border, mixed with some of the best free agents in the U.S. and made a statement right from the start. They immediately set the bar high in the ring.
The debut match featured two wrestling legends in Chavo Guerrero Jr and Blue Demon Jr, both from families with a lot of history in the sport. Following that was the likes of Son of Havoc, Sexy Star and a main event pitting Johnny Mundo (former WWE star John Morrison) against Prince Puma (indie star Ricochet under the mask).
All the action kept the crowd happy on the first show but the ending, with former WWE big man Eziquel Jackson and pals, beating the stars down it left a bad taste in the mouth.
One high point is hearing Matt Striker and Vampiro on commentary. Both have the experienceto bring a lot to the product.
Going into episode two you hoped that the little things would change to make the product better.
Early in the show we had more from Cueto and friends, leading to Mundo and Puma beating his boys in a tag team match.
The pairing of Prince Puma with Konnan as his mentor will no doubt eventually lead to a match between the two.
The crowd gets into the action well, but at times it feels like the old days of WCW when you regularly heard crowd noise piped into the building.
Backstage segments are shot in a cinematic style, which sets the product apart from the usual things you see on TNA and WWE.
Sexy Star and Chavo fought Havoc and Ivelisse Velez were next. Chavo looking very much the star again to help his team to the win to rapturous applause from the crowd.
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Mil Muertes vs. Blue Demon Jr came last as the main event. In the storyline Dario Cueto has brought in Muertes to vanquish Demon, after Chavo failed the previous week.
That happened after a hard-hitting match, which brought out Chavo to seemingly make the save for Demon, but astonishingly turned the steel chair on him.
Following that with chair shots to most of the roster, including referees and a sickening shot to Sexy Star, it left Chavo as the big heel in the company leading into episode three.
There’s also a lot of good things to say about the product.
There’s some amazing talent on the roster, the show looks very different to anything you’ll see anywhere else and the style of matches, mostly, sticks to the Lucha style made famous over many decades south of the border.
There’s a lot more to come, with many big Mexican names set to star in the coming weeks, the genesis of Chavo as a mega heel and the feud/team of Mundo and Puma are all highlights to look forward to.
The good stuff far outweighs the bad.
So far the company is definitely living up to the billing and I can’t wait to see more from Lucha Underground.