In October 2014, a new wrestling show debuted on El Rey Network. Lucha Underground presented us with something quite different than any other wrestling promotion. It is a one hour action show that just happens to have wrestling segments in it. I was a huge fan of the first season. Season two, while not as good as the first, was still entertaining. But something seems to be missing in season three. Or, this season may have exposed many of the problems with the promotion. The ratings have fluctuated to record peaks, but unparalleled valleys this year. Whatever the issues going on with this alternative wrestling company, here are eight things that I have pointed out that should help to right this ship.
1.) End the male vs. female matches: These matches drew eyes because no other televised North American promotion featured matches with men against women. The novelty seems to have worn off. Social media is not the best place to judge what a wrestling company is doing right or wrong. That being said, post after post about how uncomfortable people were watching the man-on-woman violence can be seen. These matches have caused some viewers to stop watching. Fans of these matches will likely not drop the show due to these matches no longer taking place. Those who found these matches unsavory may come back to the product.
2.) Do more inter-promotional matches and don’t drop the ball on the ones you do: Lucha Underground did great work in hyping up the debut of Alberto El Patron two seasons ago. The fact that they got Texano Jr., the man whom Alberto defeated for the AAA championship, to continue their feud in the Temple, was smart business. Do you know what was NOT smart business? Hiring Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani and Io Shirai, three of the greatest women from the Stardom promotion, and having them all go against Pentagon Dark. Having these women work one-on-one matches or tag team matches against the women of Lucha Underground would have benefitted the promotion much more in the long term.
3.) Stop having brand new talent lose or get beaten down in their first appearance: I did state that I was a fan of the feud between Alberto El Patron and Texano Jr. spilling over from AAA to Lucha Underground. That being said, I didn’t like El Patron getting blindsided and beaten down by his rival in Alberto’s very first appearance. This company has made a habit of having new talent lose in their debuts quite often. Anyone that knows professional wrestling knows that this is a sin of booking. If you want someone that the audience is unfamiliar with to get over, you MUST have them win early on. Want to know the quickest way to get a new talent under? Have them lose in their debut. This is a practice that needs to cease.
4.) Time to go on the road to do live events: There is a huge problem with Lucha Underground. It’s on a network so deep in the cable listings that most people do not have it. The Netflix deal certainly helps to spread the word. Something that would help even more is for the show to show up in cities around the country. Lucha Underground has two advantages most companies do not have; They have an off-season that should allow time to do tours. They also have a weekly broadcast, something that many independent wrestling promotions wish they had. Furthermore, those tours could help bring the viewership up from the 100,000s to the 200,000s, putting them on par with Impact Wrestling.
5.) Do one or two pay-per-view events per year: I know many feel that companies like TNA or Ring of Honor should stray from the pay-per-view business due to the fact that their buy rates don’t set the world on fire. Lucha Underground is a different story. The show is so serialized and all mapped out and filmed ahead of time. This prevents unnecessary tinkering along the way by bookers and writers. This also allows a better build up to big fights. Big fights are what sell pay-per-views. I implore Lucha Underground to take a chance and next year, make their two biggest shows of the year, Aztec Warfare and Ultima Lucha, two hour pay-per-view events. The results could be surprising.
6.) Give the commentary team a refresh: I will preface this by saying that I was once a fan of Matt Striker. This past year or two, however, he has grown to be a hindrance to the flow of the commentary. There are dozens of talented commentators out there that would be great play-by-play announcers. They might even light a fire under Vampiro and bring out a newfound energy in him. Mauro Ranallo did the same for Jerry the King Lawler when they teamed on SmackDown early last year. Speaking of which, Mauro will be a free agent in August and is one of the best in the business. Joey Styles is another whose commentary elevates every match he calls. Or, they could be trailblazers again and hire a female commentator. A woman that knows the business and avoids the self-indulgence that has made Striker’s commentary so painful the past two seasons could breathe new life into the product.
7.) Bring in a high profile actor as the “host” of the show: This show needs some mainstream attention. Professional athletes and actors showing up in professional wrestling has been a staple since the first Wrestlemania over 30 years ago. The show opener and transition segments handled by a name actor such as Danny Trejo, or even MMA mega star Ronda Rousey, would immediately pay dividends. Anxious viewers won’t be able to wait to see what the buzz is about.
8.) Have Vickie Guerrero debut as co-owner of Lucha Underground: I am a self-professed mark for Dario Cueto. I also am a realist and understand that there’s only so much mileage that the writing team can get out of him as the sly and manipulative owner of Lucha Underground. If Vickie were to debut as someone who bought out half of Lucha Underground, with the two in a power struggle over control of the promotion, could make for must see television. She is known by the entire “smart” crowd and the show would have diehard wrestling fans tuning in weekly out of respect for her talent and her family.
I avoided nitpicking where I could. Otherwise, I could have made a list three times as long. In the end, this is constructive criticism for a company that I once loved. I hope it can become as great as that first season was. What are some things you’d like to see Lucha Underground do differently? Leave comments and make your voice heard.
