The promotion’s flagship show, that airs Wednesday nights on El Rey Network, was just seeing a ratings uptick just a few short months ago. A combination of the debut of Rey Mysterio, viewers watching with bated breath to see when the monstrous heel, Matanza, would finally get what’s coming to him and overall solid matches made this a must see show.
However, ratings seem to have cooled in the past few weeks. With dips of over 25% of its viewership from week to week (149,000 viewers on the April 20th broadcast to 107,000 viewers on April 27th), the promotion needs to make some major changes to bring back lapsed viewers and pull in new ones.
The innovative promotion treats its weekly show less like a sport and more like an action TV series. Perhaps they need to take advantage of this and do a two hour TV movie. I don’t believe this has been done in a serious sports entertainment setting. This unorthodox concept could be the shot in the arm that Lucha Underground needs.
Another option may be for the promotion to stop giving away tickets to its weekly show for free. Perception is reality and quite frankly free tickets make the company seem like a lesser promotion. No one is saying they should charge what WWE charges for their live events. However, free tickets should honestly come to an end with Lucha Underground’s third season. Make your show seem like something you have to pay for and it will come off as something you have to watch on TV as well.
Whether it comes to top level talent like Rey Mysterio and Johnny Mundo or dominant physical specimens like Cage, Matanza and Mil Muertes, Lucha Underground has performers that are quite different than most North American wrestling promotions. But they fall into the trap of said promotions by advertising the brand and not the stars. Perhaps if we got more commercials that focus on the unique talent of the warriors of Lucha Underground, more casual viewers may tune in.
Whatever steps the company takes, it needs to take action fast, as they’re dangerously close to falling below 100,000 viewers.
