Lucha Underground: One Fan’s Journey

Introduction: When Lucha Underground was first announced, my reaction could best be described as cautiously optimistic – it sounded cool, but I knew that Lucha Libre USA did not really set the world on fire either, so I was not sure what to expect from AAA’s experimental promotion. For historical perspective, I have always enjoyed lucha libre, and as a teenager, I would often find myself tuning to Telemundo, Galavision, or Univision, hoping to find a broadcast of AAA or CMLL. I never really knew what was going on, as my Spanish has never been even at a conversational level; however, there were some stars I recognized from WCW and the action was always fun. I can also remember watching the aforementioned Lucha Libre USA a few times and not enjoying it as much as I did the broadcasts from my teen years, in spite of being able to follow the storylines. And while I originally had some doubts about Lucha Underground, the promotion quickly won me over, and I have been hooked since the first episode.

In the Beginning

And while I expected a lot from Lucha Underground based on those early promos and episodes, what I did not expect was how completely the promotion would win me over, eventually supplanting NXT as my “must-watch” weekly wrestling show. (For the record, I still watch NXT, but it definitely took a backseat to Lucha Underground back in the winter or early spring.) When the show first debuted, it won me over with the fun, fast-paced wrestling that played on the tropes of traditional lucha libre while tweaking them just enough to keep it recognizable for American audiences.

Perhaps more surprising to me in those formative days was how well Lucha Underground utilized guys like Big Ryck and Johnny Mundo in those early days. I was not particularly fond of either performer during their time with WWE, but it seemed like Lucha Underground was more able (or at least more willing) to allow them to do what they are good at – in Ryck’s case, being huge and imposing, and in Mundo’s, being a charismatic jerk who is good at jumping and flipping off of stuff. Sure, Johnny’s acting in backstage segments has remained routinely terrible, but framed within the context of telenovelas and/or grindhouse films, that actually works to the overall benefit of the show.

In the interest of honesty, it was that tone, more than anything, that hooked me indelibly on Lucha Underground. While the wrestling was fun and the established guys were definitely being used better than most fans had been accustomed to, things like the recurring opening and closing segments and introductory character vignettes were really what initially made LU into a must-watch program for me. The repetitive in format and often predictable in message twenty-minute show opening interviews that are a staple of WWE (and, to varying extents, TNA) programming were nowhere to be found; instead like a more traditional television program, there was a short “Previously on Lucha Underground” video package, followed sometimes by a welcome from Matt Striker and Vampiro, sometimes by a terrific introduction from Melissa Santos (who does not get nearly enough credit for being easily one of the best ring announcers in the business), and sometimes by what would quickly become one of my favorite parts of Lucha Underground, a segment from el jefe Dario Cueto’s office (or a bathroom/locker room, or the roof, or…you get the picture). This simple variance from what has become a well-worn formula made Lucha Underground feel fresh and different, but over the course of a thirty-nine episode season, there is a strong possibility that even that could have gotten stale. Thankfully, Lucha Underground’s execution kept things fresh.

Turning Perceived Weaknesses Into Strengths

One of my biggest fears from that initial column that I wrote prior to Lucha Underground’s debut was that Dario Cueto seemed like another cookie-cutter evil boss figure, the type that have sprung up seemingly endlessly since Steve Austin first started Stunning (Stunner-ing?) Mr. McMahon. For the first few episodes, it certainly seemed like that would be the case – Cueto was slimy and untrustworthy and treated his employees with absolute contempt…unless they provided him something that he wanted and/or agreed to work with him. That sounds like the now-boring evil owner trope to the tee, right? Yet somehow, Dario Cueto has become one of the greatest authority figures in the history of the sport, and I say that with no hyperbole whatsoever. Apparently, hiring a professional actor to play a tired role can salvage it and make it truly great, as Luis Fernandez-Gil, the man who portrays Cueto, could not have done a better job over the course of thirty-nine episodes. The consistency with which he played Dario made him feel like every bad boss you have ever had – he played favorites, he put obstacles in the path of people that he did not like, and, perhaps most importantly, he remained committed to the belief that everything that he was doing was absolutely justified.

But it was not just Fernandez-Gil’s performance that made Dario Cueto such a highlight of Lucha Underground’s first season, as the tremendous storytelling was also a huge benefit to both the Cueto character and the promotion as a whole, which was the difference between Cueto being a well-acted but terribly cliched villain and a nuanced character with real motivations and a multi-layered personality. On the surface, Cueto was a rich, condescending jerk, but with the further exploration into his character provided throughout the season, we found out that he was from a long family of promoters, that he actually cared deeply about his brother (even though he kept him locked in a cage beneath the Temple), and that he was also an adept businessman, one who was willing to put aside personal grudges temporarily if it held the potential for a better show.

In that initial column, I compared Dario negatively to the Authority, who had, at the time, been actively tormenting Daniel Bryan (and, after his injury, his wife) for over a year. The performances by Stephanie and Triple H have remained largely exemplary, minus a few lapses into being the coolest/toughest/most important characters on the show, but the Authority itself differs from Cueto in that they never seem to have a true end game – they merely pick a wrestler, seemingly at random, and torment them endlessly, even if that wrestler is their presumed chosen one. Compare that with Cueto, who only stopped torturing technicos long enough to chastise his paid henchmen when they (repeatedly) failed at executed plans that he very clearly detailed. In some instances, even without spelling out his endgame, Cueto’s performance was pitch-perfect enough that it was easy to determine what he was trying to do, such as with his handling of Sexy Star and the Unlikely Trio throughout the season. Whether it was repeatedly putting Sexy against what appeared to be insurmountable odds or doing everything in his power to torment Ivelisse, Angelico, and Son of Havoc, Cueto remained focused on doing whatever he could to break the technicos’ spirits.

Quite possibly the best example of this consistent characterization was in Cueto’s dealings with Johnny Mundo. Even in their initial meeting, Cueto’s cordial nature when dealing with Mundo could not hide the contempt that he had for the former WWE Superstar, and once Mundo began actively threatening Cueto, that friendly veneer quickly disappeared and was replaced with outright hostility. Cueto did what he could to placate Mundo in order to maintain his physical well-being, while still taking multiple opportunities to stack the odds against the Angeleno. Even when Mundo started displaying rudo tendencies, Cueto did not embrace him with open arms, and he remained antagonistic to Mundo throughout the remainder of the season. This was especially true after Mundo put Alberto el Patron headfirst through the window of Cueto’s office…except when Cueto thought that Mundo could possibly take care of what was, at the time, a larger problem – Prince Puma continuing to hold the Lucha Underground championship. When Mundo failed to get the job done at “One Night, One Fight”, Cueto basically washed his hands of the man who had once given him a black eye.

Even more surprisingly (to me, at least) is that while Lucha Underground’s roster continued to grow and expand every few episodes, very few characters truly got lost in the shuffle. In the staff roundtable for Lucha Underground season one, I did lament the fact that Sexy Star’s booking was somewhat vexing, as she had major issues with several members of the roster (namely Chavo Guerrero, Pentagon Jr, and Super Fly), yet those issues just seemed to arbitrarily disappear when it was time for her to move into her next program. I realize that this is pretty much par for the course for modern North American professional wrestler, at least over the last decade; however, for a promotion that was so good with continuity, it was disappointing that a character who was featured so prominently for much of the season ended up getting short shrift as it pertains to ongoing storytelling.

However, that relatively minor complaint aside, it blows my mind that a promotion that featured over thirty wrestlers throughout a thirty-nine episode run was able to provide coherent stories for so many of them. Even jobbers like Ricky Mandel, Famous B, Vinny Massaro, and Argenis played into Pentagon Jr’s incredible ascension from “random guy in a three-way match” to one of the most feared wrestlers on the LU roster. When wrestlers were gone for weeks at a time, it was not because creative simply had nothing for them, they were on the run from “Mexico” or buried alive or kidnapped in the back of a car and taken for training to kill a horrific cage monster or had had their arms snapped by an evil ninja skeleton.

Which brings me to another refreshing facet of Lucha Underground – a show that featured an evil ninja skeleton, the human embodiments of both life and death, zombie henchmen, a horrific cage monster, and a dragon reincarnated as a man WHO COULD TURN INTO A DRAGON somehow managed to balance out all of those insanely awesome, completely unrealistic elements with more grounded, traditional wrestling drama. It was a fine line to walk, to be sure, but the creative team behind Lucha Underground managed to walk it perfectly. WWE has a hard time even using humor properly most of the time.

The Perfect Package

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating here, I think – if you are a fan of professional wrestling or sports entertainment, Lucha Underground has something to offer you. I feel like I have short-changed the actual in-ring content thus far in the column, so let me be completely honest here – Lucha Underground featured top-notch wrestling contests on a consistent basis. Every week, there was at least one match that would please even the staunchest wrestling purists, as long as they can appreciate the nuances of the lucha libre style. Plus, Lucha Underground has had several matches that I feel are Match of the Year contenders, including the match that currently sits at the top of my list: the Grave Consequences casket match between Fenix and Mil Muertes. If you are new to Lucha Underground, I would also highly recommend the Ultima Lucha match and the “One Night, One Fight” iron man match, both of which lasted entire shows. In terms of pure emotional investment, it is hard to top the final two matches to crown the inaugural Lucha Underground Trios champions, and nearly anything with Prince Puma or Alberto el Patron was worth a watch.

Between the wrestling, the unconventional storytelling that managed to include nearly every member of the roster AND maintain incredibly tight continuity, fantastic introductory video packages that perfectly introduced new members of the roster, and arguably the best authority figure in wrestling’s history, Lucha Underground managed to to check nearly every box a wrestling fan should have on their list of things to look for from a promotion. The icing on the cake was the unique production, which managed to bring the Temple to life and give it a character all its own, and which was also responsible for so many of those wonderful introductory vignettes and backstage segments. If it is not abundantly clear by now, you really should give Lucha Underground a chance.

And with that, I will leave you with a feature from my Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. reviews, and postulate my Theory of the Week, WHICH DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS (not so much for the show itself, but for who was portraying certain characters).

All the spoiler complainers gone?

Okay.

Since two-thirds of the Disciples of Death are sacrifices that Pentagon made to his master, I am going to theorize that Vampiro and either Mil Muertes or Catrina are working together, which will give us quite possibly the most awesome stable of all time: Vampiro, Mil Muertes, Catrina, the Disciples of Death, AND Pentagon, Jr. Hopefully that will give you something to hold you over until season two finally premieres.

Wyatt Beougher is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling who has been writing for 411 for over three years and currently hosts MMA Fact or Fiction and reviews Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.