wrestling / Columns
The 8 Ball: Top 8 Wrestlers Who Should Join Lucha Underground
Time for another 8-Ball dealing with my absolute favorite pro wrestling promotion at the moment: Lucha Underground. I mentioned this in my Wrestler of the Week this past week, but we’re getting better action in one hour of Lucha Underground than five hours of Raw/Smackdown. LU just finished taping its first season. If/when they come back for season 2, and by God they better, they’re going to need to introduce some new folks to kick things up a notch.
Anticipating this future need, the Magic 8-Ball is on the job. Time to identify the folks who should migrate over to the Rodrigueverse, where the wrestling is hip and hype. We’re looking for mutually beneficial relationships here, where both the wrestler and the promotion stand to benefit. Honorable mention goes to Chris Hero. Got a feeling he could do some epic stuff in LU if given the chance.
The former Jinder Mahal is still out there in free agent land. He’s got size (6’5”), youth (age 28) and plenty of experience. On top of that, he has one of the best sneers in pro wrestling. One thing Lucha Underground is missing is more of an Asian influence. While Singh, his current ring name, is actually Canadian, he’d make a nice first step in an Asian direction. LU does a stellar job of production. Singh would make a great heavy. He’d tower over most of the roster and he could build on his WWE past, claiming he was connected to something big and sinister.
He’s got an arsenal of high flying moves. His transition moves are mark out worthy. LU gets plenty of aerialists from the AAA roster, but Fox is cut from the Prince Puma cloth (they’ve faced each other numerous times). He’s got that American indies influence. He not only gets big air, but he makes it look like it should pop the other guy’s melon. TNA really should have recruited Fox for its X-Division by now. Since it hasn’t, LU could slip in and have him blow people’s minds. Fox is way better in the ring than Kill Shot/Shane Stickland. He’d make a fabulous tecnico.
He’s the head booker for ROH, also runs the ROH wrestling school, but most of his in-ring work in the 2010s has been in Chikara, where he lost a “loser leaves Chikara” match against UltraMantis Black at the end of 2014. Obviously he can work in ROH anytime he wants, but he’s a masked wrestler with a gonzo personality and style. He’s practically built for Lucha Underground. Imagine Delirious working alongside Pentagon Jr. or Mil Muertes? I totally want to see that. Amp up the crazy. Let’s get Delirious.
They’re probably the most notable AAA absence from the LU roster. If the plan is to kick things to a new level in LU’s second season, then Psycho Clown, Monster Clown and Murder Clown are the guys to do it. They’re the reigning AAA World Trios Champions. We’re talking more than two years with the belts. In Mexico these guys are huge. Part of the plan for Lucha Underground is to bring some of Mexico’s biggest wrestling stars north of the border. It’s high time we got our dose of kick-ass clowns. They’re like Chikara meets Attitude Era. We need that on our televisions.
Maybe this New Day gig will lead somewhere now that they’re going darkside. However, Kofi has kicked around aimlessly in the WWE for too long. John Morrison used to be in a similar situation – capable, but clearly a tertiary concern in the mind of Vince McMahon. Now Morrison is Johnny Mundo and he seems to be thriving in Lucha Underground. Kofi could follow his career arc. Kofi vs. Mundo. Kofi vs. Puma. Kofi vs. Fenix. Hell yeah. Guy deserves to go somewhere he can be spectacular and where fans love him. What shackles Kofi is we don’t believe he’s going anywhere. Yet remember that brief moment during Money in the Bank 2014 where it looked like Kofi might win and the crowd marked out? That’s all he needs, corporate confidence. He’s going to need to go elsewhere to find it.
Lucha Underground wants the girls to play with the boys. Well, Havok has size on most of its male roster. She’d be a completely believable crusher. Sounds like she’s headed back to do some work for TNA, but LU represents a completely different opportunity. She could become the most feared and respected female wrestler in the business, the woman who can put a hurt on any man. It’s there to be done. She’s potentially the lady to do it. She just needs the right platform. Plus, in wrestling terms, isn’t Son of Havoc like her brother or something? They’re even both from Ohio.
He calls himself The Big Guy these days, but in the WWE he’s really just a semi-big guy. I don’t think Ryback is going to leave the WWE, but where’s he really going there? His pending feud with Bray Wyatt is a potential career killer, or at least career staller. Ryback loses that and then what? Tag team I suppose. Yet put him in Lucha Underground and he makes Cage and Mil Muertes look like tiny, little men. He’d be like Godzilla hitting Boyle Heights. The WWE teases him as a force of nature because supposedly half the guys on its roster are forces of nature. LU could fully unleash him. It’s an opportunity he’s never going to get in the E.
Who’s the biggest name Latino wrestler not affiliated with Lucha Underground? Fine, Rey Mysterio, but he’s in AAA now and probably headed over to LU in the near future. Meanwhile the former Carlito is the reigning king of Puerto Rican pro wrestling. Helps that his family runs the wrestling business on the island. Doesn’t look like he’s going back to the WWE and he’s stayed away from TNA. Maybe LU would be more to his liking. Manageable time commitment, Latin roster, and the whole Puerto Rican-Mexican rivalry gimmick is a natural. Carly contra Alberto? Si! That would be a clash of Latin American wrestling royalty. I’m sure Colon leads a comfortable life where he is, but he’s still got a lot to offer in the wrestling business. He and LU could be a match made in heaven.
I take requests.. The purpose of this column is to look forward. What could be? What should be? What is and what should never be? What would make more sense? 411 has plenty of columns that count down and rank things that happened in the past. This is not one of those columns. The Magic 8-Ball is here to gaze into the future. If there’s someone or something you think should be given the 8-Ball treatment, mention it in the comments section. I might pick it up for future weeks.
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