wrestling / Columns

Top 7 Wrestlers That Came From Lucha Underground

January 24, 2025 | Posted by Steve Cook
Ricochet aka Prince Puma Image Credit: Lucha Underground

There’s a lot to like about pro wrestling right now, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t things I missed. One of the things I miss most: Lucha Underground. Back in the 2010s, Lucha Underground was one of the most unique shows out there. The storytelling was unlike anything that was showcased anywhere else. Sometimes that was good, sometimes it wasn’t. It was always interesting.

Lucha Underground featured a lot of talent that would go on to even bigger & better things. It’s always fun to see wrestlers before they become worldwide superstars. Today, we look at the seven most magnificent wrestlers to come out of the Temple in Boyle Heights.

7. King Cuerno

The son of Fantasma got his first break in the US on Lucha Underground, wrestling as King Cuerno. Cuerno fancied himself as a big game hunter, and feuded with the likes of Fenix & Johnny Mundo. He was a well-dressed man, as shown in the video above.

After leaving Lucha Underground, Cuerno continued working for AAA before signing with WWE. He’d leave the mask behind and wrestle under the name Santos Escobar. Escobar currently leads Legado del Fantasma but unfortunately hasn’t seen a lot of success recently.

6. Reklusa

It’s easier to list the promotions Chelsea Green didn’t work for at some point. Prior to entering the Temple, Chelsea appeared for Impact Wrestling as Laurel Van Ness. She was a hot mess there, but did manage to win the Knockouts Championship. She previously appeared in WWE as part of a season of Tough Enough.

After leaving Impact, Chelsea went to LU and assumed the persona of Reklusa. She wasn’t there for long, but took part in a memorable main event against Pentagon Dark. I don’t think we’ll see a rematch in WWE, but as she recently stated: never say never.

5. Matanza Cueto

Dario Cueto was the owner and promoter of Lucha Underground, and was also one of the most entertaining characters to serve as a wrestling authority figure. He was all about violence, and one way for him to get that violence was through his brother. Matanza was quite the monster, destroying most of what was put in his path with impressive power moves. He even killed a couple of guys.

Jeff Cobb hasn’t killed anybody in New Japan or other places he’s worked, but he still utilizes some impressive power moves. He’s probably about due for his yearly AEW appearance, if I had to guess.

4. Fenix

Fenix would be higher on this list if I’d seen him more recently than July 2024. Unfortunately Fenix has missed a lot of time due to injury over the past few years, which isn’t terribly surprising considering his high-flying style. He’ll probably need to slow it down eventually, which on one hand will be a shame, but on the other hand is a pretty great idea.

To be honest, I don’t know if Rey Fenix is out due to injury at this point or not. I’ve read that AEW extended his contract with injury time. I’ve read that Fenix isn’t happy about it. I haven’t seen Fenix in a long time, and who knows when we’ll see him again. Its always a shame when a career gets shortened by injuries, injury time or whatever else. Hopefully Fenix gets back in the ring one of these days and shows the potential he had in LU and was realizing in AEW when he was able to.

3. Prince Puma

The knock against Ricochet for years has been a lack of personality. He might be overcoming those criticisms currently in AEW, but LU worked around them by giving him a mask and having Konnan as his manager. It worked pretty well. Prince Puma was a top guy throughout his time in the Temple, getting to face off with Rey Mysterio in a dream match and reigning as Lucha Underground Champion after winning the first Aztec Warfare.

Ricochet became a big deal in New Japan afterward, then made his way to WWE for several years. The “lack of personality” thing got in his way in WWE, but he at least had enough charisma to meet his wife there. Ricochet is among the best in the world at his style, and AEW seems to be the place for it, much like Lucha Underground was back in the day.

2. Killshot

Swerve Strickland had been all over the independent wrestling scene prior to appearing in the Temple, but the first time I saw him was on Lucha Underground as Killshot. He was a military veteran wearing a mask and stomping people on the head during some pretty wild matches. Strickland was one of a select few that appeared in all four LU seasons. His feuds with AR Fox, Marty the Moth & Son of Havoc resulted in some interesting times.

Not long after the show ended, Strickland signed with WWE and started appearing on NXT as Isiah “Swerve” Scott. Swerve had some success there and was a founding member of the Hit Row faction, but ended up released shortly after they started on the main roster and had some hiccups. AEW picked him up soon after that, and Swerve’s been able to find a lot of success there.

Honorable Mention: Rey Mysterio Jr.

Rey obviously proved himself to a worldwide audience long before stepping into the Temple, so he doesn’t really belong on a list such as this. I do feel compelled to mention him here since he’s still going at a top level in WWE long after everybody assumed he’d be retired. While Rey still takes risks, he’s become a smarter wrestler over the years and doesn’t do as much as he did in the mid-90s when he was doing everything. Rey has enough name value to make it work, and his work in Lucha Underground was a fine example.

Honorable Mention: The Black Lotus Triad

This group of women led by Angela Fong didn’t make very many Lucha Underground appearances. They cost Pentagon Jr. a shot at the LU Championship, then all three wrestlers took on Pentagon throughout the course of one episode. They weren’t seen in the Temple after that, but each competitor would go on to make an impact in pro wrestling. Two of them are currently part of WWE’s Damage CTRL: Io Sky & Kairi Sane. The other was Mayu Iwatani, who happens to be the current IWGP Women’s Champion & has held countless titles in STARDOM & other promotions. If you blinked, you missed three women that would eventually take their place among the best in the world randomly wrestling the man on top of this list:

1. Pentagon Jr.

Some may say there’s a little recency bias here since Penta just made his big WWE debut and sold more T-shirts in a week than Fruit of the Loom. Some may also say that Penta’s WWE debut was what inspired this list. Some wouldn’t be terribly wrong in either assertion, but I have been a Penta fan since the first time I saw him in Season 1 of Lucha Underground.

Presentation has been a big topic of discussion over the last few days. People that weren’t familiar with Penta went crazy over his entrance. I think Penta had pretty cool entrances other places too, but the first time you see him is certainly an experience. Presentation is one thing that’s always separated Penta from his peers. He always has cool ring attire. I always thought his promos were effective with subtitles, he had some cool videos on Lucha Underground where he came off like a badass. I think Penta excels at most things that make for a top WWE Superstar. I also believe that he’d benefit from not being in a tag team situation, but if brothers want to be in a tag team together I don’t blame them.

Penta should do really well in WWE. If he doesn’t, I honestly don’t know which luchador will.

Thanks for reading! Hit me up at [email protected] or on the social media with thoughts, comments or suggestions. Feel free to hit the comment section and tell us about your favorite Lucha Underground wrestlers that I forgot. Until next time, true believers!

article topics :

Lucha Underground, Steve Cook