Lucha Underground: This Might Be Greatness

Recently Lucha Underground debuted on the Spanish network El Ray. Unlike other televised wrestling promotions Lucha Underground is only 45 minutes long and doesn't feature any commercials. I admit TNA is my favorite wrestling promotion, but after just one episode Lucha Underground may be my second favorite, because this might be the greatest thing to happen to wrestling in a long time. Lucha Underground doesn't do anything normal. It's made itself unique in a ton of ways and they're awesome.

The show opens up with two Aztec warriors fighting in a cave. This goes on for a while before it cuts to the standard wrestling introduction for a television show. I admit this was the worst part of the show. Both WWE and TNA keep it short at around 30-45 seconds. Something quick to let you know what you're watching. Lucha Underground took 4 minutes. Hopefully, that's because it was the first show and they wanted to establish the history of Lucha.

We go live to the arena. I'm not calling it an arena, it's a dirty warehouse with bleachers and graffiti everywhere. The announce table is 2 feet from the ring at max and is no larger than a standard coffee table, it features Matt Striker and Vampiro sitting elbow to elbow, there's no barricade between fans and the ring. There is no entrance ramp. Some wrestlers enter from the ground doors, some walk down the stairs. This is not your standard wrestling promotion. The ring canvas looks like it was once white but is covered in brown dirt and has a giant Aztec Symbol in the center. This is by far the grungiest arena I have ever seen and it is awesome. The fact that they went the complete opposite direction of WWE, TNA and ROH by going to basics.

The owner Dario Cueto comes to the ring and talks about how Lucha Underground is all about paying homage to the Aztecs, putting aside the glamor and watching a fight. That's it. That's all he said and then he left. There was no long 30 minute opening like WWE. There was no 5 minute recap of last week like TNA. It was short and to the point.

The first match was Blue Demon Jr. vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. It's going to sound crazy, but Chavo got the biggest pop of the night. People went crazy for him and despite the fact that he was playing the heel he couldn't help hide his smile. Seeing other people who respected Chavo was great. This is when you realize Matt Striker and Vampiro might be a great commentary team. Striker really is a dictionary of wrestling and Vampiro is the greatest heel announcer ever. He was just saying the rudest things about everyone. Here are some of my favorite quotes of the night:

"Dario Cueto isn't Mexican, he's Spanish so the people don't like him and I can't blame them"

"Blue Demon Jr. Rey Mysterio, guys like that were the Guardians of The Galaxy when I was coming up, notice only one of them is still hanging on longer than he should"

"Chavo Guerrero is the red headed step child of the Guerrero family. He's just as good as the others but everyone hates him. It's okay because none of the Guerreros have ever been likeable except Eddie"

Vampiro was right, Blue Demon Jr. should hang it up. Chavo carried the entire match until the last 2 minutes. Blue Demon Jr. is the oldest competitor there by a lot and he shouldn't be hanging around. Then we get our first backstage promo between Dario and Konnan. Dario talks about how he's brought in a man who doesn't respect luchalibre to learn a lesson and asks Konnan to teach him. Konnan says he's too old but has Prince Puma to do the job. We get a package for Prince Puma talking about his Aztec lineage voiced by Konnan. In case you didn't know Puma is Ricochet. Johnny Mundo (Morrison/Nitro) will be his opponent.

I mentioned those backstage segments because they were awesome. WWE has the video quality on their side, but TNA does a better job of presenting them. Lucha Underground did both well and again, kept it short. There was also a segment with Dario and Chavo. It hurt to watch. It was like a movie. Chavo is sitting with a towel over his head, you can see the sweat drip off his nose as he catches his breath after the match. You see the blurry Dario's face come into focus slowly as he starts speaking. He says "What happened Chavo? You were supposed to show the legendary Guerrero family was the greatest in Lucha history and you tapped out. Shameful." I'm pretty sure the people who write and film the backstage segments for Lucha Underground do soap operas too.

The match of the night goes to Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma. It was great. One thing Lucha Underground does well is acknowledging the past. They acknowledge that Morrison hasn't wrestled in 3 years. Vampiro made sure to devote time to Konnan being slime. It was a great match.

Lucha Underground hasn't been around long at all and it's great. I'm a fan. I'll find a way to watch every episode. They do everything well. I don't have anything to complain about other than the extreamly long intro. It's great, give it  a watch when you get a chance.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He's also playing Pokemon Liquid Crystal on YouTube
Follow @OriginalKingD

Hey, wanna see that match between John Morrison and Ricochet?