Lucha Underground Top 10

Lucha Underground has been a favorite of mine for years now, but I have never featured it in a Top 10 until today. Why? Because the weekly storytelling of the show makes it a bit harder to work out a list of the ten stars that consistently should rank as the highest in my viewpoints. But I want to share my picks here as fans continue to turn in their votes for the top wrestlers of the year. So without any more ado, let's go straight into the top ten wrestlers of Lucha Underground!

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

1. Mil Muertes: The man of a thousand deaths is a dominant force still in Lucha Underground, but he still seems to be missing a lot of the drive he possessed in the first two seasons. Already out of the latest tournament, he may be on a collision course with the returning Prince Puma soon.
2. Drago, Fenix and Aerostar: Though the reigning Trios champions are still dominant in their division, the Trios titles seem to have received a demotion this year. With Kobra Moon aligning forces against Drago, that could change. We may be in store for a war between the Snake Tribe and the Trios champions for several weeks to come. 
3. Pentagon Dark: Another man left rudderless (and off television) after his attack on Dragon Azteca and Black Lotus last season bit him in the rear this one. With two broken arms he's likely to miss the next ten episodes or so, which could jeopardize any more appearances on this list for some time.
4. The Mack: I'm still not sure why he's never really been given a driven storyline, but even as the friend of Sexy Star he's shined. He seems poised to become a stronger player in the company as Season Three continues, but he remains a match away from really accomplishing anything of importance.
5. Cage: The best of five series with Texano seems to move at a glacial pace, but Cage still seems to be the dominant force of the two hosses. He seems poised to have a bigger storyline going ahead on the show, especially if the demonic possession hinted at earlier in the season comes to be.
6. Black Lotus Triad: Doku, Yurei and Hitokiri backed up Black Lotus and allowed for a great set of matches with Pentagon Dark that left him broken. With Black Lotus herself still limited in the ring, this is the perfect way to continue her progression on television.
7. Matanza Cueto: He may have lost the Lucha Underground title, but he's still an absolute monster. With his brother losing control of him, he may become more terrifying without the title than he was for his full season with it. 
8. Rey Mysterio: The company treats him like their biggest star and everyone of his matches has been high profile. They have smartly kept him away from the title picture, but now he seems on a collision course with Matanza that could leave both men broken.
9. Sexy Star: She won Ultima Lucha to become the Lucha Underground championship only to have it taken away from her only days later by the Worldwide Underground. But Sexy is still poised to be a top star in the company, even if her time with Lucha Underground might be coming to an end sooner rather than later, much as her time in AAA has.
10. Johnny Mundo: Though he might not be where he is without the Worldwide Underground backing him, Mundo has put on some of the best matches of his career in Lucha Underground. He's proven himself to be a top star and here's hoping he continues to shine as the show continues through into the second half of the current season. 

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

Looking back: The top 10 wrestlers of 2015

With votes now open for the Top 10 wrestlers of 2016, I thought it would be convenient to look back at the ten wrestlers that topped the list in 2015. It was an interesting list, featuring two Lucha Underground standouts, four WWE midcarders, an NXT wrestler and a recent WWE graduate who barely accomplished anything on the main roster that year. Yet, I can think of few lists as representative of the great talent of 2015 as this one. So without more ado, here's the list of some great talent. Click on each name to read their full entry.

1. Pentagon Jr.: I ranked him much higher, but Pentagon Jr. deserved to be near the top of any list he was on for his work in Lucha Underground.
2. Cesaro: Few talents are as consistent as the Swiss Superman.
3. Kofi Kingston: The New Day rose to fame in 2015, but even I was a bit surprised by Kofi's high placing. I actually personally placed him below Xavier Woods, who just barely missed the list. 
4. Prince Puma: Rather as Puma or Ricochet, he put on some great matches in 2016 in both Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
5. John Cena: It's not that often that an IWC site would rank Cena so high, but few people could argue how good Cena was during his United States title reign.
6. Big E: No one emerged with as much flair as part of The New Day as Big E. He showed why he deserves a main event push sooner rather than later last year. Hopefully 2017 is the year of Big E..
7. Seth Rollins: Iowa's own Seth Rollins dominated the main event picture of WWE and put on some great matches to boot. 
8. Bayley: Fact: There was no greater babyface in wrestling in 2015 than Bayley. 
9. Kevin Owens: He was already an indie superstar, but Owens took NXT then WWE by storm in 2015. 
10. Sasha Banks: I don't think anyone put on as many great matches in 2015 as Sasha. Sadly her 2016 might not have been quite as bright, but she's still easily one of the most talented wrestlers in the world today.