Lucha Underground returns with style

This past Wednesday, Lucha Underground returned with all the flair it set up in season one for a revitalized, more focused season two on El Rey Network. The television based project has been truly unique among wrestling companies, focused solely on making what has already been called by some (including myself) as some of the very finest televised wrestling ever made. The Temple is a set unique in its own right and the cast of luchadores that populate it are some of the best professional wrestlers anywhere in the world.

Season Two picks up with the reopening of the Temple, now controlled by Catrina. Her chosen champion Mil Muertes sits in judgment over the roster, high in his throne atop the Temple, watching over the action. But he also joined the action on Wednesday night as well.

Mil Muertes sits in judgment over the temple. Image credit: Lucha Underground.

The show kicked off with Vampiro in a mental hospital, recovering from the break that brought him into an unholy war with Pentagon Jr at the end of season one. Matt Striker pulls him from his stay and invites him back to the reopened Temple, now far darker under the controls of Catrina, Mil and the Disciples of Death.

The action kicks off with Fenix defending his Gift of the Gods title in a match that came to a shocking end. In a highly competitive battle with King Cuerno, the nefarious hunter played things fair and straight, winning a clean encounter with Fenix and taking the title that offers an automatic title shot against Mil Muertes. But it seemed a fix was in, as Cuerno has cut some kind of deal with Catrina to protect Mil from the Gift of the Gods title being used against him.

The second of the evening's three matches brought the former Trios champions back, but Catrina pitted them against one another for a shot at Mil Muertes' Lucha Underground title in the main event of the evening. Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse all wanted a shot at the gold, but it was ultimately the scrappy Puerto Rican that beat her two male comrades to earn her shot against Mil.

But any thought of aid against the numbers game wasn't to come for Ivelisse. The Disciples of Death appeared and swarmed the ring, beating down Son of Havoc and Angelico and dragging them from The Temple floor. A tired Ivelisse was forced to fight the fresh Mil on her own. She fought valiantly but her size, her lost stamina and interference by Catrina were enough to allow Mil to pick up the win and retain his belt.

But Catrina wasn't done with her nemesis. She ordered Mil to decimate Ivelisse with another flatliner. Before that could happen though, Prince Puma made his return, knocking Mil away and escaping the ring with Ivelisse safe. Yet, Prince Puma did not come against the combined forces of Catrina alone.

As The Temple went insane, Pentagon Jr hit the ring and laid out Mil with a backstabber. As the chants of Cero Miedo rang down on the ring, he used his Fujiwara armbar to snap the arm of the Lucha Underground champion in the middle of the ring.

It was a show that was hard not to feel goosebumps by the hour's end. And that is the power of Lucha Underground. It's an hour of compelling television every week wrapped up by some of the best wrestling action on the planet. The action is intense and the storytelling never fails to shine through.

And even as the show came to an end, Dario Cueto and Black Lotus made their return with their own alternate Temple, one that seems designed to feed the bloodlust of Matanza. What this means for Catrina's future or the future of the true Temple will surely be revealed as the new season continues over the winter and spring.

Catch Lucha Underground every Wednesday on El Rey Network. Non-cable subscribers (like yours truly) can watch it every week through the Sling service, which also gives free replays of past episodes.

Trios champions are crowned in Lucha Underground

The Trios title in Lucha Underground created some great teams and introduced some awesome talents to the brand (like Killshot and The Mack), but the story was really all about the mismatched team of Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse. But even as they thought the titles were theirs, one more team came in to spoil the fun: Dario Cueto's chosen unit of The Crew.

But the dysfunctional team wasn't going to give up with a fight and the result was some of the most epic action in a wrestling arena.

Ultima Lucha sends Lucha Underground out with a bang!

As Wednesday night came, Lucha Underground's future was still uncertain. While the show ended with an ominous "To be continued...", as of this writing the show has not officially been announced for a season two. El Rey needs stronger partners to keep the show going, but it seems likely we will at least see a short second season as they strive to make Lucha Underground work as well financially as it does creatively.

The shows were originally taped way back in mid-April, but pre-recording has never hurt Lucha Underground's epic brand of in-ring action. Lucha Underground is a show made for compelling series television first and that was apparent as they pulled out all the stops for the epic first season finale, Ultima Lucha.

The show actually kicked off last Wednesday, with a stellar three match card. It opened with a brutal battle between Cage (a man that will soon wrestle in the co-main event of TripleMania) and Willie Mack. Their battle was Falls Count Anywhere, and they took that stipulation to an extreme as they fought up and around the temple. The battle ended high in the bird's nest with a win for Cage, but both men came out of this looking like contenders for season two.

Three Lucha Underground stars WWE should keep their eyes on

Lucha Underground is probably my favorite piece of weekly wrestling television. It offers a far more compelling narrative than anything WWE, TNA and ROH put on with a deep roster of talented stars and some amazing backstage segments shot with a filmmaker's touch rather than a stark old school wrestling producer's. But rumors are already floating that the company may be in trouble. El Rey Network doesn't have the funds to keep a 40+ episode a year weekly series going and the company's Spanish language partner Unimas is still on the fence about their investment. While the folks running Lucha Underground want it to continue for years to come, they may not be able to prevent Ultima Lucha in a few weeks from being their final show.

But even if that should happen, it is far from the end for the great talents that populate the Lucha Underground roster. Several new stars have made a name for themselves with the company while several older stars have reinvented themselves in new and exciting ways. But I just wanted to focus on three stars I think WWE should go after should Lucha Underground fade into the ether.

Image credit: Profights.db

Angelico

Folks that follow me on Twitter have heard me talk about Angelico more than once. He went from a complete unknown in the US to a name to watch through his actions on El Rey. The South African wrestler is the guy WWE wanted when they hired PJ Black, a charismatic young guy with a great look, a great accent and some of the most amazing wrestling moves on the Earth. He's got a daredevil style that would make Jeff Hardy blush and could easily fill the role Rey Mysterio left vacant in WWE. Plus he has the added advantage of giving many a fan some male eye candy. He has given Lucha Underground some of its finest moments, and I don't think the kick-heavy flyer has even got started in his Trios title run with Son of Havoc and Ivelisse. If Lucha Underground does expand into a second year, I expect him to get an even bigger push, but if it doesn't, I can only imagine every major American company will rush to hire him.