Lucha Underground

Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion and serial drama television series owned and produced by United Artists Media Group. The weekly series aired in English on the El Rey Network and previously aired in Spanish on UniMás. The series featured wrestlers from the American independent circuit and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), one of the biggest wrestling promotions in Mexico.[2] AAA also owned a percentage of Lucha Underground.[3]

Lucha Underground
Genre	Action Drama Lucha libre Professional wrestling
Developed by	One Three Media
Starring	Lucha Underground roster
Narrated by	Matt Striker Vampiro
Country of origin	United States Mexico
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	127 (as of November 7, 2018 (2018-11-07)) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Mark Burnett Robert Rodriguez Eric van Wagenen Anthony Jensen Chris DeJoseph
Producer(s)	Matthew Stollman Chris Roach Chavo Guerrero Jr. Sue Vial Barry Murphy Ryan Hermosura Nick Staller
Production location(s)	The Temple Boyle Heights, California (2014–2017) The Ice Temple Downtown Los Angeles, California (2018)[1]
Camera setup	Multicamera setup
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	United Artists Media Group MGM Television
Release
Original network	El Rey Network
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29) – November 7, 2018
External links
Website

The series premiered its first season on October 29, 2014; it ran for 39 episodes. The second season of Lucha Underground started on January 27, 2016 and ran 26 episodes. Prior to the taping of the last Lucha Underground episode for season 2, the show was renewed for a third season which premiered on September 7, 2016. It was also revealed that episodes from the show would be available for purchase on iTunes. On February 1, 2017, Lucha Underground signed a deal with Netflix in the United States and Canada; the first two seasons of the series became available for streaming on Netflix on March 15, 2017 and remained available until November 15, 2018, at which time they were pulled from the service. Seasons 3 and 4 never aired on Netflix. Season 4 aired from June 13 to November 7, 2018. After two years of uncertainty regarding the future of Lucha Underground, Vampiro, who acted as a commentator on the series, claimed in 2020 that Lucha Underground was discontinued, stating "The writers are gone, the production crew is gone, the company is split."

History

In January 2014, it was announced that producer Mark Burnett of One Three Media would be partnering with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network to launch a weekly hour-long television show in the United States in the second half of the year; the show would be affiliated with Mexico's Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA).[4] In July 2014, the show was tentatively called Lucha: Uprising.[5] In August 2014, the show was renamed as Lucha Underground, and it was announced that five AAA wrestlers would join the show, namely Blue Demon Jr., Sexy Star, Fénix, Drago and Pentagón Jr. The show would be taped in front of a live audience in Boyle Heights, California, with the first taping being on September 6, 2014.[6][7]

The series premiered on October 29, 2014, on the El Rey Network where it aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET,[8] and in Spanish on November 1, 2014, on UniMás where it aired on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. ET.[9] Unlike other promotions, matches are typically shown in their entirety without commercials, with the exception of the Aztec Warfare matches, which last the entire length of the program.

Johnny Mundo won the main event of the program's debut episode on October 29, 2014. On January 7, 2015, Prince Puma was crowned the first Lucha Underground Champion when he won the inaugural Aztec Warfare match.[10] On April 22, 2015, Angélico, Ivelisse, and Son of Havoc were crowned the first Lucha Underground Trios Champions when they won the Trios Tournament. On March 25, 2015, it was announced that Lucha Underground would be holding their first major event in early August 2015 entitled Ultima Lucha.[11] Lucha Underground was represented in the 2015 Lucha Libre World Cup by wrestlers Johnny Mundo and Brian Cage as part of "Team TNA/Lucha Underground" and "Team ROH/Lucha Underground", in the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup by Johnny Mundo, Brian Cage, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. as "Team Lucha Underground" and in the 2017 Lucha Libre World Cup by Aero Star, Drago, Marty Martinez, and Son of Havoc as part of "Team Mexico Lucha Underground" and "Team USA Lucha Underground".

On July 4, 2015, Lucha Underground announced a partnership with the Canada-based International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS).[12][13] On September 21, 2015, it was announced that Lucha Underground would be returning for a second season.[14] The first tapings for season 2 took place on November 14, 2015, and began airing on January 27, 2016.[15]

Prior to the taping of the last show for season 2, the producer announced to the cast that after airing just one episode of season 2, the show had been renewed for a third season.[16] El Rey made the official announcement on February 1, 2016.[17]

In 2016, Lucha Underground held their first live event outside of the Boyle Heights' Temple called Austin Warfare at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas, part of the 2016 South by Southwest Festival.[18]

On November 10, 2017, it was announced that Lucha Underground was renewed for a fourth season set to premiere in 2018.[19] In February 2018, two of the show's producers, Eric van Wagenen and Chris DeJoseph, announced that the Temple would move from its former location in Boyle Heights to Union Central Cold Storage (dubbed "The Ice Temple") in Downtown Los Angeles.[1] In early 2018, Lucha Underground entered into a working relationship with Impact Wrestling. On April 6, 2018, Lucha Underground held a collaborative event with Impact Wrestling that streamed live on Twitch.[20] During the co-promoted event with Impact Wrestling, a commercial aired announcing that the fourth season would begin airing on June 13, 2018.[21]

After season 4 aired, van Wagenen stated in November 2018 that he was unsure if season 5 would happen, citing budget concerns. He stated "Season 5, if we do it, will be a major reboot. Cast-wise, on a lot of levels we'll be looking to reboot season 5."[22] In a 2020 interview with Chris Van Vliet, Vampiro stated that though not officially announced, Lucha Underground was over: "90% of the roster is in AEW and the other 10% is in the WWE. The writers are gone, the production crew is gone, the company is split."[23]

Roster

Main article: List of former Lucha Underground personnel

Championships

Championship	Final champion(s)	Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes
Lucha Underground Championship	Jake Strong	1	March 18, 2018	243	Boyle Heights, Los Angeles	Defeated Pentagón Dark at Ultima Lucha Cuatro.
Gift of the Gods Championship	Vacant	—	—	—	Boyle Heights, Los Angeles	Vacated once Jake Strong cashed in at Ultima Lucha Cuatro
Lucha Underground Trios Championship	The Reptile Tribe (Daga, Kobra Moon, and Jeremiah Snake)	1	March 9, 2018	243	Boyle Heights, Los Angeles	Defeated The Mack, Killshot, and Son of Havoc in a trios tornado match.

Other accomplishments

Accomplishment	Last Winner	Date	Episode
Aztec Warfare	Pentagón Dark	February 24, 2018	El Jefe
The Cueto Cup	Prince Puma	June 11, 2016	The Cueto Cup
Battle of the Bulls Tournament	The Mack	April 23, 2016	The Battle Of The Bulls
Unique Opportunity Tournament	Son of Havoc	January 30, 2016	Ultima Lucha Dos
Trios Tournament	El Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio Jr.	January 10, 2016	Cage In A Cage

Reception

Lucha Underground was well received by critics and fans. On IMDb, the first season received 9 out of 10.[24] John Moore, from ProWrestling.net, praised the show for "[knowing] their identity and [weaving] together an amazing universe".[25] Lucha Underground has also gained praise from media sites like Uproxx, which said Lucha Underground had two of the top ten matches of 2015.[26] In 2015, the show was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter[27] and won SoCal Uncensored's 2015 Southern California promotion of the year award, ending Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 12 year streak of winning the award.[28]

In comparison to WWE, Sports Illustrated described the promotion as "vastly different", with the show creating a "cinematic approach with supernatural elements and science fiction that also embeds wrestling psychology and storylines".[19]

Broadcasters

Country	Network
Canada	TeleLatino[29]
France	La Chaine Action[30]
Germany	Tele 5 and TNT Serie[31][32]
India	1Sports[33]
Philippines	TAP DMV
Japan	Fighting TV Samurai[34]
Southeast Asia	KIX[35]
United States	El Rey Network[14]

Lawsuit by King Cuerno and others

On February 6, 2019, it was reported that Jorge Luis Alcantar, who worked as King Cuerno for Lucha Underground, had filed a lawsuit in California against the El Rey Network and the Baba-G production company behind Lucha Underground. The lawsuit claimed that the LU contract "Illegally restricted" wrestlers from working in their "lawful profession" by being restricted from working for other companies while under contract with LU, which only paid per episode.[36][37] Alcantar's stated that this usually is less than $1,000 per appearance, with some of the LU cast earning only about $4,000 a year from the show.[37] Alcantar's lawyer also revealed that he had filed a class action lawsuit against LU over the contracts that he claims are not legal under California law.[36] Other wrestlers Ivelisse Vélez, Joey Ryan and Melissa Cervantes joined him in the class action lawsuit, looking to invalidate their contracts.[38] As of March 26, 2019, all lawsuits had been settled in the wrestlers' favor and they were free from their LU contracts.[39]

References

1. Stroud, Brandon (February 12, 2018). "Your First Look At The Ice Cold New 'Temple' For Lucha Underground Season 4". Uproxx. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
2. "411MANIA". Lucha Underground Officially Parts Ways With Hernandez.
3. Johnson, Mike (7 February 2016). "More on issues with Konnan, AAA and others in recent weeks". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
4. de Moraes, Lisa. "TCA: Mark Burnett To Launch Lucha Libre AAA League In U.S. With El Rey Network; 'From Dusk Till Dawn' To Premiere In March". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
5. Caldwell, James (2014-07-10). "AAA news: El Rey announces AAA Lucha Libre show for U.S. TV - timeslot, show title, more details". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
6. "El Rey Network announces more details of AAA Lucha Libre project". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
7. Queally, James (April 22, 2015). "Learn to speak lucha: The secret language of the squared circle". Los Angeles Times.
8. "Lucha Underground promotion TV debut moved back three weeks". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
9. Steinberg, Brian. "Univision To Use El Rey Wrestling Show To Bolster UniMas". Variety. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
10. Johnson, Mike (2014-10-05). "Lucha Underground spoiler". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
11. ""Ultimo Lucha" TV Special Planned for Lucha Underground". Wrestlezone. March 25, 2015.
12. "IWS forms partnership with AAA wrestling and Lucha Underground", International Wrestling Syndicate, Retrieved on July 5, 2015.
13. Laprade, Patric. (2016-03-07) "Mysterio at IWS latest in Montreal-Mexico exchange", SLAM! Wrestling, Retrieved on March 07, 2016.
14. "Believers, are you ready? #LuchaUnderground season 2 is coming in 2016!". Lucha Underground. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
15. Peeples, Jeremy (January 27, 2016). "Lucha Underground Results: Season 2 Kicks off with an Intergender world title match". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
16. Thomas, Jeremy (January 31, 2016). "Lucha Underground renewed for Season Three". 411Mania. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
17. "Lucha Underground gets picked up for a third season". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
18. "Lucha Underground wrestlers battle at Austin Music Hall at SXSW - The Daily Texan". www.dailytexanonline.com.
19. Gartland, Dan. "Lucha Underground Will Return for a Fourth Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
20. "Impact Wrestling Vs. Lucha Underground Event Announced For WrestleMania Weekend". Wrestling Inc. 1 March 2018.
21. Nieves, Davey (7 April 2018). "No Spandex Saturday: Lucha Underground is coming back".
22. "Lucha Underground Exec Producer Unsure If Season 5 Will Happen". allwrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
23. "411MANIA". Vampiro Says Lucha Underground Paved The Way For AEW, Discusses Why Lucha Underground Failed.
24. "Lucha Underground". IMDb.
25. "5/20 Moore's Lucha Underground Review: The Crew vs. Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico in a Ladder Match for the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, Marty The Moth vs. Prince Puma, Daivari vs. Texano". Prowrestling.net. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
26. "The Beast, The Boss, And The Blood: The 10 Best Pro Wrestling Matches Of 2015". 21 December 2015.
27. "Lucha Underground: A new era in wrestling". ESPN. January 27, 2016. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016.
28. Cal, Jay (7 March 2016). "2015 SoCal Year End Awards".
29. "Lucha Underground Secures Canadian Television Deal | Fight Network". Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
30. "Catch " Lucha Underground " saison 3". www.actiontv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-12-04.
31. "Lucha Underground". Turner Entertainment (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-04.
32. "LUCHA UNDERGROUND". www.tele5.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
33. "DSPORT bags exclusive broadcast rights of 'Lucha Underground' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
34. "＜Lucha Underground＞ ： 番組情報 ： プロレス・格闘技専門ch FIGHTING TV サムライ". www.samurai-tv.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-12-04.
35. "KIX's Lucha Underground Premiere Wins its Timeslot in the Philippines - CASBAA". CASBAA. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
36. Rose, Bryan (February 6, 2019). "Two lawsuits filed over Lucha Underground contract issues". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
37. Satin, Ryan (1981-11-19). "Lucha Underground Star Files Dispute Against El Rey Network". Prowrestlingsheet.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
38. Mutter, Eric (February 6, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA, IVELISSE, JOEY RYAN AND THUNDER ROSA FILE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST EL REY NETWORK AND BABA-G PRODUCTIONS". Lucha Central. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
39. Collins, Elle (March 26, 2019). "The Lucha Underground Lawsuits Are Settled, Freeing Several Wrestlers from Contracts". Uproxx. Retrieved October 6, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• MGM webpage for Lucha Underground