Lucha Underground is no different in that regard, but in their premiere season of wrestling, they have managed to prove on a weekly basis that they are the best weekly wrestling product on TV today. Why you ask? It'll be pleasure to explain why.
*** WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!! ***
IN-DEPTH STORYLINES
Lucha Underground is approximately a hour every week per episode, but there's more plot development and advances to their stories here than in the 4-5 shows on WWE's weekly programming of that 12+ hours of content that they release on a weekly basis. All of Lucha Underground's storylines have started since the premiere episode and have continuously built upon up to this climatic finale that is Ultima Lucha. Fans (like me) are on the edge of their seats to see how everything will pan out in this 2-part finale.
BRILLIANT CINEMATOGRAPHY
Filmmaker and acclaimed director Robert Rodriguez is backing Lucha Underground in more ways than one and his fingerprints are all over the cinematic style of Lucha Underground. Every backstage segment and vignette is shot like a feature film. Never before professional wrestling has been presented in this fashion. It's an exciting breath of fresh air and adds to the compelling drama that Lucha Underground has created with their universe. The cinematography alone definitely sets them apart from the rest of their competition on the market today.
During the opening episodes of the season, video packages and vignettes introduced fans to the characters of this universe in a way that were so visually appealing that it even influenced WWE to make chances to their own vignettes. Want proof? Check out the recent video packages WWE released on NXT for Finn Balor and the NXT Divas after Lucha Underground came around.
COMIC BOOK STYLE APPROACH TO NARRATIVE & CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Perfect example to this. Black Lotus (formerly WWE Diva Angela Fong) hasn't wrestled a SINGLE match in Lucha Underground but her background and storyline has been hinted at and sprinkled throughout this season that she hasn't had to even wrestle for people to be invested into her character.
Without in-depth spoilers, Lucha Underground actually "killed" off a character over the course of the season to further their narrative. Whereas wrestling fans have criticized both WWE and Impact Wrestling for "insulting their intelligence", the comic book style approach to the narrative here is presented in a way that fans of this product see this form of wrestling as a sort of a graphic novel/comic book and it's not as ridiculous to see something like that happen.
In the vein of that concept, Mil Muertes is a character that actually grows (along with many others within the first season) and actually evolves into a new entity (almost to the level of being this promotion's own version of The Undertaker to a much extreme degree) over the course of the season.
At simple glance, one would think that a trio of losers who just can't get a break at winning won't amount to anything great on Lucha Underground. Instead, they end up becoming the promotion's biggest babyfaces to cheer for by the end of the season. Unlike most other mainstream wrestling promotions on TV, the characters on Lucha Underground actually show progress and don't stay the same.
I remember being frustrated after watching the first two episodes, thinking that it wasn't anything different from what I've been used to on mainstream wrestling outlets, but I'm glad I've stuck along with the show from beginning to end. There have been twists and turns that would make even Chris Claremont or Stan Lee blush.
Lucha Underground may be a shorter broadcast than it's competition but that adds to their episodic weekly format.
NO LONG WINDED PROMOS TO OPEN THE BROADCAST
Dario Cueto acts as the on-screen authority figure on Lucha Underground but his appearances are minimal at best and only essential to furthering the ongoing plot for the season. Outside of that, he appears in minor vignettes, but you won't have to tuning in and enduring a whooping 20-30 minute promo from him at the start of every broadcast like those other wrestling companies.
I have to be honest. As I'm looking back at footage and segments throughout this initial season of Lucha Underground, Dario Cueto has to be my personal favorite authority figure in professional wrestling right now. Before Stephanie McMahon held that spot currently, but she has to move down to second place out of my new found respect for Dario.
SUPERB WRESTLING
Actions speak louder than words. Lucha Underground focuses more on WRESTLING instead of talking. This is the purest form of lucha libre that you're going to get on TV on a weekly basis unless you're living in Mexico and/or can watch AAA or CMLL regularly without any issues or without pirating them online.
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| Gotta love Angelico... |
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| Well, that's one way to meet your new boss. |
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| One of MANY reasons why I love Pentagon Jr... |
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| A perfect demonstration of Mil Muertes taking out the trash... |
GREAT COMMENTARY
While the beautiful Melissa Santos handles the in-ring introductions, Matt Striker and Vampiro are scholars in their craft in more ways than one as they call the action like professionals instead of arguing and belittling the talent in the ring during the action. They are just excited about what is going on in the ring as the fans watching at home and within the temple.
WOMEN'S WRESTLING MATTERS
The #1 thing that sets Lucha Underground apart from it's mainstream counterparts and other miscellaneous alternatives to WWE is that men and women are treated as equals in this promotion. That means that women can wrestle men and vice versa without any silly inter-gender/mixed tag team rules. This continues to be the topic of HEAVY criticism among fans of professional wrestling in terms of making this believable, but I'm like this - if men and women can coexist and fight each other in comic books without any problems then I don't have a problem here as long as the matches serve a purpose in the narrative.
The women of Lucha Underground are beautiful, but they won't hesitate for a second to put their bodies on the line in the spirit of competition.
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