OPINION --- The Significance of Sexy Star's Lucha Underground Championship Win

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, Sexy Star made history in the Lucha Underground Temple, becoming the sole survivor in Aztec Warfare III to become the new Lucha Underground Champion, making her the first female wrestler to hold the title.

I know that I'm two weeks late to comment on this matter, but goddamn I have wanted to talk about this since hearing the spoilers unintentionally on Jim Cornette's podcast a few months back. I'm honestly proud of myself for not spilling the beans on this matter as I wanted to see first-hand if it was executed as moronic as Cornette described it from the source that he got the information from during the tapings earlier this year. As much as I thoroughly enjoy Cornette's podcasting and his occasional rants on professional wrestling, in this case I have to say that he was absolutely wrong on how this matter was handled. That being said... he's notorious for his negative opinion on the Lucha Underground product as a whole, so there's that too.

Back on the premiere episode of Lucha Underground, Sexy Star was defined as hero and icon for women. Most AAA fans already recognize her as such, but with this being her first mainstream appearance, it was important that Lucha Underground took great care to hammer this point home in her backstory. Throughout Season One, Lucha Underground established her as a rising star that female viewers could identify with and idolize. She wasn't the flashiest luchador on the roster, but time and time again she proved that she belonged with the best that Lucha Underground had to offer. She stood up to the likes of Pentagon Jr. and Chavo Guerrero before having to face her former friend Super Fly and deal with Marty the Moth by the end of Season One. She faced shortcomings along the way, coming up short on capturing the Gift of the Gods Championship at Ultima Lucha - a mistake that was remedied at the end of Season Two at Ultima Lucha Dos.

Sexy Star winning the Gift of the Gods Championship at Ultima Lucha Dos

When Sexy Star won the Gift of the Gods Championship at the end of Season at Ultima Lucha Dos, I was a bit skeptical as that match was a pretty lackluster affair, especially after how Mariposa and Sexy Star drove themselves to hell and back in their No Mas Match (see below). Like I said in my write-up of that event, that match was one of the weaker matches on that stacked card and Sexy Star's performance in that match left a lot to be desired. At the same time, she's not the flashiest competitor but her merit as a symbol is what makes her continue to out shine on this show over the other women in Lucha Underground.

Catrina is the seductive puppet master, commanding the forces of darkness and death at her beckoning. As of this writing, she hasn't had an in-ring match out of the three seasons of Lucha Underground, even though she is set to face Ivelisse at Ultima Lucha Tres. Ivelisse is the "baddest bitch in the building" - no pun intended, focused on proving that she's bad as - if not more - than her male counterparts, but a string of injuries over the last few seasons has derailed her from being at Sexy Star's level of being an icon for women's wrestlers in this promotion. Don't get me wrong. Ivelisse is definitely a prominent star in terms of women's wrestling in terms of this modern era, but she hasn't hit that point in Lucha Underground - yet. Despite being the most important character in Season One, Black Lotus (former WWE Diva Search contestant Angela Fong) has been reduced to being another one of Dario Cueto's many pawns and haven't had much in-ring time outside of a match against El Drago Azteca at Ultima Lucha Dos that was cut short by Pentagon Jr. Taya Valkyrie, or simply Taya as she's known in the Temple, is merely another cog in the machine known as the Worldwide Underground faction, consisting of Johnny Mundo (former WWE Superstar John Morrison/John Hennigan), PJ Black (former WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel), and long-time indie sensation Jack Evans. Then there's Kobra Moon, who seems to be more fixated on stalking Daga and Drago more than anything else right now.

I don't want to sell any of the women in Lucha Underground short, but Sexy Star stands above the rest as an icon in this product.

Sexy Star sets herself apart from the rest of the women on Lucha Underground is that she is willing to go above and beyond, even going as far as being a martyr to show what women are capable of with compassion and determination to fulfill their dreams. Whereas WWE are currently banking on a boss (Sasha Banks) or some flair (Charlotte) to carry their women's division, it is sad to see that they have lost sight of what simple factor could make the masses care about women's wrestling - a powerful narrative. Lucha Underground didn't set out to revolutionize women's wrestling - instead, they wanted to honor and respect women's wrestling by showing them as equals to their male peers.

The No Mas Match wasn't great because of the blood and the extremes that these women went to destroy each other in this match. No, it was because of the extremes that Sexy Star was able to endure, physically and emotionally leading up to this match. For months on end in the storyline break between Season One and Two, Sexy Star was kidnapped and tortured by Marty "The Moth" Martinez and his psychotic sister, Mariposa (the "future legend" herself Melissa Anderson/Cheerleader Melissa). The bulk of Season Two followed Sexy Star somehow escaping the Moth tribe's confines and getting back to the Temple where she coped with the PSTD of that experience. All of Sexy Star's encounters with Marty and Mariposa led to this moment where even Dario Cueto himself urged her to fight back and don't allow herself to be a victim ever again to these psychotic siblings. The narrative of this match was a thing of beauty. It symbolized all of the horrors that Marty and Mariposa inflicted on her physically and mentally until Sexy Star summoned the strength and determination to fight back with a powerful cry of "FUCK YOU MARIPOSA!!!" to show that she wasn't going to take shit from anyone - not from Mariposa, Marty the Moth or anyone else for that matter.

When it came down to the finale of Aztec Warfare III, Sexy Star wasn't the one who toppled the unstoppable monster that is known as Matanza Cueto. Contrary to popular belief, Matanza only fell after falling victim to a barrage of finishers and signature moves from multiple luchadors in that match before being rolled up with Rey Mysterio's old school springboard hurracanrana that could defeat even the mightiest of foes in WCW. In that respect, I could buy into Rey being the one to put the monster down even though Matanza destroyed him afterwards. People may have an issue with Sexy Star enduring the punishment and abuse from Mil Muertes but at the same time, remember that this is a guy who is tamed by the female embodiment of death that is over 500 years old (in kayfabe anyway...). That being said, it's not that much of a stretch to believe that he would fall against a woman. Matanza himself had a moment of weakness in this match so it's not hard to believe that Mil Muertes could fall as well. It seemed like he was off his game a bit after beating the holy hell out of King Cuerno (what the fuck happened to that guy anyway?) at Ultima Lucha Dos. Sure, Mil won Grave Consequences against Prince Puma a few weeks ago and fought Matanza to a stalemate a few episodes prior, but Mil hasn't hit his stride since losing the Lucha Underground Championship last season.

Besides, wrestling fans saw Brock Lesnar job to a 50+ year old man in less than two minutes at Survivor Series the week before Thanksgiving so anything is possible at this point. I honestly don't see what's there to complain about.

Sexy Star proved herself time and time again that she belongs here among the best in Lucha Underground. She captured the top prize of the promotion, bringing a happy ending to what has been a horrifying chapter to her life. Despite the fact that she would lose the title on the following episode to Johnny Mundo and the antics of the Worldwide Underground's Taya, no one can take this accolade from Sexy Star. She is the first and only woman to hold the Gift of the Gods and Lucha Underground Championships.

What makes this moment unique and special that it wasn't done as part of a "women's revoluntion" for publicity like WWE has been doing for the past year with their women that was forced down our throats. This moment was a natural progression for the evolution of her character throughout the three seasons of this show's storyline. I applaud that Lucha Underground gave Sexy Star this chance to shine with this opportunity while at the same time, making her a cornerstone of role model women in this sport to look up to for fans and non-fans alike.

Sexy Star's story is one of perseverance and determination as she continues to be the cornerstone of Lucha Underground's ensemble of lethal femme fatales.