Lucha Underground Debuts on Netflix
The El Rey Network television show, Lucha Underground, has debuted on Netflix. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming with more seasons to potentially come in the future. Current episodes of the show are still on the El Rey Network.
The show is a different take on wrestling, taking it from a pseudo-sports show and turning it into a full fledged male soap opera or telenovella. There is plenty of action in the ring with some great talent like former WWE star John Morrison who goes by the name Johnny Mundo as well as indie superstar Richochet, who goes by the name Prince Puma. Former WWE color commentator Matt Striker does the play by play of the show with Vampiro offering color commentary.
It can’t be stressed enough how different this show is. While it does include wrestling, and some rather top notch wrestling at that, the show is focused on the evil machinations of the Lucha Underground promotor Dario Cueto. The show routinely dabbles in story elements like demon possession and actual murder that other wrestling promotions wouldn’t touch. Yet the in ring product rivals anything you’ll see in other promotions.
RELATED: WWE MONDAY RAW REACTION 3/13/17
This is a great move for Lucha Underground. The El Rey Network doesn’t have the amount of homes available via cable providers to get the type of eyes this show needs in order to be a viable competitor in the American wrestling market. While it would take any company years to get anywhere near the level the WWE has in terms of brand familiarity, there is still room for a company to offer a viable alternative to what the WWE has to offer. The big mistake wrestling promotions have made over the years has been when they try to emulate the one successful company, in this case the WWE, in order to attract fans. When you consistently remind your audience of the company that is doing better than you, you’re not giving your potential customers a reason to stay. If I wanted a company that gave me shows like the WWE, I’ll watch the WWE.
If you are a wrestling fan, give Lucha Underground a chance. While it’s certainly different than anything you’ve ever seen, the first two seasons of Lucha Underground are some of the most innovative wrestling programming that has been on American television in years. You are missing out if you don’t watch this show.