Lucha Underground currently sits as the underdog in the world of pro wrestling. It’s a love-it or hate-it promotion that has left fans either obsessed with the show or full of questions that critique it. The brand is known for being different, creating a unique brand in the wrestling scene and providing consistently strong shows in terms of outstanding wrestling and brilliant storytelling. While it isn’t the biggest promotion in the world it is, in fact, teaching those bigger promotions a heck of a lot and so today we are going to be looking at four lessons Lucha Underground are teaching the WWE.
Intergender Matches Work in Wrestling Today
Something Lucha Underground do amazingly well and arguably better than any other promotion on the scene today is intergender matches. The female talents are never booked as the underdog or the weaker of the two competitors and, as a result, we actually are provided with extremely interesting and entertaining matches that go down as highlights of the season and of the wrestling year. Names like Sexy Star and Ivelisse have stood out in matches against male talent far bigger and in some cases, more experienced but the feuds, the storylines and of course the wrestling has been fantastic. The topic of intergender matches always gets people talking and divides opinion massively. While many believe its wrong and against the idea so many others believe it’s good for wrestling and if anything is a step forward in a women’s evolution that is going on across the wrestling scene. The WWE is a long way away from reintroducing intergender matches but we have over the past couple of years seen it teased and briefly touched on in WWE TV and what Lucha Underground is doing is teaching the WWE how to do it properly and how much of a success intergender matches can be for women’s wrestling, wrestling, and the promotion itself.
Masked Talent Can be Top Talent
It’s been quite some time since WWE fans saw a masked talent at the top of the roster walking as WWE Champion and the face of the company. The name that of course springs to mind as the last star to take on that role was is, of course, Rey Mysterio but it has been several years since Mysterio was last a full-time member of the WWE roster. Since Rey, the likes of Kalisto and Sin Cara have come to the WWE but failed to receive the kind of push Rey was given during his time with the company. Now, Lucha stars are rising in the WWE with Andrade Cien Almas leading that very fact, however, he is no longer a masked talent and what Lucha Underground is showing is that those stars can be top talent. Of course, the idea is different. Lucha Underground is all about masked stars and so, of course, they will have masked talent as top talent however the whole point of the argument suggests that it does in fact work. The WWE can book their masked superstars as main event workers and WWE Champions, all they need to do is book them better. Once you establish the character, build momentum and push them as the top talent, they will become just that and new roles and faces at the top will be marked.
Don’t Forget What You Already Have
This next topic pretty much is a lesson many promotions around the world are teaching the WWE and that’s to not forget what you already have. Many stars who have been released from the company have gone on to achieve greater things elsewhere. It’s names including Drew McIntyre, EC3, and Bobby Lashley who standout in this conversation and now found themselves back on the WWE roster. Lucha Underground has taken on many stars who once were apart of World Wrestling Entertainment and made them into bigger names and bigger stars than the WWE ever did. This includes Johnny Nitro, Cage, and Ivelisse amongst many. All three of these names could have been top talents in the WWE as Lucha Underground are proving. What Vince and co should now be doing is taking a big look at its roster and before bringing in new talent focus on what they already have and making a big name out of the big-time talent they already lucky to have under the wing.
Take a Break
This one is sure to be controversial but it too is a topic that is forever popping up; take a break. Many fans believe that one of the big problems the WWE have is there may just be too much. The WWE never take a break with superstars even wrestling on Christmas Day last year. Lucha Underground has taken a very different approach to things. Unlike any other wrestling promotion, they work in seasons. We get several weeks of Lucha Underground a year and then we see the show disappear for around twelve months until the next season rolls around, pretty much like a regular TV show. What this does, however, is give fans the chance to miss the product; it gives time for the talent to rest and to give their bodies the recovery it needs as well as time to focus on more and greater storylines and feuds. This, of course, is sure to help the issue regarding injuries as well as creating a more entertaining and put together product. Now, the WWE taking a year away from TV would never work and isn’t what is being suggested here, however, a couple of weeks to a month away here and there possibly after big events like WrestleMania week could actually benefit the company far more in the long run.
Lucha Underground and the WWE are of course two very different brands. They represent something different and have a slightly different audience, however, while the WWE is the mainstream show here it has plenty to learn from Lucha Underground who is paving the way and creating something very new and unique. If the WWE were to learn from some of the steps Lucha Underground are taking they could very well end up with a stronger all round product.