Lucha Underground is under the tutelage of one of the most brilliant minds in wrestling, Konnan, which certainly contributes a lot to the recent success of the promotion but there is more at play than that. Lets take a look at some of the lucky events that are helping slowly build an empire...
01. John Morrison: Available
Many stars that end up in WWE and reach any level of success tend to fall into a cycle of being in and out of the promotion until they lose all value. Morrison, by some stroke of luck, eluded this cycle. Did he not want to go back? Did they not want him back? Regardless of the reason, Morrison continued to hone his skills on the indies, stayed in shape, and was ready when Lucha Underground came calling.
If people had been asked who, of any American wrestler in the world they wanted to see in a Lucha promotion, Morrison would have come at the top of many of those lists. Him being available, still looking amazing, still being as crisp and agile as ever, and having stepped up his in-ring story telling significantly could not have been a bigger break for the promotion. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised to see him pop up and his amazing performances have already made him an instant legend in LU. Morrison brought a talent and a credibility to the Lucha main event scene that no one else in the world could have brought and is already paying off big time.
02. WWE Never Did Get Around To That Cruiserweight Show
Imagine the amount of talent that would have been sucked up by the WWE machine had they decided to start that long rumored Cruiserweight show a year or so ago. No doubt a guy like Prince Puma would have been at the top of the list of anyone 'in the know' which would have been a major blow to a LU project. Puma is unquestionably a unique talent, going from a sloppy rookie in the idies to a crisp, spectacular, awe inspiring talent in LU.
03. Rey Mysterio wasn't available from the beginning
No doubt you're looking at me like "huh?" so let me explain. The greatest part about LU right now is that what they have done flies in the face of typical wrestling conventions. The only "recognizable" face they have is an upper midcarder, at best, in WWE in Johnny Mundo and Konnan who no younger fans are likely to recognize at all. Big Ryck has some cred from being in WWE, and some big stage experience, but never hit it big enough for most people to know.
So instead of relying on the star power of older, more recognizable stars, LU made their own. They focus most of their shows on the variety of "new talents" to the American audience and made their champion the biggest standout of these "new" stars. Prince Puma is a big deal in LU and now is the perfect time for a guy like Rey Mysterio Jr. to step into the game. It could not have come about at a better time, now Mysterio will have the hype of his WWE release after a long time spent out of the spotlight, and make a fresh impact on a show that might as well have been created for him to be on.
Puma was already established by Mundo, Mundo is still a big deal in his own right, and Rey Mysterio being added to this combination, at this time, could mean big things for LU. A lot of new eyes, a lot of headlines all over the world, this couldn't have been a bigger event if they had planned it.
Yeah, yeah, nothing has even been said about Mysterio signing with Lucha! I'm no insider but nothing could be more obvious than the union of Rey Mysterio and Lucha Underground.
Luck has been on the side of Lucha so far but it is said luck only comes to the bold and if you're not ready to deliver when luck comes your way then it will move on. It would seem that LU is providing exactly what is expected of it, maybe even a little more, and I'm personally very excited to see what is to come. If this doesn't have you excited about wrestling then I don't know if anything will!
EDIT: Somehow I forgot to mention the recent debut of Alberto El Patron! Could there be a bigger one-two punch for a Mexican promotion than for the two biggest Mexican stars in the world to debut back to back? Things are picking up quick!
01. John Morrison: Available
Many stars that end up in WWE and reach any level of success tend to fall into a cycle of being in and out of the promotion until they lose all value. Morrison, by some stroke of luck, eluded this cycle. Did he not want to go back? Did they not want him back? Regardless of the reason, Morrison continued to hone his skills on the indies, stayed in shape, and was ready when Lucha Underground came calling.
If people had been asked who, of any American wrestler in the world they wanted to see in a Lucha promotion, Morrison would have come at the top of many of those lists. Him being available, still looking amazing, still being as crisp and agile as ever, and having stepped up his in-ring story telling significantly could not have been a bigger break for the promotion. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised to see him pop up and his amazing performances have already made him an instant legend in LU. Morrison brought a talent and a credibility to the Lucha main event scene that no one else in the world could have brought and is already paying off big time.
02. WWE Never Did Get Around To That Cruiserweight Show
Imagine the amount of talent that would have been sucked up by the WWE machine had they decided to start that long rumored Cruiserweight show a year or so ago. No doubt a guy like Prince Puma would have been at the top of the list of anyone 'in the know' which would have been a major blow to a LU project. Puma is unquestionably a unique talent, going from a sloppy rookie in the idies to a crisp, spectacular, awe inspiring talent in LU.
03. Rey Mysterio wasn't available from the beginning
No doubt you're looking at me like "huh?" so let me explain. The greatest part about LU right now is that what they have done flies in the face of typical wrestling conventions. The only "recognizable" face they have is an upper midcarder, at best, in WWE in Johnny Mundo and Konnan who no younger fans are likely to recognize at all. Big Ryck has some cred from being in WWE, and some big stage experience, but never hit it big enough for most people to know.
So instead of relying on the star power of older, more recognizable stars, LU made their own. They focus most of their shows on the variety of "new talents" to the American audience and made their champion the biggest standout of these "new" stars. Prince Puma is a big deal in LU and now is the perfect time for a guy like Rey Mysterio Jr. to step into the game. It could not have come about at a better time, now Mysterio will have the hype of his WWE release after a long time spent out of the spotlight, and make a fresh impact on a show that might as well have been created for him to be on.
Puma was already established by Mundo, Mundo is still a big deal in his own right, and Rey Mysterio being added to this combination, at this time, could mean big things for LU. A lot of new eyes, a lot of headlines all over the world, this couldn't have been a bigger event if they had planned it.
Yeah, yeah, nothing has even been said about Mysterio signing with Lucha! I'm no insider but nothing could be more obvious than the union of Rey Mysterio and Lucha Underground.
Luck has been on the side of Lucha so far but it is said luck only comes to the bold and if you're not ready to deliver when luck comes your way then it will move on. It would seem that LU is providing exactly what is expected of it, maybe even a little more, and I'm personally very excited to see what is to come. If this doesn't have you excited about wrestling then I don't know if anything will!
EDIT: Somehow I forgot to mention the recent debut of Alberto El Patron! Could there be a bigger one-two punch for a Mexican promotion than for the two biggest Mexican stars in the world to debut back to back? Things are picking up quick!
