Lucha Underground
Seasons 1, 2
(Luis Fernandez-Gil, Matthew Kaye/Striker, Ian Hodgkinson/Vampiro;
2014-2016)
I went into this with no expectations other than "Eh, this is
probably going to be like TNA level stuff." That, by the way, is not a
compliment. But I was bored, and I'll be honest; I miss watching wrestling. I
quit watching WWE programs after several wrestlers died as a result of their
lifestyle (greatly influenced by their work schedules), but the final blow to
my viewing was the murder-suicide by and of Chris Benoit and his family, quite
likely a result of a type of dementia suffered from his years in the ring. I
didn't just stop watching WWE at that point, I pretty much lost all my interest
in wrestling, and couldn't, in good faith, support it.
But eventually, the WWE and other promotions started making some
efforts to improve the conditions for their workers, and at this point,
everyone going in knows the risks, and I'm far more comfortable with people
making clearly informed stupid life choices than ones made without all the
information. And the newer wrestlers are doing a better job of taking care of
themselves.
So after several years, I finally watched a WWE program on Netflix or
something. And I recognized maybe 2 of the wrestlers. Which is okay. What
wasn't okay was that the matches were *boring as fuck*. I mean. . . yeah. So I
tried another one, same thing, and basically gave up on finding good wrestling.
Which brings me back around to this show. As I said, I didn't have high
hope for this, but at least it was lucha, which I am not too familiar with, so
even if the quality was iffy, it would be new and different to me. And make no
mistake; for the first 5 episodes of season 1, the quality was *very* iffy. But
I stuck with it, mostly because I was bored, needed background noise, and
didn't feel like watching and simultaneously commenting on anything (yes, I'm lazy).
And it slowly started to get better. I mean, the ring performances. The
between-match bits were still pretty terribly acted, especially by the
"owner/promoter" of the show. But the matches were getting better,
the commentary was amazingly solid (kudos to Matt Kaye/Striker and Vampiro).
But then it occurred to me that I was watching the show all wrong (yes, you can
watch a program incorrectly). I came into it like it was any other wrestling
promotion on TV; a wrestling show that was on TV, but I figured out that it's
*not* just another wrestling promotion. It's not a TV show *of* wrestling, it's
a TV show *about* wrestling. Once I realized that this was just like any other
genre fiction that I watch (except that the violence isn't nearly as tightly choreographed),
it all made so much more sense. The between-match spots, the violence-filled
promos for the wrestlers, the telenovela-esque mustache twirling villain, the
dragon that thinks he's a wrestler, the boy born from death and possibly imbued
with supernatural power. It all made sense.
And it was pretty fucking glorious.
You know how for years, people have been saying "Professional
wrestling is just a soap opera for men" (which is pretty sexist if you
think about it)? Well, Robert Rodriguez and the other creators basically said
"Hey! That's a pretty good idea! Let's do it!" And the result is a
relatively goofy, often spectacularly cheesy show about an illegal underground
fight club where anyone can try their hand, but everyone largely uses a mishmash
of wrestling styles instead of MMA. There's corruption, there's intrigue,
there's supernatural evil underneath, the owner of the Temple may be using the
violence of the fighters to usher in the end of days, there's women who wrestle
the men just like the men wrestle the men (and they always get a moment to
shine, even if they're gonna lose), there's a mini-Lucha who has the heart of a
lion, maybe a space or time traveling lucha. There's a commentator who likes to
point out that they don't bash you over the head with gender equality but just
show it instead (which sounds stupid every time he says it) and at the same
time, the commentators tell the audience to stop using a homophobic Spanish
slur, because, while they may not hit the mark 100% of the time, they're
really, genuinely trying to be inclusive and diverse.
It's kinda batshit crazy, but in a good way, not a Misery Loves Company
way.
If you're a fan of wrestling, check it out sometime. If you're a fan of
wrestling and genre fiction, you *have* to check it out. Just remember that
those first few eps are rough. But it's well worth the watch.
IMDB Lucha Underground
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