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Robert

By Robert
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E.J.

E.J.

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I think Striker is fine. I think they're trying to draw in people who watch El Rey, which are mostly Mexican-Americans and dudes in their early 20's who dig Kung-Fu movies and shit like that. Striker is relatable, is up on pop culture, a familiar face, and is pretty much the demographic they're going for. The last think they need a guy in his late 50's on commentary. They've already got Vampiro for that.

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Robert

Robert

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Episode 3 thoughts...

 

Awesome episode.

If the goal here is do everything different than WWE they are succeeding beyond my imagination. Backstage skits that all have meaning instead of just being dumb comedy by guys clearing reading lines. Different styles of wrestling instead of everyone wrestling like they were popped out of a factory of chinlocks & being electro shocked if they aren't selling facing the hard cam for exactly 14 seconds during the heat segment. Charachters being developed with background stories rather than hey look it's a guy who dances & just wants to party! Why's he a wrestler? WHO KNOWS? IT'S COOL! TRUST US!

Killer main event. Spots, spots, spots. And if you expected anything different, you probably need to just stop watching now. They went out there to impress and did. So happy that crew will be a weekly fixture with more coming. Only thing missing was introduction pieces but I assume (actually know for 100% fact) those are coming in future weeks.

Wasn't sure how Mascarita Sagrada would come off since he is super green and needs to be carried but Mariachi Loco did a great job working with him and I think he got over huge. He can totally be a great sympathetic charachter associated with the top babyfaces and work with them in tag/trios matches.

The Mil Muertes squash was fun and perfect for those of us who wish squash matches would return.

But aside from the in-ring stuff I thought aside from the main event the backstage stuff & skits were the show stealers this week. The Mil Muertes bio was straight out of a charachter bio in a Mortal Kombat video game which is 100% right up my alley. I don't think there's an in-between here - either you are cool with the absurdity of the story or you think this is stupid.

The segment with Konnan warning Chavo and then Mil Muertes showing up established so much in just 2 minutes. So much groundwork for future storylines and charachters interacting who aren't feuding. So the opposite of WWE where when two guys are feuding it's like the rest of the world doesn't exist and when they finish feuding it's like they forgot it ever happened. Konnan is such an amazing talker.

Dario Cuerto is going to run away winning WON awards every year as long as this show stays on the air. Loved the cliffhanger. I presume this is the tease for Brian CAGE (since Dario was in a cage/prison)?

People not watching this show are missing out on what wrestling should be. Even if the style of wrestling isn't your thing there can't be any denying this promotion is making the look of WWE TV competely stale.

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MGFanJay

MGFanJay

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My Lucha Underground report went up on the Observer site - http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/39877-lucha-underground-tv-report-week-three

The main event was fantastic, and like the first two weeks, the narrative is easy to follow and shockingly compelling for a wrestling show. WWE being dull as dishwater really helps this show stand out, and with the possible demise of TNA, future seasons could really see a huge upswing in talent - or at least open up a bidding war for the guys.

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Patrick B.

Patrick B.

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I get the presence of people like Chavo and Zeke:  Come for the people you know, stay if the other people catch your interest.  Same premise as an indy fed booking a "name".  Definitely helped to hook me in, though in my case the draws were Morrison, Ricochet, etc.  Looking forward to watching ep 3.

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Pete

Pete

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Watched the second ep last night- I like how Striker uses third-parties (YouTube, Talk is Jericho etc) to help fans educate themselves and get acclimated to the product. It's a unique way of doing business, and it works. Also lost my shit for him comparing Cueto to THE BEYONDER.

 

If they ever take this show on the road, they need to source buildings that can approximate the look of the Temple or whatever they call their set. Places like the Lyceum in Brooklyn.

 

wrestling-1-copy.jpg

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thecubsfan

thecubsfan

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Watched the second ep last night- I like how Striker uses third-parties (YouTube, Talk is Jericho etc) to help fans educate themselves and get acclimated to the product. It's a unique way of doing business, and it works. 

 

The bit in the third episode where Striker all but says "hey, people watching this on YouTube and DailyMotion, here's how you can find out what channel El Rey is on" was kind of next level.

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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I missed that but hell yeah, it's a really smart way to market the show and not exclude other avenues like everyone else. 

 

Watched most of both of the last two last night. Honestly the backstage and intro stuff comes off to me really corny, with the telenovela style... BUT. Konnan and Dario are great in their roles and give it credibility. Meanwhile Catrina's voiceovers and delivery were so bad that I was laughing my ass off. She certainly has other, ahem, attributes however. Man do Mil Muertes' pants and mask look awful. I get the Mascaras-style mask, but the color clashes with those HORRIBLE pinstripe pants. As long as he brings the ass-kicking I can forgive our erstwhile Mesias. Chavito's beatdowns looked pretty vicious on both eps though I refused to watch the Vampiro interview and so don't know his motivations. Perfectly fine match with Mascarita, Mariachi Loco was hamming it up perfectly and this really came off like a straight-up lucha match at last. The three-way spotfest... well, if that's your cup of tea, you're gonna love it. Every kick was piss-poor but they had some neat spots (reverse frankensteiner, other things I can't describe), a balcony dive, it was mostly two guys going at it instead of the typical cluster, and there was some neck death if that's also up your alley. The finish certainly one way to get one of the three guys out of the match, and the pinfall was super neat. Crowd ate it all up and I'm glad because everyone's working hard and they deserve more viewers, which it's great to know they already are getting. 

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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I would have liked for it to make sense though. She licks his face and says something about a thousand deaths. Oooooookay...

 

Watch them reveal the rock he carries to have some mystical powers. As it is, him walking around appearing to just be holding a piece of cloth that he prays to reminds me of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. 

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Skelemania

Skelemania

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Episode #3

 

• I really like Catrina. Still have no idea why WWE got rid of her. She might be my favorite character on the entire show so far.

• Mil Muertes will be better in squash matches. He needs a different finish & different tights. The jobber this week took a great Spear.

• The sitdown interview with Chavo Guerrero, Jr. was really good & really well done. Props there.

• I still dig all the backstage vignettes. It feels different & fresh.

• Midget match was fun & non-offensive.

• Commentary didn't grate on my nerves as much this week.

• 3-Way Main Event was fun. A good way to introduce all three guys. Each guy got to look good. A lot of dives & drivers. No botches. Good time.

 

This shows feels fresh. It doesn't feel like a recycled, regurgitated product. I want to see each match, I want to see new people debut, I want to see what each character is about.

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scraylo187

scraylo187

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God damn it I love this show.

 

Six things I liked:

  • Vampiro wore a shirt with a collar. Thanks for dressing up, man.
  • "Not only does he play a mean trumpet, he's also crazy."
  • Holy shit I care about Chavo Guerrero. I loved that interview.
  • Mil Muertes Year 1
  • A main event with three dudes we technically know nothing about, and they pull it off. The only exposition needed? "You brought three of the best fighters in Mexico? Big talk. Let's find out who the best is." So simple. Of course, it helps that the main delivered.
  • Post credits stinger. Super excited to see Puma and Mundo eating schwarma 

 

Four things I didn't like as much

  • Commentary was much better tonight, but these guys need to pick a side. Either this is the place where fighters are fighters and you stop giggling about tiny arms and being PC and girls sure are trying hard or it's not. Right now they keep going back and forth.
  • Lighting needs some work. Those guys were killing themselves in the main and you could barely see the outside action
  • Not sure about the backstage fight scenes. I love the melodramatic telenovella stuff, but keep that 'world' separate from the action 
  • Ring Ka King's The Mumbai Cats haven't been signed yet, which is ridiculous
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AlfredoE

AlfredoE

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Lighting needs some work. Those guys were killing themselves in the main and you could barely see the outside action

 

I was wondering about that to. I went to a few shows and the building was very well lit and you could see everything while there, but then on TV, I could barely see some stuff. Its very dark at certain points. 

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Shawn411

Shawn411

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I guess the lighting is to not let the fans hijack the show. In the Impact Zone, fans would takeover a show with every silly chant in the book and you would see the same silly faces every week. I still remember the red head guy in the front row of Impact and Idk why. I guess the lighting and sound volume will make the audience tolerable.

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Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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I noticed a lot more kids and Latin@ fans in the crowd this time around, and only noticed crowd sweetening at the start of one of the matches. There are still a lot of chants but it certainly isn't TNA or ROH-level irritating. The dimness is probably meant to keep the grimy vibe of the building strong. 

 

That sure was one hell of a spear the jobber took, wasn't it? That was some Pounce-level shit right there.

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thecubsfan

thecubsfan

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I noticed a lot more kids and Latin@ fans in the crowd this time around, and only noticed crowd sweetening at the start of one of the matches. 

 

In real time, episode one and episode two were filmed on back to back days and then there was a (scheduled) two weeks break before episode three filmed. They made some adjustments (and nodded at them early on the show.) One of them was switching from 18+ to allowing kids at the cost of no more beer sales. They also changed strategy and worked a bit harder to fill the building up. Word of mouth was definitely helping by the end of the season.

 

Who's booking? 

 

There are people above and below who have influence on the product, but it sounds like Chris DeJoseph is lead writer.

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NikoBaltimore

NikoBaltimore

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As a non-Lucha fan I just absolutely loved everything about this show.  It is making me consider checking out AAA to see what's going on.  The telenovela style is tremendous, even the Morrison part was worlds better than anything WWE or TNA has done.

 

Regarding Mil Muertes, I'd imagine the pouch Catrina is holding is the rock from the earthquake he was in as a kid.  That's all it is.  And the tradition of lucha guys in swank suits continues, it was so outstanding.

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