The first season of ''

Lucha Underground Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists Media Group. Partly owned by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured c ...

'', a ''

lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

'' or

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

show, aired from October 29, 2014 through August 5, 2015 on the

El Rey Network El Rey Network (Spanish for ''The King'') is a media brand founded by Robert Rodriguez on December 15, 2013, that is currently owned in a joint venture with FactoryMade Ventures. Until December 31, 2020, El Rey was a cable and satellite network ...

in the United States and on later dates on

UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...

in Mexico. The debut season of

had 39 episodes in total and presented ''Lucha libre'' as a mixture of reality and fiction, adding fantastical elements and movie style backstage clips mixed in with wrestling matches.

Plot overview

The first season on

introduced the viewers to Dario Cueto (

Luis Fernandez-Gil Luis Fernandez-Gil is a Spanish actor and professional wrestling personality. In the 2000s and 2010s, Fernandez-Gil appeared in films including ''The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down'' and ''Jack and Jill (2011 film), Jack and Jill'', as well ...

), the owner of the "Lucha Underground Temple" in

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Boyle Heights, historically known as Paredón Blanco, is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located east of the Los Angeles River. It is one of the city's most notable and historic Chicano/Mexican-American communities and is known as a ba ...

. Cueto uses his money and influence to stage fights, promoting violence and often rewarding rule breakers while punishing those that play by the rules. During the season Cueto introduced the

Lucha Underground Championship The Lucha Underground Championship was a professional wrestling world championship owned by the Lucha Underground. The championship is the top championship of the promotion and is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which p ...

, won by

Prince Puma Trevor Dean Mann (born October 11, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ricochet. Before signing with WWE, Mann is best known for his tenure with ...

in episode 9 (''Aztec Warfare''). Later on the

Lucha Underground Trios Championship } The Lucha Underground Trios Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship promoted by Lucha Underground. In contrast to usual tag team championships for two wrestlers, it is exclusively for three-man tag teams, also know ...

was added, with the first champions being the mismatched team of

Angélico Adam Bridle (born 7 May 1987), better known by the ring name Angélico (), is a South African professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Lucha Undergroun ...

, Ivelisse and

Son of Havoc Matthew Capiccioni (born December 31, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names M-Dogg 20, Matt Cross and Son of Havoc. He currently competes on the independent circuit and Major League Wrestling. Cross has also ...

. During the season Cueto began rewarding several wrestlers with an "Aztec Medallion", later revealing that they all played a part in the creation of the Gift of the Gods Championship, won by Fénix during the season finale called '' Ultima Lucha''. Other plot lines included the introduction of the mysterious, supernatural character

Mil Muertes Gilbert Cosme Ramírez (born May 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known by his ring names El Mesías, Mil Muertes, Ricky Banderas and King Muertes. He began his career in the International Wrestling Association based in ...

("One Thousand Deaths"; Gilbert Cosme) and his companion Catrina ( Karlee Perez) as they first fight against Fénix and later targeted Prince Puma. Catrina also brought in a trio called "the Disciples of Death" ( Barrio Negro, El Sinestro de la Muerte and

Trece Richard Mathey (born June 27, 1987) is an American professional wrestler who currently competes on the independent circuit and also wrestles for Lucha Underground and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. Professional wrestling career Lucha U ...

). The season also included a side plot featuring Cueto, his brother Matanza, and Black Lotus (

Angela Fong Angela Carolyn Fong (born February 3, 1985) is a Canadians, Canadian professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Model (person), model, ring announcer, cheerleader and actress. She is best known for her time at WWE from 2007 to 2010 under the r ...

), who tries to kill Cueto and a masked wrestler known as Dragon Azteca who trains Black Lotus during the season. In the final episode of season one, Black Lotus kills Dragon Azteca, causing Cueto to flee the temple with both Black Lotus and Matanza in tow.

Cast and crew

Episodes

Production

All the wrestling matches were taped on location in Boyle Heights, California where a warehouse was converted into the "Lucha Underground Temple" set. The shows themselves were taped over several weekends, usually with two shows being taped per day. Some of the matches were not shown on television but served more as try-outs for wrestlers, often referred to as "dark matches". Throughout the season

Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator, actor and former high school teacher, using the ring name Matt Striker. During his career he has worked for WWE, Impact Wrestling, Luch ...

and

Vampiro Ian Richard Hodgkinson (born May 31, 1967), better known by his ring name Vampiro, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler who most recently served as director of talent for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He also worked for Lucha Unde ...

(Ian Hodgkinson) provided the English language commenta
,
ref name=LUChamp> while Vampiro and

Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich (born February 15, 1959) is an Ecuadorian sports commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager. He is currently signed to Lucha Libre AA ...

taped the Spanish language commentary used when broadcast in Mexico. For the final show, ''Ultima Lucha'', Vampiro wrestled and his place at the commentator desk was taken by

Michael Schiavello Michael Schiavello (born 10 April 1975) is an Australian sports commentator and journalist. He has commentated for AXS TV, K-1, Dream, Maximum Fighting Championship, King of the Cage, ONE Championship and '' The Contender Asia''. He has also w ...

References

External links

Official website

MGM webpage for ''Lucha Underground''
{{Lucha Underground 2014 American television seasons 2015 American television seasons Lucha Underground