8 Things Lucha Underground Did Better Than WWE
3. Gimmick Matches
WWE’s transition into a PG product has neutered the gimmick matches that the company now builds many pay-per-views around. It isn’t all about blood either - the promotion’s neurotic fear that kids will copy the moves has created an entirely watered down product. Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber and the rest are now irrelevant because of this.
Lucha Underground managed to breathe new life into previously tired gimmick matches. The promotion took the casket match and made it genuinely must-see. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the overwhelming majority of casket matches in history have been forgettable, as The Undertaker vs. Token Huge Heel was always a bore. Lucha Underground took this tired trope and created incredible drama through it.
Mil Muertes vs. Fenix was the first match of this type on the show, and it stands up as one of the five best matches in the entire history of Lucha Underground. The promotion did the same for ladder matches, battle royals and general weapons-based brawls, taking the plunder dial and turning it up to 11.