Every Major Wrestling Debut TV Show Ranked From Worst To Best

7. Lucha Underground

Dynamite Chris Jericho
Lucha Underground

The very opening video package to ‘Welcome To The Temple’ tested the audience’s inclination for the venture: a wrestling brawl that took place in a disused warehouse, the dissonance was striking, and it posed a question: could wrestling fans buy into this new, outwardly ‘filmed’ context, or was it too experimental?

For a time, Lucha Underground succeeded: the company made enough of an impression to last three seasons and secure a cult audience.

Opening with a promo from authority figure Dario Cueto—so not that revolutionary, then—he nonetheless cut a charismatic figure. He offered the entire roster $100,000, immediately providing the show with different stakes to the normal fare. Striking production values and camera angles set the company apart, as did the lucha libre style that hadn’t penetrated the mainstream in years and years. The sinister Cueto starred in very different, cinematic background segments that subverted and elevated an unfashionable trope.

In an industry crying out for something different, Lucha Underground was precisely that, even before the divisive, operatic storylines that came to define it.

Ultimately, it was a wrestling show, and the wrestling was enough to pique the interest. Chavo Guerrero Vs. Blue Demon Jr. was slow, but authentic, and the exciting Johnny Mundo Vs. Prince Puma accelerated beyond that blueprint.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!