WARNING: PRIVATE OPINION!!! ITS GOAL IS NOT INSULT OR DISRESPECT LUCHA UNDERGROUND OR ITS SUPERSTARS/LUCHADORS
Lucha Underground!
I have a divided opinion about this "child" of American independent wrestling scene and the Mexican AAA (one of the major wrestling promotion down there, in the South).
Of course this is AWOW and we are talking about women's wrestling. Of course my opinion is divided about Lucha Underground's women roster...
First something a little bit far away from the topic...
If you are booking fan, who enjoys to watch any promotion's (absolutely "any promotion") roster, to brows and to imagine how this one will face that one in a Hardcore match or else, you'll be disappointed. TNA and Lucha Underground removed their rosters from their websites. While AAA got amazing and refreshed web site, TNA and LU decided to eliminate the problem with updating of the roster, drastically - they remove that important section, form their web sites. My heart is broken ... I wish to have their rosters in my other fan-made-non-commercial project. Oh, and in my personal collections of promotions, too.
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| Taya |
Me and Antonia are really missing these promotions' superstars profiles. :'(
Back on the topic...
Lucha Underground has 7 known women competitors and valets: Ivelisse, Mariposa (Cheerleader Melissa), Taya (Famous Canadian AAA Ruda), Black Lotus (former WWE Savannah/Miss Angela), Kobra Moon (Melissa Servantes) and the seductive Catrina (known as WWE's Maxine / Karlee Perez). Oh, we have Melina passing by on one-two occasions. Several famous indie workers, like Jessicka Havok, had a try-outs. But for now these are the small but unique LU's women division.
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| Ivelisse |
My opinion about LU women is not related to the included in the roster names.
As always it is related with how the bookers of any promotion "use" their women's roster.
First we have a very physic and brutal match between Mariposa and Sexy Star, several editions, ago. We have that Ivelisse Velez vs. Mil Muertes, historical match. Then we have a brutal 3 vs. 3 tag team match where Ivelisse (again) was the only woman involved, and was beaten-up next to her teammates. We know that Ivelisse loves to fight against men. Then we have this almost typical women's feud between Catrina and Ivelisse (she's great, what can I say, that's why they use her on max).
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| Black Lotus |
My opinion about LU women's matches and storylines is getting divided at the point where the wrestling meets brutality.
Every promotion did it! Women were thrown through tables, women were hit with the chairs, women were beaten by men on TV. Several cases of friendly/sportsmanship competition are not excluded, as well (Gail Kim vs. Tigre Uno in TNA, as example). But when I saw how LU Trios Champions - Angelico, Ivelisse and Son Of Havok, where brutally attacked and Ivelisse get punched and kicked, like a mop in the ring ... even booked, this thing looked terrible. It reminds me on WWF's Attitude Era moment when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H beat Lita with chairs or when the Dudley Boys powerbombed women through a table - it wasn't nice.
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| Mariposa |
I have a positive opinion about the talents involved in their women's division. (OMG! They have IVELISSE and CHEERLEADER MELISS plus SEXY STAR & TAYA) They are 6-7, but they are working hard and they can put a very competitive wrestling matches. I have some negative views on the way, the women in LU are used. They are displayed as a strong and fearless, some of them manipulative characters... That's OK. But why do they need to be brutalized? Maybe to have the feeling that they are equal to male wrestlers!!!... They don't need that! They are equal and they don't need to be beaten up by Mil Muertes, to prove it. When you put Intergender match it's good to put it between wrestlers on same size or similar styles, not Beauty vs. The Beast! It sound great as idea, woman like Ivelisse, can make some good moves, but the match at all has predictable end - The Beast smash Beauty!
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| Catrina |
I enjoy the idea of LU to push woman as challenger or champion. If they did it with their main title, that will be unprecedented, rare thing that none of the major promotions in USA, had ever done. To have woman as a lead champion, FOR MORE THAN ONE DAY will send the Revolution into the sky and beyond. I like how LU treated equally the women in matches. But the violence is too much, sometimes.
LU has a really good compilation of female talents and it's not a big deal if they book this competitors against men in one-on-one competition, but that didn't help a lot for the women's wrestling progress... It's like returning to the Attitude era. Well, if the woman has the skills and experience to wrestle men, nothing wrong with that... But to see man squashing woman, like a grape on the ring, with help from his girlfriend - that's not nice. Actually I enjoyed Ivelisse vs. Angelico vs. Son of Havok, triple threat match, but her match against Mil Muertes with Catrina, was like a massacre.
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| Kobra Moon |
Lucha Underground can afford to have great women's matches. Maybe with less of bleeding. The charm of wrestling is in the booking, in the skills of the wrestlers, in their ability to apply breath-taking move, without harming each other. When they start to broke their noses in the ring or to bleed each other to death, that is not very nice. It's bring a joy for the psychos.
The Luchadors are famous with their styles. It's really incredible to see them working with the American indie wrestlers. It's great to see AAA's Luchadoras taking over their fellow American women wrestlers. We have two different worlds who collide in one great product. The darkness of the Temple meets the glamour and the shining of the North. Full collusion of the different styles of wrestling!!! I hope to see more history made in LU and to see many of their stars competing in other promotions, like TNA and WWE.
Lucha Underground has a roster full of real talents, who are not afraid to face any challenge. Just put the violence under control if it's possible...
Respect and admiration for Lucha Underground!
