Wrestling / Lucha Underground

"This is a temple—my temple—where we honor ancient traditions like courage, honor...and my personal favorite, violence!"

—Dario Cueto

Lucha Underground is an hour-long wrestling program that airs on Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network (and in Spanish on UniMas). The show features luchadores from Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) as well as American wrestlers from the independents. The show is shot in a grindhouse style—it is Robert Rodriguez's network, after all—and storylines feature an episodic, dramatic style that ticks all the boxes of the pro wrestling storytelling checklist but feels just different enough to anything else on TV.

And that includes other wrestling shows. Instead of airing as a continually-running weekly show in the vein of WWE or TNA/Impact programming, Lucha Underground films episodes in batches and airs episodes on a weekly basis under a seasonal structure. Matches are taped first, then out-of-ring story segments are filmed later on; this method allows for tighter control of storylines and helps the production team when it comes to writing around injuries. Lucha Underground also stands out from other wrestling shows by having an overarching storyline that falls more in line with dramatic shows such as Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones.

The primary plot revolves around Dario Cueto, the man who runs the building ("The Temple") in which Lucha Underground events take place. He operates the venue as an underground fight club, through which he can satiate his love of violence by staging the hottest lucha libre action around (and making people pay to watch it). But behind closed doors, Dario has an agenda of nefarious and possibly supernatural purposes—and he will do whatever he can to see that agenda realized. Within this main storyline, the luchadores and luchadoras who wrestle in The Temple become entwined in their own personal feuds and subplots, many of which cross into one another and give their stories (and Dario's) an amount of complexity and cohesiveness rarely found in a professional wrestling show.

In 2016, episodes of the series were made available for purchase on iTunes. On March 15th, 2017, Netflix began to stream the first two seasons in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the potential for more in the future. This deal came to an end on November 15th, 2018. The show finished airing its fourth season on November 7th, 2018. With the Netflix deal having ended, all four seasons were uploaded to the free streaming service Tubi, but it has since been delisted from the service as of 2022. A fifth season presently looks highly unlikely due to several contract disputes, issues with AAA, a number of the performers being signed by other promotions, and the departure of lead writer Chris DeJoseph. Once his non-disclosure agreement expires, writer Chris Roach has promised to reveal how the saga was supposed to end.

Since their return from hiatus in 2020, promotion Major League Wrestling started to allude to the late brand in its programming. The Promociones Dorado faction would be bought by an entity known as "Azteca Underground", while LU alum King Muertes would debut as one of their members of the group. Sure enough, the end of ''Fusion'' #131 revealed "El Jefe", now known as Cesar Duran, as the head of Azteca Underground. This lasted until March 2023, when he was abducted during an episode of Fusion, with the returning Salina de la Renta later taking credit for his disappearance.

To read about the wrestlers, personalities, and champions of the show, check out the characters page, which is updated after each new episode. Please contribute to it if you can!

See also Fighting Opera HUSTLE, a defunct Japanese promotion that might be considered Lucha Underground's seminal work due to their similarities in format and plot.

At the time of its final aired episode, Ultima Lucha IV, Lucha Underground recognized the following championships:

• Lucha Underground Champion: Jake Strong since November 7, 2018
• Lucha Underground Trios Champions: The Snake Tribe (Kobra Moon, Daga, and Jeremiah Snake since August 15, 2018
• Gift of the Gods Champion: Vacant since November 7, 2018 (was redeemed by Jake Strong for a world title match at Ultima Lucha IV, which he subsequently won)
• AAA Mega Champion: Kenny Omega as of November 7, 2018^note  The AAA Mega Championship has been recognized in Lucha Underground since its inception, but has not appeared and was not referenced on screen since season two. Kenny Omega was the reigning champion at the time of Lucha Underground's final event, but never appeared on screen in any capacity.

NOW RING DA BELL!

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Lucha Underground contains the following tropes:

• Action Girl:
  • Sexy Star will get in the ring with anyone, man or woman. Ditto Ivelisse.
  • Season 2 introduces Taya, Kobra Moon, and Mariposa, with Taya in particular standing out by taking brutal punishment from Cage.
  • Black Lotus had already shown herself to be a skilled martial artist in backstage vignettes, but when she finally got in the ring with Dragon Azteca Jr. at Ultima Lucha Dos, she also proved that she really did know how to kick serious ass. It was just a pity Pentagon Dark interrupted, really.
    • Black Lotus' revenge against Pentagon started with her bringing Doku, Yurei, and Hitokiri from the Black Lotus Triad back to the States with her. Hitokiri crushed him with a Canadian Destroyer when they interfered at Aztec Warfare III, then all three faced him in a gauntlet match soon afterward, with Hitokiri delivering another one to pin him.
  • Also, while Catrina has never filled this role, she seems to possess certain fighting training/knowledge, as evidenced by her scuffle with Pentagon. She was able to show more of it against Ivelisse at Ultima Lucha Tres.
• Adaptational Heroism: Sexy Star. While Heel and Face dynamics are always different from promotion to promotion, she's notable for being one of the longest lasting female rudos (the Spanish term for what English-speaking fans know as "heels") in LU's parent promotion AAA. But for her three seasons in LU she was one of the most enduring faces on the entire roster, behind perhaps only Puma, held up as a heroic role model of courage and self-determination for females of all ages.
• Affably Evil: Dario Cueto always seemed this way, skipping back and forth between Reasonable Authority Figure and Bad Boss. Antonio Cueto slides more to the less affable side.
• Alliterative Name: Mil Muertes, Cortez Castro, Prince Puma, Marty "The Moth" Martinez, King Cuerno (not the same letter, but the same sound).
• Amazon Brigade: The Black Lotus Triad is the embodiment of this trope.
• Anachronic Order: In an attempt to keep attendees from leaking accurate spoilers, matches for seasons 2-4 were taped at least somewhat out of order.
  • Sexy Star's matches during the early part of Season 3 are this. She was intending to quit wrestling, but after Ivelisse got injured mid season the producers coaxed her into returning, and taped some matches to slot earlier into the season and give her a story arc feuding with Worldwide Underground. A sharp eyed viewer will probably notice Jack Evans having his jaw wired shut any time he appears for these segments, although this injury didn't happen until later.
• Anyone Can Die: Due to Lucha Underground being more of a TV show about Wrestling then a Wrestling TV show, they aren't afraid to kill off characters. While some characters come Back from the Dead, others are Killed Off for Real.
• Arch-Enemy: The current or previous big blood feuds include:
  • Dario Cueto himself with Catrina.
    • Formerly with Johnny Mundo, with shades of the classic "Stone Cold" Steve Austin/Vince McMahon feud. Cueto soon was able to cut a deal with Mundo.
  • Prince Puma with Mil Muertes.
    • Formerly, with Johnny Mundo, Cage, Hernandez, and Big Ryck.
  • Alberto el Patrón with Johnny Mundo.
    • Formerly with Texano, as he had followed Alberto to LU solely to take back the Mega championship.
  • Texano with Cage.
    • Formerly with DelAvar Daivari, Big Ryck, and Chavo Guerrero Jr.
  • The Disciples of Death and Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico.
  • Formerly, The Crew and Son of Havoc, Ivelisse and Angelico.
  • Sexy Star with Johnny Mundo.
    • Formerly, with Big Ryck, The Crew, Pentagon Jr., Chavo Guerrero, Super Fly, Marty "The Moth" Martinez, and Mariposa.
  • Drago with Kobra Moon, Pindar, and Vibora.
    • Formerly, Drago with Aerostar and King Cuerno.
  • Fenix and Mil Muertes.
  • Mil Muertes and the Monster Matanza.
• Authority in Name Only: It's fair to say that, aside from having ADD and glass jaws, the referees are basically just completely impotent, especially in tag matches; the rudos can do whatever the hell they want and the refs will just let them. During the Mundo/Taya/Cage vs Mysterio/Puma/Dragon trios match especially Taya would just stroll into the ring any time Mundo was in and the two of them would cheerfully 2v1 whichever luchador was in there, with Taya all but mocking the ref to his face.
  • Somewhat justified due to Dario specifically requesting that the referees be more lenient with the rules and countouts in the interest of creating more violence. He's not above chewing one out over a disqualification either, as seen when he intervened to undo Chavo Guerrero's cheap win over Rey Mysterio in a Loser Leaves Lucha match.
• Badass Normal: Most of the cast, who have to compete against a dragon, a machine, and whatever Mil Muertes and Matanza are, among others.
• Bad Boss: Giving his proposed cash reward to his three thugs to beat down Johnny Mundo (and Prince Puma) pretty quickly established Dario Cueto in this camp. Funnily enough, he's also this to his own enforcers, as he actually forces Big Ryck into a three-way ladder match with Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma for the $100,000 bonus he was promised. Cueto says that this is because Big Ryck actually has to EARN his bonus. Which makes Cueto kind of a Magnificent Bastard, too.
• Bash Brothers:
  • Sexy Star and Fenix became this against the team of Pentagon Jr. and Chavo Guerrero. She would later have this dynamic with The Mack as well.
  • Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma USED to be this, until Mundo accidentally hit Puma with a chair and cost him a match against Big Ryck.
  • Mr. Cisco and Cortez Castro were the heel version of the trope.
  • Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico reluctantly became this when being forced to team up for the Trios title tournament... but they managed to make it work to actually win and keep the titles.
• Bilingual Dialogue: Those Mexicans who can speak English generally do, but occasionally a luchador who is not proficient must converse with an American, in which case the language barrier is simply ignored.
• Breakout Character: An unusual example in that several of Lucha Underground's featured luchadors were considered minor characters in AAA and LU's success in the United States has opened up a new market to them in which they're very much in demand. Benefitting from this the most are Fenix, Aerostar, Drago, and Pentagon Jr.
• The Cameo:
  • Machete himself, Danny Trejo, was in attendance for a couple of episodes. MMA legend and wrestler Josh Barnett and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo have also been spotted amongst the crowd.
  • DelAvar Daivari made a similar cameo in a few episodes before Texano was thrown into him.
  • Robert Rodriguez stopped by to perform with his band during Season 2.
  • Other cameos from Season 2 include screenwriter Max Landis and rapper Wale.
  • Season 3's first episode has the Honky Tonk Man as the prison guard who Dario retrieves his possessions from before leaving prison.
  • American Ninja Warrior host Matt Iseman attended Aztec Warfare III and was seen in a few episodes after that.
  • David Arquette was spotted in the crowd during Season 3.
• Canon Welding: Since the arrival of Mil Muertes and "El Jefe" Dario Cueto, essentially it retroactively places the Lucha Underground universe into the MLW realm especially with Muertes' LU backstory along with Cueto pulling the strings of Azteca Underground and the desire of creating a new Temple.
• Casanova Wannabe: In Season 1, Angelico spent much of his time trying to steal Ivelisse from Son of Havoc, usually resulting in physical punishment. Even after Son of Havoc dumped Ivelisse.
• Characters Dropping Like Flies: Although characters are killed off in every season (and between seasons in some cases), Season 4 in particular has taken an axe to the cast, killing off a whole bunch of minor and supporting characters, including some who've been on the show since Season 1 (such as Mascarita Sagrada, Cortez Castro and Vinnie Massaro), in the space of only a few episodes.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The $100,000 Johnny Mundo won in Season 1, which he'd held onto for two full seasons before using the majority of it to buy his way into a shot at the Gift of the Gods.
  • Dario Cueto's beloved and often-seen bull statue, which was used by both Matanza and Dario himself as an instrument of murder, with the Cuetos' mother and Mr. Cisco as their respective victims.
• Combat Breakdown: Clearly happened in the first Aztec Warfare by the time it was down to Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma. There were still high-flying moves, but both competitors were visibly exhausted. Mundo was number two, so he'd been in the match for over forty minutes.
• Comic-Book Adaptation: El Rey released a series of four online comics that show what happened between seasons one and two.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: An unfortunate Fridge Logic issue with the otherwise excellent Aztec Warfare matches- being like a Royal Rumble except with elimination by pinfall or submission instead of being thrown out of the ring and with only a single hour-long episode to get through the whole thing, almost all the wrestlers (including ones who would normally still be kicking out near the end of a twenty minute deathmatch) succumb to the first pinfall attempt, often after only a single move. Almost nobody ever kicks out of a pinfall until you get down to the last two wrestlers, at which point normal wrestling resumes and they have a normal mini-match to decide the winner.
• Cool Old Guy: Again, Blue Demon Jr. Vampiro tends to give off this vibe as well, as well as Konnan.
• Cross Counter: Fenix and Johnny Mundo exchanged one with kicks to the head right before the first ad break in the first Aztec Warfare match.
• Crossover: Lucha Underground was originally spun off from AAA, but has developed a close working relationship with IMPACT Wrestling, with a lot of wrestlers made stars (or even bigger stars) by LU showing up in the Impact Zone (with Pentagon even becoming World Champion in 2018) and some IMPACT stars even crossing back into LU (such as Dezmond Xavier, who joined the show as 'Dezmond X' in Season 4). They even staged a very well-received company vs company show together at WrestleCon 2018.
• Darker and Edgier: Comes with the filming style, and feels just like Robert Rodriguez shot a wrestling show. The show is also grimier than its parent promotion, AAA.
  • When taking into account the characters' more fantastical elements (a luchador who is the reincarnation of a dragon, an Undertaker-like character who in kayfabe comes back to life stronger than ever, a living incarnation of an ancient god of the hunt, an Ancient Conspiracy involving legendary Aztec medallions, and so on), Lucha Underground can come across as a much darker version of CHIKARA.
• Double-Meaning Title: "A Match Made in Heaven" can either mean the Atomicos match between Mundo, Taya, PJ Black and Aerostar vs the Reptile Tribe or its ending when Mundo proposes to Taya to marry her and thus they become a "match" (couple) made in heaven.
• Draconic Humanoid: Drago's promotional spot paints him as either an actual dragon who's taken human form or a man who has adopted the essence of a dragon. Either way, it's pretty awesome.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Son of Havoc complained of this in one episode. Having been made to fight Sexy Star and Mascarita Sagrada, he came to the ring and challenged anyone willing to face him in the back. And out came... Pimpinela Escarlata.
• Easily-Distracted Referee: The referees tend to range from being merely easily distracted^note such as when one got so involved in an argument with Johnny Mundo that he completely ignored the fact that Johnny was frantically attempting to bring to his attention Cage and Texano brutally working Prince Puma over in Cuerno's corner to being effectively an Authority in Name Only^note during the debut match of the Disciples of Death against the team of Mascarita, Pimpinela, and Bengala, the Disciples all just jumped in the ring at once to wail on the face team's legal man right in front of the ref, and he did nothing more than look mildly cross. Of course, they all have glass jaws too. Basically if you're a face, don't expect the ref to be any help at all.
  • In fairness to the refs, this is partially due to Dario Cueto forcing them to show more leniency than other promotions would due to his love of violence, especially when championships are at stake.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Despite him being a heel commentator, if there is one thing Vampiro doesn't condone, it's unwarranted violence against women. His utter disgust at The Crew in their three on one beatdown against Sexy Star, his subsequent disgust at PJ Black's treatment of Sexy during a match, and him coming close to fighting Pentagon Jr. when he was about to break the arm of ring announcer Melissa Santos, makes it quite evident. (Even more so in Melissa's case, as she's no luchadora and was completely unprepared to be attacked or defend herself.)
    • Subverted later in Melissa's case, as it turned out that he had planned that attack himself.
  • Dario also had one of these moments with Sexy Star, someone he'd plotted against and tried to ruin before...but when Sexy was up against Marty "The Moth" Martinez and Mariposa, Dario recognized she was a victim of abuse, since he'd been one himself (see below.) So, he talked to her about how to overcome her fear and trauma (i.e: beating the hell out of Mariposa and putting the same fear into her), and put her in a "No Mas" match so she could do it. And it worked.
• Evil Mentor:
  • Konnan to Prince Puma. He DID seem to have Puma's best interests in mind... but this is Konnan we're talking about. Might also have shades of The Svengali, as Konnan was using Puma for his own goals.
  • Vampiro to Pentagon Jr. Unlike the above, this is played completely straight.
    • In an ironic convergence of the above two entries, Vampiro mentored Prince Puma after Konnan's death and Pentagon's betrayal.
• Eye Scream: After they betray Big Ryck, The Crew decide to jab his cigar right into his eye.
• Face–Heel Turn:
  • To the surprise of no one, Chavo Guerrero Jr.. Right on the second episode, in fact!
  • A bigger one was Johnny Mundo, who turned heel after his loss to Alberto el Patrón for the right to face Hernandez for the #1 contendership.
• Fantasy Kitchen Sink: The Undead, extraterrestrial time travelers, dragons in human form, The Phoenix, Aztec gods, and practitioners of Dark Supernatural Lucha all exist and battle for supremacy within the Temple, along with more technically mundane but still badass entities like The Triads and the Tongs, undercover cops, an Egomaniac Hunter Hunting the Most Dangerous Game, a Badass Biker, and more.
• Foreign Wrestling Heel: Lucha Underground itself was this in the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup, where Dario himself headed up Team Lucha Underground (with Johnny Mundo, Brian Cage and Chavo Guerrero Jr.) to represent the USA in the tournament. They played straight rudos, putting on their best Eagleland act, outright cheating to win the final of the tournament against Team AAA (Pentagon Jr., Texano and Psycho Clown), and mocking the Mexican home crowd after winning, with Dario gloriously hamming it up to rub it in.^note Interestingly, every wrestler Team Lucha Underground fought in their semi-final and final matches other than Psycho Clown was also part of Lucha Underground- aside from Pentagon and Texano, they beat the team of Rey Mysterio Jr., Dragon Azteca Jr. and Dr. Wagner Jr. in the semifinals, although Dr. Wagner wouldn't make his surprise debut on the show until the very day after the event.
• The Giant: Big Ryck, during Season 1. He wasn't gigantic, but he was the biggest wrestler on the roster. With Big Ryck gone after Season 1, Cage took his place as this. Mil Muertes, Matanza, and Vibora (a/k/a "Luchasaurus") could also qualify.
• Gone Horribly Right: Dario decided to take three wrestlers who hadn't had good singles careers (Son of Havoc, Ivelisse and Angelico) and turn them into a Trios team. Not only did the three of them turn out to be an awesome team, they became the Trios Champions and repeatedly beat Dario's mooks for the titles.
• Gorgeous George: Pimpinela Escarlata. Oh so much. Likewise for XO Lishus in Season 4.
• Gorn: In keeping with the show's style of pro wrestling crossed with Mortal Kombat, characters are occasionally Killed Off for Real in backstage vignettes, sometimes in shockingly gruesome ways. Bael was brutally mauled to death by Matanza, Siniestro de la Muerte ripped out the hearts of his teammates Trece and Barrio Negro before later having his neck snapped by Catrina, and Cage destroyed Councilman Delgado's entire head with one punch, crushing a stray eyeball underfoot as he walked away.
  • In a less extreme but also disturbingly more realistic sense, some of the more hardcore matches can be really tough to watch, particularly when you remember there are no special effects involved and these guys are really shortening their careers and maybe their lives for your entertainment. In particular, Cero Miedo (where Pentagon Jr. digs into Vampiro's scalp with the jagged edge of a broken fluorescent light tube before chokeslamming him through a burning table, setting him on fire) and Hell of War (where both Killshot and Dante Fox get their backs ripped to shreds by being slammed -repeatedly- on broken glass^note there's a gruesome close-up shot of Dante Fox's shredded back opening up again in the Trios match taped afterward and aired two weeks later which shows how brutal that match really was) are borderline nauseating.
• Gotta Catch 'Em All: Dario Cueto introduced a new type of prize to fight for on the 5/13/15 episode: Aztec Medallions. There are seven of them, and the one who collects all of them will apparently be "granted immortality". He later revealed that they're part of a new championship belt, the Gift of the Gods Championship, which guarantees the holder a match for the LU championship, but there's a catch: if the holder waits too long to ask for their match, they will have to defend the GOTG belt.
  • In a subversion of the trope, you don't actually collect all 7 medallions; you just have to be holding one by the time all 7 have been issued^note which doesn't mean you have to actually win one, as Chavo Guerrero proved when he stole Cage's medallion, which gives you admission into the Gift of the Gods match. The winner subsequently receives all 7 medallions, which are set into the belt itself before the start of the match.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Dario and Matanza Cueto's parents. Their mother was a wicked woman who was going to kill Dario when he finally stood up to her, until Matanza intervened. Their father, according to what Rey Mysterio told Dragon Azteca II at least, was fascinated by the dark side of Aztec legends and may even have sacrificed Matanza to place an Aztec god inside his body. Their actions created the monster Matanza and set Dario on the path to being the evil man he is today, but their mother is clearly dead and their father's whereabouts were unknown for years. The Aztec gods themselves may count as well.
  • Subverted in Season 4 after Dario's death, as his father Antonio takes over management of Lucha Underground himself.
• Hope Spot: At the end of Season 1, Catrina ruled over the Temple effectively unchallenged with Mil Muertes as the champion and the Disciples of Death as the Trios champions. But hope remained in the hands of Fenix, who held the Gift of the Gods, allowing him to challenge Mil for the championship again, and who had defeated Mil once before. However, in the very first match of Season 2, Catrina set King Cuerno up to challenge Fenix for the Gift and Cuerno won, removing the only remaining threat to Mil and Catrina's power.
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: King Cuerno doesn't literally hunt other wrestlers, but he fancies himself a hunter who sees his opponents as prey. His first major target was Drago, since a dragon would obviously be prey worthy of the greatest of hunters. Of course, Drago didn't make it easy for him.
• Jobber: Famous B (in Season 1) and Ricky Mandel. Both of them got fed to Mil Muertes in their respective debuts in the promotion, and both of them were quickly eliminated from the Aztec Warfare match. Both were later victims of Pentagon Jr. as well. Argenis and especially Vinny Massaro are also jobbers, although Argenis at least tends to put on more than just Squash Matches and usually manages to be put in filler spots for multi-person matches.
• Large Ham: This is wrestling after all, but Dario Cueto has a special place in the way he announced the main event during the 12/3 episode: "NEXT WEEK! WE WILL HAVE...A ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLLARS... LAAAADDER MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATCH!"
  • And when he wants things to start NOW: "RING THE BELL!"
• Le Parkour: Johnny Mundo's specialty.
• Legacy Character: As is traditional of lucha libre, many of the wrestlers are part of wrestling families or successor to a famous luchador's legacy. Some include Blue Demon Jr., Pentagon Jr. (who dropped the Jr. at the end of Season 2) and Chavo Guerrero.
  • Strangely enough, Pentagon Jr. is the son of a wrestler named Fuego, but the storyline son of Pentagon.
• Masked Luchador: Standard procedure for a lucha libre inspired promotion.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast:
  • Mil Muertes. Would you mess with a man whose name means "1000 Deaths"?
  • The Monster Matanza Cueto. "Matanza" means "slaughter".
  • The Black Lotus Triad. "Doku", "Yurei", and "Hitokiri" roughly translate to "poison", "ghost", and "assassin", respectively, in Japanese.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Chavo Guerrero Jr. uncorked one on Blue Demon Jr. and Sexy Star in the second episode.
  • The Worldwide Underground swarmed Angelico en masse after Ultima Lucha Dos.
• No Such Thing as H.R.: Everything seems to be run out of Dario Cueto's pocket.
• Nothing Is The Same Any More: At the start of Season 2, Dario is still absent on the run, leaving Catrina as the new mistress of the Temple. The proprietor's office has been redecorated with macabre ornaments and Mil Muertes overlooks the temple from a skull-encrusted throne up where the bandstand used to be. There's a reason the first episode is called "A Much Darker Place".
• Older Than Dirt: As is mentioned during several Season 1 episodes, lucha libre is a tradition dating back thousands of years.
• Only in It for the Money: The reason Johnny Mundo was drawn to Lucha Underground was because of Dario Cueto's offer of $100,000.
• Parts Unknown: Subverted multiple times. Son of Havoc is announced as being from "the open road," but during his match against Pimpinela Escarlata, the commentators hint that Son of Havoc is from Wisconsin. Likewise, Mil Muertes is announced as "from beyond the grave," but based on his backstory, he's probably from somewhere in Mexico.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Mascarita Sagrada, much to the dismay of several of his opponents.
• Power Stable: The Crew, Dario Cueto's group of thugs, had the potential to be one. Big Ryck was definitely the leader of the Crew (until he was kicked out), with Cortez Castro, Bael (until Matanza ate his face), and Mr. Cisco filling out the rest.
• Precision F-Strike: Sexy Star delivered one of these near the end of her No Más Match with Mariposa in Season 2.
• Pro Wrestling Is Real: The show is firmly based in this premise, running on the understanding that it's not a "wrestling show", it's "a show about wrestling".
• Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: The first 10-man rumble at the start of the 8th episode of season 1 began with seven of the ten luchadors in the ring (all of them except Drago and King Cuerno) led by Prince Puma leaping onto Big Ryck and pounding him from all sides. Big Ryck dramatically hurls them all off, except for little Mascarita Sagrada who's left standing alone pounding his fists against Big Ryck's stomach to no discernible effect. As his punches slow down and he looks up at Big Ryck staring down at him with more bafflement than pain, you can read the Oh, Crap! on his face clean through his mask.
• Retcon: When Dario discovered that Cisco had been fitted with a wire at Ultima Lucha Dos, he taunted the police down it and ripped it off Cisco's clothes, cutting the line off and leaving Officers Reyes and Ryan listening to static on the other end before he bashed Cisco's brains in. When the event was revisited in a Season 3 flashback, not only was Captain Vasquez present with them this time, but Dario didn't yank the wire after taunting them down it, making them able to hear Cisco's murder.
• Running Gag: Every time someone wedges a steel chair between the ropes of the corner turnbuckle and tries to throw their opponent headfirst into it, they're going into it themselves. Every time, absolutely without exception. The ploy will never work, nobody else will ever end up going through it even in big multi-man matches with a lot of contestants, it will ALWAYS be the one who stuck it there. Mil Muertes and Pentagon Jr./Dark in particular are repeat offenders.
  • Running Gagged: Finally inverted during the Gift of the Gods Ladder Match between Pentagon Dark and Son of Havoc on the 3rd night of Ultima Lucha Tres, although Pentagon was still the one who ended up going through the chair- Havoc set it up and tried to send Pentagon through it, Pentagon reversed and almost sent Havoc into it, Havoc caught himself at the last second, but when Pentagon ran in to try and finish the job Havoc dodged and propelled Pentagon through after all. Job well done there!
• Sequel Hook: The end of Season One's Ultima Lucha: Black Lotus, Dario Cueto and Matanza are on the run, with Dario saying that they can't return to the Temple after Lotus killed Dragon Azteca and may have to start a new one. Fenix is being tailed by King Cuerno, intent on obtaining the Gift of the Gods for himself. Son of Havoc, Ivelisse and Angelico have set off together, aiming to retake the Trios titles. Sexy Star has been kidnapped by Marty the Moth, who's seemingly had a mental breakdown and plans to introduce her to his sister. Aerostar and Drago promise to meet again. Pentagon Jr. and Vampiro head to a "much darker place". Dragon Azteca's disciple dons his master's mask, then tags a familiar question-mark logo on the often-seen Lucha Underground billboard. Ultima Lucha Dos largely averted this, as all it showed was Dario Cueto being arrested.
  • Ultima Lucha Tres' post-show video package included one: Prince Puma removed his mask and left it behind as he left the Temple. King Cuerno had the Gauntlet of the Gods encased in glass in his trophy room. Sexy Star was approached by a little girl bearing a spider and a message that "She" hadn't forgotten about her. The Rabbit Tribe was again corrected by Mascarita Sagrada, with him revealing that he would take them to the White Rabbit. Fenix and Melissa Santos left the Temple together, unaware that they were being watched by Catrina and Jeremiah Crane. A shackled Drago looked on in anger as the returning Daga decapitated Pindar at the behest of Kobra Moon. Vampiro and his Master further plotted. Rey Mysterio was revealed to have been placed in a cell next to Matanza's. Finally, Agent Winter murdered Dario Cueto, with a fatally wounded Cueto calling his father before dying.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Wacky comedic wrestlers such as Pimpinela, Mascarita, and El Mariachi Loco almost completely disappeared as the series took a darker tone with Matanza, though Mascarita was later re-integrated until his death in Season 4 which also had the goofiness of the Rabbit Tribe gone.
• Shown Their Work: Mil Muertes' backstory has him surviving an earthquake in Mexico City that killed his family when he was a child. Muertes was born in 1975; in 1985, there actually was an earthquake in Mexico City, and it killed thousands of people.
• Show Within a Show: Famous B's commercials were actually in-universe commercials that Dragon Azteca Jr. was caught watching during training.
• Spot Monkey: Comes with the territory of lucha libre, but it's very refreshing to see such fast paced wrestling on TV again.
• Stylistic Suck: Famous B's reintroduction promos have taken the form of late 80s/early 90s local car dealer commercials, down to the cheap text overlays.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • What happens when someone (in this case, Vampiro) has a mental breakdown and starts believing that they are their wrestling persona? They get institutionalised.
  • Dario's actions had actual consequences: namely, the cops sent two undercover cops into the Temple to investigate him. He was later arrested, though he did not stay in jail long.
  • After jumping champion Pentagon Dark from behind, beating the crap out of him and boasting that he'll be coming for his title next, Cage goes to Antonio and demands a title shota against Pentagon. Antonio coldly points out that just ambushing the champion doesn't entitle you to a shot at his championship, although he does offer Cage a match against Mil Muertes for one of the seven medallions so he can try and win the Gift of the Gods again and get a shot at Pentagon that way.
• Take That!: Dario's speech introducing the Gift of the Gods belt had one to the Money In The Bank briefcase, where he stated that while the holder of the belt can ask for a championship match whenever they like, they have to get it approved by Dario so he can have a week to promote the match, as opposed to simply cashing it in at a moment's notice, and they have to defend it.
  • Alberto el Patrón's rage-fueled promo when he debuted took some shots at how WWE handled him.
• The Determinator: Fénix, despite being on the receiving end of a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown by Mil Muertes, still manages to come out on top and win his casket match against him.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • The three schnooks in the Season Two Opener who we see believe Black Lotus's words and head to Dario's new building he has setup miles away believing its The Temple and enter it. The three are then promptly massacred by Matanza.
  • Joey Ryan handcuffing himself outside the ring during Aztec Warfare II. He did survive longer than he otherwise might have, but he still nominated himself as the designated punching bag.
    • And then he did it again in Aztec Warfare III, this time cuffing himself to the railing of the steps the luchadores enter the ring from. Problem this time is that it was right before Mil Muertes came out...
    • He finally learned his lesson during Aztec Warfare IV, first cuffing himself within the ring then keeping the key on him and releasing himself when the time was right. Unfortunately, a different problem came about: he went straight after Pentagon Dark.
  • Later, Taya gets reverse-cuffed during Cage in a Cage. So far handcuffs haven't worked out so well in The Temple.
  • Taya, knowing full well that Ricky Mundo had started acting very creepy after returning to the Temple with Rosa, deciding to steal the doll away from him after their Ultima Lucha Cuatro match. This directly gets her possessed.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Those who just started watching Lucha Underground would find it hard to believe that Pentagon Jr started out as a jobber and a flunky for Chavo.
  • Ditto for Son of Havoc, despite an early win against Sexy Star.
    • As a sign of how far Son of Havoc has become, he's now a top contender for the Lucha Underground Heavyweight Championship.
  • Mil Muertes returned from the dead more powerful than anyone could possibly imagine. Twice. His costume got a lot cooler looking to boot.
  • Team Havoc could barely function in season 1 but became powerhouses by the start of season 2.
  • The inanimate championship belt. It was kinda dinky looking at first, until Cage broke it. It's almost like they made it crappy on purpose just to make the new belt look even better.
• Tweener: Many of the wrestlers look out for themselves and no-one else. Mil Muertes, being the monster wrestler, is obviously this, but Drago is also one and has become a fan favorite for it.
• Unrelated Brothers:
  • Inverted with Fénix and Pentagon Dark—they are legit brothers in real life, but this is never alluded to.
  • Played straight with Dario and Matanza Cueto, along with Marty "The Moth" and Mariposa- neither pair are related.
• Urban Fantasy:
  • Lucha Underground is set in the city of LA, but connections to the Aztecs and nods at urban legends hint that there may be some unseen forces at work for the entire roster.
  • Invoked further with the Aztec medallions, as Dario Cueto mentioned "recreating" ancient battles for them.
  • Also one of the wrestlers is a dragon, and another is a time travelling alien.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Johnny Mundo's other specialty.
• Walking Spoiler: Considering that this show has been taped in advance, do not look at the promotion's Wikipedia page or the Wikipedia pages of anyone on their roster if you want to avoid getting spoiled.
• Wham Episode: The series has multiple of them, but just for starters:
  • "Eye For An Eye" ramps the personal dramas up to new heights as Catrina openly turns on Mil Muertes and aligns herself with Fenix, Chavo flees the temple altogether after the beating Mil gives him, Mascarita and Pimpinella are beaten so badly by the Crew that they're out of action for the immediate future and Big Ryck has come back to get his revenge on the Crew. It also kicks the greater overarching story arc into high gear as the mysterious Black Lotus finally finds what she's looking for, right before a bag is yanked over her head by an unknown assailant...
  • "The Hunt Is On..." turns a good portion of Season 1 on its head by revealing that Cortez Castro is an undercover cop planted in the Temple to try to bring down Dario Cueto.
  • "The Moth and the Butterfly": turns out that Aerostar reviving Fenix turned out to be a very bad thing because Fenix's time was up and resurrecting him will now cause the end of everything.
• Wham Line: While the entire scene between Catrina and Captain Vasquez was incredibly revealing and interesting, the most shocking line of all was saved right for the end.
  Catrina: Well it seems that we have a deal... mother.
  • Episode 3 of Ultima Lucha Tres ended with a pair of lines that called everything we thought we knew about Vampiro into question. The final scene of the episode takes place between Vampiro and his disciple Prince Puma in Vampiro's smoky dojo, and the lines would be innocuous enough if they were just Vampiro congratulating Puma for being ready to face Johnny Mundo and reclaim his title next week. However, the lines are said after Puma is gone...
  Unknown You have done well.
  Vampiro: Thank you... Master.
  • The end of "Sacrificio" has Mascarita Sagrada take the Rabbit Tribe to the White Rabbit. London states he would offer anything for the White Rabbit and his guidance. What does he say?
  White Rabbit: Kill the man who brought you to me.
  • At the end of "A Match Made in Heaven", Taya calls Mundo out for wasting his wish on Aerostar. To which he replies.
  Mundo: Taya, Kobra Moon couldn't grant my wish...Only you could. Taya...will you marry me?
• Wham Shot: After 2 seasons of buildup, the Unknown Benefactor finally revealed his face in the post-Ultima Lucha Cuatro vignette sequence as he leaned into camera view for the first time...and it's Wade Barrett!
• What Happened To The Spiders?: So who was responsible for putting spiders in Sexy Star's locker? First she mistakenly blamed Mariposa because of their previous feud, then Veneno (a/k/a/ Cortez Castro) because of his spider-patterned mask, then after Veneno was unmasked the whole thing was completely forgotten, with Sexy moving on to her feud with Taya instead.
  • Strangely, after having been forgotten for about half the season, it was brought up again right at the very end of Ultima Lucha Tres, when a little girl approached Sexy during an autograph signing/photoshoot with another spider in a box and the creepy message "She hasn't forgotten you, you know." Unfortunately, most people don't really want to know any more, due to Sexy tanking her career in real life (thanks to her infamous shoot on Rosemary) and not having her LU contract renewed for season 4. It's later revealed that she was Killed Offscreen by Reklusa, who was originally meant for the role anyway.
• Whole Costume Reference: Sexy Star's outfit for the Aztec Warfare match was conspicuously similar to that of Ms. Marvel. She also went in for an anime magical girl look at times, complete with scepter.
• Wrestling Family: Chavo obviously is a member of Mexico's illustrious (and downright rotten) Guerrero family, while Blue Demon Jr. is the successor of his legendary dad.
  • Alberto el Patrón used to be Dos Caras Jr., his father obviously being Dos Caras, and his uncle being the legendary Mil Mascaras. Texano's father was the original Texano.
  • Subverted by Fenix and Pentagon Jr.; they're brothers in real life, but their relationship is never mentioned.
• Wrestling Monster
  • Mil Muertes. If you're debuting in Lucha Underground and he's your first opponent, well, sucks to be you. He brought it up to 11 after surviving a 10-man battle royale followed by a main event against Fenix to win the last spot in the first Aztec Warfare for the inaugural Lucha Underground title. Yes, the undefeated monster went in last in the rumble for the title.
    • He was finally defeated for the first time during the first Aztec Warfare match for the Lucha Underground Championship, but it took the combined effort of Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma, the two top faces of the company, to do that, including both pinning him at the same time. Three weeks later, Muertes' eternal Arch-Enemy Fénix showed up both by pinning him singlehandedly in a match.
  • Big Ryck, Dario Cueto's former dragon. Also doubled as Lucha Underground's Scary Black Man.
  • There's also Cage. He's not a man, HE'S A (very large) MACHINE.
  • If you value the use of your arms, do NOT mess with Pentagon Dark.
  • The Monster Matanza Cueto, obviously. Looks like Bane, lives in a cage, and made his debut by mowing down a full third of the roster in Aztec Warfare II to take the title.
  • Vibora, the giant snake man who laid waste to Fenix and Aerostar multiple times.
  • Even Marty "the Moth" Martinez is, after multiple levels in badass, bordering this status. He's big, strong, faster than you'd expect, alternately feels no pain or actively enjoys it, becomes fixated on tormenting his rivals (Sexy Star, Killshot, Fenix) rather than merely beating them, and is very clearly dangerously wrong in the head. While he doesn't inspire dread the way most of the above wrestlers do (and his actual win/loss record is closer to that of a jobber than a monster), he's still someone not to take lightly and instills, if not respect, then at least a certain amount of caution in his opponents.

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