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Lucha Underground season 1
Spudz- Posts : 594
Join date : 2013-12-13
RFSKannon- Posts : 234
Join date : 2013-12-14
Age : 46
Location : Indiana
I really doubt it. Lucha promotions have failed miserably in the US in the past (Including a previous attempt by AAA)
SBR- Posts : 2061
Join date : 2013-12-13
Not available on Fios, they might as well be dead.
Xero- Posts : 780
Join date : 2013-12-12
Age : 34
Location : http://wrestleconnect.com
Why can't they just air AAA with english commmentary?
Spudz- Posts : 594
Join date : 2013-12-13
This is what thecubsfan from the luchablog had to say about it.
At the Television Critic Association winter press tour, Mark Burnett was introduced as partnering with AAA on their upcoming El Rey show. Burnett and El Rey’s Robert Rodriguez (who will both be executive producers) conversation about the show was treated as the biggest news from the press conference; both Hollywood Reporter and Deadline lead with stories on Burnett and AAA. (They also announced a partnership with producer Alex Garcia, who talks about reinventing AAA like Starlight Runner did last year.) The AAA show, who was still referred to by that name, was pushed as starting in the second half of 2014 and will be one hour in length. Deadline had this plot synopsis:
" Storylines and masks are characteristic of the sport Burnett said, explaining that the logline for the U.S. introduction involves five of the sport’s stars who have discovered a secret plot that’s going to destroy the very foundation of the sport and they’ve been exiled to America."
There are plans for “monthly and quarterly specials and live pay-per-view events” plus the usual licensing/merchandising, though not a timeline on those. They pushed the “second most watched sport in Mexico” line and wrestling in the US being a $1 billion industry, hoping to combine the two.
The start date being pushed back again was the first thing to jump out to me. I’ve lost track of how many times it was moved, but there were people very certain it was March of this year after it they had been very certain it was January. Most people hearing about this are hearing about AAA for the first time, or the last times have made so little impact that it feels like the first time, so pushing the start back does not mean anything about it’s success. It is a reminder about how this project is being run; the wrong dates, and even the wrong concepts (what they’re suggesting up there is many miles away from the first roster split away) are generally coming from the AAA side, but they’re not the ones making the decisions. It does not appear anyone from AAA was at this press conference announcing an AAA show. AAA’s involved in the process, but they’re not the ones driving the car, they’re a passenger can only shout advice but don’t appear to have final say on where they’re going. Or when they’re going. We don’t have nearly enough information to turn down anyone who’s offering it, but also have to realize the people inside the deal sometimes don’t have much better access to it than those outside it.
The flip side of giving up control is AAA is partnering in people so interested in their potential that they want to be firmly involved. AAA, and all lucha libre promotions in general, have suffered under complete disregard if not outright contempt by their broadcast networks in recent years. Just this weekend, Televisa didn’t air AAA’s episode with no warning or explanation. The planned repeating of TripleMania did not air. AAA took center stage at El Rey’s press conference when “Lucha libre”, usually without a promotion mentioned, was buried to the last lines of Galavision’s TV press releases. (Often, it wasn’t mentioned at all.) CMLL’s plan of just selling off their existing unchanged TV to as many outlets which will take it will get them paid, but is highly unlikely to build their visibility ever. AAA’s being much more flexible because the CMLL way just wouldn’t work out for their goals (fan generated revenue, not just low level cable station revenue) and they’ve got to take all the help they can get if they’re going to reach those goals.
Mark Burnett is a big deal. Burnett’s responsible for Survivor and the Voice among many other shows, so just showing up gives the AAA show and El Rey credibility. But he’s also responsible for those shows, and a bunch others going on right now judging from those articles, so he’s not here to put in 40 hours days and figure out Murder Clown’s wardrobe. He’s probably going to be a guy to come to some big picture meetings, review the first episode or so, and most important, draw other people to the project. The day to day stuff is going to be done by other people, but the El Rey network strategy appears to get high profile names involved so they’re taken seriously more quickly and they’ve done that with Burnett.
The plot line is familiar, because AAA likes that plot line. AAA’s movie was about their luchadors preventing lucha libre from behind destroyed, and AAA’s Mexico promotion is not far off that – AAA’s army is bigger than five people but Konnan & Dorian just got done with their (latest) secret plan to destroy AAA (and remodel it in their own image.) Five luchadors exiled from Mexico sounds like a lot smaller amount of people moving back and forth between the promotions than originally thought (not that the original thoughts have been worth much), but I wouldn’t expect it to be specifically five guys. There has to be people to oppose them, and we think Konnan’s on that side. He probably is, I just don’t feel safe in saying we know anything when the specifics seem to shift around every few months.
Actually, we don’t even know that the five luchadors will be existing characters, or even people who work for AAA. We do know, or think we know, there are some scirptwriters currently putting together episodes. We don’t know if they’re doing it using characters who currently exist in AAA or if there will be some reinvention of characters for this show. (Again, AAA was introduced here as if no one knew anyone in it, there’s no reason they have to use what they already have if they have a better idea.) If would be new characters, we also don’t know if AAA people would be auditioning for spots or if they’d even look outside for new people. I’d guess they’d stick with AAA guys, but there’s so little we know here it feels like a misdirection to assume anything.
Second half of the year is a long time away. If you, instead of reading a rambling post on lucha libre, went out and met a significant other tonight and, uh, initiated reproduction, it’s a fifty/fifty chance you would bring new life into this world before AAA US show hits the air. It’s so far away that it may be a while before we hear anything more about. Maybe that’s the only thing we know for sure: AAA USA is far away.
At the Television Critic Association winter press tour, Mark Burnett was introduced as partnering with AAA on their upcoming El Rey show. Burnett and El Rey’s Robert Rodriguez (who will both be executive producers) conversation about the show was treated as the biggest news from the press conference; both Hollywood Reporter and Deadline lead with stories on Burnett and AAA. (They also announced a partnership with producer Alex Garcia, who talks about reinventing AAA like Starlight Runner did last year.) The AAA show, who was still referred to by that name, was pushed as starting in the second half of 2014 and will be one hour in length. Deadline had this plot synopsis:
" Storylines and masks are characteristic of the sport Burnett said, explaining that the logline for the U.S. introduction involves five of the sport’s stars who have discovered a secret plot that’s going to destroy the very foundation of the sport and they’ve been exiled to America."
There are plans for “monthly and quarterly specials and live pay-per-view events” plus the usual licensing/merchandising, though not a timeline on those. They pushed the “second most watched sport in Mexico” line and wrestling in the US being a $1 billion industry, hoping to combine the two.
The start date being pushed back again was the first thing to jump out to me. I’ve lost track of how many times it was moved, but there were people very certain it was March of this year after it they had been very certain it was January. Most people hearing about this are hearing about AAA for the first time, or the last times have made so little impact that it feels like the first time, so pushing the start back does not mean anything about it’s success. It is a reminder about how this project is being run; the wrong dates, and even the wrong concepts (what they’re suggesting up there is many miles away from the first roster split away) are generally coming from the AAA side, but they’re not the ones making the decisions. It does not appear anyone from AAA was at this press conference announcing an AAA show. AAA’s involved in the process, but they’re not the ones driving the car, they’re a passenger can only shout advice but don’t appear to have final say on where they’re going. Or when they’re going. We don’t have nearly enough information to turn down anyone who’s offering it, but also have to realize the people inside the deal sometimes don’t have much better access to it than those outside it.
The flip side of giving up control is AAA is partnering in people so interested in their potential that they want to be firmly involved. AAA, and all lucha libre promotions in general, have suffered under complete disregard if not outright contempt by their broadcast networks in recent years. Just this weekend, Televisa didn’t air AAA’s episode with no warning or explanation. The planned repeating of TripleMania did not air. AAA took center stage at El Rey’s press conference when “Lucha libre”, usually without a promotion mentioned, was buried to the last lines of Galavision’s TV press releases. (Often, it wasn’t mentioned at all.) CMLL’s plan of just selling off their existing unchanged TV to as many outlets which will take it will get them paid, but is highly unlikely to build their visibility ever. AAA’s being much more flexible because the CMLL way just wouldn’t work out for their goals (fan generated revenue, not just low level cable station revenue) and they’ve got to take all the help they can get if they’re going to reach those goals.
Mark Burnett is a big deal. Burnett’s responsible for Survivor and the Voice among many other shows, so just showing up gives the AAA show and El Rey credibility. But he’s also responsible for those shows, and a bunch others going on right now judging from those articles, so he’s not here to put in 40 hours days and figure out Murder Clown’s wardrobe. He’s probably going to be a guy to come to some big picture meetings, review the first episode or so, and most important, draw other people to the project. The day to day stuff is going to be done by other people, but the El Rey network strategy appears to get high profile names involved so they’re taken seriously more quickly and they’ve done that with Burnett.
The plot line is familiar, because AAA likes that plot line. AAA’s movie was about their luchadors preventing lucha libre from behind destroyed, and AAA’s Mexico promotion is not far off that – AAA’s army is bigger than five people but Konnan & Dorian just got done with their (latest) secret plan to destroy AAA (and remodel it in their own image.) Five luchadors exiled from Mexico sounds like a lot smaller amount of people moving back and forth between the promotions than originally thought (not that the original thoughts have been worth much), but I wouldn’t expect it to be specifically five guys. There has to be people to oppose them, and we think Konnan’s on that side. He probably is, I just don’t feel safe in saying we know anything when the specifics seem to shift around every few months.
Actually, we don’t even know that the five luchadors will be existing characters, or even people who work for AAA. We do know, or think we know, there are some scirptwriters currently putting together episodes. We don’t know if they’re doing it using characters who currently exist in AAA or if there will be some reinvention of characters for this show. (Again, AAA was introduced here as if no one knew anyone in it, there’s no reason they have to use what they already have if they have a better idea.) If would be new characters, we also don’t know if AAA people would be auditioning for spots or if they’d even look outside for new people. I’d guess they’d stick with AAA guys, but there’s so little we know here it feels like a misdirection to assume anything.
Second half of the year is a long time away. If you, instead of reading a rambling post on lucha libre, went out and met a significant other tonight and, uh, initiated reproduction, it’s a fifty/fifty chance you would bring new life into this world before AAA US show hits the air. It’s so far away that it may be a while before we hear anything more about. Maybe that’s the only thing we know for sure: AAA USA is far away.
Slayer- Posts : 560
Join date : 2013-12-21
I would love for this to turn out great, as I loved watching Lucha Libre on local channels when I was younger, and still do on occasion.
However, AAA has failed to succeed in the past in the US, and Lucha Libre has never really taken off when it's tried to be sold to an American audience (see WWE's Super Astros and MTV's Masked Warriors: Lucha Libre USA).
Mark Burnett is a big name in the entertainment industry, but I have my doubts about how truly committed he is to this project. For example, a few years ago he worked with MMA promotion King Of The Cage when they had a TV deal with HDNet (now known as AXS TV). He was touted as having similar plans for KOTC as he does for AAA, but after their one-year deal with HDNet was up the partnership was over, and KOTC went back to being a regional promotion relying on deals with local TV stations and obscure channels like MavTV.
However, AAA has failed to succeed in the past in the US, and Lucha Libre has never really taken off when it's tried to be sold to an American audience (see WWE's Super Astros and MTV's Masked Warriors: Lucha Libre USA).
Mark Burnett is a big name in the entertainment industry, but I have my doubts about how truly committed he is to this project. For example, a few years ago he worked with MMA promotion King Of The Cage when they had a TV deal with HDNet (now known as AXS TV). He was touted as having similar plans for KOTC as he does for AAA, but after their one-year deal with HDNet was up the partnership was over, and KOTC went back to being a regional promotion relying on deals with local TV stations and obscure channels like MavTV.
Swarles- Admin
- Posts : 3078
Join date : 2013-12-12
Also let's not over look the fact that AAA isn't very good.
Xero- Posts : 780
Join date : 2013-12-12
Age : 34
Location : http://wrestleconnect.com
Swarles wrote:Also let's not over look the fact that AAA isn't very good.
I haven't watched an episode of AAA in about 5 years. Something's better than nothing though.
Slayer- Posts : 560
Join date : 2013-12-21
I stopped watching AAA after the Psycho Circus clowns became the biggest stars on the show. I don't know how the hell those guys got so popular.
Spudz- Posts : 594
Join date : 2013-12-13
from pwinsider
AAA's series on The El Rey Network will begin taping in late August, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The original taping dates began on 8/24, but we've heard it may have been pushed back a few days. The series will film in Los Angeles.
Former New Japan and ROH star Ricky Reyes, who was on WWE's radar, has signed for the series. I've heard several former WWE names have signed or are in the process of finalizing deals for the series. Once we confirm those names, we'll post.
Former WWE creative team member Chris DeJoseph is working on the series in a producer's role.
There has been a lot of talk about the series, which is scheduled for an eight episode first season this Fall on El Rey, with some of the pitches for it being really "far out" in comparison to traditional wrestling TV. Once the series starts taping, we'll see what form it actually takes
AAA's series on The El Rey Network will begin taping in late August, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The original taping dates began on 8/24, but we've heard it may have been pushed back a few days. The series will film in Los Angeles.
Former New Japan and ROH star Ricky Reyes, who was on WWE's radar, has signed for the series. I've heard several former WWE names have signed or are in the process of finalizing deals for the series. Once we confirm those names, we'll post.
Former WWE creative team member Chris DeJoseph is working on the series in a producer's role.
There has been a lot of talk about the series, which is scheduled for an eight episode first season this Fall on El Rey, with some of the pitches for it being really "far out" in comparison to traditional wrestling TV. Once the series starts taping, we'll see what form it actually takes
dragondragon- Posts : 344
Join date : 2014-03-03
Age : 29
Location : Pennsylvania
No fios. Triple A is meh. I dunno. And Burnett will be interesting behind the lens, not bad immediately, but who knows
GolfClubNinja- Posts : 642
Join date : 2014-04-24
Location : New Jersey.
DirecTV also has El Rey
danhere- Posts : 89
Join date : 2013-12-16
elray isn't uverse either(fios)
Spudz- Posts : 594
Join date : 2013-12-13
press release
Austin, TX– August 27, 2014 – El Rey Network puts its spin on lucha with “Lucha Underground”, an original action-packed series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett’s One Three Media. Production will begin on September 6th in front of a live audience in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The character-driven, freestyle wrestling series is set to debut Wednesday, October 8th at 8:00 pm ET/PT.
On August 17th in Mexico City in conjunction with the TripleMania XXII produced by Lucha Libre AAA El Rey Network revealed the names of five Luchadores joining “Lucha Underground” directly from Lucha Libre AAA. They are: Blue Demon, Jr, son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship; Sexy Star, who has held the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship and FILL Women's Wrestling Championship; Fenix, the inaugural AAA Fusión Champion (March 2013) has also wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Wave; Drago is a dead dragon, a character brought back to life as an immortal being, to protect La Parka in the last fight against his enemies; and Pentagon Jr. who has spread terror and fear in his adversaries without exception since his introduction in the 2012 War of the Titans. Additional Luchadores will be announced shortly.
“Not since ‘The Contender’ premiered has a new series combined this level of drama and athletic competition." said executive producer Mark Burnett. "Our Luchadores are fantastic, the action will be intense – and this season is just the beginning.”
Scott Sassa, El Rey Network’s Vice Chair, said: “The ‘Lucha Underground’ franchise is perfect for El Rey Network. It features good versus evil, intense action, humor, drama, great characters and most important great stories from two of the best storytellers in the business- Mark Burnett and Robert Rodriguez. It’s the perfect time and they are the perfect team to bring lucha to America.”
Currently, Lucha Libre’s colorful world of freestyle wrestling is a huge draw in its home country of Mexico with over 85% of television audiences tuning into the high-flying antics of this popular franchise. Each week “Lucha Underground” will bring drama, excitement and action to U.S. audiences as the masked heroes and villains battle it out in the ring for wrestling supremacy.
“Lucha Underground” is produced by One Three Media in association with FactoryMade Ventures for El Rey Network. Executive producers are Mark Burnett, Eric Van Wagenen (also showrunner) and Brian Edwards of One Three Media; Dorian Roldán from Lucha Libre AAA; Alejandro Garcia and Antonio Cué Sánchez-Navarro; El Rey Network co-founder Robert Rodriguez; and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. The series will be distributed internationally by One Three Media.
from pwinsider
Some notes on the Lucha Underground series being produced by the El Rey Network.
PWInsider.com can confirm that the first United States based independent talents signed are Ricky Reyes and B-Boy.
We have also heard that offers are out to former WWE star John "Morrison" Hennigan, former TNA star Hernandez, Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate champion Ricochet, Chavo Guerrero and several others. Ricochet is an interesting name since one would assume he is signed to WWNLive, the parent company of DGUSA and EVOLVE.
We are told that the El Rey Network contracts being offered to the talents have been described to me as "worded very broadly" and would require talents to sign exclusively for the series for up to "seven series cycles." How the cycle would be defined is said to be very ambiguous in it's contractual wording, which has raised the eyebrows of some of the wrestlers who have been offered deals. We have been told it could mean as long as seven years.
There have been several issues raised by talent after contracts were presented to the wrestlers. One issue that we have heard is that while wrestlers would be signing exclusivity away for such a long period, they are not a solid number in terms of guaranteed appearances on the series. That would mean they would appear and receive pay for episodes they appear in, but without a guarantee they would appear regularly - and at the same time, be locked into exclusive deals that would prevent them from wrestling anywhere else.
That is obviously a major concern as the wording would not just prevent the talents from wrestling for another nationally television promotion (i.e. WWE) but would also prevent them from working independent date without the promotion and the date itself being cleared by Lucha Underground. I was given the impression that would be the case even if they weren't wouldn't be performing the same characters on the independents as they would on the El Rey series. In many ways, that would be the equivalent of a TV actor signing a deal that would prevent them from doing a play as another character unless the TV show signs off on it. Obviously, the way wrestling works on the haphazard, fly by night realm that is independent wrestling, getting every date cleared in advance isn't really going to be feasible, especially the way bookings come up at the last minute. So, obviously, there is a disconnect between those behind the series and their understanding of how wrestlers make their money on the independent level.
The fact that the contracts offered, unlike most long term TV deals, are also not structured to provide for raises for the performers (i.e. if the show goes seven seasons, talent would still be making the same that they were paid for season one) has also raised a few flags among wrestlers being asked to lock themselves in for long term-commitments.
Beyond that, there is also said to be an unpaid "no compete" period that was described to me as "longer than WWE's paid 90 day no-compete period."
The contracts also call for wrestlers to work "publicity" days, without day, without a cap on how many they might be called upon to do. So, by the letter of the contract, they could end up required to work for months doing publicity without additional payment.
So, El Rey is looking for WWE-level exclusivity without WWE level financial guarantees to the talent.
With so many wrestlers raising concerns about the contracts, a number of them are going to former wrestler turned San Diego lawyer Andre Verdun, who worked the Wrestling Society X series on MTV before becoming a lawyer. I am told Verdun is representing a number of talents and trying to negotiate deals so the El Rey Network gets what they want in terms of talents for the series but also protect the wrestlers so they can continue making a living with independent dates, conventions, etc.
The El Rey Network will be taping episodes of Lucha Underground, their new TV series in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, CA on 9/6, 9/7, 9/13, 9/14, 9/27, 9/28, 10/4, 10/5, 10/18, 10/19, 10/25 and 10/26. The series will debut in early October on the El Rey Network with the first season advertising eight episodes.
also these talents are rumor to be apart of the show
Austin, TX– August 27, 2014 – El Rey Network puts its spin on lucha with “Lucha Underground”, an original action-packed series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett’s One Three Media. Production will begin on September 6th in front of a live audience in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The character-driven, freestyle wrestling series is set to debut Wednesday, October 8th at 8:00 pm ET/PT.
On August 17th in Mexico City in conjunction with the TripleMania XXII produced by Lucha Libre AAA El Rey Network revealed the names of five Luchadores joining “Lucha Underground” directly from Lucha Libre AAA. They are: Blue Demon, Jr, son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship; Sexy Star, who has held the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship and FILL Women's Wrestling Championship; Fenix, the inaugural AAA Fusión Champion (March 2013) has also wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Wave; Drago is a dead dragon, a character brought back to life as an immortal being, to protect La Parka in the last fight against his enemies; and Pentagon Jr. who has spread terror and fear in his adversaries without exception since his introduction in the 2012 War of the Titans. Additional Luchadores will be announced shortly.
“Not since ‘The Contender’ premiered has a new series combined this level of drama and athletic competition." said executive producer Mark Burnett. "Our Luchadores are fantastic, the action will be intense – and this season is just the beginning.”
Scott Sassa, El Rey Network’s Vice Chair, said: “The ‘Lucha Underground’ franchise is perfect for El Rey Network. It features good versus evil, intense action, humor, drama, great characters and most important great stories from two of the best storytellers in the business- Mark Burnett and Robert Rodriguez. It’s the perfect time and they are the perfect team to bring lucha to America.”
Currently, Lucha Libre’s colorful world of freestyle wrestling is a huge draw in its home country of Mexico with over 85% of television audiences tuning into the high-flying antics of this popular franchise. Each week “Lucha Underground” will bring drama, excitement and action to U.S. audiences as the masked heroes and villains battle it out in the ring for wrestling supremacy.
“Lucha Underground” is produced by One Three Media in association with FactoryMade Ventures for El Rey Network. Executive producers are Mark Burnett, Eric Van Wagenen (also showrunner) and Brian Edwards of One Three Media; Dorian Roldán from Lucha Libre AAA; Alejandro Garcia and Antonio Cué Sánchez-Navarro; El Rey Network co-founder Robert Rodriguez; and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. The series will be distributed internationally by One Three Media.
from pwinsider
Some notes on the Lucha Underground series being produced by the El Rey Network.
PWInsider.com can confirm that the first United States based independent talents signed are Ricky Reyes and B-Boy.
We have also heard that offers are out to former WWE star John "Morrison" Hennigan, former TNA star Hernandez, Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate champion Ricochet, Chavo Guerrero and several others. Ricochet is an interesting name since one would assume he is signed to WWNLive, the parent company of DGUSA and EVOLVE.
We are told that the El Rey Network contracts being offered to the talents have been described to me as "worded very broadly" and would require talents to sign exclusively for the series for up to "seven series cycles." How the cycle would be defined is said to be very ambiguous in it's contractual wording, which has raised the eyebrows of some of the wrestlers who have been offered deals. We have been told it could mean as long as seven years.
There have been several issues raised by talent after contracts were presented to the wrestlers. One issue that we have heard is that while wrestlers would be signing exclusivity away for such a long period, they are not a solid number in terms of guaranteed appearances on the series. That would mean they would appear and receive pay for episodes they appear in, but without a guarantee they would appear regularly - and at the same time, be locked into exclusive deals that would prevent them from wrestling anywhere else.
That is obviously a major concern as the wording would not just prevent the talents from wrestling for another nationally television promotion (i.e. WWE) but would also prevent them from working independent date without the promotion and the date itself being cleared by Lucha Underground. I was given the impression that would be the case even if they weren't wouldn't be performing the same characters on the independents as they would on the El Rey series. In many ways, that would be the equivalent of a TV actor signing a deal that would prevent them from doing a play as another character unless the TV show signs off on it. Obviously, the way wrestling works on the haphazard, fly by night realm that is independent wrestling, getting every date cleared in advance isn't really going to be feasible, especially the way bookings come up at the last minute. So, obviously, there is a disconnect between those behind the series and their understanding of how wrestlers make their money on the independent level.
The fact that the contracts offered, unlike most long term TV deals, are also not structured to provide for raises for the performers (i.e. if the show goes seven seasons, talent would still be making the same that they were paid for season one) has also raised a few flags among wrestlers being asked to lock themselves in for long term-commitments.
Beyond that, there is also said to be an unpaid "no compete" period that was described to me as "longer than WWE's paid 90 day no-compete period."
The contracts also call for wrestlers to work "publicity" days, without day, without a cap on how many they might be called upon to do. So, by the letter of the contract, they could end up required to work for months doing publicity without additional payment.
So, El Rey is looking for WWE-level exclusivity without WWE level financial guarantees to the talent.
With so many wrestlers raising concerns about the contracts, a number of them are going to former wrestler turned San Diego lawyer Andre Verdun, who worked the Wrestling Society X series on MTV before becoming a lawyer. I am told Verdun is representing a number of talents and trying to negotiate deals so the El Rey Network gets what they want in terms of talents for the series but also protect the wrestlers so they can continue making a living with independent dates, conventions, etc.
The El Rey Network will be taping episodes of Lucha Underground, their new TV series in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, CA on 9/6, 9/7, 9/13, 9/14, 9/27, 9/28, 10/4, 10/5, 10/18, 10/19, 10/25 and 10/26. The series will debut in early October on the El Rey Network with the first season advertising eight episodes.
also these talents are rumor to be apart of the show
RFSKannon- Posts : 234
Join date : 2013-12-14
Age : 46
Location : Indiana
Yeah.. This Lucha Underground show has FAIL written all over it.
dragondragon- Posts : 344
Join date : 2014-03-03
Age : 29
Location : Pennsylvania
sounds really bad for everyone involved talent wise.
Is it too much to ask for to just get good wrestling instead of a soap opera?
And Ricky Reyes makes me think of TPI 2005. So there's that.
Is it too much to ask for to just get good wrestling instead of a soap opera?
And Ricky Reyes makes me think of TPI 2005. So there's that.
RFSKannon- Posts : 234
Join date : 2013-12-14
Age : 46
Location : Indiana
By the way, for anyone that is curious. The announce team for Lucha Underground will be Matt Striker (play by play) and Vampiro (color)
Swarles- Admin
- Posts : 3078
Join date : 2013-12-12
Good lord.
RFSKannon- Posts : 234
Join date : 2013-12-14
Age : 46
Location : Indiana
Pretty much my thoughts exactly.
SBR- Posts : 2061
Join date : 2013-12-13
--Lucha Underground TV tapings from last night:
Dark matches: Famous B b B-Boy, Mil Muertas (Ricky Banderas under a mask) b Magnificent Martin Casaus, Blue Demon Jr. b Chavo Guerrero Jr., Sons of Havoc (Matt Cross) b Sexy Star, Johnny World (John Morrison) b Prince Puma (Ricochet). They taped what is likely to be the debut show that airs on 10/18. Vampiro & Matt Striker were there doing the announcing. They are taping again tonight. Very small crowd last night, and most of them were extras and not wrestling fans.
Slayer- Posts : 560
Join date : 2013-12-21
The small crowds could be contributed to the lack of marketing (I only found out about the tapings on Twitter a few days before), the overall lack of clarity about the product (it's apparently not an English version of AAA as initially expected), the location (some small warehouse in Boyle Heights), and not allowing anybody under the age of 18.
I actually attempted to go to the tapings on Saturday, but I was turned away because my little brother is only 13, despite a group being allowed in with children much younger than him just a few minutes before. I mentioned this on Twitter to the official Lucha Underground account (@luchaelrey) and they surprisingly reached out to me and made amends for the situation.
Thankfully, there's plenty of more tapings going on over the next two months, and they will allow my brother to come in.
I actually attempted to go to the tapings on Saturday, but I was turned away because my little brother is only 13, despite a group being allowed in with children much younger than him just a few minutes before. I mentioned this on Twitter to the official Lucha Underground account (@luchaelrey) and they surprisingly reached out to me and made amends for the situation.
Thankfully, there's plenty of more tapings going on over the next two months, and they will allow my brother to come in.
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http://www.cagesideseats.com/indies-independent-wrestling-indy-promotions/2014/9/14/6149189/spoilers-lucha-underground-wrestle-society-x-with-vince-russo-style-writing
Keith Harris wrote:Spoilers: Lucha Underground compared to Wrestling Society X with Vince Russo style writing
Lucha libre fans have been left disappointed by the early Lucha Underground tapings, due to the lack of lucha style wrestling and storylines, instead being likened to the short-lived Wrestling Society X on MTV with Vince Russo style writing.
It's time to update you on the Lucha Underground project, now that the first two weekends of television tapings have already taken place.
As was expected, despite making fans sign nondisclosure agreements and even going so far as to confiscate mobile phones, detailed spoilers have been easy to find in places like this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter and the luchablog.
The first thing to note is that this is not an American version of AAA wrestling, even though some AAA wrestlers are being used in the series. Dave Meltzer described it as "a cross between Wrestling Society X with Vince Russo style booking", due to the hybrid indy / WWE style matches and the main storylines exhibiting some of Russo's tropes (a heel authority figure with evil henchmen to do his dirty work, the second show building to a swerve turn). Lucha expert Steve Sims claims that he won't even report on the promotion anymore as it's not a lucha show, despite its name, and is closer to a PWG show (which is far from the worst thing in the world, but may not be what Hispanic fans are looking for in their wrestling programming).
However, although there is reason to be fearful about Mark Burnett's vision for the product, we can't fairly judge the quality of the programming before the first episode of Lucha Underground hits the air in four weeks time, as the shows will feature a lot of backstage interviews and vignettes which weren't shown to the live audiences. At the very least, the series should look major league given that a large amount of money is believed to be being spent on production.
Regarding the contract issues, a lot of the independent talent originally linked to the project ended up turning down their offers from Lucha Underground due to the restrictive nature of the contracts and the money not being high enough to make up for all the restrictions, although the biggest names were offered better deals and did end up signing. Falling into the former group were the likes of The Young Bucks, Brian Kendrick, Matt Sydal, Frankie Kazarian, Joey Ryan, Candice LaRae and Scorpio Sky, whilst the latter category included Chavo Guerrero Jr., John Morrison, Konnan and Ricochet (which in his case required the company to come to some sort of mutually beneficial arrangement with Evolve, who he is also under contract to). Basically, the feeling seems to be that the wrestlers that didn't sign with them were expendable as they were all scheduled for roles that could easily be filled by other people.
The English language announcers for Lucha Underground will be Matt Striker and Vampiro (who has little experience in the position, having only made his announcing debut at last month's TripleMania iPPV, where his performance was panned). In a funny story, the idea of using Jim Ross as their play by play man was nixed because those in charge felt Good Ol' J.R. was too heavily associated with WWE, which is ironic given the amount of ex WWE talent being used in prominent positions.
The main road agent was Chavo Guerrero Jr. who told the wrestlers to do less and make it mean more like WWE performers do, while Konnan was pushing for a more high spot oriented PWG style, so the end result will likely fall in between the two ends of the spectrum. This is another reason to be concerned, as if Lucha Underground is not careful then they could fall into the TNA trap of coming off as a low rent version of WWE by not differentiating themselves enough from their larger main rival and failing to offer a true alternative vision to fans.
Here are the results from the first set of Lucha Underground TV tapings on Sept. 6th (not including dark matches):
An actor playing the heel promoter announced that whomever impresses him tonight would win $100,000.
Blue Demon Jr. pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. in a match where Demon's knee went out catching a dive and he had trouble finishing the bout.
Sons of Havoc (Matt Cross) defeated Sexy Star in a match that didn't click.
Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) pinned Prince Puma (Ricochet) in a good match. After the match, both Mundo and Puma were jumped by the Crenshaw Crew of Cortez Castro (Ricky Reyes), Cisco (Lil Cholo) and Big Ryck (Ezekiel Jackson), and were paid off by the evil owner.
From night two:
The Crenshaw Crew cut a promo, but were attacked by Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma, which led to a tag team match where Johhny Mundo & Prince Puma defeated Cisco & Cortez Castro after the babyfaces hit simultaneous 450 splashes in what sounds like a pretty spectacular aerial showcase.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Sexy Star beat Sons of Havoc & Ivelisse Velez when Chavo pinned Havoc with a frog splash in a decent bout.
Mil Muertes (AAA star Mesias under a mask, managed by Karlee Perez, aka Maxine) defeated Blue Demon Jr. After the match, Chavo Guerrero Jr. chased Muertes off with a chair, before turning heel by lamping Blue Demon with the foreign object. Chavo went on to destroy two referees, B-Boy, Famous B and Sexy Star when they attempted to make the save and laughed maniacally at the carnage he had caused.
According to PWInsider.com, AAA wrestlers Drago, Fenix Jr. and Pentagon Jr. missed the first weekend of tapings because their work visas weren't ready, which caused some rewrites to the first couple of episodes. However, they worked a three way match in the first of this weekend's tapings, which was said to have more lucha libre content, including the addition of AAA's El Hijo del Fantasma and Mascarita Sagrada to the Lucha Underground roster.
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This weekend's tapings are going to feature a triple main event. Those matches include a 3-Way Ladder Match pitting Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma vs. Big Ryck, a 10-Way Match, and the Boyle Heights Battle Royal.
I will attempt to attend Sunday's taping.
I will attempt to attend Sunday's taping.
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I got to go to the taping and ended up on the upstairs railing where the wrestlers and announce team came out through.
I can't divulge the results (signed a non-disclosure), but the spoilers are out there if you want them.
Based on the matches I saw, the product came off very well and should make for some very good TV. The biggest criticisms seem to be coming from people who haven't actually seen any of it.
The show I attended will air on December 17th.
I can't divulge the results (signed a non-disclosure), but the spoilers are out there if you want them.
Based on the matches I saw, the product came off very well and should make for some very good TV. The biggest criticisms seem to be coming from people who haven't actually seen any of it.
The show I attended will air on December 17th.
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