Since the season finale of Lucha Underground on August 5, 2015 fans have been asking ‘when will season two start?’ That question however, has slowly morphed into a different question, will there even be a season two? It isn’t just fans of the Americanized lucha libre show that are posing this question, cast and crew are as well.
Matt Striker has tweeted some interesting tweets in the last month, posting a picture of a sunset with the Underground logo added in saying “Until we meet again…” as well as “I miss you” written in the sand with the Lucha mask logo added in, dotting the i. Those tweets have since been deleted, but the speculation remained, was this the end of Lucha Underground? Was Striker fired? Or was he simply longing for his steady gig? No one but Striker himself can really answer those questions, but a recent Facebook post by his commentary partner might shed some light on the situation.
Vampiro has never been one to mince words, and certainly isn’t shy about speaking his mind. Recently he posted an impassioned, heartfelt rant expressing his love for the fans that have embraced Lucha Underground:
“I need to vent, and I hope that the people involved in deciding what’s next for Lucha underground read this.
I have said many times in my career, that without fan you ain’t s**t. Yes, there are big names attached to Lucha Underground. There are a lot of very, very cool people behind the scenes; many of whom I consider friends for life. Some I owe so much to for letting Vampiro live again.
And there are some people, talent, who f***ing suck as human beings. Maybe they are important for this business, I don’t know, but as human beings, I can’t name names, cause it won’t do nothing but cause a rift. But I will say it – you suck. And I am sure there are people who are sick of me, and just don’t like me, and I get that, and I don’t give a f***. But, together, we are LUCHA UNDERGROUND.”
This post wasn’t simply about showing love to his fans and peers, Vamp’s focus became clear when he started venting about the executives in charge and what decisions they may have been making:
“The major players who are deciding if we go in or not, you got billions of dollars between you but you can’t buy fans, who have become family, like are brothers and sisters, world wide who are part of Lucha underground.
Notice I did not say support I said part of. Cause really, with the LU fans this is just another wrestling show. Yeah, we bust are ass, and there are cool ass stories and all that but, who made us legit are the people who watch the show, who LOOK for the show, who are on social media 24/7 pumping the show hard core, pimping it out at every turn…”
He went on to talk about how no matter how much something or someone is loved, if they are out of the public consciousness long enough, they will get forgotten:
“We asked for love, we got mad mad mad love now, we are leaving to (sic) many people hanging for to long. We are hot, LU is the s**t but you f**k around to much, and sooner or later people forget about you. Look at Justin Bieber. Hey, he was the man, F***ed around, Yeah he is back But it’s not the same…”
What really got me was how he closed his rant though:
“I really hope that we come back soon because I can’t front, LU has made me feel like living again
Like I have a family, a home And I miss my brothers and sisters.
To the powers that be!
We will go to war for you, give us what we need to succeed for you, let us fight this fight we will win, and at the end of the day, that means you win, brother. It is what it is…”
Vampiro has had his share of demons, but it is very evident that Lucha Underground gave him a new lease on life. He gained new fans and reached a new audience in Lucha Underground. I for one wasn’t a fan of his commentary, but I always enjoyed his sit down interviews with other luchadors, and despite not liking his commentary style, I did find that he had a great chemistry with Matt Striker. To see the Thunder Bay, Ontario native wearing his heart on his sleeve and showing how much passion he, and many of the cast and crew have for Lucha Underground, it makes you wonder what is really going on behind the scenes.
Lucha Underground, during its run, had many comparisons to NXT, and not just because they both aired on Wednesdays. Both shows were fresh, new and different. Both shows developed a sort of cult following. NXT however, has the WWE machine behind it, whereas Lucha Underground is a part of a fledgling television network that may still be trying to find its identity, but more money may not be the answer. Yes, it would be fantastic to have people like Rey Mysterio Jr. or Myzteziz join the roster, but speaking from experience, it wasn’t the big names that kept me tuning in every week. Guys like Johnny Mundo and Chavo Guererro Jr. are great, but I loved discovering luchadors like Prince Puma, Drago, and Pentagon Jr. Finding these new wrestling personalities that many fans north of the border may not recognize.
If money is the issue, there are ways around it. NXT may have WWE backing it, but they still emanate from a University and utilize the talent within Full Sail to produce the show. There is plenty of talent within Lucha Underground without having to bring in big, marquee names. Would it help? Of course, but Lucha Underground has already gotten a foot in the door. They rose to become a household name alongside WWE, TNA and ROH. They don’t absolutely need a name like Rey Mysterio Jr., because the Lucha Underground name is recognizable enough. Lucha Underground kicked open the door and announced who they were and what they were about. They had a stellar first season, but as Vampiro said, if they screw around they may get forgotten and that door may close.
