With Lucha Underground’s season two confirmed, now would be a great time to shake up the roster a bit. Do they need to? Not necessarily, but some fresh blood wouldn’t be a bad thing either, so I thought it would be interesting to start a series looking at who in Lucha Underground should go, who should stay, and who they should bring in. For the sake of argument, anyone with a championship at the end of the season is off the table since they would obviously be staying. We’ll start off with who should go.
BIG RYCK
Ryck is a big dude, there’s no question, but Lucha Underground has another big guy who does a better job in the form of Cage. Ryck started the season strong as the top heel feuding with both Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma, but it didn’t take long for the top babyfaces to surpass him and before you knew it Big Ryck was falling down the proverbial ladder. Following the Crew turning on him, Big Ryck had an awkward face run until eventually turning heel again. The fact of the matter is Big Ryck isn’t the only big guy on the roster, and with a heavy hitter like Mil Muertes, and someone with the size and agility of Cage, Ryck isn’t the best big guy on the roster either.
PIMPINELA ESCARLATA
I have nothing against Exóticos, and I fully understand that you need wrestlers on any roster who can job on a frequent basis to help build other talent, but every time I see Pimpinela scale the ropes I cringe. He’s just too slow for the fast pace of Lucha Underground. The primary reason is most likely his age. Pimpinela is 46, an age that sees a great deal of wrestlers already retired, but he forges on. On one hand it is admirable, but as I said, he can’t quite keep up with the younger members of the roster. If Lucha Underground were to keep him on, it may be best to move him to a less active role of an agent. Let him put his years of experience to better use, otherwise maybe it is time to cut ties with this particular Exótico.
MASCARITA SAGRADA
Mascarita Sagrada is in a similar situation as Pimpinela. His age is a factor as he is 50 years old, but also there just doesn’t seem to be a place for him. Mini luchadors are popular and have their place, but when you only have one mini on the roster it’s hard to find that place. Sagrada has often been teamed with Pimpinela Escarlata as a bit of a comedy duo, and it is a role that they were able to work decently, but in any situation it is difficult to picture Sagrada coming out on top with the one two punch of his diminutive size and his age. To his credit he still moves around the ring better than most 50 year olds, but if there isn’t going to be anyone his own size for him to wrestle, then for me, the suspension of disbelief simply isn’t there.
SUPER FLY
The year wasn’t the most kind for Super Fly. H had been lumped in with the jobbers like Famous B and Vinny Massaro as sacrifices of Pentagon Jr.’s, then he lost a mask vs. mask match against Sexy Star, and upon making his return did next to nothing except job to the woman who took his mask. That was actually the tipping point for me, I had considered putting Sexy Star on this list (even though I like her) but she beat him in a matter of seconds in order to qualify for the Gift of the Gods match. Super Fly never really had a chance to get out of the gate, and he had a chance to let his stock rise, but still failed to fly.
KILL SHOT
This final spot was a tricky one, I had considered Marty “The Moth” Martinez because he came into the season late and never had a chance to truly showcase his skills. Although, Martinez has been very entertaining and that was ultimately what swayed me to choosing Kill Shot. The man with the target on his mask certainly deserves to be in Lucha Underground on a physical level. He is talented, but I have gotten no real personality from him. Kill Shot goes through the motions, and it isn’t that he appears uninterested, or that he doesn’t want to be there, but I don’t see a personality. I can respect his in-ring ability, but if I had to choose who to watch, Marty “The Moth” is more entertaining.
There are five members of the Lucha Underground roster who could, and maybe should, go. Could I have named others? Of course. I personally don’t think Alberto El Patron needs to be in Lucha Underground, at least not while he is the AAA Mega Champion. And then there are guys like Famous B, or Vinny Massaro, but they both seemed too obvious. However, five is a good enough number to stick with for now. Stay tuned to see who should stay in Lucha Underground as we travel the road to season two!
