Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors results
July 16, 2010 - Episode #1
Aired on MTV2
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The first episode of the new "Lucha Libre USA" series airing on MTV2 was a reminder that pro wrestling, in general, is behind the times when it comes to promoting a product centered on competition, whether scripted or real.

The new series is built on the idea of seeing flashy characters, colorful masks, acrobatics, and a sample of the Lucha style from Mexico you might have seen or heard about. Unfortunately, the show created zero emotional connection with the audience. The art of connecting a product with the audience seems to be lost on many pro wrestling promoters, with this being the latest example.

The first episode broke down into three matches featuring a parade of wrestlers the casual audience had never heard of doing moves they'll never remember while fighting over issues that could have been explained better.

Typical pro wrestling cliches were prevalent throughout the show. The most-glaring example was the presence of heel and face announcers attempting banter during the matches. It came across forced, unnatural, and not typical of a realistic conversation. They seemed to be playing wrestling announcers rather than attempting to describe the action and build an emotional connection with the audience.

The producers were also trying to overcome a language introducing the majority of the cast to the audience. Instead of using someone who looks like a TV personality introducing the wrestlers, their characters, and their issues, the wrestlers were revealed in a basic photo shoot setting with a graphic listing their names. It looked nice, but there was no story. During the matches, the announcers tried to hit some bullet points on the characters, but since it came across like the announcers were trying to force conversation, the wrestlers seemed very distant from the audience.

There was also the introduction of a tournament to determine the first Lucha Libre USA champion. The first tournament match aired on the show, yet there was no bracket. Rather, the announcers explained that a "committee" was keeping the tournament bracket secret from the wrestlers, which means they were trying to keep it secret from the audience. It was another pro wrestling cliche where it appears management is using its power to screw the wrestlers.

All of these elements added up to a show that came across warmed-over rather than innovative; behind-the-times rather than fresh and unique; distant and removed rather than engrossing. In the U.S., you can't present pro wrestling in 2010 and depend on highspots and sizzle. The audience has seen it all from the mid-1990s until today. Pro wrestling, whether it's WWE, TNA, or Lucha on MTV2, has to be built on relatable stories the audience can connect to and form an emotional connection with the stars.

If MTV was trying to appeal to a Hispanic audience in the U.S., the show came across like a derivative version of a traditional Lucha show. If MTV was trying to appeal to WWE and TNA fans introducing them to Lucha Libre, the show failed to engross that audience featuring wrestlers they had never heard of without doing enough to explain their background.

The series is understandably trying to present a completely different form of pro wrestling to a mainstream audience, so the producers need more time to tell the stories to a new audience. However, there were obvious issues with the first episode that are typical of pro wrestling promoters trying to tell stories using a dated model.

Show Recap

The show started by an introducing the new series and some of the wrestlers to the audience. They showed an array of highspots and talked about "killer moves, high-flying combat, and antics." They also introduced a "quest" for the Heavyweight Title, but didn't explain the importance of the title and why the wrestlers will or should covet the title.

(1) El Oriental & El Limon & Neutronic (rudos) beat PR Powers & Mascara Purpura (technicos). The heel announcer was trying to introduce the roster while heeling on them at the same time, which came across tone-deaf. They explained the rules of the trios match while the heel announcer sounded like Doug Williams ripping the young babyface team (PR Powers) because of their high-flying. The match was a blend of moves that looked cool, but just blended together with no story.

[Commercial Break]

They came back and replayed high points from the previous match. They also did this after the second match. The post-match replay concept was probably the strongest point of the show as they tried to reinforce what just happened in the matches.

Video: A wrestler named R.J. Brewer made an announcement. Basically, he's an anti-Lucha American heel. It was a real dry promo and he did not come across like a TV star.

[CB]

(2) Pequeno Halloween & Chi Chi (w/Rhaka Khan) beat Mini Park & Mascarita Dorada. Khan resurfaced escorting an effeminate character. This led to low-brow commentary with puns and double entendres, which, like one of John Cena's recent promos, helped reinforce the perception of pro wrestling not being cool. The finish was Rhaka powerbombing Mini Park behind the ref's back, which allowed Chi Chi to score the win.

[CB]

Video intro: Lujo Esquire. He was a masked wrestler hanging out with girls at the pool. He said he wants to acquire the Lucha title belt. It was basically an unimaginative copy of the "Most Interesting Man In The World" ads for Dos Equis.

Backstage: Marco Corleone (Mark Jindrak) was shown doing push-ups while a fat guy was slacking off. His opponent in the Hvt. tournament, Tinieblas, Jr., walked in a cut a promo on Jindrak on Spanish. It was not a good exchange and came across like one of those cliched, forced "wrestling promos" where they vow to take out each other.

[CB]

Video: They showed highlights of Corleone and Tinieblas in action while announcers did voice-overs. They went to another break, trying to stretch the show into an hour.

[CB]

(3) Marco Corleone beat Tinieblas, Jr. in a Hvt. Title tournament match. This is where the announcers talked about the "commission" being tight-lipped on the bracket and not telling the wrestlers who they'll be facing. All these years later, Jindrak is still struggling to sell emotion during a match. The audience simply can't connect to him. The finish was Jindrak winning with a roll-up to advance in the tournament.

Post-match: a group of heels led by Lizmark, jr. beat down Jindrak. Lizmark was joined by an "unidentified man" to throw more items at the audience without background or context. The group of unremarkable heels left the ring, leaving Corleone to recover and vow revenge to close the show.

And, for something else thrown at the audience, they announced a tag tournament starting next week.

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