Wrestlers Who Were At Their Best In Lucha Underground

Exists in a time where the wrestling world was becoming increasingly stale, with a WWE Lucha Underground was a celebrated, unique company. The promotion miraculously combined professional wrestling and sports entertainment and was more reminiscent of Days of Our Lives than a wrestling group.

Many of his collaborators would go on to find plenty of success after their tenure with Lucha Underground ended, whether it be through a contract with WWE or AEW or through success in the independent wrestling scene. However, the following ten wrestlers enjoyed more comfortable lives while competing for Lucha Underground.

Alberto Del Rio enjoyed a brief Lucha Underground stint

He competed as Alberto El Patrón

While Alberto Del Rio held multiple WWE World Championships and won the Royal Rumble in 2011, he never enjoyed the finest moments of his in-ring career under Vince McMahon's employ. Rather, “The Essence of Excellence” had his best days in the Lucha Underground.

As Alberto el Patrón, he only fought seven fights for the program distributed by the El Rey Networkbut the ex-WWE champion was consistently in top form. Two matches against Johnny Mundo – now Johnny TV in AEW – were his undisputed highlights in the promotion, with the second marking Alberto's final LU match before returning to WWE.

Ivelisse became a Lucha underground veteran

She appeared in all four seasons

Ivelisse was so outstanding in Lucha Underground that she landed a contract with All Elite Wrestling. You actually Was a highlight of Lucha Underground in all four seasons of the exciting product and would even make history in the promotion; Together with Angélico and The Son of Havoc (Matt Cross), she was the first LU Trios champion.

However, that was the best thing for Ivelisse as her two-year stint with AEW ended in her death effectively banned from the promotion due to an alleged backstage incident with Thunder Rosa. However, Ivelisse claims she spoke out about mistreatment by a coach.

Ezekiel Jackson was a main villain in Lucha Underground

He was a main cast member for much of the first season

Professional wrestling is inherently about the good guys and the bad guys, much like all forms of entertainment. In Lucha Underground, Ezekiel Jackson – as Big Ryck – was one of the biggest villains of the first season.

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It goes without saying that Jackson was at his best during this time, even if it only lasted fourteen games. Despite the appeal of his Hulk-like appearance, the jacked “Big Zeke” failed to achieve the same level of fame in WWE, and he used this stint in Lucha Underground to clearly show what he was capable of.

Drago quickly fell into obscurity after Lucha Underground

He was one of several AAA luchadors used in the company

Lucha Underground's beginnings relied heavily on the use of relatively unknown (to North American eyes) luchadors from the Mexican AAA, including Drago. Sporting a uniquely horned mask, the real Victor Flores became one of Lucha Underground's finest in-ring practitioners, as he demonstrated in his electrifying best-of-five series with Aero Star.

Although he remains active in Mexico and has performed for other major North American groups such as AEW and TNA, Drago – who now wrestles as Dios del Inframundo – has not achieved the same world-class level of godlike wrestling skills that he possessed in the Lucha Underground.

Aero Star is another luchador who reached his peak in the Lucha Underground

He produced several replayable spots

Like his Lucha Underground Trios Championship-winning partner Drago, Aero Star had his best days wrestling for the eponymous company. Their best-of-five streak during LU's first season helped set the standard for what was expected in terms of Lucha Underground's ring, but his work in the promotion's final days was also outstanding.

Aero Star has a busy schedulewith the 40-year-old regularly competing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, but his work no longer leads an online discussion orchestra surrounding his work.

Jeff Cobb portrayed “The Monster” Matanza Cueto

The character was one of the most successful

Jeff Cobb may be known today for his exemplary work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but he rose to fame as “The Monster” Matanza Cueto. The storyline brother of Dario Cueto, the pictured owner of Lucha Underground, Cobb became LU champion in his televised debut and went undefeated in the following twelve matches.

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The Jeff Cobb was at his best. His work in NJPW, where he is the muscle of the United Empire faction once led by Will Ospreay, makes Cobb an athletic, muscular maniac in a country full of them, but in Lucha Underground he was an anomaly who knew how to easily handle high-flying Squad as if they were the prey of his jungle cat.

Taya Valkyrie has never been better than Lucha Underground

She had several missed opportunities elsewhere

Taya Valkyrie enjoyed a phenomenal time in what was then known as IMPACT Wrestling during her first tenure there.

He broke records and became the longest reigning Knockouts World Champion in history

while she wrestled a ton of must-see matches – but her sophomore run, combined with her miserable WWE and AEW runs, shines a brighter light on her time in Lucha Underground.

Taya showed her best in LU, supported by an outstanding debut match against (Brian) Cage. The match featured one of Lucha Underground's earliest key moments when Cage superplexed Valkyrie through two tables on the outside. Just like that, “La Were Loca” was a certified Lucha Underground icon.

Mil Muertes struggled to find himself underground after Lucha

He took part in numerous competitive games in LU

Because Lucha Underground operates as part wrestling show and part soap opera, the characters were often introduced with bizarre backstories. In Mil Muertes' case, his entire family died in an earthquake in Mexico City when he was just seven years old.

Former TNA's El Mesias, Muertes competed for a number of promotions after Lucha Underground, including MLW, but now he's on the back foot in Mexico's AAA and can't achieve the same high levels of success he did in LU. However, he won the AAA Latin American Championship at the 2024 Guerra de Titanes event.

Angélico was a gem of a Lucha underground star

His work helped to spread the word about the campaign

Elite Wrestling's entire doubles division was considered to be in good hands when the company confirmed the signing of The Hybrid2, Angélico and Jack Evans in 2019. Together, the pair had become two of the independent scene's most exciting artists – but Tony Khan failed to put them right from the start after Evans left the company entirely, and Angélico now largely competes in ROH.

In Lucha Underground, Angélico perfectly embodied his serious nickname, “Half-Man, Half-Amazing.” His bell-to-bell technical work was mesmerizing, but it was his GIF-worthy, death-defying jumps that put the South African sensation in a class of his own.

Ricochet was the main protagonist of Lucha Underground

As Prince Puma, he wore a polka dot orange mask

It can be argued that the best of Ricochet's in-ring days came in NJPW. There, “The King of Flight” acted and produced on a different level The Match against Will Ospreay, which is still highly praised to this day.

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However, in Lucha Underground, Ricochet was cast as the promotion's frontman, thus being crowned the first Lucha Underground Champion. A string of stunning matches also accompanied him in the company, with his debut against Johnny Mundo still considered one of the promotion's best performances, but this is just the start of a long line of must-see clashes between Ricochet and Lucha Underground .