Sexy Star Makes History

Lucha Underground recently aired an episode this month where Sexy Star won their top title. That is the first time a woman has won a top title in a major televised wrestling promotion. Sexy Star has since lost the title and moved on to other things.

There have been other women that have won top titles in other promotions. These promotions, however, are not really considered major televised promotions. Lucha Underground has obviously not reached the heights of the WWE, but they are a televised promotion that has caused some buzz in the last few years. I also like that they have a unique identity. They are not trying to copy the WWE, like TNA has been accused of doing at times. They are also not a mess like the current state of the WWE.

Will this help Lucha Underground grow? I doubt it. It will cause some buzz, but that is not always enough. The WWE caused some buzz when they had Sasha Banks and Charlotte wrestle inside Hell in a Cell. If that couldn't help them fix their poor ratings and hasn't really turned either of those women into true A+ stars, this title win for Sexy Star won't do too much for Lucha Underground. But they do gain some respect points.

What does this mean for women's wrestling? Whenever fans talk about a woman one day winning a World title in a major promotion, they usually say it has to be someone like Chyna or Awesome Kong. It has to be someone big and intimidating. I never agreed with that idea. Someone like Maria Kanellis would not be a believable World Champion, but a woman doesn't need to be a beast to be a believable World Champion. Look at what TNA did last year around this time of year. They had a tournament to crown a new World Champion and they let the women get involved. Even though they did not pull the trigger, I think Gail Kim could have made a believable TNA Champion. It is not all about power moves. Use agility & speed and submissions to put on a believable match against the men. Lucha Underground did pull the trigger on a woman winning their top title. For the most part, I don't see fans giving it the thumbs down.

What does this mean for Sexy Star? As I said, she's moved on to other things. Nevertheless, this is a huge accomplishment for her wrestling career. I felt like she was the top woman in Lucha Underground when I first talked about the promotion, even though they did not have a real women's division. I am not too surprised that the company would have a woman accomplish this, and even let Sexy Star be the woman. No complaints.

Lucha Underground

TNA is still arguably the closest wrestling competition the WWE has, but there are these other feds popping up that are picking up stars and might one day make some noise. Lucha Underground is one of those. It started just last year.

It is something different. It has that lucha twist to it. But it does not showcase only Latino wrestlers. It does have some former WWE guys, including Alberto Del Rio (Alberto El Patron) and John Morrison (Johnny Mundo). El Patron is a guy I can imagine being pushed as the top star of that company. He is no spring chicken, but this is not a guy that needs to be groomed to be a star, like Roman Reigns in the WWE. He is a good in-ring performer, he can talk, and he has charisma. With more freedom in Lucha Underground and a target audience that will be drawn to him and his story, he should be great. As for Johnny Mundo, he is obviously amazing in the ring and can help appeal to an even wider audience.

As far as women's wrestling goes, they do not really have a women's division. That does not stop them from having some women on the roster and utilizing them. They have Karlee Perez, who was Maxine in WWE. I liked her. But the true star for their women is Sexy Star, a Mexican talent. Lucha Underground actually has their women wrestle the men. I think that is a great idea. They are not in a position to just feature women's wrestling like TNA does. And they do not need to build top stars at the expense of people they do not want to be top stars like the WWE does. One day? Maybe. Right now? Just make do with what you have. And they are doing that. They have valets and they have women wrestling the men, which I previously mentioned. Although Sexy Star is not the only one that does that, I feel she would be the best choice to really feature as a top star. They have Ivelisse Velez, who was in the WWE briefly, but Sexy Star has been around longer and has had more success.

It seems the promotion does not want to keep their women's division that small. There were reports as recently as last month that Torrie Wilson and Victoria were in talks to join the company. Jim Ross even brought this up. Let's say these two women were to join Lucha Underground. I mentioned that Alberto Del Rio is not a young guy right now. Both Torrie Wilson and Victoria are older than him. Torrie Wilson will turn 40 this year and Victoria turned 44 last month. And yet, signing either one would be great. They have been around mainstream wrestling in the United States longer than any of the other women already on the roster. Torrie Wilson is still beautiful and can be a great manager/valet. I can imagine Victoria being useful in how the company utilizes female wrestlers. She can mix it up with the men.

Can Lucha Underground ever be real competition for the WWE? Or is it just an alternative? Some people might say that it will only appeal to a Latino audience. Keep in mind that it is also pro wrestling and features some mainstream names and good action. That would make it a draw even to wrestling fans. This promotion is not just trying to aim at one demographic. They still have a lot of growing to do, but they can be an exciting promotion that does one day makes some noise. If nothing else, I can buy them eventually taking TNA's spot as the WWE's closest competition.