The Lucha Underground Championship was a professional wrestling world championship[1] owned by the Lucha Underground promotion. The championship was the top championship of the promotion and was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than in direct competition.[2] The championship was introduced in episode 8 ("A Unique Opportunity") taped on October 4, 2014, and broadcast on December 17, 2014, with the first champion being determined on episode 9 ("Aztec Warfare") which was taped on October 5, 2014, and broadcast on television on January 7, 2015. The final champion was Jake Strong, who won the title on the last episode of Lucha Underground.
| Lucha Underground Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lucha Underground Championship belt (2014 — 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Lucha Underground | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | October 5, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | March 19, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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As it was a professional wrestling championship, the title was not won by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match determined by the bookers and match makers.[a] On occasion the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no champion at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline,[b] or real life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship,[c] or leaving the company.[d]
History
During Episode 8 ("A Unique Opportunity") of Lucha Underground's first season the storyline owner of Lucha Underground, Dario Cueto, announced that he was introducing the "top prize" in the promotion, the Lucha Underground Championship, revealing the belt to the audience in the arena and viewers at home. He explained that on the following week's show 20 wrestlers would compete in an Aztec Warfare match, featuring a mixture of male, female and Mini-Estrella competitors in the ring at the same time.[7] During episode 8 Mil Muertes defeated Fénix in a match, earning him the number 20 spot, while forcing Fénix to be the first man in the match.[7] Episode 9 ("Aztec Warfare") was dedicated to the championship match and saw Prince Puma pin Johnny Mundo to eliminate him from the match and become the inaugural Lucha Underground Champion.[8][9][10] During the broadcast a couple weeks later ("They Call Him Cage") after Puma defeated Cage by disqualification to retain the championship, Cage tore the championship belt apart in a fit of anger, ripping the leather strap in half.[11] As a result, Dario Cueto introduced a new Lucha Underground Championship belt in Episode 20 ("The Art of War") that was presented to Prince Puma.[12]
Prince Puma retained his championship in many matches for the title against Fénix, Cage, King Cuerno, Drago, Hernandez, Johnny Mundo, and Chavo Guerrero Jr.
On Episode 31 ("The Desolation of Drago") Drago defeated King Cuerno, Cage and Hernandez to earn a match against Prince Puma at Ultima Lucha, Lucha Underground's season finale. Afterwards Cueto announced that Drago would face Mil Muertes on episode 33 for the right to challenge the champion.[13] Episode 33 was taped on April 11, 2015 and had Muertes defeat Drago to earn the match against Prince Puma.[14] At Ultima Lucha Mil Muertes defeated Prince Puma to win the title and end the last episode of the first season as the champion.
Overall, Prince Puma and Pentagón Dark hold the record for most reigns, with two. With 622, Pentagón Dark's first reign is the longest in the title's history. Puma's second reign, Pentagón's second reign, and Jake Strong's first reign hold the record for shortest reign in the title's history at less than one day. Overall, there have been 11 reigns shared among 9 wrestlers, with 0 vacancies.
Reigns
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Prince Puma | October 5, 2014 | Lucha Underground | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 196 | This was a 20–man elimination Aztec Warfare match. Prince Puma lastly eliminated Johnny Mundo to become the inaugural champion. This episode aired on tape delay on January 7, 2015. | [15][16] |
| 2 | Mil Muertes | April 19, 2015 | Ultima Lucha 1 | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 217 | This episode aired on tape delay on August 5, 2015. | [17][18] |
| 3 | Fénix | November 22, 2015 | Lucha Underground | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 20 | Cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Muertes. This episode aired on tape delay on March 16, 2016. | [19][20] |
| 4 | Matanza Cueto | December 12, 2015 | Aztec Warfare II | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 119 | This was a 21–man elimination Aztec Warfare match. Matanza lastly eliminated Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the championship. This episode aired on tape delay on March 23, 2016. | [21][22] |
| 5 | Sexy Star | April 9, 2016 | Aztec Warfare III | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 1 | This was an Aztec Warfare match. Sexy Star lastly eliminated Mil Muertes to win the championship. This episode aired on tape delay on November 16, 2016. | [23][24] |
| 6 | Johnny Mundo | April 10, 2016 | Lucha Underground | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 77 | Cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Sexy Star. Aired on tape delay on November 23, 2016. | [25][26] |
| 7 | Prince Puma | June 26, 2016 | Ultima Lucha Tres | Boyle Heights, California | 2 | <1 | This was a Career vs. Title match. This episode aired on tape delay on October 18, 2017. | [27] |
| 8 | Pentagón Dark | June 26, 2016 | Ultima Lucha Tres | Boyle Heights, California | 1 | 622 | Cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Prince Puma. This was a "Loser Must Retire" match. This episode aired on tape delay on October 18, 2017. | [28][27] |
| 9 | Marty The Moth | March 10, 2018 | Lucha Underground | Los Angeles, California | 1 | 8 | Cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Pentagón Dark. This episode aired on tape delay on September 19, 2018. | [29] |
| 10 | Pentagón Dark | March 18, 2018 | Ultima Lucha Cuatro | Los Angeles, California | 2 | <1 | This episode aired on tape delay on November 7, 2018. | [30] |
| 11 | Jake Strong | March 18, 2018 | Ultima Lucha Cuatro | Los Angeles, California | 1 | <1 | Cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Pentagón Dark. This episode aired on tape delay on November 7, 2018. | [31] |
| — | Deactivated | March 19, 2018 | — | — | — | — | Date of the last Lucha Underground taping. | |
Combined reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pentagón Dark | 2 | 622 |
| 2 | Mil Muertes | 1 | 217 |
| 3 | Prince Puma | 2 | 196 |
| 4 | Matanza Cueto | 1 | 119 |
| 5 | Johnny Mundo | 1 | 77 |
| 6 | Fénix | 1 | 20 |
| 7 | Marty the Moth | 1 | 8 |
| 8 | Sexy Star | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Jake Strong | 1 | <1 |
Explanatory notes
References
General references
- Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "Statistical notes". Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61321-808-2.
- Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.