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What's the story?
Season four of Lucha Underground is officially over, with the finale featuring Fenix walking out victorious over El Dragon Azteca Jr., Willie Mack overcoming Mil Muertes in a death match, and Jake Strong cashing in on a weary Pentagon Dark to become the new Lucha Underground champion. The ratings for the finale have finally come in and it’s 58% down from the season premiere back in June.
In case you didn't know...
According to ShowBuzz Daily, the first episode of season four averaged approximately 143,000 viewers. The only other episode that garnered higher ratings than episode 1 is episode 3, which featured the debut of XO Lishus, and the three-way Grave Consequences match with Mil Muertes (w/Catrina), Jeremiah Crane, and Fenix.
The heart of the matter
The season four finale only drew 60,000, which is the second lowest rating of the season. There’s no word yet on whether Lucha Underground will be back for a fifth season on the El Rey Network.
Season 4 Total viewership: 2.117 million viewers
Season 4 Average viewership: 96,227 viewers per episode
What’s Next?
Executive Producer Eric Van Wagenen spoke with Masks, Mats & Mayhem and discussed the possibility of season 5 on El Rey, “I don’t know anything about season 5, we survive as El Rey survives. We need them to be successful and we need them to be able to afford to do the show.”
He said: “I think we reached the tipping point budget wise. We’ve gone I think as low as we can go. And I don’t know that we would try to replicate the business model of season 4 again. And so it becomes a question again of ‘can we find a way to do season 5 without it being cheaper and faster and all the other things?'”
The show was filled with several cliffhangers such as Taya Valkyrie being possessed and the introduction of former WWE Intercontinental champion, Wade Barrett. Even if Lucha Underground is cancelled from El Rey, it appears that the promotion will still move forward with the show regardless;
“I don’t think the show is going away,” he explained. “I just don’t think it’s going to sit in this survival mode. I think we’d be looking to take on another partner that brings something different.”
