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What's the story?
Lucha Underground wrapped up its fourth season last November. While superstars like the Lucha Brothers, Sami Callihan, Dragon Azteca Jr. and Aerostar have been able to find work elsewhere, some under contract with the promotion and its parent companies could not.
Lucha Central is reporting that due to the settlement of the lawsuit from several wrestlers under contract with LU, five luchadors have been granted releases from their contracts.
In case you didn't know...
Lucha Underground films its entire season in one shot, but didn't allow its talent to appear on TV until the season finished airing. That often kept wrestlers in limbo for up to 15 months between filming, wrapping up and the episodes airing on El Rey.
While there were some exceptions with the Lucha Brothers in both Impact and Major League Wrestling, several other wrestlers felt that they were being held hostage by their deals with the young promotion and its parent companies.
The heart of the matter
Three lawsuits were brought against Baba-G Productions and El Rey Network recently as those were the production company and TV home for Lucha Underground.
According to Lucha Central, two of the lawsuits involved El Hijo Del Fantasma and Texano Jr. seeking restitution for financial damages.
The other lawsuit was filed by Fantasma, Ivelisse, Joey Ryan and Kobra Moon seeking their releases from the company.
Ivelisse and Fantasma claimed that they were being 'held hostage' by their contracts with the company in limbo for a fifth season and that they were missing out on bigger opportunities with other promotions.
As of yesterday, Lucha Underground and its parent companies came to terms on the immediate releases of Joey Ryan, Ivelisse, Kobra Moon, Texano Jr. and Fantasma as settlements were reached on the lawsuits.
Joey Ryan commented on the situation after he was finally released from his contract with the Temple in Boyle Heights.
The superstars who filed the lawsuits felt that they were missing out on the current boom in pro wrestling where promotions like MLW, Impact, Ring of Honor, NJPW, WWE and WOW all have major TV deals that offer national exposure.
What's next?
With the fact that five extremely talented wrestlers are now free agents, expect bidding wars to come for some of them.
Ryan will likely continue to dominate the independent scene and sign with All Elite Wrestling as he is friends with the Young Bucks. Ivelisse and Kobra Moon will likely be highly sought after as well even though Moon already appears for ROH and WOW.
Fantasma is perhaps the biggest free agent to look out for because he certainly has all of the talent that a company like WWE looks for. He speaks fluent English, is athletic with strikes and high-flying, and would be a great addition to any company.
