What’s the Story?
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Lucha Underground will be going on a hiatus following next week’s episode on January 11th. The idea behind the hiatus is being reported as a means of stretching things out until the filming of the next season is complete.
Season three has already been taped and will air at some point, but there is no indication of when that might happen. The fourth season is rumoured to begin in fall 2017 and will begin airing in early 2018.
In Case You Didn’t Know
Lucha Underground is a professional wrestling promotion in association with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) on the El Rey Network. The show debuted in October 2014 and aired 39 episodes until the season’s end in August 2015.
The second season would air in January 2016 and would end in July 2016. The third season started airing on September 7, 2016 and is currently ongoing.
The heart of the matter
Lucha Underground has been received as one of the better wrestling shows around.
They were featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter, IGN, Forbes, and Rolling Stone Magazine. They have received heavy praise from IMDB and Rotten tomatoes, but their ratings seem to have suffered due to being on a lesser known channel and the large gaps between episodes airing.
What’s Next?
This comes after the news that the wrestlers under contract for Lucha Underground wouldn’t be allowed to work in other promotions during the hiatus between seasons 3 and 4. Most talents are locked into 7-year contracts.
There have also been reports that the top talents in the promotion are attempting to find ways out of their deals so that they can work elsewhere.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The big gap between TV tapings will do Lucha Underground no good in the future. The frustration from the company’s roster combined with the huge gaps in exposure for the company via their show on El Rey means that Lucha Underground could be in big trouble should any of these wrestlers quit or try to get out of their contracts.
Lucha Underground is not nearly as well known as Ring of Honor or TNA Impact Wrestling in the US, so the longer they aren’t on television the greater the chances are that their audience will decrease.
Also read: WWE News: Ex-WWE Superstar MVP released from Lucha Underground
While being on a smaller network, Lucha Underground doesn’t have as strong of an advertisement for their seasons so they should look to record more episodes in order to prolong their seasons.
The hiatus isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it’s potential to harm the viewership of the program is still a legitimate concern for many fans.
Tweet Speak
Lucha Underground took to twitter to announce the mid-season finale airing next week, with no indication of when the show would return to El Rey’s Network.
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