Lucha UG Executive Producer Talks Rey Mysterio, Del Rio's WWE Return, Pentagon, Ricochet Appearing?

I spoke with Lucha Underground Executive Producer and former WWE creative writer Chris DeJoseph recently about season two of Lucha Underground, which debuts tonight. DeJoseph talks about his WWE run, Rey Mysterio, Pentagon Jr, and the possibility of Ricochet showing up in Lucha Underground.

You can listen to the full interview in the video player above, or the audio player below!

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Did you know there was going to be a second season all along? If not, at what point did you find out?

"I know there was talk the whole time. When we started season one, that was one of the goals everyone set for ourselves. Let's do good on season 1, and maybe there will be a season two. I found out really the same time that everyone else did. I was waiting in the wings, hoping it would happen. Things had to be worked out, and I'm glad they did. We're happy to be back and ready to give it another go."

What kind of changes will you have to make this season?

"There will be a few things that will happen based on the ending of last season. For the most part, I think we're going to stick with what got us there and keep making a compelling television show."

There were rumors that Argenis was leaving AAA after the issues with his brother Myzteziz and AAA. Do you know what his status is?

"Argenis is one of our trios champions, and as far as I know, he's going to be there with us for season two of Lucha Underground. That's what I know right now, unless that changes tomorrow. As far as I know, he's ready to rock."

What's the status with Big Ryck?

"As of right now, Big Ryck will not be a part of season 2 of Lucha Underground. We wish the best, but we're going to go in a different direction."

Alberto Del Rio recently returned to the WWE. What was your reaction to that, and had there been talks between you two?

"There were things he was working out. I didn't know that he was going back to WWE, but I did know it was a mutual decision to part ways with him."

The character development is a big thing for Lucha Underground. How important is that to you and the show?

"I think that's the most important aspect of our show. When we first got on board and even my first conversations with Eric Van Wagenen,we wanted to make stories about characters that people cared about and invested in. To give as many people as possible an identity and make them important to the show. My biggest pet peeve in wrestling is when a show focuses on one or two talents, when there's a large amount of programming to be filled. The audience is investing their time, and we want to give them characters they either like or hate, and reward them with a payoff for the investment of time."

You have guys like Pentagon Jr, who don't speak English, or don't on the show, but he got over as well as anyone, if not more. Is that an obstacle for you guys when you're catering to an English speaking market?

"I don't think so. A guy like Pentagon, you didn't need him to speak English to get what he was trying to say. That's the beauty of what a talented guy that is. He can translate emotion so easily across the television screen and to the audience. He's a gifted performer and the future is bright for him. He's a super talent, and a great guy to work with. Hopefully he keeps breaking arms and taking names."

You all should put a camera on Vampiro any time Angelico is in a match.

"(laughs) I know. Vamp gets up and runs around the ring."

As you all get bigger, you'll have to battle people like NJPW and WWE for talent. Is that something you're prepared to do?

"We're focused on just making our show better. We have a great relationship with AAA and a partnership in this. There's so many people down there we haven't introduced to this world. We're always keeping our ear to the street and keeping our eyes on talent out there. I'm not really concerned about it. We're a different show. We're not competing with the WWE. They do a completely different thing than what we do. We're in our own world and happy where we are."

How involved are you in the writing process?

"I write every episode with two other guys. Everything that happens comes from me."

What types of obstacles do you face when producing these shows?

"There's scheduling issues and everything, but we're a pretty organized production company. The people from Burnett, it's not their first rodeo. There's a lot of talented people behind the scenes that put this all together and make sure everyone's there. Even people from the El Rey Network, everything is thought out and planned. Like any TV show, there are little bumps in the road, but that's the beauty of making a TV show. Nothing's perfect, but we have a good team in place to put the most entertaining product possible on the air."

Do you keep in touch with anyone at WWE, and do they give you any feedback on Lucha Underground?

"Yeah, I've actually heard from a few people there. Ryan Ward from NXT sent me a text last night saying that he rather enjoyed Lucha Underground. I told him that I like his show, too (laughs). Hopefully we can get more awareness about the show and generate more excitement. I think there's a lot of talented performers that the world should see."

Do you think Lucha Underground's off-season will be a good or a bad thing for the show?

"I've always been in favor of it, even in WWE, but it's not possible there, or they won't make it possible there. It builds anticipation, it allows you creatively to have time and look at things a different way. It gives the talent a little bit of a break, but they're a different kind of product than us, too. They're more of a touring circus, and we're more of a TV show. I like it. In this era of binge watching and one hour dramas, we fit right in with that."

Have there ever been any plans or talks of live events for Lucha Underground?

"I don't know about plans, that's out of my realm. I deal with creative and the television show. I've heard various things about the possibility of stuff like that in the future. As of right now, that's not what I'm concerned about."

There was also a huge movement to get Lucha Underground on Netflix. Have there been any talks?

"There have been talks, and they're still figuring things out. I stick to writing, creating, producing the show and those kinds of things. That's a little out of my wheelhouse. Eric Van Wagenen is the big boss. They let me stick to what I'm good at and what my team is good at."

Do you ever have ideas that you didn't get to use in WWE that you use now?

"No. To be honest, I pitched so many ideas in WWE that never happened, I couldn't begin to remember the ideas that I had. I was there for 7 years, so for every one you pitch that gets on, 99 don't. I was always pitching ideas. It's a different kind of world. Lucha Underground is the kind of wrestling I dreamed about as a child, that I wanted to see. I think for our other writers that is kind of the same, and it's really fun to do."

That had to be a frustrating environment, to have so many ideas shot down. How different was that than now?

"There's a lot more politics at play there, it's a different environment. I think it's a different world there. You're making the show that Vince wants to make, and he's the boss and gets final say. It's cool that El Rey and Burnett have been awesome to work with and trusted my team. Eric has been awesome and open to listening to our ideas. We still get notes from them and changes they might like, but they're willing to work with us. That balance has helped make this such a great show. At WWE, it's a completely different environment. You pitch your ideas in the writer's room, then you pitch them to Vince. Then he'll forget about them and you talk about them on a plane ride. Then you have the agents and talent involved and they all have their say in what happens. By the time you get to shoot the show, you have to take what you wrote and have Vince approve it again, then re-write it. It's a long process, and I think a lot of the heart of the show gets lost in that."

What was your reaction to seeing Hernandez on TNA TV earlier this year while under Lucha Underground contract?

"I was pretty surprised. I was more surprised that TNA allowed that to happen. It was a strange scenario. You'd figure businesses would check up on contracts. It happened and was what it was. I have nothing but respect for Hernandez. I personally like him. I'm not sure what he thought, that's not my deal, but I like him. That's one of those things that happened, and you have to move on."

Have there been any storylines or matches that El Rey has particularly complimented?

"There are compliments sometimes, but I know everyone at El Rey is super excited for this next season and some of the things we have planned. They allow us to push boundaries and try things. That's one of the cool things about having a show on Robert Rodriguez's own network. You get to do cool stuff and mold the show in the way that Robert and his network are. It's a cool, fun network, and they've been awesome to work with."

PWG is gaining popularity, and you all share a lot of talent. Is that somewhere you look?

"Absolutely. You can't live in LA and not be aware of PWG. I love to go to the shows when I can. Obviously we see some of the guys there. You have Prince Puma and Cage and Willie Mack who you see there, and now some of our guys from Mexico like Pentagon, Fenix, Angelico and Jack Evans have popped up there. They're a great promotion, and I'm glad to see a lot of people going there."

Has there ever been any talk of Prince Puma using his Ricochet persona at LU?

"I wouldn't imagine that we'd do that. We've established him as Prince Puma and he's one of our main characters, so I don't see us doing that."

How about Rey Mysterio on Lucha Underground?

"I (am) more than honored to work with Rey Mysterio again. What better than the greatest luchador of all time in LU?"

It's hard to imagine a bigger LU match than Prince Puma vs. Rey Mysterio.

"That is for sure a dream match. I would be like a little kid if I got to see that."

What's the process of bringing in a new character on an episodic show like this?

"Depending on the situation, we introduce them. Rather than hit you over the head with everything they are the first time they show up. We drop little hints and pieces about who they are, keep the audience asking questions. That's an important part of making new talents. We do only have an hour, so we have to space out our time. Only so many people can appear on each episode. If we had three hours, everyone could be on it, but we'd be in a much different space creatively. The good thing about that one hour is that we leave people wanting more, and we have different people in the main event every week. You don't get burned out on the same people every week. It feels like something new. Maybe you haven't seen Sexy Star for two weeks, then there she is and her storyline picks up. It's unique."

You've also brought in guys like Daviari and Chavo, who are already established. Is that something you're on board for, even though you've created new stars so well?

"Yeah, we're fine with that. We didn't want to go down the stereotypical road and make (Daivari) a Sheik or something like that. That's what every other company has done. We weren't going to give him shoes with the tips curled up or give him a magic carpet or anything like that. That's not really how we do things in LU, and we're okay with having established guys, and introducing them as themselves a little bit. I think it creates a cool world between the two worlds, and for new fans, it gives them something to relate to right away. I thought it was important to have a few established people and build storylines with other guys. It creates familiarity, instead of starting off with a bunch of people you don't know."

I can't say enough about characters and how well they're booked. I thought Angelico was the biggest jerk on Earth at first. How can you dislike him now after the Son of Havoc and Ivelisse deal?

"His character redeemed himself. He took a big risk that led to his team being united. It's classic storytelling."

Was the plan always to do the trios instead of tag teams?

"Yeah, that was something I wanted to do from the beginning. We're trying to make ourselves different in any way we can, and that's something I thought was unique and fun, and keep with lucha and the roots in lucha. It's been fun to do that and have trios teams. It lets us make fun combinations. I think that Trios tournament was successful, and a fun thing to mix and match. It was Dario Cueto stirring the pot. That's the best thing about that character, is that he has motivations to raise hell."

He's amazing.

"I remember in our first days of casting, he immediately stood out to us. Myself and Eric were like 'that's him.' We all said independently who we wanted to be Dario Cueto, and it was him."

If a snake could take human form, it'd be Dario Cueto.

"He's so despicable that he's likable."

I don't know if he's been involved in wrestling, but it doesn't matter. It's perfect. The heel authority figure is old, but he's not. He makes it work. What are some of your favorite storylines you created in WWE and LU?

"I got to be a part of Shawn Michaels ? Undertaker, the black and white promos, Jeff vs. Matt Hardy, MVP and Matt Hardy was one of my favorites. Punk and Edge, Punk and Rey, Punk and the Straight Edge Society. So many fun times I had there. It's hard to wrap my head around all of the big things I got to be a part of. I loved the master and the apprentice storyline with Pentagon. The trios stuff has been great, and the rise of Mil Muertes and Catrina has been great. Johnny and Puma is another one. I love that their rivalry lasted over the whole season, and hopefully that continues."

What's it like working for a guy like Vince McMahon compared to what you do now?

"Well, I get to be in charge of some stuff. I learned so much from the McMahons. Especially from Vince. They helped teach me the wrestling business and about storytelling. They taught me the business. I was on a corporate jet for seven years hearing everything. Marketing, advertising, creative, live events. I got a six-year education there. I'll always be honored by my time there. It's nice to be able to have more creative freedom. Working for Mark Burnett, Eric Van Wagenen and Robert Rodriguez, they trust me and I like that they trust me and my team. They let us go wild, and I think that's part of why we've been so successful. I think they trust in everyone they hire there, no matter what department, and that's cool. It's nice to be able to go in and do what they hire you to do. With LU, it's a team. We all had a goal to get to season 2, and make it happen, and we did. The next goal is to make the best season possible, and get another one after that. As long as we keep this show going, I think it's great for wrestling fans around the world."

Where can fans follow you on social media?

"Definitely follow Lucha Underground @LuchaElRey on Twitter, it's fun stuff they put out there. You can follow me @chrisdejoseph. For season 2, expect more surprises, more twists and turns, and to have fun. That's what we're going to try to do, and hopefully we deliver."

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