Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez: Lucha Underground’s Savior

In the final moments of Lucha Underground’s 15th episode, it seemed as if we were going to be spoon fed the same story that had been force fed since Pentagon Dark won his Lucha Underground Title off of Prince Puma at Ultima Lucha Tres.

Pentagon has cero miedo (zero fear) and always wins.

He spent the last ten minutes fighting off Mil Muertes and King Cuerno to retain his title, destroying his body and ripping his mask in the process. It seemed that the night would end on a nice, familiar note, until Marty “The Moth” Martinez appeared ringside with his newly won Gift of the Gods Championship, which he earned earlier that night in a clean win over El Dragon Azteca Jr. The Gift of the Gods Championship allows the holder to challenge for the LU title as long as they give one week’s notice.

The Moth’s presence drew the attention of Antonio Cueto – the father of murdered ex-owner/promoter Dario – and current promoter of LU who announced a rule change. From this day forth, there would be no need to wait a week to challenge for the title.

With Pentagon distracted, Martinez’ new valet “Black Widow” (who some fans may recognize as the impressive and psychotic Laurel Van Ness from Impact Wrestling) slipped quietly into the ring, delivering a low blow and a Canadian Destroyer to the exhausted champion, allowing Martinez to roll him up in the center of the ring for an unchallenged pin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VFpGU0s4AA

So why does this matter? This storyline is nothing surprising. It’s been beat into the ground by other promotions for years.

Except that this isn’t how LU does things. In an effort to bring something “new” to wrestling and carve their own niche in the admittedly saturated market, LU has their stories and characters firmly planted in the mystical realm. The promotion uses the ability and athleticism of some of the best talent in the world to lend legitimacy to their batshit storylines.

Thus, a typical wrestling storyline was actually a breath of fresh air and welcome change of pace for the promotion. Martinez and his valet Black Widow, to our knowledge, did not use magic of any kind to gain their edge.

They just cheated.

A simple angle, sure, but one that has eluded the Temple over the last four years. Perhaps the writing staff has finally found the formula that has allowed other promotions to prosper: storylines based in reality. You shouldn’t need the blessings of an ancient Aztec tribe to win, as long as you’re willing to lie, cheat and steal in order to get what you want.

The best thing that LU can do right now in order to build up the audience that they’ve lost and add the new voices they so desperately need is to keep the belt on Martinez and allow people to fall in love with the athleticism and the pure grit of their athletes. Take away the Superman shine of Pentagon and have him struggle with his own morals and those of the other wrestlers as he chases after what is rightfully his. LU has already begun doing this by having Pentagon Dark win his right to a rematch at Ultima Lucha Quatro during the 9/26 broadcast, defeating Mil Muertes, Dragon Azteca Jr and King Cuerno in a fatal four way.

LU has to give their flagship title legitimacy by making it something worth cheating for.