So then onward in my Holy Grail search. Today we look at Lucha Britannia who are kindly enough to follow me on Twitter so I think I should do be goodly enough to look at them here. First stop is their website http://www.luchabritannia.com/ which is amazingly well done. They have a clear understanding of presentation and style that is refreshing to see. It matches their aesthetic well and their booking philosophy. What we learn from the site is this; It looks like fun, they clearly are trying to be different, the company matters more than the stars. Lucha Britannia is the draw in itself, the whole concept not the feuds or the matches. This is good for long term prosperity and it attracts a different kind of fan. It taps into the punk rock aesthetic beautifully, the kind of people that like Roller Derby and Burlesque, they will be into this. It is an alternative playground, a Hipsters ideal of what wrestling should be. For some companies this has been a ticket to great success, ECW was founded on similar principles. This also gives the company long term stability, because as people come and go they are not bound to that particular star. History dictates you need a compelling overview not just a compelling series.
So what is the wrestling like? Well it does what it says on the tin. It is Lucha Libre presented in a very British manner. The best comparison I can give is Chikara with adult content. Like Chikara there is a complicated back story of Rudos and Technicos that binds the whole thing together. This cartoon like presentation may seem over the top, but that is the whole point. Also over the top story lines does not necessarily mean over the top matches, if you can make the story compelling you do not have to have your stars shredding each other, good for the long term health of the company and the workers.
Presenting wrestling as performance art is nothing new, this company does it well. They have been sold out for years. What impresses me more is their willingness to go out and find new revenues and fans like putting on shows at music festivals and trying to develop relationships with different areas of performance. They appear to be looking at the Edinburgh Festival where they will fit like a hand in a glove. They do not seem to have any DVD availability as far as I can tell at the moment, maybe I am wrong. However they make the news a lot and it is that kind of mainstream crossover British wrestling needs. The downside of that is much like ECW, it is not for everyone, indeed the burlesque portions of the show are decidedly un PC. There is a lot of buzz about this company right now and I hope they go on to do good things. Good story telling and presentation is the key to their success, I hope it continues on a bigger platform.
Lucha Britannia Youtube Channel
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