WWE News: The Very Latest On Prince Puma Leaving Lucha Underground For WWE
If you’ve ever seen the cinematic adventure that is Lucha Underground, you know that it could be the next big revolutionary place to be for many pro-wrestlers. It is filmed like a normal television show with good storylines and great cinematic production. However, the matches are filmed in front of a live audience, without any major build up for the live crowd. The wrestlers have to tell the story in the ring, which makes things tougher to sell but awesome to watch regardless.
Possibly the most important character on the roster is Prince Puma. He has been the top guy ever since Lucha Underground opened the show and has proven that he can do anything asked of him. Played by independent great Ricochet, the Prince Puma character is seen as a top performer who can do literally anything in the ring. Obviously, you cannot be great and go unnoticed, especially by WWE.
This love from WWE has made many wonder if Puma might leave Lucha Underground for WWE. That does appear to be the case, but there is a lot that has to go on well before he can go. If Ricochet wants to head to WWE, he has to think a few things through first. According to The Wrestling Observer, he was offered a sizable deal to stick around with Lucha. The deal is said to be higher than what most any person makes on the WWE NXT roster with the exception of a few like Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, but the offer is nothing close to WWE main roster money.
There is a thought that WWE could easily match this deal from Lucha Underground if they wanted Ricochet that badly. However, a few things have to happen before he can sign with WWE. First and foremost, he will not be part of WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Tournament this year. The reason for this is twofold. The first reason is that once he finishes up the Season 3 tapings for Lucha Underground, he will be heading to Japan to be part of New Japan’s Super Juniors Tournament. After this, he will take some time off. That is why he has not taken any bookings for part of the summer.
It also appears that Ricochet has one heck of a no-compete clause with Lucha Underground. He can get out of his deal once Season 3 wraps, but he cannot work any televised matches in the United States until Season 3 finishes airing. It does look like Lucha Underground is writing him out of the television side, as he lost a Grave Consequences match.
He very well could be fully out of his no-compete once this airs, but that is uncertain.
As of now, Season 2 of LU is underway. Season 3 won’t hit TV until 2017. On top of all of this, Ricochet lost NJPW’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles recently. The fact that all of this is happening says that there is certainly something to do the WWE rumors. Can WWE sign Ricochet even if he has a no-compete until 2017? Yes, they can. The problem for WWE is that they cannot use him until his no-compete expires. They might have some colorful ways around this, as they could have him compete outside the United States only for a while. That’s all they could really do.
Regarding the Prince Puma character, whether or not Ricochet returns for Season 4 doesn’t seem to matter. Lucha Underground wants to bring back the character anyway, so if Ricochet isn’t back, then another person will play the role. We’ll have to wait and see what is decided for Ricochet as far as staying or going is concerned, but it does look like his days with LU are numbered and he will end up with WWE eventually.
[Image via Lucha Underground]
