PJ Black Talks Lucha Underground Contract Issues, Says The Temple Was More Electric Than 'Mania
Like many others, PJ Black fell victim to the issues that plagued Lucha Underground in their final seasons. Unlike many others though, Black seemed to escape from the hostage-like situation that one LU wrestler described her contract situation as with the promotion.
Black talked to Wrestling Inc's Joey G about his LU contract issues and also what it was like to be a part of the Worldwide Underground faction alongside Johnny Mundo [Impact] and Jack Evans.
"We wanted to have as much fun as possible and borrowed some elements from factions we liked like DX and NWO. We just combined everything together and Jack is phenomenal. He is my favorite wrestler to watch right now. We all know he can do anything in the ring and his promos are so good," said Black.
"Obviously Johnny is on the next level and when they brought us three together, I felt like I was the low guy that had to prove himself. ?[LU] gave us creative freedom and let us have fun. In wrestling that is very important because fans can somehow feel that and that's how you get emotionally attached to the characters or storyline."
While the wrestling part was fun, the financial issues and legal stuff was not fun. Black was asked if he had contractual stipulations with Lucha Underground prior to signing with Ring of Honor.
"I did, I did. I don't wanna get too much into it but I had to get lawyers involved," Black admitted. "It was a tough decision because I loved LU and if it ran more constantly, I would probably still be there. It's tough because it's not a wrestling company and is run more like a TV show and that's where the problem was. Once MGM acquired the full rights to it, it was a fight between MGM and El Rey Network that went back and forth.
"I was lucky though as I got away. After me there was a bunch of guys who tried to get away and they couldn't because the executive producer in charge was fired and no one knew what was going on. So, I was very lucky."
As Black mentioned, if Lucha Underground was still around then he would probably still be working there because he loved the atmosphere. He praised the LU fans and some wrestling at The Temple was, perhaps, the highlight of his career.
"That was probably the most fun audience I've ever worked in front of," Black said of the Lucha Underground fans. "I've worked multiple WrestleManias, big shows, ppvs all over the world, the Temple was the most fun. It had the most electricity and we feed off that.
"Some of those matches were crazy. I looked back at some of the matches and was like, 'Woah! We did that!?' It was so much fun."