Donald Wood from Ring Rust Radio recently spoke with Lucha Underground & Former WWE Writer Chris DeJoseph, and below are some interview highlights:
YouTube interview: https://youtu.be/YiGasfJh9Ag
Blog Talk Radio Episode: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio/2015/10/06/ring-rust-radio–oct-6-w-lucha-underground-former-wwe-writer-chris-dejoseph
Ring Rust Radio: The biggest news is the announcement of Lucha Underground’s second season. What was the process like behind the scenes getting the show back on the air, and what is the excitement level from the people involved now that it’s coming back?
Chris DeJoseph: I will say that behind the scenes it was a tad bit stressful. I was kind of out of that portion since I handle mainly the creative parts of the show, storylines, and things like that. For me, it was a wait and see game, and I got the news the same time around everyone else did. For me it was exciting because I hadn’t moved on to work on another show and now it gives me the opportunity to come right back and get in the swing of things for Lucha Underground. It was real exciting; everyone behind the scenes is super excited. Talent has reached out to me to let me know how excited they are. We are bringing back a lot of the same crew and people that helped make a fun and magical first season of Lucha Underground. Starting from scratch with something like that you will never know if it’s going to have some type of success or if people will like it. For the most part people enjoyed the show and that’s why we are coming back for season two.
Ring Rust Radio: One of the main things that has fans excited for Season 2 of Lucha Underground is the prospect of some fresh, new talent being brought in. One person who’s naturally been linked to Lucha Underground is Rey Mysterio. What’s your interest level in potentially utilizing Rey, and who are some additional wrestlers you’d like to see in Lucha?
Chris DeJoseph: If Rey was in Lucha Underground at all that would be amazing. What can you say about that guy? He is a former world champion and probably one of the most popular Luchadores ever. That would be amazing. As far as other new talent, that’s something that we are still in the process of. I think we would like to keep it a surprise for people. I will tell you there are some new characters, new faces, and some recognizable ones you will see.
Ring Rust Radio: Unlike other wrestling companies, Lucha Underground appeared to have a long-term creative plan. What was the creative process like and why do you think it’s so difficult for other companies to write long-term storylines and stick to that plan?
Chris DeJoseph: I think that other companies don’t look at their show like a drama for TV. Something you could tune into for every week, they keep looking at it as wrestling. We didn’t want to look at it that way. In my situation here on this show, Mark Burnett and Robert Rodriguez and the El Rey network put their faith in us and trusted us and our opinions and let us do what we were hired to do. Sometimes, not naming names, but in bigger places there are too many people trying to get their input in and sometimes those people at the top don’t see things the same way or just may change their mind just because. I think major politics are in play in those situations too. Somebody could have a bad match at a house show then the next week their story line is killed on Raw. We didn’t have the problem on Lucha. On the start of the very first day I told all the talent, we want everybody to be a part of this show, we want everyone to have some input on this, and we have to make this show together. We don’t get to season two unless everyone works together on season one. We had fun doing it. Toward the end of my WWE time, and I know this is true for a lot of talent and people that work for them, it stops being fun anymore. That’s one thing that we wanted to try to keep going at Lucha. Everyone comes in and has a good time and puts on a damn good show every week. I don’t have all the answers or best ideas and sometimes mine aren’t the best. But if people can come in and give their input and feel free to do those things and be part of the creative process it helps the show in whole.
Ring Rust Radio: Switching gears to your time with the WWE, we see a lot of reports from the dirtsheets about creative team members leaking information. As someone who has worked inside the WWE Creative room, what are your thoughts on the dirtsheets and is it a common occurrence to see writers leaking information?
Chris DeJoseph: I think when I was there, there were suspicions of some people who were, but you never really could prove it though. I never had a relationship with anyone who wrote any dirt sheet. I was too scared probably to even think about that there especially in my beginning times. There your life is so sheltered, but I think some come from talent not so much creative. I am not really sure on that but I know I never did. Sometimes things would get out that were true, but the majority of the times things that are reported are completely false or they don’t have all the information.
Ring Rust Radio: I think fans have a lot of questions regarding what might stay the same from Season 1 to Season 2 and what might change. The press release made it sound as though you’ll remain in the same Boyle Heights temple, but there’s some mystery surrounding things like when the first taping and airing will be, if it’s still going to be an hour-long show and how the announce team might be impacted by Vampiro’s new role with Pentagon Jr. Are you able to make any confirmations or offer any insight on any of those things?
Chris DeJoseph: I think it’s already out there that we are beginning taping on November 14th, if it isn’t, it is now. You will see a lot of the same characters, but you will also see some new ones. We teased a few at the end of last season; hopefully there will be a little injection of new. You always need that to be successful with any show. Especially in wrestling it’s nice to see new faces and new matchups. As far as the other stuff, I don’t want to give anything away to spoil it for anybody. I will keep my lips sealed as far as everything else and what’s happening.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
