Undertaker outlines creative direction for Lucha Libre AAA under WWE

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Outside of actual conversations about story choices and possibilities (and making the occasional “Booker to the Year” joke after a puzzling AEW or WWE creative decision), I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about pro wrestling’s various annual awards and superlatives. But there does seem to be a lot of buzz around Undertaker taking home a few versions of upcoming “Best Booker” prizes for the work he’s been doing with Lucha Libre AAA since WWE purchased the Mexican brand last year. He’s got the support of NXT head honcho Shawn Michaels, who told Adrian Hernandez back in April that he finds it ironic the Dead Man has found a home in high-flying lucha world, but he’s not surprised by Taker’s success: “We joke about it quite a bit — here is this unbelievably stoic figure in his WWE career, and he’s out there with the luchadores and everything else going 100 miles an hour and stuff. But, again, so poetic. He’s doing a fantastic job, and that’s no surprise. He’s the man in so many ways. He’s incredibly bright and, of course, once he started coming around the Performance Center and jumping into LFG, much like myself, that love, that itch comes back and it makes you want to be able to give back. “So he’s, no surprise, doing a fantastic job with AAA. But, no, it is sort of ironic that of all people, the man who was The Undertaker, out there having the lucha libre style being his trademark going forward in his career.” WWE veteran Natalya has also praised the Dead Man’s work in creative, along with former TNA producer Jeremy Borash. On Busted Open last week the Low Key Legend said: “And so to see what Taker, who by the way – Taker is not known for being a luchador. When you see what Undertaker has built in just the last six months of booking at AAA alongside Jeremy Borash and, of course, the people that had been in place in Triple A that work with them. Taker is very, very collaborative. “I’m just blown away. Like, I think that Taker has really stepped into this new role and he is proving why his influence past the ring may be one of his greatest accomplishments.” So what is Undertaker doing with AAA that’s getting him all these accolades, and produced the most-praised match in years with Noche de los Grandes mask vs. mask classic from two weeks back? He spoke about it with Michelle McCool and Rey Mysterio on Six Feed Under this week`: “It’s not just high-flying now. What I can see happening and what we’re trying to do is have that lucha style and then also wrap a story around it. When you can combine – instead of it just being a spectacle and having two dudes do these incredible moves, if we can wrap a story inside of it, make all that make sense, I think that’s going to be a win-win and a huge growth opportunity for people. “For the business in general, you know, the business has definitely changed. And I think in a lot of ways, it’s changed for the good. But I still think there’s a lot of elements that have gotten lost within the storytelling part of it. Again, if we can figure out a way to combine it all and make things make a little more sense, I think, man, the wrestling business is going to be – it’s going to continue to grow. The talent is there. It’s just, I think, a little bit of reigning in, a little bit. And wrap some more story. Man, it’s exciting.” I’ve been interested in lucha since reconnecting with pro wrestling as an adult earlier this century, but I’m not versed enough in its history to really confirm or dispute the notion that lucha libre hasn’t been “wrapping a story around” it’s influential in-ring style pre-WWE. Let us know what you make of Undertaker’s approach to AAA, and if the results are “Booker of the Year” worthy, in the comments below.