Lucha Underground returns – former WWE stars promote on ESPN, J-Mo & Catrina talk leaving WWE

Season 2 of “Lucha Underground” kicks off Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. EST on El Rey Network.

El Rey will lead into the first episode of the new season with an airing at 6:00 p.m.

With Alberto Del Rio (Alberto El Patron) leaving for WWE, the big addition to Season 2 is former WWE star Rey Mysterio.

Mysterio and John Morrison (Johnny Mundo) appeared on ESPN SportsCenter from Los Angeles to promote the series. They talked about the differences between WWE and an alternative wrestling show like Lucha Underground, which is filmed in the Los Angeles area.

– Morrison was also interviewed on Sports Illustrated’s website about being glad he left WWE, which he described as “trading security and money for freedom and sanity.”

“I was injured and I wasn’t very happy when I left,” Morrison told SI’s Justin Barrasso. “Working with Lucha and Mexico and all the independent wrestling I’ve done has made me an exponentially better performer. Had I stayed, I would have been stagnant. Now I’ve been exposed to all these different styles and people. If you wrestle in Japan or the U.K. with WWE, you’re not experiencing that country’s kind of wrestling. You’re bringing WWE to them. I am now a legitimate professional wrestler. I didn’t have that feeling with WWE leaving Tough Enough and going straight through the system. I’m still close with Tyson Kidd, Miz, Zack Ryder. I saw all the guys at Miz’s New Year’s party. We caught up and I heard how the road was going. It was kind of cool – after hearing it, I did not miss WWE at all.”

– Catrina (the former Maxine on WWE TV) also talked to Scott Fishman for Channel Guide Magazine about leaving WWE and waiting for an opportunity like the character written for her on Lucha.

“I saw myself very much in a character role and acting and developing that part of my talent,” Catrina said. “They (WWE) weren’t going to do that with me. It was a big reason why I left, and now I couldn’t be in a better position to show what I can do and evolve this character.”