Lucha Underground was a fever dream. A gritty, cinematic, Robert Rodriguez-produced alternate reality where ancient Aztec gods were reborn in a warehouse in Boyle Heights. It was weird. It was violent. And at the center of its most ambitious experiment stood a woman in a silver mask: Sexy Star.
She wasn't just another wrestler on the roster. For a hot minute, she was the face of the "Temple." She was the underdog every fan wanted to see overcome the monsters. But if you look back at her legacy today, it’s… complicated. Honestly, it’s a mix of groundbreaking history and a reputation that eventually went up in flames.
The Night Sexy Star Made History
Let’s talk about the big one. November 16, 2016.
Aztec Warfare III was the culmination of everything Lucha Underground had been building. It’s basically their version of the Royal Rumble, but way more chaotic. The match came down to two people: Sexy Star and the literal "Man of a Thousand Deaths," Mil Muertes. He was a 250-pound juggernaut who had been booked like an unstoppable force of nature.
The crowd in that sweaty warehouse was losing their minds. When she finally pinned him to become the Lucha Underground Champion, it felt like a shift in the universe. She was the first woman to ever hold a major "world" title in a promotion where men and women fought on equal ground. No "Knockouts" title, no "Divas" division. Just the top prize.
It was a huge deal. It felt like the future.
💡 You might also like: Songs by Tyler Childers: What Most People Get Wrong
Why it didn't last
Her reign was short. Like, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it short. She held the belt for exactly one day of tapings before Johnny Mundo (you might know him as John Morrison) cashed in his "Gift of the Gods" title to take it from her.
Some fans felt it was a "token" win. Others saw it as the ultimate payoff to her long-standing feud with the Worldwide Underground. Either way, that moment is etched in the history books of indie wrestling.
The Matches That Defined Her
If you only know Sexy Star from the headlines, you're missing the stuff that actually made people care in the first place. Her character was built on the idea of being a survivor—specifically of domestic abuse. That wasn't just a backstory; it was the engine that drove her matches.
- The "No Mas" Match against Mariposa: This is arguably the best match of her career. It was a bloody, brutal "I Quit" match inside the Temple. They fought all over the warehouse. There was blood on the mask. It was uncomfortable to watch at times, but it established her as someone who could endure anything.
- The Pentagon Jr. Rivalry: Before Pentagon was a household name in AEW, he was the guy breaking arms in Lucha Underground. Sexy Star was one of his primary targets. Their intergender matches were stiff and fast-paced, proving she could keep up with the hardest hitters on the roster.
She had this way of selling pain that made you feel like she was truly fighting for her life. That's why the fans in the Temple—the "Believers"—loved her so much.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Character
People often assume she was just "the girl" on the show. But Lucha Underground didn't treat her like a sideshow. In the world of the show, gender didn't matter. The show was basically a live-action comic book.
📖 Related: Questions From Black Card Revoked: The Culture Test That Might Just Get You Roasted
Basically, if you had the skills, you could fight the dragon. Sexy Star was the one who proved that logic worked. She wasn't winning because she was a woman; she was winning because she was a luchadora with more heart than the 7-foot monsters she faced.
The Wrestling Reality
Was she the most technical wrestler? No. Not even close. If you watch her matches back now, some of the movements are a bit clunky. Compared to someone like Ivelisse (another Lucha Underground standout), Sexy Star relied more on storytelling and drama than "work rate."
But in the context of a cinematic show like LU, that worked. You didn't need a 5-star technical clinic when you had a woman unmasking her abusers and standing tall over them.
The Downfall and the AAA Incident
You can't talk about Sexy Star in Lucha Underground without talking about how it all ended. It’s the elephant in the room.
In 2017, at an event called Triplemanía XXV for the AAA promotion in Mexico, something went horribly wrong. During a four-way match, Sexy Star applied an armbar to Rosemary (a beloved wrestler from TNA/Impact). But she didn't let go. Even after the tap, even after the referee intervened, she kept applying pressure.
👉 See also: The Reality of Sex Movies From Africa: Censorship, Nollywood, and the Digital Underground
She legitimately popped Rosemary’s arm.
The wrestling world turned on her instantly. People like Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho basically blacklisted her. It wasn't just a "stiff" hit; it was a violation of the most sacred rule in wrestling: Keep your opponent safe. This incident effectively ended her chance of ever making it to the big leagues in the US. While Lucha Underground was already starting to wind down due to financial and legal issues, the "Rosemary incident" ensured that Sexy Star’s legacy would always be tainted by that one moment of unprofessionalism.
What's She Doing Now?
After the fallout, she mostly disappeared from the American spotlight. She tried her hand at professional boxing and MMA (she actually went 5-0 in boxing). She eventually returned to wrestling in Mexico under the name "Dulce Sexy," but the aura was gone.
The name "Sexy Star" was actually given to a new wrestler in AAA, which is common in Lucha Libre but still feels like a final "moving on" from the original.
Next Steps to Understand Her Impact:
If you want to see why she was such a big deal before things went south, you should look for the "No Mas" match from Season 2, Episode 9. It’s widely available on streaming platforms like Tubi. It’s the perfect snapshot of what Lucha Underground was trying to achieve—intense storytelling that transcended traditional wrestling tropes. Just be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart.