All Elite Wrestling has created an alternative brand for pro wrestling fans to watch outside of WWE. Since their debut last January, AEW has shown to be a viable competitor, especially against the NXT brand on Wednesday nights. Among the names featured on the AEW roster is Luchasaurus, who is a member of Jurassic Express along with fellow tag team members Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt.
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Luchasaurus is certainly an anomaly in the pro wrestling scene with his gimmick revolving around prehistoric times. However, Luchasaurus uses his stature to his advantage in the ring, and also has the ability to move like a cruiserweight despite being a heavyweight.
Luchasaurus, whose real name is Austin Matelson, is quite the scholar despite portraying a man-dinosaur hybrid. In fact, Matelson's gimmick is closer to his interests more than many may think. He has a Master's degree in history, specializing in 12th century medieval literature.
His character was actually the brainchild of the late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, as he liked Matelson's look coupled with his Master's degree specialization. During his time in FCW/NXT from 2012-2013, Matelson was known as Judas Devlin, as WWE decided to change his previous name, Austin Draven.
Lucha Underground Fans Discover "Luchasaurus"
Following his NXT tenure, Matelson took a few years away from the ring to recover from injury before landing with the Lucha Underground promotion in 2016. At LU, he debuted under the name of Vibora, and was able to win the Lucha Underground Trios Championship while competing for the promotion.
During one of his matches, fans started chanting "Luchasaurus," which stuck with him and helped fulfill the idea given to him from Dusty Rhodes. This led to changing his name during his run in the independent circuit from Just Judas to the newly-christened Luchasaurus.
Also during his time away, Matelson was a contestant on Big Brother, placing fifth overall.
Luchasaurus Finds a Home in All Elite Wrestling
Before competing for AEW, Matelson competed with promotions such as Ring of Honor (ROH), Bar Wrestling, House of Hardcore, and MPW. At Double or Nothing, Luchasaurus made his debut as a part of the Casino Battle Royale, eliminating four competitors before being eliminated by Adam Page.
Currently, Luchasaurus can be seen regularly on AEW Dynamite, where he is feuding with Chris Jericho and his Inner Circle faction.
The Woodland Hills, California native made his debut as a professional wrestler in 2009, and his wrestling career has mostly been about finding the right opportunity to showcase his talent.
Now, in AEW, Luchasaurus is one of the most popular names in the company, and has a bright future ahead of him.
