Lucha Underground – February 4, 2015: Knock Knock

Lucha Underground
Date: February 4, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

The big stories at the moment continue to be Cage going after Puma’s Lucha Underground Title, even ripping the belt apart on the last show, as well as the Crenshaw Crew switching allegiance from Big Ryck to Dario Cueto. Maybe they can use the money to buy some clothes that actually set them apart. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Cueto giving away Ryck’s money and the company going insane ever since. This led to the Crenshaw Crew turning on Ryck and burning his eye to start their feud. We also look at last week’s title match.

Mariachi El Bronx, the house band, plays us in.

Son of Havoc vs. Angelico

Before the match, Ivelisse says she’s tired of reading these tweets on social media (just call it Twitter) saying Son of Havoc sucks because she does not date losers. Striker calls Havoc the SD Jones of Lucha Underground. The bell rings and we pass nine seconds, meaning Striker is already wrong. They start fast with Havoc working on a wristlock until Angelico spins all over the place as the announcers start talking about UFC.

Angelico hits some running knees but Ivelisse grabs his foot (lucky guy), allowing Havoc to hit a spinning face plant for two. Havoc gets two more off a standing moonsault and stops a comeback with an atomic drop. The announcers don’t want to call it anything because they’re pests who fail at having personalities. Angelico comes back with a dropkick and a HUGE dive over the top to knock Havoc onto the ramp.

Back in and the fans are still behind Havoc as he charges into a boot in the corner but blocks a superplex attempt. A shooting star doesn’t work but Havoc lands on his feet because he can. That was just cool looking. Angelico catches him on the top but his Razor’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana for no cover. Ivelisse gets on the apron for a kiss and a distraction, but Angelico kicks out of an O’Connor roll to send Havoc into her ribs, setting up a rollup from Angelico for the pin.

Rating: C. I lost track of who to cheer for about halfway through the match. Havoc was doing heelish things but hit face high spots, including landing on his feet on that shooting star. That’s the kind of thing you would expect to see from Shelton Benjamin back in the day and Havoc made it look easy. Having a chick like Ivelisse should make you the biggest heel around but psychology has never been this company’s strong suit.

Ivelisse storms off without Havoc.

Dario is talking to someone we can’t see and says he hasn’t seen him since Aztec Warfare. The mystery man must be ready for some action, and it’s Johnny Mundo. He’s in the main event tonight against Cage, so Johnny tells Cueto to get another title belt.

Video on Pentagon Jr. practicing martial arts. I’ve never heard of the discipline including tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. His new tagline is No Fear.

Famous B. vs. Pentagon Jr.

Pentagaon hits a quick kick to the head and a LOUD chop in the corner but a springboard armdrag puts him down. That’s fine with Pentagon who kicks B. in the head again setting up a package piledriver and an armtrap armbar for the submission.

Pentagon snaps the arm back, presumably breaking the shoulder. He pledges his loyalty to his master, whomever that may be.

Cueto is looking at his key again and tells someone off camera that the Black Lotus is coming for them. He has to protect the temple from a cancer.

Drago vs. Aerostar

You shouldn’t be back in the ring a week after losing a last man standing match. I know it wasn’t a devastating physical loss but you should be off TV for a bit. Drago cranks on the arm to start and hits a quick dropkick to the side of the head. A hurricanrana takes Drago down, setting up a springboard double stomp for two.

Striker goes into Harry Potter mode to talk about Aerostar hitting a huge dive from the middle rope over the top to take out Drago. Back in and Drago hits a quick dropkick for two before Aerostar might have injured himself while attempting to duck a leapfrog. Aerostar bails to the floor and gets hit by a big spinning dive before a running Blockbuster gives Drago the pin.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but again the commentary really dragged this down. Striker and Vampiro are like a more wrestling centric version of Tenay and Taz: they get so far off topic but throw in an occasional reference to something related to the match to officially do their jobs, but it’s much more about whatever jokes and lines they can get in to amuse themselves.

Fenix is working out in the back when Catrina comes in to tap him on the back. She asks why he has a tattoo on his chest, thinking it might protect him from having nightmares. It won’t save him from Mil Muertes though and she kisses him. Catrina warns him not to say anything about this or Muertes will bury both of them alive. Ok then.

Johnny Mundo vs. Cage

Cage has the ripped up title around his neck. Mundo tries to speed things up to start but gets slammed down with a shot to the ribs. A spinning kick to the head staggers Cage for two before Mundo starts hammering away with right hands. Cage bails to the floor and catches a hurricanrana before throwing Mundo into the post. Granted it didn’t look like there was much of an impact but it did in fact happen. Cuerno is shown watching from the balcony.

Back in and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker stays on the injured spine. Cage jumps from the middle rope to the top rope for a moonsault in another scary looking display of athleticism. Johnny stands up and hits a spinning kick to the face, followed by a Shining Wizard for two. A Scorpion Death Drop (thankfully referred to as such by Striker instead of the Slop Drop) gets the same but Cage catches him in an Alabama Slam (not Jam Striker. I knew he’d screw up soon enough) for another near fall.

The Flying Chuck (which may or may not be called the Book of Revelation. That might just be Striker overthinking everything again) drops Cage again but he rolls away from the End of the World. That’s fine with Mundo who hits a big spinning dive over the corner. This draws Cuerno out of the balcony to trip Mundo for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was similar to last week’s main event and again it’s a good sign that Cage can do so many things in the ring. It’s not a masterpiece or anything like that, but Cuerno vs. Mundo should be fun. Cuerno has been one of my favorites in this company and I’d love to see him in there with a more talented guy.

Cuerno crushes the knee against the post and cracks it with a chair. This brings out Cueto to restart the match, causing Striker to imitate the Terminator. Mundo actually fights back with some kicks while holding onto the top rope but gets caught in an old school Brock Lock, sending Johnny right back to the ropes. A bunch of rights and lefts in the corner have Cage reeling and the Moonlight Drive gets two. Back up and an F5 (Metalingus, also the name of Edge’s theme song) gets two more but a Gory Special into a Downward Spiral is finally enough to pin Mundo. Don’t bust out big moves like that F5 if it’s not the finish.

The credits roll but we go back to Cueto’s office. Someone knocks on the door but Cueto says go away. A familiar voice says we’re just getting started. In walks Alberto El Patron, but you already knew that. Now that’s how you end a show.

Overall Rating: C+. That ending helped a decent show get better. This episode was much more about starting up new stories than the wrestling, though the in ring stuff wasn’t bad. Mundo vs. Cuerno is an interesting idea and should give us some good matches. I can also get behind anything with Catrina who is a great non-wrestler. Throw in more Ivelisse and I don’t have many complaints here, other than commentary of course.

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