Lucha Underground – February 10, 2016: Embracing The New Reality

Lucha Underground
Date: February 10, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re getting a good start to this new season and it’s interesting to see where some of these stories could go. Last week however saw the debut of Rey Mysterio, who still has to actually appear inside the temple. That could act as a game changer for the promotion as all of a sudden they have a major name who could bring in some outside audiences. The question though is what does Rey do once he gets in the ring. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of King Cuerno winning the Gift of the Gods Title from Fenix in the season premiere, along with his apparent deal with Katrina.

Vampiro is VERY fired up about the show tonight. Like, moreso than usual.

Kobra Moon vs. Bengala

Bengala was a late addition to the roster last year and looks to have gained about fifty pounds. Moon is a woman in a blue mask who looks like a cross between a snake and a peacock. She slithers around a lot and draws a MAMACITA chant. An early headscissors sends Bengala out to the floor and a slingshot hurricanrana drops him again.

Some kicks and a knee strike stagger Bengala but he comes back with a horrible looking spinwheel kick. A low superkick to Moon’s hands gets two but she gets her knees up to stop a big fat moonsault. Moon grabs a dragon sleeper for the tap at 2:47. Bengala looked horrible out there and it screwed up a lot of what Moon could do.

Fenix demands that Katrina give him Cuerno tonight. She warns him that even a thousand lives will run out eventually but the match is granted.

With nothing else going on, let’s head a thousand years into the past. A man is standing by a fire and talking about how the seven tribes are at war. It will take the gods to reunite them, but they won’t return for a thousand years. Therefore, the man speaking (revealed to be Aerostar in what looks like a superhero costume), will be heading off to find them. Aerostar flies off (of course he does) and disappears, presumably off to the future to bring the gods back.

THIS is the reason Lucha Underground works. They don’t just make up some dumb idea and then stop it halfway through. Instead, they took a guy who looks like a superhero and turned him into a flying time traveler from a thousand years ago (in theory) who is here to bring back the Aztec gods for the sake of saving the seven tribes. I have no idea what any of that means or how it works but DANG it sounds cool. Of course it’s no “Dolph Ziggler is a showoff who steals the show!” but it’s not bad.

Cuerno is working out when Katrina comes in to say he failed. The King says he did his job and wounded Fenix, but Katrina says that even the best hunter would fall to Mil Muertes. Katrina tells him to kill the Fenix once and for all tonight in a last luchador standing match. Non-title of course.

Jack Evans vs. Drago

Striker is freaking out over the match before the bell rings. They fight over a lockup to start and Jack misses a running kick to the face as well as a standing corkscrew moonsault. Back up and Jack slugs away with some shots to the head. Striker: “Right in the ear! If Dragons have ears!” A spinebuster drops Evans but he bites Drago’s hand to get a breather. That draws some rare booing from the crowd but at least we’ve got a clear heel. Drago charges into a boot in the corner and Evans cartwheels into an elbow to the face before just raking the eyes.

Jack tries to go up but gets superkicked right back down for two. They head outside so Dragon can hit a huge plancha off the top as Muertes is watching from the top. That’s such an eerie idea and they’re being smart by only showing it a few times. Back in and we hit a quick pinfall reversal sequence before Dragon hits a nice running Blockbuster. The Dragon’s Lair is broken up though and Evans puts on a twisting backslide with his feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: C. I wasn’t wild on this one but they went with a flying spectacle instead of your regular match, which is the right idea in something like this. I’m still not wild on Evans but at least he’s a clear heel instead of just another guy flying around. Like Drago for instance. Not bad here but they didn’t go anywhere special.

Post match Evans declares himself the Dragonslayer.

Video on Texano, who I like more every time I see him. He started off as a cowboy but is now just a tough guy in general. Naturally the guys he fought in a bar wore lucha masks. I love how they’re just in their own world on this show and embrace it. That makes things so much easier to watch.

Katrina comes in to see Prince Puma and asks him who he prays to. She remembers hearing the life draining out of Konnan in that casket. He was asking for forgiveness, but was it for himself or for failing Puma so badly? Konnan would love to see what Puma was going to do to Pentagon Jr. next week, as it might be Puma offering a sacrifice to his master.

King Cuerno vs. Fenix

Non-title and last man standing. Muertes is clearly showing more interest in this one. Fenix starts firing off some kicks to start and a handspring elbow puts the King down. There’s no point in counting that early though so Fenix crotches him on the top for a kick to the head. A very nice springboard into a hurricanrana brings Cuerno back down for a five count. Back up and Cuerno scores with a knee to the head, only to be sent to the floor. He’s still good enough to sidestep a dive though and Fenix is down for a four count.

Cuerno throws him into the crowd but Fenix is up again. A clothesline drops Fenix again and Cuerno fires off some kicks before taking it back inside. Fenix starts speeding things up and knocks Cuerno right back to the floor for a big corkscrew dive. That’s only good for a seven count so Fenix hits an even bigger dive (with a springboard and more spins) for nine. Cuerno knocks him around a bit more though and the Arrow puts both guys down on the floor.

Fenix gets up to Cuerno’s shock and awe, meaning it’s time for a ladder. With Fenix down on the floor, Cuerno starts going up but drops to the floor to stop the count. A low blow keeps Fenix in trouble and it’s table time. Some German suplexes through the table are broken up and Fenix climbs the ladder. He has to kick Cuerno down though, sending him through the table in a big crash. Fenix stands on top of the wall and counts along as Cuerno is down for ten at 11:25.

Rating: B-. Much like the second match, this was fun but nothing we hadn’t seen before. Fenix is someone who could rise to the top of this company really easily in an underdog role while Cuerno is one of my favorites. He has such a simple character but they keep adding things to him that makes it better. Good stuff here and a solid way to set up their next match, which could involve a ladder based on that finish.

A woman goes into her office for a meeting with someone who looks like a cop. The cop (Officer Reyes, better known as Cortez of the Crew. Apparently he was an undercover agent trying to get in on whatever crime was taking place in the Temple. Again, that’s the kind of thing you don’t see in a wrestling company but it works here) tells the woman (Captain Vasquez) about his findings in season one. He was getting close to Blue Demon Jr. but Demon got back to Miami before anything could happen.

Vasquez doesn’t want to hear about anyone other than Dario Cueto, but no one has seen him for months. Reyes thinks they should have brought Cueto in when he had his brother murder Bael. Gee, YOU THINK THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME? Anyway, the entire idea is to take down Cueto and Cortez is getting a new partner: the unnamed Officer Joey Ryan. Vasquez tells them to keep up their cover and pretend that they hate each other and make sure no one knows they’re a team.

Overall Rating: C+. This show is the best around right now at making you want to see what they’re going to do next. Right now there are a ton of loose strings going on and it’s going to be very interesting to see how they’re going to start tying them together. The key thing here is similar to what makes NXT work: there are a bunch of stories going on and one major story, but whenever something is going on, that is the top story and the only thing being talked about. Another good show here but they’re still setting things up for later, which is what keeps things interesting around here.

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