Lucha Underground – July 4, 2018: Ticked Off Monsters Are Scary
IMG Credit: Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground
Date: July 4, 2018
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
Things are starting to get back to whatever passes for normal around here, meaning the 400 year old witch now has her life essence back and isn’t trapped between worlds because the man of 1000 deaths has put the Bird of War into a casket. Things might not be so dull this week around though so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need in a recap.
We open with the traditional rapid fire recap, including a focus on Catrina, the Gauntlet, and the Gift of the Gods.
Catrina goes to see the seemingly dead Fenix, who she calls her love. She kisses him and sucks in his essence, which turns her normal gear into a red dress.
A sad Melissa Santos is looking at pictures of herself and Fenix (who wears the mask when they’re hanging out). Catrina comes in to see her, saying Fenix is never coming back. She gives Melissa the half of the medallion that kept her alive.
Big Bad Steve vs. Jake Strong
Steve is fighting for revenge after Strong, now known as the Savage, broke Famous B.’s ankle. Steve’s early clothesline has no effect so Strong forearms him in the back and sends him into the post. The Vader Bomb sets up a hard clothesline as it’s all Strong so far. The ankle lock makes Steve tap at 2:05. Oh yeah he’s going to be a thing around here.
Post match Strong powerbombs Steve on the floor.
Antonio Cueto is having a beer while King Cuerno is in his office. Cueto wants to know where the Gauntlet is but Cuerno says it was stolen. For some reason this earns Cuerno a match against Chavo Guerrero for an Aztec Medallion. Cage comes in and asks for a Lucha Underground Title match against Pentagon. That’s not happening, but Cage can have an Aztec Medallion match against Mil Muertes next week.
Daga/Kobra Moon vs. Johnny Mundo/Taya
Taya and Daga start things off by hitting the mat with Striker going into full on Joey Styles mode. No wonder I never liked either of them. It’s off to Mundo for some shots to the face but a backbreaker gives Daga two. A dropkicks knocks Daga into the corner for the tag though and the reptiles start in with the double teaming.
Mundo can’t roll over for the tag so he slides underneath and around Daga into a kick to the head. A springboard spinning crossbody gets two and it’s off to Taya for some swagger. Mundo superkicks Daga by mistake and there’s the tag to Moon. She takes turns kneeing both of them in the face but PJ Black comes out for a distraction, allowing Ricky Mundo to kick Moon down. The curb stomp gives Taya the pin at 6:25.
Rating: C-. Is there something to the Reptile Tribe that I just don’t get? Moon does nothing for me, Daga is just a guy, and Vibora, the only interesting member of the team because he’s a monster, doesn’t need the rest of them. The Worldwide Underground is cooler, but they’re only kind of working as faces. That being said, I wasn’t wild on them as heels last season so maybe this is the better option.
Post match Vibora comes out and wrecks the Worldwide Underground. He holds everyone but Johnny and says that one day they will bow down to her as their queen.
Someone goes down into a locked basement where we can see someone chained up. Another person (possibly the person who went down the stairs) is shown beating them as Matanza looks on. Antonio says it’s time for Matanza’s first sacrifice. It isn’t clear who any of the people in shadows were, but it’s possible that Matanza was the one doing the beating.
Mr. Pectacular vs. Matanza
German suplex and Wrath of the Gods in 40 seconds.
The lights go out and Pectacular disappears.
Aztec Medallion: Chavo Guerrero vs. King Cuerno
Chavo dives through the ropes to start fast and sends Cuerno into various things, including the ring. They trade clotheslines with Cuerno getting the better of it and backdropping Chavo to the floor. Cuerno’s charge just gets him sent into the balcony (not exactly a high one) but Chavo is rammed into the barricade.
That means a huge dive down onto Chavo but Cuerno gets crotched on top. A top rope superplex gives Chavo two and a catapult into the bottom rope is good for the same. Cuerno fights up and knees him outside, setting up the big suicide dive. That will never not look cool. Back in and the Thrill of the Hunt is broken up so Cuerno goes with a kneeling tombstone for the pin and the medallion at 10:00.
Rating: C+. Chavo is fine in this role as he has enough experience and credentials to it work well enough but there was no drama about who was winning here. Cuerno is still a solid name in the midcard and one of my favorites in the promotion. Having him involved in the Gauntlet story could go somewhere and hopefully they have somewhere to take him from here.
Overall Rating: C-. The squashes were fun but this week was much more about setting things up for the future, meaning the show itself wasn’t all that great. It’s still very early in the season though and that means they have a ton of time to put things together. The important thing here though is you can see where they’re going and that means the future should be fine.
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