Lucha Underground
Date: May 6, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

We’re getting closer to the season finale and a lot of these stories are starting to reach their peaks. The big story from last week was the elimination of Drago after he lost his Lucha Underground Title shot. Other than that we have Dario Cueto being all evil with the threat of his brother, whoever or whatever that may be. Let’s get to it.

The standard recap (I like these things as I haven’t watched the show in a few weeks) shows us Albert vs. Johnny Mundo being set up and Hernandez becoming #1 contender.

Johnny and Alberto pitch themselves as #1 contender but Cueto isn’t sure. Mundo thinks they’re both more worthy than Fernandez, even though he won the triple threat. Cueto sets up Alberto vs. Mundo with the winner facing Hernandez for the #1 contendership next week. Hernandez better be ticked over this.

The Crew vs. Son of Havoc/Angelico

Neither gets an entrance. Bael is the odd man out here, as if that matters. Havoc starts with I think Cisco (seriously people, get them a nametag or something) and takes him down before Angelico tags himself in for the rolling kicks to the head. Castro comes in (thankfully in a shirt so I can tell these two apart) and jumps over a legsweep, only to eat another kick. Ivelisse, with her bad leg, is sitting in the front row and barking orders as her partners.

The Crew tries to make some tags but Angelico comes back in and cleans house with those fast strikes of his. Castro (wait now he doesn’t have a shirt. Either they’re changing clothes or Striker is making up the names as he goes) gets rolled up for two and heads outside, only to have both champions “hit” big flip dives to take them out. Back in and Angelico gets a quick two on Castro but the fans want Havoc. That’s exactly what they get as he tags himself in after Angelico flips out of a double belly to back suplex. Everything breaks down and the Crew hits the flapjack into the Codebreaker to pin Havoc.

Rating: C-. This was decent enough but my goodness I’m sick of the Crew being the same guy with three different names. The champions that can’t get along idea has been covered, but this match continues to show the bigger issue: there aren’t enough trios to validate having a whole division with titles. Decent match but I really don’t care for the Crew.

Daivari tells Cueto he likes to inflict violence, so Dario gives him Texano next. Apparently Daivari’s family owns a bunch of real estate in the area so he’s a wealthy man. That’s one of the things I love about Lucha Underground: they just make up characters and backstories, like you would see in the old days before everything had to be the truth. You don’t have a story for someone? Just make one up. Why is that so complicated?

Konnan doesn’t want Hernandez coming after Puma’s title because of their friendship but Hernandez want to beat Puma for the belt. The chuckling Cueto comes in and tells Hernandez about the ruling he made earlier about Alberto and Mundo, which thankfully ticks him off. As for tonight, it’s Puma/Hernandez vs. Cage/Cuerno. Simple, effective, and it took about a minute. If this were WWE, it would be five minutes, boring, and predictable.

Delavar Daivari vs. Texano

Daivari has a drink during the entrances. Texano charges in and beats Daivari down, only to be called for the DQ maybe 15 seconds in.

Cage/King Cuerno vs. Hernandez/Prince Puma

Still no entrances. Cage and Hernandez get things going and trade shoulders with Cage getting the better of it until Hernandez hits a slingshot shoulder to take over. Off to the champ but he’s quickly caught in a powerslam, only to break it up with a headscissors. Cuerno comes in but gets taken down just as quickly. The King kicks the Prince in the chest and nails a TKO (love that move), setting up a 619 of all things from Cage. That was really cool to see actually.

The squats into a Jackhammer gets two for Cage but Puma pops up (selling? What’s that?) and hits a series of kicks to the face and a Blue Thunder Bomb on Cuerno. Back to Hernandez who cleans house and throws Cuerno over the top and onto Cage. The big SuperMex dive takes both guys down again and of course the fans are way into it. Puma loads up one of his own but Hernandez gets back on the apron to “accidentally” break it up.

Back in and Puma and Hernandez clean house on Cuerno but Cage takes Hernandez’s head off with a clothesline. Hernandez runs Cuerno over but eats another clothesline from Cage. They head outside, where Hernandez pulls Puma right in the way of the suicide dive from Cuerno. Hernandez has had enough of this teaming up thing and powerbombs Puma on the apron, setting up Weapon X to give Cage the pin over the champ.

Rating: C. Storyline loss for Puma here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Hernandez is a good choice for a big power guy who can put over someone like Puma in the future as he looks more and more like a giant killer every time he fights off someone like Hernandez or Cage. Good enough stuff here and that Arrow from Cuerno looked great.

Black Lotus’ master says if she can beat him, she can go for her revenge. She tries to strike him and is easily blocked. The master tells him that she requires more training so she agrees to stay.

Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Mundo

The winner faces Hernandez next week for a future title shot. They trade headlocks to start until Alberto sends him into the corner and hits a dropkick to the back of the head for two. Johnny gets all ticked off and hits those hard right hands of his to knock Alberto to the floor, only to get tied up in the ring apron. An enziguri knocks Mundo’s block off and we hit the chinlock.

Patron misses a moonsault and Johnny starts slugging away, followed by the Flying Chuck for two. Mundo slaps on something like the cousin of a cobra clutch but Patron pops up for a backdrop over the top, sending Mundo onto the steps. A big suicide dive takes Mundo down again but Alberto can’t follow up. Back in and they slug it out with Alberto taking over with clotheslines followed by the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. That goes nowhere as Johnny knocks him outside for a big corkscrew plancha.

Back in again and Alberto nails a reverse superplex for two before finally taking his shirt off. Alberto starts going for the arm but eats a running knee to the head, setting up the End of the World for two. The armbreaker sends Mundo rolling to the ropes for a quick break. Patron misses a charge into the post and takes a top rope double stomp to the back for two more. Back up and a quick Codebreaker to the arm sets up the low superkick to give Patron the pin.

Rating: B+. I don’t know if it was the dream match that the announcers were building it up to be but this was a very fun wrestling match, which is all it needed to be. Mundo can still more than go in the ring and Patron’s style is so much better suited for a company like Lucha Underground than WWE. Good stuff here.

Catrina, with the magic rock, opens the casket to release Mil Muertes.

Overall Rating: B. Really fun show here and it set up the stories for the future. Alberto and Mundo are the kind of guys you need for the main event scene to give Puma some serious competition as well as credibility. On top of that you have the continuing story of Black Lotus but I’m not sure where that’s going and I’m not sure if I care. That being said, it’s different enough to make me want to see where it goes and that’s the point of a wrestling story. Good show here and I had fun watching it, as always.

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Lucha Underground
Date: April 22, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re coming up on the season finale of this series, which is scheduled to end with a big PPV style show that hasn’t been announced on TV as of yet. The big story tonight is the finals of the Trios Titles tournament with the three way final for the inaugural titles. We also have Sexy Star vs. Pentagon with Star finally standing up to his evil. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap sets up the tournament final and a bit about Pentagon vs. Star.

Black Lotus says she isn’t sure when she gets to fight but she knows she’s ready. Now she’s just waiting on her master. We see a montage of her beating people up in shadow. The master shows up and easily puts her down, saying Lotus isn’t ready.

The house band plays us in. They could easily drop this in season 2.

The Trios Titles are at the commentary desk.

Sexy Star vs. Pentagon Jr.

Ring announcer Melissa Santos limps away after seeing Pentagon coming in due to him injuring her last week. Star takes over to start and the camera makes sure to keep showing Santos at ringside with the tape around her ankle. Pentagon comes back with a hard chop as the fans are split on who to cheer for, which Striker says represents the evil spreading throughout the temple.

Star sends him face first into the middle buckle and chokes in the corner, followed by something like a slingshot bronco buster for two. A HARD kick to the ribs puts Star back down so Striker calls him a no limit soldier. Please, ANYTHING but that horrible stable again. Bring back the Beverly Brothers before you make me sit through that one more time. Star rolls away from the armbar attempt and gets to the floor, only to start a chase scene capped off by a tornado DDT for two on Pentagon.

A dropkick puts him on the floor, setting up a big dive from Star to put both of them down again. Back up and Pentagon gets two off something like Project Ciampa (powerbomb into a Backstabber) for two. The armbar is escaped again and Star spins around his shoulders into a Backstabber of her own for the pin (with the referee ignoring the arms flailing everywhere, including off the mat).

Rating: C+. Good enough match here that likely sets up Pentagon’s master going after him for punishment. Pentagon should have been a bit more dominant and, perhaps, GONE AFTER THE ARM, but the action was good enough and you get a quick feel good moment with Santos some revenge.

Johnny Mundo is working out when Alberto El Patron comes in to remind Johnny that he lost last week. Alberto came here because of Johnny’s match with Prince Puma, which made it an even bigger surprise when Puma beat him in Aztec Warfare. Mundo isn’t cool with this line of speaking and says he isn’t just some guy that Alberto can slap around. Alberto tells him to chill and leaves.

The announcers talk about Drago’s huge night next week: either win the title or leave forever.

Trios Titles: Texano/Cage/King Cuerno vs. Mack/Big Ryck/Killshot vs. Ivelisse/Angelico/Son of Havok

Elimination rules with three in the ring at once (old school WCW triple threat tag rules for a BIG plus). I don’t know if it was mentioned earlier but Ryck and Mack are cousins. Angelico and Killshot double team Cage to start but he clotheslines both of them down with ease. A double suplex doesn’t go over with as much ease but it looks more impressive. Off to Cuerno, Angelico and Texano with Angelico getting double teamed, including Texano lifting him into the air for a knee to the face.

Killshot, who I believe is still legal, gets back in to give Angelico a breather so Cuerno kicks him in the ribs. Angelico gets stomped as well as Cuerno and company are dominating so far. A kick to the head staggers Cuerno and Killshot hits a double running knee to Texano’s chest. The referee is fine with four people being in the ring at once. Well five if you count the referee but who does that.

Mack comes in for a swinging slam on Texano, leaving us with a showdown of Mack vs. Havok. That’s fine with Mack who quickly dives over the top to take out Texano all over again. Havok teases a dive of his own but has to bail out, allowing Cage to take him down with a big clothesline. We get the big showdown between Ryck and Cage with Cage easily slamming the eyepatched one down.

Cage isn’t done though as he moonsaults down onto a big group of people, only to have Ryck take his head off with a clothesline back inside. Angelico hits a running knee off the apron to drive Texano into the front row, only to draw a “fan” (Daivari I believe) out to beat him up. Killshot hits a top rope double stomp to Texano and we have our first elimination as we go to a break, I believe for only the second time ever in this company. Oh that’s a nice thing to be able to say.

We come back after missing nothing (again, that’s REALLY nice to say) and Ryck splashing Angelico in the corner. Ivelisse seems to be holding her leg on the apron and Havok is nowhere to be seen. Mack chops Angelico down and Killshot hits a sick looking jumping kick to the back of the head for two. Ivelisse and Havok are back in the corner (adjacent to their opponents’ corner for some reason) but Angelico is still being destroyed.

Mack drops a top rope elbow to the back but Angelico is able to dump everyone not named Killshot and make the tag to Havok. Killshot is waiting for him with what looked like a running C4 for two but Havok blocks the top rope reverse hurricanrana. The injured Ivelisse goes up top but dives into the arms of Mack and Ryck. Havok dives onto all of them, leaving Angelico to hit the Fall of the Angels on Killshot for the pin and the titles in a nice surprise.

Rating: B. Fun match here and the ending wasn’t quite what I saw coming at first. It was a bit more obvious once Cuerno’s team was eliminated, but they gave it some good drama to get there. Also, I liked Angelico getting the pin instead of going with the more conventional idea of giving Ivelisse the big feel good win. Angelico has earned the right to get the pin in a big match.

We’re not done though as Cueto says there’s one more team and for fun, let’s make it a No DQ match. I don’t remember anyone not named Vince being this evil as the boss and I LOVE it.

Trios Titles: Angelico/Son of Havok/Ivelisse vs. The Crew

Anything goes. The Crew goes right after the winners on the floor and my fun is instantly marred as I can’t remember which Crew member is which. Bael stays on Ivelisse and the bad leg as we’re still waiting on anyone to get inside. Cisco beats up a mostly defenseless Angelico as Bael throws Ivelisse inside. Castro holds her for a cane shot but Havok remembers that he’s in this match and comes in for a save. Bael and Angelico go up the stairs with Angelico getting backdropped onto a platform above the ring.

Castro chokes Ivelisse with the stick as Havok gets suplexed off the barricade. That’s fine with him as he pops back up for a moonsault off the same barricade……AND ANGELICO DIVES OFF THE PLATFORM TO TAKE OUT CASTRO AND BAEL!!! Good night that was awesome and thankfully they let the match stop for a second to breathe. Ivelisse gets the stick and hammers on both downed guys before ordering her partners to the top. A stereo shooting star from Havok and double stomp from Angelico are enough to finally give us new champions.

Rating: B. The match wasn’t great but that dive was something else. I really liked the ending too as it felt like something special instead of just another title change. I don’t see them holding the belts for long but that’s a great way to give us the first set of champions. Angelico is on a roll right now and I actually want to see more of him, which isn’t something I say often.

Overall Rating: B+. This was WAY better than I was expecting and it got me into things in just forty five minutes. Outside of NXT, almost nothing is capable of doing that and it was a really nice surprise. This show has hit a huge groove and knows exactly what it wants to do every week, which is one of the most important things a wrestling company can do. The fact that Lucha Underground has done it in about six months is all the more impressive. Check this show out if you want a fun hour of wrestling that flies by.