Lucha Underground
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Schiavello, Matt Striker

It all ends here. Well at least it all ends here until they make the announcement of season two. This is the final night of Ultima Lucha and it’s a two hour episode, making the biggest show of the year a full on three hour special. The main event is Prince Puma defending the Lucha Underground Title against Mil Muertes, as well as the fallout of Black Lotus and the Cuetos. Let’s get to it.

This show is dedicated to Roddy Piper. That’s appropriate as he was a huge deal in Los Angeles.

We hear a clip of Cueto’s speech on the first show, leading to Konnan pitching Prince Puma to Cueto on the same episode. The rest of the video recaps the rest of tonight’s matches. That image of Muertes in the casket and opening his eyes is just chilling. I’m really, really impressed by how well they’ve set this show up and I’ve been looking forward to it all week.

Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto El Patron

This is quite the way to open a show. Mundo starts running at the bell and they wind up in front of Cueto’s window, which started this whole thing. A big kick to Johnny’s head gets things going and Alberto whips him into Cueto’s wall, followed by the announcers’ table. Alberto starts after the arm but the referee pulls him away, allowing Johnny to hide under the ring and find some powder to blind Patron.

Johnny cuts out the shenanigans and kicks Alberto in the head like a villain should. They actually get inside for a Mundo chinlock, followed by a running knee to the face. Alberto fights up and hooks a reverse superplex before it’s time for a slugout. Patron takes over and hooks a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by the Backstabber, which is kind of an odd series of offense when his finisher is an armbar. I’ve always like Alberto’s simple psychology but if he’s going for the arm later, this doesn’t make the most sense.

The low superkick misses and Johnny nails an enziguri for two. Mundo loads him onto the top for a big Backstabber of his own for two but Alberto clotheslines him to the floor. His suicide dive hits a knee to the head though, allowing Johnny to hit a flip dive over the top. Back in and Alberto grabs the armbar out of nowhere but Johnny is into the ropes almost immediately. With nothing else working, Alberto ties him in the Tree of Woe for some kicks but misses a baseball slide, sending him shoulder first into the post.

Patron gets tied up in the ropes, allowing Johnny to hit a top rope double stomp as Alberto tries to get up. The End of the World connects for two and Johnny is stunned. Alberto gets up and tries the superkick but Johnny pulls the referee in the way, only to get caught in the armbreaker. There’s no referee but it doesn’t matter as Johnny escapes and stomps away. Alberto grabs another armbreaker over the top rope but cue the debuting Melina to hit Patron with the AAA Title belt, setting up another End of the World to give Mundo the pin.

Rating: B. Oh yeah this show is going to ROCK. This was awesome stuff and Melina running in is a smart move as she fits in perfectly with the show, especially at Mundo’s heel side. You have to expect that at least one of these two is going to get into the title hunt next season, but I’d be down for a rematch. Finally, these two were brought in as the big names and they delivered in their big match. Well done.

Alberto is livid and throws Mundo into some chairs and then through a window. Melina goes after Alberto like the fire cat she is, earning her a spanking. Striker: “I’m going to rewind that on my DVR.” Alberto holds up the title as Mundo is COVERED in blood.

El Dragon Azteca comes in to free Lotus but Dario is waiting on him. The punishment for Azteca entering the temple is death, but as Cueto is distracting him, Lotus reaches through the bars and chokes Azteca. Cueto watches and Lotus hits Azteca in the back, seemingly killing him. Cueto lets her go but she says she’s done what she came here for. Now she needs his protection and they’re going to “the new temple” but first they unlock Matanza’s cage and let out the camera that’s inside.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro

I’m hoping we find out the master, and I’ll be surprised if it’s anyone but Konnan. Vampiro comes to the ring in what looks like a zombie Pope outfit. Unfortunately it’s not a zombie D’Angelo Dinero, which would be a much more interesting look. This is a Cero Miedo match, meaning No Fear. I have no idea what that means but I’d assume it means hardcore/street fight. It seems that I’m right as Pentagon hits him with a chair at the bell and they head outside for more chair shots.

Vampiro, still in the robes, is knocked into the crowd for more of a beating before they head back to ringside. The mats are pulled back for an AA onto the concrete as this has been entirely one sided so far. With Vampiro on the floor, Pentagon just unloads on him with chair shots as Striker wants the match stopped. The referee throws up an X (he’s Straight Edge Society?) and we take a rare break.

Back with Vampiro staggering back to the ring for one more swing. He takes Pentagon down with a spinwheel kick and it’s time for a bag of tacks. Pentagon screams when he’s slammed down onto the tacks but Vampiro is stupid enough to go up top for a flip dive WHEN HIS OPPONENT IS LAYING ON A PILE OF TACKS. He deserves all the holes in his back from the crash.

Pentagon busts out a light bulb tube to break over Vampiro’s back before CARVING UP HIS NECK with the pieces. I’m more impressed by that than Pentagon licking the blood off his arm. Vampiro fights up again and slugs away before hiptossing Pentagon through another light tube in the corner.

After doing that, why not rip at the eye holes of Pentagon’s mask? He smashes a third tube over Pentagon’s head (where do they store those things and WHY ARE THEY IN A WRESTLING ARENA???) but Pentagon backdrops him onto the tacks. As usual, the old, banged up man is able to not only survive this but also gets up and belly to belly superplex Pentagon onto the tacks. It’s table time and Vampiro finds a lighter for good measure. The table is lit on fire but, as is the rule in wrestling, if you set up a table you get thrown through it, meaning Vampiro is left rolling around on fire, allowing Pentagon to get an easy pin.

Rating: C+. This was your above average hardcore war with the ridiculous weapons and big spot to end things. Pentagon has somehow turned into a hardcore brawler after spending weeks building himself up as the arm breaker extraordinaire. Fun enough match though, especially given how banged up Vampiro is from all the years in the ring.

Post match Vampiro holds out his arm and demands that Pentagon break it. Pentagon does as he’s told and says he’s done what he promised his master. Here’s the master and it’s…..Vampiro. Now THAT is awesome as they played up Vampiro and Ian Hodgkinson as two different people, making this about as well done as it could have been. I was thinking it might be Vampiro when he offered Pentagon his arm but I never thought they would actually go through with it. Well done indeed.

Gift of the Gods Title: Big Ryck vs. King Cuerno vs. Sexy Star vs. Bengala vs. Fenix vs. Aerostar vs. Jack Evans

This is basically Money in the Bank but you have to announce a week in advance and the winner will have to defend it, which is a concept that Money in the Bank could REALLY benefit from. The match is without tags and one fall to a finish. It’s a wild brawl to start (a recurring theme tonight) with Ryck throwing everyone outside until Aerostar tries his luck with a waistlock.

That earns him an ejection of his own before all six of them get inside and go after Ryck at the same time like a smart group of people would do. Back up and everyone is sent to the floor, leaving Aerostar to hit a big flip dive to take Fenix down, only to have Fenix powerslam him off the apron. Back in and Evans kicks Cuerno in the head to send him outside for a big dive, which only hits mat as Cuerno is smart enough to step aside. It’s Ryck breaking up Bengala’s pin on Star before Ryck just starts throwing people around with ease.

As Ryck beats up various luchadors like a cyclops would destroy villagers, Aerostar crawls up to the balcony to dive down onto three masked men, only to have Marty Martinez come in to get in a slap fight with Star. After easily dispatching Marty (because he’s a freaking moth), Star dives onto the same pile of masked men, only to be stomped down by Cuerno inside. The Thrill of the Hunt puts Star down but Cuerno opts to roll her outside instead of covering.

It’s Bengala coming back in though and cleaning house and monkey flipping Cuerno into Fenix in the corner. A big corkscrew dive takes Fenix down again, only to have Cuerno hit that awesome suicide dive of his to put Bengala down as well. Evans remembers he’s in the match and puts Aerostar in a guillotine choke, only to get DDT’d down to break the hold. It’s Star back in to beat up Aerostar over a copyright issue I’d assume but here’s Daivari to destroy Ryck with a chair for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.

Evans hits a springboard splash on Ryck for two but Cuerno makes the save and puts Evans in a surfboard. It’s Fenix’s turn for a save but he gets caught in something like AJ Lee’s Black Widow from Evans. That’s fine with Fenix as he flips him up and fires off a bunch of knees to Evans’ head, followed by a fire driver (over the shoulder tombstone) to give Fenix the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. These really aren’t my thing. They’re just a bunch of insane spots with people staying on the ground for long stretches of time until it’s time for another spot. Fenix winning probably makes the most sense as Bengala hasn’t been around, people would have issues buying Star as the winner (though it would have been interesting), Ryck is an enforcer and Evans is a spot monkey. Cuerno or Aerostar could have been options, but it was really Fenix’s match to lose.

Blue Demon Jr. vs. Texano

Yeah and now there’s this match because Blue Demon needs a payday or something. Demon has the Crew with him, which likely means this was going to be Chavo Guerrero until he got hurt, which at least would have been a better option. Before the match, Demon hands the announcer a card, saying Cueto has made this No DQ. Ok, enough of the brawls with no rules. We get it already, now go have a regular match. Texano goes right after him to start but has to go after Cisco and Castro.

It’s back to the people actually in the match with Texano doing a cool little move in the corner where he’ll chop with the right hand and swing through with a left handed clothesline on the follow through. A spinebuster and a powerbomb get two on Demon but the Crew comes in for the save. Cue Chavo with a chair to nail Texano, allowing Demon to get the pin with one foot on the chest, because why let a young guy get a big win when you can give it to a guy pushing 50?

Lucha Underground Title: Prince Puma vs. Mil Muertes

Puma is defending and sans Konnan tonight. There must be a winner, which I really, really hope doesn’t mean anything goes. The bell rings and Muertes gets right in the middle of the ring to say bring it. Muertes pounds the champion down with ease when Puma is stupid enough to go right at the monster. They head into the crowd with Muertes continuing his destruction and throwing Puma down the steps. Striker: “This isn’t a football stadium or a bingo hall!”

With nothing else working, Puma picks up Catrina and swings her at Mil, driving one of the high heels into Muertes’ eye. That’s fine with Mil, who whips Puma into the chairs. Puma finally sends Muertes into the barricade, allowing him to use the apron as a springboard to kick Mil in the mask. We get a table, because where would we be without a table, but Muertes rams Puma face first onto the wood. Muertes powerbombs Puma onto the wooden stairs before finally tossing the champ back inside.

Puma gets a breather and tries a suicide dive, only to get knocked out of the sky with a chair shot. Muertes can’t send him into a chair in the corner though and gets kicked, down, setting up a big double stomp to put both guys down. Puma tries some flips and gets punched in the face for his efforts. As usual, why over complicate anything? The champ sidesteps a charge to send Muertes into a chair, setting up a GTS (with a kick instead of a knee) for two.

Muertes just unloads in the corner with forearms to the face until Puma backflips into a kick to the head because he can. Puma is somehow able to roll through some northern lights suplexes (fans: “SUPLEX CITY!” Wouldn’t that be ciudad de suplex?) Catrina is freaking out so she holds up the magic stone (that’s so stupid but it works here), causing Muertes to rise to his feet and spear Puma through the ropes onto the corner of the table (freaking ow man!), followed by a powerbomb onto the wreckage.

Somehow that’s only good for two so Muertes hits a wicked chokeslam. Appropriate since he’s basically the Mexican Undertaker. Puma fights up again and kicks Muertes in the head, setting up the 630 for a very near fall. A second attempt misses though and an even bigger spear cuts Puma in half. The Flatliner gets two (I thought that was it) and even Muertes is stunned. Another kick to the head sets up another 630 (Striker: “How many times can you use the same weapon if it doesn’t work?” Until it gets a pin you nitwit.) but Muertes gets up and runs the corner for a super Flatliner for the pin and the title.

Rating: A-. The ending was obvious as Puma has basically beaten everyone else in the main event and now we need a new hero. This was a great back and forth brawl with Puma fighting with everything he had but ultimately not being able to overcome the monstrous power that was Mil Muertes. It’s really, really hard to get me interested in a match with an obvious ending but they pulled it off really well here.

One last note: notice how big it felt when Muertes kicked out of the 630 and when Puma kicked out of the Flatliner. Those felt like important moments because they’re not something we ever see. In other words, it’s not like the AA where you see it get two on any given episode of Raw and are then asked to believe in the near falls. Look what happens when you can use this stuff in a big match, as it worked like a charm here.

Catrina gives Puma the lick. Well at least he gets something. Catrina, Muertes and the Disciples of Death pose in the ring as the credits roll.

Since this is Lucha Underground though, the cool stuff is after the credits. Black Lotus and Cueto are packing as much money into a bag as they can before running off. They get into a car hauling a trailer, which has a small hole cut open. We actually see Matanza’s mask looking out and growling in a nice touch.

Fenix gets in his car and drives away.

Marty Martinez is in a dark room where he has Sexy Star tied up. She won’t this is so funny when she meets his sister. Martinez laughs maniacally and rocks back and forth in a creepy shot.

Angelico tells Son of Havoc and Ivelisse that they’re getting those titles back before riding off on a motorcycle. Havoc asks Ivelisse if she wants one more ride but she tells him to shut up and get on.

Drago and Aerostar meet but Drago turns into fire and I guess flies away.

Pentagon asks Vampiro where they’re going now.

Dragon Azteca puts his mask back on and looks at a Lucha Underground sign with a question mark over it.

Cueto stares into the camera as lights go off behind him. To Be Continued.

Overall Rating: A-. Well that was amazing. This is a rare occurrence where I’m sitting here watching and wanting to see more because I care about these characters and want to know where they’re going from here. That’s a feeling I haven’t had about WWE or any other wrestling company (well other than NXT) in a long, long time.

The wrestling wasn’t great here, but this wasn’t about what happened in the ring. This was about advancing the drama, wrapping up the stories and setting up more stories going forward, all of which they did in spades. The key thing here is that I WANT to see more, not that I’ll see more because it’s on next week. Outstanding stuff here and well worth checking out, either on its own or with the previous week as a bonus.

Now why does this show (the series as a whole) work so well? I could go into a long list of why, but above all else, I’ll go with because they had a vision of what they wanted to go with and ran with it. This show established itself from the start and never gave up on that idea. It never became WWE-lite like TNA or got silly like so many WWE shows became. This felt like something genuinely different and that made it feel special. I’d love to see another season of this and hopefully they can get the funds together for another one. Great stuff here and check this show out, from the beginning if you can.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Lucha Underground
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

We have arrived. Tonight is a rare idea in wrestling as we’re at a season finale, in this case called Ultima Lucha. This is the first of two shows as there was too much to contain in one show. One of the major matches tonight is going to be for the Trios Titles with Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse defending against the Disciples of Death, who I don’t remember having an actual match yet. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap focuses on Cage vs. The Mack, Drago vs. Hernandez and the Trios Title match so I’m guessing that’s what we get tonight.

Black Lotus is working out in her cage when Dario Cueto comes in wearing a tuxedo and sipping champagne. Dario talks about pitbulls becoming monsters because their masters make them hurt people. That’s what happened to Dario’s brother, but he didn’t kill Lotus’ parents. It was El Drago Azteca, Lotus’ master, who killed them and blamed Cueto’s brother. Dario leaves Lotus to think about that because he has a show to run. Lotus is so angry that she starts pounding the wall, which seems to start giving way.

The announcers run down tonight’s card, with the three matches from the opening recap.

The Mack vs. Cage

Falls count anywhere. Mack beat Cage twice in a row and then brawled around the arena with him to set this up. Cage jumps Mack during his entrance and they’re fighting early. A slam onto the roof of Cueto’s office has Mack in trouble as this is one sided so far. As I type that of course, Mack suplexes him onto the bleachers for two.

Cage is whipped through the door to a storage closet but he finds a fire extinguisher and a stop sign. Why a stop sign is in a storage room of a wrestling arena isn’t clear but Cage’s DDT onto the sign is good for two. Mack comes back with a cooler of beer and blasts Cage in the head before opening the cooler, popping some beers and hitting a Stunner for two on the floor! Striker: “THAT COOLER HAD A FAMILY!” I usually can’t stand Striker but he has just won the entire night. The beers into a Stunner were awesome too.

Cage tries to head towards the ring (they haven’t actually been inside yet) but gets powerbombed off the top and through a table at the floor for two. That was quite the crash and quite the kickout too. They head into the balcony and Mack spinebusts Cage through it for a near fall. Vampiro: “I NEED TO TAKE A SHOWER OR SOMETHING!”

Cage superplexes Mack from one side of the balcony to the other for two, which gets a bigger reaction than it probably should have, which is the sign of a white hot (or well paid) crowd. There are some cinder blocks on the balcony for no logically explained reason and Cage, just because he’s all violent, curb stomps Mack’s face through one for the pin in quite a violent finish.

Rating: B. Oh yeah this is going to be fun. The Stunner spot had me loving this and the violence was a great choice to open the show and fire up an already hot crowd. Cage continues to be one of the bright spots here and I saw some of the potential in Mack that I haven’t quite seen before. Really, really fun opener that didn’t actually get inside the ring, which makes perfect sense here: if they can fight anywhere and want to hurt each other, why would you go inside a ring?

We run down next week’s two hour card. I’m really glad about that as I was wondering how they could fit that many big matches in just an hour.

Trios Tag Team Titles: Disciples of Death vs. Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse

The Disciples (Barrio Negro, El Siniestro de la Muerte, Terce) are challenging and have Catrina in their corner. This is under tornado rules so no tagging. Ivelisse still has a broken leg and comes in on crutches to make this even more of an uphill climb for the champions who can’t get along. At least the Disciples have different color masks so it’s not another Crew situation.

The champs get jumped to start as this is already looking one sided due to Ivelisse’s injuries. Havoc and Angelico fight back and hit a dive each and the standing shooting start gets two on Barrio. Ivelisse gets dragged in though and the champs are in trouble again as she gets caught in a Brock Lock. Havoc finally makes a save as the Disciples were staring at her and laughing in a creepy moment.

Siniestro and Angelico go up towards the balcony and this can’t end well. A backdrop puts Angelico down on the bleachers, leaving Havoc to fight off two guys at once. Angelico is up though and goes even bigger this time, diving onto the two Disciples at ringside instead of in the ring for a VERY scary landing.

With everyone down at ringside, Catrina gets in the ring and holds up the stone to wake up the Disciples. Ivelisse gets in on her crutches but throws them away and takes Catrina down for a beating. The stone goes flying and the Disciples are in trouble, only to have Catrina get the stone back and blast Ivelisse in the face to give Negro the pin and the titles. That’s the first title change in company history.

Rating: C. Total insanity which loses a bit of its strength after the previous brawl but at least this was fun. Catrina having all the gold is an interesting idea and I kind of like the fact that we still only kind of know what her deal is. They told a good story here too as Ivelisse was too weak of a link this time and even the big dive from Angelico wasn’t enough to survive yet again. It makes sense that they lose and you could easily do a rematch once Ivelisse is healthy.

The announcers drink a “so refreshing, so good” beer in a totally spontaneous and not at all compensated moment.

Drago vs. Hernandez

This is Believer’s Backlash, meaning the fans at ringside have straps. Drago came back and took the #1 contendership, causing Hernandez to beat him with a strap. Then things got serious when Hernandez said dragons weren’t real. Hernandez jumps Drago to start, then easily jumps to the top rope to dropkick Drago to the floor. We get the obvious reaction as the fans don’t attack Drago but beat the tar out of Hernandez as soon as he goes to the floor.

Back in and Drago kicks Hernandez in the face to take over as Hernandez realizes he can’t go outside. Drago is fine with knocking Hernandez outside for a whipping with a good sized guy getting in a big shot. Hernandez finally figures out that he needs to stay inside and keep Drago down so he scores with an Alpha Bomb but the top rope splash hits knees. Drago tries a slam for some reason but opts for the Dragon’s tail (or whatever that rollup is called) instead.

Hernandez is all ticked off and strong and such so he Border Tosses Drago onto the fans for a huge crash. When all else fails, throw people at other people. Hernandez loads up a dive but we’ve got mist to knock him out of the air. The big blind guy crawls under the ring, leaving Drago to pull out a table. Cue Hernandez from under the ring but the fans are waiting on him with a beating. Hernandez finally has enough and takes a strap from one of the fans……so Drago pulls out nunchucks to beat the tar out of him instead. A frog splash puts Hernandez through the table and another splash in the ring gives Drago the pin.

Rating: C+. Fun main event here with Drago (who is somehow 40) getting a definitive win over Hernandez, who is one of the bigger heels in the promotion. There’s a future for Dragon as a top name in a second season but this was more about the fans than anything else. This worked, but the Trios Titles probably should have wrapped things up.

El Dragon Azteca (I think) is walking in front of the temple when someone in a white hoodie comes out. They spar for a bit before Dragon says he has to save her. The hoodie guy (apparently the one that Dragon saved at the beginning of the season) says that Puma can help and Dragon doesn’t have to go in and save Lotus because of a prophecy that says Dragon dies if he enters the temple. Dragon goes in anyway to end the show. I really have no idea what is going on with this Dragon Azteca/Black Lotus story but DANG if it’s not awesome.

Overall Rating: B+. Oh yeah Lucha Underground is awesome. They’ve set up this show all year and this was really just a glorified pre-show before we get to the major matches. The Black Lotus stuff has me really intrigued and I’m wondering how big of a story it’s going to become as it seems perfect for a cliffhanger to end the season. The wrestling here worked more than well enough and I was getting way into it after about two minutes, which is how a major show should feel. I’m hoping this doesn’t end because it’s such an entertaining show and it had a great start to Ultima Lucha.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Ultima Lucha is almost upon us and the major story is Mil Muertes casually destroying Prince Puma last week. The title match seems to be inevitable but you never can tell with this promotion. Well you can if you read the spoilers but that’s just cheating. We also need to find out who the final medallion winner will be so let’s get to it.

The opening recap covers Texano vs. Blue Demon Jr. over who really is Mexico. Not Mexican remember, but the entire country of Mexico.

Big Ryck is in Dario Cueto’s office where the boss thinks Ryck has lost focus and has been blinded by Daivari’s money. Cueto holds up the last medallion and asks what’s more important, money or power. Ryck says he can have both and gets the medallion and a roll of cash. They finally see eye to eye.

Johnny Mundo vs. Texano

This could be good. The fans chant JOHNNY ZERO but change it up to a standard Texano chant. Mundo hides in a corner like he should do as a heel before kicking Texano in the face to take over. Texano kicks him right back for two and the fans are way behind the good guy here. Johnny comes right back and heads outside for a neckbreaker onto the floor in a nice looking move.

Back in and the running knee to the head quiets the JOHNNY ZERO chants, followed by a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Texano fires off a chop. Johnny ducks a second so Texano chops him in the back for a nice spot. A Rough Ryder gets two on Johnny but he blasts Texano with a Flying Chuck for two. Texano fights back again but the Crew comes in to beat him down for the DQ.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad but they were just trading kicks to the head for most of the time. I still like Texano and Mundo looks like the biggest star in the world (see what I did there?) around here. Nice little match here but it was there to set up the post match stuff instead of anything else.

Alberto makes the save and has a staredown with Texano but they both walk away.

Hernandez is in Dario’s office (and somewhere you can hear Dixie Carter crying) when Cueto says he’s splitting Ultima Lucha into two weeks. I’m not wild on the idea but it’s all they could do given their timeslot. As for Hernandez, he’ll be on the card in a match against Drago, but since so many fans hate him, they’ll be around the ring with straps. Hernandez doesn’t seem worried.

The Mack vs. Cage

Mack pinned Cage a few weeks back so this is a chance for revenge. Cage fires off a bunch of clotheslines to start….and gets sunset flipped out of the corner for a pin in less than 45 seconds. Dang it stop hurting your big stars.

They brawl on the floor and into the crowd until Dario comes out to make a hardcore match for Ultima Lucha with their match taking place next week. Dario isn’t done though as he’s going to explain the Aztec medallions after the break.

Back from a break with Dario in the ring and a new title belt next to him. The belt has slots for all seven medallions lined up across the middle in a kind of hideous design. It’s the Gift of the Gods Title, which is good for a Lucha Underground Title match anytime, as long as you give Cueto a one week notice so he can properly promoted. On top of that though, you’re going to have to defend the title if you take your time. Now we need a first champion, so everyone who has a medallion needs to come to the ring.

This brings out Jack Evans, Aerostar, King Cuerno, Bengala, Sexy Star, and Big Ryck. Everyone puts their medallion into the belt but since there’s no Fenix, we have an open medallion. That can’t work, so let’s have a battle royal where the final two will have a regular match for the medallion. Cue the returning Fenix, who is quickly put into the battle royal. I like the concept of the Gift of the Gods Title, with the one week idea being a very welcome change.

Battle Royal

Fenix, Kill Shot, Marty Martinez, Argenis, Famous B., Mascarita Sagrada, Vinny Massaro, Delavar Daivari, Super Fly, Ricky Mandel

Remember that it’s a battle royal until the final two, when it’s pin or submission. Fenix is in a shirt over his tights for some reason. It’s a brawl to start with Famous B. Pedigreeing Mandel and dropping a legdrop. Mandel is quickly tossed and Argenis is sent out as well. Daivari kicks Kill Shot out, followed by a slugout between Famous B. and Massaro as the fans try to remember who either guy is. Sagrada monkey flips Super Fly out but eliminates himself in the process.

We’re down to Famous B., Martinez, Daivari and Fenix. Martinez and Daivari double team B. out but Fenix quickly tosses Daivari, leaving us with Marty vs. Fenix for the medallion. Gee I wonder what’s going to happen. Marty hits a quick dropkick for two and Fenix rolls outside, where Marty isn’t willing to try a big dive. Back in and a Tajiri handspring elbow drops Marty, setting up a springboard wristdrag. They horribly botch a hurricanrana but it’s still good enough for Fenix to get a pin.

Rating: D+. The best part here was they kept it quick (about seven minutes total) when there it was obvious that Fenix was going to win. Fenix is probably the odds on favorite to win the title at Ultima Lucha but it should at least offer him some better competition than this did. Not bad, but it was pretty much just waiting seven minutes before the obvious.

Fenix puts his medallion inside the belt.

We run down the Ultima Lucha card.

Here’s Prince Puma for the hard sell before the title match. He’s about to speak for the first time (really? He didn’t talk back in the day?) but Katrina and Muertes (rocking a suit) cut him off before he can say a word. The Disciples of Death run in but Puma fights them off to stare at Muertes again. Mil gets in but Puma kicks him in the face, setting up the 630 to end the show. This was the kind of thing they needed to do with Puma as it’s been one sided to Muertes so far.

Overall Rating: C+. Not a great wrestling show but a solid push towards the biggest show of the year. That’s exactly what a go home show is supposed to be and they mostly nailed it here. It’s also nice to see what the Gift of the Gods Title is after all the weeks of hyping it up and the idea actually works well. Throw in Fenix returning and Puma finally getting one up on Muertes and I’m ready to see Ultima Lucha.

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 3, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

The big story this week is the resurrection of Mil Muertes, who returned after being sent to the grave by Fenix. The rematch saw Muertes flanked by an army of skull men, meaning the demonic force is about to take over the entire company. Oh and Bael was murdered by Cueto’s monster brother. Let’s get to it.

We open with a trip to Recapville, population 2,294.

Chavo Guerrero is in Dario Cueto’s office and tells him of Black Lotus’ plan to kill Cueto’s brother. Apparently Chavo was supposed to take care of her but Dragon Azteca got to her first. Azteca must know someone inside the temple to have gotten inside Lotus’ head. The trainer has volunteered to erase Chavo’s debt in Mexico if Lotus is protected, but Chavo is willing to be hired away. Cueto pulls out money but he wants protection from Mexico instead.

Argenis vs. Jack Evans

Argenis has been out due to Pentagon Jr. breaking his arm. Before we get going, here’s Cueto to say no one cares about Argenis and Evans has never won a match here. Therefore, whoever wins here gets one of the seven Aztec medallions. Argenis throws him down to start but Jack charges at him with a clothesline to take over.

Evans’ hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb followed by a low blow, which the referee doesn’t seem to mind. Evans: “MY TESTICLES!” It doesn’t seem to be the worst injury in the world as Jack kicks him down and hits a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Something like a Kimura has Argenis in trouble but it also has him in the ropes. Back up and Argenis grabs a German suplex to send Jack outside, followed by a huge flip dive to wake the crowd up.

Jack tries to moonsault off the apron into a hurricanrana but Argenis slams him into the barricade to take over again. Back in and Argenis slams him out of the corner for two as the announcers say this is also a way to get closer to the Lucha Underground Title. Neither guy is getting there anytime soon but it’s nice to get the lip service. Evans grabs a quick backslide and bridges forward for a cool looking pin.

Rating: C+. Nice fun match here though Argenis isn’t the most polished of the faces on the roster. Evans knows how to pull off that Shelton Benjamin style where he can do all the athletic stuff but still look like a jerk at the same time. That’s difficult to pull off as so much of the high flying stuff will get you cheered.

Daivari tells Big Ryck that Cueto has given them a Trios Title shot tonight if they can find a partner. Ryck suggests The Mack but Cage comes up and beats Mack up to take the spot instead. It’s pretty surreal to see someone get beaten up with wrestling moves in a realistic locker room.

Chavo comes up to Black Lotus and says Cueto has allowed her to compete in the temple. On top of that, Chavo is going to get the key to free Matanza (Cueto’s brother) so she can kill him in front of the world. Lotus is skeptical and beats the tar out of Chavo with her martial arts. The Crew comes in to go after her as well (why? Matanza killed Bael and Lotus wants to kill Matanza so shouldn’t they be on the same page?) and Chavo nails her with a pipe and handcuffs her.

Trios Titles: Big Ryck/Delavar Daivari/Cage vs. Son of Havoc/Ivelisse/Angelico

Ryck/Daivari/Cage are challenging and Ivelisse still has a bad leg. Angelico ducks some clotheslines from Cage to start but gets hiptossed into a backbreaker for a nice counter. That’s fine with Angelico who comes back with a kick to the head and the jumping knee to the face but Son of Havoc (the BIG crowd favorite here. Must be the beard) tags himself in. Cue the argument, allowing Daivari to sneak in and get in a cheap shot. Havoc comes back with a handspring elbow in the corner and a leg trip for two. He tries to speed things up but Angelico tags himself in this time, allowing Cage to get a tag of his own.

Angelico makes the mistake of going after the guys on the apron and gets gorilla pressed into a powerslam. Off to Ryck for a big elbow as Ivelisse takes a seat in the front row. So much for the apron looking good. Daivari comes in and pulls Angelico off the apron as Ivelisse rants about never getting tagged in. Cage does the delayed vertical suplex with squats but Angelico nails the knee strikes to get a breather.

Not that it matters as a powerbomb plants him down again for two. A big knee finally puts Cage down but Ryck knocks Havoc down to break up the hot tag. Cue Texano to distract Daivari though, allowing Angelico to hit another running knee. Havoc tags himself in for the shooting star and the pin as Angelico dives on Ryck and Cage.

Rating: C. Ok, I get it: they don’t work well together and they’re constantly bickering. Is there ANY other story you can tell about this team? You can only go so far with their challengers looking inept or having someone come out for a distraction before it gets ridiculous. Nothing to see here other than Ivelisse, at least when she’s not screaming.

Chavo and the Crew bring Lotus to Cueto. Since he’s pure evil, he threatens to put her in a cage with Matanza.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Sexy Star

Submission match. Star jumps him from behind during Pentagon’s dedication to his master. Pentagon kicks her down to start and hits a big chop in the ropes, which Vampiro takes exception to. Back up and Pentagon goes for the arm but Star counters into some knees to the face. A front facelock has Pentagon in some trouble but he rolls out and drops an elbow to take over.

Star is able to send him to the floor for a dive and Pentagon comes up holding his elbow. Thankfully Star is smart enough to go after it and sends Pentagon face first into the post. This is more violent than you would expect from her. Back in and a superkick sets up a leg lock on Pentagon as the elbow is forgotten. For a very unique submission, Pentagon loads up a tombstone but ties up her legs while she’s still in the air. Star rolls into a horrible looking Fujiwara armbar attempt (even the announcers call her out on it), allowing Pentagon to escape and nail a kick to the head.

Pentagon puts on a leg lock of his own (kind of a cross between an ankle lock and a Sharpshooter) but Star makes the ropes. Not that it matters as Pentagon kicks her to the floor again, only to have Star climb the barricade for a high cross body. Back in and Star slaps on a half crab but here’s Super Fly (injured by Pentagon) to attack Star for taking his mask a few weeks back. That earns Star a package piledriver and a surfboard makes her quit.

Rating: C-. Here’s the thing: as the announcers pointed out more than once, Star really isn’t good with submissions. What kind of psychology is that? Having the face fight the heel in the heel’s specialty? That’s not exactly the best idea. Either way, not a very good match here but Star was doing what she could.

Post match Pentagon goes for the arm but Vampiro makes the save. No blows are reached though as Vampiro leaves (Striker: “Before he makes a sacrifice to the black church of the poisoned mind.”).

We cut to the back where Vampiro hears voices in his head about going to dark places. He headbutts a mirror to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t their best show, though it had some stuff I liked. The problem here is they were either redoing stuff they’ve already covered or something that isn’t very interesting. Basically they need to get the bigger names back on the show, as this stuff really isn’t working very well. The Vampiro stuff is interesting though, especially if the master is Konnan, as those two have always hated each other.

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Lucha Underground
Date: May 27, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

The big story this week is the return of Mil Muertes, who is looking like a demonic Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately Fenix is going to be the first victim on the path of rage, which is going to be made even worse as Fenix is the one that too Muertes out in the first place. Other than that we have Prince Puma defending the title against Hernandez. Let’s get to it.

We open with Catrina raising Muertes out of the casket in what looks like a trailer for a horror movie. Puma vs. Hernandez gets a bit of time as well but it’s definitely the secondary story tonight. The last clip is Mundo turning heel on El Patron.

Black Lotus arrives at the temple (in a rare daylight sequence) but Chavo stops him. His grandfather was there when Dario’s brother killed Lotus’ parents so the Guerreros hate the Cuetos too. This story is still over the top and ridiculous and I’m starting to love it.

Aerostar vs. Johnny Mundo

Star is sent down ten seconds in and Johnny goes for a chinlock with Star’s arm pinned back for some elbows to the chest. Mundo kicks him to the floor as this is a far more aggressive Johnny to start. Back up and Star spins around Johnny into a nice looking headscissors before a kick to the face and slingshot splash get two. A dropkick to the leg sends Mundo outside, setting up a big flip dive to the floor.

Mundo goes right back to slugging the masked man in the head and putting on an Anaconda Vice. After ropes are reached, Mundo kicks him in the face again for two more but Mundo plants him with a backbreaker. The End of the World is broken up so Johnny just suplexes him into the corner, setting up the End of the World for the pin.

Rating: C. This worked well enough with Mundo’s new heel persona working. However, Star got in way too much offense for Johnny’s first opponent after a heel turn. Thankfully it was just token offense with Mundo never in any real danger, but this should have been a squash instead as even as it was.

Vampiro’s sitdown interview this week is with Sexy Star, who isn’t worried about her upcoming submission match with Pentagon Jr. because she already beat him once. Super Fly is still healing and she’s ending Pentagon Jr. for him.

Lucha Underground Title: Hernandez vs. Prince Puma

Puma is defending. Hernandez easily blocks an early hurricanrana attempt and throws Puma down but he comes back by kicking Hernandez in the head. The big guy bails to the floor and Puma teases a dive to tick him off even more. Back in and Hernandez slingshots into a Codebreaker for a nice counter. It’s almost all Puma so far and a springboard cross body gets two.

Hernandez gets tired of being on defense and just nails Puma with a clothesline. It’s simple but Hernandez using such basic offense compared to Puma’s high flying is a nice touch. A running splash gets two but Hernandez poses a bit too much and gets kicked in the head. That just annoys him though and a choke suplex sends him flying. Puma’s cross body is countered into an Alpha Bomb (slam into a sitout powerbomb) and the kickout surprises the big man.

A big shove sends Puma to the floor (nice and simple again) so Konnan comes up on the apron for a distraction, allowing Puma to grab a chair to knock Hernandez out of the air. That goes nowhere so Hernandez plants him with a powerbomb onto the apron, which should completely destroy him. Instead Puma is countering a Border Toss into the barricade and landing on the rail for a big corkscrew dive to take Hernandez down.

Another slingshot splash gets another two but the 630 misses and Hernandez plants him with a powerslam. Hernandez’s splash hits knees and for once that actually hurts someone’s knee. It doesn’t hurt enough to stop him from kicking Hernandez in the head a few times for two. Even more kicks to the head set up the 630 to retain the title.

Rating: B-. I liked it but I didn’t love it. As usual, the selling here didn’t last more than about ten seconds at a time, which makes for some very quick turnarounds. That being said, the sped up matches are the norm here and almost no one selling that long makes it a lot easier to sit through. Good match and a good win for Puma, though nothing all that remarkable.

Fenix vs. Mil Muertes

Death match, which means pin or submission only and the fall has to take place in the ring, which means it was nice knowing you Fenix. Muertes, now all in black, stares a hole through Fenix and has three men in skull masks to take off his cape. Fenix tries a dive over the top during the entrances but he literally just bounces off of Muertes. Oh this is going to hurt. Muertes throws him inside and powerslams Fenix down for some right hands. He’s moving around like a zombie with superpowers, which is one heck of a B movie concept.

Fenix’s kicks are swatted away and a swinging chokeslam plants him down. He finally manages to crotch Mil on top and run down the ropes to kick Muertes to the floor. A big multiple jump moonsault drops Mil again but he pops up and nails a hard clothesline. To make things even worse for Fenix, Mil grabs a chair and caves his head in. Fenix of course shrugs it off and nails a superkick, setting up a huge double stomp off the barricade to crush Muertes’ chest.

Back in and Fenix scores with some kicks, only to get hiptossed out to the floor. More chair shots have Fenix in big trouble so Muertes throws him onto his shoulders and sprints up the steps. Fenix’s kicks have no effect and Muertes powerbombs him THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE STORAGE ROOM. We actually take a break (for I think only the third time in this series) and come back with the skull guys carrying Fenix (with the required Jesus pose) to the ring for the Flatliner and the pin.

Rating: C+. Oh yeah this worked. The wrestling obviously wasn’t the point here as Muertes is suddenly the top evil in this company. The powerbomb destroyed Fenix and made the debut of the new character work so well. Really good debut here with Muertes looking exactly like the monster he should. Muertes killing Puma and taking the title needs to be academic at this point.

Catrina, Muertes and the skull guys pose as the credits roll.

We’re not done yet as Lucha Underground channels its inner Marvel with a pose credits sequence. Cueto meets with the Crew and says El Jefe (the boss) will not be embarrassed. Someone has to pay for this and the other two throw Bael into Cueto’s brother’s cage. Blood splatters everywhere and Cueto rubs some onto his face. Did we just see a death sequence to end the show?

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid effort as they’re clearly building up a lot of stuff for the end of the season. It’s so strange to be building towards a season finale instead of a big pay per view but this is actually working for me. Muertes is awesome as a monster, Cueto is awesome as an evil boss and the heroes are all solid as well to top it off. Cool show here as they’re setting the stage for the big stuff to wrap things up, including Black Lotus as a wildcard. Good stuff.

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Lucha Underground
Date: May 20, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

It’s a big night here as the Trios Titles are on the line with Angelico/Ivelisse/Son of Havoc defending against the Crew in a ladder match. This would sound like an interesting match, but it’s even bigger as Ivelisse still has a broken leg. Other than that, we should get some fallout from Johnny Mundo’s big heel turn last week. Let’s get to it.

Standard recap of last week’s show gets things going.

Cueto’s window is still busted from last week. I love bits of continuity like that.

Marty Martinez vs. Prince Puma

Non-title. Martinez is the Moth guy from a few weeks back and is better known (work with me here) as Martin from Tough Enough like five years ago. Konnan wants Puma to treat the Moth like a joke. They put their arms around each other for a photo op until the Moth chops him down with a huge shot to the chest. Puma eats a forearm in the corner but he comes back with a springboard spinning kick to the face. They trade more kicks with Moth hitting something like a Brogue Kick for two before missing a moonsault. There’s a Blue Thunder Bomb for no cover before the 630 is good for the pin for Puma.

Rating: C. Puma is always fun to watch and it’s cool to see him get an easy win like this. I don’t remember the last time we saw Puma win a glorified squash but it was a nice change of pace. Moth looked decent and continues to show that bigger guys can work well in this company. Nice little match here.

Hernandez comes to the entrance but doesn’t come down. Konnan says Hernandez makes lambs look tough so if Hernandez wants to fight, come down here right now. Hernandez gets close to the ring but says not now like a good heel.

We get a sitdown interview between Vampiro and Johnny Mundo. Johnny says he’s here to be the best in the world and he threw Alberto through the wall to make a statement. That gets Vampiro’s attention and he puts down his notes. Vampiro thinks Johnny is jealous of Patron’s success but Johnny goes into a rant about how he was here on day one and Alberto thinks Johnny is some guy he can slap around at catering. Mundo is this promotion’s top star and this is his world, but you already knew that. Best mic work Mundo has ever done here and he looks like the biggest heel this company has ever seen. Really good stuff here.

Cueto tells the Crew to make a sacrifice of Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse or someone will make a sacrifice of them. I love the fact that Cueto is a jerk to everyone. It makes him feel so much more realistic.

Delavar Daivari vs. Texano

The chase is on before the bell as the Daivari story changes a bit. Last week he wrestled and then became rich but now it’s he’s been rich his entire life. Daivari sends him shoulder first into the post and nails a DDT on the arm into something like a Kimura. Texano pops back up by nailing Daivari on the top and hitting a superplex for a face pop. Was there a double turn that I missed? A leg lariat gets two for Texano but Daivari (who Striker calls the Golden Warrior for the third time in about two and a half minutes) rolls some Germans. Texano grabs a quick Codebreaker for two but Big Ryck comes in to jump Texano for the DQ.

Rating: C. Nice while it lasted but Striker was getting too cute with the name dropping here and it got annoying quick. So Daivari is now a heel despite being introduced like a face and wrestling a heel in his only match so far? I get that he’s a heel character but why introduce him as a face so far?

Ryck beats Texano down so Daivari can cover him for a pin, while not spilling a drop of his drink of course.

Cueto is nervous in his office when Katrina comes in. Muertes can deliver the sacrifice Cueto wants, so he makes Fenix vs. Muertes next week in a death match at Katrina’s request. The match is on and Katrina disappears like a creepy person does.

Black Lotus is walking but doesn’t know where she is. She appreciates what her master has done for her but she’s ready to kill Cueto’s brother. Chavo Guerrero comes to see the master and says Lotus will need her help if she doesn’t want to die. Chavo offers to protect Lotus in exchange for protection from Mexico, which seems to mean Blue Demon Jr. Apparently the Guerreros and the Cuetos don’t like each other. This is so over the top but it really, really works in this promotion.

Trios Titles: Crew vs. Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse

This is a ladder match with the Crew challenging and Ivelisse has a broken leg. The Crew jumps the champs in the entrance as Vampiro says he’s turned on by the idea of someone getting hurt. Bael punches Ivelisse in the jaw at ringside as Cisco pulls out a big ladder. Angelico dives onto a rusty ladder (which I like instead of the polished WWE ladders) to take out Castro and Bael but he bangs up his own knee in the process.

It’s not bad enough to prevent him from setting up a ladder but Cisco makes a fast save. Angelico knees a turnbuckle by mistake and Cisco shoves the ladder over for the sake of punishing the champs more first. A ladder to Angelico’s groin has him in even more trouble but of course it’s table time because ECW had to make that a thing for all time and eternity. Havoc is stomped down in the corner but drop toeholds Castro into a ladder, setting up a standing moonsault.

The other two Crew members get going with a double stomp to the back/DDT combination to put Havoc down but Angelico makes a last second save. They head outside and break open the window to Cueto’s office (who is shown on the phone because he just likes making carnage instead of actually watching it) but Angelico pops back up and throws I think Bael into the office. Angelico puts Castro on a table and climbs to the balcony for a huge dive but Cisco makes a save.

Havoc escapes a powerbomb on the floor but Bale dives out of the office to take him down. All three Crew members are in the ring by themselves but wait for Havoc to get back in instead of climbing. Naturally he gets in and beats them all down but has to stop Castro from going for the belts. A chair is brought in and Havoc knocks Bael silly, only to have Cisco break up the shooting star through a table.

That lasts all of ten seconds before the shooting star puts Bael through the table, leaving Castro to climb the ladder. All hope is lost so here’s Angelico diving out of the balcony AGAIN with a spot on dropkick to knock Castro off the ladder. Cueto leans out the window in shock at the crash and with good reason. Ivelisse remembers that she’s a wrestler so a single right hand shouldn’t knock her out for fifteen minutes so she climbs up, kicks Cisco down, and gets the titles to retain.

Rating: B-. This was good but the big drama didn’t work as well as it did in the initial title win as this was basically a repeat of the first match but with a ladder attached. Ivelisse was nothing here and these title defenses have basically become a bunch of insane matches instead of a regular title defense. The dive looked very cool but it didn’t have the same impact as the first.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show but again it was to set up stuff down the line. The Trios Champions are still entertaining but there needs to be a big set of challengers to take the titles from them soon. The turns tonight weren’t bad, though as I said, a lot of it feels like we’re just setting up for later. Muertes returning should be awesome though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Lucha Underground
Date: May 13, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

Another week, another awesome show from Lucha Underground. The big story here is Alberto vs. Hernandez with the winner getting an eventually title shot at Prince Puma. There’s also the impending return of Mil Muertes, who is probably going to want to kill a few dozen people to make himself feel better. In other words, this show should be great. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Patron beating Mundo last week for the right to face Hernandez tonight for the #1 contendership.

Cueto talks to his unseen brother about spending a fortune to find some medallions that will make a warrior stronger than a god. Tonight, the battles for the medallions begin.

The announcers mention a new superstar debuting tonight.

Aerostar vs. Jack Evans

Here’s the debut and someone I’m really not a fan of. Evans is one of the cockiest wrestlers of all time and the king of the unnecessary flips. The fans are behind Aerostar as he dropkicks Evan in the back to start. He puts Evans on the middle rope for his completely unnecessary (common word in this match) run across the ropes into a hurricanrana. Evans backflips from the middle rope to the apron but gets knocked to the floor for a flip dive from Aerostar, who comes up holding his knee.

Back in and Evans flips some more before kicking Star in the neck. Off to an STF of all things, which is surprising as you almost never see a submission in this company outside of Pentagon Jr. A standing corkscrew moonsault (Striker: “Ode to Blitzkrieg!” Makes sense as Blitzkrieg gave Evans the gimmick) gets two for Evans and he drops Star on his head with a German suplex.

A big hiptoss sends Evans to the floor and Star throws him into the barricade for good measure. Jack pops back up for a 450 off the same barricade to pop the crowd. Back in and Evans misses another springboard splash but catches Star on top. Evans: “EL MEJOR LUCHADOR!” (the best luchador). Star will have none of this and channels his inner Canadian with a super Canadian Destroyer for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was fun but I can never ignore all the flips for the sake of flips. Evans is a really solid heel but it was the right call to have him lose here. They’re getting somewhere with Aerostar and that’s a very important key to a company like this. Good little match here, but the flips made my eyes roll. The knee was forgotten as soon as it was introduced too.

The Mack is impressed by all the money Big Ryck has but Ryck is annoyed at their failure to win the Trios Titles. Ryck says this business is all about making money and for the right price, he’ll beat up anyone.

Fenix vs. Sexy Star vs. The Mack vs. Killshot vs. Cage vs. King Cuerno vs. Pentagon Jr.

I’m assuming this is one fall to a finish. Cueto says the winner of this gets one of the seven Aztec medallions. It’s a huge brawl to start until Fenix and Pentagon are the only to standing. Fenix takes over by bouncing to the top for a missile dropkick as everyone else fights on the floor. Pentagon comes back with a running tornado DDT before the two of them go outside as well.

Cuerno and Killshot head inside to replace them with Killshot taking him to the mat. That lasts as long as you would expect until Killshot dropkicks him down, only to eat a hard kick to the head of his own. Star comes in with a shot from behind on Cuerno and is quickly replaced by Killshot, who gets his head taken off by Cage. The Mack comes back in and kicks Cage to the floor, only to have him run right back in to help Cuerno with a double suplex on Mack and Killshot.

Almost everyone gets back in but Star’s shots have no effect on Cage. Instead it’s Fenix kicking Cage down until Mack takes Cage out to the floor. Pentagon gets back in for a few seconds before it’s he and Fenix hitting top rope double stomps on Killshot and Mack before clotheslining each other to give Cage and Cuerno two each with Cage and Star making the saves. Got all that? Cuerno kicks Cage instead of Star, who then dives onto Pentagon on the floor.

Cage slams Mack down but gets nailed by Killshot. Star grabs a rollup on Fenix but Killshot blasts the girl to put everyone down. Mack gets two on Cage off a standing moonsault (that looked cool) before it’s back to Fenix diving over the top to take Pentagon down again. Cage catches Fenix’s suicide dive in a suplex but Killshot dives onto both of them to put everyone not named Cuerno down.

Cuerno’s Arrow nails Killshot as Pentagon and Star get back in. Fenix runs in to save Star but Pentagon manages a modified Widow’s Peak to Star and a package piledriver on Fenix AT THE SAME TIME. That looked awesome but Star stops him from breaking Fenix’s arm. Fenix pops back up with a quick hurricanrana and most of a standing moonsault for the pin on Pentagon.

Rating: B. Fun match but that’s the highest a match like this can go. It wasn’t much from a quality standpoint but that’s the fun part about Lucha Underground: they don’t try to be anything more than a very fun show without the quality being all that strong. Fun stuff here and Fenix continues to look like something awesome out there.

Cueto says that the Crew is getting a shot at the Trios Titles for winning a regular tag match last week. Son of Havoc says that’s not fair as Ivelisse has a broken leg but Cueto makes it a ladder match for fun.

Katrina (looking GOOD here) comes in to Fenix’s locker room and says Muertes is even stronger than ever. He’s coming for Fenix, and that makes Fenix a pawn of death. Catrina leaves and Fenix sees men in skull masks staring at him.

Hernandez vs. Alberto El Patron

#1 contenders match and you have to win by pinfall or submission, basically making this a street fight. Feeling out process to start with Patron accepting a test of strength for no logical reason. Hernandez drives him into the corner and knocks him out to the floor for some rams into the apron. They get inside again and Patron gets two off a quick Backstabber but Hernandez runs him over to block the low superkick.

Something like a DDT and the low superkick are good for two on Hernandez but here’s Johnny Mundo to pull Alberto to the floor for a DDT before throwing him through a window and right into Cueto’s office. The smile on Cueto’s face is another great example of why he’s awesome. Fans: “WHY JOHNNY WHY???” Hernandez pins the bloody Patron with ease.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get anywhere and it was all about the angle anyway. Mundo has the potential to be a really strong heel as there hasn’t been a big bad (wrestler at least) in Lucha Underground for a while now. Hernandez vs. Puma should be fun, as should Patron coming back to get revenge on Mundo.

Mundo says this is his world as Patron is taken out on a stretcher.

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, Lucha Underground is some of the most fun wrestling you’ll see anywhere right now. They know exactly what they’re going for here and that’s one of the most important things you can have in a wrestling company. Really fun episode this week and they’re going to be ready to knock it out of the park soon with their big shows.

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Lucha Underground
Date: April 29, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We now have four champions in this promotion after Angelico/Son of Havok/Ivelisse became the inaugural Trios Champions last week despite having to wrestle twice in one night. However, we’re coming up on the season finale of this show and a lot of big things are about to happen. First up tonight we have Drago putting his career on the line against Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap shows us the new champs winning their belts last week, including Angelico’s incredible dive. Tonight’s title match gets a little time as well.

Cueto yells at the Crew for botching the layup he handed them last week. He wants to give them some real motivation and takes them into a room where they meet Cueto’s brother. We can’t see him but he appears to be huge.

Fenix vs. Killshot

They actually shake hands to start before Killshot spins out of a wristlock, only to have Fenix counter right back into one of his own. The wrist stuff gets old so Killshot dropkicks him out to the floor and nails a nice dive to take him down one more time. Killshot runs right back in for a dive of his own to take over before avoiding a running kick to the face back inside. Fenix slaps him in the face but let’s look at the announcers instead of where it goes.

Killshot counters a springboard tornado DDT into a slam, followed by rolling into a cutter for two. A quick belly to back into a Backstabber gets two on Fenix as Killshot is getting in a lot of offense here. Fenix comes right back with some running kicks in the corner, only to charge into a spinning kick to the Face. Er the mask. Fenix pops back up and puts him in the reverse Tree of Woe for a knee to the back, followed by an over the shoulder sitout piledriver for the pin.

Rating: C. This wasn’t great but Killshot got in some offense and looked good with the kicks to the face. So many people use the body kicks but Killshot was looking more like a martial artist instead of your standard striker, which worked a lot better than the same stuff you see so often around here. The other stuff isn’t bad but this looked more precise.

Cueto comes in and asks Drago for a thank you for tonight’s opportunity. He’s SO good at this smarmy jerk.

Puma is getting ready when Cueto comes in to see him too. Doesn’t he ever just sit in his office with conveniently places posters while having obviously scripted promos which only start when the cameras are in place? Anyway Hernandez comes in and rants about being put in a three way tonight. Cueto calms him down by making it a #1 contenders match.

Ricky Mandel vs. Argenis vs. Vin Massaro vs. Famous B.

These are all guys who have been injured by Pentagon Jr. It’s kind of a jobber class reunion. Not that it matters as Texano comes in for the no contest after maybe ten seconds.

The beatings go on for about ten times the length of the “match” and Texano calls out Daivari to meet him in the ring.

A fan named Marty “the Moth” Martinez comes up to Cueto to ask for a shot in the temple but gets turned down for fear of being squashed like…..a moth.

Hernandez vs. King Cuerno vs. Cage

I don’t see this going well. Hernandez gets beaten down to start and again we cut away to the commentators for reasons I don’t quite understand. A double suplex puts Hernandez down and Cuerno hits a top rope splash for two, setting off the early eruption between he and Cage. Hernandez takes a breather on the floor before getting knocked back down in the corner.

Cage suplexes Cuerno in half but Hernandez does his always awesome pull up onto the top rope for a top rope shoulder. He spends a bit too much time posing over Cuerno and gets kicked in the face by Cage, who powerbombs Cuerno onto Hernandez for two. They argue again, which seems to surprise the announcers because it hasn’t happened in the last three seconds. Hernandez hits a kind of reverse Samoan drop on Cuerno but the Moth comes in and gets beaten up with ease. Hernandez dropkicks Cage to the floor, setting up a sitout Dominator for the pin on Cuerno.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work too well. It was a messy fight with the Moth thing not really fitting, but at least they kept it quick. Puma vs. Hernandez (come on, Drago isn’t winning that title) is going to be entertaining enough, but I don’t see him as being the big boss fight for the championship.

Vampiro sits down with the Trios Champions and asks about last week. They’re all thrilled, but Ivelisse doesn’t think the cross body was all that special. The interview breaks down into another argument.

The announcers preview the title match, which is treated as the big deal that a title match should be.

Lucha Underground Title: Prince Puma vs. Drago

Title vs. career and Konnan is here with Puma. They shake hands to start before we get the “YOU CAN’T HIT ME” sequence. Drago jumps into an electric chair but headscissors the champ to the floor for a big flip dive. Back in and Drago goes after the legs to try and take away the 630 but Puma shrugs it off and hits a springboard missile dropkick, followed by a huge dive of his own.

A slingshot hilo and the Dragon’s Tail get two on Drago (I’m still not a fan of move stealing but at least it’s not done that often here). Puma charges into a boot in the corner and Drago hits a big corkscrew dive for two more. Off to an arm crank with a headscissors but Konnan’s coaching helps Puma get to the ropes. Something like a fisherman’s belly to back suplex (that’s a new one) gets two for the champ but Drago comes back with a hurricanrana for the same.

Drago seems scared to go for the big move here and the fans are calling him out on it. A big blue thunder bomb gets two for Puma and he starts pounding Drago in the face. There goes the referee though, just as Drago hits a Canadian Destroyer for no count. Cue Hernandez to spear Drago but it wasn’t clear who he was aiming for. Puma doesn’t like it but hits something like a sitout Emerald Flosion for the pin to retain.

Rating: B-. This had a good story going on with Drago being worried about going insane like he usually does but not being able to reach his normal level as a result. Puma looking worried about getting rid of someone he respected made sense and we even got some bonus stuff for the future thrown in. Good stuff.

Drago gets the big hero’s sendoff. We see him leaving with Cueto waiting on him. They’ll meet again apparently and an explosion goes off as Drago disappears. Ummm……deep?

Overall Rating: C+. Good but not great show this week but they were clearly setting up some stuff for down the road. Puma is a good champion and it’s going to be a big deal when someone knocks him off. I’m curious to see where this Cueto’s brother thing goes, but hopefully it’s not towards some power struggle.  Then again, I’ve said things like that before and Lucha Underground has surprised me so maybe it can work.

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Lucha Underground
Date: April 15, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

Tonight is a big double main event with the finals of the best of five series between Drago and Aero Star for whatever the mystery prize may be, plus Cuerno’s team meeting Puma’s team in the Trios Title tournament. Last week wasn’t the best episode the show has ever had so they could use an upgrade tonight, hopefully with more logic abounding. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Trios Title tournament, the Puma v. Cuerno title match and the Aero Star vs. Drago series.

Cueto and Aero Star appear to be on the roof with Cueto saying Star needs to win tonight. Just remember that everything has a price.

The house band plays us in.

Trios Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Cage/King Cuerno/Texano vs. Johnny Mundo/Prince Puma/Hernandez

Hernandez and Cuerno get things going in what could be a decent fight. Cuerno kicks him into the corner to start and nails a forearm, only to have Hernandez shrug it off and catch a charging Cuerno. An attempt at an Alpha Bomb is countered into a sunset flip but Hernandez just laughs at him. A gorilla press drop sends the King flying but he makes the tag to Texano.

Hernandez throws him onto the shoulder and takes Texano into the corner with Johnny tagging himself in for some kicks to the ribs. He gets to nine but opts for a breakdancing kick for number ten in a nice touch. Off to Puma vs. Cuerno in a battle of royalty. Johnny tries to come in without a tag, allowing Cuerno and Texano to take turns slapping Puma. Well they’ve got the jerk thing down. Puma comes back with kicks to the head, allowing for the hot tag to Johnny as everything breaks down.

Hernandez throws Johnny at Texano in the corner, followed by Johnny’s running knee strikes to the head. The melee allows Texano to get in a cheap shot to Johnny and slap on a half crab to the bad knee. It’s finally off to Cage, with Striker singing his entrance to the tune of Man Called Sting from WCW. Just….stop with the unfunny comedy. Leave that to me. Puma gets the hot tag and sends Texano into Cage, making him DDT his own partner. Two things in a row I can’t stand indeed.

Everything breaks down and Hernandez hits a big dive to take out Cage, allowing Mundo and Puma to break up the Arrow from Cuerno. They follow that up with stereo corkscrew dives to put everyone down. After a bit on the floor it’s Cage vs. Puma inside, but everyone comes back in for a series of train spots in the corner (like seven in a row with both teams getting in shots. The Godfather would be proud.), setting up a 450 for two on Cage. Nice false finish there.

Texano hits a Codebreaker on Hernandez but Mundo hits a top rope spear to drop him as well. Puma’s Blue Thunder Bomb drops Cuerno and everyone is down again. Texano pulls out the bullrope to nail Mundo and Puma in succession, setting up the Thrill of the Hunt to pin the champ and send Cuerno’s team to the finals.

Rating: C+. If they’re going for anarchy with the Trios Titles, they’re on the right track. I don’t mind it here as that’s the style they seem to be going for, but it’s still not something I can get into for the most part. Cuerno didn’t need to pin Puma though, unless that’s Puma’s next challenger. It also shows that there was no need for last week to be a title match.

Cueto is thrilled with the win but wants a preview of next week. Therefore it’s one member of each team in a three way match right now.

Cage vs. The Mack vs. Son of Havok

Havok and Mack try to double team Cage to start but they can’t quite get it together. Vampiro thinks we should give this to Havok because he’s a fan favorite, which is more proof that Vampiro is stupid. The Mack sends Havok to the floor but charges into Cage’s boot in the corner. That goes nowhere though and Mack puts cage down in the corner, only to have Havok come in and take him down for two off a standing moonsault.

Cage gets back up but walks into some suplexes from Mack, only to have Havok crotch him on the top. Havok hurricanranas Mack into a Swanton onto Cage for two but Mack makes the save and hits his own standing moonsault for two. The announcers talk about PCP (that would explain so much) and we get a Tower of Doom with Mack being superplexed down (Striker: “Who took the brunt of it though?” Striker…..just dang man.).

Mack rolls to the floor (BECAUSE HE GOT SUPERPLEXED AND POWEBOMBED AT THE SAME TIME YOU STUPID STUPID MAN) but Havok uses Cage as a stepping stone into a suicide dive to take Mack down. Cage heads outside so Havok can try another dive, only to get caught in a delayed vertical suplex. Ok that looked awesome. Back in and Mack breaks up Weapon X with a kick to the face but Havok drops Mack, only to miss the shooting star. A quick Weapon X (Cage really needs a better finisher for a move with that name) is enough to pin Havok.

Rating: C. Striker induced rage aside, this was a fun three way with everyone looking decent enough. Mack still stands out like a sore thumb but he’s athletic enough to get by. This was a nice preview for next week and the best thing they probably could have done. I like it better than a random brawl because wrestling is the focus here. Imagine that.

Cueto goes into a bathroom to talk to Drago, where he asks if Aero Star is going to slay the dragon. Cueto leaves and Drago…..spits up blue goo.

Pentagon is in the ring without a match scheduled. He dedicates his next sacrifice to his master and goes after the ring announcer, drawing Vampiro out of his seat but Sexy Star comes out for the real save.

Aero Star vs. Drago

Cueto is doing the ring announcing and goes insanely over the top with the facial expressions. The winner wins the series and a unique opportunities. Drago takes him down to start and puts on something like a chinlock as we see Cueto looking all sinister. Star heads to the apron and pulls Drago down by the head, setting up a slingshot backsplash for two. That’s fine with Drago who ties Star up in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick to the face. As usual, when all else fails, KICK HIM IN THE FACE.

Both guys get back up and growl, setting up a double clothesline to get a breather. Star is up first with a 619 to the ribs, followed by a dropkick to send Drago outside. Something like Stardust’s Falling Star puts Drago down but Star can’t follow up. Back in and Drago hits a quick backsplash for two but Star sends him into the corner for something like a seated senton to the back for two of his own.

The springboard splash gets two for Star but Drago kicks him back to the floor. It’s table time and Cueto smiles approvingly. Apparently this is no countout and no DQ, which is the first mention of this that I’ve heard but it makes the match a bit more interesting. Star fights back and puts Drago on the table, setting up a running springboard splash for the HUGE spot of the match.

Back in and a springboard backsplash gets two on Drago as frustration begins setting in. The fans are split here as Star gets two off a quick victory roll. Drago gets the same off a small package and they slowly slug it out as Striker compares the bottom of the ninth to overtime because he doesn’t get traditional sports either. A big kick sends Star into the ropes and he looks out on his feet, so the Dragon’s Lair is enough to give Drago the series.

Rating: B+. They saved the best for last as this was an amped up version of what they usually do. I could have gone with either guy winning here so Drago is fine with me. The good thing is either guy can go on to something else so everyone is still in good shape. Really fun stuff here as both guys looked good in matches that didn’t have to be great for you, but man alive they were entertaining.

Cueto congratulates Drago on the win and gives him his prize: a Lucha Underground Title shot. That’s a bit too tame though, so if Drago loses, he’s out of Lucha Underground forever. Now that’s how you heel it up: being evil BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Overall Rating: B. Yep they’re fine. This is the Lucha Underground I’ve come to know and love as everyone was all fired up tonight to set up the big title match next week. The cool thing about this company is they can throw enough curves to keep you surprised while also giving you exactly what you’re hoping to see out of a show like this. Good show this week and it’s nice to see them back on track.

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

Things are starting to get interesting around here again with the rises of Texano and Alberto to the main event scene, in addition to Cage fighting for the Lucha Underground Title. The big story tonight though is Big Ryck vs. Sexy Star for the right to face the Crew later. This should be interesting as they could either do something unexpected or go the logical path by having Ryck end her with ease. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Alberto and Texano bringing their feud from AAA to Lucha Underground. We also see clips of Mil Katrina leaving Mil Muertes for Fenix and the Crew going after Ryck and Sexy Star. In other words, it’s a standard recap video for the main stories.

Alberto is in Cueto’s office and the boss (the boss, not El Patron) offers him Ricky Mandell tonight. That goes nowhere so Cueto offers Famous B. Alberto wants Texano but Cueto wants more time to promote it. Patron gets in his face and demands Texano with the boss finally giving in. He doesn’t have much of a backbone most of the time.

Mil Muertes vs. Fenix

Muertes goes to meet him in the aisle but Fenix dives into a hurricanrana to take over. A big superkick sends Mil into the ring and a top rope legdrop gets two. That’s enough selling for Muertes as he just erupts with right hands followed by a great looking TKO (always loved that move) for two.

We hit the chinlock for a few seconds before Catrina comes down the steps. Fenix comes back with a kick to the ribs and another to the leg, setting up a big corkscrew dive to the floor. Back in and Fenix slingshots through the ropes into a rolling cutter for two, only to go up top and get caught with a running Codebreaker of all things. The downward spiral is enough to pin Fenix.

Rating: C+. Fenix gets better every time I see him and Muertes is really good as a power guy. This is a pretty solid rivalry and it has the easy story of Catrina. Good stuff here and one of the better matches I’ve seen in a while on this show. That being said, I still want to impale Matt Striker on a thousand kendo sticks. His stupid nicknames for everything drive me insane.

Post match Catrina gets on the apron but won’t do the (hashtag according to that nitwit Striker) Lick of Death. Muertes grabs her by the throat so she drops the stone (some thing that means something to Muertes or whatever), only to have Fenix pick it up and lay Muertes out. Catrina gives Mil the Lick and kisses Fenix. Naturally the announcers act like they’re in 5^th grade and freak out.

We get a cool video on Konnan wanting revenge while standing in the ring. Nothing is said but the atmosphere is really cool. These videos are a highlight for the company as the production looks great.

Ivelisse tells Cueto that she should be #1 contender but Cueto says win it again, but with Son of Havoc as guest referee. That’s kind of an odd stipulation.

Alberto tells Muertes to focus on Cage and to listen to Konnan. Keep that title warm though because he’s coming for it.

Big Ryck vs. Sexy Star

Winner gets a three on one match with the Crew at some point in the future. Star goes after him and there’s no effect. Ryck misses a charge though and a high cross body gets two. Star slaps him in the face so Ryck loads up the Rock Bottom, but lays her down softly and just holds the shoulders for the pin.

The Crew runs in for the beatdown and Star gets attacked as well. They start going after Ryck’s eye but he explodes out of the corner and cleans house, sending the Crew running. Ryck as a face is interesting and could go somewhere if they just let him break people.

We get a really good video on Alberto, talking about his heritage in the business and how he’s trying to live up to his father’s success. He conquered America but their disrespect made him leave. That leave one dream: winning the AAA World Title, which he defeated Texano for back in December.

Alberto El Patron vs. Texano

Feeling out process to start with Texano nailing a shoulder and spitting on Alberto. El Patron knocks him out to the floor and Texano takes a breather. Back in and Alberto grabs a hurricanrana followed by the corner enziguri as the fans are way into him. I can’t blame them as he’s a really good face most of the time.

Alberto telegraphs a backdrop worse than anyone I’ve ever seen and gets kicked in the face, only to send Texano to the floor for a big suicide dive. That’s fine with Texano as he DDT’s Alberto on the floor. We hit the chinlock (bad one too) for a bit before Texano dropkicks him out of the air for two. Alberto catches him on top with a superplex and both guys are down. They slug it out with Alberto taking over (like any good face should) and nailing a Backstabber for two.

The low superkick misses and Texano grabs a spinebuster. Texano puts him in a reverse Tree of Woe for some kicks to the back of the head, only to tear off a buckle pad to distract the referee so Texano can get in some bullrope shots. Alberto fights out of a superplex attempt and ties Texano in the ropes for a top rope double stomp. The armbreaker is countered into a Batista Bomb for two but Texano eats the low superkick for two. Texano grabs the bullrope (Striker: “The sandpaper snake!” Oh shut up already.), only to have Alberto take it away and whip the fire out of Texano for the DQ.

Rating: B. Really solid main event style match here with both guys beating the tar out of each other. Alberto looks like a star and I like Texano more every time I see him in the ring. I like that they’re tying AAA into Lucha Underground as it helps this company and gives AAA a foot in the American door, which is nothing but good. Nice main event this week.

Cueto makes King Cuerno vs. Mundo in a cage for next week. Cool.

Overall Rating: B. This show is rapidly joining NXT as the best TV show in wrestling today. The wrestling is good, the stories make sense, everything seems to be going well and I want to see where things go. Good show this week and Alberto is the kind of big star this company needs to look more legit. That cage match sounds good too so there’s a reason to come back, which is the most important thing a show can do.

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