Lucha Underground – November 23, 2016: They’re Better Than This
Lucha Underground Date: November 23, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’re in a new stretch for Lucha Underground as Sexy Star dethroned the Monster Matanza last week and became the new Lucha Underground Champion. However there’s no rest for the new champ as Johnny Mundo is cashing in his Gift of the Gods Title to get a shot at Star tonight. Let’s get to it.
Of course we open with a recap of Aztec Warfare. Also covered is the Black Lotus Tribe vs. Pentagon Dark and the Gift of the Gods Title being cashed in.
The White Rabbit Tribe is here.
Trios Titles: Rabbit Tribe vs. Fenix/Drago/Aerostar
The Rabbit Tribe is Paul London, Mala Suerte (Bad Luck) and Saltador (guy in a checker suit). Basically they’re all tripped out on drugs and acting weird. They’re also challenging because they’re making their debut here and are neither fabulous nor kangaroos. It’s a brawl to start as Striker says London’s reputation got the team this early title shot. London does a big backwards dive onto the champs as Vampiro suggests getting Striker high for a trip down the rabbit hole.
Back in and Suerte tells his partners to back Fenix up before hopping off the top and running across the ring for a dropkick. Fenix kicks Suerte in the head but crawls over to the wrong corner as the Rabbits changed places. The champs finally get tired of these antics and hit stereo kicks to the Rabbits’ heads. They unleash the dives as we see Kobra Moon watching from the top of Dario’s office. Back in and Fenix rolls Saltador up to retain at 5:43.
Rating: C-. Just in case the 1938 different references from the announcers didn’t make it clear, the Rabbits are all on drugs and tripping out. I can go for some characters with simple concepts but I can’t handle these characters where they beat you over the head with their gimmick time after time. At least they didn’t get the titles in their debut.
Moon says she’ll make Drago bow.
The Mack congratulates Sexy Star on her win but she politely declines his offer to help against the Worldwide Underground. See, she’s all independent and has to prove that she’s awesome because of bullying or something.
Dante Fox vs. Killshot
I would have expected this to come a lot later. They talk a lot of trash to start with Killshot not wanting to do this. He’s willing to defend himself though and it’s a dropkick to put Dante down. A springboard dropkick sends Killshot to the floor and that means a suicide dive. Fox shows off his skills with a shooting star off the apron, only to have Killshot grab a neckbreaker from the apron to the floor.
Back in and the slug it out, which seems to freak Fox out. Fox tries another roll but flips right into a cutter to freak the crowd out. A cross armbreaker is countered and Fox puts him on the top, only to get caught in a Death Valley Driver onto the apron for a sick crash. Selling really isn’t a thing around here though as Killshot comes back with something like an inverted fisherman’s buster for the pin at 8:15.
Rating: C+. One guy hits the other really hard and then reverse it. Fox is a fun guy and should fit right in around here, much like so many other people who debut with a backstory and just happen to be a fully trained wrestler. Killshot is still one of the better performers in Lucha Underground and this was no exception. He’ll be fine after a loss like this.
Johnny Mundo comes in to see Dario and tells him that Angelico has been barred from the building via a restraining order.
After a break, Dario comes back into his office and runs into Black Lotus. She wants Pentagon Dark and gets her wish…..in a gauntlet match, including the rest of the women who attacked Dark last week.
Lucha Underground Title: Sexy Star vs. Johnny Mundo
Star is defending as Johnny is cashing in the Gift of the Gods Title, meaning it’s officially vacant. Johnny takes her down into a chinlock to start and kicks away for two. A rollup gets two for the champ but she gets caught in something like a YES Lock. Mundo really doesn’t seem to be trying here as Star is way beneath him.
Johnny hammers away and puts her in the Tree of Woe for a bit to keep up the destruction. The comeback is knocked away with ease but Star hits a few dropkicks for two. A neckbreaker cuts Star off again though and we hit the chinlock. Star finally gets in a Backstabber for two but a Russian legsweep puts Johnny in control again.
The same comeback and cutoff kills off another minute or so as this is getting boring in a hurry. Johnny misses a baseball slide and gets kicked into the barricade for more false hope. Star stomps away until Johnny steals a fan’s crutch. The champ goes over to check on the fan and gets laid out with a brass knuckles shot. Back in and the End of the World changes the title at 11:12.
Rating: D. What a boring match. Star is the most transitional champion in the history of transitional champions and that whole standing up to the bullies idea went less than nowhere. Mundo is a better choice as champion but sweet goodness could they have made this any less interesting? Star never had a chance and they didn’t even try to hide it. Really disappointing here but that was the case when Star won the title in the first place.
The fan was Taya of course and the Worldwide Underground celebrates to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. I know it doesn’t sound right to say this but putting the title on Star, even for a week, was a big setback. It was a great last few minutes of Aztec Warfare but egads that was the end of the line for her usefulness on top of the promotion. I stopped caring about her as soon as the title match was announced and the main event made that very clear. Fox vs. Killshot is good but it’s the lone bright spot here. Maybe this was just a necessary evil but I really didn’t care about anything on here as the energy was just gone.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Lucha Underground – October 19, 2016: It’s A Big Deal Again
Lucha Underground Date: October 19, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
Things haven’t been great around here but this week will see Prince Puma facing Mil Muertes. If that’s not going to help things out around here, there’s nothing that’s going to. Other than that we’re likely seeing more in the never ending Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio feud. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at Prince Puma’s rebirth, Killshot being stalked, the Worldwide Underground vs. Sexy Star and Dario’s Dial of Doom.
Vampiro goes up to Puma for some advice but the Prince wants nothing to do with him.
We open with Dario’s Dial of Doom for the Lucha Underground Title shot.
Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. Killshot
Killshot is challenging but has a bad back coming in. Matanza is smart enough to go after the ribs and throw Killshot down onto the back. Some backbreakers have Killshot in even more trouble and Matanza shrugs off anything Killshot throws at him. Killshot goes up and has to escape a super tombstone of all things. Instead it’s a superkick to crotch Matanza into an elevated DDT. The double stomp misses though and Wrath of the Gods retains the title at 4:08.
Rating: C. I kind of like the idea of Killshot winning one of these in a glorified squash. Matanza doesn’t always have to be vulnerable and Killshot’s back injury prevents this from killing Killshot’s credibility. He’s already got a story going and isn’t a main event name so let the big name beat him decisively while he can move on.
Post match a guy with more dog tags (Former Evolve Champion AR Fox.) comes in to see Killshot. After an awkward hug, the unnamed man kicks Killshot in the face and gives him a fisherman’s buster. With Killshot down, the guy throws the dog tags on him and says Killshot left him for dead. I’m digging this story and the matches should be awesome.
The Rabbit Tribe is still coming.
Drago vs. Fenix vs. Aerostar
This is for one of Dario’s unique opportunities and that could mean anything. If nothing else it should mean a sweet match. Speaking of sweet, Dario announces AZTEC WARFARE returning in four weeks. Matanza will be entering at #1 and the winner of this match will be entering at #20, though the losers are OUT. That certainly is a unique opportunity.
Fenix is on the apron to start as they’re actually having tags. Feeling out process to start until Aerostar is sent outside, meaning Fenix can legally come in. The tags are quickly forgotten (as they should be) and things speed way up in a hurry. Fenix gets slammed face first into the mat to bust him open, leaving Aerostar to kick Drago in the corner. That’s fine with Fenix who superkicks the heck out of Aerostar, setting off the streak of dives to the floor.
Back in and Aerostar gets two off a DDT with Drago making the save. Drago puts Aerostar on the apron and Fenix on the top, only to have the latter take him out with a high crossbody. Fenix grabs his standing Indian deathlock on Drago but gets caught in a Black Widow at the same time. I know they look cool but I’m not a fan of spots where they’re clearly working together. Fenix is sent outside and Drago grabs a running Blockbuster for the pin on Aerostar at 8:47.
Rating: B-. This is the kind of lucha match that the show has been lacking. Just have three people (who happen to be the Trios Champions) go out there and fly around for a bit so the crowd can have fun. It’s an idea that worked really well before and it’s working well now. Fenix and Aerostar being out of Aztec Warfare is interesting, even though Fenix would have been a dark horse contender.
Drago is in the back when Kobra Moon crawls up to him. She wants him to bring the title back to their tribe but he says he left years ago. Vinnie Massaro of all people comes up eating pizza and saying this is the men’s locker room.
Johnny Mundo comes in to Dario’s office and STILL demands to be Lucha Underground Champion. Mundo gives Dario most of $100,000 for a shot at the Gift of the Gods Title.
Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma
Puma strikes away to start but the headscissors is broken up with a knee to the ribs. A springboard clothesline only gets Puma so far but he avoids a charge and hits two straight dives. That’s fine with Muertes who spears Puma in half and hits him with a wooden chair. For some reason Muertes stops to look at the stone though and Puma hits a huge dive off the balcony to take him down again. What a sweet looking spot. There’s nothing else that needs to be said there: he went up really high, dove off, and looked cool. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Back in and Mil snaps off a powerslam before forearming Puma out of a spinning kick. A painful looking swinging chokeslam gets two on Puma but a superkick sets up the 630 for the completely clean pin on Muertes at 8:50. I know Muertes has taken a backseat to Matanza in the last year or so but that’s still a big win.
Rating: B+. This is the kind of match I love seeing on Lucha Underground. It’s an old feud and they beat the heck out of each other with a bunch of big spots. Puma is someone who could be rocketed right back to the top of the card and this is the kind of win that could do that for him. The same is true of Muertes, who will get to rebound from this kind of a loss.
Rey Mysterio is talking to Chavo Guerrero Sr. about his respect for Chavo Jr. Sr. respects Rey as well.
Overall Rating: B. Now that’s more like it. This was an action packed show but more importantly they now have something to look forward with Aztec Warfare. That match is the kind of thing that feels unique to Lucha Underground, which is something they’ve been missing for a long time now. Then again, maybe it was the lack of Chavo as that’s always a good thing.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY6766K#nav-subnav
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground – October 16, 2016: Wrestling With An Accent
Lucha Underground Date: October 12, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
Things started to pick up a little bit last week as Prince Puma and Matanza had one heck of a match for the Lucha Underground Title. On top of that we have some new characters coming in with Ivelisse’s boyfriend Jeremiah and whoever Killshot left behind in war. We’ll also have the Gift of the Gods Title on the line tonight as Sexy Star defends against Jack Evans. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap focuses on Rey Mysterio Jr./Chavo Guerrero/Dragon Azteca Jr., Johnny Mundo wanting the Lucha Underground Title and the Famous B. saga.
Chavo attacks Dragon in the back with a chair. Mysterio comes in and awkwardly shouts Chavo’s name.
Son of Havoc/Mascarita Sagrada vs. Famous B./Dr. Wagner Jr.
Havoc and Sagrada come in on a motorcycle with a sidecar, freaking B. out for some reason. Why he’s shocked that a biker comes out on a bike isn’t clear but Famous B. is a complex guy. The bad guys slide to the floor, allowing Havoc and Sagrada to hit stereo dives. Havoc throws the mini into a hurricanrana to send B. flying and the fans are way into this early on. Wagner gets rolled up for two as he starts with Havoc but it’s quickly off to Sagrada to frustrate the Doctor.
B. comes in (rocking the white suit and tie) to take over on Sagrada because B. isn’t exactly good in the ring. A headscissors is enough to keep Wagner down and allows the tag off to Havoc. Everything breaks down and Sagrada gets to beat up B., including a pretty impressive Wasteland. Havoc gets shoved off the top though and it’s a Dr. Driver for Sagrada, allowing B. to get the pin, with Wagner’s stethoscope of course, at 5:25.
Rating: C+. They were smart to not give this one too long as it’s not the most interesting story. Famous B. is a good choice for the Jimmy Hart role though as he can go and work an easy match like this if necessary, which so many managers can’t do at the same level. I’m not sure where this story can go though, unless we’re actually getting Sagrada vs. B. at Ultima Lucha III.
The Rabbit Tribe is coming soon.
Dario’s Dial of Doom is back next week. Also next week: Prince Puma vs. Mil Muertes.
Gift of the Gods Title: Jack Evans vs. Sexy Star
Star is defending. Before the match, Evans rhymes about this being Sexy’s last match because she’s going to need a lawyer after facing the star destroyer. I’ve heard worse, like from Men on a Mission. Star hits him in the face with whatever she can but gets dropkicked back down.
For some reason Star decides to speed things up against JACK EVANS, though it actually works as she armdrags him to the floor. A running seated senton off the apron has Jack reeling but he easily takes her down for a chinlock, complete with him making her speak Spanish. Jack’s multiple flips set up a double thumb to the eyes but gets caught in some slingshot bronco busters. That’s a new one, followed by some old knees to the back for two.
With that being a bit too complicated, Star shoves him off the top and dives outside after him, only to have PJ Black springboard in for a distraction. Cue Johnny Mundo to spear Star for two, followed by Aerostar and Drago to take them out. Then it’s Aerostar interfering to distract the referee, allowing Star to hit Black low. A fisherman’s neckbreaker retains the title at 9:17.
Rating: C-. I really don’t like the WWE style starting to sneak into this promotion. This match didn’t even go ten minutes and had five people interfere, along with a kendo sick. Lucha Underground goes hardcore and violent at times but I’d like that kind of stuff to stay far, far away from the regular matches. At least Star retained for a little while longer though and that’s important.
Chavo is in Dario’s office and the boss puts him in the main event for attacking Azteca. Mysterio comes in to blame Chavo for the attack and a fight breaks out. Dario puts them in a three way match with Pentagon Dark for the main event.
Pentagon Dark vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero
The good thing here: Pentagon comes out for his match with Azteca but is told the match has been changed. In other words, there was something planned before the new main event was announced. You almost NEVER get that in WWE or anywhere else for that matter. Mysterio and Pentagon split the chants as NO ONE CARES ABOUT CHAVO. Rey starts fast with some headscissors and both villains are quickly knocked out to the floor.
Pentagon comes back in and eats a springboard crossbody as Chavo looks for some toys. That earns him a baseball slide to drive a chair into his face, leaving Pentagon to shout into the camera. A hard shot to the knee has Rey in trouble but Chavo sends him face first into the chair in the corner. To be fair, Pentagon had to expect that when he loaded the thing up in the first place. It’s just wrestling logic.
Chavo comes back in with a suplex for Rey and a lot of stomping ensues. Now it’s Pentagon getting back up and dropkicking Rey to the floor, followed by something like a monkey flip into a Codebreaker for two. Chavo can’t quite hit Three Amigos, which Striker calls blasphemy. No, blasphemy is suggesting that Matt Striker deserves to be on commentary in wrestling. A Guerrero using a Guerrero move is pretty normal. Mysterio has had it with Chavo and takes him out with a 619, only to get caught in the package piledriver out of the corner to give Pentagon the pin at 8:50.
Rating: C+. I always approve of any match where Chavo Guerrero is beaten up. Pentagon winning is a good thing as he deserves more than what he’s doing at the moment. I’m not entirely sure why we’re still on Mysterio vs. Guerrero but maybe the next step is getting Dragon Azteca on to something better as well.
Post match Chavo cleans house with the chair and crushes Rey’s knee.
Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was better here and that’s going to solve a lot of the problems in any promotion. Unfortunately, this is turning into just a run of the mill wrestling show with a theme instead of the off the wall and completely insane show that made me have so much fun with it for such a long time. I’m still having fun with it but it’s not must see anymore and that’s a shame.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY6766K#nav-subnav
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground – September 21, 2016: Not Quiet Yet
Lucha Underground Date: September 21, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro
This season has been off to an interesting start as we have Dario Cueto doing various things and…..that’s really about all that can be pinned down. Almost everything else feels like one random match or story after another but Lucha Underground has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to storytelling. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the Dial of Doom, Rey Mysterio vs. Pentagon Dark., which set up Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Pentagon and the Worldwide Underground’s issues.
Mysterio and Azteca are working out with Mysterio saying to forget Pentagon because they have their own battle to fight. Chavo Guerrero comes in and grabs a leg lock on Azteca but Rey quickly chases him off.
Dario spins the Dial of Doom and we’ve got a title match.
Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. The Mack
Mack is challenging and, somehow knowing he would be getting the shot, runs in through the crowd to go after Matanza in the aisle. A Stunner on the floor gives Mack three straight near falls, followed by a hurricanrana for good measure. Matanza shrugs it off and grabs a release German suplex. A pumphandle throw makes it worse and Cueto wants to see Mack dropped on his neck. Mack sends him outside for a flip dive but his frog splash hits knees. Wrath of the Gods retains the title at 6:03.
Rating: C+. I don’t know what it is about Mack but he’s just a likeable guy. On the surface he’s an overweight guy with bad fashion sense who can do a Stunner but his matches almost always wind up being entertaining. There’s something to this challenger of the week as the big ending should be a major name, though there will have to be some shenanigans to get them around the choices on the wheel.
Somewhere on the open road, as in somewhere in a basement, Son of Havoc is watching Famous B. commercials. Mascarita Sagrada is watching with him but here’s Mama Havoc with Bagel Bites in the most bizarre advertisement I’ve ever seen.
Johnny Mundo and Taya come in to see Dario with Johnny demanding his title shot. Dario laughs them off and says tonight the Worldwide Underground gets their rematch for the Trios Titles instead. That’s not cool with Johnny so he storms off, leaving Taya to say she’ll fight in his place.
Cage vs. Texano
Dario comes out of his office to say that the winner of this will get the ULTIMATE OPPORTUNITY. They go to the mat to start until Cage sends him over the ropes, only to get Stunned across the top. Texano gets kicked to the floor and taken down by a big man flip dive which always looks cool. Back in and Cage grabs a reverse Boston crab of all things but his rolling Germans are countered into an ankle lock. They trade some small packages for two each, followed by Cage hitting a Death Valley Driver for two more. A big old discus lariat takes Texano down and gives Cage the pin at 6:02.
Rating: C. Two power guys beating each other up for a few minutes is entertaining and that’s something you can always use. Well assuming you haven’t done the same thing for the last month or two with the matches losing any meaning they might have had in the first place. I like both guys though so this was a fun little match while it lasted.
Dario says not so fast as that was the first match in a Best of Five series. And before you ask, this was taped before Cesaro vs. Sheamus started.
Dario is in his office and opens a box containing…..a Famous B. hat? There’s also an envelope with some black and white photos which we can’t really see. Dragon Azteca comes in and asks for a match with Pentagon Dark. Dario actually says he’ll pencil it in so Azteca leaves. Ricky Mandel comes in and asks when his next match will be. That goes nowhere though as he sees the pictures that Dario had put in his trashcan. Dario gives him the pictures to get rid of him. Chavo comes in and says they need to talk.
Trios Titles: Aerostar/Fenix/Drago vs. Worldwide Underground
Aerostar and company are defending. Drago and Evans start things off with Jack having issues removing his warmup gear. Black tags himself in but Taya does the same so we can finally get contact. They trade technical stuff to start with Taya flipping out of a waistlock for a standoff.
Black comes in again and kicks Aerostar in the ribs, only to have the spaceman come back with a soringboard corkscrew crossbody. A tornado DDT is muscled over into a suplex for two but Black dives into raised boots. It’s off to Evans vs. Fenix but again Jack tags out again. Fenix pops Taya in the face with a slap so it’s Black coming in, only to get stomped in the back of the head. A mask pull puts Drago down and Black tags himself in again which causes some friction between Taya and Evans. Doesn’t make sense but whatever.
Black misses his top rope Lionsault and Taya has to throw Evans in by the hair. The champs start speeding things up and whip each other into Black in the corner as Evans is sitting on the floor with his arms folded. Black tries a springboard but Aerostar springboards up into a hurricanrana of his own. I know it looked bad with Black clearly just being there so he could get taken down but still, cool spot. A springboard Codebreaker puts Black away at 9:23.
Rating: D+. Really not much to see here other than some issues with the Worldwide Underground. It’s nice to have a promotion where stables aren’t beaten into the ground so a new one can feel fresh. Unfortunately this wasn’t the most interesting match in the world as they were doing the whole “no you fight” for the first five minutes or so. The ending helped but it’s still nothing compared to the usual stuff from these titles.
Post match Mundo runs in to help with the beatdown. Sexy Star comes out for the save and we’ll likely have an eight person tag soon.
Mysterio is in Dario’s office to say Azteca isn’t ready to face Pentagon. Dario agrees so instead we’ll have Azteca vs. Chavo with the winner facing Pentagon. As a bonus, Mysterio gets to be guest referee.
Overall Rating: D+. Maybe it’s just the beginning of the season but these first few episodes haven’t done much for me so far. There’s some good stuff going on here but this episode felt like another week with nothing to see and another “wait until next week” show. The good thing though is this promotion has shown that they know how to pick things up in a hurry with whatever wacky storyline they have next. Not a good show this week though.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY6766K#nav-subnav
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground – July 20, 2016 (Season 2 Finale): See You…..Long?
Lucha Underground Date: July 20, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’ll wrap it up here with the season two finale and the final part of Ultima Lucha Dos. That means Pentagon Jr. challenging Matanza for the Lucha Underground Title, Taya vs. Ivelisse and Rey Mysterio vs. Prince Puma in a major battle of the generations. They’ve got their work cut out for them to top what they did last year and I’m not sure they can pull it off. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of all the major events this season, which really was divided up into two parts with the pre and post Dario return. Also there’s a lot of stuff that was basically forgotten, including Aerostar being a time traveler. They really do pack a lot of stuff into this and it’s done a great job of making me want to see the big finale.
Vampiro is in full Emperor Palpatine mode as Pentagon Jr. bows to him before the title match. Pentagon has to destroy the monster that broke him but there is still fear inside him. Vampiro takes him to a room full of Pentagons, who the real Pentagon must destroy. With those imposters easily dispatched, it’s time for the big showdown with the masked master. Pentagon rips the mask off and Vampiro says he’s ready but not before changing his name from Pentagon Jr. to Pentagon Black.
Trios Titles: Drago/Fenix/Aerostar vs. Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans/PJ Black
Mundo and company are defending but there’s no Taya. Johnny gets in a backbreaker to start on Fenix and it’s quickly off to Drago who gets in a spinning DDT. Black comes in sans tag but misses his top rope Lionsault. Aerostar’s corkscrew crossbody takes Black down again and a slingshot corkscrew splash gets no count as the referee actually remembers who is legal. It’s off to Fenix who superkicks Jack before the good guys clean house, only to have the referee stop the triple dive because they’re not legal.
The distraction lets Fenix get stomped down in the corner as the champs take over. Evans comes in for a whip to crotch Fenix before a double belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker gets two. Everything breaks down again as Striker keeps talking about the referee, which has gotten more attention here than anything else. Jack’s springboard is broken up with a superkick and a Canadian Destroyer plants Johnny.
Aerostar dives on the other champs and Fenix hits a great looking frog splash for two on Mundo. A slingshot splash from Aerostar and the springboard 450 from Fenix add up for two. The referee goes down so Mundo keeps getting beaten up until his partners FINALLY help him out with a belt shot to Fenix’s head. A triple belt shot to the head gets two (seriously?) so Black kicks the ref in the head.
The champs go nuts with Chikara’s BDK’s Ragnarok (Evans and Black hold Fenix up by the arms while a running Johnny flips him forward for a big crash onto his back) but there’s still no referee. Johnny puts the title on Fenix’s face but here’s Angelico on crutches to take Mundo out. Aerostar gets back up and springboards into a reverse moonsault to drop Evans. Another crutch shot sets up a Fenix Driver (Fire Thunder Driver) for the pin on Mundo at 11:50. That makes Fenix the first Triple Crown Champion.
Rating: B. Good choice for an opener here with a group of people going all over the place with a bunch of high spots and insanity. Angelico coming out made sense as Johnny won the title in the first place cue to Angelico being injured, presumably by Mundo in the first place. The referee stuff got a bit annoying as the story came out of nowhere but then was dropped halfway through the match. Still though, good opener here and that’s why you have matches like this one.
Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Black Lotus
So Lotus mistakenly thinks Azteca’s father killed her parents and is out for revenge, which actually makes sense for a change. They start fast with some running flips and a headscissors to send Dragon down. As Vampiro says Lotus is sexy and turning him on, Azteca baseball slides her to take over for the first time. Azteca misses a flip dive but easily whips her into the barricade with some force. Back in and Dragon misses a high cross body (he isn’t the most accurate) to give Lotus two, only to have him pop back up with a roaring elbow. Azteca goes up but Pentagon of all people runs out to crotch him at 4:20.
Rating: D. I think we’ve seen our first Ultima Lucha match to be sacrificed due to time restraints. To be fair though, it’s not like this match had the biggest build in the world. This story has been kind of all over the place and the announcers can’t talk about it because they haven’t seen any of the buildup. You can barely talk about this one but Lotus looked fine while they lasted.
With Vampiro’s blessing, Pentagon breaks both of their arms. After a break, Pentagon says he’ll destroy Matanza with the new knowledge his master gave him. Now he’s Pentagon Dark and ready for anything, including taking down the monster because there is zero fear. Actually, let’s just do the title match RIGHT NOW.
Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. Pentagon Dark
Matanza is defending, Dario is in his corner and there must be a winner. Pentagon immediately hits a flip dive over the top to put the champion down. Vampiro keeps talking about the differences between Pentagon Jr. and Pentagon Dark as Pentagon knocks Matanza around ringside, including a hard whip into the barricade. An AA (not a Death Valley Driver announcers) has Matanza in even more trouble and he punches the post to make it even worse.
Some chairs to the back (including a La Parka guitar strum) knock Matanza around ringside and Pentagon whips him through some chairs. Matanza gets in a few right hands, only to be superkicked up against the barricade. Pentagon throws him through more chairs as this has been about 95% Pentagon through the first five minutes.
More chair shots to the leg keep Matanza in trouble on the floor and they FINALLY head inside. Dario: “Matanza! REMEMBER MAMA!” Matanza takes a third superkick and a running Codebreaker for two. A Backstabber gets the same so Dario is holding up the key. Pentagon wedges a chair in the corner (because wrestlers never learn) and is quickly sent head first into it for Matanza’s first major offense.
Matanza sends him flying with a pumphandle suplex and a standing moonsault gets two. Pentagon stands up after a German suplex and tells him to bring it. That means superkick #5 to the champ before a modified Wrath of the Gods (not an Irish Car Bomb Matt) gets two. Pentagon goes outside and stops a dive with a chair to the head, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to really knock Matanza silly.
Vampiro gets up and hands Pentagon a barbed wire baseball bat (the next logical step) but Dario knocks it out of his hands. Pentagon goes for Dario’s arm but Matanza hits him (weakly) in the back with the bat and hits Wrath of the Gods to retain at 11:32. The fans are NOT happy with that ending and swear quite a bit.
Rating: B. Uh what? No seriously, what was that ending? Pentagon completely dominated Matanza the whole match, shrugged off most of his offense and then gets beaten by two moves? That felt like they had no idea how to get out of this and just said “oh just have him hit his finisher to retain”. No build to it, no logical storytelling, no reason for Pentagon to lose that fast.
This match needed another five minutes or so and a lot more offense from Matanza if you’re going to go with that ending. Having Pentagon lose after a hard fought war is fine but having him lose after he basically squashed Matanza for ten minutes isn’t. If nothing else it makes your unstoppable monster champion look weak instead of like the killer he’s supposed to be. A recharged Pentagon is a great choice to give him a fight but they toned Matanza WAY too far down this time and it hurt the story a lot.
Post match Vampiro goes to help Pentagon but gets shoved away.
After a break, Vampiro takes his medicine, saying he failed.
Taya vs. Ivelisse
Basically they’re the two best women in the promotion (not named Sexy Star that is) and they’ve been feuding for a few weeks so here’s a match. Ivelisse takes her into the corner and drives Taya face first into the middle buckle ten times in a row. Vampiro keeps trying to get back into things as Taya knocks Ivelisse face first into the apron to take over on the floor.
Taya is sent into the chairs and they fight on the steps before crashing down. Back in and Iveliss kicks her down a few times before grabbing a release German suplex. A bridging German suplex gets two and there go the lights. Back with Catrina in the ring and hitting a double arm DDT drop (think a Bubba Bomb but a double arm DDT instead of a full nelson). The lights go off again and Catrina disappears, allowing Taya to hit a double stomp for the pin at 6:20.
Rating: C-. The match was fine enough but another screwy finish is a little annoying. It also doesn’t really settle anything between Taya and Ivelisse but rather sets up something for the next season, which seems to be the problem with this whole show: not a lot is actually being decided here in favor of setting something up down the road.
Post match Catrina appears again to give Ivelisse the Lick of Death.
We get a voiceover from Konnan of all people, talking about finding a new protege to train. Apparently he’s talking about Prince Puma, who gets a highlight video including beating up people in some warehouse. This turns into a quick video setting up Puma vs. Rey Mysterio.
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Prince Puma
The King vs. the Prince and I’m fine with this as the main event as it really is a dream match by Lucha Underground’s standards. Rey even has the El Rey network logo on his back for a nice touch. They start fast (of course) and it’s time to flip around a lot into a standoff. A headscissors from Rey is countered and Puma shakes his finger as we’re at another standoff.
Rey changes the plan a bit with some kicks to the head but the sitout bulldog doesn’t work. The fans cheer for different area codes before Puma bends Rey around his shoulders for a modified torture rack. Rey is able to escape and send him outside for that sliding splash under the bottom rope. The West Coast Pop gets two and a big springboard tornado DDT gets the same for Rey.
Mysterio tries a top rope hurricanrana but gets muscled up into a series of rolling suplexes (variety pack) for two. With nothing else working, Puma takes him up top for a super Razor’s Edge but since there’s no way that can happen, Rey gives him a reverse super hurricanrana for a near fall of his own. They slug it out with the fans being split on who to cheer for in a good sign. Another sitout bulldog is countered into a huge Backstabber, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. That move can’t win anywhere.
The spinning kick to the head puts Rey in 619 position and Puma actually pulls off the move steal for a change. A 450 (not a 630 Striker) gets two and I feel like I’m in a math class. Puma gets two more off a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head and goes up top. With Striker saying it’s the I’m sorry, I love you moment, Puma misses the 630 and crashes down instead. Rey enziguris him into a 619 but Puma grabs the boots and spins him into a Tombstone. That’s countered as well into a reverse hurricanrana (I don’t think I’ve seen that before) to set up the 619 and a top rope West Coast Pop puts Puma away at 26:28.
Rating: A-. I’m ok with Puma winning here as it’s basically the end of Creed: Puma is the future but he’s still got work to do to be the luchador he wants to be. This was a sweet wrestling match and felt like a main event level match. Given the way the title match ended, this was absolutely the right call for the main event as it doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth to end the show.
Puma goes to leave but Rey says these are Puma’s people and leaves him to pose.
The announcers wrap it up but Pentagon hits Vampiro with the barbed wire bat and superkicks Striker (should have gotten a bigger pop). The bat is raked across Vampiro’s head for some blood before Pentagon hits him over the back (covered in a rather thick looking jacket) with the bat. They go inside where Pentagon licks the blood and kicks Vampiro hard in the head. Pentagon says he’s the new master and licks some more blood before kicking Vampiro in the face again.
We go outside and Dario Cueto is ARRESTED. The police van pulls away as Dario lifts his head up and smiles to end the season. No really, that’s the end of the season. No other stories are addressed and we’re out for another few months.
Overall Rating: B. On its own, this is a strong show with a very good main event, an acceptable World Title match and a good Trios Title match. The only bad match is less than five minutes and I can live with seeing Catrina getting a little more physical if I just have to. I like the way they changed things up by going with the dream match for the good ending instead of having the fans boo the show out of the building when Pentagon lost. That’s smart and a sign that someone knows what they’re doing instead of just going ahead with their plan and dealing with the fans hating it.
Unfortunately, this was more than just a regular show. As soon as last season’s finale ended, this became something everyone wanted to see. There was a huge set of expectations to go with this season and it made this finale a show with a lot additional weight on its shoulders. That’s where things took a bad hit here.
All season long there were stories built, be it the big ones like Dario having a master, Councilman Delgado and everyone talking about what a big deal this was. Then there were individual ones like Marty the Moth vs. Killshot, Aerostar being from the future or whatever else you want to name. At the end of it though, all we get is this one storyline development that seems more like a teaser than any major change.
A term I’ve seen used to describe this show is “more like a mid-season finale” and I really can’t disagree. At no point did this feel like some big conclusion. Instead was much more like a show where we come back in six weeks to see what they have next. I think a lot of that has to do with knowing a third season is guaranteed though as last year was kind of up in the air, meaning they had to pack a lot into the first finale.
Overall this season was kind of all over the place. It started off with Dario and Matanza having to get back to the Temple and focused on Mil Muertes and Catrina in power but that wrapped up pretty cleanly and was barely mentioned again. The titles started changing hands a lot more frequently to keep things moving but it never felt like there was a big moment coming at the end of the season like with Muertes’ inevitable title victory. It’s still a good season but it seems like it cracked under some of the pressure, which they’ll need to fix next time around.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground – June 29, 2016: I Want To See It
Lucha Underground Date: June 29, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
It’s the last regular show before the first week of Ultima Lucha, which will run for the next three shows. You can probably figure out most of the card from here but only a few matches have actually been announced. It should be interesting to see what Lucha Underground comes up with to get us there as they have some rather unique ways of setting up matches. Let’s get to it.
The recap looks at Mil Muertes’ latest death and feud with King Cuerno, plus Prince Puma challenging Rey Mysterio for Ultima Lucha Dos.
The Trios Titles will be on the line at Ultima Lucha with Fenix/Drago/Aerostar challenging PJ Black/Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans. The show now has its own graphics to really make it look important.
King Cuerno vs. Mil Muertes
That’s quite the opener. Cuerno gets Muertes to chase him around to start but Muertes just spears him down back inside, which Striker says is like the reaper’s trident. He’s kind of a weird guy. Muertes fires off some chops, which Striker say are designed to disorientate your opponent. I thought they were designed to hurt your opponent’s chest but that’s just me. A chokeslam gets two for Mil but Cuerno comes back with a running knee and dropkick to set up the big dive through the ropes.
The referee gets taken out as well so Cuerno grabs a chair. Of note here, Striker talks about some soldiers being in the crowd and then calls the bumped referee a casualty of war. Bad choice of words there. Muertes no sells a chair to the head and blasts Cuerno with a clothesline. The chair to Cuerno’s back makes it even worse but Mil misses a charge and goes head first into the chair in the corner, allowing Cuerno to grab a rollup (and the ropes) for the pin at 4:30.
Rating: C+. Striker driving me up the wall aside, this was a good enough brawl to set up the pretty obvious gimmick rematch at Ultima Lucha. Cuerno has always been one of my favorites around here so it’s cool to see him getting a push and the biggest win he’s ever had in the promotion, though I’m sure he’ll get destroyed in the rematch.
Taya and Ivelisse come in to see Dario and get catty with each other from the start. Dario makes a match between them for Ultima Lucha to see who the baddest woman is. As they’re leaving, Catrina comes in and calls Ivelisse a little girl. Apparently Muertes wants a rematch with Cuerno at Ultima Lucha but Dario lists off everything Catrina and Muertes have done to him. Catrina doesn’t care and asks for it to be a death match. Dario actually agrees and Catrina disappears. Dario: “Women.”
Prince Puma vs. Dragon Azteca Jr.
This should be good. Rey Mysterio is out with Azteca. They start fast (of course) by running the ropes with Puma missing a kick to the head and a standing moonsault before they trade armdrags. Striker begs Vampiro to help him with this play by play but he gets a break as the guys shake hands off a standoff. Dragon slaps him in the face and they run the ropes again with both guys sliding to the floor. Azteca runs back in for a suicide dive but gets caught on Puma’s shoulders (surprising power display) and sent back first into the post.
Back in and Dragon’s middle rope hurricanrana sends Puma flying and a springboard hurricanrana takes him off the middle rope. A running forearm to the jaw staggers Puma again, allowing Dragon to hit his pop up DDT (the DDTJ) for two. Back up and Puma pulls Dragon off the middle rope into a Blue Thunder Bomb followed by some rolling suplexes for two. The 630 is broken up as Puma gets crotched and a super victory roll gets two for Dragon. Puma kicks him in the back of the head and a Michinoku Driver gets two more. A dropkick sets up the 630 to finally put Dragon away at 8:44.
Rating: B+. Really awesome stuff here and that’s all it was going to be. Azteca has hit the ground running in Lucha Underground and this does a good job of setting up Puma vs. Mysterio. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much to set up Azteca vs. Lotus, which isn’t the strongest feud in the first place. Still though, great match.
Post match Puma says that’s Mysterio at Ultima Lucha.
Here are Son of Havoc, the Mack, Cage and Texano in the ring for a chat with Dario. The boss has plans for the four of them for Ultima Lucha: the Unique Opportunity Tournament. The winner will receive the most unique opportunity that he’s ever offered so give it everything you have. The tournament starts next week but he thinks they should get a start right now so the brawl is on.
We run down the Ultima Lucha card. Those graphics really do add something.
Johnny Mundo vs. Fenix
Mundo flips off the crowd to make it clear that he is in fact the villain. Thanks for pointing that one out for us chum. Fenix starts with an early rollup attempt before a standing moonsault gets two. Mundo takes him into the corner for some choking, only to get chopped over and over and over. A quick C4 gets two for Mundo and we hit a double arm crank with a chinlock. Mundo spinebuster him for two and Taya gets involved with some choking.
Fenix superkicks him off the ropes though and dives out onto Johnny and Taya at the same time. We get a Super Calo reference before Striker says this is the fight of Fenix’s life. I’d think the Muertes match where he won the title was a bit bigger but who am I to argue with Striker. Fenix gets two more off a sunset bomb but Taya grabs his foot so Johnny can kick him in the head. The End of the World misses as Taya puts the Trios Title belt on the apron. Fenix is right back up and chopping Johnny on the top, setting up a super C4 for no count as Taya has the referee. A belt shot puts Fenix away at 7:53.
Rating: B-. I’m not wild on the WWE style finish but at least it fits Johnny’s character to perfection and helps set up the Trios Titles match at Ultima Lucha. Johnny and Taya are perfect together and you could see them being a thing in real life which always helps. Fenix has very quietly become one of the best performers in this company and it’s always fun to see him in the ring.
Post match the other four members of the trios come out for the big brawl with Ivelisse following them to go after Taya. A huge brawl ends the show with the good guys (and Ivelisse) cleaning house.
Overall Rating: B+. Good wrestling and a VERY strong build towards Ultima Lucha makes this an awesome show. I love the fact that it’s a three week show, basically guaranteeing that the matches don’t have to be as rushed as they were last year. I’m looking forward to the show more than ever now and that’s exactly how I should feel with a week to go. Really well done here as I’ve come to expect from this promotion.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground – June 8, 2016: Well That Escalated Quickly
Lucha Underground Date: June 8, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro
We’re coming off a big show last week where Prince Puma came close to turning heel without actually doing it and Cage came very close to defeating Matanza for the Lucha Underground Title. With Cage’s shot out of the way, it’s time to crown a new Gift of the Gods Champion in a process that may begin tonight. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Jack Evans vs. dragons, Cortez Castro and Joey Ryan as undercover cops and the fall and rise of Pentagon Jr.
Black Lotus comes in to see Dario Cueto and tells him that Dragon Azteca. Jr. knows where Matanza is kept. She stopped him from killing Matanza but if Dario is lying about what happened to her family, she’ll have to deal with everyone. Dario brings up Ultima Lucha Dos and says she’ll be facing Dragon Azteca Jr. so her parents can finally rest in peace.
Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us to the show and tell us that Ultima Lucha is in four weeks.
Tonight there will be a six on six tag match and the winners will face each other in a six way match next week, perhaps for the Gift of the Gods Title?
Marty Martinez vs. Killshot
Before the match, Marty taunts Killshot with the stolen dog tags and earns himself a quick beating. It actually only lasts a few seconds until Marty comes back and pounds Killshot’s head into the barricade before laughing like a crazy man. The referee stops the count for no apparent reason but a whip into the announcers’ table is enough to end this at 1:14 in a double countout.
Killshot, still with his gear on, kicks Marty’s legs out from underneath him and gets the dog tags back. Apparently he’s not that bright though as Marty sneaks up on him and takes the tags away again.
Castro and Ryan go in to interrogate Cisco with Ryan as the bad cop. The lieutenant comes in to say Cisco should just confess now. When that’s refused, the lieutenant also offers to wear a wire. Apparently Cueto is accused of drug trafficking, money smuggling and murder. On top of that though, she thinks he’s the lynchpin to the end of days. Well that escalated quickly.
Jack Evans/PJ Black vs. Aerostar/Drago
This is a nunchuck match, meaning there are a bunch of them hanging around the Temple for use though you win by pinfall or submission. Evans insists on being introduced as the Dragon Slayer. Striker says we can add these four names to a list including Daredevil, Moon Knight and Michelangelo. Aerostar and Black fight to the floor but Aerostar quickly comes back in to be catapulted into a sunset flip, only to launch Evans into a clothesline.
A double slam gets two on Jack but PJ gets in a brainbuster on Drago for no cover. Evans springboards into a double stomp on Aerostar’s back and it’s time to go after the weapons, only to have the good guys coming in for the quick save. Evans holds the ropes open so Black can dive on both of them, followed by a moonsault to take them out again.
Jack gets the first set of nunchucks from above the entrance and it’s Aerostar taking the first beating. Drago kicks Evans in the head though and grabs another set of nunchucks to take over, followed by a running flip dive to drop the villains. They wind up on top of Dario’s office (that must drive him crazy) but Jack would rather dive off onto Black to avoid taking a beating from Aerostar…..who dives down to take them out anyway. Well that works too. Back in and Drago just beats the fire out of Jack with the nunchucks and blows mist into his eyes, setting up the Dragon’s Tail for the pin at 7:57.
Rating: C+. This depends on your taste as it was mainly about the weapons, which really didn’t do a lot for me. They certainly looked and sounded cool but I could have gone with more wrestling instead of just the violence. At least that Aerostar dive looked awesome. It wasn’t a bad match and certainly wasn’t boring but it really didn’t do anything for me for the most part.
Prince Puma/The Mack/Texano/Sexy Star/Son of Havoc/Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Fenix/King Cuerno/Ivelisse/Taya/Johnny Mundo/Chavo Guerrero
The winning team will face off next week with the winner of that getting the Lucha Underground Title shot at Ultima Lucha Dos. Actually hang on a second as here’s Pentagon Jr. in a wheelchair to say that Chavo was the only one who helped him but now it’s time to destroy Chavo. Pentagon gets up and throws him into the apron and superkicks him down before breaking his arm.
Back from a break before the bell but we’re still not ready as Dario and Black Lotus come out. Dario asks if the fans want Pentagon to take Chavo’s place and is of course told yes. That’s fine with Dario but he warns Pentagon of the long term consequences. Pentagon has no fear so ring the bell.
Prince Puma/The Mack/Texano/Sexy Star/Son of Havoc/Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Fenix/King Cuerno/Ivelisse/Taya/Johnny Mundo/Pentagon Jr.
One fall to a finish. Star sneaks up on Taya with a quick rollup for two and spins out of a hair drag with a cartwheel. Taya is sent outside for a tag off to Ivelisse, who gets to face Son of Havoc. A few kicks and a small package get two on Havoc and it’s time for a staredown. Pentagon tags himself in and the fans are far more interested in a hurry. Mack comes in and misses a charge, allowing Pentagon to kick him in the ribs.
A Backstabber out of the corner drops Mack again for no cover as Pentagon would rather hit a LOUD chop up against the ropes. Fenix comes in with a missile dropkick for two on Mack but he just runs Fenix over with a Pounce. It’s off to Mysterio but his head is kicked into the third row by Cuerno. Somehow this match hasn’t been as insane as I was expecting. Rey comes back with a bulldog for two but Mundo (still in his sunglasses) makes a quick save.
Texano throws Rey into a hurricanrana before getting two on Cuerno off a middle rope leg lariat. An armdrag allows the tag off to Mundo (who Vampiro mistakes for Taya) and it’s Taya coming in to save him from a superplex. That’s fine with Texano as he sends her face first between Mundo’s legs to put them both down. Puma comes in but Johnny throws him into his partners as things start breaking down.
Cuerno hits his suicide dive to take out Texano, leaving Taya to miss a charge at Ivelisse and go into the post. Star dives over the top and onto a big pile, followed by Ivelisse doing the same. Pentagon and Mack chop it out inside until Mack exploder suplexes him outside. Now it’s Mack diving over the top to take Pentagon out followed by Puma flip diving onto too many people to name.
Fenix dives onto all of them as well but Rey’s attempt is broken up by Mundo. Puma starts firing off some kicks to Johnny, setting up Rey’s 619, only to have Mundo send Rey into Puma in the corner. A super Spanish Fly plants Puma for the three count at 12:55, sending his team to the #1 contenders match next week.
Rating: C+. They actually kept this from getting too insane and the match was easy to follow as a result. You knew Pentagon’s team was getting the win here as it’s clear he’s going to get a big match at Ultima Lucha, perhaps even the title match itself. The match was good enough though and it set up something interesting for next week, which is all this needed to do.
Catrina is in King Cuerno’s office and uses the stone to bring King Cuerno back to life again.
Overall Rating: B. Hitting the build towards Ultima Lucha Dos is the best thing they could have done as the shows were just kind of going week to week with no real goal in sight. Now things are starting to wrap up this season and it has the potential to be one heck of an ending, especially with Mil Muertes coming back to be all evil and unstoppable again. Good episode this week and a good way to set things up as the series comes to a close.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Lucha Underground Date: April 20, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro
We’ve reached one of the biggest matches (or at least fights) in the history of Lucha Underground as Matanza will defend his Lucha Underground Title against Mil Muertes, the only one who could potentially hurt the monster champion. We’ll also see some more in the trios tournament. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap talks about the tournament and tonight’s title match.
Dario has Fenix, Drago and Aerostar in his office and makes them a team in the trios tournament because that’s the kind of guy he is. Actually not so fast though as they were in last year’s tournament and lost, so this year Fenix will team with PJ Black and Jack Evans to face the Disciples of Death. Drago and Aerostar can fight over an Aztec medallion.
Aztec Medallion: Drago vs. Aerostar
They start fast (duh) with Drago’s half crab being reversed into some near falls. That turns into a fight over a wristlock with Aerostar knocking the arms away a little bit more intensely than he should to a buddy. Aerostar backflips off the ropes but gets caught with a kick to the chest, followed by a springboard wristdrag as the fans are behind Drago. Well for now at least as the Lucha Underground fans change directions faster than a fish swimming towards a funhouse mirror.
Aerostar tries a dive but crashes to the floor, allowing Drago to send him into the barricade to make things even worse. Back in and Aerostar (now being cheered) sends him outside for a big dive, only to further bang up his already injured knee. Drago throws him over the top and down onto his feet, followed by a big flip dive. Aerostar’s knee is still banged up as an Orton hanging DDT gets two for Drago.
That’s no sold (because lucha) and it’s Aerostar popping up with a springboard dropkick, followed by the walking across the middle rope. Amazingly enough that extra time lets Drago get up and shove him away. Drago wins a quick slugout but Aerostar springboards into a Codebreaker, followed by a springboard splash (with a salute) for the pin on Drago at 6:08.
Rating: C+. This is Lucha Underground 101 with limited selling, basically no psychology and pure fun with both guys doing fun stuff and high spots to win a prize. Not everything needs to be the big epic showdown as sometimes you just need to have a fun, fast paced match that means very little for the moment.
Johnny Mundo is working out when Taya comes in to tell him he looks good. She’s told Dario to give him an Aztec Medallion so Cueto has given him a match……against Cage. That should be a lot of fun. Johnny isn’t worried because Taya will be there. Actually not so fast again because it’s a cage match. Johnny panics but insists he’s not worried.
Trios Tournament First Round: Disciples of Death vs. Jack Evans/Fenix/PJ Black
This is the final first round match so maybe we’ll get some brackets, even though only two other teams have won. Black and Trece (these guys are harder to keep straight than the Crew) start things off with PJ grabbing a wristlock. He won’t tag Fenix and Jack thinks PJ is doing just fine on his own though so he superkicks Trece to stay in control. Fenix springboards in to take out Trece but Sinestro does the same to drop Fenix as well.
That’s fine with Fenix who dives over the ropes to take out Sinestro again before it’s off to Evans for a kick to Trece’s ribs. Well it should be at least but Sinestro crotches Jack against the post. Black gets beaten down in the corner until Sinestro lets him roll away for the hot tag off to Fenix. A sweet looking springboard dropkick sends Sinestro into the corner for a baseball slide but Catrina holds up the rock.
That sets up a big superkick for two, followed by a PerfectPlex for the same. Since these Disciples are a bunch of goons though, Fenix drops all of them with some strikes, allowing Evans to tag himself in and start with the springboard flippy kicks. Evans, ever the braggadocios one, spends too much time celebrating and gets triple kicked in the chest.
A kind of flapjack gets two for Barrio but it’s off to Black for a springboard 450 and a near fall. Fenix and Black get into it for no apparent reason though, only to have Evans tag himself in and promise to show Fenix how it’s done. That means a big flip dive, leaving Fenix to hit a 450 of his own for the pin on Barrio at 9:11.
Rating: B-. Better than the first match but nothing close to the awesome stuff in last week’s tournament match. Evans and company are a fun trio and the Disciples are a bunch of worthless goons who can lose something like this and go nowhere as a result. Another fun match here and a good place to wrap up the first round.
Ivelisse, Son of Havoc and Angelico are in Dario’s office and are informed that they’re in the tournament…..which is for the Trios Titles. They’re already in the finals though, meaning they get to defend in a fourway title match next week.
The Disciples of Death teleport into Catrina’s office where she yells at them for failing again. She wants one good reason to not destroy all of them. Now stay with me here: Sinestro REACHES INTO THE OTHERS’ CHESTS AND RIPS OUT THEIR BEATING HEARTS! Barrio and Trece disintegrate and Sinestro gets some gauntlets. I’ll be back in a minute as my jaw finds its way back off the floor.
Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. Mil Muertes
Matanza is defending and this is going to be a war. The fans are behind Muertes because it’s either that or being behind a glorified serial murderer. They slug it out to start with Muertes pounding him down to the mat for the first time ever and a HUGE reaction as a result. Dario tells the champ to do it for the family so Matanza sends him into the buckle and hits a hard clothesline to drop Mil. A snap powerslam puts Matanza down again but he grabs Muertes by the throat.
Back up and Muertes fires off a string of clotheslines in the corner but Matanza stops him with a raised boot. Rolling gutwrench suplexes put Muertes down until he flips out of the third and flips Matanza over the top. A suicide dive puts Matanza down again and he’s holding his knee. Dario goes after Muertes and gets choked in the air until a limping Matanza makes the save.
Catrina hits Matanza in the head with the stone and now it’s Muertes making the save with a chair to the back. Some metal can shots to the back have Matanza in trouble until he takes it away and hits Mil in the head. They fight up the steps and on top of Dario’s office and tease throwing each other off to no avail. Instead Mil loads up the Flatliner…..AND THEY GO THROUGH THE ROOF to end this in a no contest at around 7:15.
Rating: B. Oh yeah that worked. I was totally into the fighting and battle of titans here with both guys beating the tar out of each other. I’m assuming this was cut short due to a combination of the knee injury (may or may not be legit of course) and wanting to save the required rematch for a bigger stage. The ending made my eyes bug out though and it was a lot of fun throughout. Good stuff here, as expected.
We go back to the police station where we see a DECEASED poster for Bael and MISSING posters for Alberto Del Rio, Hernandez, Big Ryck and Blue Demon. Now that’s a nice touch. The captain is looking around when Councilman Delgado (as portrayed by Hollywood actor Lorenzo Lamas) comes in to tell her to stay out of his territory. He’s from Boyle Heights and his employer (apparently someone much more powerful than the mayor) wants her to drop the case against Dario.
Overall Rating: A. This show was a blast and everything I love about Lucha Underground. Here’s the biggest thing about it though: those posters at the end. How many times do you see someone leave a wrestling company and then never get mentioned again? Lucha Underground just flat out said “yeah these people are gone” and then tie it into the big overarching story. That’s the kind of thing that makes this promotion so much fun and it’s always worth watching.
The key word for this whole place is fun. Whether it’s a match like the opener or a fight like the main event, there’s almost always something going on around here that is going to entertain you. I’ve yet to be bored by an episode of Lucha Underground and this was one of the most entertaining episodes they’ve ever done. I had a blast with this and I’m really interested in seeing where things are going in the rest of the season.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Lucha Underground – February 24, 2016: The Hunt Is On
Lucha Underground Date: February 24, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’ve actually got a big match set up for this week as we have Johnny Mundo vs. Cage in a match that could go a long way towards crowning a new #1 contender for the title. Other than that the interesting thing could be seeing what kind of new backstory we get for this place, which have been some of the more interesting things int his season. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Mundo and Cage challenging Mil Muertes before fighting each other, along with Texano coming back to go after Chavo Guerrero and the Crew.
Pentagon Jr. kneels before his master, who talks about the split between Vampiro and Ian. We see a recap video of Vampiro becoming Pentagon’s master and their match from Ultima Lucha. They’re still together now and no one can stand in Pentagon’s way, not even her, whoever that is.
Jack Evans vs. PJ Black
Evans does his own intro and further ticks off the fans, including speaking in rhyme while promising to take out Drago if he comes anywhere near this match. Jack’s office of a handshake is of course a ploy and he gets sent into the corner but PJ misses a charge. Something like a lifting German suplex gets two for Black and a nice vertical suplex gets the same.
The fans keep telling the referee that the near falls were three’s because they want to see Jack lose so badly. Striker: “As Jack gets Kerouac’ed it’s PJ Black on the attack.” Vampiro threatens to steal Striker’s notes as Jack does a corkscrew kick to the head, drawing Drago to look down from the balcony. Evans tells Drago to come get him but the distraction lets Black throw him into the air for something like a one man 3D. Somehow it only gets two so here’s Drago to accidentally mist Black, setting up the rollover backslide to give Jack the pin at 3:53.
Rating: C-. Evans is such a natural heel and he’s really starting to grow on me. Black continues to be a guy who isn’t doing much for me, which has been the case since he left the Nexus all those years ago. The Drago stuff could be interesting and this likely sets up Drago vs. Black, possibly with the winner facing Evans in a rematch. The wrestling here wasn’t great but it was good storytelling and that’s more important.
Johnny Mundo workout video.
Famous B. video with the theme of a used car salesman. “I’ll turn you from a jobber to a robber.”
King Cuerno vs. Killshot
Non-title which makes Striker curious about why Cuerno won’t defend the belt. Killshot quickly sends him out to the floor for a dive, followed by a big running kick up against the apron. Killshot has to bail out of another dive so Cuerno hits one of the loudest superkicks I’ve ever heard. There’s the Arrow to drop Killshot but he’s still able to win a battle of kicks to the head.
They head to the apron with Killshot bringing Cuerno down with what looked like a semi-botched cutter. Back in and they trade more loud kicks to the face (Vampiro: “I haven’t seen something like that since Puerto Rico.”) until Killshot reverses a Tombstone into a wheelbarrow gutbuster. Cuerno avoids a top rope corkscrew moonsault though and the Thrill of the Hunt puts Killshot away at 5:30.
Rating: C. I’m still not getting much out of Killshot but it was good to see Cuerno continue to look dominant. This is one of those things that Lucha Underground does so well despite having a limited roster. Instead of having people interact before a big match, the contact between Fenix and Cuerno in this case has been minimal. You know the rematch is coming but they haven’t been fighting or even talking to each other. In other words, save it for the ring.
Cuerno stays on him after the match but Fenix runs out for the save, sending Cuerno running away as fast as he can.
Mil Muertes is Luchador of the Week.
Texano vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr./The Crew
Gauntlet match with Cisco starting things off, which includes a superkick for the pin in about 20 seconds. That was barely enough time for Striker to get in a Lieutenant Loco reference. Cortez is in next and has some more success with a few running shots in the corner. A clothesline gets two on Texano but he comes back with a pop up sitout powerbomb to get rid of Cortez.
Chavo comes straight in with a rollup for two and Texano is suddenly in trouble. The fans think they’ve seen this stuff before until Texano comes back with a superkick to the ribs. Castro gets back up though and trips Texano with his bullrope to give Chavo the pin at 5:45 total. The Rude/Warrior ending always works.
Rating: D+. Texano really needs a better opponent than Chavo. I mean, Chavo will be fine in the ring but this whole “Mexico is mad at you” thing isn’t really working all that well. Granted some of it probably has to do with the fact that it’s Chavo Guerrero who is as by standard (yet talented) as they come.
We go back to Black Lotus and Dario Cueto, still 375 miles from Boyle Heights as they make sure Matanza is ready to fight. Cueto talks about Matanza saving his life from their evil mother. One day Dario stood up to her but he wasn’t strong enough to back up his words. Matanza saved him by beating her to death with a bull statue, which Cueto has with him. That’s a happy memory for Cueto because it taught him just how much he loved violence.
Catrina is walking through the back when Pentagon shouts to her from a spare ring. He wants Prince Puma, so Catrina teleports to the ring and says he gets nothing after injuring Mil Muertes. Pentagon loads up her arm for a break but more teleporting saves Catrina. She says Pentagon can have the match next week but putting his hands on her was the worst decision he ever made.
Cage vs. Johnny Mundo
Mundo slaps him in the face to start so Cage drives Johnny into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. The fans call him JOHNNY ZERO as Mundo flips away from Cage, only to get hiptossed into a backbreaker. Johnny has to kick Cage in the head to escape a superplex attempt and sends him outside for a big flip dive. Back in and Johnny rides him on the mat for a bit, only to get caught in a sitout Alabama Slam for two. This heel speed vs. face power is working for the most part even though it’s not something you see that often.
A sitout faceplant gets two more on Mundo, who grabs a rollup with his feet on the ropes for a near fall of his own. The Lucha Destroyer (cool name for the F5) gets two more for Cage but Johnny pops up with a Flying Chuck. A discus lariat drops Johnny again but here’s the debuting Taya Valkyrie to distract the referee, allowing Mundo to sneak in a pipe and knock Cage out for the pin at 7:57.
Rating: C. The story worked well enough here and the debut at the end is at least an improvement over Melina showing up in the Alberto match at Ultima Lucha (Did we ever get an explanation for where she went?). Cage is basically Ryback with a bigger moveset, which means I’m not really surprised that he lost here.
Post match Taya gives Cage two running knees to the chest in the corner and hugs Mundo.
After the credits, Cuerno (again looking ridiculous as a cowboy) comes in to see Catrina and says he wants his title match next week. Catrina says not so fast because he has a title defense against Fenix in a ladder match.
Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as the wrestling was mostly dull but they did a really good job of setting up stuff for next week. Cage vs. Mundo was fine and the rest of the show was watchable enough but there was nothing on here that really jumped off the page at me. It’s cool to see Dario back but I’d like to see some of these things actually coming together. It does help though that we’re getting a big match next week and there’s enough stuff they didn’t cover here to make me wonder what we’ll get next week.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Lucha Underground – February 10, 2016: Embracing The New Reality
Lucha Underground Date: February 10, 2016 Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
We’re getting a good start to this new season and it’s interesting to see where some of these stories could go. Last week however saw the debut of Rey Mysterio, who still has to actually appear inside the temple. That could act as a game changer for the promotion as all of a sudden they have a major name who could bring in some outside audiences. The question though is what does Rey do once he gets in the ring. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of King Cuerno winning the Gift of the Gods Title from Fenix in the season premiere, along with his apparent deal with Katrina.
Vampiro is VERY fired up about the show tonight. Like, moreso than usual.
Kobra Moon vs. Bengala
Bengala was a late addition to the roster last year and looks to have gained about fifty pounds. Moon is a woman in a blue mask who looks like a cross between a snake and a peacock. She slithers around a lot and draws a MAMACITA chant. An early headscissors sends Bengala out to the floor and a slingshot hurricanrana drops him again.
Some kicks and a knee strike stagger Bengala but he comes back with a horrible looking spinwheel kick. A low superkick to Moon’s hands gets two but she gets her knees up to stop a big fat moonsault. Moon grabs a dragon sleeper for the tap at 2:47. Bengala looked horrible out there and it screwed up a lot of what Moon could do.
Fenix demands that Katrina give him Cuerno tonight. She warns him that even a thousand lives will run out eventually but the match is granted.
With nothing else going on, let’s head a thousand years into the past. A man is standing by a fire and talking about how the seven tribes are at war. It will take the gods to reunite them, but they won’t return for a thousand years. Therefore, the man speaking (revealed to be Aerostar in what looks like a superhero costume), will be heading off to find them. Aerostar flies off (of course he does) and disappears, presumably off to the future to bring the gods back.
THIS is the reason Lucha Underground works. They don’t just make up some dumb idea and then stop it halfway through. Instead, they took a guy who looks like a superhero and turned him into a flying time traveler from a thousand years ago (in theory) who is here to bring back the Aztec gods for the sake of saving the seven tribes. I have no idea what any of that means or how it works but DANG it sounds cool. Of course it’s no “Dolph Ziggler is a showoff who steals the show!” but it’s not bad.
Cuerno is working out when Katrina comes in to say he failed. The King says he did his job and wounded Fenix, but Katrina says that even the best hunter would fall to Mil Muertes. Katrina tells him to kill the Fenix once and for all tonight in a last luchador standing match. Non-title of course.
Jack Evans vs. Drago
Striker is freaking out over the match before the bell rings. They fight over a lockup to start and Jack misses a running kick to the face as well as a standing corkscrew moonsault. Back up and Jack slugs away with some shots to the head. Striker: “Right in the ear! If Dragons have ears!” A spinebuster drops Evans but he bites Drago’s hand to get a breather. That draws some rare booing from the crowd but at least we’ve got a clear heel. Drago charges into a boot in the corner and Evans cartwheels into an elbow to the face before just raking the eyes.
Jack tries to go up but gets superkicked right back down for two. They head outside so Dragon can hit a huge plancha off the top as Muertes is watching from the top. That’s such an eerie idea and they’re being smart by only showing it a few times. Back in and we hit a quick pinfall reversal sequence before Dragon hits a nice running Blockbuster. The Dragon’s Lair is broken up though and Evans puts on a twisting backslide with his feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:21.
Rating: C. I wasn’t wild on this one but they went with a flying spectacle instead of your regular match, which is the right idea in something like this. I’m still not wild on Evans but at least he’s a clear heel instead of just another guy flying around. Like Drago for instance. Not bad here but they didn’t go anywhere special.
Post match Evans declares himself the Dragonslayer.
Video on Texano, who I like more every time I see him. He started off as a cowboy but is now just a tough guy in general. Naturally the guys he fought in a bar wore lucha masks. I love how they’re just in their own world on this show and embrace it. That makes things so much easier to watch.
Katrina comes in to see Prince Puma and asks him who he prays to. She remembers hearing the life draining out of Konnan in that casket. He was asking for forgiveness, but was it for himself or for failing Puma so badly? Konnan would love to see what Puma was going to do to Pentagon Jr. next week, as it might be Puma offering a sacrifice to his master.
King Cuerno vs. Fenix
Non-title and last man standing. Muertes is clearly showing more interest in this one. Fenix starts firing off some kicks to start and a handspring elbow puts the King down. There’s no point in counting that early though so Fenix crotches him on the top for a kick to the head. A very nice springboard into a hurricanrana brings Cuerno back down for a five count. Back up and Cuerno scores with a knee to the head, only to be sent to the floor. He’s still good enough to sidestep a dive though and Fenix is down for a four count.
Cuerno throws him into the crowd but Fenix is up again. A clothesline drops Fenix again and Cuerno fires off some kicks before taking it back inside. Fenix starts speeding things up and knocks Cuerno right back to the floor for a big corkscrew dive. That’s only good for a seven count so Fenix hits an even bigger dive (with a springboard and more spins) for nine. Cuerno knocks him around a bit more though and the Arrow puts both guys down on the floor.
Fenix gets up to Cuerno’s shock and awe, meaning it’s time for a ladder. With Fenix down on the floor, Cuerno starts going up but drops to the floor to stop the count. A low blow keeps Fenix in trouble and it’s table time. Some German suplexes through the table are broken up and Fenix climbs the ladder. He has to kick Cuerno down though, sending him through the table in a big crash. Fenix stands on top of the wall and counts along as Cuerno is down for ten at 11:25.
Rating: B-. Much like the second match, this was fun but nothing we hadn’t seen before. Fenix is someone who could rise to the top of this company really easily in an underdog role while Cuerno is one of my favorites. He has such a simple character but they keep adding things to him that makes it better. Good stuff here and a solid way to set up their next match, which could involve a ladder based on that finish.
A woman goes into her office for a meeting with someone who looks like a cop. The cop (Officer Reyes, better known as Cortez of the Crew. Apparently he was an undercover agent trying to get in on whatever crime was taking place in the Temple. Again, that’s the kind of thing you don’t see in a wrestling company but it works here) tells the woman (Captain Vasquez) about his findings in season one. He was getting close to Blue Demon Jr. but Demon got back to Miami before anything could happen.
Vasquez doesn’t want to hear about anyone other than Dario Cueto, but no one has seen him for months. Reyes thinks they should have brought Cueto in when he had his brother murder Bael. Gee, YOU THINK THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME? Anyway, the entire idea is to take down Cueto and Cortez is getting a new partner: the unnamed Officer Joey Ryan. Vasquez tells them to keep up their cover and pretend that they hate each other and make sure no one knows they’re a team.
Overall Rating: C+. This show is the best around right now at making you want to see what they’re going to do next. Right now there are a ton of loose strings going on and it’s going to be very interesting to see how they’re going to start tying them together. The key thing here is similar to what makes NXT work: there are a bunch of stories going on and one major story, but whenever something is going on, that is the top story and the only thing being talked about. Another good show here but they’re still setting things up for later, which is what keeps things interesting around here.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at: