Lucha Underground
Date: February 3, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Season two is on a roll to start as last week saw things hitting the ground running with Pentagon now as a major force for good and apparently targeting Mil Muertes. Other than that we need to find out where Dario Cueto is and whether or not he’s going to charge people to be murdered by Matanza. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s opening and Ultima Lucha. That’s quite the odd combination and it’s capped off by the new Dragon Azteca putting on his mask.

Prince Puma is working out in the back as he flashes back to the Mil Muertes lost. This brings in Pentagon Jr. to say they’re teaming tonight against the Disciples of Death. After that though, Pentagon is coming for him. They do a choreographed fight complete with sound effects before Pentagon walks away. Good talk guys. Well guy as Puma didn’t actually say anything.

The fans are chanting for Pentagon Jr. as Muertes (with his arm in a sling) is sitting on his throne again. Vampiro doesn’t want to talk about what happened last week.

Johnny Mundo vs. Killshot

I didn’t care much for Killshot last year. Killshot starts fast with a kick to the face before Matrixing into a nipup to avoid Johnny’s kick. They head outside with Killshot hitting a dive, only to get ripped in half by a spear. You don’t see Johnny do that too often but it looked really good. The fans try to get creative with a JOHNNY ZERO chant but it’s really not working.

Killshot comes back with something like a cutter, only to have Johnny kick him in the face. The End of the World is broken up with a superkick and a jumping hanging DDT. Killshot’s 450 gets a very close two but the referee gets bumped, allowing Mundo to kick Killshot low. The End of the World is enough to give Johnny the pin at 4:37.

Rating: C+. Killshot looked better than usual here and it was a good season debut for Mundo. He’s one of those guys that you can put into any spot on the card and he’s going to make it work through that X factor of his alone. Good match here and a really strong choice for an opener.

Post match Mundo calls out Muertes but gets Cage, now seemingly a BIG face, instead. Cage says he’s 100%, unlike that champion who has to sit on his throne. If Muertes wants a real challenge, Cage is ready to break him in half. Mundo is ready to fight right now but bails from Cage instead. Cage motions that he wants the title, allowing Mundo to get in a cheap shot. That’s fine with Cage as he runs Mundo over and presses him up, sending Johnny bailing.

See, this is where the seasons format works. They spent season one setting up these characters and now they’re putting them together in feuds. Mundo and Cage both looked awesome and now we get to see which is actually the better one. On top of that, everyone wants the title and a shot at the man sitting above them all to tie the whole thing together. That’s what the company should always be about: that heavyweight title.

Marty the Moth still has Sexy Star tied up and shows her….a dead moth. His sister has said that it’s time for them to go back to the temple so Star can blossom into a butterfly. This was REALLY creepy stuff and the Moth continues to show that you don’t know what you’re going to get in this promotion, which is one of its major strengths.

PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) is known as the Darewolf, who always wants the next big thrill. In this case it means beating up some bikers (naturally wearing lucha masks) outside of a hotel before coming to the Temple.

The Mack vs. PJ Black

Striker declares (Willie) Mack a cross between Joe Frazier and Porkchop Cash. Black headlocks him to start as Striker keeps using the Willie name, even though that’s not his name here. Vampiro kind of calls him out on it and it’s time for some chops (Vampiro: “He slapped the South African out of him right there.”). Mack gets the better of it for two, followed by a Samoan Drop and a standing moonsault for two on Black.

We get a Norvell Austin reference for absolutely no logical reason (Yes I get the reference and yes I know why Striker said it. It’s still just kind of dumb.) before Black flips out of a German suplex. A Blue Thunder Bomb and the top rope Lionsault get two on Mack but he rolls away before the 450 can launch. That’s probably good since Killshot used it in the first match. Black goes up for a springboard but dives into a Stunner (supposed to be a cutter but Black landed on his knees) for the pin at 4:45. Striker: “Looks like he failed his wellness test.”

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this but I’ve never been the biggest Black fan in the world. He’s fine and does a great looking 450 but the rest of his body of work leaves something to be desired. Darewolf is fine enough for a character but I’m really not sure what the point is in having him lose to Mack of all people in his debut.

Kobra Moon, a new woman who looks like a vigilante super heroine, debuts next week.

Disciples of Death vs. Prince Puma/Pentagon Jr.

Handicap and I really hope the Disciples have individual names now. I mean, they did last time but it would be nice if they were repeated here. Vampiro talks about Pentagon Jr. taking the dark path to the light, basically confirming Pentagon’s face turn. The Disciples jump him from the start but Pentagon hits a quick flip dive to take all of them out. The numbers start catching up with our heroes though and we get into a more standard match. Puma gets beaten down for a bit until a kick to the face allows for the hot tag off to Pentagon.

The new hero starts firing off a bunch of Sling Blades and chops to the chest, only to get in a shoving match with his partner. Everything breaks down again and a hanging double arm DDT drops Puma. Striker starts using the proper names halfway through the match and yeah I’m not bothering. Puma drops one of the Disciples and hits the 630, only to have Pentagon tag himself in and steal the pin at 7:35.

Rating: D+. I really don’t like this style of booking as the Disciples are now looking like a set of three guys who just happen to be hanging out with Muertes and Catrina. It doesn’t help that they just lost clean to a two man team which had its own issues. The match itself wasn’t even very good as it felt all over the place and the ending just happened.

Post match Pentagon and Puma slug it out but Pentagon can’t break the arm, despite staring out at Vampiro.

We cut to the back for the final stinger. Someone is sitting with a hood over his face as someone else talks to him about Dragon Azteca being his mentor. The man in the hood is revealed as the new Dragon Azteca and the speaker says that is his new identity. The speaker wears a mask as well and he’s very happy with his own. We pan over and it’s…..REY MYSTERIO. That might get them some attention.

Overall Rating: C. This was a pretty big step down but as usual it helps to set up stuff for the future. Like, you know, Mysterio debuting. I like the fact that they’re setting up the story of everyone going after Muertes and we’re getting closer to actually paying some of this stuff off. The key here though is Lucha Underground has earned the benefit of the doubt to make me believe that it might actually work. You don’t get that everywhere and it’s nice to have that feeling.

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:

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

It hasn’t occurred to me yet but we’re three weeks from Ultima Lucha. The majority of the card is put together and I’m actually looking forward to seeing the show, which is a great sign given how the build has been going. The big story coming out of last week is Vampiro vs. Pentagon, which isn’t likely to be the focus tonight given how things change around here. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap focuses on the Aztec medallions, Sexy Star vs. Super Fly and Pentagon vs. Vampiro.

Dario Cueto is in his office with the four remaining medallions. Pentagon Jr. is sitting across from him and Cueto offers him a medallion just for causing so much havoc. Pentagon doesn’t care about the medallions because if he did, Cueto would have a broken arm and Pentagon would have all of them. All he cares about is pleasing his master by facing Vampiro at Ultima Lucha. The master will be revealed when Pentagon has proven himself, which is pretty much guaranteed to mean at Ultima Lucha.

Quick commentator intro.

Aztec Medallion: Delavar Daivari vs. Bengala

Vampiro hates Daivari because he’s a face announcer this week. Bengala starts fast and sends Daivari outside for a quick suicide dive but Big Ryck shoves Bengala off the top to change control. At least he’s earning his pay. Back up and Bengala ducks a really weak looking clothesline, followed by a Tajiri handspring elbow to put both guys down.

A DDT and superkick get two each for Bengala as this is still a very spot heavy match. Ever the nitwit, Bengala goes after Ryck, allowing Daivari to grab a superplex for two. At least he has a good superplex. Daivari makes the mistake of relying on Ryck too much though, allowing Bengala to ram them together and German suplex Daivari for the pin and the medallion.

Rating: D+. Is there anyone less interesting in this company than Daivari? He’s a guy that has bounced around from promotion to promotion and there just isn’t that much interesting about him. Now he’s a rich guy and still not interesting, but at least the fans aren’t really even giving him the time of day anymore. Bengala isn’t anything of note as there are a half dozen guys doing basically the same thing but better.

The announcers chat for a bit but Vampiro goes to the ring. Post break, Vampiro talks about being in this business for over 30 years. He’s bled on every continent and knows what it takes to succeed, but last week Pentagon Jr. came out here and wanted Vampiro to have one more match. Vampiro isn’t interested because he has no ego, but he likes Pentagon because he sees a lot of himself in the kid. Cue Pentagon….to make fun of Vampiro for being named Ian Hodgkinson. Vampiro says that Ian won’t be fighting at Ultima Lucha, but someone named Vampiro will be. A chokeslam plants Pentagon and the match is official.

We go inside Sexy Star’s mind to see how upset she is over her feud with Super Fly.

Aztec Medallion: King Cuerno vs. Killshot

Cuerno chops away to start and tells the fans to be quiet so he can chop even harder. A dropkick sends Killshot to the floor but he kicks Cuerno in the head to stop a dive. I’m assuming the bow and arrow motion tipped Cuerno off. Or that everyone who does that move does it the same way. Another kick stops another dive from the apron so Cuerno just powerslams him onto the apron to put Killshot down. Cuerno hits a kind of reverse hurricanrana, followed by the Arrow but the Thrill of the Hunt is countered. That’s fine says Cuerno as he busts out a surfboard with a dragon sleeper for the win.

Rating: C. Not bad here with Cuerno being a full on face this time instead of the heel that he nailed so well. This doesn’t feel like a show that is about the wrestling, but at least this one got some time instead of flying through it like the first match did. Killshot is another guy who is just kind of there, which is totally acceptable.

Aztec Medallion: Super Fly vs. Sexy Star

Super Fly dropkicks her, Star kicks him low and a La Mistica armbar makes Fly tap in thirty seconds.

Cue Marty Martinez who wants to face Star for the medallion right now, because the medallion has a moth on it.

Aztec Medallion: Sexy Star vs. Marty Martinez

Star flips him around to start and armdrags him into the corner as Martinez is all messed up. The announcers jabber about Facebook as Martinez takes her down and puts on a figure four but Star quickly reverses. Another La Mistica makes Marty tap in short order. I have no idea why this needed to take place but at least Star wins.

We run down the Ultima Lucha card. I’m sold.

It’s time for the big showdown between Puma and Muertes. Cueto, moderating, says that he doesn’t want it to turn into a brawl. Therefore, the brawl is quickly on with Puma getting the better of it, only to have the Disciples of Death come in for help. Cue Konnan with his stick but Muertes nails him, allowing the Disciples to put Konnan in a casket as Puma takes the Flatliner to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This felt like Raw and that’s not a good thing. By that I meant that it was a bunch of matches that you didn’t need to see because four matches barely took ten minutes combined. Instead of the interesting matches for the previous medallions, this felt like (and probably was) a rushed way to fill out whatever match they’re having for them at Ultima Lucha. I’ve seen worse episodes, but the important thing here is I want to see Ultima Lucha. It’s a well built show and that’s all it needs to be.

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.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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

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

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

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

The Trios Titles are at the commentary desk.

Sexy Star vs. Pentagon Jr.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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