Took in WrestleCon Supershow

In addition to the Rev Pro show on Friday night, WrestleCon also put on a Supershow in the same room (and with a lot of the same talent). This was the definition of a supershow with a little bit of everything from comedy to violence to dueling chants. To say this was a lot more energetic than most shows is an understatement.

The show was scheduled to start at 8:30 but since Rev Pro went fairly late it wound up starting at about 8:50. There were also well over 1000 people in one room sot he place was BOILING. Prices for a bottle of water (as in a regular one) at the bar: SIX DOLLARS. Realizing this was insane, I went down the street to Walgreens and bought a liter sized bottle for $1.79. At intermission I went and got two more, with all three not combining for the cost of one. I get the idea of making money but those prices would drive customers away.

1. David Starr/Caleb Kenley/Trevor Lee vs. Michael Elgin/ACH/Mascarito Dorado

That would be El Torito at the end. To give you an idea of what we were dealing with on this card, ACH was introduced as “Mr. I Used This Booking To Pay My Bills.” The match was under Lucha rules and it was very clear that this was going to be a very Un-PG show. Dorado did a bunch of speedy stuff, causing Lee to shout the following at his partners: “WHAT IN THE F******* F*** WAS THAT???” Later, when Dorado was in a chinlock, Lee shouted at Kenley to “MAKE THAT MIDGET TAP!”

Dorado got beaten up for a good while (including taking a triple crotch shot to the head) until Elgin got in to clean house with the power. ACH didn’t really do much here and really could have been anyone in the spot. Dorado eventually ended Starr with a moonsault in about 12:00. This was a lot of fun and a great opener. B-.

2. Low Ki vs. Shane Strickland

Let’s make this clear: I’ve never liked Low Ki. I find him to be very one dimensional and repetitive beyond believe. He was a surprise here though and the roof came off when he appeared in the ring. They kicked each other a lot and Low Ki hit a top rope double stomp to the apron for a huge crash and the pin at 13:04. This was pretty repetitive and just kept going. D+.

3. Impact Wrestling World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Jeff Cobb

Now this was interesting before the bell as Lashley was introduced to some country music and didn’t appear. It wasn’t clear what happened but an “F*** THAT OWL” chant started up. I couldn’t see the entrance but I saw Lashley walking around ringside with no entrance. As luck would have it, I got to ask him what happened at WrestleCon and it turned out they didn’t have his planned music and it’s a VERY serious rule to never come out to someone else’s music. He didn’t come out because they didn’t play the right song but he knew he was going to be the huge heel so he just came through the crowd instead.

The match was a good power brawl with Lashley not taking Cobb seriously to start and eventually getting thrown around. The more I watch of Lashley, the more I appreciate him. He’s just a machine out there and looks like a tank while also being a really nice guy outside the ring. Lashley realized he had to put some effort into things so he eventually got in the Dominator and a spear to retain at about 10:45. B-.

4. Flip Gordon/Sammy Guevera vs. Angleico/Jack Evans

Angelico is my favorite from Lucha Underground so this was a treat. I didn’t know who Gordon and Guevera were at first but they both put in a very solid performance and got my attention more than once. Sammy looks a lot like Justin Bieber so Evans made a bunch of jokes when he got the tag. Evans did a bunch of insane flips and eventually Angelico’s running Razor’s Edge buckle bomb got the pin at about 13:00. I could very easily see Gordon and Guevera as a team on a bigger stage as they had a nice, clean cut look but played good heels.

5. Team Ricochet (Ricochet/Jason Cade/Sami Calihan/AR Fox/Desmond Xavier) vs. Team Will Ospreay (Ospreay/Marty Scurll/Lio Rush/Drew Galloway/Ryan Smile)

This was a ten man tag, which is becoming one of the signature matches of the WrestleCon Supershow. Let me put this very simply: I’ve been watching wrestling for a long time. Like, a very long time. I’ve been to more shows than I can count, including three Wrestlemanias. I have never, in my entire career watching wrestling, had more fun watching a wrestling match in person.

The captains were chosen due to a great match Ospreay and Ricochet had last year in Japan which was called choreographed nonsense. The solution? Give then four partners each (which they say they were allowed to hand pick) and TWENTY TWO MINUTES to do as much choreographed stuff as they could. This included a series of about ten straight cutters, quadruple big boots, a quintuple suplex and a dance off that has to be seen to be believed. As luck would have it, I had a camera on me and filmed the second half of said dance off. Everyone danced but I only got the last few. The one that matters is included though.

This was twenty two minutes of having fun with professional wrestling. It had been a very long day and I was starting to check out on the show due to a bit of a boring card. This match snapped me back to life and I had one of the best experiences I’ve ever had watching. Honestly I don’t even remember how the match ended but that wasn’t the point. Find this match online (the full show is available for $5 at Highspots’ website) and have a good time being entertained by it. Easy A+ and the most fun I had all weekend.

Intermission time, which again ran long as the wrestlers were running their merch tables. It also meant time for me to meet some more wrestlers, including Angelico, Lio Rush, Flip Gordon, Sammy Guevera (very nice guy), Desmond Xavier and Moose. As I was coming back from Walgreens for water, I saw Marty Jannetty in the lobby and WOW he was out of it. I shook his hand and he started walking around without letting go while hitting on a woman. As I was heading out of the arena, I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan.

6. DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: WrestleCon Rumble

So…..explaining this title……uh……basically it’s a parody of the WWF Hardcore Title where the belt can be won by ANYTHING, including a baseball bat, a ladder, a cameraman, various sex dolls, a child who had the ability to chokeslam anyone and Candace Larae, whose title win took place in a dream. This was a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals but the title could change hands via pinfall, submission or an elimination. In other words, the title can change hands during the match but the winner would be champion no matter what. Instead of going through this step by step, here are the entrants and anythign of note.

1. Joey Ryan (defending champion)

2. Colt Cabana

Here’s what I’m dealing with in this match:

Bell rings.

Ryan to Cabana: “GRAB MY D***!”

Fans: “GRAB HIS D***! GRAB HIS D***!”

3. Kikutaro (Japanese comedy character)

4. Underground Luchador

This was a masked guy in a Lucha Underground t-shirt. It was obviously Matt Striker and after a rollup to pin Ryan (which wasn’t an elimination), he was unmasked as such.

5. Manscout Jake Manning (He reads and beats people up at the same time)

6. George South

7. Suicide (Never unmasked, apparently Caleb Konley)

8. Mr. Hughes (Down probably 100lbs from his mainstream days)

9. Zane Riley (Mr. 305 Live)

10. 2 Cold Scorpio (One of my favorites so this was a treat)

11. Billy Gunn (Easily the biggest pop of the match)

12. Moose (Who had a staredown with Gunn for a bizarre visual)

13. Swoggle

14. Shane Douglas

15. Kevin Thorn

16. Shannon Moore

17. Hurricane (With a bad limp)

18. Abyss (House was cleaned)

19. Gangrel (That music is still SWEET)

20. Marty Jannetty

The final five were Jannetty, Moose, Gangrel, Swoggle and Ryan. I don’t often say this, but Jannetty was an embarrassment. I know he’s on a horrible ankle but the fans were booing him out of the building, which says a lot given how fun this match really was. Thankfully he was gone soon thereafter but it was bad while it lasted. Ryan’s “special” suplex eliminated Moose and Swoggle tossed him a few seconds later for the win and the title at about 25:00. Much like the Gimmick Battle Royal in 2001, this was all about having people come to the ring one more time and not the result.

Ryan immediately rolled Swoggle up to get the title back (it’s defended 24/7 like the Hardcore Title) and then made the mistake of saying he would defend against anyone anytime. Then, in something I’ve always wanted to see and never thought I’d get to: Enter Sandman.

The Sandman came out with a full entrance, complete with the entire Metallica song, cigarettes and beer being poured into fans’ mouths. Sandman offered Ryan a beer but caned him instead for the pin and the title. I’ve always wanted to see a Sandman entrance and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

7. Johnny Mundo vs. Brian Cage

This was a TLC match, though in this case it was won by pinfall or submission. Mundo had Taya Valkyrie with him (showing off very well in basically a red swimsuit) and Cage had his real life girlfriend (which I didn’t know) Melissa Santos, who did his entrance ala Lucha Underground. It’s very odd to see Santos out of her ring announcer outfits but jeans and a Lucha Underground shirt worked very well. She’s a very beautiful woman.

I was somewhat disappointed by this one as they really just hit each other with weapons for a bit. Taya tried to interfere and got superbombed through a table while Santos actually got physical (I don’t think she ever has in Lucha Underground) and took a very protected spear through another table. That was enough for Cage as he busted out a Steiner Screwdriver onto a chair for the easy pin. I forgot to start the timer but I’d guess around 12-13 minutes. There really wasn’t a need to call this a TLC match as it was basically just a glorified street fight. C-, only because of the gimmick announced.

8. Hardys vs. Rey Fenix/Pentagon Dark

The Hardys weren’t playing their Broken characters here…..but yeah they were the Broken Hardys. Matt kept doing DELETE and shouted WONDERFUL a few times. Interestingly enough, CERO MIEDO was getting louder reactions than DELETE. This was actually pretty short with the Hardys never seeming to be in much danger. Fenix and Pentagon (collectively the Lucha Brothers and the reigning PWG Tag Team Champions) had some sweet double team moves though and I’m sure they’d be fun to watch more. A Twist of Fate into a double Swanton ended Pentagon at about 7:00. D+. Too short to be very good.

Post match Matt put over the Lucha Brothers (who are real life brothers as well) as the future of tag team wrestling, along with the Young Bucks and the Briscoes. Matt basically said he didn’t know how much longer he and Jeff could do this (I’m writing this after they won the Raw Tag Team Titles) but he doesn’t want Meek-Ma-Han to destroy tag wrestling (oh the irony). However, if any of McMahon’s teams try to take over, Jeff said they would fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Hands were shaken in a sign of respect to end the show.

Overall, this was a total blast as they basically took everyone they could find not in WWE or ROH and threw together a wrestling card. Not everything can be Wrestlemania, but it doesn’t need to be. This show made me realize that sometimes you need to forget about the quality and the storytelling and such and just have fun watching people do wrestling moves to each other. I mean, this kind of stuff isn’t likely to work for the masses (WAY too many kicks to the head and silly flips) but it’s the junk food of wrestling: entertaining at the time and you remember it well. Really entertaining show here and I’ll be back for the 2018 edition. B+.




Took in the Rev Pro Wrestling Show (And a Bit of Annoyance at WWE)

As part of the Wrestlemania week festivities, I took in the Revolution Pro Wrestling show. They’re a British company with major names like Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr. so I had to take in a card with that kind of talent included. This was part of the WrestleCon weekend events so the show was only about fifteen minutes from my hotel.

Before we get to the show though, there were two rather annoying wrestling related issues earlier in the day. At 1pm, Charlotte was doing a free signing at a Cricket Wireless store roughly ten minutes away from my hotel. Of course I went and when I got there a bit after 1, the line was wrapped around the building, down the alley behind the building and around part of another building. The fact that the line was so long isn’t an issue as people are going to flock for something that’s free. Cricket had also put up a sign saying “all guests after this point are not guaranteed to meet Charlotte”. I was standing right at the sign.

After about an hour in line, the sign was moved about 50 people forward. One of the workers came by and I asked if things were moving really slowly. It turned out that they were, because several people had upwards of ten items for Charlotte to sign. In other words, because a bunch of people just HAD to get her to sign things so they could throw them on Ebay, we were stuck standing in line even longer. Naturally this caused the line to go so slowly that it was cut off at 2:55 before I could get in. To be fair, it was a free event so I didn’t lose anything but time (and patience).

No worries though as Bayley was having a signing at the Orlando Eye, which was about fifteen minutes from Cricket. This was a bit better as I had already bought a ticket ($35, but you got a free trip on the Eye, which I had no interest in due to not being comfortable with heights) so I figured it would go better.

And of course not as the signing went until 4 and at 3:50, the Orlando Eye people cut it off because Bayley had another event to go to immediately thereafter. I got a refund, but these events tell me two things:

1. Maybe WWE shouldn’t schedule the same people for multiple events back to back. They have a ridiculous roster and I find it hard to believe they can’t stagger these out a bit better, just for something like this.

2. LEARN TO CALL THE THINGS OFF EARLIER WHEN IT’S CLEAR YOU’RE NOT GETTING EVERYONE IN! When you have over 100 people left, do you really need to wait until there are 10 minutes left to realize that not everyone can get in? Also, how long can it possibly take when there are signs everywhere saying no autographs? I know people want to talk to Bayley but it needed to be a few words, obligatory hug, photo, out. That should be 40 seconds at most but for some reason we get this instead.

So anyway, I get over to Rev Pro at 4:10 (thankfully it’s less than a mile from the Eye) and luckily it hadn’t started yet (indy shows almost never do). The show wound up starting at 4:25 with a bunch of empty seats on the floor, though they were mostly filled in by the third or fourth match.

1. Sami Calihan vs. Jay White

I’ve liked White since his first match with Jay Briscoe so I was looking forward to seeing him live. This wasn’t the best match in the world though as they didn’t have a lot of chemistry. They fought outside for two minutes early on before the referee FINALLY started counting, which got a rather jeering reaction from the crowd. The best spot was Calihan trying a powerbomb but getting blocked over and over. Instead of trying again, he pulls White up and punched the heck out of him before getting the powerbomb. White won with a Boston crab in about 12 minutes. D+.

2. Martin Stone vs. Jeff Cobb

Stone is also known as Danny Burch from NXT and Cobb is Lucha Underground’s Matanza. This was technical ability vs. power/athleticism and that’s what you got for about ten and a half minutes. Stone is just a guy in trunks but he looks very polished and kept shrugging off all of Cobb’s power stuff. Martin got in a hanging DDT for the pin. C+.

3. Lord Gideon Grey vs. Swoggle

This is a storyline heavy match as Grey seemed to be a comedy/lower level guy who was just starting to turn the corner until Colt Cabana brought Swoggle to the company and somehow ruined his life. Grey walked to the ring like a zombie, even bumping into the barricade because he kept staring straight ahead. Then he wrestled a mostly normal match which saw Swoggle do a series of German suplexes and Lesnar’s bounce back and forth. Grey hit a sitout powerslam for the pin in about 2:00 with a bunch of standard comedy spots. This was fine.

4. Marty Scurll vs. King Ricochet

Scurll’s ROH TV Title was acknowledged but not on the line. Scurll was easily the most over guy on the show so far and he knew it, despite being billed as the Villain. You could tell these two knew each other really well and that’s always going to help. There was some comedy as Ricochet did a bunch of flips into a nip-up.

Scurll, who isn’t the most athletic guy in the world, said very loudly “THAT WAS SWEET! I WANT TO TRY!” He then did a front flip into a nip-up for a huge reaction but Ricochet didn’t buy into the idea of a handshake. This gave us the YES/NO treatment for a big reaction. They both did their own versions of a People’s Elbow with Ricochet doing a moonsault and Scurll doing an Austin style stomp and a double middle finger. Ricochet also did Tye Dillinger’s cartwheel into a dropkick, followed by TEN.

They started taking things a bit more seriously by the end with Scurll teasing a big spot on the floor and then throwing Ricochet back in to annoy the crowd (because he’s a villain you see). Eventually Ricochet tried a handspring elbow but got caught in the chickenwing for the tap out at just shy of seventeen minutes. Really fun stuff here and easily the best thing all night. B+.

Post match, Scurll said he loved working with Ricochet and dedicated the to a fellow wrestler who passed away one year ago to the day in a nice moment. This was repeated multiple times so this was pretty clearly a big deal to everyone.

Intermission, which was billed as 15 minutes but ran closer to 30. However, a lot of the roster was out in the lobby selling merchandise, meaning I got to meet a host of wrestlers, including:

Ricochet, Colt Cabana (who I didn’t recognize at first), Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Swoggle, Brian Cage (the biggest arms I’ve ever seen), Jay White, Martin Stone (very polite), Jeff Cobb, Fenix, Pentagon Dark and Shane Strickland (Killshot on Lucha Underground).

5. Interim British Cruiserweight Title: David Starr vs. Josh Bodom

Bodom was defending but didn’t have his belt for some reason. I’ve never heard of either guy and there wasn’t much to talk about here, though Starr had about fifteen nicknames that the announcer had to read off a card. It was clear that neither guy was the biggest name as the fans didn’t seem to know who they were. It was fine but nothing you haven’t seen before.

This was your standard cruiserweight style match with a bunch of flips, the third standing shooting star press of the night (more on that later), a bunch of strikes to the head (the indy staple), a great looking front flip from the top to the floor and a hanging piledriver (picture Orton’s hanging DDT but the guy jumps onto the back of your head to make it a piledriver) for the pin on Starr at 12:30. C-.

6. Will Ospreay vs. Ray Fenix

Ospreay is a high flying machine and one of the top stars in the promotion though his Cruiserweight Title wasn’t on the line. This was a much more standard high flying match and for some reason Fenix took his sweet time coming through the curtain and didn’t seem happy for a lot of the match, or after for that matter.

Ospreay flew around a lot even tricked Fenix by asking what something was out in the crowd to grab a headlock. They dove around a lot (and botched multiple things, though nothing too bad) with a Canadian Destroyer DDT as one of the cooler looking spots. Ospreay hit a big springboard cutter to win at just under thirteen minutes. This was a lot of fun but really botchy at times, which you have to expect. B-.

7. Michael Elgin/Brian Cage vs. Ray Smile/Shane Strickland.

This was power vs. speed, though Elgin and Cage got to show off a lot of athleticism. One very funny spot was Strickland doing a nipup, only to have Elgin come in and do a good looking Worm. Strickland said he was out, grabbed his jacket, walked up the ramp and through the curtain. He was back a few seconds later but it was rather funny. Other than Elgin grabbing a delayed vertical suplex and passing Smile off to Cage in mid-air to complete it, there wasn’t much here. Well not much original at least.

We did have our 5th cutter of the night, as well as the fourth person saying SUCK IT with a crotch chop. Smile also got up a bit too many times, including kicking out of a superbomb into an F5, which the fans REALLY thought should have ended the match (they were right). Instead, Strickland got Cage up for a powerbomb with Smile adding a top rope double stomp. A not great frog splash put Cage away at about 13 minutes. The match was longer than it needed to be and got too repetitive with the big power spot from Elgin/Cage and then a head kick from Strickland/Smile. C-.

8. British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Pentagon Dark

Pentagon is WAY over with Cero Mideo (Zero Fear) being the loudest chant of the night. The fans absolutely cannot stand Sabre, who is the British Champion, the Evolve Champion and the PWG World Champion (and came out wearing all three belts like a good heel should). This was all about trading arm holds with Pentagon surprising Sabre with some sweet stuff of his own. Sabre kept countering like the master that he is though and worked Pentagon’s arm half off.

Near the end Pentagon got his package piledriver onto the apron and unfortunately, Sabre was back on his feet in less than a minute. That REALLY hurt things as it should have been a pin (if there was any chance Sabre was losing here) but was just a big spot instead. Sabre got his crazy armbar to end things a few minutes later at just shy of 16:00. This was really solid stuff, save for the lack of selling. Sabre’s technical stuff is must see. B+.

As I was leaving, I got to shake hands with Sabre in the lobby for a nice way to wrap things up.

Overall the show was fun with two very good matches though not much to support them. I certainly can’t complain for a $25 general admission ticket, especially with the amount of huge British names I got to see, along with the names that I got to meet at intermission. Rev Pro is certainly not bad and I had a fun time at the show. Overall: B-.

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Lucha Underground – November 30, 2016: Break Up The Tribe

Lucha Underground
Date: November 30, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

It’s time to get back to focusing on one of the more interesting members of the roster as tonight we’re looking at Pentagon Dark. Black Lotus and her tribe are going after Pentagon so maybe we can get a bit more clarification on what’s going on with their story. One of the problems with Lucha Underground is they have so much going on that it’s hard to keep track of the individual stories. Let’s get to it.

We open with a much needed recap of Black Lotus vs. Pentagon Dark. This includes Pentagon breaking Dragon Azteca Jr.’s arm and Lotus sending her cronies to eliminate Pentagon from Aztec Warfare.

Vampiro and Pentagon run into each other in the back, meaning it’s time for flashbacks. Pentagon is threatened and doesn’t seem pleased.

The announcers open us up but Vampiro doesn’t have anything to say.

Pentagon Dark vs. Black Lotus/Black Lotus Tribe

Gauntlet match with Pentagon vs. all four in turn. First up is Doku, who walks to the ring with her arms folded for an odd look. Doku fires off some chops in the corner and a hard kick to the ribs, only to get dropkicked across the ring. Pentagon starts getting more serious so the kicks and chops get even harder. Well at least louder, with one sending Doku out to the floor.

A gorilla press toss sends Doku face first onto the apron and a sick kick to the thigh has her in even more trouble. Back in and Doku scores with a good looking spear followed by a top rope elbow. She tries it again though but Pentagon is waiting on her and breaks the arm for the win at 6:12.

Before we get back to the match, we see Catrina coming up to Jeremiah Crane in the back and taunting him about Ivelisse. It seems that they have a past and Catrina thinks he’s not over her.

Back in the arena, Pentagon promises to break Lotus’ arm as he waits for the next member of the tribe. That would be Yurei, who again is named for the first time here. The match (which is treated as an individual match instead of part two) starts fast with Yurei sending him outside for a big dive. They’re certainly giving the women some solid offense here.

Pentagon is sent into the chairs and hit in the head with a metal sign. Back in and Pentagon starts wrenching on the knee but Yurei comes back with a hurricanrana. A tornado DDT looks to set up something out of the corner, only to have her dive into the package piledriver. One more broken arm later and Yurei is done at 7:22 (13:34 total, not counting breaks between falls).

Before the third fall, Matanza is working out when Dario comes in. Next week Matanza will get his rematch for the title but the monster wants Mysterio.

The third entrant is Hitokiri, which translates to Assassin. A dropkick sends Pentagon outside and a big moonsault press has Pentagon in even more trouble. Hitokiri starts banging away with a chair and Pentagon is in trouble. Vampiro is getting turned on by the violence and Pentagon is thrown through some chairs. Again. Pentagon is slammed onto the exposed concrete and you can see his body being broken down.

One heck of a kick to the ribs slows Hitokiri down and now it’s her turn to go through the chairs. Her body being in a broken heap is quite the visual. An AA onto the concrete has Hitokiri reeling but she sends him into the post. That’s enough time for her to go up to the top of Dario’s office for the HUGE dive (the first woman to do so) and both are down. Back in and the Package Piledriver is countered into a standing Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 11:55 (25:29 total).

Actually we’re not done as Black Lotus gets to face the broken Pentagon as well. Lotus kicks the referee down and the entire tribe surrounds Pentagon. Things get even more personal as Lotus breaks Pentagon’s arm, bringing a smiling Vampiro to his feet. Cue Dragon Azteca Jr., who the women leave alone to break Pentagon’s other arm. No match with Lotus and I won’t add any time because the bell never rang.

Rating: B. I liked the match but I still don’t have much of a connection to this story. It’s such a complicated and at times intense story but the other problem is it rarely gets any attention. This is the story that’s been going on in the background instead of getting the main focus. That doesn’t make it bad but at least it’s an entertaining match, especially with the Tribe breaking Pentagon down and making him fight until he just couldn’t do it anymore.

Prince Puma wakes up in his coffin and Vampiro is waiting on him. Vampiro: “Come with me.”

Overall Rating: B. These one match shows are fun but you don’t want to do two of them in three weeks. I need a little more variety than this to really get into things, especially with how many stories are going around in this promotion. I’m also not sure where they’re going with Pentagon, who is one of the most over acts in Lucha Underground but is just kind of there on the side while everything else goes on.

Here’s my main issue with this season: what is the big story? You have Dario being evil and serving his master (whoever that is), Pentagon vs. Black Lotus vs. Dragon Azteca Jr., the cops running around, Matanza vs. Mysterio and the title picture but none of those feel like a bigger story than the rest of them, which is a problem. Still though, good show this week as the season is starting to get back on track.

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Lucha Underground – September 28, 2016: I’ll Settle For The Small Stuff

Lucha Underground
Date: September 28, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

This season is still off to a rocky start as we’re still waiting for the big stories to really take off. There are a bunch of minor stories going on but nothing is really picking up and making me want to stick around and watch a lot of this stuff. Then again, the Lucha Underground tradition is to make things look horrible and then turn it around in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Rey Mysterio Jr./Dragon Azteca Jr./Chavo Guerrero Jr., the Worldwide Underground, the cops investigating Dario Cueto and Vampiro getting in Prince Puma’s head.

Dario comes in to see Sexy Star and suggests that she’s going to lose the Gift of the Gods Title soon. It won’t be tonight though as she’s teaming up with the Trios Champions against the Worldwide Underground. Cueto leaves and Johnny Mundo comes in to officially introduce himself to Star. You would think they would have met somewhere in there. He promises to take the title from her but she squeezes his hand.

Siniestro De La Muerte vs. Prince Puma

They run the ropes to start and flip over each other until a snap hurricanrana puts Muerte down. Vampiro seems VERY pleased with the more aggressive Puma, who grabs something like a suplex but kneels down and bends Muerte’s leg over his head. Puma tries to run a bit too much though and gets caught in a reverse powerbomb out of the corner. A big spinning kick to the face drops Muerte again but here’s Mil Muertes to distract Puma. That isn’t a DQ for some reason so Puma hits a modified Michinoku Driver and a Flatliner (with a look at Muertes) for the pin at 4:51.

Rating: C. This was a good showing for the new Puma as he almost had to evolve to stay relevant in the rapidly changing Lucha Underground. It’s also cool to see the promotion use somewhat big names as jobbers as Muerte hadn’t been around in a while but still has enough credentials that beating him means something.

Muertes goes after Puma but Catrina drags him away.

Cortez Castro goes in to see Dario, who gets up and hugs him. Dario is going to do everything he can to bring Cisco’s killer to justice. You can hear Melissa Santos introducing Castro for his match so he leaves the office as Dario sneers.

Cortez Castro vs. Pentagon Dark

Castro clearly isn’t ready and didn’t know he was having a match. Cortez elbows him in the mask to start but gets kicked down almost immediately. The package piledriver gives Dark the win at 1:11.

Post match, Pentagon breaks Castro’s arm and says he wants to do the same to Azteca or Guerrero.

Worldwide Underground vs. Drago/Aerostar/Fenix/Sexy Star

The women start things off and run the ropes a bit before Star’s hurricanrana sends Taya over for a tag. Evans comes in for a bunch of flips (literally, and with the announcers mocking him for them) before handing it off to Black. That’s fine with Drago, who legsweeps Black a few times before the good guys start speeding things up. Mundo cuts that off almost immediately with a superkick to Fenix. You can’t have one superkick in a row though so Fenix superkicks Mundo right back down, followed by a Helluva Kick.

Instead Fenix drops Star into a legdrop for two but it’s time to start the quadruple teaming in the bad corner. Taya hits some running knees in the corner and Star is busted open. Mundo hits Star by mistake though and the hot tag brings in Drago to speed things up again. Everything breaks down and they trade strikes before it’s time for Fenix to hit the dives. Star sends Taya outside (where Taya seems to injure her ankle or leg) but gets superkicked by Johnny, sending her into a backslide for the pin at 8:52.

Rating: B-. This is more like it with the fast paced people flying all over the place and looking awesome like Lucha Underground is supposed to do. Mundo is likely going to wind up as the big bad of the show, which in a way is more interesting than having some supernatural character for a change. These tag matches are one of the things Lucha Underground does best and it worked well here too.

Catrina and Muertes aren’t pleased with Muerte’s latest loss. His punishment: CATRINA SUCKS OUT HIS SOUL, which she blows into Mil. She wants him to do the same thing to Puma. Stand there while she spits a soul at him?

Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Mysterio is guest referee. Feeling out process to start until Chavo shoulders him down for a headlock. A springboard into a rollup gets two for Dragon and he grabs an armbar of his own. They head outside with Striker saying this is like a professional team playing a college team. I’m assuming he means Chavo is the pro team, assuming that means he’s older, slower, and less popular.

Azteca gets posted on the floor and clotheslined back inside for two before it’s back to the chinlock. A half crab is broken up thanks to a rope grab but Chavo shoves Rey down for breaking the hold. The distraction lets Dragon grab a rollup out of the electric chair for the quick pin at 7:15.

Rating: C. As is so often the case around here this season, this was really just there. Chavo really isn’t that interesting and his just average matches aren’t going to cut it around here. Then again that’s probably why he’s a heel. Going somewhere with Azteca and Mysterio would help a lot but that’s not seeming likely right now.

Black Lotus is praying (I think?) at a shrine (Maybe?) to her parents (In theory?) and promises to have her Triad avenge them against Pentagon Dark.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling helped here but the same problem persists: what’s the point of this show right now? Dario is of course the top villain but there’s no real advancement with most of his stuff. The wheel deciding challengers for Matanza doesn’t really help either as it’s just him beating up people that we know he can beat up without much effort. Other than that there’s the Worldwide Underground which isn’t exactly top level stuff after we’ve had Matanza and Muertes around. This show was better but they need to actually do something soon.

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Lucha Underground – September 7, 2016 (Season 3 Premiere): Picking Up Where We Left Off

Lucha Underground
Date: September 7, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re already back for the third season as the second felt like it ended in a hurry. Last season wrapped up with Dario Cueto being arrested in what felt like a mid-season finale and the very quick return backs up the theory that it wasn’t supposed to be the big ending. Hopefully we can get some resolution to the storylines here instead. Let’s get to it.

Dario Cueto is exercising in his jail cell when a guard lets him out. He’s given his personal objects back……BY THE HONKY TONK MAN??? I can totally live with this, even if it’s just a one off cameo. Dario gets in a limo where Councilman Delgado tells him that the charges have been dropped. The big boss, whoever that is, tells Dario to never waste his time again. Dario looks terrified.

The announcers welcome us to the show with Vampiro saying his only job is being an announcer. I’m sure.

Dario and Matanza are in the ring with the boss announcing Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Pentagon Dark. That should get a bigger build no? That brings Dario to his brother, who has destroyed everyone in his path. Dario has a new toy: Dario’s Dial of Doom. It’s a big wheel with wrestlers names on it. Whoever it lands on gets to face Matanza, provided they haven’t challenged for the title yet. Therefore, Mysterio isn’t eligible. It’s already time for the first spin.

Lucha Underground Title: Son of Havoc vs. Matanza

Matanza is defending. Havoc starts with the dropkick into the corner but a crossbody just bounces off the monster’s chest. A missed charge sends Matanza into the post and out to the floor as Striker compares the champ to Bruno Sammartino and Joe Louis. Havoc follows him out with an elbow around the post for a low blow as Matanza is already selling WAY more than usual, which is a good sign going forward. Dario is worried about his brother and says this should be baby food.

Back up and Matanza slams him down to set up a standing moonsault. A guillotine choke has Matanza in trouble and Havoc pulls him out to the floor again. They’re doing a really good job here of making Matanza seem vulnerable and that’s going to keep the fans more into the match. Havoc grabs a cross armbreaker followed by something like a Lethal Injection. The shooting star only gets two and that’s probably going to wrap up Havoc’s chances. A quick Wrath of the Gods retains Matanza’s title at 7:20.

Rating: B-. This was an interesting choice for the season opener as Son of Havoc gets a chance at the title while Matanza doesn’t get to show off as much as usual. I’m not sure if this was the best way to get the fans going but again it seems like this is the start of a second half instead of a fresh season.

PJ Black, Johnny Mundo, Jack Evans and Taya come in to see Dario with Mundo demanding a title shot. Dario says no because they recently lost the Trios Titles. We see the team laying out Angelico and crushing his leg in a car door. Odds are that writes Angelico off TV. Dario still won’t give him a title shot so Mundo will settle for the Gift of the Gods Title. Still no, but Dario gives Taya a shot at Sexy Star instead.

Ivelisse is in the ring to talk about how Catrina cost her at Ultima Lucha. That means it’s time for a challenge to a match at Ultima Lucha Tres. Catrina appears on the balcony and says bring it on so Ivelisse says Catrina is dead.

Gift of the Gods Title: Taya vs. Sexy Star

Taya is challenging and Striker mentions that the Gift of the Gods Title has never been successfully defended. Now that’s the kind of stuff he should be telling us, not dropping Henry Godwinn references. Taya grabs a front facelock and the announcers debate Johnny Smith vs. Johnny Saint.

Some double knees to the face gets two on Taya but she misses a moonsault. Star makes her comeback as Striker asks what would happen if Taya won the title instead of Mundo. Striker: “Sometimes there’s no time for pants.” I’ll let you imagine the context. Cue Mundo and company (the Worldwide Underground) but Evans collides with Taya to give Star the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C. This was fine. It’s really cool that the title just happened to be on the line between two women but it’s something that so many others on the roster want. Mundo’s quest for the title with lackeys by his side could make him an interesting high level heel for the season and he can easily back it up in the ring. Not a great match here but it set some stuff up for the long term.

Star gets beaten down until Fenix, Drago and Aerostar make the save. You can almost guarantee an eight person tag.

Dario is on the phone when Marty the Moth comes in. Apparently Marty had some people help Dario in prison but Dario never wants his time in jail mentioned again. Marty wants to be Lucha Underground Champion but instead he gets Killshot next week in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match. There’s something very unique about the idea of no one knowing what happens in these backstage segments. It’s like no one watches the show which doesn’t make a ton of sense, but at least it’s something they stick with all the time.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Pentagon Dark

They stare each other down to start until Rey sends him outside. That just earns him some chops but Pentagon stops to glare at the referee. The fans don’t seem sure who to cheer for as Pentagon was getting close to being the anti-hero last season but cut it off at the end. A big superkick drops Mysterio, only to have Pentagon take too much time on top and get hurricanranaed down.

Pentagon takes it outside again but Mysterio pops right back up with a tornado DDT on the floor. That earns Rey a pumphandle driver for two back inside with Striker going into a weird tangent about Rey having his kids’ college paid for and there being no reason for him to kick out. Another superkick blasts Rey but Pentagon stops to yell at Vampiro, who just sits and stares. Vampiro gets out of his chair and walks away as Mysterio escapes the package piledriver. The 619 and a middle rope Canadian Destroyer of all things puts Pentagon away at 8:34.

Rating: B-. Another good but not great match here as the Vampiro vs. Pentagon story continues for no real logical reason. My guess continues to be that Vampiro has a new protege to take down Pentagon (Puma would make sense) but I really could go with Pentagon being done with Vampiro altogether. Oh and Pentagon should have won here. That really doesn’t need much of an explanation.

Pentagon goes for Rey’s arm but Dragon Azteca Jr. makes the save.

Puma is thinking about the loss to Mysterio when Vampiro comes in and says Puma has been off since he lost to Mil Muertes. If Puma wants to be back to his old self, he needs to beat Muertes. Puma was expecting Vampiro to ask him to get rid of Pentagon (Kentucky boys think alike) but Vampiro says it’s all about Puma to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I know I’ve said it multiple times already but this felt like the start of the second half of the season. We really didn’t get any major plot developments other than Dario already being out of prison. Most of the stories are picking up where they left off and that’s a good thing as so many of them felt incomplete. It’s a good next episode though and they have a lot of places to go as this season goes on.

 

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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.

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