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
Date: July 20, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’ll wrap it up here with the season two finale and the final part of Ultima Lucha Dos. That means Pentagon Jr. challenging Matanza for the Lucha Underground Title, Taya vs. Ivelisse and Rey Mysterio vs. Prince Puma in a major battle of the generations. They’ve got their work cut out for them to top what they did last year and I’m not sure they can pull it off. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of all the major events this season, which really was divided up into two parts with the pre and post Dario return. Also there’s a lot of stuff that was basically forgotten, including Aerostar being a time traveler. They really do pack a lot of stuff into this and it’s done a great job of making me want to see the big finale.

Vampiro is in full Emperor Palpatine mode as Pentagon Jr. bows to him before the title match. Pentagon has to destroy the monster that broke him but there is still fear inside him. Vampiro takes him to a room full of Pentagons, who the real Pentagon must destroy. With those imposters easily dispatched, it’s time for the big showdown with the masked master. Pentagon rips the mask off and Vampiro says he’s ready but not before changing his name from Pentagon Jr. to Pentagon Black.

Trios Titles: Drago/Fenix/Aerostar vs. Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans/PJ Black

Mundo and company are defending but there’s no Taya. Johnny gets in a backbreaker to start on Fenix and it’s quickly off to Drago who gets in a spinning DDT. Black comes in sans tag but misses his top rope Lionsault. Aerostar’s corkscrew crossbody takes Black down again and a slingshot corkscrew splash gets no count as the referee actually remembers who is legal. It’s off to Fenix who superkicks Jack before the good guys clean house, only to have the referee stop the triple dive because they’re not legal.

The distraction lets Fenix get stomped down in the corner as the champs take over. Evans comes in for a whip to crotch Fenix before a double belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker gets two. Everything breaks down again as Striker keeps talking about the referee, which has gotten more attention here than anything else. Jack’s springboard is broken up with a superkick and a Canadian Destroyer plants Johnny.

Aerostar dives on the other champs and Fenix hits a great looking frog splash for two on Mundo. A slingshot splash from Aerostar and the springboard 450 from Fenix add up for two. The referee goes down so Mundo keeps getting beaten up until his partners FINALLY help him out with a belt shot to Fenix’s head. A triple belt shot to the head gets two (seriously?) so Black kicks the ref in the head.

The champs go nuts with Chikara’s BDK’s Ragnarok (Evans and Black hold Fenix up by the arms while a running Johnny flips him forward for a big crash onto his back) but there’s still no referee. Johnny puts the title on Fenix’s face but here’s Angelico on crutches to take Mundo out. Aerostar gets back up and springboards into a reverse moonsault to drop Evans. Another crutch shot sets up a Fenix Driver (Fire Thunder Driver) for the pin on Mundo at 11:50. That makes Fenix the first Triple Crown Champion.

Rating: B. Good choice for an opener here with a group of people going all over the place with a bunch of high spots and insanity. Angelico coming out made sense as Johnny won the title in the first place cue to Angelico being injured, presumably by Mundo in the first place. The referee stuff got a bit annoying as the story came out of nowhere but then was dropped halfway through the match. Still though, good opener here and that’s why you have matches like this one.

Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Black Lotus

So Lotus mistakenly thinks Azteca’s father killed her parents and is out for revenge, which actually makes sense for a change. They start fast with some running flips and a headscissors to send Dragon down. As Vampiro says Lotus is sexy and turning him on, Azteca baseball slides her to take over for the first time. Azteca misses a flip dive but easily whips her into the barricade with some force. Back in and Dragon misses a high cross body (he isn’t the most accurate) to give Lotus two, only to have him pop back up with a roaring elbow. Azteca goes up but Pentagon of all people runs out to crotch him at 4:20.

Rating: D. I think we’ve seen our first Ultima Lucha match to be sacrificed due to time restraints. To be fair though, it’s not like this match had the biggest build in the world. This story has been kind of all over the place and the announcers can’t talk about it because they haven’t seen any of the buildup. You can barely talk about this one but Lotus looked fine while they lasted.

With Vampiro’s blessing, Pentagon breaks both of their arms. After a break, Pentagon says he’ll destroy Matanza with the new knowledge his master gave him. Now he’s Pentagon Dark and ready for anything, including taking down the monster because there is zero fear. Actually, let’s just do the title match RIGHT NOW.

Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. Pentagon Dark

Matanza is defending, Dario is in his corner and there must be a winner. Pentagon immediately hits a flip dive over the top to put the champion down. Vampiro keeps talking about the differences between Pentagon Jr. and Pentagon Dark as Pentagon knocks Matanza around ringside, including a hard whip into the barricade. An AA (not a Death Valley Driver announcers) has Matanza in even more trouble and he punches the post to make it even worse.

Some chairs to the back (including a La Parka guitar strum) knock Matanza around ringside and Pentagon whips him through some chairs. Matanza gets in a few right hands, only to be superkicked up against the barricade. Pentagon throws him through more chairs as this has been about 95% Pentagon through the first five minutes.

More chair shots to the leg keep Matanza in trouble on the floor and they FINALLY head inside. Dario: “Matanza! REMEMBER MAMA!” Matanza takes a third superkick and a running Codebreaker for two. A Backstabber gets the same so Dario is holding up the key. Pentagon wedges a chair in the corner (because wrestlers never learn) and is quickly sent head first into it for Matanza’s first major offense.

Matanza sends him flying with a pumphandle suplex and a standing moonsault gets two. Pentagon stands up after a German suplex and tells him to bring it. That means superkick #5 to the champ before a modified Wrath of the Gods (not an Irish Car Bomb Matt) gets two. Pentagon goes outside and stops a dive with a chair to the head, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to really knock Matanza silly.

Vampiro gets up and hands Pentagon a barbed wire baseball bat (the next logical step) but Dario knocks it out of his hands. Pentagon goes for Dario’s arm but Matanza hits him (weakly) in the back with the bat and hits Wrath of the Gods to retain at 11:32. The fans are NOT happy with that ending and swear quite a bit.

Rating: B. Uh what? No seriously, what was that ending? Pentagon completely dominated Matanza the whole match, shrugged off most of his offense and then gets beaten by two moves? That felt like they had no idea how to get out of this and just said “oh just have him hit his finisher to retain”. No build to it, no logical storytelling, no reason for Pentagon to lose that fast.

This match needed another five minutes or so and a lot more offense from Matanza if you’re going to go with that ending. Having Pentagon lose after a hard fought war is fine but having him lose after he basically squashed Matanza for ten minutes isn’t. If nothing else it makes your unstoppable monster champion look weak instead of like the killer he’s supposed to be. A recharged Pentagon is a great choice to give him a fight but they toned Matanza WAY too far down this time and it hurt the story a lot.

Post match Vampiro goes to help Pentagon but gets shoved away.

After a break, Vampiro takes his medicine, saying he failed.

Taya vs. Ivelisse

Basically they’re the two best women in the promotion (not named Sexy Star that is) and they’ve been feuding for a few weeks so here’s a match. Ivelisse takes her into the corner and drives Taya face first into the middle buckle ten times in a row. Vampiro keeps trying to get back into things as Taya knocks Ivelisse face first into the apron to take over on the floor.

Taya is sent into the chairs and they fight on the steps before crashing down. Back in and Iveliss kicks her down a few times before grabbing a release German suplex. A bridging German suplex gets two and there go the lights. Back with Catrina in the ring and hitting a double arm DDT drop (think a Bubba Bomb but a double arm DDT instead of a full nelson). The lights go off again and Catrina disappears, allowing Taya to hit a double stomp for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C-. The match was fine enough but another screwy finish is a little annoying. It also doesn’t really settle anything between Taya and Ivelisse but rather sets up something for the next season, which seems to be the problem with this whole show: not a lot is actually being decided here in favor of setting something up down the road.

Post match Catrina appears again to give Ivelisse the Lick of Death.

We get a voiceover from Konnan of all people, talking about finding a new protege to train. Apparently he’s talking about Prince Puma, who gets a highlight video including beating up people in some warehouse. This turns into a quick video setting up Puma vs. Rey Mysterio.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Prince Puma

The King vs. the Prince and I’m fine with this as the main event as it really is a dream match by Lucha Underground’s standards. Rey even has the El Rey network logo on his back for a nice touch. They start fast (of course) and it’s time to flip around a lot into a standoff. A headscissors from Rey is countered and Puma shakes his finger as we’re at another standoff.

Rey changes the plan a bit with some kicks to the head but the sitout bulldog doesn’t work. The fans cheer for different area codes before Puma bends Rey around his shoulders for a modified torture rack. Rey is able to escape and send him outside for that sliding splash under the bottom rope. The West Coast Pop gets two and a big springboard tornado DDT gets the same for Rey.

Mysterio tries a top rope hurricanrana but gets muscled up into a series of rolling suplexes (variety pack) for two. With nothing else working, Puma takes him up top for a super Razor’s Edge but since there’s no way that can happen, Rey gives him a reverse super hurricanrana for a near fall of his own. They slug it out with the fans being split on who to cheer for in a good sign. Another sitout bulldog is countered into a huge Backstabber, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. That move can’t win anywhere.

The spinning kick to the head puts Rey in 619 position and Puma actually pulls off the move steal for a change. A 450 (not a 630 Striker) gets two and I feel like I’m in a math class. Puma gets two more off a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head and goes up top. With Striker saying it’s the I’m sorry, I love you moment, Puma misses the 630 and crashes down instead. Rey enziguris him into a 619 but Puma grabs the boots and spins him into a Tombstone. That’s countered as well into a reverse hurricanrana (I don’t think I’ve seen that before) to set up the 619 and a top rope West Coast Pop puts Puma away at 26:28.

Rating: A-. I’m ok with Puma winning here as it’s basically the end of Creed: Puma is the future but he’s still got work to do to be the luchador he wants to be. This was a sweet wrestling match and felt like a main event level match. Given the way the title match ended, this was absolutely the right call for the main event as it doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth to end the show.

Puma goes to leave but Rey says these are Puma’s people and leaves him to pose.

The announcers wrap it up but Pentagon hits Vampiro with the barbed wire bat and superkicks Striker (should have gotten a bigger pop). The bat is raked across Vampiro’s head for some blood before Pentagon hits him over the back (covered in a rather thick looking jacket) with the bat. They go inside where Pentagon licks the blood and kicks Vampiro hard in the head. Pentagon says he’s the new master and licks some more blood before kicking Vampiro in the face again.

We go outside and Dario Cueto is ARRESTED. The police van pulls away as Dario lifts his head up and smiles to end the season. No really, that’s the end of the season. No other stories are addressed and we’re out for another few months.

Overall Rating: B. On its own, this is a strong show with a very good main event, an acceptable World Title match and a good Trios Title match. The only bad match is less than five minutes and I can live with seeing Catrina getting a little more physical if I just have to. I like the way they changed things up by going with the dream match for the good ending instead of having the fans boo the show out of the building when Pentagon lost. That’s smart and a sign that someone knows what they’re doing instead of just going ahead with their plan and dealing with the fans hating it.

Unfortunately, this was more than just a regular show. As soon as last season’s finale ended, this became something everyone wanted to see. There was a huge set of expectations to go with this season and it made this finale a show with a lot additional weight on its shoulders. That’s where things took a bad hit here.

All season long there were stories built, be it the big ones like Dario having a master, Councilman Delgado and everyone talking about what a big deal this was. Then there were individual ones like Marty the Moth vs. Killshot, Aerostar being from the future or whatever else you want to name. At the end of it though, all we get is this one storyline development that seems more like a teaser than any major change.

A term I’ve seen used to describe this show is “more like a mid-season finale” and I really can’t disagree. At no point did this feel like some big conclusion. Instead was much more like a show where we come back in six weeks to see what they have next. I think a lot of that has to do with knowing a third season is guaranteed though as last year was kind of up in the air, meaning they had to pack a lot into the first finale.

Overall this season was kind of all over the place. It started off with Dario and Matanza having to get back to the Temple and focused on Mil Muertes and Catrina in power but that wrapped up pretty cleanly and was barely mentioned again. The titles started changing hands a lot more frequently to keep things moving but it never felt like there was a big moment coming at the end of the season like with Muertes’ inevitable title victory. It’s still a good season but it seems like it cracked under some of the pressure, which they’ll need to fix next time around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 29, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

It’s the last regular show before the first week of Ultima Lucha, which will run for the next three shows. You can probably figure out most of the card from here but only a few matches have actually been announced. It should be interesting to see what Lucha Underground comes up with to get us there as they have some rather unique ways of setting up matches. Let’s get to it.

The recap looks at Mil Muertes’ latest death and feud with King Cuerno, plus Prince Puma challenging Rey Mysterio for Ultima Lucha Dos.

The Trios Titles will be on the line at Ultima Lucha with Fenix/Drago/Aerostar challenging PJ Black/Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans. The show now has its own graphics to really make it look important.

King Cuerno vs. Mil Muertes

That’s quite the opener. Cuerno gets Muertes to chase him around to start but Muertes just spears him down back inside, which Striker says is like the reaper’s trident. He’s kind of a weird guy. Muertes fires off some chops, which Striker say are designed to disorientate your opponent. I thought they were designed to hurt your opponent’s chest but that’s just me. A chokeslam gets two for Mil but Cuerno comes back with a running knee and dropkick to set up the big dive through the ropes.

The referee gets taken out as well so Cuerno grabs a chair. Of note here, Striker talks about some soldiers being in the crowd and then calls the bumped referee a casualty of war. Bad choice of words there. Muertes no sells a chair to the head and blasts Cuerno with a clothesline. The chair to Cuerno’s back makes it even worse but Mil misses a charge and goes head first into the chair in the corner, allowing Cuerno to grab a rollup (and the ropes) for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: C+. Striker driving me up the wall aside, this was a good enough brawl to set up the pretty obvious gimmick rematch at Ultima Lucha. Cuerno has always been one of my favorites around here so it’s cool to see him getting a push and the biggest win he’s ever had in the promotion, though I’m sure he’ll get destroyed in the rematch.

Taya and Ivelisse come in to see Dario and get catty with each other from the start. Dario makes a match between them for Ultima Lucha to see who the baddest woman is. As they’re leaving, Catrina comes in and calls Ivelisse a little girl. Apparently Muertes wants a rematch with Cuerno at Ultima Lucha but Dario lists off everything Catrina and Muertes have done to him. Catrina doesn’t care and asks for it to be a death match. Dario actually agrees and Catrina disappears. Dario: “Women.”

Prince Puma vs. Dragon Azteca Jr.

This should be good. Rey Mysterio is out with Azteca. They start fast (of course) by running the ropes with Puma missing a kick to the head and a standing moonsault before they trade armdrags. Striker begs Vampiro to help him with this play by play but he gets a break as the guys shake hands off a standoff. Dragon slaps him in the face and they run the ropes again with both guys sliding to the floor. Azteca runs back in for a suicide dive but gets caught on Puma’s shoulders (surprising power display) and sent back first into the post.

Back in and Dragon’s middle rope hurricanrana sends Puma flying and a springboard hurricanrana takes him off the middle rope. A running forearm to the jaw staggers Puma again, allowing Dragon to hit his pop up DDT (the DDTJ) for two. Back up and Puma pulls Dragon off the middle rope into a Blue Thunder Bomb followed by some rolling suplexes for two. The 630 is broken up as Puma gets crotched and a super victory roll gets two for Dragon. Puma kicks him in the back of the head and a Michinoku Driver gets two more. A dropkick sets up the 630 to finally put Dragon away at 8:44.

Rating: B+. Really awesome stuff here and that’s all it was going to be. Azteca has hit the ground running in Lucha Underground and this does a good job of setting up Puma vs. Mysterio. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much to set up Azteca vs. Lotus, which isn’t the strongest feud in the first place. Still though, great match.

Post match Puma says that’s Mysterio at Ultima Lucha.

Here are Son of Havoc, the Mack, Cage and Texano in the ring for a chat with Dario. The boss has plans for the four of them for Ultima Lucha: the Unique Opportunity Tournament. The winner will receive the most unique opportunity that he’s ever offered so give it everything you have. The tournament starts next week but he thinks they should get a start right now so the brawl is on.

We run down the Ultima Lucha card. Those graphics really do add something.

Johnny Mundo vs. Fenix

Mundo flips off the crowd to make it clear that he is in fact the villain. Thanks for pointing that one out for us chum. Fenix starts with an early rollup attempt before a standing moonsault gets two. Mundo takes him into the corner for some choking, only to get chopped over and over and over. A quick C4 gets two for Mundo and we hit a double arm crank with a chinlock. Mundo spinebuster him for two and Taya gets involved with some choking.

Fenix superkicks him off the ropes though and dives out onto Johnny and Taya at the same time. We get a Super Calo reference before Striker says this is the fight of Fenix’s life. I’d think the Muertes match where he won the title was a bit bigger but who am I to argue with Striker. Fenix gets two more off a sunset bomb but Taya grabs his foot so Johnny can kick him in the head. The End of the World misses as Taya puts the Trios Title belt on the apron. Fenix is right back up and chopping Johnny on the top, setting up a super C4 for no count as Taya has the referee. A belt shot puts Fenix away at 7:53.

Rating: B-. I’m not wild on the WWE style finish but at least it fits Johnny’s character to perfection and helps set up the Trios Titles match at Ultima Lucha. Johnny and Taya are perfect together and you could see them being a thing in real life which always helps. Fenix has very quietly become one of the best performers in this company and it’s always fun to see him in the ring.

Post match the other four members of the trios come out for the big brawl with Ivelisse following them to go after Taya. A huge brawl ends the show with the good guys (and Ivelisse) cleaning house.

Overall Rating: B+. Good wrestling and a VERY strong build towards Ultima Lucha makes this an awesome show. I love the fact that it’s a three week show, basically guaranteeing that the matches don’t have to be as rushed as they were last year. I’m looking forward to the show more than ever now and that’s exactly how I should feel with a week to go. Really well done here as I’ve come to expect from this promotion.

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re just a few weeks away from Ultima Lucha Dos and a lot of the card still needs to be set. The official length hasn’t been announced yet but the rumor says four hours over three weeks, which is an upgrade over last year’s three hours. Also it’s about time to start going somewhere with these storylines because time is running out on this season. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps the Gift of the Gods Title, most recently held by Cage, who failed in his cash-in attempt against Matanza. We also look at the stories for Famous B. and Black Lotus.

Dario Cueto talks to a masked man named Night Claw, who is from the same Aztec tribe as Prince Puma. Tonight the seven Aztec medallions will be awarded but Dario gives Night Claw one for free. Dario isn’t letting him off that easily though as he reminds Claw that the Jaguar tribe was the first one to be wiped out by the gods.

The announcers tell us that Night Claw debuts at Ultima Lucha Dos.

Aztec Medallion: Daga vs. Mascarita Sagrada

I have no idea what they’re going for with Sagrada but it’s getting annoying at this point. Kobra Moon is watching from the balcony. Daga throws him down for two to start and a snap suplex gets the same. A Russian legsweep sets up a cobra clutch crossface to make Sagrada tap at 2:13.

Famous B. superkicks Sagrada and hits him with a shoe. B. promises to get a new client and make him famous. Hopefully this gets rid of this story because it’s really not interesting.

Dragon Azteca Jr. is in Dario’s office and accuses the boss of being a liar. That gives Dario an idea: Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Black Lotus at Ultima Lucha Dos. We’ll see who is the true killer that night.

Aztec Medallions: Joey Ryan/Cortez Castro/Mr. Cisco vs. Killshot/Marty Martinez/Siniestro de la Muerta

Remember that Cisco now knows his partners are cops. Before the match, Marty returns Killshot’s dog tags as a peace offering. Cortez and Marty get things going with Marty doing the Moth pose. It’s off to Joey for a fight over the lollipop until Killshot comes in to make things more serious. A handstand walk sets up a dropkick to send Joey into the corner, meaning it’s off to Cisco vs. Siniestro. Some armdrags put Sinistero down and a powerslam gets two.

We get a Buzz Sawyer reference from Striker but Vampiro “won’t put that over at all.” Sinistero trips Cisco, which Striker calls a Canadian trip. Cortez comes in for a bottom rope tornado DDT on Marty, who is taken down again by a middle rope hurricanrana from Cisco. Everything breaks down and it’s time for the dives with Marty posing instead of jumping.

Castro and Cisco put him on the floor with a double clothesline before Killshot uses Castro as a launchpad to moonsault onto everyone else. Back in and Cisco hits a reverse hurricanrana (Rewind Rana according to Striker. I kind of like that.) on Killshot but Joey tries to steal the pin to start a brawl. The distraction lets Marty curb stomp Cisco so Killshot can add a top rope double stomp for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was fine but I’m getting a little tired of the Aztec Medallion shows. The strength of Lucha Underground is in its storytelling and we’re really not getting that in these thrown together matches. Yeah Joey, Cisco and Castro have a story but that can’t really be addressed here because the announcers don’t know about it. The match was fine but nothing all that interesting, which makes for a dull show when that’s all you get.

Marty steals the dog tags back.

Aztec Medallions: Sexy Star/Mariposa vs. Ivelisse/Taya

Taya and Star get things going with the latter grabbing a front facelock. That goes nowhere as Taya reverses into a keylock before they trade some armdrags for a standoff. A double tag brings in Ivelisse and Mariposa with Ivelisse putting on a headlock until she’s pulled into the buckle. For a little change of pace, Mariposa ties her arms between Ivelisse’s legs for something like a Sharpshooter. Cool move.

Ivelisse is quickly out and it’s off to Taya vs. Mariposa for a rather intriguing matchup. Star comes in before anything happens though and armdrags Taya from the top. Everything breaks down and Star hits a running seated senton off the apron to drop Taya again. Taya gets thrown into some empty chairs as this breaks down into a brawl like it probably should have in the first place.

Ivelisse dives down onto Mariposa and it’s back to Taya vs. Star in the ring. A DDT drops Taya but Star won’t tag in Ivelisse. La Majistral gets two on Ivelisse and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence. Everything breaks down again and Taya spears her partner by mistake so Mariposa hits Ivelisse with a White Noise to give Star the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting with the women showing that they could have a compelling match with some pairings that are actually intriguing. I could go for Taya vs. Mariposa down the line with Taya being all about fitness and perfection and Mariposa being something like the female Mankind. There’s something interesting there and it could be entertaining down the line.

Here’s Prince Puma for his first ever speech in the Temple. Puma gets right to the point: he’s been thinking about Ultima Lucha and there’s only one match people want to see him have. Ever since he started training, people have been asking if he can be the next Rey Mysterio but Puma doesn’t want to know if he can be Rey Mysterio. He wants to know if he can BEAT Rey Mysterio so the challenge is issued. Rey comes out and says he’s a pioneer of all this, but at the end of the day he’s El Rey (Spanish for The King and a nice plug for the network) and Puma is still a prince. However, Rey needs to know if he’s still the best so the match is made.

Overall Rating: C+. This show continued the roll towards Ultima Lucha with one of the big matches being set up. For once this feels like a major match actually worth looking forward to as Rey could probably nail it for a show like Ultima Lucha. I’m starting to get excited for the show, which is apparently going to run for three weeks over four hours, which gives them a lot of time for a lot of the matches. Hopefully next week is a storyline show though because they’re running out of time to wrap up a lot of this stuff.

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

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

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’re approaching Ultima Lucha Dos with just a few weeks to go and the company has turned it’s attention to the big show. Last week six people won a tag match to set up a six way elimination tonight for a shot at the Lucha Underground Title in (probably) the main event of Ultima Lucha Dos. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap focuses on the undercover cops, Pentagon’s destruction and rebuilding, Mil Muertes coming back to life again and tonight’s six man match.

Pentagon Jr. vs. King Cuerno vs. Ivelisse vs. Taya vs. Johnny Mundo vs. Fenix

No tags of course and this is under elimination rules. Johnny and Taya double team Ivelisse to start with the Moonlight Drive and a swinging Rock Bottom getting two each, only to have Fenix come in with some kicks. What’s Up with Pentagon playing D-Von gets two on Johnny as Taya makes a questionable save. We get the big showdown between Pentagon and Cuerno with the former being sent out to the floor.

Johnny takes him out with a dive as well, only to have Cuerno and Fenix throw Ivelisse on top of everyone else. Back inside, Cuerno snaps off a super reverse hurricanrana on Fenix but here’s Mil Muertes to spear Cuerno down. Muertes adds a powerbomb and Mundo hits the End of the World for the elimination at 4:20.

Back from a break (oh yeah this is going through the whole show) with Fenix refusing to fight Ivelisse as the other three go at it on the floor. Fenix still won’t fight so Taya gets in, allowing Johnny to kick Ivelisse down. That’s fine with Ivelisse who kicks Taya down and snaps off a hurricanrana on Johnny. Taya slams Ivelisse but misses a moonsault. A double stomp to Ivelisse’s chest lets Taya pin Ivelisse at 12:24 as we take a second break.

Back with all four brawling in the ring with Pentagon giving Taya Shattered Dreams and then slapping her chest up against the ropes. Vampiro stares at Pentagon as he kicks Taya in various places. Johnny wants Pentagon inside for a fight and they trade big forearms. Taya grabs Pentagon’s foot though and the Flying Chuck drops him with ease.

That just allows Fenix to come back in for some kicks to the head before Taya tornado armdrags Pentagon down. The heels stomp the good guys down as the fans cheer for Pentagon. Taya’s double knees in the corner stagger Pentagon but he pops right back up with a package piledriver to get rid of Taya at 21:46.

We take a third break with Fenix, Johnny and Pentagon staring each other down and chopping in a circle. A spinebuster plants Fenix for two as Pentagon is sent out to the floor. Fenix sends Johnny outside for a dive, followed by Pentagon hitting one of his own to take both guys down. Pentagon and Fenix chop things off until Fenix gets a running start for a headscissors. Not to be outdone, Johnny busts out a corkscrew dive off the top to put down the masked ones.

Back in and Johnny’s corkscrew shooting star gets two on Fenix, followed by a standing C4 for the same. Pentagon puts Johnny on top so Fenix can jump very high for a big double stomp. Johnny is down so Pentagon tries to roll Fenix up, only to land on Johnny to get rid of Mundo at 30:22.

Another break brings us back to “a garden of violence” according to Striker. They stare each other down and Pentagon lets him have the first shot. Pentagon throws him into the air for a crash and brings the Haas of Pain out of mothballs for a near submission. Fenix gets out and puts on something like a kneeling Texas Cloverleaf. That goes nowhere so Pentagon grabs what looks like a Tombstone, only to tie Fenix’s legs up and bend his back.

Fenix is out as well and grabs a Dragon Sleeper before going with the springboard twisting Pentagon bails to the floor and gets taken down by a big corkscrew dive. Back in and Pentagon sends him into the corner for a big kick to take over again. Fenix catches a charge in the corner but Pentagon gets his legs around Fenix’s head for a swinging piledriver of all things. That’s certainly a new one.

Fenix springboards into a super hurricanrana for two and even Vampiro is stunned at the kickout. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for until Pentagon scores with back Sling Blades. Fenix scores with a superkick and both guys are down. They head to the apron for a superkick from Pentagon, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to the floor of all things. Both guys slowly get back in and Fenix scores with a backbreaker for two more. They slug it out from their knees with Fenix getting the better of it, only to dive into the package piledriver for the pin at 52:11.

Rating: A-. I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say here. They beat the heck out of each other for the better part of an hour and there were some ridiculous looking holds and moves in the final two. It says a lot that they could get me into a match where the winner was as obvious as Pentagon, but Fenix as runner-up was the best possible option. Oh and we’re almost guaranteed Muertes vs. Cuerno now so everyone wins.

Matanza and Dario appear at the entrance so Pentagon can threaten to break every one of Matanza’s bones to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. If there’s one thing I love about Lucha Underground, it’s the idea of being able to go from the big ideas to something simple like this. Instead of a bunch of stories, this was all about one idea: getting a #1 contender to set up the main event of the biggest show of the year. That’s exactly what they did and threw in a bonus of Cuerno vs. Muertes in what should be one heck of a fight. As usual, Lucha knows how to be efficient which is something almost every other promotion needs to improve on. Really fun show here and it flew by, which is always a bonus.

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

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 8, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

We’re coming off a big show last week where Prince Puma came close to turning heel without actually doing it and Cage came very close to defeating Matanza for the Lucha Underground Title. With Cage’s shot out of the way, it’s time to crown a new Gift of the Gods Champion in a process that may begin tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Jack Evans vs. dragons, Cortez Castro and Joey Ryan as undercover cops and the fall and rise of Pentagon Jr.

Black Lotus comes in to see Dario Cueto and tells him that Dragon Azteca. Jr. knows where Matanza is kept. She stopped him from killing Matanza but if Dario is lying about what happened to her family, she’ll have to deal with everyone. Dario brings up Ultima Lucha Dos and says she’ll be facing Dragon Azteca Jr. so her parents can finally rest in peace.

Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us to the show and tell us that Ultima Lucha is in four weeks.

Tonight there will be a six on six tag match and the winners will face each other in a six way match next week, perhaps for the Gift of the Gods Title?

Marty Martinez vs. Killshot

Before the match, Marty taunts Killshot with the stolen dog tags and earns himself a quick beating. It actually only lasts a few seconds until Marty comes back and pounds Killshot’s head into the barricade before laughing like a crazy man. The referee stops the count for no apparent reason but a whip into the announcers’ table is enough to end this at 1:14 in a double countout.

Killshot, still with his gear on, kicks Marty’s legs out from underneath him and gets the dog tags back. Apparently he’s not that bright though as Marty sneaks up on him and takes the tags away again.

Castro and Ryan go in to interrogate Cisco with Ryan as the bad cop. The lieutenant comes in to say Cisco should just confess now. When that’s refused, the lieutenant also offers to wear a wire. Apparently Cueto is accused of drug trafficking, money smuggling and murder. On top of that though, she thinks he’s the lynchpin to the end of days. Well that escalated quickly.

Jack Evans/PJ Black vs. Aerostar/Drago

This is a nunchuck match, meaning there are a bunch of them hanging around the Temple for use though you win by pinfall or submission. Evans insists on being introduced as the Dragon Slayer. Striker says we can add these four names to a list including Daredevil, Moon Knight and Michelangelo. Aerostar and Black fight to the floor but Aerostar quickly comes back in to be catapulted into a sunset flip, only to launch Evans into a clothesline.

A double slam gets two on Jack but PJ gets in a brainbuster on Drago for no cover. Evans springboards into a double stomp on Aerostar’s back and it’s time to go after the weapons, only to have the good guys coming in for the quick save. Evans holds the ropes open so Black can dive on both of them, followed by a moonsault to take them out again.

Jack gets the first set of nunchucks from above the entrance and it’s Aerostar taking the first beating. Drago kicks Evans in the head though and grabs another set of nunchucks to take over, followed by a running flip dive to drop the villains. They wind up on top of Dario’s office (that must drive him crazy) but Jack would rather dive off onto Black to avoid taking a beating from Aerostar…..who dives down to take them out anyway. Well that works too. Back in and Drago just beats the fire out of Jack with the nunchucks and blows mist into his eyes, setting up the Dragon’s Tail for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C+. This depends on your taste as it was mainly about the weapons, which really didn’t do a lot for me. They certainly looked and sounded cool but I could have gone with more wrestling instead of just the violence. At least that Aerostar dive looked awesome. It wasn’t a bad match and certainly wasn’t boring but it really didn’t do anything for me for the most part.

Prince Puma/The Mack/Texano/Sexy Star/Son of Havoc/Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Fenix/King Cuerno/Ivelisse/Taya/Johnny Mundo/Chavo Guerrero

The winning team will face off next week with the winner of that getting the Lucha Underground Title shot at Ultima Lucha Dos. Actually hang on a second as here’s Pentagon Jr. in a wheelchair to say that Chavo was the only one who helped him but now it’s time to destroy Chavo. Pentagon gets up and throws him into the apron and superkicks him down before breaking his arm.

Back from a break before the bell but we’re still not ready as Dario and Black Lotus come out. Dario asks if the fans want Pentagon to take Chavo’s place and is of course told yes. That’s fine with Dario but he warns Pentagon of the long term consequences. Pentagon has no fear so ring the bell.

Prince Puma/The Mack/Texano/Sexy Star/Son of Havoc/Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Fenix/King Cuerno/Ivelisse/Taya/Johnny Mundo/Pentagon Jr.

One fall to a finish. Star sneaks up on Taya with a quick rollup for two and spins out of a hair drag with a cartwheel. Taya is sent outside for a tag off to Ivelisse, who gets to face Son of Havoc. A few kicks and a small package get two on Havoc and it’s time for a staredown. Pentagon tags himself in and the fans are far more interested in a hurry. Mack comes in and misses a charge, allowing Pentagon to kick him in the ribs.

A Backstabber out of the corner drops Mack again for no cover as Pentagon would rather hit a LOUD chop up against the ropes. Fenix comes in with a missile dropkick for two on Mack but he just runs Fenix over with a Pounce. It’s off to Mysterio but his head is kicked into the third row by Cuerno. Somehow this match hasn’t been as insane as I was expecting. Rey comes back with a bulldog for two but Mundo (still in his sunglasses) makes a quick save.

Texano throws Rey into a hurricanrana before getting two on Cuerno off a middle rope leg lariat. An armdrag allows the tag off to Mundo (who Vampiro mistakes for Taya) and it’s Taya coming in to save him from a superplex. That’s fine with Texano as he sends her face first between Mundo’s legs to put them both down. Puma comes in but Johnny throws him into his partners as things start breaking down.

Cuerno hits his suicide dive to take out Texano, leaving Taya to miss a charge at Ivelisse and go into the post. Star dives over the top and onto a big pile, followed by Ivelisse doing the same. Pentagon and Mack chop it out inside until Mack exploder suplexes him outside. Now it’s Mack diving over the top to take Pentagon out followed by Puma flip diving onto too many people to name.

Fenix dives onto all of them as well but Rey’s attempt is broken up by Mundo. Puma starts firing off some kicks to Johnny, setting up Rey’s 619, only to have Mundo send Rey into Puma in the corner. A super Spanish Fly plants Puma for the three count at 12:55, sending his team to the #1 contenders match next week.

Rating: C+. They actually kept this from getting too insane and the match was easy to follow as a result. You knew Pentagon’s team was getting the win here as it’s clear he’s going to get a big match at Ultima Lucha, perhaps even the title match itself. The match was good enough though and it set up something interesting for next week, which is all this needed to do.

Catrina is in King Cuerno’s office and uses the stone to bring King Cuerno back to life again.

Overall Rating: B. Hitting the build towards Ultima Lucha Dos is the best thing they could have done as the shows were just kind of going week to week with no real goal in sight. Now things are starting to wrap up this season and it has the potential to be one heck of an ending, especially with Mil Muertes coming back to be all evil and unstoppable again. Good episode this week and a good way to set things up as the series comes to a close.

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

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

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Lucha Underground
Date: June 1, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

It’s a big week as we have Matanza defending the Lucha Underground Title against Cage, who is cashing in his Gift of the Gods Title for a shot at the big belt. Other than that it’s hard to say what to expect as the show goes up and down more often than not these days. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Trios and Gift of the Gods Titles in recent weeks.

Daga vs. Son of Havoc

Havoc sends him to the floor in about fifteen seconds and kicks him hard in the chest. In a ridiculous display of strength, Havoc hangs horizontally off the post before dropping down with an elbow. A standing moonsault gets two back inside as we definitely seem to be in squash territory. Daga flips him into a faceplant for two before talking a bit of trash.

They hit the mat with Daga spinning around into a Tequila Sunrise but here’s Kobra Moon for a distraction. It doesn’t seem to bother Daga that much though as he slingshots in with a dropkick in the corner. Havoc pops back up and kicks Daga in the face but misses his springboard double stomp. Kobra distracts Havoc so Daga can kick him in the head (not a DQ for interference of course) but Havoc shoves him off and hits the Shooting Star for the pin at 6:07.

Rating: C-. I’m still not a fan of any of these people though Son of Havoc winning is the right call. Daga and Kobra Moon are as far down on the Lucha totem pole as you can be and this really didn’t do them a lot of good. They’re just not interesting and their matches aren’t worth seeing either.

Post match Kobra almost wraps herself around Daga, who doesn’t seem pleased.

Rey Mysterio is warming up when Dragon Azteca comes in to say he’s found Matanza’s cell. Dragon wants revenge but Rey say go after the titles again. That makes Dragon think Rey doesn’t care about the dead Dragon Azteca. A fight is about to break out when Prince Puma comes in. Rey tells him to leave but Puma doesn’t take kindly to the suggestion. They all head to the ring in peace.

Trios Titles: Rey Mysterio Jr./Dragon Azteca Jr./Prince Puma vs. Johnny Mundo/PJ Black/Jack Evans

Rey and company are challenging after losing the titles last week. The champs now have matching bandanas and sunglasses. Mysterio and Black start things off with PJ being taken to the mat but ducking a basement kick to the head. The second isn’t as avoidable though as Rey blasts him with another kick, only to have Mundo kick Rey low from the apron.

Evans pulls Rey back across the ring so Mundo can hit him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Rey has flashbacks to teaming with Kidman though and counters a powerbomb with a DDT for the hot tag off to Puma. A northern lights suplex into a vertical suplex drops Mundo again and Azteca helps Puma with a corner enziguri to Evans. Mundo kicks Puma in the head to break up a dive so Black can hit the dive instead.

Evans dropkicks Rey to break up another dive, only to have Puma do the same thing to him. A big old superplex sends Evans and Puma onto the pile and all six are down. Back in and Puma’s 630 is broken up, allowing Jack to hit one of his own for two. Puma is right back up with a suplex to send Jack into the corner though and it’s a double tag to Dragon and Mundo. The other four fight to the floor as Dragon does his big spinning DDT for two on Johnny. Taya gets on the apron so Johnny can kick Dragon low. That’s too much for Puma who gets in the ring and kicks Johnny low for the DQ at 9:45.

Rating: B. Another fun match here with an ending smart enough to keep the good guy dream team looking strong. Puma was so frustrated with all the cheating on top of the pre-match stuff backstage that he snapped and turned all evil for a bit to cost his team the match. The thing I like about Lucha is that they don’t flat out say that and let you figure it out on your own for a change. If this was WWE they would have explained it three times during the five replays.

Puma superkicks Taya to really act evil. I could go for Puma vs. Mundo.

Dragon Azteca is at Matanza’s cell when Black Lotus (Remember her?) comes up and tells him not to do this. She tells Dragon Azteca that the original Dragon killed her parents but he doesn’t seem to believe her.

Lucha Underground Title: Cage vs. Matanza

Cage is challenging by cashing in his Gift of the Gods Title. Vampiro thinks Matanza is distracted as Cage holds up the title. So the solution is to just distract him? A slugout goes nowhere and they trade shoulders and elbows. Cage headscissors him out to the floor to set up a BIG flip dive. If this guy isn’t back in WWE in a year at most I’ll be stunned. Cage isn’t done yet as he moonsaults off the top to take out Matanza again.

Dario is freaking out as Matanza is sent face first into the barricade a few times. The champ gets a breather while Cage peels back the floor mats, allowing Matanza to suplex Cage on the concrete. Cage misses a clothesline and gets caught in a release German suplex. Back in and Matanza pounds away with rights and lefts but a standing shooting star (more like a headbutt than a splash) hits knees.

Twenty straight clotheslines in the corner rock Matanza but he comes right back with a fall away suplex for two. Now it’s Cage popping back up with a pumphandle into an X Factor of all things. Back up and both guys try bicycle kicks for a double knockdown. They trade no sold German suplexes but a swinging German suplex knocks Cage silly. Wrath of the Gods is broken up and Cage BLASTS him with a discus lariat for two. A superplex plants Matanza again and a top rope elbow gets two on the champ.

An Alabama Slam and standing moonsault give Cage yet another near fall and that means it’s time for Weapon X. That’s countered as well but the Wrath of the Gods is reversed into a small package for two. The Lucha Destroyer (F5) gets another two for Cage and there go the straps. A series of kicks stagger Matanza but he grabs Wrath of the Gods for the pin at retain at 13:27.

Rating: B+. I don’t think this one needs much of an explanation: take two big guys and have them beat each other up for about fifteen minutes. The important thing here though is that they’ve adjusted Matanza’s character to someone who can be beaten after a lot of difficulty. Basically he’s their version of Kane and that’s not the kind of character who can only last so long without being adjusted and those necessary changes have been made. Really fun power brawl here with Cage looking like someone who could indeed beat Matanza if he had another shot.

Overall Rating: A-. Two out of the three matches were highly entertaining and we got an important change to a major character. Black Lotus’ cameo didn’t really need to happen but it’s nice for them to throw a bone back to the whole Dragon Azteca story. That’s one of the problems around here: there are so many stories and only an hour a week to get to a lot of them so there’s only so much you can do. Anyway, really strong show this week which you have to expect every now and then.

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

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

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

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

Lucha Underground
Date: May 11, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Tonight is all about violence as we have Mil Muertes vs. Matanza II in a Graver Consequences match with four caskets instead of one. The other thing to remember is that we’re getting closer to the season finale with less than half of the season left to go. Things are going to start rounding into form and that means a lot more big storyline developments. Let’s get to it.

We look at the finals of the trios tournament, the Councilman Delgado story where he says there’s someone more powerful than Dario Cueto and the setup for Grave Consequences.

Cueto goes to meet Councilman Delgado for a payoff to Delgado’s boss. Dario goes to leave but is stopped and told to have a drink. Apparently the cops are looking into Dario’s activities in the Temple and there’s probably already someone inside (there is and it’s Cortez Castro, which is still unknown to everyone else). Delgado’s boss is interested in the Temple and will be coming to see it soon. This freaks Dario out and it’s made even worse when Delgado asks if Dario thought Matanza was going to have all the fun. Now that has a lot of potential.

Aztec Medallion: Joey Ryan vs. Cortez Castro vs. Mr. Cisco

The fans seem to be beyond Ryan but Vampiro picks Cisco. Joey goes after Cisco to start but gets sent to the floor, leaving Castro to suplex Cisco for two. Both of them have their backs turned though, allowing Joey to run in and knee Castro in the back (setting up a big edit as the camera pulls away) for a rollup and the pin (with tights of course) at 1:18.

Mil Muertes is the Luchador of the Week.

Catrina says she’s been a prisoner of darkness for 197 years. Muertes spent days in a cave made of rock and then weeks in the underworld (after Grave Consequences) but now Catrina has made him stronger than ever. Tonight Pascual Mendoza’s new life begins when he puts Matanza in the casket. They leave and King Cuerno comes out from behind the throne, having heard everything.

Trios Title: Ivelisse/Son of Havoc/Johnny Mundo vs. Rey Mysterio Jr./Dragon Azteca Jr./Prince Puma

Ivelisse’s team is challenging and Mundo is a surprise partner with Taya in his corner. Dragon and Ivelisse get things going with Azteca easily slamming her down early on. A legsweep has Ivelisse down which Striker calls an LBI (Lower Body Injury, which he’s nice enough to translate after using the acronym). It’s off to Rey vs. Havoc and the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for.

Rey’s hurricanrana doesn’t work so they both try kicks which are both caught in the air. They stare each other down and it’s off to Mundo vs. Puma with the Prince being kicked to the floor. Taya and Ivelisse start shouting at each other because that’s how all women in wrestling act. Back in and Mundo flips Ivelisse off but eats an enziguri, allowing the tag off to Azteca, who might be the most exciting guy in the promotion right now.

Havoc bicycle kicks him and gets two off a Lethal Injection. Mundo wants in but Havoc won’t tag him because he’d rather go up top for a double stomp to the back. It’s back to Rey for two off a victory roll but Ivelisse breaks up the 619. Mundo kicks Ivelisse in the face by mistake and is sent to the floor for a hurricanrana into the barricade from Azteca. Now the 619 nails Havoc before it’s off to Puma for the 630 and the pin at 7:14. Striker tried to push that as a passing of the torch but it really was nothing out of the ordinary.

Rating: B-. The champs are an awesome team and it’s a shame that Angelico got hurt to prevent what could be a low level dream match. Mundo being added didn’t do much and you would expect him to have a bigger feud than just being thrown into a trios match for a one off title challenge.

Ivelisse gets blamed for the loss for whatever reason. Taya beats her down

Lucha Underground Title: Matanza vs. Mil Muertes

Matanza is defending and this is a Casket match with four caskets to choose from. A bunch of people with skeleton face paint (I believe it’s something associated with the Day of the Dead) bring out the caskets ala the Lucha Underground equivalent of Undertaker’s druids. They slug it out to start with Muertes being thrown over the top to dent one of the caskets. Matanza puts two caskets (called death boxes here) next to each other before telling fans to get out of the way.

Catrina tries to make a save and gets choked, only to have Muertes spear the champ into the empty chairs. As you might expect, Matanza is up for a powerbomb onto a casket. Muertes comes right back with a Flatliner off the apron onto a casket, which is then carried into the ring. Dario copies Catrina by interfering for a distraction which allows Matanza to roll some gutwrench suplexes. Striker thinks Matanza might be a skilled wrestler under the mask. Gee thanks for that Matt.

Mil spears him again and unhooks the bottom rope (no one ever uses that anyway) to get the metal hook off the buckle. Matanza easily takes it away and hits Mil in the head before going for the mask. That just earns him a chokeslam onto the casket before Mil goes outside and finds a lead glove in a toolbox. You know, instead of hitting him WITH THE TOOLBOX.

A few shots to the champ’s head only have so much effect before he hits Mil low. They head outside again with Matanza opening a fresh casket and getting most of the lid closed, only to have Muertes punch through the lid to grab him by the throat. Well that works. Catrina blasts Cueto for no apparent reason, only to get DESTROYED by Matanza.

The champ steals the stone and buries it along with Catrina in the same casket. This just ticks Mil off even more so he hammers on Matanza but can’t close the lid. Instead it’s a right hand to the throat to get Matanza out of trouble, followed by a powerbomb onto the casket. Wrath of the Gods into the casket is enough to finish Muertes at 14:55, drawing INSANE booing from the fans.

Rating: B. You could tell they were going for the same style that worked so well with Fenix vs. Mil Muertes but that match worked because the Fenix match was all about hope spots while this was a combination of a casket match and two monsters hitting each other really hard. Those two styles only work together so well and it hit a wall here.

Catrina has disappeared but the Day of the Dead people come out to take Mil away. One of them pulls his hood back to reveal King Cuerno.

A limo rolls up to Councilman Delgado so he can pay his boss Dario’s money. Apparently Dario thinks Matanza is the most powerful person in the world but that’s not true because the boss is. The boss lights up a cigar to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling took a backseat to all the storyline stuff and to be fair, that was the far more interesting part of this show. The idea that someone could be more powerful than the Cuetos offers a lot of potential and now the question becomes if the boss is someone we’ve seen before or someone new. It’s going to be interesting to see where things go and the wrestling will be more than fine at the same time. Another good show because that’s what Lucha Underground does.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Lucha Underground
Date: April 27, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

This is another one of those really big episodes as we have the finale of the Trios tournament which just happens to be for the Trios Titles with the champions defending. Other than that we have Cage vs. Johnny Mundo inside a cage for one of the Aztec Medallions. That should be enough for one show so let’s get to it.

The opening recap focuses on the two matches tonight, which might be the entire card.

Apparently both Matanza and Mil Muertes will be fine but they’ll be out for a bit.

Aztec Medallion: Cage vs. Johnny Mundo

Inside a cage. They start fast with Cage throwing him into the corner and handing Johnny a beating. Mundo can’t get over the top so Cage dropkicks him down for some posing. Cage sends him into the steel a few times before a torture rack neckbreaker (always a cool move) gets two. In a very unique move, Cage puts him face first on the middle rope before climbing to the top for an elevated Boston crab.

Johnny crotches him for a breather but Cage throws him around and climbs again. This time it’s Taya with some belt shots to the hands to slow him down, allowing Johnny to grab a top rope C4 for two. There’s something awesome about that move and this was no exception. Mundo laughs a lot but charges into something like a Rock Bottom out of the corner. Cage goes up top but takes too long, allowing Mundo to hit a super Moonlight Drive for two.

We haven’t heard from Taya in long enough now so here’s a kendo stick from under the ring. It doesn’t seem to matter though as Cage snaps off a wheelbarrow suplex and a buckle bomb, followed by a throwing powerbomb into the cage. Well that looked awesome. Cage goes up again but it’s Taya hitting him in the back with the stick, allowing Johnny to get in some shots of his own.

They’re only good for two though as Cage gets the stick away and just mauls Johnny for two. A discus lariat gets another near fall but here’s Taya climbing the cage (Striker: “Like Peter Parker trapped by the Fantastic Four.”) with a chair to knock Cage silly for two more. Even Johnny looks stunned by that near fall. With Cage down, Mundo climbs the side of the cage but misses the End of the World for a big crash.

Now it’s Taya hitting a high cross body to start a double team on Cage with a Magic Killer getting two. Taya pulls out some handcuffs but Cage is fast enough to cuff Taya to the ropes. Johnny chairs her by mistake and it’s all crashing down. A spinebuster drops Mundo and an over the shoulder piledriver onto the chair puts Johnny away at 13:38.

Rating: B+. I was digging the heck out of this with both guys looking awesome and Cage getting easily the biggest win of his career. This was basically a handicap match with Mundo looking awesome in defeat. I could easily see Cage becoming a top star around here, even though his character is kind of limited.

We’re about ready to start the Trios Titles match but here’s Dario Cueto to say that Angelico has been mysteriously injured, so Son of Havoc and Ivelisse will defend the titles for their team.

Trios Titles: Fenix/Jack Evans/PJ Black vs. Cortez Castro/Mr. Cisco/Joey Ryan vs. Prince Puma/Dragon Azteca Jr./Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Son of Havoc/Ivelisse

Elimination rules and Son of Havoc/Ivelisse are defending. Fenix, Cisco, Ivelisse and Rey start things off and this is going to be a mess to keep track of. No one can hit anything to start and it’s an early standoff. Ivelisse puts Rey down but gets kicked in the face by Ivelisse, only to walk into a powerslam from Cisco, earning himself a chant. It’s off to Black, Puma, Havoc and Castro for some more well choreographed stuff until Havoc gets two on Castro off a standing shooting star. There’s WAY too much stuff to call here.

Things settle down with Cortez giving Havoc a backbreaker so Cisco can come in with a slingshot legdrop for two. Dragon comes in and kicks Cisco in the head but Cortez gives Dragon the same thing. Havoc elbows Castro and Cisco down so it’s off to Joey vs. Ivelisse with Ryan actually getting the better of it by taking her outside. Now it’s time for the dives with Azteca hitting an insane set of twists, followed by Black taking out the pile.

Rey comes off the top onto everyone with Puma and Son of Havoc following with the same. Most of the dives didn’t come close to hitting but they looked awesome. Joey rubs his chest to break up Ivelisse’s dive so she slaps him in the face, followed by a release German suplex. Castro gets in a brainbuster on Ivelisse but won’t tag Joey in, allowing Ivelisse to roll Cortez up for the pin and an elimination to clear the ring out a bit.

We take a break and come back with Puma vs. Havoc vs. Evans in a threeway wristlock. Jack gets dropkicked down and Havoc adds a top rope double stomp to Puma’s back for two. It’s off to Ivelisse who charges into Evans’ boot but comes back with a loud chop. A quick Code Red gets two on Evans but Black comes in and turns the cover over to pin Ivelisse, guaranteeing new champions.

Back from another break with Dragon and Fenix staring each other down. Fenix blocks a roll through with a hard double stomp to the back, only to get flipped into the air for a tornado DDT in a VERY fast counter. Puma comes back in and hits something like a GTS to drop Black, setting up the 630. Evans kicked Puma low for the save but kicks his partners by mistake, allowing the hot tag to Rey for the real comeback. Well as much of a comeback as you’re going to get in lucha. The 619 sets up another tornado DDT to plant Evans, leaving Rey to add a moonsault for the pin and the titles at 23:15.

Rating: A-. This got WAY better after things settled down and was definitely entertaining though it would have been better with just three teams instead of four. Having Mysterio and company win the titles is definitely the best possible outcome as a win over them is going to feel like a huge deal. Azteca continues look awesome and the other two are more than proven so this whole thing worked very well with some awesome action and the great spots you would have expected coming in.

Vampiro, in full master mode, yells at Pentagon for being in a wheelchair. Pentagon can’t get up so Vampiro pours hot candle wax onto his back. He still can’t get up so Vampiro calls him weak to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. When else do you get two awesome matches with such minimal talking other than to announce Angelico missing? This was exactly the kind of high flying wrestling that you want to see when you watch Lucha Underground and we can get back to the main event stuff in the near future. Again though, this is the same formula that makes NXT work: have a few batches of stories people want to see that can rotate week to week so nothing gets stale. It works everywhere it’s tried and Lucha Underground is no exception.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Lucha Underground
Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Things are quickly picking up around here with the big showdown of Mil Muertes vs. Matanza coming up a lot faster than expected. The match should be one heck of a brawl between the two hardest hitters in the promotion, though I could have seen it being built up a lot longer. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Dario Cueto introducing the Aztec Medallions which joined together to form the Gift of the Gods Title.

Another recap shows us the trios tournament being set up.

Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya are in Dario’s office and Johnny quickly figures out that they’re going to be a team. Cage wants to fight Johnny instead but gets shot down. Dario seems to try to hit on Taya but is shot down even faster. We almost get Cage saying he wants the Lucha Underground Title but Dario has heard the catchphrase too many times already and cuts him off in a funny bit.

Argenis vs. Killshot

This is the new Killshot, now in camouflage and wearing dog tags. Argenis misses an early charge and gets dropkicked in the corner. Some LOUD chops have Argenis in even more trouble as Vampiro brings up Jumbo Tsuruta. What might have been a low blow stops Killshot’s run but he easily throws Argenis to the floor for a running flip dive. Now that’s how you get the Temple behind you.

Back in and Argenis gets in a chop of his own to set up a top rope armdrag for two. Striker keeps using military lingo as Killshot easily counters a top rope hurricanrana into a brainbuster. That’s enough for Striker to assume Killshot is suffering from PTSD, which probably isn’t something that should be brought up in a storyline. With Striker talking about IED’s, Killshot loads up an electric chair before flipping Argenis down into a piledriver for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: C. Borderline inappropriate comments from Striker aside, this was a great introduction to the new Killshot which can pretty easily be called a success. Until now he was really just a guy without much of a gimmick but not he’s playing the character to near perfection. Well as much perfection as you can see in a long squash.

Dragon Azteca Jr. asks Black Lotus how she can work for Dario. She says it’s because Matanza killed Azteca Sr. (it was really her) and seems upset that she had to lie.

Daga is in Dario’s office and gets to compete for one of the Aztec Medallions (now broken up since the Gift of the Gods was cashed in). Tonight he gets Texano, who Dario describes as one of the toughest men he’s ever met, not named Cueto of course. Daga: “That’s because you haven’t met me.”

Aztec Medallion: Daga vs. Texano

They start very fast with some quick near falls until Texano grabs a headlock to slow things down. A loud chop has Daga’s dander up before a hard kick puts him right back down for two. More chops and a clothesline seem to have Daga favoring his arm and Texano sends him outside for a good looking dive. Daga is fine enough to fire off a kick and take over, including a cringe inducing running dropkick in the corner.

They forearm it out until Texano kicks his head off to put both guys down. A middle rope Rough Ryder gets two on Daga but a hurricanrana gets the same on Texano. I’d have had that be the finish. Daga grabs an ankle lock (not something you often see around here) but Texano gets the ropes and plants him with a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: B. This was a pretty awesome back and forth match with both guys beating the heck out of each other until a questionable finish. What was the point of bringing Daga in and even give him Dario time before having him lose in his debut match? Either way it was entertaining stuff and Texano continues to be one of my favorites.

Catrina tells Mil Muertes that the Disciples are in the trios tournament but he’s really not pleased. She insures him that they won’t screw up before talking about how devastating Matanza can be. He might even be more powerful than the earthquake that created Muertes.

Trios Tournament First Round: Johnny Mundo/Cage/Taya vs. Dragon Azteca Jr./Prince Puma/Rey Mysterio Jr.

This should rock and Rey is looking like the Flash. Cage starts with Dragon and easily drags him around with a headlock. Azteca gets in a kick to the back of the head but is easily thrown across the ring to stop any comeback. It’s off to Puma as Striker brings up their feud from last year. Now that’s something Striker could be good for instead of taking his head off half the time.

Cage throws Puma down as well and it’s off to Johnny for a corkscrew moonsault and two. It’s off to Taya and the announcers immediately start the oogling. Some forearms to Puma’s mask get two before he rolls her up for the same. Striker brings up Jem and the Holograms before it’s back to Cage to lift Puma up for a sitout powerbomb. A standing moonsault gets two for Cage (yes for Cage) but he won’t accept a chair from Mundo.

Cage slaps Johnny in the face for the tag and it’s time for some double teaming, only to have Johnny pull Rey off the apron to break up a hot tag attempt. Not that it matters as Puma tags Dragon in (so much for Johnny figuring that one out) for a quick two off a hurricanrana. The really hot tag brings in Rey for a top rope seated senton on Johnny before sending both Mundo and Taya into the ropes.

They roll away from the 619 attempt but Puma and Dragon hit consecutive dives to take them out again. Cage remembers that he’s in the match though and drops Puma and Azteca, leaving Rey to moonsault Johnny for two. Taya gets back in for a Magic Killer of all things on Dragon, only to have Rey send her outside again. The three masked men are ready to dive but Cage comes back in to clean house.

Some kicks send him to the floor and Puma gets two on Johnny with a 450. A standing C4 drops Puma but Azteca kicks Johnny in the face. Cage splashes Taya by mistake but quickly lifts Puma up in a fireman’s carry. Dragon tries to make a save with a high cross body…..and Cage catches him while still carrying Puma on his shoulders. Yeah they’re smaller guys but GOOD NIGHT THAT’S TERRIFYING.

Both of the masked men get dropped but Puma escapes Weapon X. Mundo’s Flying Chuck hits Cage by mistake so Rey gives Johnny a 619 before taking Taya down with a seated senton off the apron. Puma’s 630 (which is much more of a legdrop here) FINALLY puts Mundo away at 12:54.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this was awesome. There comes a point in lucha where you just have to throw everything out the window and let things go nuts. Cage is such an athletic freak it’s scarey but this was much more about the dives and flips from the masked men. This was a blast with everyone nailing it all match long and a really fun match throughout. Great stuff indeed and one of the better matches the company has ever had.

Post credits, Dario warns Matanza of his match with Muertes next week through the cage bars. Matanza has to stay in the cage so no one can steal him from Dario because he’s the most important thing in Dario’s world. “So next week, make me proud and bring death to the dead.” Matanza shakes the cage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another show where Lucha Underground shows how awesome it really can be. The stories are all over the top but the key is Lucha Underground setting up a world in which they make sense. Maybe not perfect sense but at least sense. I had a great time tonight with main event being one of the most entertaining tag matches the promotion has ever put on. This was an awesome show and a ton of fun, as it was supposed to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

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

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