Reviews

Lucha Underground Review 05/11/16 by Mark McAllen

TJR Wrestling

Taped in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California this is Lucha Underground for Season 2 – Episode 16

Dario Cueto meets with a man in some underground bar. Cueto tells the man how he’s exhausted. Cueto: “Have you ever run a fight club?” Man: “Have you ever run a city?” Cueto: “Touche.” Cueto pays him and the man says that his employer will be very pleased. Cueto says that he is at his employer’s service. Once Cueto tries to leave the man stops him and tells Cueto they’re not done. He tells Cueto that the police have opened up an investigation against him and The Temple, and that the police probably have somebody working for them on the inside (within LU). He tells Cueto that The Temple is very important to his employer and that when The Temple’s descension is complete, their employer is going to come by personally to see it.

Evaluation: The man Cueto was talking too was the man who warned the head-detective on Cueto’s case a few weeks ago to let the case go. This was an intriguing opening as we now know that Cueto is at service to a powerful employer that he’s clearly intimidated by. I now expect Cueto to be much more inquisitive about the luchadores and luchadoras at The Temple since the man he was talking to got the idea in his head that the police have someone working on the inside. For those who don’t remember, the people “working on the inside” for the police are Cortez Castro and Joey Ryan.

Our commentators Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us back to The Temple. Striker reminds us that tonight’s a big night as there will be two titles and an ancient Aztec medallion on the line.

Joey Ryan Cortez Castro

Mr. Cisco vs. Cortez Castro vs. Joey Ryan (Winner earns one of the seven Aztec medallions)

Ryan throws his lollipop at Cisco and attacks Cisco and Castro right away. However, Cisco and Castro quickly gain the upper hand on Ryan and toss him out of the ring. Alone in the ring, Cisco and Castro trade a series of punches and kicks before Cisco rolls up Castro for the pin, but Castro kicks out at two. Castro then gets to his feet, suplexes Cisco and goes for the pin; but Cisco kicks out at two. As Cisco and Castro get to their feet, Ryan sneaks up behind Castro and puts him in a schoolboy pin. With a handful of trunks, Ryan gets the win after about 2 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Joey Ryan

Evaluation: Well, now it’s official. The seven wrestlers who hold possession of an ancient Aztec medallion and will compete for the Gift of the Gods Championship are: Cage, Sexy Star, Texano, Aerostar, The Mack, Sinestro de la Muerte and Joey Ryan. As far as this triple threat match goes, it was lame.

(Commercial)

Katrina (a John Canton favorite) is alone backstage with Mil Muertes who has a LU Title match against Matanza in tonight’s main event. She says she’s been waiting for this moment for 197 years. She reminds Mil that she was the one who guided him to safety when he was a boy and that she freed Mil from the underworld when he was in “death’s grip” as a man. She tells Mil that before he beats Matanza and closes the lid on his coffin, she wants him to watch her “lick the face of a God” because it will make them immortal.

Evaluation: I have no idea what I just typed.

(Commercial)

Ivelisse el dragon azteca jr

Trios Championship Match: Prince Puma, El Dragon Azteca Jr. & Rey Mysterio vs. Ivelisse, Son of Havoc & Johnny Mundo

Angelico is usually Ivelisse and Son of Havoc’s partner, but he’s been hurt and out of commission for the last two weeks. This week is no different, so Johnny Mundo was chosen (presumably by Dario Cueto) as their third partner. Ivelisse and El Dragon Azteca Jr start off this match. They quickly trade a series of reversals before Ivelisse starts shaking off her ankle as it appears she tweaked it. Rey Mysterio and Son of Havoc now tag in. This match is already creating a pretty fun dynamic since all members in the match (aside from Mundo) are faces. The crowd goes back and forth with “Son of Havoc! Me-steri-o!” chants. Both men quickly get nearfalls on one another.

More staring at one another while the crowd chants for both men. Mundo tags himself in to Havoc’s aggravation. Puma now tags in and a classic Lucha Underground rivalry reignites as Puma and Mundo go right after each other. Mundo hits Puma with a big kick to the head, knocking Puma outside the ring. While at ringside, Taya attacks Puma until Ivelisse comes to his rescue. Puma gets back in the ring and hits Mundo with an enziguri kick. Both men make tags as Azteca and Havoc are now in. Azteca catches Havoc with a springboard arm drag into a pin attempt, but Havoc kicks out right away. Havoc gets thrown into the ropes but he catches himself and hits Azteca with a stunner. Havoc and Ivelisse tag in and out while ignoring Mundo since Mundo flipped them off earlier and wouldn’t tag them in.

Mysterio tags in and goes for a body scissors into a pin attempt right away, but to no avail as Havoc kicks out. Mysterio trips Havoc up in the ropes and looks for the 619, but Ivelisse pulls at Mysterio’s leg from outside the ring. As Mysterio starts approaching Ivelisse, Mundo looks to hit him with a springboard kick. However, Mysterio ducks out of the way and Mundo winds up hitting Ivelisse. Havoc hits Mysterio with a big boot. He lifts Mysterio up for a powerslam, but Mysterio trips Havoc up in the ropes and this time connects with the 619. He tags in Puma who hits Havoc with the 630 splash for the win after 8 minutes.

Winners by pinfall and STILL Trios Champions: Prince Puma, El Dragon Azteca Jr. & Rey Mysterio

Post-match, Taya jumps Ivelisse from behind and leaves.

Evaluation: Solid match. Nothing special, but it’s always fun seeing these six in the ring. No surprise that Puma, Mysterio and Azteca held on to their titles. I think this was just more of an opportunity to start a rivalry between Ivelisse and Taya, which I am definitely looking forward to. I’m a fan of both ladies.

(Commercial)

It’s main event time!

The lighting in The Temple turned green and ominous music started to play as men and women dressed in skeleton paint placed a bouquet of flowers on each of the four caskets at ringside. There’s one guy in face paint who’s walking on really tall stilts. That was a cool sight.

(Commercial)

Matanza vs Mil

Graver Consequences Match for the Lucha Underground Championship: Matanza (w/Dario Cueto) vs. Mil Muertes (w/Catrina)

As they do every week, the El Rey Network’s YouTube channel uploaded this week’s main event in its entirety. You can watch the full match below.

The only way to win is by putting your opponent in a coffin and slamming the lid the shut. Mil doesn’t wait for the bell as he attacks Matanza right away. The bell now rings and we’re officially underway. Matanza hits Mil with a german suplex and a big clothesline. He then throws Mil over the top rope, bouncing off of one of the coffins before hitting the floor. Matanza drags one of the coffins around the ring and places it next to another coffin. Catrina hits Matanza in the back with a chair. As Matanza grabs Catrina’s throat, he gets with a huge spear from Mil into a bunch of empty seats.

Mil now drags a coffin and places it next to the other two coffins. Matanza starts slamming Mil’s head against the coffin and then powerbombs him on top of it. Matanza starts to loosen up the turnbuckle until Mil catches him and slams Matanza’s head against the ring post. Both men trade punches on the apron outside the ring until Mil catches Matanza and hits him with a flatliner on to the three coffins. Mil drags one of the coffins into the ring and leans it in the corner. Cueto pulls at Mil’s leg. Once Mil has Cueto by the throat, Matanza comes to the rescue with back to back gutwrench suplexes. Mil then counters and spears Matanza. Mil goes back to the loose turnbuckle. He loosens it some more and rips out a steel hook from the ring post. He holds it in his fist and looks to punch Matanza with it, but Matanza rips it out of Mil’s hand and punches Mil with it. Matanza now begins to tear away at Mil’s mask and rips up a lot of it. He goes back to that steel hook and hits Mil over the head with it again and again.

As Matanza drags the coffin to the middle of the ring, Mil gets to his feet and chokeslams Matanza on to the coffin. Mil heads under the ring as he pulls a toolbox out. He takes some sort of chain linked glove out of the toolbox, puts it on his right hand and starts to punch Matanza in the head with it. Mil is in control until Matanza hits him with a low blow. Matanza tosses the broken coffin and lid outside the ring as well as Mil. Matanza heads outside the ring as well and places Mil inside one of the coffins. He goes to shut the lid, but Mil fights him from doing so. Mil then punches his hand through the coffin and chokes Matanza’s throat. Matanza loosens his grip and Mil gets out of the coffin. That was really unique. “This is awesome” chants start up from the crowd.

Mil gets to the ring bell and hits Matanza over the head with it. Cueto holds the key to the cage Matanza is usually locked in, in front of his face to try and motivate him to get back up. Catrina interrupts with a hard slap to Cueto, knocking him to the ground. Right after she does this, Matanza waffles Catrina across the back with a massive chair shot. “Holy shit” chants from the crowd. Wow. Matanza took the mystical stone from Catrina’s hand and placed it in a coffin. He then picks up Catrina’s lifeless body and places her in that same coffin, closing the lid. Standing in the middle of the ring infuriated, Mil hits Matanza with a suicide dive.

Mil pulls the only coffin that has not been destroyed in the ring. Matanza sneaks up on him from behind, but Mil catches him. Mil places Matanza in the coffin and goes to shut the lid, but Matanza throws his hands up and fights him from doing so. Matanza punches Mil and escapes the coffin. He powerbombs Mil onto the coffin and tries to put Mil in the coffin. Mil fights it, but Matanza powerslams Mil into the coffin and closes the lid for the win after 15 minutes.

Winner and STILL Lucha Underground Champion: Matanza

Evaluation: That may have been the hoss fight of all hoss fights. Really fun match between these two that did not disappoint. Matanza holding onto the belt is good for the story. This was such a brutal match that Mil doesn’t walk away looking weak. They told a great story throughout and Cueto and Catrina helped contribute to that as well. Excellent job all around.

Post-match, Cueto announces his brother Matanza as the winner. Cueto opens up the coffin Catrina was placed in and sees that her body is gone. The lighting turns green again and the men and women dressed in skeleton face paint retrieve the coffin Mil Muertes was placed in and “take it into the underworld.” One of those men remove the hood he is wearing and reveals himself to be King Cuerno.

Evaluation: Good for Cuerno. I like seeing him involved in an important story. He needs something like this after losing to Sinestro de la Muerte in no time last week.

The mysterious man from the start of the show enters a limo with his employer and hands him the $50,000 Cueto paid. You hear the doors lock as the man tells his employer that he spoke to Cueto and told him to prepare The Temple for his arrival. He tells his employer that “you’re the most powerful person I know, my lord.”

Evaluation: You couldn’t see the employer’s face during this video. In just this episode, “the employer” was built up very well and has become a huge threat to Cueto and The Temple. I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes as it seems to be the main storyline of this season.

Game ball goes to…

Mil Muertes – It was between Mil and Matanza, and Mil gets it this time. Although it was an even fight for most of it, Mil looked more impressive to me. Nothing against Matanza as it was probably intentional to make Mil look strong in defeat. Coolest Mil moments from that match was the flatliner onto the coffins and punching through the lid of the coffin.

Final Thoughts

– Another solid Lucha Underground show. The opening match was disappointing, but the Trios match was solid and I thought the main event was great. There was also a lot of important story development this week which made for some intriguing television (e.g. “the employer” and the entire main event).

– I’m really excited for this Ivelisse/Taya feud to get underway.

– I’m not sure if any matches were officially announced for the next episode, but I’m assuming since we have all seven ancient Aztec medallions in possession of a different wrestler, that we’ll determine the Gift of the Gods Champion.

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That’s it for me. Thanks for reading. If you like Lucha Underground and have other friends who enjoy the show too, then give this review a share. I appreciate any thoughts or conversation in the comment section below.

Pictures used above are courtesy of Lucha Underground.