Lucha Underground Review 04-22-15

Hello again everyone and welcome to another look into the Temple where Trios wrestling is king, Lucha Underground! First off I have to apologize for missing last week’s review. I was out of town for a few days and after getting back was hit with a pretty bad case of the flu, so didn’t have the chance to write until after this week’s episode. I can now look at the computer without feeling the siren call of death, so I’m back to review this week’s episode, just in time for the crowning of the Trios Champions! I will post links to both episodes at the bottom of this column, but I’m only going to review for this week. If you’re reading one of my reviews for the first time, I give a quick chronological synopsis of the show followed by some of my thoughts on key happenings, more of an analysis of what happened than a play by play. In wrestling terms I’m more color commentator than announcer. So without further ado, let’s get into the show! Let’s Lucha everyone!

The Breakdown

Recap of all three Trios Final teams advancing and Sexy Star Pentagon Jr. Feud build

Black Lotus Vignette

Sexy Star defeats Pentagon Jr. via pinfall

Alberto El Patron and Johnny Mundo backstage segment

Trios Tournament Final, Triple Threat elimination Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angélico; defeat King Cuerno, Cage and Tejano; and Big Ryck, The Mac, and Killshot

Dario Cueto announces the Crew is also part of the tournament and will face Son of Havoc, Ivelisse and Angélico now

Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angélico defeat The Crew via pinfall to become the first Trios Champions

Not Ready

The show kicked off this week with another Black Lotus journal entry reading and training montage. We haven’t seen Black Lotus in a couple of weeks, and from the vignette we learn that Aztec Dragon has gone all Yoda and told her she won’t be ready to fight in the Temple until she can overcome her anger. Black Lotus feels her anger is her biggest strength because that’s what the padawan always thinks. By the way, can you tell I’m really excited about the new Star Wars trailer?

The vignette continued with Black Lotus facing off against four dudes in a dark room. After she beat them, Aztec Dragon turns on the lights and the two face off. Black Lotus gets the upper hand and tells the Aztec Dragon she hates him, which of course leads to him turning things around and telling her she’s not ready. Maybe he should buy her one of those old Cena “Rise Above Hate” shirts to emphasize his lesson.

I know some people think these are campy; personally I dig them because they are campy. Either way we’re going to have at least one more before Lotus overcomes her hate and is allowed to leave by Aztec Dragon. I’m excited for that because I would like to see more ladies on the roster kicking ass. Speaking of…

Sexy Avenger

Our opening bout this week features Sexy Star and Pentagon Jr. facing off in the culmination of a feud that has built over the past month. Sexy Star saved both Super Fly and Melissa Santos from Pentagon Jr. attacks. Pentagon Jr. was able to eventually “break” Super Fly’s arm after he’d just lost his mask to Sexy Star, and now the two will finally face off.

Pentagon Jr. dominated this match for the most part, with Sexy Star getting occasional offense in. One funny spot was Sexy Star stairmastering Pentagon Jr. in the corner. However Pentagon Jr. kept coming back and gaining the upper hand. He was trying to hurt her. Vampiro was excellent on commentary here going into how he had once gone to those dark places Pentagon is in now, and how he’s still in therapy for some of things he did. Those kind of statements on commentary add a nice reality to these matches.

No matter how hard Pentagon hit Sexy, she was able to come back and battle. She kicked out of several big moves and hit some awesome moves of her own including a tornado DDT and a suicide cannonball which resulted in both getting back in the ring at the 9 count. That set up the go home. Pentagon Jr. hit a vicious powerbomb into a lung blower that looked like it would be it, but Sexy was able to kick out. She escaped an attempted armbar and was able to hit a lung blower of her own to pick up the win. Melissa Santos was very exuberant in announcing the winner while Pentagon Jr. looked on from the ring upset.

I felt like the ending was a bit sudden, but I’m happy with the Sexy Star victory. We’ll see if the feud continues past this or if these two move on to other opponents.

Dizzying Confrontation

In a backstage segment, Alberto El Patron interrupted Johnny Mundo’s workout to bust his balls about not being in the Trios Tournament finals. El Patron continued to give Mundo the business, questioning why he could beat Prince Puma on the first episode of Lucha Underground but not in Aztec Warfare for the title. Patron was kind of acting like an arrogant heel here but I don’t think that’s the direction he’s going in. He’s too over with the Lucha Underground fans to turn him.

For some reason the whole time the confrontation was happening, the camera was spinning around the two men. Did Michael Bay direct this segment? Mundo told El Patron he wasn’t just “some guy” Patron could slap around, and Alberto looked annoyed and told Mundo to chill out. This is clearly building to a match between these two and I’m pretty excited for it. Just less spinny camera please.

Champions Crowned

The Trios Championship Final was up next. The three teams in the finals face off in a triple threat elimination match to determine the Trios Champions. The rules are one member from each team is in the ring at all times and can tag out only to their teammates. If a member of a team is pinned or submitted, the team is eliminated. Last team standing gets the honor of being the first Trios Champions in Lucha Underground. The three teams in case you missed the last few weeks are the team of King Cuerno, Cage, and Tejano; the team of Son of Havoc, Angélico, and Ivelisse; and the team of Big Ryck, The Mack, and Killshot.

The action was fast-paced and exciting throughout the match. They really highlighted the magic of Trios wrestling that is prevalent in Mexico. They told stories with each team; King Cuerno’s team was calculating and working well together throughout the match. Son of Havoc’s team was trying to overcome their dysfunction, and Big Ryck’s team of newcomers was trying to show what they could do.

The Mack was particularly impressive with a spinning slam on Tejano and then a suicide dive onto Tejano outside the ring. Son of Havoc looked ready to hit those two but stopped himself and was showboating a bit but didn’t see Cage setting him up for the big lariat. Ivelisse though hit the dive onto Tejano from the apron, but she hurt her ankle in the process. That’s a bummer but hopefully won’t be anything too serious.

Back outside the ring, Angélico hit the flying knee strike onto Tejano that resulted in him running into Daivari who has been sitting ringside the past two weeks. Daivari took exception and sent Tejano into the post, then into the section of chairs he was sitting in. Tejano rolled back into the ring only for Killshot to hit a stomp from the top rope and score the pinfall to eliminate the favorites in this match. It’s down to Big Ryck’s team and Son of Havoc’s team for the title!

After the break, Ivelisse was still hurting outside the ring, while Angélico was isolated inside the ring by Big Ryck’s team. Basically it’s 3 on 2 now as Ivelisse has been rendered ineffective, but she is staying out there and trying to help. Big Ryck hit a standing vert on Angélico and The Mack delivered a Macho Man flying elbow but they didn’t try to pin. Angélico was able to throw Big Ryck and The Mack over the top before Killshot hit him with a lung blower, after which Son of Havoc came in without being tagged but Marty Elias seemed to just let it go. Son of Havoc and Killshot went at it with Killshot hitting a Spanish fly that resulted in a very good near fall.

Killshot tried to set up Son of Havoc on the top rope for a reverse hurricanrana, but he held on and Killshot hit the ring hard. Ivelisse showed some fight by heading to the top to dive onto The Mack and Big Ryck outside, but the two men caught her and held her in their arms. Son of Havoc hit a reverse hurricanrana onto Killshot back in the ring, then ran the ropes and hit a suicide dive onto the Mack and Big Ryck who were holding Ivelisse still. Angelico picked up Killshot back in the ring and hit the Fall of Angels (Razor’s Edge) into the corner to get the pinfall! The crowd was going wild as Melissa Santos announced the winners Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angélico! There’s still 15 minutes in the show though? Ohhhh, here comes Dario Cueto to tell them they haven’t won the titles yet. There’s still one more team left that he hand selected, and they will have to face them in a no DQ match. “Boys, come on out!” screamed Cueto and out comes the Crew.

Cueto is so happy with himself Son of Havoc’s team looks upset and the crowd is booing. After a break The Crew was taking it to all three members of Son of Havoc’s team outside the ring. It was a vicious beat down that was really working to get the crowd heated. Bael took Angélico up to the top of the temple where he threw him down on the roof of Cueto’s office while Mr. Cisco and Son of Havoc fought in the crowd, and Cortez Castro had Ivelisse in the ring choking her out with a kendo stick. Son of Havoc got the upper hand momentarily outside the ring hitting a moonsault onto Mr. Cisco, but then Bael hit him with a clothesline to take him out. That left Ivelisse alone in the ring with Bael and Cortez Castro, and it looked like it would be over.

Then something amazing happened. Angélico dived from the roof of Cueto’s office onto Bael and Castro in the ring! That was incredible! I’ve been in that temple and there is some serious distance between the ring and the roof of Cueto’s office. Crazy spot. Even Ivelisse looked shocked. She picked up the kendo stick and laid out Bael and Castro, then implored Son of Havoc and Angélico up to the top. Son of Havoc hit the moonsault and Angélico hit the double foot stomp and then both men pinned! Finally Son of Havoc, Ivelisse and Angélico are the Trios Champions! The crowd was insane, and Stryker did a great job of putting the team over as they celebrated in the ring. That spot from Angélico is going to be replayed by wrestling fans for a long time to come. So crazy. Great match and an awesome moment!

The Wrap

This was an outstanding episode of Lucha Underground mostly due to the amazing Trios Championship Finals match and the surprise no DQ Trios Championship Finals Finals match. Seriously that spot by Angélico was one of the craziest spots in wrestling I’ve ever seen. It’s going to go down in the highlights of this year in wrestling.

It will be interesting to see how serious Ivelisse’s injury is and how well this team is able to overcome their dysfunction going forward as they defend their titles, but for now it’s just awesome to celebrate their win. I marked out for this episode and hope you do the same. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section! Thanks for reading everyone, see you next week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOif9-lZmg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHcjoknenFc