By John Moore
Lucha Underground TV on El Rey Network
Taped November 15 in Los Angeles, California
This week’s intro video featured Fenix being hunted by King Cuerno, culminating in Fenix’s Gift of the Gods Championship switching hands to the hunter. Ivelisse’s battle against Mil Muertes was also shown where Prince Puma and Pentagon Jr ran in for the rescue…
The temple was as hyped as usual, and so was Vampiro as he introduced Matt Striker and himself. Vampiro was super hyped over Pentagon’s quest to break arms. Striker sent it over to Melissa Santos who introduced Bengala who was facing the debuting Kobra Moon. Bengala was from “The Jungle”, I wonder what Jungle this is exactly?
1. Bengala vs. Kobra Moon. Kobra Moon acts like a snake. Striker talked about how the gender roles in Lucha Underground were blurred. Kobra and Bengala had a scratch battle at the beginning. Kobra sent Bengala outside with an armdrag and followed up with a hurricanrana.
Kobra met the incoming Bengala with several kicks like an axe kick. Bengala caught Kobra with a boot and followed up with several fling headbutts. Bengala earned a nearfall. Bangala went for a suplex, but Kobra Moon blocked it with her legs. Kobra escaped another toss, but got hit with a superkick. Bengala went for a moonsault, but Kobra blocked it into a sleeper. Bengala fought a bit until the body scissors was locked in. Bengala had no choice but to tap.
Kobra Moon defeated Bengala via submission in 2:48.
The show went immediately to Catrina. Catrina said she still gets a tingle of excitement when Fenix is around. Fenix wanted King Cuerno. Catrina said if he was sure, since his thousand lives would run out eventually. Fenix said he was going to destroy King Cuerno and come for Mil and Catrina… [C]
John’s Thoughts: Decent debut for Kobra Moon. Lucha Underground tends to do the intergender thing a lot. Hopefully we get a few more women on the roster to have actual women vs. women matches on the show. As for her look, I’m not a huge fan of the Zero Suit which looks like it came straight from Metroid. She had a much better look as the street thug in her introductory vignette and I hope that’s a part of her attire down the road.
A cinematic played which was set “a millenia ago”. An Aztec child was writing symbols in the dirt. The child said a man from the stars has returned. An older Aztec dude said the seven tribes are at war and lives would be lost. He said that the tribes have to be united. Aero Star was shown talking to this Aztec dude. Aero Star said that the gods were coming in the form of a man.
The Aztec man said the gods won’t appear until a thousand years. Aero Star said he would then have to go there. Aero Star then used the power of sparklers to shoot up into space, you could see a flying dot in the sky. The child talked about how hopeless the thought of the tribes uniting was…
This week, King Cuerno was pumping iron in the temple alongside his Gift of the Gods Title Belt. Catrina said that Cuerno took the title but not destroy the man. Cuerno said he did the job and protected the “wounded animal” Mil Muertes from Fenix. Catrina said wounded or not, even the best hunter will fall to Mil Muertes.
Catrina assured him that they were still on the same side. Catrina demanded that Cuerno “Kill Fenix” in a match that he’s undefeated in, Last Luchador Standing. Catrina also said it was a non-title match, and wanted to make sure that the bird doesn’t fly again. Cuerno said “The hunt [sniffs catrina] is on!” (“The Hunt is on” is the title of the episode). Cut to the Temple with Jack Evans and Drago…[C]
John’s Thoughts: Okay! We know a bit more about Aero Star. He’s a time traveling sentai warrior from outer space with the power to both fly and time travel. Yup, only in Lucha Underground, and that’s not a bad thing. Not only do they have the cinematic thing down, but I’m also really hyped to see what kind of show Fenix and Cuerno are going to put on in Last Luchador Standing. I was here live, but that was a few months ago!
2. Jack Evans vs. Drago. Drago had the initial advantage by pushing Evans against the ropes. Vamp and Striker talked about Jack being an innovator in the sport. Evans and Drago dodged each other’s moves with their agility. Evans eventually ate a dropkick and ducked out outside. Evans flanked Drago and attacked him from behind. Drago quickly recovered and hit a loud chop on Evans. Jack dodged a clothesline and got a shot in.
Jack showboated and was hit by Drago. Drago slapped Evans’s face several times. Drago got a takedown and went for a submission. Evans escaped by biting the thumb of Drago, which drew monster heat from the crowd. Evans hit a front and a back flip kick on Drago to get the nearfall. Evans used some flips to get a double thumb eye poke on Drago. Evans was popped up on the ropes and hit with a superkick from Drago.
Drago slowed things down a bit and got a loud slap on Evans. Evans escaped and slammed Drago to the mat. Evans followed up with axe handles. Drago recovered and got a back body drop. Drago followed up with an armdrag. Drago went to the top rope and splashed Evans on the outside. This got the crowd hyped up. Drago took the action in the ring and hit a hanging DDT on Jack Evans. This earned Drago a close nearfall. Mil Muertes, of course was shown watching the show from his Mil Throne.
Drago maintained the advantage and got several pin attempts. Drago hit a rough, but cool looking blockbuster cutter and he went for his Dragon’s Lair pin. Evans flipped into a pin attempt of his own and stole the win with his feet on the ropes.
Jack Evans defeated Drago via pinfall in 7:20
Jack Evans quickly grabbed the mic and gloated on the announcers table. He said that the winner was not just Jack Evans, it was Jack “The Dragon Slayer” Evans. Drago wasn’t pleased…[C]
John’s Thoughts: Fun match, but the standout here was Jack Evans. He’s a guy who does have some legitamate claim to being one of the innovators of high-flying in modern wrestling. What he’s doing a stellar job here is keeping the high flying moveset, yet drawing MONSTER heat from the audience which is a tough thing to do. The Temple hates Jack Evans and that’s a testament to great bad guy work!
Back to the show, an El Texano Jr. vignette played. He said he was the youngest and longest AAA Champion. He said he was a Mexican ass kicker and proud to be Mexican. He said he had to fight for everything. They showed clips of Texano working hard in the ranch. He talked about Blue Demon and Chavo beating him down like a dog. Of course, since this is a Lucha Underground vignette, he beats up masked mooks in a bar. The bartender handed him a bullrope to beat up the mooks. He also drank beer and broke the glass. Texano is returning next week! God help us!
John’s Thoughts: Nothing against Texano, as the guy’s a solid ring worker, but the human personification of the country of Mexico has just been strange. Not sure if it’s a cultural thing, but I’m still confused at a man being a country. As lame as Chavo is, I hope that it’s just Chavo and not Blue Demon Jr. Please no Blue Demon Jr!
Prince Puma was in the locker room and kissed his necklace. Catrina teleported in and asked him who he prayed to. She said she heard Konnan praying as his life was drained away in the casket. She said that Konnan’s last words were “forgive me”. She said she wondered if it was forgiveness for his own sins or for failing Prince Puma. She talked about Puma’s match against Pentagon Jr next week and wondered if Puma would now start to sacrifice to his master. She said “God rest his soul” as Prince Puma walked off grunting…
Melissa Santos introduced the Last Luchador Standing combatants… [C]
3. Fenix vs. King Cuerno in a Last Luchador Standing match. Striker said that this most likely wasn’t a title match due to Fenix having the number of Mil Muertes. Both Luchadores met each other with powerful forearms Fenix halted Cuerno with rapid kicks. Fenix got the first takedown, but not enough keep the hunter down. Fenix tangled Cuerno on the ropes and got a springboard hurricanrana on him. This got the first count attempt.
Cuerno recovered and caught Fenix with a boot. Fenix was grounded with a single leg dropkick to earn a count attempt on his end. Fenix backdroped Cuerno outside and missed wildly on a tope attempt. Marty Elias started to count as Cuerno waited on the apron. Fenix recovered and Cuerno continued the assault. A loud thunk sounded as Fenix was sent into the turnbuckle.
Cuerno then threw Fenix into the front row seats. Mil Muertes leaned over and looked. Fenix was Irish whipped into the railing and Striker said his catchphrase of “tetanus for everybody”. Fenix recovered and Cuerno clotheslined him back down. Mil Muertes sat back in his seat with his arm brace. Fenix kept getting up, but Cuerno kept him down. In a fun moment, Cuerno was enraged and counted loudly in anger with the ref.
Fenix managed to turn the tide back in the ring and hit successive dropkicks on Cuerno. Mil was worried again which Striker pointed out was due to Fenix having the advantage. Fenix grounded Cuerno with a corkscrew springboard plancha. Cuerno got up at nine seconds. Fenix called for a high risk move, but Cuerno recovered due to Fenix’s showboating. Cuerno shot the arrow and did it through the turnbuckle. This guy’s Tope is still the best in pro wrestling!
Fenix got up as Cuerno looked for weaponry. Cuerno found a ladder. He rammed the ladder into the head of Fenix like a train. Cuerno set up the ladder on Catrina’s office as Fenix was recovering. Cuerno started his climb while also paying attention to Marty’s count. Cuerno stopped the count to inflict more pain on Fenix. Cuerno found a table and of course wrestling fans love tables.
Fenix blocked a German Suplex and escaped being slammed into the table. Fenix saw and climbed the ladder that Cuerno set up. Cuerno chased him up that ladder. At the top, Fenix made it to the top of Catrina’s office as he dropped the ladder into the table with Cuerno in it. The crowd counted along with Fenix and Marty Elias as Fenix earned the hard fought victory. This got Mil Muertes off his seat.
Fenix defeated King Cuerno in a Last Luchador Standing Match at 11:21.
Striker said Muertes was pissed. Fenix and Muertes pointed at each other as the credits rolled and Lucha Underground was finished…
But wait! There was more! There was a lady walking past electronically locked doors into an office. She was Captain Vasquez talking to Cortez Castro, who was , awwww shoot, Cortez Castro who was a freaking undercover agent! [in a bad acting voice] Castro said Catrina invited the Crew back to The Temple. Castro talked about being close to getting Chavo and Blue Demon before Demon retired to Miami (YAY! Blue Demon is retired! hopefully?). Vazquez addressed Castro as Officer Reyes (he goes by Ricky Reyes on the indy circuit). She said she didn’t want to hear any more about convoluted stories about Chavo, Mexico, or Mr. Cisco (wowzers! did she hear what Will Pruett and I said about that storyline?). She said she really cares about Dario Cueto. Reyes said Cueto has been missing for months and it was not his fault his whereabouts are unknown since he wanted to bring Cueto in after Bael was murdered. Vasquez said this case was bigger than just a street thug (B-Boy) getting killed.
Reyes wondered if he was being pulled off the case. Vasquez said no since he was in too deep. She assigned him a partner, Joey Ryan! Ryan walked in with a lollipop and aviators. Vasquez told the new partners to pretend to hate each other to maintain their cover. Reyes didn’t looked pleased at Ryan being his partner but said it wouldn’t be a problem. Captain Vazquez said they only have one mission and that’s to take down Dario cueto!…
John’s Thoughts: Wow! I don’t know where to start. Awesome main event, and an awesome post credit scene. Fenix is Lucha Undergrounds best hybrid style wrestler and can usually have fun matches with anyone. King Cuerno is Lucha Underground’s smoothest talent and I like to compare him to Randy Orton or Kazuchika Okada as far as move cleanness is concerned. This was a no-dq match, but it didn’t rely too much on weapons being used, it mostly focused on the wrestlers playing to their strengths while using the environment to their advantage. I like the story they are telling with Fenix and Muertes and glad that Fenix isn’t being put on the backburner. Muertes’s subtle reactions to everything Fenix did was great and the camera shots were solid. What’s funny is this was a good main event match, but we’re almost guaranteed to get rubber match between the two for the GOTG title. What more can these guys pull out? I’m not sure, but it will most definitely be fun to watch.
That post credits scene though! I now want to see a Ricky Reyes and Joey Ryan buddy cop B-Movie for some reason. Captain Vazquez also echoed how Will Pruett and I think the Chavo/Blue Demon/Crew storyline sucks! I also smiled at the thought that Reyes was a secret government agent undercover in the temple. That’s just wonderful! It was also used to set up Joey Ryan as a new debut soon in the temple. This was fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the King of Sleeze can bring to the temple, and he’s a buddy cop now!
As usual, Lucha Underground was fun! It is usually fun! Even when there is some bad, the show manages to be fun. This is also a show that included a hunter being sent on a contract kill, a snake woman fighting a tiger man, a time traveling superhero with Iron Man’s core heart, a dragon bat-man, and undercover cops. They are going outrageous every week and it works in this astonishing universe because Lucha Underground isn’t afraid of their own identity which is to be a television sci-fi drama with top-tier wrestling matches included.
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