By John Moore
Lucha Underground TV
Taped January 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California
The battle for the Aztec Medallions was recapped in the opening video ending with highlights from Sexy Star’s battle against Marty the Moth and Mariposa. This week’s episode was titled “No Mas”…
Dario Cueto was fixing his roof as Catrina entered the scene to chat with Dario. Catrina said Mil almost destroyed Matanza and Dario thought the opposite. Catrina said that Matanza was lucky to escape with his title. Dario said “His Title” was the key phrase in that sentence, and no one was going to take it from him. Catrina said that Dario fears Mil but if he denies him a rematch it will take a lot more than fear to protect him. Dario laughed it off and said that Matanza fears nothing. Dario said the power inside of Catrina’s rock is nothing compared to the power that Dario’s key unlocks.
Dario said that Mil was getting a rematch next week and to prove that Dario and Matanza aren’t afraid it was going to be Mil’s signature match, Grave Consequences. Catrina said that Dario was braver than she thought. Dario just held an ugly look. Catrina accepted. Dario talked about raising the stakes and proposed having four coffins. Dario said next week was “Graver Consequences”. Catrina liked the idea and said next week there will be no question of who destroyed who. Dario said he was counting on it…
Vampiro checked in on commentary alongside Matt Striker as they introduced Bang Data, the house band for tonight. Striker said that tonight was special in that every match tonight was for an Aztec Medallion. He then passed the action to Melissa Santos for ring introductions…
John’s Thoughts: Lucha Underground excels at building matches up ahead of time and this is a lesson that the other companies should take notice. It’s much better than hyping up a talk show segment. As for tonight, it’s cool that we’re tearing through the distribution of the Medallions which is going a bit smoother than last season.
1. Marty the Moth Martinez vs. The Mack for Aztec Medallion #4. Mack didn’t even take his jacket off before the fight and started off with a Tope con Hilo on Marty. Mack chained together a few suplexes on the Moth with a nearfall in the sequence. Marty turned the tables with a dropkick. Marty took off his shirt in a creepy way and threw the shirt at Melissa Santos. Marty grabbed Willie by his jaw to the corner and put the boots to him. He then hit an exploder suplex to the corner.
Willie Mack escaped a chinlock and hit a spinning heel kick on Marty. After a body slam Mack got a nearfall after a leg drop. Mack hit the stone cold stunner and followed with a TKO. Willie Mack earned the pinfall victory.
Willie Mack defeated Marty the Moth Martinez via pinfall in 3:34 to earn Aztec Medallion #4.
The Mack held up his yellow bag that held his medallion. The show went to commercial… [C]
John’s Thoughts: That was a good showing by the Mack but what was strange about it was how decisive it was. It was almost a Mack squash match on Marty the Moth and it seemed like they were building up Marty’s in ring creditability a bit by having him look dominant in a few matches this season. It was a good match, just odd booking of Marty and I’m not sure where they are going with him from here…
Catrina was talking to King Cuerno in the locker room and said that after Mil wins back the title Cuerno will not be trusted this time with the Gift of the Gods. Catrina said she will trust her Disciple, Sinistro de la Muerte (the purple guy that ripped out hearts). King Cuerno said tonight her disciple is his prey because he stands between him and his Aztec Medallion. Cuerno said that if Mil gets the championship back he’s not making the same mistake as last time. Cuerno said he’ll make Mil’s carcass his most prized possession because the hunt is on. He sniffed Catrina and walked away. Catrina’s eyes glowed red for a second…
Sexy Star walked into Dario Cueto’s office for a meeting. Dario said he doesn’t always get along with her but he knows that something has happened to her, something really bad. He said he sees the change in her eyes and has seen that change before. Dario said he’s looking at his reflection right now and talked about his mom being an “evil bitch”. He talked about him and Matanza being captives to her sick and twisted desires. Dario said if that sounded familiar and Sexy Star nodded in agreement. Dario said the only way they stopped their evil mother was to stand up and say “no more!”.
Dario said that whatever Mariposa did to Sexy Star, Star will say “no more!”. He offered Sexy Star not only a chance to get a medallion but a chance to make Mariposa pay. Sexy Star liked that. Dario said that the pain Mariposa inflicted on Sexy Star, she will inflict the pain back until Mariposa says “no mas!”. Dario Cueto said that tonight’s match is going to be a No Mas match where the first person to say “no mas!” will be the loser. Dario advised Sexy Star to not stop after she says “no mas!” because the only way to get that look in Star’s eyes to go away, she will have to make Mariposa see that terror. Sexy Star nodded in agreement. Dario said to trust him because it works. Sexy Star stood up and said she understood…[C]
John’s Thoughts: Dario Cueto continues to bring the great acting week after week and his character development knows no bounds. This was an interesting development as we saw his manipulative nature, the same manipulation that took over Black Lotus. This is intriguing and I’m wondering what Dario Cueto’s character has in store for Sexy Star because it seems deeper than sadism. If you didn’t figure it out, a No Mas match is just Lucha Underground’s version of an I Quit match.
2. Sinestro de la Muerte (w/ Catrina) vs. King Cuerno for Aztec Medallion #5. Sinestro didn’t get an entrance and Cuerno entered with his dead animal pelt. Cuerno started the match with a quick dropkick and put the boots to Sinestro. Cuerno earned a quick pin attempt after a dropkick. Cuerno took Sinestro to the outside with a huracanrana. Catrina blocked Cuerno’s arrow from hell by hitting him with the magic rock. Sinestro hit a springboard leg drop and picked up the surprise pinfall victory.
Sinestro de la Muerte defeated King Cuerno via pinfall in 1:55 to earn Aztec Medallion #5.
Vampiro compared the led drop to a guillotine. Catrina went for the lick of death but instead chose to smash his head with her rock. Sinestro held up a purple bag…
Back in the weight room, Mascarita Sagrada was doing bicep curls. Famous B walks in and tells Mascarita that he just set up a match of the century for him which will make him famous. Famous B said this match would be against a person who already has a medallion who is defending their medallion. B told Sagrada to stop stalling and start ballin’…
John’s Thoughts: This is an odd set of matches so far tonight. The first match was a glorified squash and the second was a fluky quick match. They also had the guy who never wins matches win.
Chavo’s back and he complained about not getting a chance to win a medallion. Dario Cueto said he thinks that Chavo doesn’t deserve one. Dario said that Chavo got a world title shot and lost. He also talked about Chavo losing twice in Aztec Warfare. Dario said he was tired of giving Chavo opportunities that he keeps wasting. Chavo said that it will be no problem for him to show that he can seize the opportunity. Dario couldn’t have cared less…
Melissa Santos tried to do the ring introductions but was interrupted by Famous B who talked about his hotline. He said he was proud to introduce his new client who was now residing in “little” Hollywood, CA and accompanied by Brenda, it was Mascarita Sagrada. His opponent was Cage.
3. Mascarita Sagrada (w/ Famous B and Brenda) vs. “They call him” Cage for Cage’s medallion. Sagrada tried to take down Cage by the leg. Sagrada managed to lock in a sleeper hold that Cage broke out of quickly. Sagrada managed to hit a low dropkick. He went for a crossbody but was caught by Cage. Cage hit Sagrada with a TKO for the quick win…
Cage defeated Mascarita Sagrada via pinfall in 0:53 to retain his Aztec Medallion.
Brenda and B ran in to the ring to support their client. As Cage was distracted Chavo came from behind and stole Cage’s coin. Famous B warned Cage about Chavo who was already up the steps. Cage then chased Chavo out of the Temple…
The show went immediately to ring introductions for the “No Mas!” match. Mariposa and Sexy Star made their entrances… [C]
John’s Thoughts: A squash, a quick fluky win, another squash, and Chavo. This is a strange episode so far. Maybe they are just trying to not overshadow the main event which I have high hopes for and they sure did a great job so far of not overshadowing it with these pointless matches. They are for medallions, but they are barely fights. Another bad part about the latest short match, the announcers couldn’t help but say non-stop little people jokes.
4. Sexy Star vs. Mariposa in a “No Mas!” Match for Aztec Medallion #6. Star and Mariposa traded back lockups to start the match. Mariposa dominated with a shoulder block. Mariposa hit a body slam and a quick elbow drop. Mariposa grinded Sexy Star’s face in the center of the ring. Mariposa hit body punches in the corner. Mariposa choked Sexy Star with her boot prompting Referee Marty Elias to grab the microphone and do that thing where they ask if the wrestler quits or not (Now I remember one of the things I don’t like about I Quit matches, at least there’s no John Cena here).
Sexy Star didn’t quit. Sexy Star escaped and hit a drop toehold on Mariposa. Sexy Star hit consecutive seated sentons in the corner. Sexy Star then hit three amigos in the middle of the ring. Sexy Star locked in the single legged crab to prompt Marty Elias to do his thing. Mariposa locked in the Indian Deathlock with stomps to the head. Sexy Star tried to go for the rope break, but there are no rope breaks in an I Quit/No Mas match. Sexy Star escaped and sent Mariposa to the outside where she hit a seated senton off the ring apron.
Mariposa turned the tide a bit with a whip to the concrete section of the arena. Mariposa grabbed a chair to choke Sexy Star prompting Marty to grab the mic. Mariposa started to toss chairs on top of chairs. Sexy Star didn’t quit. Sexy Star recovered and put Mariposa in the same position she was in. She set up a chair inside of her “inner thigh” and jabbed another chair in like a hammer and nail. Ouch? Sexy Star kept the pursuit and fought to the steps.
Mariposa managed to regain the advantage and dragged Sexy Star up the steps by her head. Mariposa then tried to rip off the mask of Sexy Star. Sexy Star still didn’t quit. Sexy Star escaped and retreated a bit to the top balcony area. Sexy Star tossed Mariposa to the roof of the closet area. Sexy Star climbed to the rafters and Mariposa followed her up there. Vampiro talked about memories from Starcade. Sexy Star was choked on the scaffolding and she teased falling off several times. Sexy Star bled all over her face.
Sexy Star escaped with a few boots to Mariposa’s gut. Sexy Star retreated back down to the closet roof. Marty the Moth walked up to Sexy Star and kicked her. Marty raked Sexy Star’s face on the metal railing. The Mack came to the rescue and threw Marty through a wooden door. Sexy Star used the railing for leverage and tried to get Mariposa to submit. Sexy Star hit Mariposa with a purse. Mariposa grabbed Sexy Star by the legs and rammed her head into the announce table. Matt Striker was fired up.
Sexy Star turned the tide and hit Mariposa with a trash can that had trash in it. Sexy Star put the can on Mariposa’s head and hit her with a roundhouse. Mariposa got up and used the trash can lid to gain the advantage on her end. Mariposa took the action back into the ring. Mariposa went for the vertebreaker but Sexy Star escaped. Mariposa settled for a clothesline. Mariposa locked in a triangle leg-arm submission and Marty Elias asked if Sexy Star wanted to quit. Sexy Star exclaimed “F— You!” several times. This popped the crowd.
Sexy Star kicked Mariposa in the groin area and locked in a sleeper hold. Marty the Moth ran into the ring to break up the hold. Vampiro was walking around pissed. Sexy Star dodged a clothesline which allowed The Mack to hit a Stone Cold Stunner on Marty. Sexy Star then locked in the crossarmbreaker on Mariposa. Mariposa said “No Mas!”.
Sexy Star defeated Mariposa in a “No Mas!” Match in 15:26 to earn Aztec Medallion #6.
Sexy Star kept the hold locked in and Marty Elias had to take her off. Sexy Star pushed Marty away and locked in the cross armbreaker again. Sexy Star ended it and tossed Mariposa outside. Sexy Star rested on the second rope with blood covering her. Willie Mack handed Sexy Star her medallion bag with the crowd giving her a loud chant. Sexy Star gave Mack a huge hug. The crowd chanted “You Deserve It!” as the show ended…
John’s Thoughts: Hot damn! Not only was that Sexy Star’s best match in possibly her life. It reminded me of a ladder match that Taryn Terrell and Gail Kim had at one time in TNA. Sexy Star last season was terrible at the American style of wrestling which involves psychology and we barely saw her wrestle this season. She improved immensely from last season and her psychology was great as the resilient babyface. Sexy Star also wasn’t clumsy one bit as she was last season. Maybe her talent is in smoke-and-mirrors type matches, I don’t know, she was stellar here and Mariposa and Marty provided the right advisories for her.
Lucha Underground did a great job by having the undercard matches being pointless as it made the viewer hunger for at least a decent match. Rather than that, they got a standout one. Back to the match, that’s what Sexy Star needed. Fenix and Mil Muertes take note: You don’t have to do chairshots to the head to have a great hardcore match. I wonder where they go from here but this was a good relaunch of the Sexy Star character. I’ll have more thoughts in my Hit List and make sure to check out Will Pruett’s audio thoughts on the show.
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