By John Moore
Lucha Underground TV on El Rey Network
Taped at various times in early 2016 in Los Angeles, California
In this week’s intro teaser, Dario Cueto’s Dial of Doom was featured as well as the opponents who have fallen from the random match generator. Vampiro sending Prince Puma on a revenge quest against Mil Muertes was featured. Catrina killed the random mook and sucked his soul. The Best of Five series between “They Call Him” Cage and Texano ended the teaser. This week’s episode was titled “The Prince and The Monster”…
Dario Cueto walked out to his entrance music and said it was time for everyone’s favorite game show, Dario’s Dial of Doom. Dario said everyone knows how it works; it chooses who will face Matanza Cueto in a title match. The wheel landed on Prince Puma. Dario said the first ever Lucha Underground Champion has a chance to regain the title. He said it wasn’t a problem at all because even though Puma was the first champion, Matanza was the greatest. Dario said Puma will be the next in the line of Matanza’s causalities…
Matt Striker and Vampiro checked in on commentary with the Chimpz still as the house band. That caused Striker to make another bad monkey joke. Striker talked about Prince Puma having a chance later on at Matanza’s Lucha Underground Championship. Vampiro passed it along to Melissa Santos who introduced Ivelisse first. The returning Mariposa was her opponent with Marty Martinez at her side. Striker noted how it was odd seeing Marty back after the WMD match…
John’s Thoughts: I like Striker not ignoring the elephant in the room with Marty no selling the WMD match. That is still one of the worst matches I’ve seen all year, not through effort, because there was a lot; but the problem with that match is that it wasn’t treated as a big deal and there was so much no selling… [C]
1. Ivelisse vs. The Mariposa (w/ Marty the Moth Martinez). Matt Striker called Mariposa, Mariposa Martinez. The luchadoras traded rear waist locks. Mariposa toyed with Ivelisse to begin. Striker pointed out the size advantage that Mariposa has over Ivelisse. Ivelisse and Mariposa had a lockup that was won by Ivelisse with an armdrag. Ivelisse hit a few roundhouse kicks on Mariposa until Marty tripped her up for the distraction. Mariposa grounded Ivelisse with a body slam. Mariposa targeted Ivelisse’s right leg.
Mariposa teased a pinfall but converted to a reverse cloverleaf. Mariposa used the ropes to choke out Ivelisse. Marty tried to interfere again but ate a slap from Ivelisse. Mariposa yelled at Ivelisse to apologize to Marty. Mariposa pummeled Ivelisse. Mariposa also worked on Ivelisse at the turnbuckles. Marty interfered at one end while the ref was distracted. Ivelisse dodged a splash and hit Mariposa with a thrust kick and rolling forearm. Ivelisse came back with a crossbody. Mariposa went for the Vertebreaker but Ivelisse escaped. Ivelisse fought out of a fireman carry and hit another thrust kick on Mariposa. Mariposa hit a Samoan Drop on Ivelisse for the nearfall. Mariposa went for the Vertebreaker again but Ivelisse fought out. Ivelisse hit the Code Red for the victory…
Ivelisse defeated Mariposa via pinfall in 6:15.
Ivelisse celebrated for a bit but Marty ran in and put the boots to her. The crowd chanted “Culero”. Marty splashed Mariposa on Ivelisse. Mariposa’s music box theme played. Matt Striker talked about Cage vs. Texano coming up next…
But before the break there was a cinematic. Johnny Mundo barged in and demanded a world title match as he usually does. Johnny criticized Puma for being on a losing streak. Dario said fate decided it. Mundo said he doesn’t believe in fate and it wasn’t fate that gave him his abs. Mundo said he earned his abs and wants a tangible title shot. Dario said he was a man of faith and a title shot wasn’t in the cards. Mundo proposed facing Sexy Star because she lost the Atomicos match. Dario said Mundo was right and Sexy Star took the pinfall which Mundo agreed. Dario then swerved Mundo and said it was divine intervention that gave him the idea to book Jack Evans vs. Sexy Star since Evans made the pinfall. Mundo had enough and walked off, he was about to tell Dario to “think about…” but then decided it wasn’t worth it… [C]
John’s Thoughts: It’s a shame that Ivelisse has had injury issues dating back to Tough Enough because she is probably one of the smartest wrestlers on the Lucha Underground roster. She doesn’t rely on high spots or flashy moves. She’s just a solid worker with the great ability to tell stories in the ring. Lucha Underground isn’t overdoing the intergender matches this season. We’ve already had several female vs. female matches on Lucha Underground which actually the novelty in this promotion and they have been good encounters.
A vignette aired that said “Follow the White Rabbit”. If you’ve seen the Season 3 trailer you probably know which former WWE Tag Team champion this is referring to who now has an Alice in Wonderland gimmick…
El Texano Jr. and Cage were already in the ring…
2. “They Call Him” Cage vs. El Texano Jr. in match two of the Ultimate Opportunity best-of-five series. Cage dominated early on with a sequence topped off with a side suplex. Texano fought out of the corner and tossed Cage outside. Texano hit a Tope con Hilo on Cage to invoke “Lucha” chants. Texano worked on Cage on the announce table. Cage was body slammed on the ground. Cage was slammed in the ringpost. Striker said Texano might be in better shape this time around. Cage dodged a senton and hit a tornado DDT on Texano to earn a nearfall.
Texano hit Cage with the Ruff Ryder leg lariat to earn himself a nearfall. Texano slowed things down with a headlock. Cage fought out with a jawbreaker but Texano grounded Cage with a back elbow. Texano went for a suplex but Cage rolled Texano up for a nearfall. Cage hit a neckbreaker on Texano to gain a bit of momentum. Cage hit Texano with a powerslam and springboard moonsault. Texano fought back with a fireman backbreaker to swing things back to his side. Cage caught Texano and hit a sit-out Alabama Slam. Texano kicked Cage in the middle of his discus clothesline. Texano gained his own nearfall off the kick. Cage tossed Texano to the apron and dead lift suplexed Texano back in the ring. Cage hit the F5 on Texano to pick up the victory…
Cage defeated El Texano Jr. pinfall in 6:27 to go up 2-0 in the best-of-five series.
Texano sold disappointment on the ground as Cage celebrated on the turnbuckles. Texano even cried a bit which was a nice touch… [C]
John’s Thoughts: This was the second match of the night that had good in ring psychology as opposed to endless high spots, but that’s the norm in Lucha Underground so I shouldn’t be surprised. El Texano Jr. is a really good in ring worker he just doesn’t really have a character. I’m not sure why they didn’t go forward with the Mexican James Storm character but he’s in need of some character ASAP because otherwise he’s bland from that standpoint. Since Lucha Underground is usually contrarian to Pro Wrestling norms, I think they might have Cage sweep Texano, or at least have it go to four and not five, which would actually be a positive because being less predictable is a positive in this case and can help Texano down the road.
Ivelisse was in the locker room as she was approached by Sami Callahan (NXT’s Solomon Crowe). Sami is playing Ivelisse’s boyfriend in this show and he said he was there to see Ivelisse wrestle in her big match. Ivelisse said he was late. He assumed Ivelisse was in the main event. Sami asked if Ivelisse lost or was hurt. Ivelisse said she won but was jumped. Sami said he was going to break the face of whoever it was. Ivelisse said to sit down. Sami said no one messes with his girl. Ivelisse said she can take care of herself. Sami said she could use backup. Ivelisse said she wanted to keep work separate from relationship. Sami said what they have was stronger than what she had with “Son of Chaos”. Ivelisse corrected him with “Havoc”. Ivelisse wanted a drink. Sami drank from a flask as the scene ended…
Melissa Santos handled ring introductions for the Prince Puma vs. Matanza main event. Vampiro talked about Puma needing guidance. Striker talked about Konnan but Vampiro quickly changed the subject. Dario Cueto led Matanza to the ring with his key… [C]
3. Prince Puma vs. “The Monster” Matanza Cueto (w/ Dario Cueto) for the Lucha Underground Championship. Vampiro talked about Puma having to rebuild himself. Puma came right at Matanza with a pump kick but Matanza came back with some strikes of his own. Matanza was tossed and dropkicked to the outside. Puma stopped on a dime when Matanza dodged a Tope con Hilo. Puma punt kicked Matanza and hit a shooting star press from the ring apron on Matanza. Striker noted how there were no countouts in Lucha Underground Championship matches. Puma and Matanza brawled which caused Striker to yell “oh shit!”.
Puma blocked a whip and whipped Matanza into the barricade. Matanza swung Puma into the barricade with a side suplex. Dario said Puma was like a baby. Puma smacked Matanza in the ring but Matanza came right back. Matanza hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Puma. Matanza tossed Puma around like a rag doll in the ring and tugged at Puma’s face. Puma fought out and tried to run at Matanza but got pushed. Dario called Puma a little cat. Matanza hit a boot to earn himself a nearfall. Matnaza tugged at Puma’s face again. Matanza hit a backbreaker on Puma. Matanza hit a tiger feint kick to Matanza’s chest and followed up with a springboard clothesline to end Matanza’s onslaught for the time being.
Puma went for the Bennadryller but Matanza blocked it. Puma hit Matanza with the springboard double knees and a standing Shooting Star Press. Matanza blocked another Puma power move. Puma missed a spinning roundhouse and hit Puma with a side suplex. Dario coached Matanza in the rest sequence. Matanza hit a splash on Puma in the corner. Puma dodged a third consecutive splash and hit the Northern Lights to a regular Suplex on Matanza for a really good nearfall that had the crowd excited.
Puma waited for and hit the Buzzsaw Kick on Matanza which he no sold and powered through. Matanza hit a fishermans suplex and a sitout powerbomb to earn himself a nearfall on Puma. Puma dodged a boot and kicked Matanza. Puma countered Wrath of the Gods with a DDT. Prince Puma ate up the cheers and hit a spin back kick, knee, and jumping roundhouse into 630 position. Prince Puma hit 630. Mil Muertes ran in and speared Puma for the DQ. Dario overturned Marty Elias and had him continue the match. Mil picked up Puma and hit the flatliner on Prince Puma. Mil retreated with Catrina and her rock. Matanza hit Puma with a pop up Wrath of the Gods to pick up the victory.
Matanza Cueto defeated Prince Puma via pinfall in 12:45 to retain the Lucha Underground Championship.
Matanza kept his eyes locked on Mil until Dario Cueto entered the ring to hand him the championship. Catrina held up her rock from the outside. Striker closed out the show as the credits ran…
But wait, there’s more! Killshot was benchpressing in the weight room. Joey Ryan walked over him with a lollipop. Joey Ryan said he could help Killshot and gave him an envelope. Joey said some guy gave it to him outside and joked about not being a detective. Inside the envelope was a burned paper that had “You left me for dead” written on it. Killshot looked to the sky as the show ended…
John’s Thoughts: That was a good match, but not quite the main event matches that we’re used to from Prince Puma. Matanza is not quite ready for the main event but he’s getting there. See Prince Puma vs. Hernandez from season 1 for a better big man vs. speed match. The ending sequence worked for me in that it protects Prince Puma who had the visual victory and it progresses the Prince Puma vs. Mil Muertes feud. I wonder if this is leading to a Grave Consequences match between the two as that’s what’s logical with Mil Muertes. Will this year’s be “Gravest” Consequences?
This episode was a solid episode with solid in ring action. Lucha Underground also teased three new wrestlers in three unique ways that broke away from their formula of showing them beat up generic luchadors at various locations. I think the Killshot tease is for a person who was one of Killshot’s “Brothers” In his reintroductory vignette. I do know where it leads based on later on in the season and as Chris DeJoseph and I have teased on twitter, this is going to lead to great things for Killshot; and hopefully in matches that aren’t as bad as the WMD match. My Lucha Underground audio review will be available on the all access side as well as my Hit List…
Feedback is always appreciated and feel free to contact me via twitter @liljohnm to tweet and discuss Lucha Underground. You can also comment and discuss Lucha directly with me via email: jmoore3.net@gmail.com.
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