By John Moore
Lucha Underground Hits
Prince Puma vs. Dante Fox: This was an insane match with high spots galore. If you don’t like high spot crazy matchups then stay clear of this match, but if you do catch this match you’re going to see some things you’ve never seen in pro wrestling before. I’ve seen plenty of meaningless spot-fests (a.k.a. the TNA X Division) and this wasn’t meaningless. This match had people doing kicks, into dropkicks, into lariats, into topes. Fox did some matrix stuff. There was even some smart chain wrestling in here. Even if you’re behind on Lucha Underground, make sure to check out this match. There weren’t even any spoilers on this episode (aside from tournament pairints) since the cinematics would just fly over your head if you don’t know the context. Just imagine Prince Puma vs. Prince Puma and that’s what we got.
Johnny Mundo vs. El Dragon Azteca Jr: These two men had a tough act to follow with the Puma vs. AR Fox match. Even though they didn’t surpass it they did a solid job not getting blown in the dust. Johnny Mundo gained a lot from this match since he’s trying to come off as a credible opponent to Rey Mysterio. If Mundo and the Worldwide Underground cheated here it would have just made the viewer expect a BS finish in the Mundo vs. Rey match. Mundo’s post-match attack on Rey’s family was also well done (even though it was a bit odd that Rey would just leave his family alone at the end of the show).
Fenix vs. Pindar: Fenix is Lucha Underground’s version of Rey Mysterio (since I consider Rey an outsider) and Fenix put in yet another fun piece of work. Pindar had his best one-on-one match to date since he actually got to have a singles match against a formidable opponent.
LAPD: This is a minor Hit due to Lucha Underground backtracking on the priority of this feud. Last season, this was presented as a main event storyline that included Lucha Underground undercard wrestlers and Hollywood actors. Now, it’s just a side-story. I also like the introduction of supernatural elements as opposed to the buddy-cop comedy from last season.
Lucha Underground Misses
Fenix and Melissa Santos: This love story came the hell out of nowhere. Fenix is the people’s champ of Lucha Underground and he doesn’t need a telenovela story looming over him. He would do better in a supernatural storyline. Just pair him up with Mil Muertes again since we know they can create Lucha gold. Santos loses from this pairing as well. She has been one of the better ring announcers in pro wrestling and she doesn’t need to be inserted into storylines. Having her act as if she’s a love-struck fangirl kills some of her professionalism.
Camera cuts: This contributed to the Melissa Santos Miss, but it also hurt the main event. For some strange reason, someone in the editing room decided to cut constantly to shots of Santos and Dominic Mysterio during matches. For one, it distracted a bit from the matches. It also served as heavy handed storytelling. The Santos/Fenix relationship would have been more acceptable if it came off more as organic. The camera cuts make their love seem manufactured, Like Fenix and Melissa Santos are just playing roles with the fourth wall broken. The camera cuts to Dominic was just heavy-handed foreshadowing and killed off any surprise of Mundo’s post-match attack on him.
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