After a recap of Johnny Mundo winning the $100,000 ladder match, then punching Dario Cueto, Cueto being threatened by the mysterious Asian woman, and Cageâs decimation of Puma & Konnan, followed by ripping the belt in half, we open with Mariachi El Bronx standing in for the regular house band. I believe this marks the first episode filmed this year and they seem to have stepped the (already excellent) production values up another step. The Cage/Puma recap was on par with a WWE production video and the lighting in The Temple seems to have been improved as well.
Son of Havoc is already in the ring with Ivelisse but gets his full introduction and music. This is the first time weâve seen Son of Havoc since Aztec Warfare a month ago. Ivelisse is tired of reading tweets saying that Son of Havoc sucks. She doesnât date losers, âight? If you have a problem with him, you have a problem with her, too, the baddest bitch in the building.
In the proprietor's office, Johnny Mundo is welcomed back by Dario Cueto. He knows theyâve had some issues in the past but theyâve both had time to cool off since Aztec Warfare. Cueto wants to let bygones be bygones. Mundo is ready for some action and Cueto acknowledges that whenever Mundo is in the building, they always get 5 star main events. Thatâs why heâs facing Cage tonight. Mundo tells Cueto heâd better get a new title belt to replace the one Cage destroyed, presumingly insinuating that he intends to be wearing it soon.
Mariachi El Bronx brings us back from commercial as Melissa Santos introduces our next match. Lets take a moment to appreciate our ring announcer. At the worst, sheâs completely competent, which is more than you can say for the WWEâs worst announcers. Her little play on Mr Ciscoâs name last week after their interaction the previous week was excellent. Sheâs also an accomplished actress, appearing in such classics as Dial M for Midget and The Erotic Samurai. I was expecting that last title to be soft porn but apparently itâs a mockumentary about the first Asian male porn star.
Anyway, Famous B is in the ring, so we already know whoâs going to win this match. Itâs clearly whoever else gets in the ring that isnât Famous B. Because he sucks. (To be clear, Famous B the character in Lucha Underground sucks. The wrestler might be perfectly competent. Apparently he once defeated Cage on the indies and pinned Bael in a dark match at the very first Lucha Underground tapings. Itâs nice of them to let the jobbers win off of TV, at least.)
His opponent is Pentagon Jr so Famous B is definitely going down. We get a vignette for Pentagon Jr, shot in the dojo from his previous hype video. He talks about his martial training and how he intends to combine the ancient teachings with modern lucha libre in order to realize his mission. He has no fear. This video wasnât intentionally cheesy like his last vignette. It was really well done and provided some good character establishment.
Famous B goes for a running dropkick right off the bat but completely whiffs, so Pentagon punts him in the face as the crowd loudly chants Cero Miedo! (No Fear). Pentagon Jr raises his hand to silence the crowd and they happily comply. He then chops Famous B so hard that it echoes throughout the temple. He then winds up and points to the crowd, triggering a new set of chants.
The luchador kicks the non-luchador in the head but Famous B was apparently watching the last match, so he reverses a corner whip. He charges in and looks to be going for a monkeyflip but Pentagon Jr simply catches him, spins him around, and sets him on the top rope. Famous B kicks him the head, though, allowing Famous B to somersault away, dodge a couple of times and then land a springboard armdrag. As Famous B kips up, Pentagon Jr is sitting on the mat. You canât see his face but his body language just reads that heâs pissed off that he allowed Famous B to land an offensive move.
Sure enough, Pentagon Jr gets up and superkicks Famous B flat on his back. Pentagon kills Famous B with the running package piledriver. Nice reaction from referee Rick Knox who just covers his face, staring in awe at how painful that locked. A pinfall isnât good enough after the insolence of that armdrag, however, so Pentagon Jr locks in a modified Kimura. Famous B taps out but Pentagon refuses to break the hold, shoving off the referee and then wrenching the arm back, snapping it. The crowd chants Cero Miedo even louder, which Vampiro acknowledges, noting that itâs only going to go to Pentagon Jrâs head.
Afterward, he grabs a mic, cutting a promo in Spanish. I pledge my loyalty to you, master. I am ready. Because I am Pentagon Jr. Zero Fear!
The way Pentagon Jr was initially booked in the WWE, he would undoubtedly be a comedy jobber at this point. Instead, heâs become an extremely hot act in Lucha Underground, showcasing why he was voted rudo of the year in AAA last year, and is the current reigning AAA world tag team and mixed tag team co-champion, the later with Sexy Star.
Up next, weâre getting a high flying battle between Drago & Aerostar. As we cut to commercial, we get a nifty split screen video showcasing both luchadorsâ insane offense.
Dario Cueto is in the bowels of the temple, talking to whomever he has locked up down there. News about whatâs happening in Lucha Underground is spreading. Itâs a shame the mystery man canât be a part of it.
Cueto wants him to know that âsheâ came looking for him. She calls herself the Black Lotus. He knows she was a little girl âback thenâ but you should see her now. Cueto notes that he could hand her the key and let her come for revenge, but heâs not a fool. He has to protect the temple from matanza. As he walks away, the mystery manâs shadow looms on the wall. He appears to be approximately 6â wide.
Iâll admit it. I want to know where the hell this is leading. Just please tell me that JJ Abrams wasnât part of the inspiration for this storyline.
Drago is already in the ring but gets his full introduction & music. Aerostar comes out from upstairs, entering the ring with a series of somersaults. The crowd is decidedly behind Drago but arenât showing any ill will toward Aerostar.
You know, Iâm not even going to attempt to call this move for move because these guys are too damn fast. Great Muta and HuracĂĄn RamĂrez references in the first thirty seconds of the match. Striker notes that the hurracanrana is often mistakenly referred to as the Frankensteiner, to which Vampiro resonds âYeah, when Scott Steiner was about 100lbs lighter and could move.â
Back and forth action until Drago misses a corner splash and catches a kick to the face from Aerostar who is on the apron, coming back into the ring by springboarding off the second rope, over the top rope, into a double stomp.
Drago takes back over with a drop toe hold to the turnbuckle, followed by a codebreaker from the second rope. Aerostar lands a tiger feint kick to the back of Drago on the apron, sending him down to the floor, then runs and springboards off the second rope with a no hands swan dive to the floor. Vampiro rightly notes that if Aerostar had caught his feet on the top rope or had missed Drago, he would probably be dead right now.
Back in the ring, Drago lifts Aerostar up with a hammerlock, then slams him face first into the mat. Someone really needs to use that as their finisher, though itâs only good for two here. Aerostar slightly botches a leapfrog (possibly catching a horn to the wiener) but comes out of it well. However, when he attempts to somersault backward, expecting Drago to dive over him, he instead gets met with a dropkick to the gut.
Corkscrew dive to the floor (which Striker finally calls by the Spanish name, but I canât look it up now because Wikipedia has crashed as Iâm writing this) that Vampiro states was made famous by the late Hector Garza. Finish comes when Drago splatters Aerostar with the flipping Drago DDT. After the pin, Drago helps Aerostar to his feet and then shakes his hand. Aerostar then raises Dragoâs arm in a show of respect. Outstanding match that I suspect will be the free match on YouTube this week.
Somewhere backstage, Fenix is working out on a heavybag when Catrina approaches him from behind. She taps him on the shoulder but when he turns around, sheâs gone. He turns back to the heavybag to find her standing there. Why is it that only the females who donât wrestle can teleport? Is Seth Rollins secretly a woman?
Catrina asks Fenix about the dreamcatcher tattoo on his chest. Does it protect him from having nightmares? What could possibly scare a man who cannot die? She has a message for him, but itâs not Mils Muertes. Itâs from her. She kisses him and tells him to keep it between them because if Mils Muertes were to find out, he would bury both of them alive.
Main Event time as Johnny Mundo makes his return to the temple for the first time since falling to the 630 splash at Aztec Warfare. Cage enters the arena with the destroyed title hanging around his neck.
Johnny Mundo, being a somewhat seasoned veteran whoâs been to the biggest stage of them all starts out with a standard go behind and then grabs a headlock. Cage tries to pick up him for a suplex but Mundo flips out and snatches the headlock again. Cage picks him up again but Mundo refuses to let go. Finally, Cage whips him off (it isnât reversed!) and hip drops him into a back breaker. Two European uppercuts and then Cage goes for a big backdrop but Mundo lands on his feet.
Spin kick takes Cage off his feet for the first time. Mundo goes after Cage with kicks and knees, then uses a single leg takedown to put him on his back and lays in with the punches. Corner charge is met with double boots but Mundo catches Cageâs feet, whips his legs to the outside of the ring and lands a spinning kick to Cageâs chest, sending him down to the floor. Mundo wants a plancha but Cage moves, so Mundo lands on the apron. Cage tries to yank his leg out from under him but Mundo holds on and tries for a ârana only to be caught and powbombed into the ring post. Striker points out the ring posts are square and he went right into the corner.
Cage tosses Mundo back into the ring and goes after him with closed fists, followed by a short arm clothesline as we see King Cuerno stalking the match from near the balcony. Mundo fights back with punches but is caught with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before he can get an advantage. Cage holds on after the backbreaker, stands up, spins him around to the other side and drops him across his other knee.
Cage is bleeding from the mouth and Striker says itâs from the point of the boot going in his mouth off various kicks. "Itâs not as hot as it sounds. Iâm sure Tony Atlas likes it, but not here." I donât even want to know.
Body slam and then Cage stands on the second turnbuckle, looking like heâs going to drop a fist or something. Instead, he leaps up to the top rope with a 180 spin and launches a moonsault, though Mundo moves out of the way. Great looking move, regardless.
They trade punches, then Mundo unsuccessfully tries to floor Cage with a forearm and then a clothesline, finally taking him off his feet with a leg lariat, then jacks his jaw with a running knee. Johnny goes for the moonlight drive but Cage picks him up for an F5 but Mundo slips out and lands a scorpion death drop instead. It only gets two, so Mundo backs Cage up with forearm shivers and knee strikes, then goes for a corner whip but Cage reverses. Mundo tries to float over Cageâs charge but gets caught and Cage flattens him with a sitout pendulum powerbomb, but Mundo kicks out at two.
Desperation kick from Mundo is dodged and turned into a pumphandle slam, but Mundo slips out again. He goes for a kick to the gut but gets caught. Cage tries for the discus clothesline but misses and Mundo nails him with perhaps the most perfect springboard enuizigiri Iâve ever seen, which is good for another two count. Mundo tries for End of Days but Cage takes a powder so Mundo runs completely across the ring and leapfrogs the corner post, corkscrewing into Cage whoâs standing next to the announce table. Iâm not sure if Striker was calling that move the GTFO or if that was purely an exclamation of how impressed he was by the move.
Cuerno has grown tired of watching from above and begins heading down the steps. Once Mundo make sit back to the apron, Cuerno comes running through and hooks his legs out from under him, dropping him on his back. The ref sees it and immediately calls for the bell. Cuerno turns around and nails a seated Mundo with a clothesline, dropping him from the apron to the floor. The hunter then kicks away at Mundo before slamming him face first in the ringpost, before rolling him back into the ring and wrapping his leg around the post. Cuerno then pulls a chair from under the ring and smashes it into Mundoâs leg as itâs still wrapped around the post.
Cage, having seen enough, starts heading up the stairs but Dario Cueto comes out of his office, screaming for everyone to hold on. Now that he and Mundo are friends again, heâs not going to allow Mundoâs five star matches to have such a shitty ending. The match restarts right now.
Mundo is game to fight but Cage is back in, stalking him, aiming for the injured leg. He takes him down to the mat and lays in multiple elbow drops to the injured knee. He waits for Mundo to regain his feet, then kicks his leg out from under him. Mundo rolls out to the apron and Cage follows but Mundo catches him with kicks and punches, but finally misses a roundhouse kick and catches the post instead. Cage rolls Mundo into a submission that can be best described as a liontamer with Mundoâs leg wrapped around Cageâs neck. Mundo manages to grab the rope for the break, however.
Cage wants Weapon X but Mundo slips out. Cage goes to pick him up again but Mundo lands a pele kick that sends big man back into the corner, where heâs met with a barrage of punches to the gut, followed by moonlight drive, but Cage kicks out as two as Striker likens Mundo to Brian Pillman, someone who had to change his offensive style after a leg injury.
Mundo tries for End of Days again but Cage grabs his ankle, then throws him up into F5 position, which he hits in the middle of the ring, throwing Mundoâs legs so high he comes down in a near brainbuster position. He manages to kick out at two, however. Cage is incensed and immediately goes for Weapon X again but Mundo turns it into a sunset flip bomb. Cage finally lands the discus clothesline which turns Mundo inside out, allowing Cage to finally nail the Weapon X (Gory special into a flatliner) to pick up the win.
After the credits, Dario Cueto is on the phone in his office. âAll I know is that she found the place and sheâs pretty pissed off. We need to do something about this, now.â
Someone pounds on Cuetoâs door but he yells at them to go home because the show is over.
âOh no, ese. Weâre just getting started.â
Cueto hangs up the phone as his visitor walks in.
âMy name is Alberto. El Patron. But you already knew that.â
Vampiro claims that the South African âis just a towerâ, but Wikipedia lists his billed height as 6â3â, which means heâs probably 6â1â
I met Angelico at a quesdailla stand a couple years ago. I'm 5' 11" and he seemed more than two inches taller than me, but I'm not great at guessing those things. Also: nice guy in person, but agree with how he's come off here so far.
PLUS the incredible/insane/inane moment where Vampiro says Angelico's kneelift reminds him of a MMA guy and neither he nor Striker could figure out who Vampiro was thinking about. (They were generally less crazy this week - first episode of a new set of tapings may have helped there too.)
Vampiro mentions Jushin Thunder Liger
Closed captioning spelled it exactly that way, which amazed me. I can't imagine that happening on Raw. Or Nitro, even when Liger was on Nitro.
Corkscrew dive to the floor (which Striker finally calls by the Spanish name, but I canât look it up now because Wikipedia has crashed as Iâm writing this)
Closed captioning spelled it exactly that way, which amazed me. I can't imagine that happening on Raw. Or Nitro, even when Liger was on Nitro.
One time when there was a Japanese team in the Little League World Series, ABC put up a graphic for one of the Japanese kids--you know how they'll put up the kid's favorite singer or athlete or something? Well, this one said:
Favorite Wrestler: Thunder Rider.
Took me a few moments to realize what the kid must have ACTUALLY said, and then I laughed and laughed. I think I even got into a discussion on Usenet or something where we were going to start casually mentioning Thunder Rider as a hot new superstar.
I marked out with the Alberta El Patron bit at the end. I wonder if they're going to start with a face run or if he'll be a heel.
Johnny Mundo...wow, what a match against Cage. I really enjoyed the end. Cage's finisher looks freaking painful.
We don't get El Rey here in Canada, so I have to find some, ahem...alternate ways to view the show, but I've been very impressed with the consistency of the action and theatrics. Is LU considered merely a TV show or is it an actual wrestling organization?
Originally posted by Oliver We don't get El Rey here in Canada, so I have to find some, ahem...alternate ways to view the show, but I've been very impressed with the consistency of the action and theatrics. Is LU considered merely a TV show or is it an actual wrestling organization?
I... actually don't get El Rey either. It looks like they do offer it in my area (in both English & Spanish) but as much as I love Lucha Underground, I'm not paying $50+/month to watch it.
As of right now, it's strictly a TV show. I don't believe they put on any non-televised events or tour outside of The Temple.
Can we talk about how awesome the crowd has been so far? There are a few times when they've went against the established party line, cheering for an obvious heel, but the only time they've went against a face was the one Fenix match. And even when those things happen, they stick to the match at hand. There's yet to be a single chant unrelated to the match.
Also, how refreshing is it that they can leave major stars off the show for weeks at a time without costing them any heat or feeling the need to wedge them into the show? If they had a larger roster, they could probably even afford to give guys time to heal up, rather than force them to quit to get healthy.
And Cage busts out the springboard moonsault to make me love him. He looked good while Mundo seemed limited to to kick moves. That might be a credible offense against a big guy, but it also looks like he can only press one button on the video game controller. I like the End of Days variant of the Flatliner better than the Weapon X. But everything pales compared to Drago's blockbuster DDT.
And I lost it when Alberto appeared. THE WINK IS HERE.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
You son of a bitch. I know of a movie called Dial M for Midget and it's a porno. I had never seen it, but I knew of it. I spent a half hour acquiring the film because you told me Melissa Santos was in it. She is not in it. You suck!
You can definitely see a difference between this show and the past shows and tell it's a separate set of tappings. The lighting was better, the audience was more into the action and knew who the performers are, the live band not sucking as much. Since this is Robert Rodriguez, why are they not using Tito & the Tarantulas?
Angelico feels like a John Cena type character. I want to see him with a huge smile on his face playing with sick children in a hospital. He's only been on screen three times, right?
I like seeing Son of Havoc getting over in spite of a crappy name and look and gimmick. He has been one of the extremely few guys I've seen who is winning me over solely by his in ring work. Everything else about him screams 'lower card enhancement talent' but he's winning the crowd over. I'm glad for the guy. If this were the WWE, he'd be losing to Cody Rhodes in a 1 minute match on Main Event.
King Cuerno and Mundo will have a fantastic series of matches that I need to see immeadiately. I laughed a lot when Vampiro said something about how not every wrestler does all the flip-floppy moves and then cage does that amazing springboard moonsault. The placement of the comment felt scripted, but it worked well.
Originally posted by CerebusYou son of a bitch. I know of a movie called Dial M for Midget and it's a porno. I had never seen it, but I knew of it. I spent a half hour acquiring the film because you told me Melissa Santos was in it. She is not in it. You suck!
The "Dial M for Midget" that Melissa Santos is in is a short film (seriously) in which she plays Pillow Fighter #1.
In a similar vein, the man who plays Dario Cueto has over 70 credits on iMDB, including "Teenage Bank Heist", "Santa Claus vs. The Taliban Time Travellers from Outer Space", and "Mustang Magic". Those may or may not be pornos, I honestly have no clue.
the live band not sucking as much.
Mariachi El Bronx are a fairly well known band, the alter ego of hardcore punk band The Bronx.
Angelico feels like a John Cena type character. I want to see him with a huge smile on his face playing with sick children in a hospital. He's only been on screen three times, right?
Twice, I believe. He debuted in the fatal four way with Cage, Aerostar, and Argenis.
If this were the WWE, he'd be losing to Cody Rhodes in a 1 minute match on Main Event.
If this were the WWE, he'd be getting eliminated in the second round of Tough Enough after Steve Austin said he had no personality whatsoever. Prior to that, he did actually have a Main Event (the show, not the spot on the card) tag match against The Gate Crashers (Lance Hoyt/Vance Archer & Curt Hawkins). At least he wasn't the one that ate the pin.
Originally posted by CerebusYou son of a bitch. I know of a movie called Dial M for Midget and it's a porno. I had never seen it, but I knew of it. I spent a half hour acquiring the film because you told me Melissa Santos was in it. She is not in it. You suck!
The "Dial M for Midget" that Melissa Santos is in is a short film (seriously) in which she plays Pillow Fighter #1.
The short she is in is called 'M is for Midget' and you said it was 'Dial M for Midget' which are two completely different things. You made me watch midget porn.
Originally posted by CerebusYou son of a bitch. I know of a movie called Dial M for Midget and it's a porno. I had never seen it, but I knew of it. I spent a half hour acquiring the film because you told me Melissa Santos was in it. She is not in it. You suck!
The "Dial M for Midget" that Melissa Santos is in is a short film (seriously) in which she plays Pillow Fighter #1.
The short she is in is called 'M is for Midget' and you said it was 'Dial M for Midget' which are two completely different things. You made me watch midget porn.
Originally posted by CerebusYou son of a bitch. I know of a movie called Dial M for Midget and it's a porno. I had never seen it, but I knew of it. I spent a half hour acquiring the film because you told me Melissa Santos was in it. She is not in it. You suck!
The "Dial M for Midget" that Melissa Santos is in is a short film (seriously) in which she plays Pillow Fighter #1.
The short she is in is called 'M is for Midget' and you said it was 'Dial M for Midget' which are two completely different things. You made me watch midget porn.
I think Chicken Little predictions of HHH booking the copany around him if/when he takes over are pretty unfounded given that the guy took a year off and doesn't seem in any hurry to get back in the ring fulltime.