We opened talking about the news Andrew broke concerning a possible new AEW TV show on one of the Warner Bros. Discovery networks. Andrew also talked about going to Sunday’s WWE house show at Madison Square Garden.
Then, we looked at two of the current WWE storylines with a direct road to WrestleMania; Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio, and Edge vs. Finn Balor in Hell in a Cell.
Finally, we took a look at the latest news that Brie and Nikki are no longer calling themselves Bellas.
You can watch the show above or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts in addition to the link below.
It’s Saturday and that means Wrestling Observer Live with myself, Jim Valley.
We got another #becauseofthefans promo this week on AEW Dynamite from Ruby Soho, but let’s analyze and decide if it indeed qualifies as #becauseofthefans.
Gambling and WWE made headlines this week as they are making inroads to having legalized betting on matches in select U.S. states.
Everyone is asking the obvious questions, but nobody is asking the most important question: what would Kenny Rogers say? Let’s answer that question in song with vocals by Matthew Lindley (aka Matthew Lindley on Bandcamp)
Plus, let’s talk Rey Mysterio to the WWE Hall of Fame, a new sponsor, and more.
The presser, held in advance of the promotion’s True Destiny iPPV at the venue, was hosted by Jim Ross, the ambassador for the competition, who will also call the action with Matt Striker, who put over the importance of UK wrestling history, name checking Johnny Saint, Marty Jones, and the Knight family. Interestingly, Paige was present at the press conference, though very much off camera, and jokingly pushed to get her brothers included.
The competition will feature 64 wrestlers, divided into eight geographical groups of eight, who will compete in a single-elimination tournament over the next five months, with two men from each qualifier progressing to the finals in August. That event, a four-day affair from August 23-26, will be held in the UK, with the final two days at the Sports Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne shown live.
All the action will be available to watch for free on WCPW’s YouTube channel, with the aim of creating what Ross called a “truly fan friendly” tournament. Ross declared his love for tournaments of this kind — “an old concept that is new again” — stating that anything that moves professional wrestling closer to mainstream sports in structure is a good thing.
Zack Sabre Jr. — announced as being part of the UK qualifiers — claimed tournaments are good because they have a definite ending, unlike most pro wrestling open-ended storylines, and that — much like with the Olympics every four years — non-fans can be drawn into the action.
Several of the qualifying rounds were announced, with only the US, Japanese, and Rest of the World groups to be revealed at a later date.
The first so far announced is the English qualifying round, at the Harvey Haddon Sports Village in Nottingham on March 21st, and will feature Sabre Jr. alongside Nick Aldis, Rampage Brown, Zack Gibson (interestingly both men contracted to ITV’s World of Sport), Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay (likewise with Ring of Honor), Martin Kirby, and Jimmy Havoc. The presence of talent contracted to other promotions backs up WCPW’s claim that they, as far as possible, want it to be a truly encompassing series.
Next on the docket is Scotland, at the Motherwell Concert Hall on March 23rd, with Drew Galloway, Joe Coffey, Lewis Girvan, Kenny Williams, Joe Hendry, Mark Coffey, BT Gunn, and Liam Thomson, promoted in conjunction with the Scottish Wrestling Alliance.
Canada’s SMASH Wrestling will host the Canadian qualifier, at the Phoenix Concert Hall in Toronto, with the date and competitors to be announced.
Interestingly, the Mexican round will be held in the UK, at Coventry’s SkyDome — an arena used in the past for Pro Wrestling NOAH and other large-scale events under the auspices of WCPW commentator Alex Shane — on April 30th, and will include Rey Mysterio Jr., Alberto El Patron, Caristico, Penta El 0M, Rey Fenix, El Hijo del Dos Caras, Drago, and — humorously but kayfabe accurate — El Ligero.
The last scheduled to be announced was the German qualifier, hosted by Ahmed Chaer’s German Wrestling Federation at Berlin’s Huxley’s Neue Welt on July 2nd, which will include wXw’s Bad Bones and Axel Dieter Jr., alongside Alex Wright trainee Juvenile X, and GWF regulars Crazy Sexy Mike, Cash Money Erkan, Lucky Kid, Tarkan Aslan, and Pascal Spalter.
More information — regarding the remaining qualifying rounds and the format for the final four days — will be announced in due course, and the best place to find it is at WCPW’s website, as well as on their social media.
WCPW have as many critics as fans — although their YouTube channel does have over 1 million subscribers — but this looks to be something ambitious and innovative which is deserving of attention, and has star power as well as local favorites involved to keep the interest through to the finals.
I’ll be covering the iPPV in my regular column — The Week In British Wrestling — later this week.
Backstage, Dario Cueto swings his key around before Johnny Mundo interrupts him and blocks his path. Mundo says he’ll be the first to hold the LU title and Gift of the Gods title at the same time. Taya films a documentary on Mundo, who says that he is giving notice that he wants his LU title match next week if he doesn’t win Aztec Warfare tonight.
Mundo says he can win easily tonight, so Cueto turns his number 12 entry into him entering second and says it’s time for him to put up or shut up. Matt Striker talks about how the ring will “swell with humanity” tonight. Matanza comes down and Dario tells him that Mundo is now the second entrant instead of Sexy Star.
Aztec Warfare III for the Lucha Underground Championship
Mundo outfoxes Matanza to start and pokes his eye, but a flying Chuck is met with a pseudo powerbomb chokeslam. Son of Havoc comes down and double stomps Mundo’s back in a Samoan drop, resulting in Matanza being sunset flipped for two. A high/low crossbody and legsweep combo get two before Jeremiah Crane comes down. Everyone kicks Matanza to the floor and Crane hits a diving spear onto Havoc for two. Pentagon Dark comes down, leading to an ad break.
Pentagon superkicks everyone, but Mundo flips him off and then gets tossed into the corner anyway. A Tower of Doom to Mundo leads to PJ coming down and hitting a coast to coast kick that gets two on Crane.
PJ and Mundo do a variety of double team moves, ending with Mundo landing hard on his head. Mariposa comes down and gets hit with something by Crane, who then gets eliminated by Matanza’s sidewinder German suplex. A spinout uranage takes out Mariposa, then Rey Mysterio comes down as we head to commercial.
Mysterio fights off the Worldwide Underground with kicks and a DDT. Pentagon Dark and Mysterio square off while the Underground hide under the ring. Dr. Wagner Jr. comes down and he teams up with Pentagon against Mysterio.
Mysterio slingshots off the rope to armdrag them down, but Wagner hits a sliding dropkick. Matanza and Marty slug it out before Matanza is sent to the floor and eats a dive. Striker talks about this battle with his teeth clenched for some reason. Jack Evans comes down and the Underground attacks Havoc.
A double superkick and a triple-team ends it for Havoc. Sexy Star returns to face the Underground. Star eats a three-on-one beat down after the break before Evans flip dives onto Marty.
Mundo does a corkscrew off the top onto Marty before Ricky Mandel returns to eat a package piledriver. He goes to break his arm, but Black Lotus and a clan of ninjas beat him up and one hits a Canadian Destroyer — giving Mundo a win over Pentagon and then Mandel.
Mascarita Sagrada comes down to battle Matanza. A double-spin Wrath of the Gods ends him. Famous B enters at 15 and gives Mysterio his card, but Mysterio gives him a 619 instead of dialing 423 and gets the win. Marty prevents a 619 to the Underground before getting spiked off a victory roll by Mysterio and eliminated. The Mack comes down and stunners Marty. Matanza brawls with Wagner and “The Mack sends Jack onto his back!”
Joey Ryan comes down and gets compared to used toilet paper by Striker. Ryan handcuffs himself to a concrete-posted railing this year. Mack kicks Mundo before Mil Muertes comes down with Ryan in his path. Muertes rips the cuffs and tosses Ryan in to lose to a flatliner while Matanza takes out Wagner.
Matanza and Muertes engage in some clobbering before Kobra Moon returns. She hops on the announce table and Mack is tossed into the barricade. A Mack stunner takes out Evans mid-ring. A pop-up stunner takes out PJ. Drago comes out at 20 and brawls with Kobra Moon before his wacky cradle gets the win on her.
A moonsault fallaway slam takes out Drago. Everyone squares off with Matanza while the fans cheer for Mysterio. He battles Matanza, who hits a backbreaker on Mysterio before tossing him overhead. A Muertes spear, Star codebreaker, and Mack stunner hit before a flying Chuck rocks Matanza.
Mysterio hits Matanza with the 619 and a springboard dropkick leads to another one, but Matanza grabs him instead and Mysterio turns it into a Code Red to eliminate Matanza!
Matanza beats up the ref and then Mysterio. The Wrath of the Gods hits Mysterio while Mundo flips off Dario behind his back. Matanza punches Dario! Mundo pins Rey! Star cradles Mundo for two. Evans and PJ attack Star before Angelico returns by diving off the balcony onto them mid-ring!
Star covers Mundo to beat him! Mack eats a sick DDT from Muertes and gets eliminated — leaving Sexy Star to go one-on-one with Mil Muertes.
He tosses her down before grabbing a table. Muertes goes for a spear, but Star DDTs him on it. She hits him over the head a ton with the chair and gets two. He goes to spear her through the table, but she moves and gets a near fall off a schoolboy.
Muertes punches Star in the face and he puts her up top, but his super flatliner is countered and she shoves him off and pins him after a double stomp! Striker then talks about this being a moment that will stand in time.
This week’s show begins with a recap of the cop drama so far before an El Rey ad interrupts everything and then splits the picture while muting the audio. Well, that was weird. At least it quieted Matt Striker for a bit. Speaking of which, Dario Cueto tells Striker to shut up so he can talk about the Dial of Doom.
Dario talks about how there’s one guy who always comes in after breaking his arm and just wants his shot — so it’s Cortez Castro’s time to shine! Castro comes out with his right arm in a cast.
Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto defeated Cortez Castro to retain his title
Striker references Mike Sharpe and Bob Orton Jr. with the cast. Castro’s arm gets stomped and he breaks it again, getting a “holy sh*t” chant right away. The cast is shattered, and he charges at Matanza with it, but eats a dropkick to the knees.
Matanza eats some casts shots, but lands a flying European uppercut and wins with the Wrath of the Gods. Dario cuts a pissed off promo on Castro. “Get plenty of sleep under covers, rat!” The slow build towards his demise is great so far.
Dario and Joey Ryan, dressed like Sonny Crockett, celebrate in Dario’s office. The picture gets split in half again, but the top half is an El Rey ad and it blocks out most of the picture for the show. Son of Havoc wants to fight for Mascarita Sagrada, and Dario gives him a match with Dr. Wagner Jr. where the winner gets to pick the stipulation in the Famous B vs. Sagrada match.
Prince Puma says that Mil Muertes put Konnan in a casket, so he’ll challenge him to Grave Consequences. Catrina accepts and then Muertes beats up Puma while wearing a slick black suit. Muertes goes for the flatliner, but gets hit and Puma sends him packing with a series of kicks.
Famous B sends Melissa Santos out of the ring so he can do Dr. Wagner Jr.’s intro. Wagner poses while Famous B puts him over. Havoc and Sagrada come down for their match.
Son of Havoc defeated Dr. Wagner Jr.
Havoc dives onto Wagner on the floor twice to start things off hot. Havoc posts him and hits a moonsault while Vampiro says he’s 300 pounds now and breaking chairs by jumping on them with excitement. Wagner hits a flying lariat and gets two. An RKO off the second rope then gets a nearfall for Wagner.
Vampiro talks about how Havoc looks like he plays Dungeons & Dragons and buries Striker’s D&D knowledge. Brenda starts a “Doc-tor Wag-ner!” chant. Vampiro talks about how Sagrada and Wagner are the only ones holding onto tradition by having a full face mask instead of a more open mask.
Havoc prevents a superplex and hits the SSP to win. Sagrada will face Famous B in a believer’s backlash match — so fans get to bring weapons and hit Famous B a ton.
The White Rabbit Clan video airs amid a split screen. We finally see Paul London and two unannounced allies.
Puma vs. Muertes in Grave Consequences is next week. Santos introduces the main event. Chavo is out first and he fist bumps his dad. Vampiro says that Chavo was in the opener in 1993 when he was in the main event and now it could be the end of him. Striker says this could be the end of Mysterio’s career as well.
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Chavo Guerrero in a loser leaves lucha match
Chavo takes Mysterio down but he bridges up to get a cradle for two. Chavo is sent to the apron and gets dropkicked down. Chavo gets taken out and sent into his dad at ringside. A moonsault from Mysterio gets two.
Mysterio lands a baseball slide dropkick to Chavo in the corner. He goes for a running rana, but Chavo alley-oops him. Vampiro talks about Chavo Sr. training him and showing him the ropes for five years. He remembers Mysterio and Chavo debuting, and he just can’t go into it because it’s too much for him.
Chavo uppercuts Mysterio and kicks his leg out from him and posts his knee. Chavo goes for a reverse superplex but gets beaten down. Mysterio gets two off a springboard crossbody and gets another nearfall off of a seated senton.
Chavo goes for three amigos but Mysterio fights out. Chavo Sr. comes in and hits his son with a chair to give Chavo the DQ win. I think this is the first DQ finish in LU history. Dario yells at the ref for calling for a DQ — has he forgotten how much Dario loves violence?!
Dario says it’s not over and it’s now an anything goes match. Dario has to win best non-wrestling performer of the year. Mysterio hits a 619 on Chavo Sr. and he goes for a rana on Chavo, but Chavo gets a half crab. Mysterio gets the ropes before Chavo pulls him back. Chavo hits the Gory bomb, but it only gets two. Chavo turns a super sunset flip into a basement dropkick.
Mysterio hits a 619 and a splash to send Chavo out of Lucha Underground. Mysterio holds the ropes open for Chavo, but they opt to meet mid-ring as the show ends.
This was a good way for Chavo’s run to end — at least for now. He seems to have a nice future in wrestling-themed work doing training, which fits in nicely with Hector doing stunt work in Hollywood for many years.
The best-of-five series between Cage and Texano is recapped — which is good, since I completely forgot about that. Johnny Mundo’s ever-present need for the Lucha Underground Championship is also recapped, and we see Jeremiah and Ivelisse bicker from a few weeks ago.
Sexy Star comes into Dario Cueto’s office and says she wants a match with Matanza next week. He tells her that she still has to beat Mundo, and she says it’s a tune-up match. Her friends the trios champs are banned from ringside, and Dario says that, as his mother would attest, women don’t fare well against Matanza.
Marty the Moth creeps up behind Melissa Santos before his match against Ivelisse.
Marty the Moth defeated Ivelisse
Ivelisse kicks Marty’s legs out in the corner, but he gets two off a powerslam. Marty gets a seated full nelson and then lifts her up high. Ivelisse gets two off a victory roll and hits a knee strike for two. She hits a KENTA combo before going for a running code red, but locks on a guillotine choke instead. Marty hits a spinebuster and spikes her on her head to win.
Jeremiah pump kicks Marty and takes Mariposa out too. Ivelisse comes back in and brawls with Mariposa while Jeremiah knees Marty, but he escapes. He tells her she just needs a hug — pissing her off more.
A man in a white suit says that he followed the white rabbit and it led him back to his tribe.
Jeremiah argues with Ivelisse about coming in, and he has accepted Dario’s offer to compete. He loves the idea of getting paid to hurt people and the couple that slays together, stays together. Dario goes into a limo and talks about having a perfect host body — and it could be the winner of the Ultimate Opportunity tournament.
Texano defeated Cage in a best-of-five series match
Texano is down 0-2 in the series, while Cage is, in fact, still a machine. A back and forth slugfest starts before Texano gets two off of a spinebuster. Cage kicks him off a dive while the fans slap the barricades to the Terminator theme. Cage is tossed into the chairs like a bowling ball according to Matt Striker. Cage suplexes Texano on the floor. Cage goes back in, but Texano hits a sunset bomb to the floor!
Texano misses a beautiful somersault senton, but a follow up lariat only gets two. Cage fallaway slams him with a no-look toss and then superplexes him. Cage hits a pumphandle X-Factor for two. Cage goes up, but gets caught and hit with a rana off the top for two. Cage hits a discus lariat before a buckle bomb and an F5 for a near fall, but Texano wins off a flash cradle.
In his office, Dario stares lustfully at his shiny silver treasure chest. Rey Mysterio Jr. interrupts him and tells him that there may not be much time for him in the Temple because he needs to end things with Chavo Guerrero and he’s tired of Chavo’s bullsh*t. He doesn’t want to leave LU, but he needs to end Chavo’s career. Dario hopes that Mysterio enjoys it as much as he will.
Johnny Mundo and Sexy Star come out for their match. During the break, Mundo advertises the Lucha Underground En Vivo house shows.
Johnny Mundo defeated Sexy Star to win the Gift of the Gods Championship
Mundo outwrestles Star on the mat and then kicks her butt, legs, and butt again. He tosses her into the buckle before locking on a crossface chickenwing. She elbows out, but gets seated up top. She goes for a sunset bomb, but gets backdropped.
Star recovers and sends Mundo flying across the ring. She runs around awkwardly before going for a monkey flip that Mundo flips out of. Star hits a codebreaker and lungblower for two. Mundo spins her into the ref, but the ref misses her cradle and he kicks out at two.
Mundo accidentally spears Marty when Star moves. She chokes Mundo out, but the ref is still down. Mundo’s goons come down and take her out. They hold her up for a wacky double slam and a new ref comes in to count, but she kicks out!
Jack Evans and PJ Black invite the second ref to a superkick party because of that. They go to Pillmanize Star’s neck during an End of the World, but The Mack returns! Fenix, Aerostar, and Drago were banned — but not him. Stunners for everyone!
Mundo kicks out. He tosses Star around, but the End of the World misses. Marty takes the chair out, but Mundo lands a brass knuckle shot to the jaw to win the Gift of the Gods Championship and get his second title in the company.
Vampiro tells Prince Puma that beating Mil Muertes was a great first step — but he’s not done with Muertes yet. He still needs to get revenge for Konnan, but while Vampiro hated Konnan, he didn’t kill him — that was Muertes. Puma needs to find his power and send Muertes to an early grave as well. Vampiro hated Konnan, but respected Puma from day one.
The show starts off with a recap of Pentagon Dark snapping the arm of El Dragon Azteca Jr.
We see him beat Chavo Guerrero, and then get a recap of the Famous B saga with Mascarita Sagrada and Dr. Wagner Jr. joining the fray. Johnny Mundo’s anger over not getting a Lucha Underground title shot is shown, setting up Jack Evans vs. Sexy Star for the Gift of the Gods title later tonight.
El Dragon Azteca Jr. talks to the spirit of his mentor about fighting with honor when his opponent won’t. Chavo attacks him with a chair and says that he won’t let a punk take his chance for revenge away from him — so he batters the camera from Azteca’s POV with a chair. Rey Mysterio Jr. comes in to survey the scene and begs for help before screaming to the heavens that it’s Chavo.
Slapbak is our house band, thankfully preventing Matt Striker from making monkey jokes this time around. Dr. Wagner Jr. and Famous B team up for the first time tonight, and Famous B sees in-ring action for the first time in over one season of the show. Son of Havoc teams with Mascarita Sagrada here, and Havoc rides down to the ring with Sagrada in a customized sidecar. Well, that’s adorable.
Dr. Wagner Jr. & Famous B defeated Son of Havoc & Mascarita Sagrada
The faces start things off with flip dives, and Sagrada beats Wagner up on the floor. Fortunately, Famous B spends more time with Sagrada after that. Mid-ring, Wagner gets two with a sit-out powerbomb. Famous B stomps away at Sagrada while the fans chant 423-U-Suck. Famous B holds Sagrada so Wagner can superkick his leg. Brenda is perfectly annoying on the floor degrading and insulting Sagrada. Wagner eats a flying headscissors, opening the door for Havoc to come in.
He lands a slick pump kick and elbows away before getting two off a crossbody. Famous B gets caught making the save and eats a back suplex. Wagner is thrown out and Havoc grabs B and tags in Sagrada, who crossbody blocks him and hits an airplane spin. Havoc goes up top, but Wagner kicks him down and a Wagner Driver ends things for Sagrada. B gets his stethoscope on and covers Sagrada with it to win, earning B his first win in three seasons.
The unseen white rabbit tribe asks how long forever is. Vampiro hypes up Pentagon Dark vs. Azteca before hyping the main event. Striker says that Dario’s Dial of Doom returns, and now we get clips of past shows along with still photos of the action to show you what happened before. Jack Evans comes out to face Sexy Star. Evans talks smack and gets the hell slapped out of him for it.
Gift of the Gods Champion Sexy Star defeated Jack Evans to retain her title
Evans stalls for a bit and then dropkicks Star down before posing. She lands a flying armdrag off the top and then flies off the apron with a seated senton. She drags him around by his hair and lands some forearms. She posts him leading to a “post-traumatic stress disorder” line from Striker that actually makes Vampiro laugh.
Evans regains control and kicks Star on the mat hard. Evans insults her in Spanish, leading Striker to ask Vampiro if his poor Spanish offends him. A mafia kick lands for Star but only gets two. Evans lands a series of sick knees to the face before rubbing Star’s face against the buckle. Evans flips around a bunch before a multi-backflip thumb to the eye. Star reverses a whip and lands a series of shoulders to the gut and a pair of bronco busters for two.
Star slaps Evans’ chest before putting him in a Gory special and dropping him to his knees for two. Star charges into the corner, but eats a kick and a neckbreaker for two. Evans goes up top and gets slammed to the floor before Star hits a crossbody to the floor.
PJ Black flies around from the crowd into the ring before Mundo spears Star on the floor and then rolls under the ring. That only gets two. Mundo tries to come in, but Drago and Aerostar come down to take Mundo and Black out. Evans gets his flipping backslide, but his feet are on the rope — so Fenix points it out and then leaves.
Star gets a Singapore cane and hits Evans in the groin before hitting a spinning fisherman suplex for the win.
Dario Cueto is on the phone and thanks someone before telling Chavo that Azteca isn’t leaving any time soon. Cueto makes Chavo vs. Azteca, but Mysterio calls Chavo a piece of sh*t for taking Azteca out. He wants to face Chavo in the main event tonight. But first, a kung fu fight breaks out as it always does, and Mysterio wins this one.
Cueto says he loves this and Chavo gains a brief edge. This gives Dario an idea — Pentagon Dark is in the main event because he promised him, but he’ll make a three-way match tonight between all of them.
Pentagon Dark defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Rey Mysterio Jr.
Mysterio gets double teamed to start, but lands a series of headscissors and ranas. Chavo gets sent to the floor and Mysterio lands a deja vu headscissors on Pentagon. He flies over the top with a huge dive to both before enjoying the cheers of the crowd. Mysterio sends Pentagon in and lands a seated senton. A springboard crossbody gets two.
Chavo grabs his chair and boots Mysterio on the floor. Pentagon lands a series of nasty kicks on each before kicking Mysterio down on the floor and yelling Cero Miedo into the camera.
Pentagon grabs the chair and slaps it to get the fans hyped and wedges it in the corner. He goes to toss Mysterio in, but it’s reversed and Chavo drop toeholds him into it. Mysterio gets a cradle for two before Striker talks about the WWE history of Mysterio and Chavo, while Vampiro says that this really goes back to Chavo Classic and Chavo against Rey Sr. and Rey Jr.
Chavo lands a sick kick in the corner to Pentagon before uppercutting Mysterio in the corner. Mysterio slides under Chavo and lands an enzuigiri on Chavo. Pentagon baseball slides Mysterio on the apron and gets sent to the floor. Chavo lands a dropkick and a senton gets two.
Mysterio monkey flips Chavo out of the corner. Chavo lands three amigos, drawing the ire of Striker for some reason. Pentagon Dark powerbombs Mysterio for two. Mysterio rolls Pentagon into Chavo for a dual 619. Pentagon gets the win on Mysterio after the package piledriver. Mysterio attacks Chavo, but he gets pounced and Chavo hits him with the chair on the head and then the knee. Chavo wraps him into a tree of woe and chair shots the knee.
We get a recap of the Rey-Chavo-Azteca Jr. issues and the Worldwide Underground’s issues with Sexy Star. Joey Ryan turning his back on Cortez Castro is shown, and we see Puma do Vampiro’s bidding in attacking Mil Muertes. Sexy Star looks at her title backstage before Dario talks to her and she says she will never be afraid again.
He says that if she truly has no fear, she’ll cash it in to face Matanza – but tonight, she teams with Fenix, Aerostar, and Drago against the Worldwide Underground. Mundo runs after Taya in the locker room, but she isn’t there – so he introduces himself to Sexy Star and says he’s taking her title.
Sinestro De La Muerte vs. Prince Puma
They start off with strikes, which Vamp says is due to him having more aggression now. Puma chops away and locks on a sick neckbreaker submission. Puma hops up top and gets pulled down before eating a shotgun knee strike to the back of the head. Puma lands the northern lights suplex into the brainbuster for 2. Muertes runs down, but gets stopped by Puma. Puma hits the inverted piledriver and wins with Mil’s own move the Flatfliner. He jumps after Muertes and Catrina holds him back.
Castro goes into Dario’s office and Dario tells him that he wants to find “the real killer” of Mr. Cisco. Dario says maybe it’s Big Ryck since he burned his eye with a cigar. Dario tells him the show must go on, and he wants him to win it for Cisco. Striker says that this is a bonus match – and he will face Pentagon Dark.
Pentagon Dark vs. Cortez Castro
Cortez lays in some chops and sends him into a corner to stomp a mudhole into him. Pentagon kicks his leg hard twice and sends him down each time. Pentagon makes him pay for his few chops with one giant windup one and a package piledriver ends it. Pentagon snaps his arm after the match while the crowd chants for Pentagon. Pentagon says it doesn’t matter who wins tonight between Chavo and Azteca. He will take them out because he is Pentagon Dark and he has zero fear.
Sexy Star, Fenix, Aerostar, and Drago vs. The Worldwide Underground
Striker talks about how Sexy Star has inspired a generation. Sexy and Taya tumble around to start for a bit. Jack and Drago tag in to resume their rivalry. Jack flips around a lot before tagging in Black, who eats a variety of legsweeps. Aerostar double-jump dropkicks Mundo before Fenix darts around and takes Mundo down. Sexy is tagged in and legdropped down onto Mundo. Jack comes in and dominates Sexy, hitting the flying finger gun to the butt. Taya hits a corner back elbow and the shotgun knees.
Mundo goes to superkick Sexy, but she sucks and the kick hits PJ. Drago is tagged in and hits a knee on the second rope to land a springboard codebreaker before Fenix dives onto him for 2. Sexy blind tags herself in and eats an STO. Mundo charges, but eats a Fenix superkick, and he then corkscrew dives onto the floor.
Striker gives Taya a thousand nicknames while she attacks Sexy. Evans gets a jackknife backslide and wins. In their lair, Mil and Catrina kill Sinestro De La Muerte via a neck snap and she gives him the lick of death. She wants him to do the same thing to Prince Puma. El Dragon Azteca Jr. comes down while Striker calls him a rising star, and calls Chavo insecure.
El Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Chavo works on the arm and head to start things off. Chavo’s chinlock leads to Azteca flipping out of it and Vamp saying that he mocks Chavo, but he respects him. Chavo locks on an inverted Rings of Saturn and turns it into a crucifix for 2. Chavo gets kicked to the floor and baits Dragon in to toss him into the barricade.
Chavo stomps on the arm, which Vamp says goes back 500 years to hurt you – but not kill you. Azteca responds to this attempted maiming with a springboard armdrag.
Chavo locks on a rolling half crab, which he says led to a tap. Rey says no, so Chavo complains. Chavo decks him, so Rey hits him and Azteca ranas him to win. Rey 619s Chavo and raises Azteca’s hand high – so he will face Pentagon Dark. Black Lotus says she will send the Black Lotus tribe to kill Pentagon Dark, and we see her gaggle of ninjas.
I wonder if the Black Lotus tribe was just all those wacky lucha ninjas that got their asses kicked in season two?
The last time we saw Lucha Underground, season two ended with Dario Cueto being arrested and taken away from the Temple. Now, season three begins with Dario working out in prison until a guard lets him go, saying that Dario must have friends in high places.
Honky Tonk Man gives Dario his belongings, including “One giant key!” Dario gets into a limo with one of the politicians and the man’s super-big boss, who now has a giant Dr. Claw hand.
In the Temple, Dario is mid-ring with Matanza. He announces Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Pentagon Dark tonight.
Matanza has beaten everyone, but he has a new concept all on his own — Dario’s Dial of Doom, which bears a very mild passing resemblance to Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal. Son of Havoc may have lost his guaranteed title shot last season, but he gained a shot tonight — in our opener in fact.
Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto defeated Son of Havoc
A game of cat and mouse goes awry for Son of Havoc, who eats a pounce. Matanza misses a splash on the apron, and Havoc does his flagpole elbow right to Matanza’s nuts. Havoc hits a victory roll and turns it into a double stomp for two. Matanza’s snap sidewinder suplex hits hard.
Moonsault headbutts connect for Matanza. Havoc front facelocks him to the floor. Havoc goes for an armbar after hitting a double stomp. Matanza powers out, but eats a springboard cutter for two. A shooting star press gets a near fall as the crowd goes crazy. Matanza catches Havoc off a dive, then hits the Wrath of the Gods rewind powerslam to win.
The Worldwide Underground meet with Dario about Johnny Mundo not getting a title match. Dario tells him his name was on the dial — fortune just wasn’t on his side. Dario blames Angelico for their trios title loss last season, and we get a skit of them all beating Angelico up after Ultima Lucha Dos. They shatter Angelico’s leg in the door of Mundo’s sports car.
Dario thanks them for the story, but won’t give Mundo a shot at the title. Mundo wants to face Sexy Star instead, but Dario says that they all lost — except for Taya, so she will face Star for the title.
Ivelisse talks about Catrina costing her two Ultima Lucha matches, and she wants her first Ultima Lucha win to be against Catrina. Ivelisse says she wants to crush Catrina’s skull in the process. The lights go out and Catrina accepts Ivelisse’s challenge, telling her to bring it on.
Gift of the Gods Champion Sexy Star defeated Taya
Star appears to be back from a vacation on the sun given how dark she is. Striker talks about how the GOTG title has never been successfully defended as Star locks on a Fujiwara armbar. Star slaps Taya after they do a tumbling exchange that Vampiro compares to something from Johnny Smith.
Star elbows her down before a dropkick to the backside sends Taya to the floor. Star eats a fallaway slam after Taya catches her on a dive. Taya’s shotgun knees miss as she is held by Mundo. Star cradles her and wins. The entire group beats up Star before Fenix, Drago, and Aerostar (the Trios Champions) come out to the ring.
Marty the Moth interrupts Dario as he’s talking on the phone. Marty makes sure that Dario got his gifts in jail, and Dario asks that they never speak of his “vacation” again. Marty looks even sleazier than before now that he has a beard, and Dario asks him about Killshot. Marty says he’s done with him, but Dario says he isn’t — and he will have a chance to win his dog tags back in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match.
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Pentagon Dark
They bust out a tumbling exchange and Mysterio comes out on top of it with a rana. Pentagon chops him and talks smack before getting two off a double stomp. Mysterio’s top is moved aside and he eats a big chop.
Two sling blades hit for a near fall. A superkick sends Mysterio to the apron, but he lands a rana off the top. They fight to the floor, where Mysterio hits a pinwheel DDT. Pentagon hits a head-drop driver for two.
Pentagon stares at Vampiro, who leaves because he just can’t be here. Mysterio hits a rana, the 619, and wins with a flip piledriver! Mysterio gets jumped, but Dragon Azteca Jr. saves him from an armbreaker.
Backstage, Prince Puma ponders his previous loss to Mysterio. Vampiro tells him he knows what he’s feeling and he’s been there. He’s lost and maybe he needs some guidance. Vampiro tells him he has to take his frustrations out on Mil Muertes, and Puma says he’s surprised Vampiro isn’t sending him after Pentagon.
Vampiro reminds him that it’s all about Puma, not him, before leaving.
Final Thoughts —
This was an excellent episode of the show and just about the perfect way to merge the outside drama with the in-ring action.
The show begins with a recap of season two’s big events, including Vampiro being on medication, the rise of Rey Mysterio Jr., and the possible fall of Dario Cueto’s empire.
Backstage, Vampiro asks Pentagon Jr. if he’s ready and Pentagon says yes. Vampiro says he sees fear and must destroy the man who was destroyed. He sends Pentagon into a cave, where there are many versions of Pentagon, who all get their asses kicked.
Vampiro tells him to find the darkness within, and then gets destroyed by Pentagon, who is now Pentagon Dark. The trios title match is our opener tonight.
Aerostar, Drago, & Fenix vs. Trios Champions Johnny Mundo, PJ Black, & Jack Evans for the titles
Drago lands some slick kicks and a big DDT. Mundo is legal, but Black runs in and misses a moonsault. Aerostar hits a corkscrew dive mid-ring and a double jump corkscrew dive. Evans gets a hot shot and thumbs Aerostar in the ass.
Tons of flying gets stopped by the heels slowing things down and cheating a bit, then Evans hits a running nut shot to Fenix. Aerostar hits a Mexican destroyer off the top to Mundo and then dives off of Fenix onto the pile on the floor. A Fenix frog splash gets two and Mundo fouls him.
Belt shots aplenty for the heels, who celebrate far too early and play air guitar while actual guitar plays in the background. Another belt shot gets a near fall for the heels. Angelico returns and crotches Mundo, while Black gets kicked outside and eats a big dive.
Flying trust fall by Aerostar takes out Black and Evans. Angelico breaks a crutch on Mundo and Fenix hits the Fenix Driver to win it! Fenix is now the first triple crown champion in company history.
Black Lotus vs. Dragon Azteca Jr.
Lotus uses her speed to pull Azteca down by his mask and hits an armdrag. Azteca hits a big kick on the apron, but misses a flip dive and eats an enzuigiri. Azteca responds by tossing her hard into the barricade. She is tossed in and hits a basement dropkick, then a series of kicks.
Azteca goes up top, but Pentagon Dark comes down in new all-black gear and threatens to snap her arm. He does it before doing the same to Azteca. Vampiro says this is the formal introduction for Pentagon Dark, and it’s a great way to have him regain his season one badass vibe.
Pentagon Dark says he is here to destroy. And he has destroyed Ian and brought Vampiro back. Pentagon Jr. is dead and has been replaced by Pentagon Dark. He swears to destroy Matanza Cueto tonight. This ruled!
It is now time for the Lucha Underground title match, as Dario brings Matanza down.
Pentagon Dark vs. Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto for the title
Pentagon brings the fight and chops away on the floor before kicking Matanza down. Matt Striker talks about Pentagon Jr. being destroyed by Matanza, before Vampiro says he is dark now. Pentagon hits an AA on the floor. Holy smokes, that looked tough to hoist that big mutha up.
Pentagon chops the daylights out of his chest, then more leg kicks. Matanza charges the post but misses. Pentagon chops away and gets a chair from Vampiro, before playing it like LA Park and hitting him in the back.
Dario yells at Matanza to recover for the family. Matanza tries to reverse a whip into the chairs, but that gets reversed and Striker hypes up how no one has done what Pentagon Dark has done so far.
Matanza gets tossed into more chairs, damn are they ever putting this character change over perfectly. Matanza is literally a murderer in this story, but Pentagon Dark has found a place inside him that allows him to dismantle Matanza.
Pentagon sets him up for shattered dreams, but he hits a monkey flip , it’s a shame too since Striker’s “monster’s balls” line was on point. Matanza finally gets something going after tossing his head into a corner-mounted chair. Matanza hits a standing moonsault and then a standing shooting star press for two.
Rewind German suplex gets nothing because shoulders aren’t down. Matanza hits a backflip fallaway slam for two. Pentagon grabs another chair and smacks Matanza’s head.
Pentagon hops off the second rope into a Mexican destroyer before Vampiro casually shows off a barb wire bat. Dario pushes Pentagon out of the way to avoid the bat shot and Pentagon tries to snap his arm, but Matanza hits him with the bat. Wrath of the Gods wins it for Matanza! Vampiro comes in but gets shoved off.
Taya vs. Ivelisse
Ivelisse dominates in the corner with forearms but gets tripped on the apron. Taya gets chucked into a chair and kicked at. They fight on the barricade and Ivelisse dives off of it onto Taya. They go back into the ring after a ton of brawling in the crowd.
Ivelisse hits a snap German suplex and a sunset flip bomb, but the lights go out and Catrina shows up. Catrina has a new look and hits Madison Rayne’s Rayne Drop, then Taya hits a northern lights suplex and a double stomp to win.
Prince Puma’s history is recapped from episode one with Konnan putting him over. Rey Mysterio Jr. comes out in his El Rey gear that he also wore at URFight, while Puma is in darker black, red, and yellow gear.
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Prince Puma
Puma’s tumbling exchange around Mysterio keeps the speed fast while Mysterio can stay fairly grounded. Mysterio gets a brief edge off an armdrag and they staredown. Mysterio goes for a spinning headscissors, but Puma flips out of it!
They mirror each other with kicks, but Mysterio gets a sick running kick for two. Mysterio goes for a deja vu rana, but Puma holds on and does a double knee gutbuster, then locks on a sick standing bow and arrow.
Mysterio sends him over the top with a headscissors, where they roll, and then Mysterio sends him into the ring apron with another headscissors. Mysterio gets the slip’n slide dive to the floor. Mysterio gets the Thesz press off the top and gets two off a second rope crossbody.
Puma elbows him, but eats a modified 619, then Puma gets the northern lights suplex and the brainbuster for two. They fight up top and Mysterio hits a rewind rana. It’s amazing to see him bust out new stuff at this point.
That only gets two, which Vampiro says is due to him not hooking a leg. Puma lands some European uppercuts, while Mysterio goes for the wheelbarrow bulldog that Puma turns it into a lumbar check and a blue thunder bomb for two!
Puma ducks a 619 and gets tons of boos when he puts Mysterio into the 619 position. The 323 hits and Puma follows it up with a springboard 450 for two! Puma hits the modified GTS and gets two. Corner dropkick hits, but Puma misses the 630 after giving Mysterio a moment to heal.
Mysterio hits a snap rana for two, then hits a 619, and wins with the springboard rana!
Striker sends the show off before Pentagon Dark hits Vampiro with the bat and superkicks Striker. Vampiro gets sliced open with the bat and Pentagon throws him into the ring to say that he is the new master. He licks Vampiro’s blood and says it feeds him before KOing Vampiro with a basement dropkick.
Vampiro is left bloody, but before the show goes off the air, the cops take Dario away.
This wasn’t quite as amazing as the original Ultima Lucha show, even with it having four hours of content instead of three.
Mysterio vs. Puma was outstanding, but everything else was largely just there outside of Pentagon Dark vs. Matanza standing out as a great hardcore brawl, though it was hurt by the season having tons of them.
The episode begins with a recap of the importance of the Gift of the Gods Title, Cage’s win and then cash-in against Matanza that led to Matanza retaining. We see the history of Famous B and Mascarita Sagrada and the Black Lotus-Dragon Azteca Jr. feud. Dario meets with a new luchador – Night Claw, who will compete in a medallion match to determine who gets a Gift of the Gods match at Ultima Lucha Dos.
Dario gives Night Claw a history lesson about his jaguar tribe being destroyed, and Night Claw cuts a promo with a wacky voice filter about being on top of LU and Dario tells him to not be overconfident.
The Voodoo Glow Skulls sing ‘Revenge of the Nerds” while fans dance back and forth. Striker says that the “new luchador” debuts at Ultima Lucha Dos, and will compete for one medallion while the others will be on the line tonight. Daga is mid-ring and gets a “Daga” chant while Famous B interrupts Melissa and gets a “423-GET-FAME!” chant. Brenda brings Sagrada down while his epic theme plays.
Daga vs. Mascarita Sagrada – Medallion Match
Daga tosses him across the ring while Vamp talks about how Kobra Moon is stalking Daga from atop Dario’s office. DON’T STAND THERE – BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN. Brenda cheers on Mascerita while Vamp buries her for having an annoying voice. A one-footed dropkick gets 2 for Daga. Sagrada gets a rana cradle for 2. We get a shot of Kobra and Daga tosses Sagrada high in the air. A Russian Legsweep into a crossface gets a tap – but Daga keeps moving and the ref can’t see it.
Finally, the ref sees it and stops things long after they should’ve been stopped. Maybe it was just an homage to PRIDE. Brenda gives Sagrada a big kiss resulting in comedic lips appearing on his mask, and Famous B kicks his ass with his shoe before telling Brenda to go get it. It’s amazing how he went from the biggest babyface to a huge heel in no time. Striker says that the next match will be for three medallions.
Dario talks to Dragon Azteca Jr. about how his brother didn’t kill El Dragon Azteca. Azteca calls him a liar, and Dario says that Black Lotus will destroy the Azteca mask by beating him. “When you look into her eyes, you will see the eyes of your mentor’s killer”. The Crew and Joey Ryan walk down the aisle and Striker talks about how he shoves himself down everyone’s chest and Vamp says he doesn’t want to wrestle someone with a very oily chest. Marty tells Killshot to hang on and not kill him and offers him his dogtags back as a show of unity for tonight.
The Crew & Joey Ryan vs. Killshot, Sinestro & Marty the Moth
Marty kicks Castro and Striker rattles off movie characters that Marty reminds him of. Flying neckbreaker gets 2 for Castro. Marty and Joey go at it and Marty steals the lollipop and puts it in his mouth, before Joey recovers his stolen property and chomps on it. God, just imagine how great a Kings of Sleaze team would be with Joey and Marty.
Sinestro goes at it against Mr. Cisco and Cisco chops away and lands a fancy armdrag to a huge pop. Sinestro goes for a blindside lariat, but eats a snap powerslam for 2. Striker calls Cisco a hispanic Buzz Sawyer, which Vamp doesn’t sell. Striker talks about the Canadian trip and then calls it a Mexican trip before talking about how it originated from Lance Storm and Vamp says he’s not Canadian – he’s from Alberta.
Marty and Castro go at it and a DDT gives Castro a chance to recover and he tags in Cisco who lands a series of lariats. Cisco hits a sloppy and kinda scary rana off the second rope for 2.
Sinestro comes in for a low blow on Joey, but it has no effect. Marty teases a dive, but flaps instead and gets sent to the floor so folks can do dives. Killshot hops off the top onto Castro’s chest and onto the pile! Marty tags in Killshot and they double team Cisco before a Marty spinebuster leads to a Killshot dropkick for 2. Cisco comes in and hits a rewind rana before The Crew goes for the 3D Codebreaker, but Joey superkicks Sinestro and nixes that.
Marty curbstomps Cisco and a Killshot double stomp ends it! This was a blast! Marty steals Killshot’s dogtags again – absolutely perfect. Sexy Star teams with Mariposa against Ivelisse and Taya next.
The Voodoo Glow Skulls play more music so the fans can dance more. Sexy Star comes down and they talk about her character’s backstory being a victim of domestic abuse. Vamp calls her “the face of Lucha Underground”, which is some grade A BS even by pro wrestling standards.
Taya and Ivelisse vs. Sexy Star and Mariposa
Taya starts off against Sexy after arguing with Ivie. Taya armdrags her down and wants more. A wacky cradle leads to a wacky submission by Sexy. They go back and forth on the mat in an expressive exchange before they tag their partners in. They exchange a variety of headlocks and Ivie gets 2 off a sunset flip before eating a lariat. Mariposa locks on a modified Sharpshooter, but gets pushed into the buckle and schoolgirled for 2. Taya and Mariposa tag in, argue and Sexy tags in.
Sexy eats a superkick to the gut, but lands a flying armdrag off the top. Running rana sends Taya to the floor and they talk about how we could see a female Gift of the Gods or LU Champion. Mariposa tosses Taya into a set of wooden steps on the floor. Sexy lets about another F bomb and Mariposa dives onto Taya on the chairs, before Ivie dives onto Mariposa on the floor.
Taya hits a corner choke with he foot and hits a back elbow. Double knees hit Sexy and only get 2. Sexy hits a yakuza kick and a lariat before a spinkick and DDT give her a brief edge.
A victory roll gets 2 for Sexy. Taya tags in Ivie before a chop exchange breaks out between Ivie and Sexy. A series of cradles get 2 for each. A standing backslide gets 2 for Sexy before a jackknife cradle gets 2 for Ivie. Taya runs in for a spear, but “misses” Sexy and hits Ivie before Mariposa hits the Celtic Cross and tosses Sexy on top to score the win.
This was far better than it seemed like it could be going in. Prince Puma talks to the crowd next.
Prince Puma comes down and Striker talks about him being the face of the company – like Tanahashi, Cena, and Bockwinkel. Puma debuts a new mask and says that he wants only one match at Ultima Lucha Dos. When Konnan was training him, he was told he could be the best – he could be the next Rey Mysterio.
He says Rey is the best and he wonders what he has to offer, and is he really the next Rey or is he even better? Rey comes down and Vamp says this is a meeting of a legend and icon against a future legend. Rey says he was one of the people who paved the road for a talent like Prince Puma, and he has a lot of respect for him.
Rey says that Puma is still a prince, while he is El Rey. Rey says that Puma needs to know if he’s better, while Rey needs to know if he’s still the best. This was built up very little in-storyline, but done so in a way that makes perfect sense now and it should lead to a classic.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
The show starts with a recap of the Trios title history this season, showing the former champs losing them to Rey Mysterio Jr, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. before that team lost them to PJ, Mundo, and Jack Evans. It transitions to showing Chavo winning the Gift of the Gods Title, then losing it to Cage last week and cashing in the title for a match tonight. Striker runs down tonight’s card, where the former trios champs get a rematch tonight and Matanza battles Cage in the main event.
Son of Havoc vs. Daga
They start off with a fancy series of counters to arm wringers. Havoc is sent down off a tackle, but catches him with a rana. Superkick on the floor by Daga leads to him trying a snake eyes on the post, but that’s countered and Daga is sent in. Havoc trips him mid-ring and gets 2 off a standing moonsault. Daga gets a back suplex into a facebuster for 2. Daga traps him in the corner for mounted punches and a face wash. Daga slams him down and gets 2 off a Muta-style power drive elbow. Havoc lands some standing forearms, and eats punches. Armdrag into a Tequila Sunrise by Daga!
Kobra Moon comes down as Daga hits a corner elbow. Havoc flips out of the corner and hits a series of lariats. Muta-style handspring elbow in the corner and a springboard crossbody gets 2. An apron high kick by Havoc leads to a suicide dive on the floor. Kobra comes up and grabs the ankle of Havoc, leading to Daga hitting a kick up top and then going for a superplex – but eating a gordbuster and a shooting star press. Kobra Moon comes into the ring and caresses Daga in a weird way. She caresses his leg and he kicks her off.
Winner – Son of Havoc
Backstage, Rey works on his spinning backfists while Azteca talks about finding Matanza’s cell. He wants revenge, while Rey tells him that Dragon Azteca Sr. wouldn’t have wanted that. They argue and Prince Puma comes up and says their match is next. They tell him to leave, Rey says that it doesn’t concern him, and he says that as their partnets, it does concern him. Dragon Azteca Jr. is a fairly bad actor, but everyone else was fine here.
Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Trios Champions Jack Evans, PJ Black, and Johnny Mundo
The heel team has red bandanas on now, and Rey is dominated for a bit by a PJ headlock. A shoulderblock gets 2 on Rey. Rey flips out of a schoolboy and hits a buzzsaw kick and a rana. Rey is up on his shoulders and Mundo distracts the ref so that PJ can toss him down and kick him in the nuts. A triple team neckbreaker by the heels gives them more of an edge. Jack comes in, stands on his chest and gets 2 off a standing moonsault.
Jack tells Rey “I think I can, I THINK I CAN” to mock him for trying to make a tag before attacking him. Mundo comes in and eats some punches, but a tilt a whirl takes Rey down again. Rey gets a DDT out of nowhere and tags in Puma. Puma’s headscissors and dropkick take Jack down while the northern lights brainbuster hits Mundo. Corner crossbody leads to a double kick in the corner and then a triple dropkick to PJ from the floor. Flip dive over Puma by Azteca.
Rey goes for a dive, but Jack stops it with a dropkick. Jack promises something big, and gets it as Puma hits him with a superplex off the top onto the pile on the floor. Puma goes for the 630, but Jack is pulled to the floor by his partners. Jack hits a 630 and gets 2.5. Puma hoists him up and lands a modifies GTS. Azteca and Mundo are in, and Mundo accidentally leaps into PJ in the corner. Azteca hits an around the world DDT on Mundo for 2. Azteca avoids the Moonlight Drive, and eats a kick to the nuts. Puma is pissed and kicks Mundo in the nuts – leading to a DQ so the heels retain and the faces have lost their rematch. Puma attacks Taya with a huge kick as well, while Rey tries to control Puma.
Winners – PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Johnny Mundo
After the match, we see Dragon Azteca Jr. meet Matanza. Black Lotus tells him that Dragon Azteca killed her parents, and that the truth hurts. They fight for a bit before he tells her that she knows it isn’t true. Well, they haven’t done much with that story thread for a while – so it’s good to further it slightly here. Cage comes out first carrying the title out like it’s a trash bag. As Matanza comes down, Striker runs down everything Matanza has done – including him beating nine foes in Aztec Warfare to win the title.
Cage vs. Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto
We get a staredown and they immediately go into a Frye-Takayama exchange. Cage rams him, but Matanza doesn’t move. Matanza and Cage barge into each other, which doesn’t give anyone an edge until Cage hits an uppercut. Cage sends him to the floor and hits a flip dive. Cage goes up top and hits a moonsult while Vamp talks about Cage tearing the original LU title up last year. Thank God he did – that thing looked awful.
They fight on the floor and Cage tosses his head into the barricade before pulling the covers off the concrete. Cage taking the time to do that gave Matanza time to heal, and he tosses Cage into the barricades. Matanza lands the multiple Karelin Lifts on the floor, but Cage escapes the third one and lands a forearm. Giant German suplex on the floor by Matanza. Matanza tosses him in the ring and chokes him before hammerfisting his head.
Standing SSP leads to Cage getting his knees up and getting 2 off a neckbreaker. Cage traps him in the corner for a series of lariats. Cage showboats, giving Matanza time to get under him and land an exploder for 2. Matanza picks him up for a pumphandle bridging suplex for 2. Cage jacks his jaw and then lands a basement dropkick after a schoolboy. Matanza recovers and goes for the eyes. Vamp talks about how Matanza’s hands are always covered by blood. Cage lands an X Factor for 2. They each charge into each other with lariats and take one another down with pump kicks.
Cage and Matanza exchange Germans and then no-sell them like Hawk. After three of them, Cage starts to sell and then Matanza sends him down like a basic wrestling takedown, but hoists him up high for a German that looked incredible and gets 2. Cage avoids the Wrath of the Gods, but hits a discus lariat for 2.
Cage hits the power superplex from the middle rope. Flying elbow gets 2 for Cage. Matanza grabs him and lands the Kevin Steen sidewinder back suplex for 2. Cage counters a powerbomb with an Alabama slam and a standing moonsault for 2. Cage goes for Weapon X, but Matanza counters and lands an overhead belly to belly. A sitout powerbomb gets 2 for Matanza.
Cage counters the Wrath of the Gods with a small package for 2. Cage hits a Canadian Destroyer for 2. Cage pulls down the straps and lands a series of kicks, including a superkick – but the Wrath of the Gods gives Matanza the win. This was a pretty exctiing match and definitely worth checking out – it will probably be the match from the show put on El Rey’s Youtube channel later this week.
Winner – Matanza Cueto
To see all of the screenshots taken for the show, just click here.
Two titles are on the line tonight as Cage battles Chavo for the Gift of the Gods Title, and Rey Mysterio Jr, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. defend against the team of Fenix, PJ Black, and Jack Evans. It’s an unlikely team of opponents though, as Fenix is a babyface and thus an odd man out. Joey Ryan also faces Mascarita Sagrada, who is looking for his first win with Famous B by his side.
The show begins with a recap of the cop drama and the Trios Titles being won by Rey, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. Chavo stealing Cage’s medallion is shown, and we see him letting Chavo win so he can get a shot tonight. In Vampiro’s lair, he tells Pentagon Jr. that he’s not ready to face Matanza – while Pentagon says he has zero fear. Vamp welcomes the Voodoo Greyskulls to the show, and he runs down tonight’s card as Cage battles Chavo for the Gift of the Gods Title.
Striker talks about the main event which will see PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Fenix facing Rey, Azteca, and Puma. Joey Ryan is mid-ring while Striker calls him a hit and quit it kinda guy. Famous B comes out and gets a nice Famous B chant. He transitions it into a Mascarita chant and introduces him wonderfully, outside of getting jumped and calling him ‘MASCARITA GODDAMN!”
Joey Ryan vs. Mascarita Sagrada
Joey jumps him, but Sagrada recovers, sends him to the floor and dives onto him. Sagrada gets crotched, and then Joey offers up his lollipop to Brenda. Joey can’t lift him over his head, but is overjoyed when he lands a basic slam. Wasteland by Sagrada and a diving headbutt gets 2. Joey gets kicked low, which hurts Sagrada. A small package gets 2 for Sagrada and then Joey gets a very awkward tornado DDT for the win. B and Brenda console Sagrada while the commentators talk about how Sagrada has yet to win with Famous B by his side.
We get a Taya personality profile about how she sees confidence when she looks in the mirror. She also kicks the asses of a bunch of wacky suited ninjas, as you do. Taya says she sees the perfect woman in the mirror, and Mundo agrees. Her red dress and ass-kicking made it seem like they were going for a Ronda Rousey in Expendables 3 vibe – only with more lucha ninjas. King Cuerno talks to Mil Muertes’s body in a coffin in his office. Mil acted like he was king – but he was still in Cuerno’s jungle. Well, that was different and great. Chavo comes down and then Striker adds a billion nicknames for Cage, including the Sentinel.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Cage – Gift of the Gods Title
Chavo gets a “Cage is gonna kill you” chant right away. Cage’s new black and gold singlet looks fantastic. He starts with tons of lariats in the corners while Vamp buries Striker for saying Chavo was once one of the best in the world. Chavo tries to gain an edge with sneaky tactics, but gets caught in an apron tree slam. He rakes the eyes and gets Cage to the floor – but a dive is caught and he eats several slams against the railing. Chavo sends him to the floor with a tilt a whirl headscissors and a dive.
Chavo lands a draping DDT and gets 2. Chavo goes for the legs, but Cage tosses him into the buckle and monkey flips him. Cage catches a dive and lands a Finlay roll before a moonsault misses. Chavo gets 2, and works on the knee. Cage hits an apron kick and lands his power superplex into the ring. European uppercut sends Chavo into the corner, where Chavo tries to kick him – but eats a sitout Alabama slam that gets 2. Cage’s F5 is countered and Chavo hits a running tornado DDT for 2.
Rolling kick hits for Chavo, but a discus lariat only gets 2 for Cage thanks to Chavo getting his feet on the rope. Chavo avoids a superplex and gets a sunset bomb and a frog splash for 2.5! Chavo doe the Eddie shuffle and lands Three Amigos – but only gets two of them and Cage turns into a suplex, then a powerbomb, and then Weapon X for the win and the Gift of the Gods Title. Cage trades in his title for a shot at Matanza next week – where it will be Monster vs. Machine.
Taya takes Jack and PJ to the locker room where Fenix is laid out. Mundo replaces him and then punts Fenix for good measure. Officers Neehan and Reyes search Dario’s office since Dario and “his hot ninja” are gone. They find tons of money before Castro busts them for trying to rob Dario without him – so Reyes arrests Cisco while Neehan points a gun at him. Well, this was different and furthers the cop drama while also ending The Crew. Taya comes out and tells everyone that Fenix won’t be here, but PJ and Jack have a better partner – Mundo!
Johnny Mundo, PJ Black, and Jack Evans vs. Trios Champions Rey Mysterio, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr.
Jack starts with Azteca and lets everyone know he still hates dragons. Jack flips around a bit, but eats a dropkick and some nasty chops in the corner. Azteca hits a double-jump armdrag sending Jack to the corner. A triangle dropkick sends Jack to the floor. PJ comes in to face Puma, and Puma gets tied to a tree of woe before Jack attacks in the corner. Mundo lands a tornado kick while Puma tries to rise up. PJ comes in and gets 2 off of that match. Mundo and PJ land a double backbody drop for 2.
Puma uses Jack and PJ against each other and forces PJ to DDT Jack with a flying lariat. Rey comes in to face Mundo and sends him down with a deja vu headscissors. Puma and Azteca kick away at Mundo. They get 2 off a legdrop while Jack jumps in for a save. Johnny turns Puma and Azteca’s bodies against each other by catching Azteca and sending Azteca into Puma in the corner. PJ gets 2 off a pop-up cutter. Evans comes in and lands a tornado kick before Rey sends Mundo to the floor. Azteca lands a springboard rana to the floor and sends Mundo into the apron.
Evans goes up, but gets crotched. Puma sends him down and that results in Evans hitting a wacky kick before hitting a pop-up rana that sends Puma into PJ where PJ eats a rana. Rey kicks PJ into the ropes for a 619, which hits. Puma’s 630 hits and only gets 2 because Mundo pulls the ref out. Mundo kicks Rey low before Mundo and Taya land a double superkick. PJ kicks Puma in the crotch and Evans kicks Puma low too! PJ goes for a brainbuster, but Jack kicks him low first and then the Wellness Policy hits. Johnny goes for the End of the World, but it only gets 2! Mundo goes for a German superplex, but Puma flips back and tags Azteca. Azteca gets a code red, but Jack chairshots him and Mundo cradles him for the win! PJ Black, Jack Evans, and Johnny Mundo win it – giving us two new champions tonight.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
A recap video recaps the trios tournament, and the title win by Prince Puma, Rey Mysterio, and El Dragon Azteca Jr. We see a bit of the cop drama, and the announcement of Graver Consequences with Mil Muertes and Matanza – a casket match with four coffins in use. Dario meets with the mayor’s goon in a club and gives him his payment — thus explaining why he’s allowed to run an “underground” fight club. The goon tells him that he’s being watched by the police and he probably has at least one person on the inside. Dario is told that the Temple is very important, and that “his employer” will be visiting the Temple. Melissa Santos introduces our first match, for an Aztec medallion – a battle of former partners.
Mr. Cisco vs. Castro Castro vs. Joey Ryan – Aztec Medallion Match
Cisco gets a rollup on Castro for 2. Suplex by Castro to Cisco gets 2, while Joey is happy to just hang around on the outside of the ring. Joey Ryan goes for a schoolboy on Castro and beats him. Striker compares this to a flash knockout. Sure thing there, bucko.
Catrina talks to Mil about waiting 197 years for tonight. She says Mil spent only a few days in stone before she guided him to safety, and saved him from death in Grave Consequences. Tonight, she will lick Matanza’s face and make them immortal. King Cuerno rises from below in their sacred candle room area. Well, that should be a fun match down the line. Mundo is added to the former Trios Championship holders team tonight for a rematch.
Ivelisse, Son of Havoc, and Johnny Mundo vs. Trios Champions Rey Mysterio, Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr
Mundo’s new pink and white gear is something else. Ivie starts out with Azteca, and outwrestles him for a bit. Leg kick to Ivie leads to him leaving and we we get Rey-Havoc. Havoc gets 2 off a standing SSP, while Rey gets 2 off a sunset flip. Rey and Havoc grab one another’s legs to avoid a kick – and agree to break on 3 and actually do. Puma tags in and then Mundo comes in for a slugfest.
Mundo sends him over the rope to the apron and lands a high kick. Puma blocks a lariat with a high kick. Azteca and Havoc are now in and Havoc sends him up top. Azteca flips down and cradles him for 2. Superman Forearm by Azteca hits, but Havoc recovers and gets 2 off a handspring cutter. Rey and Havoc come in and a victory roll gets 2 for Rey. An argument breaks out and Mundo “accidentally” flying Chuck kicks Ivie.
Havoc high kicks Rey and gets 2. 619 hits and a tag to Puma leads to the 630 while Striker talks about the torch being passed and a new star being created…off a tag and one move. Taya jumps Ivie after the match. The large funeral march begins to set up Graver Consequences. When combined with the tragic Western music, it’s beautiful and a great way to add a sense of artistic beauty on a wrestling show in a new way. Mil Muertes comes out with Catrina, while Dario leads Matanza down.
Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes vs. Matanza Cueto – Graver Consequences Match
Mil jumps him and hits a chain of lariats in the corner. Matanza responds with a clothesline from Hell. Mil is tossed over the top onto a casked back-first like he’s HBK – only he’s 300 pounds. Matanza puts a casket next to the other, but Catrina hits him with a chair. It does nothing – but when he goes for Catrina, Mil spears him through chairs. Matanza powerbombs Mil onto the top of one of the three side-by-side caskets.
Mil smashes Matanza’s head into the posts, resulting in a wacky “bonk” sound effect. Matanza teases a chokeslam off the apron, but instead eats a Flatliner off of the apron onto the caskets. Matanza drags a casket into the ring, and then Dario gets pulled in – but Matanza saves him. Matanza hits the multiple gutwrench suplex, but Mil recovers, punches him and hits a spear without landing on his stomach.
Mil grabs the turnbuckle connector hook, but Matanza prevents its use and headbutts him. Matanza goes for the mask with his hands instead and tears it up. Matanza attacks the head with the hook and Striker says it’s to draw blood, and he’s sliced open. Matanza gets chokeslammed onto the casket! Mil grabs a toolbox and gets a lead glove, which Striker says you wouldn’t find that in a regular toolbox. Mil punches away on the mask with that glove. Matanza hits a low blow and a rabbit lariat. Matanza rips the lid off the coffin, and can’t win by tossing him in the mid-ring casket now.
Matanza realizes this and tosses it outside before taking an even bigger casket off its base and placing it on the floor. Matanza shoves him in the casket, but Mil’s hand raises up through the coffin and slams Matanza’s head onto the casket! Mil smacks him with the ring bell. Dario and Catrina brawl! Matanza has the stone and throws it in a casket. Matanza grabs Catrina and puts her in the casket with the stone. Mil hits a suicide dive to the floor!
They come back in and Mil lands a sloppy powerslam to Matanza. Mil opens the lid of a casket and puts Matanza in it, but Matanza survives – only to eat a slew of punches. One big hook allows him to recover. POWERBOMB ON THE CASKET. Matanza hits the Wrath of the Gods rewind powerslam and wins it! They open the casket with Catrina, but she has vanished. Mil Muertes is carried away in the casket by the pall bearers. King Cuerno takes off a hood to reveal himself as one of them.
More drama as the councilman’s goon brings the money Dario gave them to a limo. He tells “his lord” that Dario thinks his brother is the most powerful being on Earth – but told him that his lord was, and we see a lighter spark and what looks like a cigar being lit up to introduce a new unseen character to the mix. This wasn’t the best episode of the season, but a solid one that built to the future nicely.
To see all of the screenshots for the show, just click here.
Cage battles Johnny Mundo inside a steel cage, while the trios tag title tournament concludes as well. Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma, and Dragon Azteca Jr. face off against the current champions of Ivelisse and Son of Havoc, Joey Ryan and The Crew, and the trio of Jack Evans, PJ Black, and the former Gift of the Gods and Lucha Underground Champion Fenix – who aims to claim the first-ever Lucha Underground triple crown.
Show Recap:
The show begins with a recap of the trios tournament, Dario putting the current champions in a four way, and the Mundo-Cage feud is rundown briefly. Bang Data plays us in to this week’s show, with a cage already constructed around the ring. Striker says that Matanza and Mil Muertes will return to action soon after going through Dario’s ceiling. Vamp says that the trios title tourney concludes tonight. Melissa Santos introduces Cage – who is in fact still a machine. Striker says that more experience in a cage benefits Mundo here, who won the only other cage match in the Temple.
Mundo vs. Cage – Steel Cage Match for an Aztec Medallion
Vamp talks about the history of aztec medallions being a bit murky due to the history being tracked by people who were busy making human sacrifices. Cage pummels away in the corner on Mundo and lands 10 strikes and a pair of short-arm lariats. Mundo does a Spider-Man wall crawl up the cage, but gets pulled down and thrown across the ring. Cage tosses him into the steel twice. Striker talks about the history of great cage matches – like Snuka vs. Muraco and Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer. Vamp adds himself versus Sting and himself versus his ex-wife.
Vamp talks about training in BJJ and being surprised that Cage isn’t going for a Kimura during a cover. Cage locks in a Boston crab on Mundo while he is locked into the middle rope – akin to missing a shoulder charge and then getting locked in a crab from there. Cage walks on the rope, but gets crotched by Mundo, who lands a cage-assisted shining wizard and a basement dropkick. Cage and Mundo fight up top, but Taya whips Cage’s hand with her boot and Mundo hits a C4 off the top for 2.
Mundo whips him with Taya’s belt and he rushes in before eating a Samoa Joe-style STO out of the corner. Cage and Mundo fight on top of the cage, and man are the veins in Cage’s forearms crazy. Moonlight Drive off the top gets 2. Taya tries to give Mundo a kendo stick, but Cage nixes that and Mundo goes for a Flying Chuck from the blindside, but gets countered into a deadlift German. Buckle bomb leads to a steel cage powerbomb! Cage goes up, but Taya kinda bonks him a bit to take him down. Mundo grabs it and then lays some sick shots in for 2.
Cage goes to attack with the stick, but Mundo uses parkour to avoid it. Cage canes him and snaps it over his knee before getting 2. Mundo avoids a shot and gets a superkick and a Pele for 2. Mundo sunset flips out of a Weapon X. Taya gives Mundo a chair and he hits him in the head for 2. Mundo goes up and poses before teasing an End of the World off the top and missing. Taya climbs up top and dives into Cage. Magic killer onto Cage gets 2. Taya pulls handcuffs out of her boot, but she gets them put on her against the ropes. Spinebuster to Mundo leads to a Steiner Screwdriver on a chair for the win. This was outstanding – outside of the unprotected chairshot to the head and Taya’s weak cane shots. Trios Title tournament match is next, leading to some nice shots of the title belt.
Dario comes out and interrupts Melissa, getting a “jefe!” chant and then a “we want lucha!” chant. He says he has news – Angelico has had an accident, and he’ll get to the bottom of it. However, the title match will go on and Havoc and Ivie will defend the titles for their team. He wishes them luck and says they’ll need it. Evans walks down the steps on his hands, which seems like a very bad idea for many reasons.
Ivelisee and Son of Havoc vs. Fenix, Jack Evans, and PJ Black vs. Joey Ryan and The Crew vs. Prince Puma, Dragon Azteca Jr., and Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey debuts new slick silver and red gear here while Striker runs down Rey’s history as a tag champion. Vamp says that the current champs are at a disadvantage in theory, but can use their long-term partnership to turn everyone else against each other. Fenix and Cisco miss dropkicks, and Rey and Ivie each get 2. It’s one person from each team in the ring at all times – so it’s going to be nuts. Superkick to the gut of Ivie and Cisco lands a powerslam and gets a “Cisco” chant. Striker says that he’s now becoming a fan favorite, and that people change.
PJ is in Joker-esque neon green and purple gear. Do-si-doi spot in the corner by Havoc and Puma. Havoc lands some forearms to Castro, but Cisco gets a blind tag. Vamp asks what happened to Bael and Striker says he has no idea – people come and go in the Temple all the time. Dragon misses a kick to Castro, but spins into one on Cisco. Joey grabs Ivie and takes her to the floor. Fenix hits a corkscrew dive onto Cisco. PJ with a dive, and Puma goes for one, but hoists Dragon up for a top rope corkscrew to the pile on the floor.
PJ uses Puma as a launching pad for a flip dive, and then Rey hits his missile dive onto the pile. Havoc hits a space flying tiger drop as well. This is essentially a crazy video game match with everyone doing a dive on the floor. Joey stops Ivie’s dive by trying to impress her with his crotch, but she kicks his chest in and then German suplexes him. Castro comes in and eats forearms Big brainbuster to her leads to Joey wanting the tag, Castro being distracted and being small packaged to eliminate them from the equation.
Jack, Puma, and Havoc go for a three-way tieup before a double dropkick sends Jack to the floor. Havoc hits a high kick and a double stomp followed by a standing moonsault for 2. Striker talks about the illuminati for a bit while Jack says that he is the baddest bitch in the building – not Ivie. Ivie chops him and boots his face off. Sunset powerbomb hits, but PJ superkicks her and Jack pins her – so it’s down to two teams and new champions will be crowned here. A Weapon X highlight reel airs during a break.
Dragon and Fenix square off, leading to Dragon going for a backwards roll and then eating a mushroom stomp to the back of the head for 2. Dragon lands a corkscrew DDT while Vamp asks Striker to give him another quarter to keep the video game going. Puma comes in and hits the Northern Lights into the brainbuster before landing the one-man alarm clock! PJ eats a 630, but Evans kicks him in the nuts. Jack comes in and hits a running double sledge. Jack has his partners hold Puma, but he goes for a wacky kick that kicks Fenix.
Rey sends PJ over the top with a headscissors and lands a springboard crossbody to Jack. Outside-in headscissors puts Jack into the 619 position. It hits and then Jack just kinda stands there while Puma and Azteca set up a double team corkscrew DDT.Rey hits a split-legged moonsault to beat him and win his first title in Lucha Underground. The faces celebrate and we go to Pentagon Jr’s lair.
Vampiro tells him to come, and we see Pentagon wheel himself in on a motorized wheelchair after Matanza broke his back. Vampiro tells him to get up – he doesn’t, so Vamp burns him with the wax of a black candle. Pentagon tries to rise, but falls to the floor. Vamp grabs him and says he’s weak before leaving him in a pool of blood and smoke. Well, this was different and weird. Excellent show overall – with only two matches, and each of them were very good. To see all the screenshots for the show, click here.
