MLW has returned with a new season of Fusion on beIN Sports, following the recent Underground season that concluded on Reelz.
To catch you up, Alex Kane won the 2023 Battle Riot match to earn an MLW title shot against Alex Hammerstone at July’s Never Say Never streaming special on FITE.tv. The season also included the debut of new heel faction The Calling who most recently attacked and injured the ever popular former champion Jacob Fatu.
This week’s show was taped in Tijuana, Mexico, as part of the MLW and AAA Super Series tapings with Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole on the call.
The episode opened with highlights of Kane’s Battle Riot victory where he went the distance to win from the no. 1 spot before we were treated to a new opening video and music package for the new season.
Juicy Finau defeated Crazy Frank and Damian 666 in a triple threat Tijuana street fight
With the size and abilities of each competitor, this was a slow-moving but hard-hitting weapons match that saw the MLW Tag Team champion get the victory.
They listed off Damian’s previous deathmatch/hardcore opponents and it is quite an impressive list: the original Sheik, Onita, Sabu, Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome among others.
Damian stapled some pesos to Finau’s shoulder before he and Frank sent him over the barrier with some cookie sheet shots. Frank used a cheese grater on Finau, followed by Damian driving skewers into Frank’s forehead. Finau then set Frank on a chair, placed an HD plasma TV on his lap, and crushed both man and TV into the barrier.
Inside the ring, we had a run-in from Frank’s stablemates who suplexed Damian from the top rope onto a car hood. However, they were soon on the end of an avalanche splash by Finau and kendo stick shots from Damian.
The action stumbled to the stage where Finau threw Damian off the stage and through a table. Frank joined them with another cookie sheet and dragged Finau back to ringside and sent him through the TV.
Inside the ring, Frank’s stablemates set up some plexiglass using chairs but ended up going through them via a double chokeslam. Finau then hit a Samoan drop and a middle rope moonsault onto Frank to pick up the pinfall victory.
– They announced that Jacob Fatu will be out due to injury for three weeks while he recovers from his attack from The Calling. However, his MLW Openweight title shot against John Hennigan that he did not get due to the attack was still valid and he will get it in the future.
– MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone said Danny Limelight (his next opponent) and Alex Kane will suffer the same fate, and that The Calling will get theirs soon enough as well.
– Delmi Exo told Taya Valkyrie that her time is up as MLW Featherweight Champion, firmly supplanting herself as her next challenger if she can retain tonight.
– Sam Leterna interviewed Willie Mack who said he has gold on his mind and Hennigan in his sights.
– Mister Saint Laurent was backstage on his cellphone setting up a deal with “the best wrestler to come out of your country” when he bumped into Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders and Matthew Justice having a beer. MSL warned them to stay away from his “meal ticket” Microman but after MSL left, Microman was happy to receive and share a post-bathroom beer.
– In a press conference, Alex Kane answered a string of questions:
Mr. Thomas is in Tijuana training for his next big fight.
Kane will not cash in his title shot during the Super Series.
He will have another Prize Fight before his title shot.
We will find out who is behind the Bomaye Fight Club, a group he said is the lifeblood of MLW and that he will be the next MLW Champion.
Taya Valkyrie defeated La Hiedra, Dalys and Sexy Star in a four-way match to retain both the MLW Women’s Featherweight and AAA’s Reina de Reinas titles
Hiedra got ganged up on in the early going, but this quickly broke down into a series of one-on-one mini matches as all four took turns in the ring as the other two rested on the outside.
Star came close with a lungblower but Valkyrie returned with a suplex, only to be interrupted by Dalys who hit a big suplex on the double champion.
All four were knocked down, but Dalys and Hiedra got to their feet and exchanged strikes. The two both ended up on the wrong end of a double roll-up from Star and Taya before they then were left alone in the ring to renew their rivalry.
Valkyrie and Star exchanged strikes and near falls after Star hit a German and Valkyrie hit a hard clothesline.
Star impressively powered the champion up onto her shoulders and dropped her with a driver for another close two count. But after another strike exchange, Valkyrie hit her Road to Valhalla to pick up the victory and retain both titles.
As Fusion was going off the air, a vignette aired for The Calling who said Jacob Fatu will be the first victim.
Next week:
Sam Adonis, John Hennigan & Gringo Loco vs. El Hijo del Vikingo, Psycho Clown & Rey Horus in a no DQ trios match
A look at the WWE’s last PPV of the Thunderdome era and what did and didn’t work on the Hell in a Cell show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. We’ve got the booking, future direction for Money in the Bank, update on MITB tickets, star ratings, poll results and match and performer of the week.
Also in this issue:
A new lawsuit against UFC and why it is a potential game changer along with what would be almost a sure thing if it’s successful regarding WWE, what the claims are, and if it’s successful what it says about payment of money to athletes.
New Japan running shows in the United States, a look back at the early shows in Southern California, who is and isn’t on the cards and more.
Becky Lynch returning, SummerSlam ticket sales, WWE return to MSG, WWE ticket sales, FOX and NBCU suggestions for WWE programming, Montez Ford surgery, Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed tryouts, Shayna Baszler talks angle, International TV ratings, controversy over writer with no product knowledge continued and reaction internally, Rey Mysterio talks angle he doesn’t want to do, Kushida talks Kyle O’Reilly, Titus O’Neil talks his award nomination, plus next week’s TV shows, WWE’s biggest YouTube videos from this past week and WWE company market value.
Saturday’s UFC show with match-by-match coverage, future directions for the talent, business notes and more
Changes being worked on for the Nielsen ratings and who isn’t happy about them and why, television vs. streaming in 2021 and a comparison using AEW programming.
Suwama’s vacating the Triple Crown, how it will be decided, and then look back at how the three belts, the United National, PWF and International belts all formed, when, their rules, their history and the creation of the Triple Crown more than 30 years ago.
A feature on the death of former bodybuilding star turned pro wrestler Melissa Coates.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows and how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SATURDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE has filed trademarks for “Hachiman” and “Elektra Lopez.” Elektra Lopez is Karissa Rivera’s new in-ring name in NXT.
On “Shooting The Sh*t Uncensored” last week, Molly Holly spoke about the two-month trial that she’s currently doing as a WWE producer: “So when I went to the Hall Of Fame or maybe it was WrestleMania, anyway, recently I was asked if I would be willing to do like a two-month tryout as a producer to see if it’s something I would wanna do, and at first I was like, ‘No, I just — my life right now is so stress-free. Like I’m just super happy the way things are’ and then, they gave me the hard sell about how I would be such a blessing to the girls that are up and coming that used to watch me when they were little and they look up to me and then I could give a whole fresh perspective and they just gave a lot of reasons as to why I should at least give it a try. So I am in the tryout period and it’s been positive so far. So I haven’t decided, one, if I want to work there full-time and they haven’t decided if they want me full-time. They might say like, ‘Oh, we thought you’d have [brought] this to the table but it turns out you weren’t a good fit,’ something. So that’s why I didn’t want to make a big deal about this producer trial because it might fizzle out and maybe nothing will happen. But so far, it has been a positive experience.”
Shayna Baszler told Sports Illustrated about feeling that it’s important to show that she can cover a wide range of what pro wrestling is today: “I need to show that I can be counted on to nail whatever it is I’m being asked to do. It’s easy to be a badass tyrant like I was in NXT. I can totally fit that role. After establishing myself as that, it’s important to show I can cover a wide range of what professional wrestling is today. It’s like music. Some people like country, some like heavy metal. Not everything is for everyone, so I understand why some people roll their eyes when I do comedy. But I’m established as what I am. All it takes is one sentence from a promo delivered properly. I am a legitimate badass; that’s always there for me. I’m glad I can be on Raw and show a wider range.”
Drew McIntyre will be a part of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week event. He will be a part of Shark Rumble, which will air on Discovery+ and on Discovery’s TikTok. Shark Week will take place during the week of July 11.
WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded John Cena vs. Kurt Angle in Cena’s debut from the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown, Brock Lesnar vs. RVD in the King of the Ring tournament finals from King of the Ring 2002, and Paige vs. Naomi for the Divas Championship from Money in the Bank 2014.
Other Wrestling
Xeva reported that Sexy Dulce, the former Sexy Star, has been hospitalized after undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis in Guatemala. She is expected to be in the hospital for a few weeks while recovering.
Marina Shafir tweeted about her release from WWE: “It’s a cold world. Good thing I was born in Moldova. Thank you to everyone who reached out and thank you for the opportunity @WWENXT. I will continue to be the hardest worker in the motherf*cking room, but now i need to be keen. I’m not done.”
Arturo Ruas also wrote about his release: “First of all I want to thank all my friends and fans for all the kind words and support!! Means a lot to me! Also want to thank @WWE for all this years where I had the opportunity to meet great people and learn from the best! Can’t wait for what’s coming next!! See you soon!!”
Bayley and Amanda Huber wrote posts in appreciation of Tyler Breeze after his release.
Tony Nese tweeted about his Cruiserweight title match against Buddy Murphy from the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of 205 Live in 2019: “I love that my Mania moment left an impression on some of you. I suggest watching the rematch vs @WWE_Murphy from the 205live after. That was the match we really wanted to give you but weren’t allowed. Good thing is, no one in-house even watches 205 so we just did it then [winking face].”
On Barstool Sports’ Rasslin with Brandon F. Walker earlier this month, Tony Khan discussed working with Sting: “Sting, who is very much a star of today… I’ll be honest, I don’t know how you could screw it up with Sting. Because I’ve been working with Sting now for the last seven months. This is the easiest, greatest man that I have ever known. And he wanted to work! He wasn’t looking for a $20 bajillion either, I’ll be honest with you. He would be very useful to any wrestling company in the world, and he wanted to do stuff. And he’s at TV every week! He’s a huge part of our roster. So, I count him as a star of the present. Sting hadn’t wrestled a match in many years and this year he came back and wrestled two great matches and two very different kinds [of matches]. He’s very much proved he’s still a star of the present.”
The July 1st and 2nd NJPW shows that will air on NJPW World will be free, with no sign-up required.
Our only poll this week will be on tomorrow’s UFC show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst fight to [email protected].
We’re looking for reports on NXT tonight in Largo, FL to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M. EASTERN (three hours)
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for British title
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi for IC title
Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada for IWGP title
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada in finals of New Japan Cup
Hechicero & Polvora & Vangellys vs. Stuka Jr. & Rey Cometa & Blue Panther
Dragon Lee & Niebla Roja & Valiente vs. Negro Casas & El Terrible & Gran Guerrero
One-night A block Parejas incredibles tournament: Euforia & Guerrero Maya, Flyer & Forastero, Blue Panther & Mascara Ano 2000, Rey Bucanero & Triton, Cavernario & Titan, Angel de Oro & Bestia del Ring, Caristico & Mephisto, Soberano Jr. & Sanson
Volador Jr. vs. Gilbert el Boricua (Mil Muertes)
We’re looking for reports on the ROH TV tapings Saturday night in Columbus, OH (and for NXT Saturday night in Sanford, FL to [email protected].
COMBATE AMERICAS TONIGHT IN MONTERREY, NUEVO LEON AT MIDNIGHT EASTERN ON UNIVISION AT 10 P.M. ON DAZN
Dulce Maria Garcia (117.5) vs. Mariana Ruiz Avila (117.1)
Joey Ruqet (1335.6) vs. Alan Cantu (135.8)
John Castaneda (138.5) vs. Marcela Rojo (136)
Alejandro Flores (146) vs. Levy Marroquin (145.8)
NEW JAPAN FROM ON SATURDAY AT 5 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Toa Henare vs. Ren Narita
Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima & Shota Umino vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori
Hirooki Goto & Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Hikuleo
Kota Ibushi & Yoshi-Hashi & Jushin Liger vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi & Taka Michinoku
While interest has inevitably decreased over the years, the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony feels like less of an essential part of WrestleMania weekend than ever.
There are a few major reasons why the Hall of Fame ceremony has lost some of its luster. As WrestleMania week has become a destination for promotions from the United States and abroad, fans have to make difficult decisions on how they’re going to spend their time and money.
When it comes to news, the biggest issue of the year is out, covering WrestleMania, all the behind-the-scenes stuff at WrestleMania, Hall of Fame, NXT and Supercard of Honor, as well as the top indie shows. This issue has more backstage news than any issue of the year.
This issue leads off with coverage of WrestleMania, with the main event finish, what was supposed to happen, who got the blame, why it was brought up on the broadcast, and the future of Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar in WWE.
Next get the update with AEW television talk, what is and isn’t accurate about what has come out, what the current plans are and more.
Also look at the Supercard of Honor in Madison Square Garden. Look back to 1960 when the last time a non-McMahon card took place at the arena and who was on top.
Also look at the idiot who attacked Bret Hart at the Hall of Fame ceremony, what actually happened, comments from the Hart family, the firing of writer R.D. Evans and the comments after by HHH and the rest of DX making fun of it, plus the comments on AEW.
This issue has full details of AAA and its debut in Madison Square Garden. Look at the press conference, the goals, and the story behind the business idea of why it will work. Also look at the AAA relationship with Cain Velasquez.
Also look at the WrestleCon super show, one of the biggest indie events of the year, with appearances by Ric Flair, Animal, Will Ospreay, Bandido, SCU, Jushin Liger, X-Pac and Dragon Lee.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
A.J. Styles said that his injury is a sprained SI joint which has led to pinched nerve endings and a lot of pain. He said that hopefully he won’t take too long to heal and will be back in action.
Dulce Maria Garcia, better known a Sexy Star in lucha libre and Lucha Underground, makes her MMA debut tonight on DAZN and Univision in a 118 pound fight against Marian Ruiz Avila. Both women are making their MMA debuts. Garcia has also done boxing matches in recent years.
Dave Bautista has signed on to star in an action movie “Killer’s Game” for STXFilms. It’s based on the book “The Killer’s Game” by Jay Bonansinga. It’s about a star hit man who finds out he only has a few months to live, so he puts out a contract on his own life, only to find out the lab made a mistake and he’s in perfect health.
Tonight will be Dragon Lee’s last match at Arena Mexico for a few months as he’s working regularly for New Japan as the new IWGP jr. heavyweight champion. Lee holds so many belts right now it’s impossible to keep track of them all.
The big notes at the UFC press conference held today were that Anthony Smith seems to badly want to fight Luke Rockhold, and that Ben Askren is perhaps the most entertaining talker in UFC since Conor McGregor went off the rails.
WWE
Part two of WWE Chronicle: Roman Reigns, will be released Sunday on the WWE Network.
Due to the NHL playoffs, Smackdown will be moved in Canada to OLNHD from its normal home on Sportsnet 360.
The Andre the Giant documentary that was on HBO will be released soon on the WWE Network.
Undertaker will be signing at the Niagara Falls Comic Con on 6/9 from Noon to 2 p.m. as part of the Legends of Wrestling Reunion with Sgt. Slaughter, Paul Orndorff, Road Warrior Animal, Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell.
MISCELLANEOUS
The top three matches from last Saturday’s Supercard of Honor in Madison Square Garden air from 8-10 p.m. tonight on AXS TV.
Regarding the New Japan tour of Australia in June, there will be a major live New Japan World show in Melbourne on 6/29 and there will also be a show in Sydney that week.
ROH announced that its Best in the World PPV show will take place on 6/28 in Baltimore at the UMBC Center. They also announced the return to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for a TV taping on 6/29.
Evolve’s 10th anniversary show will be 7/13 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena. Adam Cole and Kassius Ohno will be returning to Evolve soon.
Kelly Klein threw out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds vs. Miami Marlins game in Cincinnati yesterday.
Canadian Wrestling Elite along with Kenny Omega and Don Callis are working together tomorrow for a celebrity tug-of-war competition to help Hull’s Haven Border Collie Rescue. It will take place at the Beach Volleyball Centre in Winnipeg. Callis will be announcing and Omega will be on hand as well.
ROH has announced a recruitment combine on 5/4 and 5/5 in Baltimore at the ROH Dojo. They are limiting it to 20 spots, all for women. Scouts and instructors will be Delirious, Will Ferrara, Jonathan Gresham, Ian Riccaboni and Todd Sinclair.
MCW Spring Fever tomorrow night in Hampstead, MD at North Carroll High School with appearances by Mick Foley, Jimmy Hart and Swoggle.
Jeff Cobb and Rich Swann have been announced for the WSW Australian tour on 6/21 and 6/22 in Melbourne and 6/23 in Sydney.
Melbourne City Wrestling no 4/27 has Slex vs. Robbie Eagles for the MCW and Intercommonwealth titles. (thank to Kevin Chiat)
KSW announced a battle of celebrities for its 5/18 show in Gdansk, Poland. Erko Jun (2-0) faces Akop Szostak (3-2). The show is headlined by Michael Materla (27-6) vs. Scott Askham (17-4).
St Louis Anarchy has announced an all-women’s show called Ladies Night on 4/26 in Alton, IL at the Spaulding Hall Club.
AAW tonight at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL with Jessicka Havok & Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs. Eddie Kingston & Jake Something & Curt Stallion, LAX vs. Penta 0M & Rey Fenix, DJZ vs. MJF, Sammy Guevera vs. Darby Allin, Fatu vs. Larry D, Shazza McKenzie vs. Kris Stalander and David Starr vs Adam Brooks. Fatu is being managed by Armando Estrada.
wXw on 6/1 has Bobby Gunns vs. Joey Janela for the wXw title plus Ken Shamrock, Brian Cage and Walter appear. (thanks to Markus Gronemann)
Ladies Night out on 4/27 in Texas City, TX at World Gym Arena with Kylie Rae, Jordynne Grace, Penelope Ford, Su Yung, Kiera Hogan, AQA, Janna Lynn, Rock-C, Allie Recks, Christi Jaynes and others. This will be Rae’s last show with the promotion. The show airs live on the Title Match Network.
Defy Wrestling tomorrow night in Portland, OR at the Hawthorne Theater with Artemis Spencer defending the Defy title against Jake Atlas, plus Amerikan Gunz vs. Reno Scum, Hammerstone vs. Schaff in a chain match plus Jimmy Havoc appears.
Femme Fatales 22 on 5/4 in Quebec City, Quebec at the Centre Horizon with Mercedes Martinez vs. Kris Statlander for the interim champion, Cheerleader Melissa vs. Lufisto plus Priscilla Kelly, Kimber Lee, Veda Scott, and a Battle Royal.
Combate Americas will have the first all-women’s show airing live on broadcast television on 4/26 from the Galen Center in Los Angeles. They will also be doing a red carpet ceremony before the event with Mexican celebrity Kate Del Castillo and Alberto Del Rio.
Shimmer, Rise, Smash Wrestling and Femme Fatales are doing a joint show on 8/10 in Toronto at The Met at Noon.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix from last night in Peru, NE: Tim Boston won Battle Royal, Preston Maxwell b Jack Darling, Daniels Brothers b El Bigote & Logan James, Moonshine Russell b Pat Powers-DQ, Branden Juarez b Seta Kobara in a street fight, Duke Cornell b Tim Boston. Next show is 4/24 at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha.
NFC will have Jiu Jitsu matches on 4/27 at Center Stage in Atlanta.
Superkick’d tonight in Toronto at The Great Hall is almost sold out with 40 tickets left as of this morning.
Revolution Pro Wrestling on 4/20 in Harrisburg, PA at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center.
CWE on 4/17 in Assinibola, Saskatchewan with Psicosis & Jimmy Jacobs & Michael Elgin vs. Killer Kross & A.J. Sanchez & Kevin O’Doyle plus TK O’Ryan vs. Jacob Creed and Vinny Marseglia appears. They run tonight in Golden BC at the Golden Civic Centre with Psicosis & Sean Gaston vs. Robin Lekime & Marn Pain.
Kendo Nagasaki on BBC. (thanks to Han Hwee Yeo)
Video of Jungle Boy Jack Perry teaching his sister Sophie Perry what looks to be a satellite armbar submission. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Dulce Maria Garcia Rivas, otherwise known as Sexy Star in Lucha Underground and AAA, has signed a deal to fight in Combate Americas.
The former Lucha Underground world champion and Gift of the Gods champion will make her MMA debut on Friday, April 12th in Monterrey, Mexico. Her opponent has not yet been named.
The 36-year-old Rivas carries a 5-0 pro boxing record and went 3-0 in 2018, last competing in August with a decision victory.
She first started in wrestling back in 2006, beginning with AAA and Lucha Libre AAA before her multi-year run in Lucha Underground. She made headlines last year for winning the LU title in an Aztec Warfare match before dropping it to Johnny Mundo, and also gained some notoriety for a 2017 altercation in a match with Rosemary.
Rivas won’t be the only pro wrestler competing for Combate Americas as former WWE and international star Alberto Rodriguez (aka Alberto del Rio, Alberto el Patron) is expected to make his promotional debut this year after a near decade absence from fighting, something he did 14 times between 2001 and 2010.
The fallout from the incident where Sexy Star injured Rosemary at Triplemania took another turn last night as AAA announced that Sexy Star had been stripped of their Reina de Reinas title.
AAA posted the news on Twitter during a show on Monday night. In a statement that Global Force Wrestling previously released about the Sexy Star/Rosemary situation, it was noted that AAA executives had confirmed to them that “appropriate measures” were being taken.
Similarly to how it began, Sexy Star’s women’s title reign ends in controversy. She returned to AAA and won the then-vacant championship in July after Taya Valkyrie had been stripped of it, with the explanation then being that Valkyrie used a choke to unfairly win it in a street fight match months earlier. Valkyrie hasn’t returned to AAA since.
Before being stripped of the title, Sexy Star put out a lengthy statement (which was translated by Fightful.com) yesterday saying that she didn’t do anything different than she usually does when applying the armbar on Rosemary at Triplemania, that she didn’t know Rosemary was injured until after the match, and that it didn’t seem to be that serious because no one was tending to her.
GFW uploaded a video previewing that they will be addressing the incident on Impact this week.
A day after being injured in a legitimate in-ring incident with Sexy Star at Triplemania, Rosemary posted a statement on Twitter last night to clarify the situation and thank people for their support.
She wrote: Let me make this perfectly clear: if you take liberties with someone’s body when they are giving it to you and trusting you to keep them safe, you are not tough. You are an asshole. And you don’t belong in this business.
Sexy Star decided to do just that this weekend at Triplemania. And while I have remained quiet on social media until I was more calm to address this situation, I have now been informed that she is telling people that it is a work. You are all now being informed that Sexy Star is a liar. She was a liar in the locker room when she was forced to apologize and instead cooked up some bullsh*t excuse that she ‘didn’t know’ and she is a liar now. You know if you are torquing on someone’s arm. You know an armbar is a real and dangerous hold.
The only reason your face is not broken right now is because a little voice inside my head as I lay on the apron kept repeating, ‘Don’t go to Mexican prison..’ (thanks, Demon)
However, turning to positives: the outreach from the wrestling community has been incredible. I’m overwhelmed with how much love I feel right now from friends, fans, and people I have yet to meet in this amazing business. We are a family and we protect our own. If you violate that, you are not welcome here.
I also want to thank the AAA locker room. Multiple people came up to me saying how sorry and disgusted they were. Thank you Hamada and Shani, who also had to deal with bullsh*t from Star during that match. Thank you, Vampiro, for professionally trying to calm a volatile situation, though, as you know, once the excuses started pouring out of Sexy Star’s mouth in lieu of an apology, it was over.
Thank you to the amazing GFW locker room, both present that night and not. I have so much support from everyone, and talent, crew and office have all reached out to show me that.
Rosemary suffered the injury when Sexy Star applied an armbar on her at the end of the Reina de Reinas title match at Triplemania on Saturday night. Dave Meltzer wrote in yesterday’s daily update that the explanation that was given was that Sexy Star thought all three other women in the match were after her due to Lady Shani allegedly shooting on her earlier in it.
In addition to the support Rosemary has received, Sexy Star has gotten significant criticism on social media from others in the pro wrestling industry. Cody Rhodes tweeted that Sexy Star will never step foot into one of his locker rooms and Brian James (Road Dogg) called for her to be blacklisted if the incident is legitimate.
WrestleCade also announced that they’ve removed Sexy Star from their November weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They wrote that anyone who ordered tickets to her meet and greet in advance will be refunded as soon as possible.
There was an incident involving Rosemary (Holly Letkeman) and Sexy Star (Dulce Garcia) at last night’s Triplemania show that resulted in Rosemary’s elbow popping from an armbar finisher.
The reports are that Garcia put the move on legitimately to end a four-way match for the Reina de Reinas title that also involved Lady Shani and Ayako Hamada.
There have been a lot of wrestlers from GFW who have posted on social media regarding the incident, as well as talent not with the company.
While it is always possible such a thing is a new age work, especially given Vampiro being said to be part of this, from all indications we’ve been given at this point it was not and there is a huge backlash against Garcia since injuries from moves and accidents are one thing, but something that would appear to be deliberate should not be part of the modern business.
The first round of the Cueto Cup tournament wrapped up on the latest episode of Lucha Underground. Storylines advanced and feuds continued at The Temple in Boyle Heights.
The title of the episode referred to the video package that opened the show highlighting the back story of Dante Fox. His story involves his foe, Killshot, and their background in the military. Fox was taken hostage while serving in Afghanistan.
Presumably, Killshot escaped the clutches of terrorists, but in doing so he left Fox behind. Soldiers eventually rescued Fox, leading to him making his way to Boyle Heights where he seeks revenge against Killshot.
PJ Black defeated Sexy Star to advance in the Cueto Cup
Black was the first member of the Worldwide Underground stable to appear on this episode. The stable had a prominent role on the show. In this match, another member of the stable caused a distraction that led to the finish.
In the match, Black provided a good base for Sexy Star’s flying lucha arsenal. She got plenty of offense on the way to losing the match. Black toyed with her early on, but Star quickly fired up ahead of a series of lucha spots.
Star got a near fall after a super Frankensteiner. She also flew to the outside with a crossbody. Back in the ring, she used a second flying crossbody for another near fall. At that point, Taya came out to ringside to cause a distraction. Taya also tossed Black a pair of brass knux, only for Star to get ahold of them.
Star hit Black with the brass knux, and was thusly disqualified. So, she also laid out the referee using the knux. Taya fled with a smirk on her face, as she accomplished her goal of costing Star the match and getting a win for her stablemate. This seemingly builds to a grudge match between Taya and Sexy Star.
In the weekly countdown hype video building towards Johnny Mundo against Rey Mysterio, this week’s edition showed a montage of training footage. Each combatant also talked about their chances of winning. The story remains that Mysterio is a man of people and Mundo is the cocky champion. These videos have all been tremendous pieces of business, and this edition was more of the same.
Son of Havoc defeated Son of Madness to advance in the Cueto Cup
The story is both are part of a motorcycle club, and Son of Madness arrived in The Temple to make Son of Havoc pay a penance for some slight towards the club. Both had almost identical gear, including similar vests that Matt Striker referred to as their “colors” that represented the club.
This being a grudge match of sorts, there was no collar-and-elbow lockup to start the match. Nor did they have a traditional match. Rather, they had a fight as they brawled in and out of the ring in a match that was all action.
Madness got heat on Havoc, then Havoc made a comeback. Though Madness blocked an attempted Muta-style handspring back elbow, Havoc hit the move moments later. He followed that with a springboard crossbody for a near fall. Madness countered with a double foot stomp and a brainbuster for a near fall. Havoc rallied into doing a tope suicida.
For the finish, Havoc went for a shooting star press that Madness avoided. Havoc impressively landed on his feet only to get schoolboyed. Havoc kicked out and used his own schoolboy to score the pin.
After the match, Madness laid out Havoc and took his vest. Therefore, this feud must continue. Jean Pierre Lafitte once stole Bret Hart’s ring jacket during a lackluster feud in 1995. Let us hope this feud between bikers is more memorable than that. Judging by the action in this match, it probably will be.
Prince Puma defeated Ricky Mandel to advance in the Cueto Cup
Puma wrestled in street clothes that included a hoodie and pants. It was a similar look to what Ricochet wore during his run-in this past weekend at the G1 Special where he seemingly directed a veiled insult at Lucha Underground. Instead of a cap and glasses like in Long Beach, Puma had a mask on in this match at The Temple. There were also no insults, just brooding by Puma.
Mandel is an interning member of Worldwide Underground who cosplayed as Johnny Mundo in this match. Beforehand, he told Puma that he was taking him to “slam town.” Instead, Puma gave him a superkick and proceeded to pummel him in a glorified squash. That does not bode well for Mandel’s internship.
Puma followed the superkick with a northern lights suplex and a brainbuster for a near fall. Mandel tried to fight back, but to no avail. Puma finished off Mandel with a spinning Michinoku Driver for a pinfall in a quick match where Puma showcased his dark side.
An advertisement for Modelo beer highlighted the accomplishments of Sexy Star. The ad portrayed her winning the Lucha Underground Championship as her breaking through a glass ceiling. The ad also insisted it “cemented her place as one of the most iconic female performers in lucha libre history.” Yeah, and Mae Young is a “pioneer” of women’s wrestling.
In a locker room scene, Mysterio was giving a pep talk to Dragon Azteca, who vowed to win the tournament and go on to face Mysterio when he wins the championship. Prince Puma entered the scene to interrupt them. He vowed to win the tournament, and he also wanted to face Mysterio for the title. Puma promised he would not lose in their rematch.
Dante Fox defeated Dragon Azteca Jr. (w/ Rey Mysterio) to advance in the Cueto Cup
They took it to the air early on in the match. Fox began to dominate with his aerial arsenal as the crowd chanted his name. Azteca made a comeback and did a hurricanrana on the floor. That led into a flurry of offense from Azteca. Fox cut him off and they exchanged strikes. Fox executed a running Spanish Fly for a near fall. A “this is awesome” chant broke out.
Taya made her second run-in of the show, flanked by others in the Worldwide Underground. Mysterio fought them off at first as the match continued. Then, Mysterio was catapulted into the arms of Johnny Mundo, who powerbombed him into a wall. The heel stable ganged up on Mysterio for a beatdown.
Azteca made the save with a dive through the ropes. He went to springboard back into the ring, only for him to eat a superkick from Fox. He then delivered the Fox Catcher to score the pinfall. With that, the first round of the tournament is over.
On the next episode, the second round of the Cueto Cup features Mil Muertes against Paul London. Also, Taya meets Jeremiah Crane in a tournament match and Marty the Moth faces Fenix in another tourney match.
Last week, we got a tease of dissension between El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio. The Battle of the Bulls tournament continued and set up the elimination match finals tonight. Sexy Star will take on Johnny Mundo inside of a cage for the Lucha Underground Championship in tonight’s main event.
Show Recap —
A recap of the Battle of the Bulls tournament starts things off while we see Kobra Moon’s goon squad beat up Drago. Sexy Star’s title win and loss to Mundo are shown, alongside her win against PJ Black ensuring her a rematch.
Matt Striker and Vampiro hype up the title match being inside a cage and possibly leading to the first ever two-time LU Champion. Striker uses a lot of words to describe The Mack, while Vampiro just says that he’s big and here to kick ass. Striker says his description was for his grandmother — who Vamp then tries to hit on.
The Mack defeated PJ Black, Jeremiah Crane, and Cage in the Battle of the Bulls tournament finals
Cage tosses guys into each other before chucking Mack with a German suplex. PJ gets a double stomp to the back and teams with Crane for a pump kick party on Cage. Mack moonsaults onto PJ and Crane for two.
Crane and Mack get into a slap fight. Mack flip dives onto Crane on the floor. Cage dives on that pile, and then PJ hits a moonsault off the top rope to the floor onto them. PJ goes for an apron PK, but gets caught and smashed face-first into the apron from an electric chair position.
Mack goes for a double impact onto Cage, but Cage catches PJ off the top with a Rick Steiner-esque mid-move powerslam. It wasn’t as smooth, but it still got two. Crane gets a really loose choke, but gets tossed off and Cage then hits the F5 on PJ. Texano interferes and hits Cage with the bull rope before everyone hits their finisher and Cage is taken out.
Crane stacks his foes in the corner and hits a double face wash. Crane hits a sick neckbreaker on PJ, then fights up top with The Mack. They fight down and a Batista bomb gets two. Crane locks on a submission, but PJ cradles him for a near fall.
An emerald frosion is hit with Striker paying tribute to Mitsuharu Misawa, and then a super stunner hits to give Mack the win over Crane. PJ and Mack chop away at one another before Mack hits a stunner and wins.
Aerostar and Fenix look for Drago in the bathroom before Kobra Moon and her goons attack them. One of them is Pindar. Luchasaurus spins him into a mirror, resulting in a car crash sound effect for some reason. Another wacky ninja fight scene breaks out and everyone hits a series of badly-synced attacks. Kobra Moon’s gang leaves them laying.
Sexy Star and The Mack have another of their weird multi-language conversations where everyone speaks a different language and understands the other perfectly. He tells her to take the title from Mundo — but says he’ll take it from her. A spider is shown in her locker room.
Dario Cueto talks to Crane, who gets a match and grabs something that he left in Dario’s office ceiling when he was a kid. He tells Catrina and says that he’ll face Mil Muertes and wish he’d have died in the earthquake. So now he’s a ghost or a spirit or a time-traveler or something.
Lucha Underground Champion Johnny Mundo defeated Sexy Star in a steel cage match to retain his title
Sexy Star inspired a generation according to Striker, and her Rita Repulsa staff is apparently a reason why. Mundo kicks her in the stomach, so she kicks his legs. Mundo shoves her into the cage before they get into a race alongside the top ropes, which Star wins with a rana off the top. Mundo hits a spinning Irish curse for two. Mundo hits a series of running fireman’s carry slams into the cage. Mundo goes to escape, so Star hops up and powerbombs him for two.
They fight up top and Star slaps Mundo down. She gives her signal for love and then hits a crossbody off the top of the cage onto Mundo for a near fall. She tries to climb over the top but Mundo attacks her leg. They fight on top of the cage and then on the top rope, where Star lands a series of chops and kicks.
Mundo responds by removing Star’s mask to give him time to escape while she puts it back on. I loved that finish and the match itself wasn’t too bad. As Mundo leaves, Mack hits a stunner on the steps.
Drago is shown being chained up in Kobra Moon’s throne room. She tells him that Pindar will fetch a small meal and let him feast on the bones — but he says he’d rather starve. She leaves and he unleashes a fireball in this bizarre Mortal Kombat-meets-Power Rangers storyline.
A recap of Matanza’s wrath over the past year is shown, followed by the saga of Dante Fox and Killshot and the debut of the Black Lotus Tribe. Johnny Mundo’s road to the title is shown while Rey Mysterio’s elimination of Matanza leads to Sexy Star’s win.
Paul London talks about the White Rabbit showing him his destiny. He engages in a kung fu battle with goons and a graphic says “they’re here!” Matt Striker talks about this being a special show because Sexy Star is the champion and tonight, she’ll face Mundo for the title.
The Rabbit Tribe comes out to get a Trios Championship shot. Vampiro talks about how drugs have led to great war and how the Rabbit Tribe is like that and takes peyote.
Trios Champions Aerostar, Drago & Fenix defeated The Rabbit Tribe
London attacks Fenix, and Saltador, the checkerboard-suited member, does a flip dive. Striker says that they got an instant title shot due to London’s reputation. Vampiro says he’ll take Striker on a “trip” one day. Mala Suerte teases a coast-to-coast kick, but they just run across the ring for a dropkick. Aerostar does a pop-up dropkick to Drago for some reason and Fenix avoids a kick.
Saltador misses a corner kick, and they high five while Striker makes a Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure joke. Aerostar armdrags Fenix into the corner-mounted heels. Kobra Moon stalks Drago from atop Dario’s office. Fenix avoids a back suplex and turns it into a victory roll with a bridge to pin Saltador. Kobra Moon cuts an angry promo on Drago and calls herself his queen.
Sexy Star and The Mack chat. Mack is a horrible actor even acting proud of his friend winning the title. Mack says that he can’t let Mundo and his goons steal the title, so he’s in her corner — but she wants to prove it’s not a fluke. Dante Fox comes out and Striker makes a reference to Clerks saying that Fox told him he “wasn’t even supposed to be here today.” Killshot is called deadly and gets a big chant.
Dante Fox defeated Killshot
Killshot avoids a punch and tackles Fox down. The bitter rivals engage in a tumbling exchange to determine the better fighter. Fox hits a suicide dive to the floor and then lands a second one. A third is met with a high kick. Fox hits a slick spinning kick before doing a shooting star press off the apron! Absolutely none of this fits his character, but it makes for a fun match.
Vampiro says that SWAT training led him to be able to do that. Fox eats a neckbreaker on the apron, which gets a “This is awesome” chant. A springboard cutter hits Killshot for two. Killshot avoids the Fox Catcher brainbuster before they break out a New Japan mid-ring forearm exchange.
Fox hits a flying kick and then a pump kick before eating a shot and then landing an elbow. Killshot has a bicep slicer on, but Fox escapes. Killshot and Fox get into a skirmish on the top rope before Killshot hits a death valley bomb on the apron off the top! Well, that was insane and the double stomp only gets two.
Killshot goes for the One Winged Angel, but a cradle counter gets two. A pop-up C4 hits and leads to the Fox Catcher and the win! This was a lot of fun, if a bit ridiculous at times. This was Fox’s singles debut, making him one of the few people to actually win in a debut match.
Mundo complains to Dario Cueto about Angelico jumping him. Dario says that if he’d known Angelico was in the building, he’d have put him in Aztec Warfare. Mundo tells Dario that he’s got his agent/lawyer on the case to ensure his restraining order on Angelico is carried out. Tonight, he’s going to focus on winning the title. Mundo and Dario call each other jerks while wacky sitcom music plays.
Black Lotus comes back into Dario’s office and tells Dario that she and the Triad want Pentagon Dark. Dario was impressed by them and Black Lotus tells him they want to show Pentagon about why their tribe is so feared.
Dario makes Pentagon face the Black Lotus Tribe next week in a gauntlet match and it won’t end until he has faced every member. Sexy Star comes down wearing her title and now brandishing a ridiculous-looking staff with a mask on it.
Johnny Mundo defeated Lucha Underground Champion Sexy Star to win the title
They face off and Star rolls around a bit. Mundo locks her in a surfboard and curb stomps her for two. Mundo kicks each leg out from under her leading to a split and then landing a PK. Mundo locks on a LeBell Lock while Striker talks about how Mundo beat Star for the GOTG Title.
Mundo locks her in a tree of woe before landing round kicks to the stomach. She lands some short-range strikes in the corner before hitting a bronco buster.
Mundo low blows her, slams her, and prepares for the End of the World. She lands a series of dropkicks before hitting an X Factor for two. Mundo lands a neckbreaker for two before locking on a sleeper. She chops her way out of trouble and a lung blower gets two. She tells Mundo to grow a pair before he hits a Russian legsweep for two.
Star avoids a Flying Chuck and hits a double stomp for a near fall. Mundo snaps the arm over the rope before stomping away. She avoids a baseball slide and kicks him into the barricade before diving onto him with a seated senton. Mundo grabs a fan’s crutch but Star kicks him and uses it.
Star helps the fan and but the fan hits her with knucks. Mundo tosses her in and hits the End of the World to win the title. Taya reveals herself as the “fan” and the show ends. Solid episode.
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 rundown of the Aztec Medallion matches so far this season, alongside Chavo stealing Cage’s medallion. Pentagon Jr’s demise is shown and we see Vampiro’s torture of him again. In his office, Dario puts stacks of cash in his bag and Cage runs in. Dario calls him the Medallion Machine and Dario tells him it’s his problem – and that if Chavo puts the medallion in the belt, it’s his. Dario and Cage come out of his office, and we get Striker asking what Cage is doing come out of it.
Dario stands next to the medallion-less Gift of the Gods Title and announces a seven man match to determine the Gift of the Gods. Dario tells everyone who has a medallion to come out – so Chavo will have to go through Cage to actually get into the match. Texano comes out first and puts the medallion in – resulting in an amusing “well done!” by Dario. Joey comes down while Dario says he has a sixth sense for fashion. Sinestro comes down without Catrtina, but with a new cape and hood – “spooky!” according to Dario.
It’s “THE RETURN OF THE MACK! BIG MACK BABY MACK BABY MACK BABY!” and then “Sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy Star!” Dario is amazing, and a “strong star woman” according to him. Chavo comes down to a “chickenshit” chant. Cage kicks his ass, but only grabs a washer – and Chavo hits him with the chair to put the medallion in the belt. Dario puts Chavo in the match, resulting in “a sorry man” and Cage doing his goofy catchphrase and even goofier finisher to Chavo. Dario has to win best non-performer of the year just for this segment.
Mascarita Sagrada vs. Argenis vs. Daga vs. Kobra Moon
Famous B does Sagrada’s intro in his new 423-GET-FAME tie – which needs to be on ProWrestlingTees ASAP, and the phone number alone gets a chant. Striker talks about watching midget porn in high school talking about Brenda and Sagrada. Kobra snaps his neck on the rope and gets 2. Kobra Moon hits a Michonoku Driver, resulting in Vamp marking out since it was his WCW finisher. A tumbling exchange between Daga and Argenis is won by Argenis with a kick. Dada hits a dropkick on the apron, but a baseball slide misses and sends Daga to the floor where he eats an Asai moonsault.
Sagrada gets a victory roll on Kobra for 2. Sagarada goes for an armbar on Argenis, but Argenis Backlund lifts him into a One Winged Angel for 2. Corner running uppercut to Argenis by Daga, and a huge German gets 2. Daga gets a Gory special on Kobra and a Billy Goat’s Curse to Argenis. Argenis tosses Sagrada violently against the ropes. Crazy Fosbury Flop dive by Daga to the floor! Kobra Moon hits a fire thunder driver to Sagrada and lets Daga win. Famous B and Brenda console Sagrada while the fans chant “GET FAME 423!”
Backstage, Killshot suits up before Marty the Moth creeps up behind him and says he’s reporting for duty. He says they have a match and mocks him with gun sounds before a wacky kung fu movie fight breaks out between them. Killshot wins and give him a finger-gun bang while Marty cackles. Robert Rodriguez’s band plays Marty to the ring. Marty and Joey should be a creeper tag team in season three.
Marty the Moth vs. Killshot
Vamp talks about the importance of dogtags in the military, while Striker talks about Col. DeBeers, Private Daniels, and Vamp talks about Major Gunns. Marty bumrushes him with corner strikes and tosses him to the floor – where he lands on the floor. Marty teases a dive and leans over the rope – but then eats a high kick. Marty catches him off a flip dive and eats a powerslam. Vamp talks about being silent now because of his mental suffering and then Striker mocks him a bit. Release German by Marty and then a turnbuckle exploder gets 2.
Vamp says that Marty spends a lot of time in dark corners, while Striker says it was more than likely dark booths. Killshot lands a corner elbow and then lands a basement hook kick. A somersault cutter gets 2 for Killshot. Corner running hook kick lands, but they wind up on the apron. Marty teases an apron German, but avoids that and lands an apron death valley driver. Vamp credits it to his military training, where I guess they had extensive viewing parties of Perry Saturn in WCW. They exchange punches and Marty lands a huge lariat. Back stomp gets 2 for Marty. Marty goes for a corner ass splash, but Killshot catches him for the modified One Winged Angel for the win – this was a lot of fun.
Marty jumps him after the match, while Striker says that wins and losses still matter – but this impresses Dario as well. So it’s kind of like Dana White wanting you to be an exciting fighter more than just being a winning fighter. Marty grabs the dogtags and then lands a top rope curbstomp before giving him a finger-gun bang to the head just like Killshot did to him in their backstage deal. I dug this – they have good chemistry together and they’re doing something new with each guy.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Texano vs. Joey Ryan vs. The Mack (Baby) vs. Sinestro vs. Aerostar vs. Sexy Star
Chavo cheapshots Texano. Joey and Sexy go at it and she gets 2 off a backslide. Joey tries to kiss her, but Chavo stops it so he can get 2 off a schoolboy. Mack sends Joey outside with a dropkick and the faces stand proudly. Mack and Sexy have a tumbling exchange and then Texano and Mack go at it with Mack going for a sunset flip. Texano takes the top off of Aerostar and traps him in the corner with chops.S
Aerostar lands a springboard tornado DDT for 2. Superkick by Texano, but he gets sent to the floor. Sinestro goes after Aerostar, but Aerostar lands a flying sunset flip for 2. A wacky exchange leads to Sinestro crotching himself and eating a kick to the face. Sinestro flip dives onto the pile on the floor. Sexy sells a leg injury, and then goes up top for a crossbody off the top to the floor onto the pile. Joey lands a pumphandle slam for 2. Backstabber to Joey gets 2 for Sinestro.
Sinestro lariats Texano, but Texano lands one on him when he runs into the opposite corner. Pop-up rana gets 2 for Aerostar. Sexy lands a running dropkick to Joey and stomps on the stomach. Mack and Sexy team up to chop the hair off of Joey’s chest. Double team legdrop/kneedrop thing from the combo. Chavo gets another “chickenshit” splash, but 2 off a frog splash to Joey.
Everyone gangs up on Chavo. Stunner. Codebreaker. Texano bomb. Springboard legdrop, and a springboard dive hit him. Then Cage comes in. Hey no fair – you already hit your finish on him earlier. He kicks everyone else’s ass – I guess to ensure that Chavo wins so then he can beat Chavo and get the shot he feels is his. Steiner screwdriver to Joey Ryan gives Chavo the win and the Gift of the Gods. Cage congratulates Chavo on being champion and says that Dario told him that Chavo already agreed to face him for the title next week. I like that – they gave you a reason to explain things without words, and then gave you some as well to fully explain it.
In Vampiro’s temple, we see Pentagon tied up while Vampiro torments him and says he must break him to make him strong. Vamp promises to torment him until he refuses to show signs of suffering. Vamp canes his own head and talks about Ian trying to suppress him with pills and tells Pentagon that the beating he’s getting here is nothing compared to what Matanza did. As he prepares to swing a barb wire bat at his spine, the screen goes black.
This was an outstanding episode of the show – easily one of the best of the season. They built up Killshot’s character well, gave Marty something to do, re-established Cage as a top act, showcased Dario in his best talking segment yet, furthered the Vampiro-Pentagon issue, and made a perfect use of their limited time to get things done.
To see all of the screenshots for it, just click here.
Every match on the show is for an Aztec medallion as Cage faces Mascarita Sagrada, Marty The Moth battles The Mack, Sinestro faces King Cuerno, and in the main event – Sexy Star faces Mariposa. It isn’t just any kind of match this – they will wage war in a No Mas match with Star being told by Dario to maim Mariposa and get revenge.
Show Recap:
The show begins with a rundown of this season’s quest for the Aztec medallions. We also see Sexy Star and The Mack try to act, which is even worse in recap form. Dario Cueto closes up the ceiling in his office, but Catrina comes in and tells him that Mil nearly ended Matanza. Catrina wants a rematch for Mil, and he tells her that Mil’s power doesn’t match what kind of power the key has. He’ll give Mil his match, and in his specialty – the Grave Consequences match. But Dario has a special twist – it will be Graver Consequences, with more coffins. That was awesome! Bang Data brings us in to Vamp and Striker, saying that every match tonight is for an Aztec medallion.
Marty the Moth vs. The Mack
Marty flaps away before The Mack comes down to face him. Mack punches him to the floor and hits a flip dive with his jacket still on. Suplex hits, then a Northern lights, and then a big German – giving Mack the edge. Mack eats a dropkick and Marty does the Rick Rude hip swivel while removing his shirt and revealing his too-short trunks. Mack eats a corner exploder and it gets 2. Marty wears him down with a cravate, but Mack recovers and lariats him before spinkicking him down. Vamp talks about how much more money you make as a champion, while Mack gets 2 off a legdrop. Stunner hits, but Marty is still up, so a spinning TKO takes him out. This was fun.
Catrina talks to King Cuerno and says that Sinestro will get the Gift of the Gods Title, but Cuerno says he’ll take Sinestro out tonight. He’ll take the title and Mil’s mask because the hunt is on. Sexy Star knocks on Dario’s door He says he respects her and knows something bad must have happened to her because there’s been a change in her. He saw that when he was young, and experienced suffering at his mother’s hands. He says that whatever Mariposa did to her, she will say no more and beat Mariposa to make her pay for what she did to her. It will be a No Mas match – and he tells her to not only make her submit, but not stop after the match is over.
Sinestro De La Muerte vs. King Cuerno
Vamp talks about how this is a battle for the medallions – and their origins are in bloody war. RKO by Cuerno gets 2 quickly. Cuerno lands a sick overhand chop and a running rana. This sends him to the floor for the dive, but Catrina hits him on the head with the rock. Flying legdrop off the top to Cuenro gets the win, in one of the biggest upsets so far in the show’s history. Backstage, Mascarita Sagrada lifts weights while Famous B talks to him about setting up the biggest match for him ever!
Chavo comes in and asks Dario why he isn’t in a match for a medallion. Dario tells him he’s not worth it, and that he lost not only two Aztec Warfare matches, but got hurt in a match for the LU Title. He isn’t going to give him opportunities if he can’t do anything with him, so Chavo basically tells him he’ll make one for himself. Famous B cuts a promo and hands out his business card to fans before introducing Sagrada while Striker says that he has never dipped, but he will dance with Sagrada coming out. A huge Famous B chant breaks out.
Mascarita Sagrada vs. Cage
Cage has a new black and yellow singlet, which looks better than the other ones he’s had. Sagrada prays and then starts to do some pushups. Sagrada charges in, which fails. A charging kick misses and Cage eats some leg kicks. These have no effect, but a dropkick to the knee sends him into the buckle. Weapon X ends it. Cage tends to Sagrada, but Chavo comes out and steals his medallion – while Famous B tells him “YOU GOT ROBBED!” The main event is hyped up with a graphic and then instead of a break, it’s time for the match. Striker talks about the history of I Quit matches and how both Tully Blanchard and Mick Foley were never the same after their most famous ones. They come in the ring and now it’s time for a break.
Sexy Star vs. Mariposa – No Mas Match
Vamp says that this is the one match he shied away from because he’d rather die than say he quits. Sexy is slammed onto the seal and eats a Muta elbow. Mariposa corner her and hits her with a slew of body blows. Sexy Star gets choked, but still won’t quit. Sexy charges and attacks before cornering her and hitting a series of pop-up bronco busters. Chain of suplexes lead to a single-leg crab. Mariposa locks on a modified Indian deathlock, and kicks her head while she’s in the move. Sexy low-bridges her and hits a seated senton to the floor.
Sexy hits a series of overhand chops on the floor, but eats some knees against the railing. Sexy eats a chair to the throat, then a chairshot, then a basement dropkick with the chair. She shakes her head no to prevent giving up. Sexy recovers, hits her with a chair and then places the chair between her legs for a chairshot to the chair between the legs. Sexy lifts Mariposa’s leg up and kicks her in the crotch again. They fight up the staircase.
Mariposa tears at the mask, but a “Sexy” chant breaks out. They fight up to Dario’s ceiling. No! HE JUST HAD THAT FIXED. They fight up to the catwalk while Striker says that Cornette broke his ankles in a scaffold match. Mariposa tries to toss her off the catwalk, and then chokes her with the steel. Sexy’s head is split open and she fights her way back to Dario’s ceiling. Marty comes up and grinds her face into the railing. The Mack comes in and kicks Marty’s ass before tossing him through a door.
Sexy chokes her on the bleachers and then smacks her head against the wall. Reverse powerbomb giant swing series into the announce table by Mariposa. Striker yells about how Sexy still has fight in her. She grabs a trash can and hits her with it while Striker name-drops Duke Droese. Mariposa punches her in the gut and back a few times before things end up back in the ring. Sexy avoids the Butterfly Effect, but a punch to the throat works.
A kneeling Edgucator results in Sexy saying “f*ck you, f*ck you Mariposa!” completely uncensored, kicking her and locking on a choke before Marty comes back, but misses a punch and Mack stunners her. Sexy locks on an armbar and gets the win – which will certainly result in Striker comparing her to Ronda Rousey even more. True to what Dario told her, she keeps the hold locked on after the match while her theme plays and a “break her arm” chant breaks out. Sexy closes the show just covered in blood being embraced by The Mack. Holy crap was this crazy. It wasn’t “good” in many ways, but it was sure memorable.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.
We see a recap of the cops trying to come after Dario, while The Mack tries to help Sexy Star overcome her issues with Mariposa. We see Dario tell Matanza to break Pentagon Jr’s back, and a recap of the match where he ate a million moves to the back. In the bathroom, Vampiro looks at his medication while Dario tempts him to assault him – but he respects Vamp as the voice of LU. He doesn’t want him to make Pentagon’s mistake, and Vamp takes his medication.
At the precinct, Reyes and Detective Reehan talk to Captain Vasquez about getting evidence on Dario. She wants them to be a team, and Cueto has put them in the Trios Title tournament tonight with Mr. Cisco. At the Temple, a band plays while Striker says that Fenix faces Matanza later. Ivelisse faces Kobra Moon in the opener.
Ivelisse vs. Kobra Moon
Kobra slithers and goes for takedowns, while Vamp commends Ivie for her gear making her look like a walking knife. Ivie kicks away and armdrags her into an armbar. Kobra Moon gets a triangle choke, but eats a powerbomb for 2. Dragon sleeper by Kobra, but Ivie escapes and hits a wonky armdrag. Corner rana is turned into a rope-hanging choke by Kobra. Vamp wonders if she slithers around like a snake because her name is Kobra Moon.
Liver shot results in a Bas shoutout by Vamp, and a tarantula with a neck crank. Butterfly suplex into a butterfly lock. Striker talks about the Gable grip while Vamp asks if that’s due to Dan Gable and Striker confirms it. Weird overhead angle makes it hard to see Ivie’s setup into a Russian legsweep. Big Yakuza kick leads to an exploder by Ivie for 2. Running code red by Ivie gets the win!
We get an interview with Killshot. He served in the military and had 37 confirmed kills – all bad guys, or so he was told. He was good with his hands too, so he was in the elite squad and he was the enemy’s prisoner for 13 months before escaping by kicking the asses of many lucha terrorist ninjas – who are totally different than the usual lucha ninjas. He isn’t sure if his partners survived, and he fights in LU to forget. Well, this was different and pretty good. Famous B gives Mascarita Sagrada his business card and wants him to call 423-GET-FAME.
He walks around and bumps into The Mack and Sexy working out. He wants her out for moral support tonight, but she can’t – until he motivates her saying he wants them to pay for what they did. We see the question mark being spray-painted above the Temple again. Joey Ryan jumps in front of the Crew and steals their thunder.
Joey Ryan & The Crew vs. The Mack/Mariposa/Marty the Moth
Joey Ryan teases a start before having Cisco start it off. Cisco and The Mack slap hands and Mack drops him with a tackle for 2. Cisco gets a wonky blind-diving armdrag, but Mack does a corner headstand and an armdrag. Slingblade armdrag by Mack before Mack flips up to his feet from his head. Joey tags himself in and wants “the girl”. He tries to give her his bodyoil lollipop, but she slaps him, so he pie-faces her. Rana gets 2 for Mariposa. Dropkick tot he knee sets up an axe kick, while Vamp hypes Andy Hug as the master of that.
High kick by Reyes leads to the drive by sliding kick by Cisco for 2. Mariposa knocks him off the ropes and Marty gets a 2 count. Double team wheelbarrow splash gets 2 for Mariposa. Cicso misses a basement dropkick, but Mariposa hits one. Marty comes in and hits a corner exploder for 2. Cortez comes in with a pop-in tornado DDT for 2 before Mariposa saves. Joey tags himself in to steal Cortez’s thunder, but Mack comes in and attacks with punches and a big slam before getting 2 off a legdrop.
Samoan drop into a standing moonsault gets 2. Mariposa prevents a Mack dive, so he knocks her down and he flip dives onto the pile. Marty and Mack chop each other before Marty eats a stunner and a shatter machine by The Crew for the win! Mariposa jumps The Mack before Sexy Star comes in to make the save in a very short skirt. Sexy Star is pissed off and chops the daylights out of her before snapmaring and kicking her. Mack says that “SHE GOT DAT ASS, B*TCH! SHE GOT DAT ASS!” Mack is great.
We go to the top of the Temple and we see Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey – so I guess the question mark is the Rey Signal. Rey tells him that going for revenge isn’t good – fighting for honor is better, and revenge will come in time. Rey and Azteca have a match next week in the trios tournament and will team with Prince Puma. We close to a cool shot of all of them in their respective hoodies before going back to the ring for the main event.
Striker talks about Fenix and Matanza fighting before, but Fenix was 1 while Matanza was 21 in Aztec Warfare. Striker calls Matanza the eater of worlds while Vamp talks about how we don’t know what Dario has done to make Matanza like this.
Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto vs. Fenix
Dario tells Matanza to kill Fenix. Fenix avoids a shortarm clothesline before Matanza bowls him over and chokes him in the corner. Fenix hops over a Matanza charge, and hits a few superkicks to the knees, gut, and head – but gets caught and hit with a German INTO THE BUCKLE. Fenix knocks him into the ropes into a 619 position for a kick, but a dive is met with a rewind poweslam that Fenix escapes. Big German by Matanza! Fenix hits a missile dropkick and an apron elbow before Matanza punches him to the floor.
Fenix hits two apron superkicks and goes for a suicide dive, but is met with a World’s Strongest Slam on the floor leading to multiple “holy shit!”s by Vamp. Rewind powerslam hits for the win. Matanza climbs on top of Fenix and slugs away while the referee is threatened with firing. Catrina tells him to stop before Mil Muertes returns and attacks Matanza and sends him packing.
Striker wonders if he is showing mercy to Fenix, or if he just wants the title. Fenix and Muertes have been enemies for the last year and a half, but now find themselves as uneasy allies. This was a really good episode of the show and gave Matanza a very small chink in the armor to at least make him seem like a monster that could one day be beaten.
To see every screengrab for the show, just click here.
