Lucha Underground – Season One Episode 8 – 17th December 2014
A Unique Opportunity
Last week hope shone bright over the Temple, as Johnny Mundo overcame the odds and survived an intense Ladder Match to end weeks of Crenshaw Crew dominance and finally get his hands on the $100,000 he rightly earned way back on Episode 1. He even took Dario Cueto down a peg or two by punching his lights out as well. In some ways it felt like an end to Lucha Underground’s first chapter, and now just over a week away from Christmas 2014 we start the next one. Whatever comes next, Matt Striker and Vampiro are ready to call the action from the now famous Temple in Boyle Heights, CA.
The show opens with a mass of wrestlers in the ring. Vamp clarifies that Dario has invited ten wrestlers out for unknown reasons. El Jefe is sporting sunglasses to cover the shiner Mundo gave him last week, but promises an epic evening, beginning with a ten way opening match. There will be another ten luchador bout right afterwards too. All will be competing for what he promises is a ‘very unique opportunity’
Big Ryck vs Super Fly vs Drago vs King Cuerno vs Pentagon Jr. vs Fenix vs El Mariachi Loco vs Mascarita Sagrada vs Son Of Havoc vs Prince Puma
Here we have our first set of ten fighters competing for the ‘unique opportunity’…and there are plenty of rivalries amongst them. Puma is heavily bandaged to sell the effects of last week’s Ladder Match, so it is up for debate as to whether he’ll relish the opportunity to get his hands on enemy Big Ryck once more. Cuerno and Drago are in the midst of a growingly intense rivalry, as are Fenix and Pentagon. Popular mini Masacrita Sagrada should be an underdog, but is currently undefeated – and boasts a win over Son Of Havoc on his resume. Super Fly and Mariachi Loco lost their debut matches emphatically so need something special to redeem themselves.
Everyone (except Drago and Cuerno, who don’t take their eyes off of each other) gangs up on Ryck – but are soon scattered by the monstrous leader of the Crew. Cue some delightful comedy between Sagrada and Big R…with the mini of course eventually emphatically smashed into the canvas. Drago and Cuerno mess up their first spot of the match, but quickly clear the ring so Fenix can cover their ass with a gorgeous missile dropkick. Sling Blade from Penta to Fenix! CORKSCREW PRESS from Drago to King C! MINI LUNGBLOWER from Pentagon to Mascarita, before he brutally superkicks the little guy on the apron. Next he monkey flips Sagrada INTO A SOMERSAULT PLANCHA ON CUERNO! MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Super Fly! Puma and Havoc work back and forth at a rapid pace, with Prince defying his injuries to land a double back flip hurricanrana. SPRINGBOARD SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! Ryck returns by pres slamming Drago at Fly at Mariachi and Fenix. Next Fenix and Puma trade massive strikes, with Fenix coming out on top since he wasn’t destroyed in a Ladder Match last week. FOUR WAY TOWER OF DOOM! SHOOTING STAR PRESS BY HAVOC for 2! Super Fly gets 2 with a moonsault! Drago’s whacky ass roll-up has a name now – the Dragon’s Tail. He breaks it out on Fly, but it’s broken by his arch rival Cuerno. Thrill Of The Hunt on Drago…but Mariachi Loco breaks the pin. FEAR FACTOR by Pentagon on Loco! BENADRYLLER from Puma to Sagrada gets 2, before Big Ryck f*cking nails Puma. Book Of Ezekiel countered with superkicks! Everyone takes turns kicking Ryck! TOPE SUICIDA BY CUERNO! STEREO PLANCHAS by Mariachi and Super Fly! CANNONBALL by Pentagon! SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP BY HAVOC! FLYING SATELLITE HEADSCISSORS FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR by Mascarita to Pentagon! Puma climbs…630 SENTON ON RYCK! But before he can win Fenix spikes him with a tornado DDT. FIRE THUNDER DRIVER! Fenix beats Puma at 10:47
Rating - *** - A totally unashamed spotfest, but I liked it. Of course there wasn’t any semblance of psychology, but who can’t love ten guys diving all over the building beating the hell out of each other. And there were so many great little segments – like Cuerno and Drago carrying their rivalry through the match, or any time Pentagon and Mascarita locked horns! Puma and Ryck’s rivalry was also acknowledged at multiple points, and ultimately it was potentially the injuries Prince suffered last week which slowed him down sufficiently for Fenix to stop him winning this one.
Johnny Mundo vs Mil Muertes vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Sexy Star vs Pimpinela Escarlata vs Cortez Castro vs Mr Cisco vs Bael vs Famous B vs Ricky Mandel
This is our second ten-man ‘unique opportunity’ match, and this time it’s a ‘Boyle Heights Battle Royal’. The undefeated Mil Muertes will be the favourite, particularly when you consider that Mundo had to survive a Ladder Match last week. Johnny has locked horns with the Crenshaw Crew representatives before – but in truth Castro, Cisco and Bael (B-Boy) were so involved in last week’s match that they will be carrying battle wounds themselves. We know the history between Chavo and Sexy Star too and the real question there is whether they’ll be able to control their emotions and focus on winning.
Mundo and Castro are, like Puma in the last match, covered in bandages. Star gets the fight started with a seated senton on the apron onto Guerrero. The illusive Asian woman watches from the crowd as Pimpinela eliminates Famous B. Mandel is the next out; dumped over the ropes by all three Crew members. Muertes Spears Escarlata out of the match soon after…as Sexy and Chavo go at it some more. She tries to take Chavo out with her flying crossbody…only for him to catch her and toss her to the floor. The Crenshaw Crew are mobbing Mundo, and it’s only Johnny’s innovative use of the feet which saves him from elimination. Castro takes a prawn hold to the floor, with Chavo dumping Cisco soon after. Muertes completes the set by tossing Bael to take us down to three. Mundo hangs by a thread, but slingshots back in causing Mil to give Chavo a HEAD DROP GERMAN SUPLEX! Johnny completes the elimination with a springboard enziguri on Chavo. SPEAR from Muertes to Mundo! Both men spill to the apron and hammer each other with strikes…and even with Mil’s foot ON HIS THROAT Johnny clings on. He slides back in…only for Muertes to get knees up and block Fin Del Mundo! A running lariat eliminates Johnny – meaning Mil is the last man standing at 10:58
Rating - ** - This one had it’s moments, but lacked the sheer explosive talent of the first match so never quite lived up to that one. The Battle Royal rules definitely restricted what they were able to do as well. Truthfully I wasn’t feeling this at all until the last few minutes when Mundo and Muertes contested a spirited finale. Johnny was actually the highlight of the whole match with his constant ingenuity to avoid being eliminated by various competitors.
The two winners are Mil Muertes and Fenix...and they stand eye-to-eye as Dario Cueto enters the Temple once more. He holds a seriously sh*tty looking title belt, which he proclaims is the Lucha Underground Championship. Aztec Warfare is announced for the next episode – with the winner being crowd the first ever LU Champion. Our main event tonight will be Muertes vs Fenix. The ‘unique opportunity’ on offer is the right to enter Aztec Warfare last…but the catch is that the loser will have to enter at #1.
Fenix vs Mil Muertes
I’m slightly confused as to why a TV show with a budget this high appears to have purchased a kids toy as their main title belt? It was so bad it actively distracted me from Cueto’s mic work! Refocusing on the action, Fenix is playing a high stakes game now. No man has beaten Mil Muertes yet, and now he has to do it to avoid being forced into Aztec Warfare as the first entrant!
Muertes manages to grab Fenix before he builds up any speed, and emphatically stomps him to the mat. QUADRUPLE SPRINGBOARD LUCHA ARMDRAG by Fenix! I swear he adds an extra springboard every week! But his only reward for that amazing move is being punched in the mouth. CORKSCREW PESCADO takes down the Man Of A Thousand Deaths! But again it has almost no impact and Mil is quickly back up to mow him down with the Spear. Both are selling fatigue from their first matches with even Muertes not looking as rampant as he often does. His sluggishness exposes him to Fenix’s Lethal Injection for 2. The multiple springboards aren’t as fluent as they once were…and a woozy Fenix rockets off the ropes right into an uppercut from Mil. Flatliner wins it for Muertes at 05:46
Rating - ** - Without spoiling anything, the rivalry between these two will reach much greater heights than this. I did enjoy how they each found quite subtle ways to modify their typical offensive moves to sell fatigue, and it was clear from this brief encounter that they had chemistry as a cat-and-mouse double act. Muertes advances to the #20 spot in Aztec Warfare, whilst Fenix is resigned to #1.
The show ends with Dario Cueto returning to the mysterious jail cell we saw a few episodes ago. He shows it’s inhabitant the Lucha Underground Championship…
Tape Rating - ** - I really liked the opening match, but I found the theme of the show a little confusing. It was an odd storyline decision to not have Cueto reveal what people were actually fighting for until three quarters of the way through the show, and not one that I particularly enjoyed. The core premise did a lot to begin the hype for Aztec Warfare episode though, and that’s what LU will return with after taking a Christmas vacation for a couple of weeks.