Lucha Underground – Season One Episode 14 – 11th February 2015
Open Mic Night
Last week was a great example of the strengths of the Lucha Underground concept. The wrestling itself wasn’t particularly remarkable, but the universe they are building and the stories they are telling mean an episode can be really enjoyable even without the best in-ring content. It ended on a real bombshell too, with Alberto El Patron arriving in The Temple to speak with promoter Dario Cueto. In the midst of a well-received post-WWE run on the indies and back in Mexico, getting Alberto on board is a major step forward for Lucha Underground. It will be interesting to see how they use him from this point. Matt Striker and Vampiro are in Boyle Heights, CA to call another hour of LU action.
We pick up where we left off, with El Patron in El Jefe’s office. Before he will commit to Lucha Underground, Alberto bargains for an open microphone to get things ‘off his chest’…
Argenis vs Fenix
Fenix enters this with masses of momentum after not only surviving his rematch with Mil Muertes, but actually winning it against all the odds. His courage and un-killable spirit has won him plenty of fans, including Mil’s own consort Catrina it seems. Their strange kiss last week was one of the twisted highlights of the entire episode. He needs to back it up with a follow-up victory over Argenis, who is still finding his feet in The Temple.
Argenis wastes little time in kicking Fenix in the ass (quite literally) then flying over the ropes at him with a tope atomico. ROPE RUN FLYING ENZI by Fenix! STEP UP TWISTING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Argenis looks great too though, returning the match to the ring and continually busting out some really innovative counters to Fenix’s offensive attempts – including a massive wheelbarrow gourdbuster which really rings Fenix’s bell. Catrina struts down the steps to get a closer look; distracting Fenix as he tries to climb the ropes. SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA scores for Argenis! SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! Fenix is totally insane. And Argenis still has plenty in his locker too – dropping him with a ONE-ARM Rubix Cube for 2. FENIX DRIVER! Fenix wins at 05:33…and without taking her eyes off of him Catrina rewards Fenix by giving Argenis the Lick Of Death!
Rating - *** - What a hot little opening match this was. It was the best Argenis has looked thus far, with him comfortably and capably holding his own against one of the most exciting luchadors on the entire roster. For someone that doesn’t see much Mexican Lucha Libre, Fenix has been an absolute revelation. He has found a real niche for himself in these TV-length, all-action spotfest matches and I’m glad that the producers are rewarding his consistency with a high profile program with Muertes.
Catrina is now in the back, confronted by Mil himself. She tries to argue that the ‘power of a thousand lives’ (i.e. Fenix) is greater than his…but he grabs her by the throat and eschews her advice. And he’s not finished; he chokes out Chavo Guerrero in a corridor too!
Big Ryck (now wearing an eye patch) is attending Confession…looking to cleanse his soul before returning to The Temple for revenge on The Crew.
Son Of Havoc vs Johnny Mundo
Last week was a bad one for both of these competitors. Mundo suffered a loss to Cage in the main event, but only after he was attacked by King Cuerno and forced to compete regardless by Dario Cueto. Havoc suffered yet another defeat in his fledgling LU career, this time due to miscommunication with his girlfriend Ivelisse. She is back in his corner this week but there was certainly still tension there when we saw them last. Which man rebounds quickest with a big win tonight?
Mundo is still selling the leg injury inflicted by Cuerno last week. His movement is slower than usual but his power and experience is such that he still enjoys a strong start at Havoc’s expense. SOH tries to flee, but still gets wiped out with a CARTWHEEL TOPE SUICIDA by the innovative Mundo! On the outside Ivelisse is able to intervene though, and she does so enabling Son Of to crunch the veteran into the ringpost. Conveniently he also falls into prime position for Havoc to land the Flagpole Press. Johnny has to withstand more interference from Ivelisse before firing back with a big lariat then a running knee strike. Fin Del Mundo misses (and hurts the knee in the process)…and SOH is quick to capitalise with a springboard double stomp. The win is seemingly within his grasp but Havoc takes an absolute age to set up an SSP because he gets distracted gesturing at his girlfriend (for some reason). When he finally dives he inevitably gets knees, before Johnny hits the Fin Del Mundo to win at 08:46
Rating - *** - I liked this significantly more than I was expecting to. I’m on record as not being a particularly big fan of Matt Cross (Havoc), and I’m still waiting to see what all the fuss about his Lucha Underground stuff is. However, I won’t deny that (even without going overkill on highspots like Fenix/Argenis) he and Mundo told a decent story and packed plenty of drama into their time allocation here. I would have preferred a little less Ivelisse, but the relationship difficulties between her and Son Of were one of the core plot-points the match was built around so it did make sense that she was involved. Ultimately this was good, logical, point-to-point booking by LU. Havoc has complained about not getting to wrestle ‘real’ opponents since he debuted, so is handed a big name in Mundo – who Dario Cueto doesn’t like and is seeking to punish by making him work despite getting injured last week. The injury evened the playing field between Havoc and the superior Johnny Mundo, to the point that he actually could have won were it not for his relationship drama (which will continue to be a storyline moving forward). Decent wrestling, logical booking – I have a hard time finding anything to argue about here.
As Mundo celebrates King Cuerno sprints out to continue his hunt of the former WWE star. He takes him out with the Thrill Of The Hunt then skulks back into the depths of The Temple having sent another emphatic message.
Pentagon Jr. vs Ricky Mandel
Last week Pentagon offered up the first sacrifice to his ‘master’ by violently breaking the arm of Famous B. He’s back a week later and has Mandel in his sights as the next offering…
Penta begin with a colossal backbreaker leaving Ricky writhing in agony on the mat. It’s the catalyst for a savage and unrelenting attack leaving Mandel’s body welted and battered. Pentagon stomps the arm, then sets up The Sacrifice. Mandel submits at 03:39…then gets his arm BROKEN!
Rating - N/A - Another squash to continue the slow build of Pentagon. His arm-breaking new finish is a marvellous way to flesh out the ‘lethal hand-to-hand combat’ vibe LU want for him, and everything about the way he carries himself in the ring is extremely watchable.
Alberto El Patron is introduced to The Temple, for his promised open mic segment. He is introduced as the Heavyweight Champion of AAA and is given a standing ovation by the Believers. After running through his history in the business, and the legendary names in his family…he then complains about being ‘stabbed in the back’ by his previous employers. There isn’t a lot of content in his promo, but his delivery is excellent and he whips the crowd into a real frenzy…before being interrupted by another debutant. It’s Texano Jr., the man he defeated to become the AAA Champion. Texano beats him to unconsciousness with a bullrope…then vows to take back the Triple A Title soon enough.
SIDENOTE – With the Lucha Underground Championship still finding it’s feet and held by an ‘unknown’ in Prince Puma, my view is that bringing in and acknowledging AAA’s top belt is an extremely risky strategy. With Alberto El Patron and Texano (who’d held the AAA Mega belt for a LONG time before losing to Alberto) feuding in Lucha Underground they threaten to overshadow the good work done to establish Puma. LU need to tread carefully here…
Tape Rating - ** - Whilst it was still a perfectly enjoyable way to spend three quarters of an hour, this was a definite step back from recent weeks. Fenix/Argenis and Mundo/Havoc were good matches that advanced their respective storylines, and it was nice to pick back up with Big Ryck after he’s sat out a few weeks…but the real hook for this match was the El Patron stuff, which I thought was a little flat. He adds serious star power to the roster, plus a ton of fresh match-ups…I’m just not sure that rehashing something he’s already done somewhere else (feud with Texano) for a belt which threatens to overshadow the top prize that this company is working so hard to legitimise, is the best use of his time.