Lucha Underground – Season One Episode 19 – 18th March 2015
Grave Consequences
So this is a big show and a real turning point in the history of Lucha Underground. By this point they were generating a smattering of fans and drawing praise from critics for the unique presentation and sound story-telling (plus plenty of people really loved Aztec Warfare)…but the show wasn’t being seen by huge swathes of people and they were still looking for a defining moment; a rallying point for fans and supporters of the show to hang their hat on, take to their friends and say ‘THIS is what you are missing’. That all changed after the main event of this episode – with Fenix and Mil Muertes looking to end each other’s careers in the first ever ‘Grave Consequences’ Match. No disrespect to Drago and Aero Star (who compete in the third match in their Best Of 5), The Crew or Big Ryck (who have a 3-on-1 handicap showdown too)…but all eyes really are on our headline act. Matt Striker and Vampiro will guide you through all the action from The Temple in Boyle Heights, CA.
Aero Star vs Drago – Best Of 5 Series Match 3
After two evenly matched, respectful bouts which saw each competitor score a victory, Dario Cueto decided he wanted to see more of them so formally converted their series into a Best Of 5. The winner gets an unspecified Unique Opportunity…but given that the last ‘Unique Opportunity’ was the right to enter at #20 in Aztec Warfare we know that El Jefe is true to his word when he says it’s worth their while. Will the element of a prize now being in play begin to fracture the respect that both men have show to each other so far?
The Unique Opportunity appears to cause each to be more circumspect in the opening moments. Rather than explode into the sky at the first opportunity, each looks to work the mat and gain an advantage on the ground. Drago looks to have a slight edge there so wisely looks to keep Star down, going so far as to Alabamaslam him back down when the Spaceman looks to use the ropes to take flight. Aero turns and flees; gaining some distance then kneeing Drago in the face when he tries to pursue. A springboard dropkick knocks the dragon out…for a SPRINGBOARD BACKWARDS SENTON TO THE FLOOR! Drago quickly brings it back inside and drops Aero on his head with a hanging DDT for 2! His aggression leaves him hung in the ropes though…and Star capitalises with a double stomp to the apron. Springboard Splash misses; the move that Aero won with last time! CORKSCREW PLANCHA UP THE AISLE BY DRAGO! LIGERBOMB! Somehow Star gets back to his feet, to shimmy all the way along the middle rope and hit a RUNNING SUPER RANA! SPRINGBOARD SPLASH! Aero takes a 2-1 lead in the series at 08:11
Rating - *** - In the Lucha Underground Universe eight minutes is a generous time allocation. To that end whilst I don’t think this was bad by any means, I feel like they have a better match in them. I can’t put my finger on why, but something about this felt a little disjointed. There were some spectacular moments and the idea that after two death defying stunt shows they’d try to slow it down and work the mat a little was a good one. But for some reason, in a Lucha Underground context, it felt hard to suspend my disbelief and it seemed very obvious that they were just bouncing from one pre-planned spot to the next without really pausing to sell or think about what story they were trying to tell. Visually it was very impressive, but somewhere along the way they lost some of the substance to go with the style.
Still they shake hands after the contest, but this one seems more tense (particularly on Drago’s side).
Another Konnan ‘revenge’ video airs, and it blends into him playing chess with Prince Puma; trying to school him in the art of war.
Cortez Castro/Mr Cisco/Bael vs Big Ryck – No DQ Match
If the deck weren’t already stacked against Ryck enough, the addition of a No DQ stipulation plus formatting this as an elimination match makes it even harder. But this is what he wanted, fighting his way past Sexy Star to earn this chance at vengeance against the three men who turned on him and burned out one of his eyes with a cigar.
Ryck towers over all three of his opponents…so they pick his legs then swarm him like a pack of dogs. Castro and Cisco get a nearfall with a double stomp/DDT combo but for all the energy they are expending Big R just keeps getting back up. He throws Bael face-first through a chair before punching Castro’s lights out as he tries to swing a kendo stick. Next he SNAPS THE KENDO STICK over Mr Cisco’s back! A chokeslam on Bael sees him eliminated at 03:23. A double suplex on the remaining Crew members comes next. KENDO STICK LARIAT eliminates Cortez at 04:22. That means Ryck is left alone with Cisco; the man who burned his eye out! Mr C tries to walk out…only for Sexy Star to meet him at the top of the steps to beat him back into the ring! Ryck punches him so a hard that he starts bleeding from the face, and it’s noticeable that a lot of the subsequent punches are aimed at the right eye. BOOK OF EZEKIEL THROUGH A CHAIR! Ryck wins at 06:16
Rating - ** - I feel like this is quite a generous rating, since the match itself felt a little long and entirely unnecessary. The Crew were just starting to get some traction as a pack of dogs doing Dario Cueto’s bidding so it seems odd to have them so resounding crushed here (and I’m not sure Ryck is good enough to warrant that kind of protection). Some of those kendo stick shots were absolutely wicked though
NEXT WEEK – Back to back Championship matches to headline. Prince Puma defends the LU Title against Cage in the second ever Boyle Heights Street Fight, and El Jefe has just signed the paperwork to enable Alberto El Patron to defend the AAA Mega Title against Texano in a Bullrope Match!
The coffin for the Grave Consequences Match is ceremonially wheeled into The Temple by a group of extras covered in creepy Day Of The Dead make-up. It is spooky, haunting and another subtle little touch to make something stand out on a week-to-week broadcast.
Mil Muertes vs Fenix – Grave Consequences Match
First thing’s first – this is just LU’s way of re-branding the ‘Casket Match’. I wonder if perhaps WWE owns a trademark on that? It is a fitting way to try to end an intense and personal feud between the man who survived an Earthquake in his hometown to emerge from the rubble as ‘The Man Of A Thousand Deaths’ and a supposedly un-killable Bird Of War. Muertes has two victories over Fenix, but lost his undefeated streak in singles matches to him and has been forced to watch as his long-time confidante Catrina has supposedly found Fenix’s powers to be stronger than his own and openly kissed him in front of Mil to show that. As if to rub salt into his wounds, Fenix enters the ring with Catrina by his side and is even introduced as the ‘Man Of A Thousand Lives’…
ELBOW SUICIDA BY MUERTES! ‘Oh sh*t’ – Striker and Vampiro as Mil sprints right at them and smears Fenix’s head into their table! Fenix creates some distance, and flies with a PERFECT tope atomico bringing the crowd to their feet. Muertes survives that and starts tearing up the wooden offerings used as part of the coffin ceremony to beat the Bird Of War around the face. DDT ON THE COFFIN by Fenix! He tries to set up another dive…but Muertes swings the coffin straight into his face! Mil RIPS A HOLE IN THE MASK! Then he unscrews the bottom turnbuckle to grab one of the bolts…and NAILS Fenix right in his exposed face busting him wide open. Most of Fenix’s face is exposed now and his only option is to scramble up the steps trying to escape. They brawl onto the roof of Cueto’s office with Fenix getting his brains scrambled against an air conditioning vent hanging from the ceiling! POWERBOMB ONTO THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! It doesn’t break either, meaning Fenix just bounces off with a sickening, dull thud. He gets some respite as Mil muscles the coffin into the ring, but it’s fleeting as he battles up only to be SUPLEXED INTO THE COFFIN! Then Muertes bites the open wound so ferociously that blood drips from his mouth onto his mask like a savage. ROPE RUN AVALANCHE CODEBREAKER! He drags Fenix back into the crowd, up to the upper balcony with fans scattering in all directions! Fenix throws a few kicks…then hops onto the railings for a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! That might have been all Fenix has left though, and it’s Mil up first to repeatedly smash his face into more railings. MOONSAULT OFF THE RAIL BY FENIX! HE WILL NOT DIE! Muertes throws a lariat at him…but accidentally takes out Catrina! For the first time he shows some remorse. Incredibly it isn’t long before she is back on her feet – and opening the coffin as Fenix throws as many strikes as he can muster in Mil’s direction. FLYING DOUBLE STOMP INTO THE COFFIN! CATRINA GIVES THE STONE THE LICK OF DEATH…THEN SHUTS THE LID! FENIX WINS! It’s over at 14:44
Rating - ****1/2 - This one was every bit as good as it has been hyped up to be. Bloody, spectacular, violent; this was everything you’d want a feud-ending grudge match to be. The real beauty here was that you didn’t need to be familiar with the product, or the storyline to ‘get this’…but if you are it was even better. Everybody can understand a massive, monster of a man beating a smaller individual senseless, with the smaller competitor fighting for his life at every turn before pulling out a shock win. But when you understand that this was a man who represents death quite literally pulling out everything imaginable to kill a man who cannot die it is even better. When you understand what a dastardly act it was for Mil to defy lucha conventions by going after the mask you really get how intense this rivalry is. When you see Catrina giving her patented ‘Lick Of Death’ to the stone taken from the rubble of the collapsed building which killed Mil’s entire family; symbolically sending him back to the black depths of death from which he came…just wow. Fenix has been arguably THE breakout star from Lucha Underground’s first twenty episodes, and he couldn’t have given anymore of himself to make this great. He bled buckets, he exposed most of his face, he dived and bumped all over The Temple. Hands down the best Casket Match I’ve ever seen, comfortably the best Lucha Underground Match thus far and a triumph both as a sporting and creative spectacle.
The spooky Day Of The Dead extras wheel Mil Muertes out of The Temple as Catrina triumphantly marches behind them…
Tape Rating - **** - The quality of Grave Consequences alone makes this a must-see episode. Watching this in late 2017, more than two years have passed and by this point the amount of hype and praise this match has gotten is quite remarkable. But they lived up to those lofty expectations, producing a brutal masterclass; elevating what could have been a goofy storyline (if done incorrectly) into something quite special. Seeing Ryck getting payback on The Crew, and another decent instalment in the Drago/Aero series were really just bonuses. If you’re based in North America this is well worth hunting down on your Netflix subscription or on iTunes.