Lucha Underground – Season Two Episode 1 – 27th January 2016
A Much Darker Place
I’ve jumped into reviewing Season Two of Lucha Underground almost as soon as I’ve finished posting my Season One reviews. I enjoyed the first season of what many described as ‘a television show about wrestling’, rather than a wrestling show, so much that I am, in effect, binge-reviewing. When we left last season darkness had descended over The Temple. Catrina had led the Disciples Of Death to Trios Title Gold, then Mil Muertes to the LU Championship during Ultima Lucha to become the dominant force in the promotion. Promoter Dario Cueto fled The Temple, with Black Lotus and his unseen brother Matanza in tow, fearing war in the aftermath of the murder of El Dragon Azteca. Vampiro was revealed as Pentagon Jr.’s ‘Master’ and promised to plunder his career to new depths. The sole light in The Temple comes from Fenix, holding the Gift Of The Gods Title – but when we ended last season he was being quietly pursued by King Cuerno.
Never ones to take the traditional route, Lucha Underground released a four-edition comic book series to bridge the gap between Seasons One & Two, meaning we have still more to catch up on. The first edition showed Catrina assuming control of The Temple, and ordering the Disciples Of Death to build a throne for new champion Mil Muertes from human bones and flesh. They went on a murderous rampage (including the bloody murder of Big Ryck!) and Muertes now has a throne of skulls which sits atop The Temple. The second instalment say world famous luchador Rey Mysterio (yes, he’s here for Season Two) learn of the death of El Dragon Azteca and travel to The Temple. He stumbles upon Azteca’s young apprentice (the white-hooded figure we saw at the beginning and end of Season One) and honours him with El Dragon Azteca’s mask (that had been promised to Mysterio; but he has his own legacy now). He’ll be in Season Two as well – known as Dragon Azteca Jr. The third instalment continued the story of Vampiro and Pentagon, with Vampiro being committed to a mental health asylum as a result of the dark depths of depravity he went to at the end of last year. The fourth part caught us up with El Jefe and his group, on the run from The Temple. Fulfilling his promise, Dario had built a new Temple, within which his brother was the star attraction. We learned that the Cuetos’ father was obsessed with ancient Aztec folklore…and sacrificed his youngest son (Matanza) to be inhabited by the spirit of the gods. In effect Matanza is a fearsome Aztec God walking the earth. Lotus is now a fearsome ally, protecting the Cuetos. I’ve only seen plot summaries of the comics, so forgive me if I’ve missed something important or given incorrect detail – but hopefully that catches you up. You’ll see the return of some familiar faces, albeit not the entire Season One cast. Konnan is dead, Ryck is dead. Hernandez unsuccessfully returned to TNA, Alberto El Patron did return to WWE, Blue Demon Jr. ‘retired to Miami’ and others (like Super Fly, Melina and Delavar Daivari) just haven’t been brought back. In their places we’ll see an assortment of new faces, including the aforementioned Rey Mysterio to take Alberto’s spot as the resident lucha superstar. Matt Striker and Vampiro are back for commentary too. We return to The Temple in Boyle Heights, CA…
We open with Vampiro in a facility, preparing for his release after six months ‘without incident’. He has to agree to avoid the ‘people and places’ that trigger his violent tendencies before being released. So obviously the second he gets out he is met by Matt Striker…and they return to The Temple!
The Proprietor’s office looks vastly different under Catrina. In walks a defiant Fenix, proclaiming that he is ‘more alive than ever’ and that he is coming for Mil Muertes. She agrees to his request for a title match next week, but only if he can survive King Cuerno’s challenge for the Gift Of The Gods tonight.
SIDENOTE – The Temple has been moderately redesigned, removing the bandstand to accommodate a plinth upon which champion Mil Muertes literally does sit on a throne of human skulls. He wears the LU Title belt and now presides ominously over all who compete…
Fenix vs King Cuerno – LU Gift Of The Gods Title Match
As we saw, Fenix wants to challenge his old rival Mil Muertes for a LU Title Match. But as per the Gift Of The Gods rules, he must give the promoter a week to promote the match. Since that is Catrina, she plans to use that week to prevent him from ever challenging. Given that she already controls two of the three championships in the company, she has enlisted the help of the evil Hunter, King Cuerno, to eliminate Fenix and stop him from ever getting to the Man Of A Thousand Deaths again.
Knowing that Cuerno prefers a methodical pace, Fenix explodes out of the blocks and rushes him – almost grabbing a quick win with a standing moonsault. King wisely flees the ring, and instantly capitalises by hitting an ELEVATED DDT OFF THE APRON! ARROW FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL! This is a seriously hot opening couple of minutes of the season! Back inside Fenix quickens things up again; landing ON HIS FEET on the top rope when Cuerno tries a back body drop, before exploding back to hit a TRIPLE JUMP lucha armdrag. Lethal Injection nailed and followed by a STEP-UP CORKSCREW PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! But just as he builds up momentum Cuerno crushes it again with an emphatic diving forearm smash. Fenix comes back with another Lethal Injection and this time holds on to roll it into a Dragon Clutch! Cuerno counters to the Mexican Dragon Sleeper! Both men climb the ropes, which is very much the domain of Fenix and he profits with a flying double stomp to the back of King C’s head. He tumbles across the mat…right into THRILL OF THE HUNT! But Fenix kicks out, then takes his head off with a superkick! DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH MISSES! PACKAGE TOMBSTONE BY CUERNO! We have a new champion at 07:47
Rating - **** - A very warm welcome back to The Temple. If you missed Season One this was the perfect introduction into the style of wrestling you are going to see. It didn’t go long, it was explosive, exciting and full of aerial theatrics…but again I will maintain that at it’s core there was a strong story here. Cuerno established in the first season that his modus operandi is slowing down, grounding and destroying the high-flying luchadors we see week after week. He did it to Drago, he almost did it to Mundo, and that was his plan for Fenix too. And the best part was Fenix knew it. It meant that when Fenix flew all over the place at a hundred miles an hour it wasn’t just exciting to watch – it made complete sense because that’s the exact style of wrestling that Cuerno fears and is trying to prevent. But in the end he took one risk too many, and fell victim to a new finishing move debuted for the occasion…and loses the Gift Of The Gods Title he worked so hard to gain. The big question now is whether Catrina holds all the gold, or whether Cuerno’s personal ambition will see him cash in for a shot at Mil Muertes.
Former Trios Champions Ivelisse, Angelico and Son Of Havoc arrive on bikes – and present a united front as they enter The Temple together. They are met with Catrina, who has a twisted proposition for them. Mil Muertes wants to see them fight, and is putting a title shot up to incentivise them. They compete against each other, with the winner instantly going on to face Muertes! Ivelisse and Catrina continue to have a strange tension between them…
Catrina teleports into the locker rooms to remind Cuerno of their deal. He reassures her that Mil has ‘nothing to worry about’…
Son Of Havoc vs Angelico vs Ivelisse
The angry reaction of the Believers when they realise these three are having to face each other is a wonderful testimony to the power of the journey the trio went on in Season One. Heroic, unlikely, underdog champions – they fought to the bitter end and even defied Ivelisse’s broken ankle to defend the Trios Championships in a Ladder Match. But their luck ran out when they were terrorised, and then defeated by Catrina’s Disciples Of Death. Seeking to divide and remove them from the Trios Title picture altogether, Catrina and Mil have devised this wicked plan to create rifts in their fragile unity. The winner receives a Lucha Underground Title shot…tonight!
Ivelisse is all healed and fighting on two legs again which is great to see. The three of them play on their chemistry as partners and rivals to do some really fun three-way spots…with Ivelisse KILLING it with chops and a terrific flying headscissors on Angelico. Unfortunately Ang comes back and NAILS her with the Shuri Knee! Ive recovers quickly and doles out more fiery strikes, this time to Havoc. He removes her from the ring with a tilta-whirl backbreaker then flies to the floor himself to hit rolling tope suicidas on both opponents. Springboard double stomp/standing moonsault combo gets 2. He lines up the SSP…only for Ivelisse to crotch him on the top then grab the win with La Magistral on Ang! 06:08 was your time, and Ivelisse is getting the title shot.
Rating - *** - A rather generous 3* for this, largely because I thought they did a great job weaving in their rich backstory and history together amongst the usual cliché’s that triple threat matches usually bring. In six minutes they didn’t outstay their welcome, did some fun things together, and wonderfully reintroduced Ivelisse as a legitimate fighter in her own right. She continues to come off as far more of a bad ass and respectable inter-gender competitor than Sexy Star ever has by the way.
375 miles away from Boyle Heights, three men in a car seem lost…and are greeted by a leather-clad Asian woman by the side of their road at their open window. Thankfully Black Lotus isn’t arrested for soliciting, and instead offers to guide them to the ‘underground fight club’ they’ve been looking for…
Back in The Temple, Mil Muertes steps down from his throne and makes his way to ringside where Catrina steps out of her office to meet him. She also summons the Disciples Of Death, who violently carry away Havoc and Angelico (whilst Mil and Catrina hold Ivelisse hostage and make her watch)
Mil Muertes vs Ivelisse – LU Title Match
Technically history is being made here, as Ivelisse is the first woman to challenge for the Lucha Underground Title in a singles match (although both she and Sexy Star also challenged for it back at the first ever Aztec Warfare Match too). She has shown herself to be unendingly courageous, and capable of amazing feats of resilience even in the face of impossible situations. But having already wrestled, potentially still ring-rusty after her ankle injury, and without any back-up…does she stand any chance against the colossal Mil Muertes and the new boss Catrina?
Ivelisse is doing an awesome job selling a mix of terror and determination at the prospect of facing Muertes. Mil benefits from watching the prior match, as having watched Havoc destroy her with a backbreaker he starts the match by doing exactly the same thing. She tries her guillotine choke, but is easily countered to a crushing bearhug on that bad back before being tossed to the mat like a sack of sh*t. Chokeslam attempted…COUNTERED TO A HANGING ARMBAR BY IVELISSE! So Muertes boots the hell out of her back! The challenger refuses to stop fighting! MULTI-REVOLUTION TORNADO DDT! Catrina is concerned enough to get into the ring! MUERTES ACCIDENTALLY SPEARS CATRINA! SCHOOLBOY PIN…IVELISSE GETS 2! Muertes is furious and destroys her back once more with a devastating powerslam. FLATLINER! Mil retains at 04:33
Rating - *** - Less than five minutes of wrestling rarely gets much more dramatic than that. They could have done a cheap little angle and nobody would have minded, so the fact that they went out of their way to deliver a killer little main event first was both an unexpected treat and very appreciated. Muertes is so good when working with smaller opponents who can take big bumps and sell his moveset like total death. Ivelisse was awesome in that regard, and the little touch of having him work over a body part she’d injured in the previous match was excellent.
Catrina was almost Speared out of her wig…and as a result refuses to administer the Lick Of Death until Mil inflicts more punishment. But he can’t because Prince Puma is here! He kicks Muertes away and rescues Ivelisse. PENTAGON IS HERE TOO! LUNGBLOWER ON MUERTES! THE SACRIFICE! HE JUST BROKE THE CHAMP’S ARM! The Temple goes nuts!
Black Lotus has delivered the car-full of men to the ‘underground fighting Temple’ as promised, and there waiting at the door is Dario Cueto! Lotus beats one of them up for being mouthy, before El Jefe uses the key that hangs around his neck to open the door. The episode ends with the screams of the same three men being murdered (off camera)…presumably by Matanza.
Rating - **** - This was an absolute home-run of a return episode for Lucha Underground, and actually one of my favourite episodes thus far. They accomplished astonishing amounts in less than forty five minutes, without anything ever feeling rushed or silly. Fenix and Cuerno got the year started with a hell of a match and a big title change. Catrina dividing the former Trios Champions was a masterful dickhead boss move, and Ivelisse’s performance in general was a joy to watch. The ‘storyline segments’ were great and wonderfully shot too. Vampiro’s scene in the asylum was as cinematic and well-produced as anything the promotion has done so far (despite reported budget cuts now that the show doesn’t air in Mexico on UniMas), whilst the stuff with Black Lotus, El Jefe and Matanza gave the show a very familiar feel since so much of their plot has been driven by cinematic scenes anyway. My favourite part of the show was the last sequence inside The Temple however. The LU Title scene instantly looks packed with contenders (Puma, Fenix and Pentagon), and having Pentagon break Muertes’ arm right off the bat was a hell of a moment. It emphasises that even the immortal champ can still be vulnerable…and does huge amounts to restore the credibility Pentagon lost by jobbing clean to Sexy Star last Season. This whole episode felt wild, unpredictable and a wonderful embodiment of everything that we love about Lucha Underground. A ‘darker place’ or not, The Temple remains a fantastic way to spend less than an hour of your life watching wrestling…