Hey Believers! Welcome to this week’s Lucha Underground recap! You can check out the live coverage for the last episode here.
A spectacular main event performance took place on last week’s episode of Lucha Underground, “Cero Miedo.” Pentagon Jr. and Prince Puma fought within the squared circle confines of the Temple, only to further the tension between the two. But just when Pentagon Jr. had Prince Puma right where he wanted him, Puma won the match via Pentagon’s own doing when his shoulders touched the ring’s surface during his submission move.
While the match itself stood well on its own, this is only the beginning of another chapter in the feud between Pentagon Jr. and Prince Puma.
But that’s not all – Ivelisse wants the Trios titles back for her Unlikely Trio. Johnny Mundo and Brian Cage continue their quest for the Lucha Underground Championship Title in the aftermath of Cage’s match with the sleazy Joey Ryan. Chavo Guerrero returned with Cisco and Cortez, The Crew, only to lose to The Unlikely Trio and getting attacked by Texano Jr., who is back with a vengeance for Guerrero. Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca, and Aero Star (whom we saw the episode before last) are fulfilling the prophecy to reunite the Seven Aztec Tribes so they may fight again. And Sexy Star is being chased by an unknown force, leaving many of us Believers in a state of ultimate dread.
We have lots to think about for tonight’s episode, as well. So far, we have Texano Jr., Jack “The Dragonslayer” Evans, “The Darewolf” PJ Black, The Machine Brian Cage, and Johnny Mundo scheduled to fight tonight, with Cage and Mundo as the main event. We should expect a pause to the feud between Prince Puma and Pentagon Jr., considering there is so much scheduled for tonight. But at the same time, there are things I feel we deserve to know more about – where the heck is Dario Cueto? Where is Joey Ryan on the case? Is Sexy Star being chased by Marty “The Moth” Martinez’s legendary grandmother? Or perhaps another Moth member of the family? Will we see a promo debut of a new villain? Speaking of, there are still a couple luchadores and luchadoras we have yet to see, such as Taya Valkyrie. She’s scheduled to appear pretty soon, and tonight would be the perfect moment, considering her first alliance will be with Johnny Mundo.
But as many of you Believers are aware, LU still has yet to disappoint. The answers to these questions will come soon enough. Let’s get down to business.
Ivelisse wants the Trios Titles back to her tag team with Son of Havoc and Angelico. Get this, though – there are no rematch clauses in the Temple. That’s pretty nice, yes? From a standpoint away from the story, it’s fresh compared to the constant milking of the same card over and over in other promotions that the clauses can do to the writing. This makes LU more unpredictable (in a good way) and just a better product overall.
As a result, The Unlikely Trio will have to work to earn their titles back. Technically, Catrina already has a feud with Ivelisse, but right now, there’s just buildup. It’s good buildup, though. And like I said in another recap, I’m hoping this will lead to a match between the two. It’s definitely possible, considering Catrina has NXT experience under her belt. If it’s for a singles match at Ultima Lucha, the buildup will only keep getting stronger. Tying Angelico and Son of Havoc in the mix would also work if the Trios Titles were on the line.
For now, though, they’re just thoughts. Obviously, I think Ivelisse is everything. I like her new hair, as well.
Plus, it’s still pretty early. We’re only starting episode five tonight and we’re balls deep in the action. And speaking of Ivelisse and action, the tag match between The Unlikely Trio and Chavo Guerrero and The Crew was pretty amazing.
Temple Tag Team Match: The Unlikely Trio (Ivelisse, Son of Havoc, and Angelico) vs. Chavo Guerrero & The Crew (Cisco and Cortez Castro)
Winners: The Unlikely Trio
The match started with Mr. Cisco and Ivelisse. Both of them put on a great performance in this match. I also noticed that all six luchadores and luchadoras had juuust about equal time spent in the ring, which is great. Anyway – Cisco and Ivelisse got in some counters. She also reversed a suplex attempt, plus got in back elbow and kicked away a clothesline, plus went in for a pin. Cisco punched Ivelisse and Chavo came in, but she came back from the punch with a back heel.
She and Cisco got in some good moves overall. Cisco and Son of Havoc were tagged in, and Havoc quickly shined with a moonsault.
He got some more moves in to the point where the audience chanted for him, and The Crew came back with The Crew Treatment. Striker noted Cisco’s skill in this match, as well. Angelico gained some serious momentum after he was tagged in, getting the win with the same move that won them the Trios Titles. Was that possible allegory?
KNEES FOR DAYS! #LuchaUnderground pic.twitter.com/T5U6coMw0Q
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) February 18, 2016
Or is that just wishful thinking? Well, after the The Unlikely Trios’s win, Texano Jr. came out to attack The Crew and Guerrero.
When Texano said he was going to take what’s rightfully his, we now know he meant Guerrero. Recall in Season 1 the beatdown he gave Texano for all of the Believers to see in the Temple.
We’ll see who Texano fights tonight on the all-new episode, but this is definitely a feud that will carry on from here. Also, if you want to play with the idea of The Crew and Guerrero as candidates for the Trios Titles, the Guerrero/Texano feud could delay their becoming Trios Champions. There’s also the storyline with Joey Ryan and Cortez (AKA Officer Reyes) taking down Dario Cueto, which is friggin’ awesome, but again, it’s another thing that could delay that. Another thing I thought of is that Texano could also assemble his own tag team to compete with Guerrero, but he’s pretty vicious on his own. I want to see more with just him first.
So for now, it looks like The Unlikely Trio are the prime candidates as Trios Champs, though the additional storylines happening on The Crew and Guerrero’s end could complicate their Championship reign in an interesting way.
Complications could also happen to the same extent for The Unlikely Trio as well, though – Ivelisse has tension with Catrina and Mil Muertes, and all three of them have beef with the Disciples of Death. A Trios Championship competition could get pretty wild with all of these plot lines hanging, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It means it’s only going to get even more awesome.
So right now, we’re just getting surefire hints that there is definitely more in store for the Trio. And that’s okay.
Singles Match: The Machine Brian Cage vs. Joey Ryan
Winner: Brian Cage
(^ The ref’s face, though.)
It was interesting how this match was booked, with Joey Ryan and Cortez in separate matches, but in the Temple at the same time. It was a nice touch, with the fact that they’re undercover and it’s hush-hush. But at the same time, it seems like a wasted opportunity for more story. But, I do realize that we’re not quite at that point yet and there are still lots of other things going on with the other luchadores. Plus, Ryan and Cage was a great match.
(Also, in case you missed it [which I don’t know how you would miss it, because it went crazy viral], Ryan just got engaged in-ring with his longtime wrestling girlfriend, Laura James.)
Striker mentioned sometime during the match that perhaps the key to taking down a guy like Cage is just having a long, drawn-out, but great match. I could see that strategy playing out after he said that. Ryan gained momentum a couple times during the match, especially in the beginning after the lollipop incident. He got in some great moves – dropkick, suplex, armbar, plus a pin.
Cage briefly gained momentum shortly thereafter, but Ryan came back. It wasn’t until towards the very end of the match that Cage gave Ryan a powerbomb and a screwdriver, leading to the pin and the win.
Not only was this an entertaining match, but it made sense to pair these two together. Ryan was just making his season debut and Cage needed another match before going headfirst into the first main event feud with Johnny Mundo. The win also helped Cage as well, and the sneak attack by Mundo made sense as a result.
This feud is only going to get better. But eventually Mil is going to enter the picture, and right now, Cage is a great candidate for the Championship – unless something happens tonight to make Mundo an even more believable heel champ.
Promo: Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca, and the Ancient Aztec Prophecy
This is something big for the Temple. It’s one of those “big idea” stories you don’t see very often in American pro wrestling, and it’s something of supernatural flicks. It definitely emphasizes the cinematic feel of the show. I have this weird feeling that eventually, this prophecy will put the Temple at stake, because the idea is just so big and has so many possibilities. So far, the time-traveling Aero Star, Dragon Azteca, and lucha libre veteran Rey Mysterio are involved. The Seven Aztec Tribes must be reunited, but by a hero – but which of them will?
Aero Star and Dragon Azteca are notable faces in LU, so they’re great for these roles. Mysterio is setting the foundation for himself as a face for taking part in this storyline (I mean, the guy to unite the Aztecs has to be a hero), but that doesn’t mean he can’t turn heel at some point (fans might not like that, however). I discussed in an earlier recap that a lot would be at stake for Aero Star, were he to turn heel during the prophecy storyline.
Also, Mysterio is really one of the very few – or the only – luchadores on the roster who could pull this off. He’s legendary and a longtime vet, and his in-ring debut is still long-awaited. While this storyline still needs more time to develop, it looks like this is one of the ways Creative is delaying his TV Temple debut for the right time.
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Main Event: Prince Puma vs. Pentagon Jr.
Winner via pinfall: Prince Puma
This match will go down in LU history as one of the best main event matches of the season, no doubt. You can watch the full match from LU‘s Facebook above and see for yourself.
Prince Puma has really been frigging with Pentagon Jr.’s mind, such as letting him believe for a moment that he won the match and being unwavering from Pentagon’s threats. The fact that both luchadores have proved themselves as badasses from the get-go makes this feud even better. A championship isn’t even on the line yet (key word: yet) and their dynamic has been incredible. Let’s hope for a glimmer of something that continues this rivalry on tonight’s episode.
