Lucha Underground Results & Comments 01/21/2015

Reviews, Top Story

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Hey guys here is last weeks Lucha Underground Review Report!

I will be giving a full report each week for the foreseeable future and I hope you guys enjoy!

BOOM

This week we dive right into it, no opening vignette, just  a replay of highlights from last weeks match between Drago and King  Cuerno. They hype up a last Lucha standing match tonight foreshadowing us to think about the possibilities of what could happen between these Lucha’s. After that brief hype up from Vampiro and Striker the first match seems to be getting under way.

After a cut to the ring, the beautiful ring announcer introduces Cortez Castro and Cisco, they also seem to be accompanied by Bale.  After introductions Mr. Cisco gets a bit of heel heat by telling the announcer that he is MR. Cisco not just Cisco getting a nice boo from the crowd. These guys are the heels and if you remember they were the group accompanying big Ryck in earlier episodes.

Next Pimpinela and Mascarita enter the arena and get a good face pop, I actually really like Pimpinela, I have not been exposed to a wrestler like him/her before so its been a real treat and the character adds a good dynamic to the matches in the ring. Right before the match commentary have an interesting exchange when Vampiro purposes the question what would you do if you were 3 gang bangers that have come across Pimpinela. With Pimpinela being a feminine male wrestler it opened Vampiro up for some jokes from Striker and it was a good laugh to start this match.

Match 1

Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco accompanied by Bale, VS Pimpinela and Mascarita

Cortez and Mr. Cisco get heel heat right away with a double team on Pimpinela,  after some heat he/she comes back with a flurry of counters. Promptly Big Ryck The Boss walks down the stairs and sits in his usual spot watching the match puffing a cigar. The match continues with more heel double teams and  a nasty double drop kicks, face wash style to Pimpinela who is down in the corner of the ring. As the heels work the match boos and chants of Pero ring out around the arena and I really dig the heel work here. A well played distraction by Cortez allows Bale to get some nice cheap shots in from the outside getting the crowd behind Pimpinela possibly making it to the corner for the hot tag. There were some stiff points in this match, but the real comedy came when Pimpinela’s big turn around started from reversing a whip into the corner by hoping on the ropes and sticking her butt out, Causing Cortez to go face first into the naughty area. Striker’s call of “how do I call this” definitely made me laugh and turned this into my favorite spot. After the hot tag here comes Mascarita, whoa this little dude can go, taking control by using his speed and agility. A nice dive to the outside gives the crowd a high spot along with helping push the crowd behind them.  It wasn’t enough however as the numbers game of the heels caught up to them and an effectively executed blind tag chained into Castro and Cisco’s finish, which was called as “its like a 3D into a code breaker” allowed the 3 count to win the match.

 

Winners Cotez Castro, Mr. Cisco accompanied by Bale.

I liked this, as i stated above I really dig Pimpinela, he has an awesome style of moves and the sexual aspects of the match made it fun to watch and progressed the match nicely. Also I really enjoyed the exchanges with Mascarita, as a small dude they made him look believable with his speed and agility, but the heels eventually used his size against him for cheap heat and to gain the pin.

The heels stand tall in the ring as the arena boo’s, here comes Big Ryck down the steps and into the ring passing off his Cigar for Mr. Cisco to hold. He is the Boss and begins to cut a promo on how everyone, slowly turns to his crew and stresses EVERYONE should be on notice, and that nothing will stop him from getting the Lucha Underground title. Once he Finished his creed The 3 goons jump him from behind, clipping the leg and begin putting the boots to Ryck hard. A kendo stick comes into play and after chocking Ryck they give him and nasty shot right to the dome which he sold pretty well. Here is where it gets interesting, after the shot, they hold down Ryck and burn his eye with his own cigar, Vampiro sold this as “prision style” and I have to say I marked a bit. I am a bit bias, and love heels so this segment was awesome, after showing Ryck who’s Boss the 3 goons just so happen to walk into Dario Cueto office.

After commercials we find our selves in  Dario Cueto’s office with the three goons, after taking out their old boss Ryck and seemingly taking him out of the equation. Mr. Cueto is pleased handing out cash to his new henchmen.  He also promises to dig deeper keeping the cash coming if they watch his back. I really liked the Villain aspects of Cueto’s comments saying ” its a shame Big Ryck did not see the potential of us working together, now he will have trouble seeing anything”.

After this scene  Vampiro is starting to set the scene for Cage who stood tall at the end lasts weeks episode, he tells us there is an interview about to air that was done so he can explain his actions.

The sit down was done well, and they crossed between Cage talking and vignettes of his destruction in the ring. Vampiro talked about how much Heat he has gotten from everyone in the locker room, and why does he feel he gets to take out the champ. The main goal here was to show Cage is a machine which seems to be his tag line, he is a very cocky dude and pushed the fact he will not wait in line, because he is already the best Lucha in the locker room. Vampiro definitely tries to paint the picture of competition and that Cage should not feel special, that defending the title is what makes you a star not just getting it however that may be, causing cage to threaten Vampiro and anyone who has the guts to face him.

It was a good way to continue to push Cage’s dominance and they are definitely piling on the heat for the assumed confrontation with the champ in the future.

After another round of commercials, we are back in the ring with the introduction of Supper fly, and after a brief acknowledgment from commentary in comes Pentagon Jr. who is Supper Fly’s opponent.

Match 2

Pentagon Jr. VS Supper Fly

This is a slower paced match which is an awesome change. There were a few high flying attempts in the beginning but quickly the pace slowed down. Wow crazy super kicks in this match and the toughness in these guys sells a fight, because this was a fight that eventually spilled to the outside of the ring. Supper takes a  nice bump on the outside and sold it well allowing Pentagon Jr. to show boat around.  Once they are in the ring again a technical exchanges keep the match flowing and Supper Fly begins to hype up as he flies around the ring causing the momentum to turn around. The crowd is getting behind him now and my favorite spot comes from Pentagon Jr. following the come back from Supper Fly and taking a splash on the outside.  He then cuts off momentum by nailing a sick drop kick off a back flip spring board attempt from Supper Fly, turning the tides back into his flavor. This was cool and the crowd is behind this match as Jr. is showing some frustration following the kick out by Supper Fly. The contest continued with some stiff back and forth, but ultimately Pentagon Jr. gets the upper hand by dropping Supper Fly with the package pile driver and gaining the 3 count.

Winner Pentagon Jr. Via Package Pile Driver

This match was paced very well, and that is what I dug the most giving us the fans just enough technical aspects, but allowing there to be a brawl. Also some of the cut offs were the best parts of the match in my opinion with sick counters and telegraphs. The only thing I thought was a bit weak was the finish, Pentagon Jr. literally just set up his finisher, nothing special with no high impact move before it, landing just a supper kick. Supper fly even blocked the first attempt at the pile driver, and all Pentagon Jr. did was move his hands out of the way and go for it again, dropping him on his head If there was just another high impact exchange to better set up the finish, it would have made the finish look stronger and definitive but other than that this match was good!

Following the match we get a promo in Spanish from Pentagon Jr., He basically says he thought Chavo Guerrero, who he was aligned with before was a legend.  It turns out he was a fraud and led him astray, he says he has no problem finding another person to align with him because he is Pentagon Jr and he has no fear, he stands tall as we head to commercials.

Back in the ring now Sexy star is looking, well sexy and ready to go. They must be back to having her wrestle males due to her opponent being El Mariachi Loco, and he is hyped up as being a guy who worked in a kitchen a few blocks from the temple, and put down his head wrap for a mask and began training Lucha. He apparently wrestles for tips and Striker points out he sometimes grabs change from the fans in the arena.

Match 3

Sexy Star Vs  El Mariachi Loco

Sexy Star is being put over as a real inspiration to women and is obviously the face here, El Mariachi Loco is playing heel well and tries to show his sexiness as a male. They start with some high flying but eventually Loco gets the upper-hand using strength as a male. He is being really stiff with her, and we see him face washing her with his boots, and hitting some harsh chops bringing heat allowing Star to get the crowd behind her. She changes momentum and starts flying around the ring getting in some good technical Lucha style, and making a come back. I don’t really have a favorite spot for this one but I enjoyed the progression the match had. After a good chain of moves from Star, El Mariachi Loco got back in control with his power and strength and begin to disrespect star by kicking her and running his boot a crossed her face. His arrogance became his un doing when he took to long to execute a swanton, and ended up missing allowing Sexy Star to gain the roll up victory from behind!

Winner Sexy Star VIA roll up Pin

This match was what I expected, it was good but I will say that this was something I feared when I first saw Sexy Star. I like that they promote her as a role model for women and they push her heart and dedication very well, but really what else can they do. I thought of this after her first match and wondered , eventually where could this go? Her beating or facing men every week could get stale if they don’t add some other dynamics to her character. They threw it off well early by having her have a couple mixed tags with her last feuds, as well as trying to make the most of them but here we are again, with her facing another cocky guy. Its ok for now but I would like to see something develop other than her facing men and trying to prove she is better than them every week. The match did look believable though and her talent is something that shouldn’t be disputed, just hoping they evolve her character in the coming weeks.

They hype up the main event before heading to a commercial,  stating that this could end the feud between Drago and King Cuerno with a last Luchador standing match.

Following the commercials here comes king Cuerno, this deer head dress is crazy, I like how he stairs into its eyes for intimidation during his entrance. Drago comes next and commentary puts over how the fans are behind him for what he did last week with the decision to go through a table.

Quick start in your face style to begin the match, Drago is already all over the place, running the ropes in a few cycles before landing a dropkick. He takes it outside early and lands a splash on Cuerno allowing commentary to explain the rules during the first count of 10. Drago continues the pressure landing some power moves trying to put Cuerno away early, Cuerno shows his cunning by leaving the ring and landing a nice reversal power bomb on the outside turning the tides. Cuerno gets some good offense in, I love how commentary is putting him over tonight, he is the predator and enjoys the slow death VS the quick kill. I really like this slower pace allowing Cuerno to sell stalking his prey and laying the beat down on Drago. Whoa, I enjoyed that on a Drago come back Cuerno once again uses his cunning to pull the ref in front of Drago cutting him off. Drago still adjusts and nails the hurricanrana anyway but I like Cuerno’s style to try and pull something like that off. It also put over Drago for hitting his spot anyway giving the crowd a breath of life to continue the match. Out comes the table even after last time, and Cuerno is hell bent on bringing this table into play. Stalking his prey he takes a bit too much time allowing Drago to briefly come back and avoid going through the table giving us our first tease of table usage. However it did not take long for Cuerno to pull off the spot of the night by doing a Michinoku driver off the ring apron and putting Drago head first through the table. By this time I am me really into this match and the crowd is as well, I just can’t help but think there is no way Drago should get up from this, and this should be a done deal. Now this was really clever, as I was thinking there is no way Drago is getting up he stirs and starts to rise. This was at a 7 count,  and now he is too his knee’s by 8ish, Cuerno’s frustration gets in the way and he again starts attacking Drago disrupting the count. I maybe over analyzing this but I really loved it. There was the potential that Drago still could have lost here but due to Curno’s frustration the match continued, cutting off Drago’s chance of making it to his feet, shocking us all and gaining the crowds admiration.  Not only did Cuerno shatter that opportunity, it allowed him to set up the cheap heat finish. Following Drago’s attempt of resilience, here comes a rope out of Cuerno’s stash and h drags Drago to the corner choking him while tying him to the ring post. As Cuerno Ties the knot Drago begins to sell being choked violently as we the fans watch the ref slowly count to ten as Drago is  gasping for breath. As a heel mark I LOVED THIS, the ONLY way that could have made this better, and this is really for the folks who like attention to detail, would have been to have the ref notice Drago is chocking and begin to count faster as a result of this, allowing commentary to put that over. The fans still booed the heck out of Cuerno and good heat was made so hey, I am not going to nit pick. The show ends with Cuerno putting his head dress on a defeated Drago as the show goes of the air.

Once again a great show in my opinion, a lot of good hidden gems in the ring work tonight! I hope you guys enjoyed and I will have the next episode review up soon!

– Grainbelt Jones

 

 

Mr. Jones has been a life long nerd, he started collecting vinyl, action figures, and comic books at a very young age. As he grew older his passions evolved into Djing, producing music, writing and traveling. He caught the wrestling bug in 95 after going to the first WCW episode on TNT, at the mall of America, and has been hooked ever since. A new collecting habit of wrestling tapes was born that night where he learned the history of wrestling as well as taping the present weeks during the Monday night wars. Through that process he became a lifer and the habit is not easily broken, and shows today in his mid 20's. His passion for art shows through his music and his obsession with comic books, which has also transformed into a hefty collection. You can expect good articles and reviews on, wrestling, comics, games and figures and anything else Mr. Jones may decide to tackle! Hope you enjoy! Thanks!!