Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Lucha Underground 4/13/16 Review

The episode starts with highlights of the Gifts of the Gods Championship, which Fenix won and used to become Lucha Underground Champion. He lost the belt a week later to Matanza Cueto in Aztec Warfare II. Then they show Dario Cueto announce the Trios Tournament, which Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca Jr. and Prince Puma will take part in. Azteca and Rey still believe that Matanza killed Dragon Azteca Sr.

Dario Cueto is in his office with Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya. Cage & Taya have been warring with Cage. Mundo figures out that Dario wants them to be an unlikely trio. Cage wants Mundo one on one but Dario declines. He brings them together with the thought they both Cage and Mundo want gold. Dario hilariously finishes Cage's "I'm not a man, I'm a machine" line with a "yea, we get it" attitude.

Killshot def. Argenis in 4:34
Killshot seemed to be a different animal. He had a slightly different look and seemed to pray or something to his dog tags, playing off of the vignette we recently saw. Killshot proved to be more aggressive. Vampiro said he seemed more "military". That was super on the nose. Argenis got in some stuff but you knew what he was here for. Killshot caught him with a corkscrew brainbuster. He won with his own version of the One Winged Angel. Really good showcase for KIllshot. He's insanely underrated. My main gripe was on commentary, as Vamp and Striker tried too hard to get the military thing across. **3/4

Dragon Azteca Jr. sees Black Lotus in the back and wants to get his hands on Matanza. Lotus stop shim, saying Matanza is too pwoerful right now but she's staying close to Dario, which is apparently the plan. I wonder if she's a double agent. In Dario's office, he speaks to Daga, who is one of the hottest stars in Mexico right now. Dario has the Aztec medallions on his desk, which Daga calls coins. That doesn't make Dario happy. He wants to see if the hype behind Daga is real so he has to wrestle Texano tonight for a medallion.

Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion Match: Texano def. Daga in 7:03
According to Vampiro, Daga is a luchador that utilizes a Japanese style in the ring. Also, for those unaware, there are seven medallions that need to be won. Once the seven are won, there's a seven way match and the winner gets the Gift of the Gods Title, earning a shot at the Lucha Underground Title. They worked at a quick pace with some very stiff shots. Things even got a bit more violent on the outside of the ring. Daga came very close on a few occasions and was the more impressive guy throughout the match. Unfortunately, he fell victim to a powerbomb, losing his debut. Keep Daga around because he was the star of this thing. ***

Returning from break, Mil Muertes is in his lair or whatever it is. Catrina comes in to say that her Disciples got entry into the Trios Tournament and they want Mil's forgiveness. Catrina brings them to life and Mil tells them to rise. She makes them leave and says they won't fail. Catrina also tells Mil that he'll be champion again next week, but warns him that Matanza may be more devastating than the earthquake that made him.

Trios Tournament First Round: Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio def. Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya in 12:51
Rapper Wale was shown in the crowd, which was cool. Azteca has dragon themed entrance gear similar to Puma's. The pace that this match went at was absurd. All six competitors brought their "A" game and put on one hell of a show. The uneasy team worked that angle of not being a cohesive unit, while the babyface team was just a blast. Mysterio's tag got a massive pop. He's basically a god to the believers. I liked how Rey opened up so Azteca and Puma could do dives outside. Like he knows that's not hsi strong suit and is allowing the younger guys to get their shine. Mundo got in Cage's way near the end, causing Mundo to get crotched up top. He took a top rope rana and 630 from Puma but somehow managed to kick out. Shortley after, Mundo mistakenly hit Cage, so Cage leveled him with a clothesline. A 619 and 630 later (Mysterio and Azteca went nuts in the middle of that as well) and we had our winners. This was one of the most fun matches you'll see all year. They told the story of the uneasy partners as well as Azteca proving himself alongside his two established partners, while filling it up with spots after spot in an incredible display. ****

Before the show ends, Dario Cueto talks to Matanza, who is locked up. Dario says that he's in there because he's valuable and people lock away their valuables to protect them. Dario caressed his brother's face out of love while making sure to keep his focus on killing Mil Muertes next week.

Overall: 7.5/10. Another really fun episode of Lucha Underground. They just churn out good television week in and week out. The angles they advanced all worked. The three matches were all worth a look, capping off with a very strong main event. There were some issues with a few things (Daga losing mainly) but it was a damn good show.

If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!