Lucha Underground: Cien
It’s official; Lucha Underground officially has 100 episodes in the bag. Who knew we’d be sitting here back when Chavo Guerrero and Blue Demon Jr. were putting together a semi-competent wrestling match all the way back in 2014? It’s quite the accomplishment for LU and, while I unfortunately cannot say there will be a hundred more of these bad boys, it’s been a real treat to catch the first one hundred. Including tonight’s episode by the way, which I think most people will agree was a far more enjoyable big show outing than the equally as hyped Cueto Cup Final. And the funny thing is that show may have had the best match of the two shows. What that show didn't have in the eyes of many was competent storytelling, which this had in droves. The pieces moved perfectly together for Ultima Lucha Tres, with match ups being set up perfectly and rivalries coming to the end in a devastating way. I won’t say anything more other than this; poor Rey Mysterio. Was that too much of a spoiler? Find out in the next few paragraphs! Play me off Moses.
Ricky Mundo is My Spirit Animal
I never realize how much I miss the Lucha Underground backstage scenes until we go a week without them. Guess what; that’s what happened last week. Thus we opened this week with one of the funnier LU scenes in history, with Ricky Mandel revealing to the Worldwide Underground that he had his name changed…to Ricky Mundo. By itself this isn’t funny, but the fact that Ricky sold it like it was the greatest moment in his life, while Mundo looked like he had just been told to put Vampiro over, made me laugh more than a Jim Carrey movie in the 90’s. Well that and the return of Whiteboard Evans. If Jack can just keep that with him forever, that would be great. Just like this opening scene. Bonus points must also be given for Ricky coming out and announcing his name change (WITH THE ID TO PROVE IT), only for Johnny to kick him to the curb and replace him in the Atomicos match. Brilliant stuff.
Atomicos Match
Johnny Mundo, Taya, P.J. Black, Marty “The Moth” Martinez defeated Prince Puma, Sexy Star, Fenix, Cage
This match was frankly kind of a mess (in a so-so way) till it got to the final few minutes. The problematic part was Sexy Star. I don’t mean to sound like someone who is just going to roll their eyes every time I see her now that the Rosemary incident has happened…but yeah, that’s what I’m going to do here. It didn’t help that she wasn’t any good at all, despite the best efforts of Marty and Taya to make her look good. Once she got out of the way and the Cage-Jeremiah Crane thing was taken care of (more on that in a moment) things picked up. Fenix got a dive in, Puma got to have some killer sequences with both Johnny Mundo and P.J. Black and the latter two got to show off some nice double teams before Mundo finished Puma off with the End of the World. Even better were the post match activities, with Marty confronting Melissa Santos, only for Melissa to go OFF on him in a slap fest for the ages before Fenix kicked his head off. Way to get me excited for that Melissa/Fenix vs. The Moths tag match next week LU (oh yeah; that is indeed happening). For that I’m going to be kinder on this match than some will be, but there’s no doubt the stuff before Puma got involved was very hit or miss. The sooner LU starts filming season four without Sexy Star, the better.
When Everyone’s Plan Goes Wrong
Alright, so remember that Cage-Jeremiah Crane thing I mentioned in the last paragraph? Here’s what happened; Cage was destroying noobs in the ring when Crane came out to the ring and stole the power glove (which by the by, remains so very, very bad). Cage gave chase, but hadn’t caught up to Crane by the time this segment started with Crane finding Catrina in her and Mil’s hideout. Crane’s plan appeared to be to hand over the glove (which Catrina has been assigned to get for her mother, Captain Vasquez) in exchange for a kiss. Big mistake, as Mil came out of nowhere and started brawling with his nemesis. Catrina looked in the clear to take the glove, but that’s precisely when Cage walked in and grabbed her by the throat. In a big reveal, Catrina tried to teleport out but couldn’t! I guess that power glove has more powers than just turning Cage into an unstoppable locomotive. So Catrina dropped the glove and Cage was all set to take it…when Jeremiah Crane and Mil spotted him and then started attacking him!
Clearly, none of these three guys thought this whole thing through well enough. In the end though the power glove was the furthest thing from Cage, Mil or Crane’s mind as they began to brawl all over the shrine, which left ample opportunity for El Jefe himself to slip into the room and take the glove for himself. This is why I say Dario Cueto always wins; BECAUSE HE DOES! The dude managed to take the power glove right out from under three luchadors’ noses and they still probably don’t know its missing. Sure, that’s probably because they’re brawling somewhere in the heart of Boyle Heights right now but still! The question becomes what will Dario now do with said glove. My guess is there’s going to be a triple threat between these three, with the winner getting the glove. Makes sense; Crane wants it so he can win Catrina’s heart, Mil wants it because Catrina wants it and Cage wants it because he’s tripping on unlimited power like Lindsey Lohan in that Robot Chicken Highlander skit. Sounds like the recipe of a great match with many options to me. Of course maybe El Jefe is intending to finally bring the glove back to its rightful owner; Lucas Barton. I always knew he was the only man worthy enough to wield the power glove.
Match for the Final Aztec Medallion
Pentagon Dark defeated El Dragon Azteca Jr.
Exactly the kind of match it should’ve been, with these two starting off really fast and never really slowing down before Pentagon put Azteca away with the Package Piledriver. I honestly thought that Azteca was just a tad better here than Pentagon was too. Not that King Cero Miedo was bad, but it was clear he didn’t have a lot to prove here while Azteca did. And he did as good as hoped; I’m not sure it’s the awe inspiring match that some people would like him to have (although I’d still argue that was the Death Match with Matanza. HE FELL THROUGH THE STAIRS PEOPLE!) but will definitely fit in nicely with the above average performances Azteca has had with Matanza, Prince Puma and Johnny Mundo over the past few seasons. Very good work from him and Pentagon, although once again I think the post match stuff might’ve been even better, with Pentagon nearly breaking Azteca’s arm only for Matanza to interrupt. I don’t think LU could’ve handled next what happened any better than they did. Pentagon looked awesome staring down Matanza and showing absolutely cero Miedo when it came to the monster (thus making Pentagon look like a million dollars) and Matanza’s destruction of Azteca right after worked on so many levels. Not only did it make sense as far as Matanza and Dario sending a message to Rey Mysterio, but it also took out Mysterio’s key ally, a person who could’ve potentially caused problems in the next match if Dario and Matanza stretched the rules too far. A very good ending to a very good match and outstanding beginning to what turned out to be a very good main event.
Matanza wipes Rey Mysterio off the face of the Earth
I’m not joking sports fans; that’s exactly what happened in this match. It wasn’t a complete squash (LU would never do that to Mysterio) but it was as close as one can get, with Matanza absolutely owning Mysterio’s ass for most of this match, aside from the brief Mysterio flurry every now and then. From a work rate standpoint I think it will leave some people wanting, but from a storytelling perspective it was dynamite. Rey has become so good at these sort of matches where he plays the underdog and takes a beating before rallying that you just can’t help but get behind him as the match winds down. That’s precisely what happened here, with the crowd completely turning on Matanza (I think there was even a point where a Matanza chant was snuffed out completely) and either cheering Mysterio or watching the match as if they were watching a family member get tortured on live TV. You have to applaud Rey for that kind of work. He made sure to keep himself looking strong while also making Matanza look like an absolute beast in what could be Rey’s final match for LU. If it is, my hats off to him; there may have been more exciting ways to close this run but I don’t know if it gets better than making a dude look like he’s King Kong in the scene where he fights off the T-Rex.
Speaking of the guy who will get overlooked here, how about that Matanza? After being away for so long due to a case of falling through a roof, LU needed to re-establish him as an awe inspiring brute and…well I think this match speaks for itself. I understood why he didn’t look this way against the Rabbit Tribe last week, as it was three against one AND it had been months since Matanza had worked a match. But with the ring rust gone and the target of his seething hatred across from him, Matanza needed to be aggressive and punishing and I don’t see how anyone can say he wasn’t. It may not have been flashy, but it was brutal, it was powerful and it made him look like the same guy he was before Pentagon took him to the limit at Ultima Lucha Dos. Of course this now begs another question; what the hell do they do with Matanza now? I suppose Rey could come back to attempt to have one last good day against the monster, but that execution seemed to be a write off more than anything. And asides from him the only people who make sense are Azteca or Black Lotus, one of whom has gotten repeatedly powned by Matanza himself and the other who I would prefer not to see again in the ring unless she’s bringing Hitokiri and Yurei with her. It’s a great unknown with where they go with Matanza from here but I can at least say I’m excited to see it. Perhaps maybe it will be Azteca and he’ll finally get that big moment he’s been so craving? LOL stop it Cult; it’s Azteca. He’s probably going to end up getting thrown through those damn stairs again. Silly Azteca.
That’ll do gang, that’ll do. I’m off to watch some TV, but I’ll be back tomorrow for some more glorious CMLL history. Till we meet again, THIS!
