Gecko Watched Lucha Underground (completed)

[Deleted]

My favourite bits of getting to relive all of this is you asking these questions (which nope no hints and hopefully none for anyone else) knowingly exactly how things play out ans just having a nice laugh in anticipation of the things to come.

BUT I will tell you a little story about that bull though and what makes this funny is the exact shot you used...because the execs in LU were told by MGM , DO NOT DO A CLOSE UP OF THAT BULL! because they did not want to go through the hassle of having people come out the woodwork claiming it was their creation and having to pay whoever etc.

And bare in mind that shot was the very next day of tapings after they were told not to do that...and clearly they did not take that seriously because the first shot WAS A CLOSE UP OF THE BULL lol

So yea little funny insider story there.

[Mozenrath]

I always forget this title belt design. It's neat and all close-up, but it looks really flat to me for some reason, and I'm never super fond of designs that lack color contrasts, since it'll kind of blend together to me. Still, it's a solid one.

[Susan "Poison" Candy]

I would pay to see Gecko watch and review wrestling stuff

[Gecko]

Episode 11 – Last Luchador Standing

Before we get into this episode, I want to add something else for the last episode (yes, I’m at the point where I’m having random thoughts in the middle of the night about it).
There was one element I forgot about last time: Monster in the cage. Maybe that’s what the desk bull represents, maybe that’s what Mystery Woman is searching for. Ok, onto this episode.
------

I try not to read the descriptions of the episodes (and also not focus on the thumbnails), so I’m assuming the title refers to a last man standing match, but between who?

Recap of Ryck signing his contract, him getting eliminated from Aztec Warfare, and the useless goons.
Penta arrives in a car. Imagine if he got pulled over and had to explain his look. Recap is of him getting betrayed by Chavo.
Drago/Cuerno rivalry recap. And that’s the Last Lucha Standing match tonight.

Cortez & Cisco w/Bael vs Pimpinela Escarlata & Mascarita Sagrada

Cisco demands to be introduced as Mr Cisco. Hey, you can get called Mr when you start doing something impressive. I have a feeling this will be an embarrassing outing for the Goons, possibly leading to Ryck dropping them.

Despite starting off with a double team, The Goons still are getting outdone by Pimpi. Big Ryck wanders down to have a look at things.
Vamp wants Striker to prove that he has no discriminations by kissing Pimpi? I don't think that's how that works, Vamp.
When things are going the Goons way, they can actually do decent stuff, triple team on Pimpi with a sneaky Bael run in. The Goons must have been in training, they’re actually doing pretty well in this match. Keeping Pimpi in their corner, double (and triple) teams with ref distractions. Classic heel tactics.
Pimpi makes himself an opportunity for the tag with some… unique offence



Sagrada in and things speed up with his usual fare of spinny moves, a top rope hurricanrana and then a DDT. The Goons even help him out a bit by being their usual selves.



Big (well, medium) boot takes down Sagrada. Sagrada ducks the double clothesline and dives outside onto Bael who must have been feeling a little lonely. The other Goons soon join him though as they can’t compete with Pimpi in the ring. Pimpi to the top and… ‘jumps’ is being kind, let’s say falls onto everybody. Still better than Tamina's splash though.
Blind tag by the goons lets them hit the Shatter Machine and with Bael holding Pimpi’s legs, that’s enough to get the Goons a win! well done Mr Cisco and Cortez.

That was a fun little match.
--------------

Ryck gets up from his place on the steps and makes his way to the ring.
Oh God, the crowd have started with the ‘What’ chants.
Ryck says he’s there to let everybody know, and he makes sure that the Goons know this includes them, that he’s coming after the gold and nobody should stand in his way.
And the Goons attack Ryck! That’s not how it’s supposed to go! They just pummel him for a bit, followed by a kendo stick shot and then, as the other two hold him down, Mr Cisco sticks the lit cigar in Ryck’s eye. Then the Goons go into Dario’s office. Hmm, this is starting to feel a bit pre-planned.
There we go, Dario paying off the Goons, they’re now working for him instead of Ryck.

Vamp interview with Cage.
Cage responds to Vamp’s observation that he’s not liked in the locker room by saying that he doesn’t care, he’s not here to make friends. He took out Puma because he’s not going to wait in line, he’s not going to wait for his turn when he’s better than everyone. Well he’s not lacking in confidence.

Super Fly vs Pentagon Jr

They exchange dodges and superkicks to start us off. Penta doesn’t chase Super Fly when he runs, which means SF does a backflip for no reason and gets caught with the backstabber. Cero Miedo chant.
A kick to the back of the leg by Penta gets an overexaggerated, almost comedy bump from SF.



The glove comes off and we get an extra loud chop. SF escapes to the outside but gets another chop. Fireman’s carry into a slam, basically an AA. Penta has a go at the ref to get him to stop the count.
Back in the ring and Penta hits another superkick. He’s just taking his time here.
Double clothesline and both men are down and we see a shot of a random crew member.



Wait a minute…. she's definitely getting a closer look there. And now as I do all the formatting stuff and that pic is on my screen for a little bit I notice more details. With the hands in the foreground, it almost looks as if she's trying to see something specific like a marking on a body part.

Repeat of the kick, comedy bump spot from earlier. Vamp comes up with an analogy comparing SF’s situation to coming back from behind in overtime in that popular Mexican sport of Ice Hockey. SF does the spot where they do a 619 as their opponent is chasing them so that Penta falls out the ring.
Back in the ring, Penta catches SF mid-moonsault with a dropkick



Only gets a two count though as Striker exclaims, “Lefty ref!”. Even here, us sinister ones can’t get away from people pointing it out.
SF almost catches Penta out with a rollup.
Penta’s had enough of this and despite SF’s attempt to block it, he hits the package piledriver and makes the cover for the victory.
Looking at my records, that is Penta’s first LU win.
------------

[Gecko]

Penta gets a mic and says that he thought that Chavo was a legend and could help him, but is just a fraud. Penta does know that there is one person willing to join forces with him, but we don’t find out anymore than that.

Sexy Star vs El Mariachi Loco

The opening exchange involves armdrags and waist locks and hip gyrations. Mariachi ends up outside and wants a break. He gets back in the ring and gets booted in the head, maybe he should have taken a longer break.
Mariachi eventually ends up back outside and Star dives from the top onto him then follows up with a bunch of kicks.
Mariachi cannot get any momentum going in this match, he gets the odd move in but can’t build on it.
Mariachi misses a senton and Star rolls him up with a small package to get the three.
A short match. Nothing bad, but nothing memorable either.
------------

Last Luchador Standing: King Cuerno vs Drago

Wonder how they’re gonna handle this one, LMS matches are one of those matches that can easily be boring because early on you know that the match isn’t ending but you still have to repeatedly wait for somebody to slowly get back on their feet.

Cuerno tries a dropkick off the bell but misses and gets caught by a Drago enziguri instead. The dragon man steals a trick from the hunter and runs the ropes a few times to build momentum before a dropkick into the face of the kneeling Cuerno.
A Drago dive connects and we have our first count. 7/8.
Drago hooks Cuerno’s feet on the top rope and drops him with a DDT. Only a six this time as Cuerno does the smart thing and rolls out the ring to regain his feet. Drago follows him and tries to hit the hurricanrana but Cuerno catches him and counters with a running powerbomb.



Cuerno’s first offence of the match gets him a… we don’t find out as he goes back on the attack before Drago makes it all the way up.
Couple of German suplexes by Cuerno before he turns Drago and hits a brainbuster. Again, Cuerno interrupts the count.
Drago hits a series of kicks, Cuerno pulls the ref down and Drago uses him as a step, like we’ve seen before.
Cuerno on the apron and Drago tries a hurricanrana but he gets caught up in the top rope a bit and they both end up on the floor outside. Drago makes it back to his feet (and into the ring) first but Cuerno’s kick connects with the back of his head to put him down again.
A dropkick sends Drago outside the ring and he stumbles away from the ring a bit… and then a bit more… and then a bit more. I think I know what’s coming.



Yep, and he was on target. While he’s waiting for the ref to count, Cuerno grabs a table and sets it up. Face to ringpost four times for Drago.
Cuerno is too calm and sedate while setting up his next move. He gets Drago on the table fine, but he doesn’t stay there long enough for Cuerno to get in position.
Both fighting on the ring apron now. Drago wants to hit the Spanish Fly but Cuerno grabs hold of the ropes.



What are the Riddler and the Devil doing in the Temple?

Cuerno reverses and sets Drago up for the Thrill of the Hunt



Cuerno makes it to his feet early in the count, Drago starts moving at 7 and gets attacked by a frustrated Cuerno. A bunch of hard kicks, a standing dropkick, another dropkick with Drago sitting in the corner, Cuerno signals the end and grabs a rope. He ties Drago into the bottom corner, including putting the rope across his mouth and throat, then holds the ends until the ref counts to 10!
After, Cuerno places the deer head on Drago.

I did enjoy that match, but I would have preferred a standard ending of somebody just being beaten so badly they can’t get up rather than a slightly gimmicky one.

--------------------------

Post Episode thoughts/questions

- That episode did feel like the end of a transitional period where they were finishing current stuff off and starting up some new things.
- Guess Ryck is gone for a while. He needs to have an eye patch when he comes back. The Goons have been upgraded to Hired Goons.
- From how they were talking, it may be that Drago has a bit of a break too. Interested to see who Cuerno picks for his next prey.
- It feels like Penta is about to start making a mark, I don’t see the Chavo thing lasting too long.
- Mystery Woman has become a master of disguise. I guess it makes it easier to nose around without the fancy outfits.
- I like the sitdown interviews with Vampiro. It fills a gap that there is with the lack of traditional backstage interviews, which they definitely should not start doing.
- I feel that The Riddler / Devil joke comment is going to come back to haunt me at some point.
- It seems like I've seen so much more than 11 episodes (in a good way).

[Deleted]

LOL the riddler and the devil....not too far off actually.

But those two guys I believe at the time were the stars of El Reys From Dusk Till Dawn series and supposedly from what I heard was suppose to lead to a full blown crossover basically confirming LU exsists in the from dusk till dawn world.

I mark for the lefty borden mention because of all the stories I heard about him and how he loved to brag about all the degrees he has earned while refing in LU lol.

I am such a fan of the mexican sport of ice hockey truly a cold blooded sport.

[saneiac]

You make fun of Mr. Cisco a lot, but he was one of my favorite guys for the first 2 seasons. Lucha Underground features a lot of crazy offensive moves, and a whole lot of the time, Mr. Cisco is the one getting hit by them. If they needed someone to get huricanrana'd from the top rope to the floor, or get chokeslammed headfirst through a bunch of chairs, or fall off a ladder and go through a window, they called upon Mr. Cisco. He's a bump-taking machine, and the show would be much less exciting without him.

[Rave]

May 5, 2021 23:56:55 GMT -5 saneiac said:

You make fun of Mr. Cisco a lot, but he was one of my favorite guys for the first 2 seasons. Lucha Underground features a lot of crazy offensive moves, and a whole lot of the time, Mr. Cisco is the one getting hit by them. If they needed someone to get huricanrana'd from the top rope to the floor, or get chokeslammed headfirst through a bunch of chairs, or fall off a ladder and go through a window, they called upon Mr. Cisco. He's a bump-taking machine, and the show would be much less exciting without him.

Cisco developed something of a following in the Temple for that very reason. The live crowd loved him.

[Gecko]

May 5, 2021 23:56:55 GMT -5 saneiac said:

You make fun of Mr. Cisco a lot, but he was one of my favorite guys for the first 2 seasons. Lucha Underground features a lot of crazy offensive moves, and a whole lot of the time, Mr. Cisco is the one getting hit by them. If they needed someone to get huricanrana'd from the top rope to the floor, or get chokeslammed headfirst through a bunch of chairs, or fall off a ladder and go through a window, they called upon Mr. Cisco. He's a bump-taking machine, and the show would be much less exciting without him.

I do make fun of him, but it is very definitely a booking based mockery rather than skill (or lack of) focused.
Those that will take the big bumps or are even just mostly making others look good are an important part of any promotion.

[Gecko]

Screw you, Universe, I'm enjoying this and you're not going to stop me watching it. AKA, more life stuff = a delay getting to this episode.

Episode 12 – They Call Him Cage

Recaps of Ryck and the goon betrayal, and Puma getting attacked by Cage.



Cage working out in the Temple gym. Wow, this place has everything!
Dario arrives and says that he likes a man who takes the bull by the horns, but that Cage took the bull by the huevos.
Another bull reference. Maybe it’s setting up for the arrival of Bull Buchanan.

Dario is impressed by Cage and informs him that he’s getting his title shot tonight. Cage says that Puma’s losing his title tonight, because he’s bizarre a machine. Cage’s line didn’t come off well, I was trying to work out why and then I realised that it’s because it was too much like a wrestling promo, which is such an odd thing to say about it.

Into the Temple proper, and there’s so much to focus on in the first few seconds alone. A proper look at the band: what an eclectic group, Vamp hyping up the crowd, and a random guy in the crowd who looks angry to be there. On second look, he appears to be security, so I guess he's not supposed to be enjoying himself.




Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs Fenix

Fenix is smarter than everybody else and dodges Muertes as he tries his traditional attack at the bell technique. Fenix is hitting him with increasingly hard shots, and Muertes appears to be getting more pissed off with each one.
Punch to the face. Fenix is down. Fenix is back up and runs at Muertes but ends up upside down in the corner. Fenix is back down.
Fenix keeps trying to use his speed and agility, but the size and strength of Muertes is more than enough to counter it.
Stiker called Muertes’ spear a ‘dagger in the heart’. I don’t know if that’s the official name, but it should be. Striker then undoes his good work by saying that it was over during the pin only to have Fenix kick out.
Muertes showing his frustration that that didn’t finish it.
Mil puts Fenix on the top turnbuckle and just chucks him all the way across the ring. Bit of a beatdown in the corner before he puts Fenix back on top and this time follows him up.
Top rope superplex, both sets of legs come up and Fenix ties Mil up and gets the sneaky win!

That was a kind of strange one in that it could have been a pointless throwaway match, but wasn’t.
A relatively short match, but enjoyable.
Muertes lost, but it was still a good showing for him.
Fenix really didn’t do much, but it built up his character (the whole never quitting thing)
Not counting Aztec Warfare, that’s the first loss for Muertes. Commentary also made a point of him not winning Aztec Warfare despite entering last. Feels like this is maybe the start of something.
-----------------

Video package letting us know about Cage. It involves him beating up a bunch of people while they hit him with stuff and him doing a voiceover telling us how great he is.

6 man tag: Argenis, Aerostar, Super Fly vs Cortez Castro, Mr. Cisco, Bael

I don’t believe we’ve had any 6 man tags yet, which does seem a little odd.

Starting off with Cortez and SF. SF uses his flippy stuff to get Cortez outside, clears the corner and hits a top rope moonsault to the outside onto the goons.
The cameras still catch me out on occasion as everybody suddenly switches corners.
Mr Cisco tags in and hangs with SF’s flippies for a while, but tags out as soon as he gets caught. Bael and Argenis in. Bael does goon stuff before hitting Argenis and tagging in Mr Cisco.
Mr Cisco’s flippy stuff doesn’t work as well this time round



Aerostar gets in the match for the first time and has to do a springboard just to get in the ring. He also had an interesting variation when running the ropes and he was going to be hopping over his opponent.



Nice Springboard headscissors. And since Striker brings it up, and I keep meaning to ask, any interesting story behind the broken arm of the ref? Probably not, but it’s worth an ask since the most mundane things can end up having strange stories.

This doesn’t seem safe:



What’s the matter SF, scared of heights? Go on, get up there as well!
That whole thing ends with a crossbody and a two count. Hardly seems worth it, especially since Mr Cisco then kicks Aerostar in the face.
I’ve just noticed that Mr Cisco and Bael are dressed the same, but Cortez is not. Is that foreshadowing or am I reading too much into things?
SF gets involved, but Mr Cisco heroically fights both him and Aerostar off (eh?) before the other goons hit Aerostar with a quick combo.
Things have calmed down a bit, and Aerostar is now the face in peril as Cortez takes his turn beating him up for a while before tagging in Bael.
Bael shows two different sides to him by first hitting a neat snap suplex and then just chewing on Aerostar’s noggin.
More tags by the goons, just taking their time and wearing Aerostar down. Aerostar eventually creates an opportunity for a tag



Argenis does fine for a while, but the goons take control with triple teams while SF stands on the apron dramatically reacting to how terrible it is instead of going to help (Aerostar gets a pass since he’s just been in).
Argenis tags in Aerostar (everybody should team up against SF to force him to do something) who hits a springboard splash while keeping his arms by his side.
Hey, SF is finally in. Headscissors sends Cortez to the outside and SF is about to… oh, nope, he got tripped and pulled out. Bael fakes a dive to mess with the fans and gets pulled out as well. It’s a case of waiting to see who these three are a landing mat for… it’s Argenis.
Mr Cisco and Aerostar are left in the ring. Not for long as we get an Aerostar hurricanrana on Mr Cisco from the top rope onto the crash mats rest of the people in the match.
'Holy Shit!' chant as we see shots of the fans, including a youngster (not Carlos Colon) not joining in the chant (and being very aware of it) and a couple of older fans sort of joining in but being embarrassed to do so.
Aerostar back in the ring just long enough to jump back out onto everybody again. I could see this one not having a proper ending. Ok, I was wrong, the goons hit the shatter machine on Aerostar and get the pin while Bael holds back Argenis and SF lies on the floor not getting involved some more.

That’s two in a row for the goons, maybe it was Ryck that was the problem. Lack of leadership/training/wages?
------------

Why does the guy behind commentary look like he’s wearing an obvious disguise? Is that the Mystery Woman?



Vampiro interview with Konnan and Prince Puma. Vamp hypes it and tells us that you could have cut a knife with the intensity. 

Vamp introduces himself to Puma and asks how he’s feeling as the first LU champ. Before Puma has a chance to answer, Konnan stops him and provides the answer himself. He says that Puma is pissed off, he proved he deserves to be champ by winning Aztec Warfare, then he beat Fenix and was jumped from behind by a wannabe.
Another couple of questions towards Puma are hijacked by Konnan which annoys Vamp. Puma drags Konnan away before the two old men get into a fight.

LU Championship: Cage vs Prince Puma(c) w/Konnan

Konnan comes to the ring with Puma and looks to be sticking around this time. Hmm, suspicious or not?
Puma takes the initiative and jumps Cage before he even gets in the ring. Early example of how this match is gong to go as Puma tries a springboard crossbody once they're back in the ring and just bounces off of Cage.
Duelling chants, which seems to be a regular thing in the Temple.
Cage has slowed it right down and is using rest holds with the occasional hard hitting move. Puma catches Cage with a rollup for a two count, but that’s about the only success he’s had in this match so far.
Cage gets Puma up in position for a powerslam, but Puma counters into a DDT and gives himself half a chance to get back in the match.
Puma tries for the Northern Lights, Cage blocks it and hits a double underhook suplex himself. This sends Puma out to the apron. Cage climbs up to the middle rope to suplex him back in, but Puma knocks him off the ropes and hits the springboard meteora for a two count.
Puma should stop trying any move where he has to lift Cage since it just doesn’t work for him.
Striker shows his lack of wildlife knowledge by thinking that you wouldn’t see a bear up a tree.
Puma counters a superplex and Cage falls from the ropes to the mat. Cage does some acting until Puma is ready to jump then catches his attempted flying nothing in a vertical suplex position and turns it into a jackhammer. Not enough for a new champ.
Cage catches Puma’s 619, hits a world’s strongest slam, rolls through into a second rope moonsault. I’d say it’s impressive a guy that size doing those sorts of moves, but it’s not that out of the ordinary these days.
Nice little sequence of Puma dropping out of the powerbomb, hitting some strikes on Cage before getting caught by a spinebuster into a powerbomb into another attempted powerbomb where Puma rolls over the top.
They both make it back to their feet, neither one is looking in top shape anymore.
A lazy cover from an F5 gets a two count and boos from the crowd. Cage misses the discus clothesline and Puma finally hits the Northern Lights suplex… and rolls through into the vertical suplex after a bit of a struggle.
Puma takes too long going up for the 630 and Cage pushes the ref into the ropes to unbalance his opponent. Blatant low blow and a DQ. Ok, I didn’t see that coming.
---------------
Match may be over, but Cage isn’t done. He continues his assault on Puma and pushes the ref out of the ring. Konnan is up on the apron and I sense a betrayal coming up… No! He gets in the ring and hits Cage with his stick. I mean, it had no effect, but at least he tried. A couple of hits would have taken Konnan out, but Cage then hits him with the belt as well.
Now he rips the belt in half! So much for that then.
Cage celebrates his achievements and leaves a beatup champ, a bloody Konnan, and a broken belt behind.



But wait, there’s more!
Dario in his office peaking out at the carnage is confronted by Mystery Woman (and there’s that damn bull again!)



Dario asks what we’re all (ok, mainly just me) wondering: Who is she and what is she doing here?
She’s looking for a man that owes her and she knows that he’s here in the Temple. Dario gives permission for her to question anybody she wants. She says that she only has one word: ‘Matanza’. Dario has no idea about it, which makes two of us, so Mystery Woman becomes Spooky Supernatural Mystery Woman and does a disappearing act. Ok, I’m intrigued.
Is Dario being honest (he says he’s an honest man) or does he know something? Is it somebody we’ve not seen yet, or somebody undercover, or a vessel for an Aztec god? Is it to do with the monster in the cage? So many possiblities. Is the bull Matanza?

Post episode thoughts/questions

- Vamp was very animated this episode.
- People not being on the show every episode doesn’t hurt them, and it keeps things feeling fresh with different people being a focus.
- Red Bull? Bull Dempsey? Bull Buchanan? Mantaur? The Minotaur? (This would be my guess if we had a Greek motif and not an Aztec one). I don’t know but there definitely feels like there’s something to the bull stuff.
- Told you the belt was cursed. Maybe not in the way I was thinking though.
- I really thought we were getting a Heyman turning on Lesnar to join Big Show moment there with Konnan.
- Good to see Mystery Woman story make the jump to the next stage.

[Deleted]

I am thoroughly enjoying how this bull is haunting your senses right now lol

Also something you took notice of very keen eye not gonna say what it was but very keen eye.

But on that same line somethings you are mentioning again not gonna say what they are...but are you reading ahead in the script? lol

But not much else to say about this episode other than it lays the solid ground work for very big things to come much sooner than later.

[Gecko]

Episode 13 – Johnny Mundo vs the Machine

Time to see how many throwaway comments that I make turn out to be actually significant this time.

Before we get started with this one: if I suddenly disappear, it’s because the bull that is haunting me has murdered me. I clicked on the spoiler in the (w)rest pics & gifs thread and there it was. waiting for me.

Standard recap. Mundo’s journey so far, Mystery Woman (ooh, interesting. indicates we're getting more on that), Puma and Cage (I liked the music during this part).

We get some suspiciously upbeat tunes for the credits. Oh, it’s Mariachi El Bronx.



Son of Havoc w/Ivelisse vs Angelico

First time we’ve seen of Havoc since AW, Angelico hasn’t put in an appearance since his debut in episode 10.
Ivelisse grabs a mic, says that she’s so tired of reading on social media how Havoc sucks. If anybody has a problem with him, they’ve got a problem with her too.
“Doors are open for anybody that wants a shot at the title” - Which half, Vamp?
Bit of hand holding to start us off, but once they’ve finished trading armbars and the like, it speeds up a bit and finishes with a Angelico dropkick.
Angelico with the kicks and a jumping knee, what d’ya think of that Ivelisse?



Whoops, should probably have saved that reaction for the follow up knee in the corner since that one looked much worse:



Ivelisse grabs Angelico’s foot and he tries to let her have a closer look at it. The distraction is enough time for Havoc to recover enough to counter the headscissors into a face first slam.
More duelling chants. I’d be cheering for Havoc.
While Vamp is thanking everybody for all the tweets that they send him (this makes it sound like he’s not going to be around much longer), Havoc does a trip, standing moonsault combo for a two count.
Havoc sends Angelico to the ropes and ducks his head and hits a back body drop. Oh no, wait, he bends over too early which means Angelico can just roll over the top of him. Angelico tries to sweep the leg, Havoc jumps it even though he didn’t really need to since they were too far apart, but Angelico does connect with the kick to the head.
Pop up Inverted Atomic drop! By Havoc.
Havoc has a friendly chat with the ref while Ivelisse checks that Angelico is ok.



A sunset flip doesn’t work for Havoc and he ends up on the wrong end of a big double stomp. Angelico drops down as Havoc runs at him and he goes through the ropes and out. A big somersault from in the ring to outside by Angelico, who lands on his feet.
Nice backbreaker by Havoc, but it only gets a two despite him putting lots into the pin.
Havoc gets caught on the turnbuckles, but manages to block and counter the superplex attempt. He goes for the shooting star press, but lands on his feet as Angelico rolls out the way.
Angelico going for a Razor’s Edge type thing, Angelico counters into a hurricanrana and Angelico rolls outside. Havoc fakes a dive and then celebrates with Ivelisse as Angelico sneaks back in the ring.
Ok, lets see if I can get this right:
Havoc dodges and Angelico almost hits Ivelisse, Angelico dodges and Havoc almost hits Ivelisse, Havoc grabs a waistlock and pushes Angelico to the ropes, Angelico goes for the kiss (On Ivelisse, not Havoc) as she leans back, the ref is also in there and so doesn’t see Ivelisse slap Angelico, Havoc gets the rollup but is pushed off and shoulders Ivelisse off of the apron, Angelico rolls up Havoc for the win.

That was a fun one. It’s clear that Havoc is becoming/has become one of the crowd’s favourite. Mine as well.

--------------

Angelico celebrates by sitting on some people in the crowd.



Ivelisse storms off without Havoc, who gets a “You f***ed up!” chant. Aw, poor Havoc.

Dario in his office with…? He welcomes them back and says that they’ve been gone since AW and are probably ready for some action. He knows that they had issues in the past, but they’ve both had time to cool off and he hopes they can be friends.
It’s Mundo. He says that he is ready for some action. Dario sets the main event of him vs Cage, Mundo says that he better get a new belt.

Famous B vs Pentagon Jr

What does the ‘B’ stand for?

Vignette on Penta and how he says that he’s taking the martial arts training and combining it with Lucha Libre, how he uses the dark parts of the human imagination and spirit which allows him to fight without fear or limitations.

Now we get a vignette about Famous B where we learn… nah, kidding.

The bell rings and Famous Blacksmith? misses a dropkick. Before he can get back to his feet, Penta boots him in the head.
Penta puts Famous Batman? in the corner, signals the crowd to quieten down (which they do) and takes a run up for the chop. Then he  celebrates how great he is.



Commentary speculates on the changes in Pentagon, and the betrayal of Chavo being the possible cause of them.
Famous Badger? gets some offence in as he reverses Penta into the corner and follows up with a monkey fli… nevermind. Penta sits him on the turnbuckle. Oh no, ignore that previous 'nevermind' as after some running about, Famous Banana? manages to successfully perform an arm drag.

A poor decision to celebrate as he turns into a nasty Penta superkick. A package piledriver comes next:



Penta doesn’t go for the pin, but chooses to end it with a submission. He keeps a hold after the match, pushes the ref away and then snaps the arm back



Of course, it’s FAN, the B must stand for Bitch.

------------------

Penta grabs a mic and says that he pledges loyalty to his master and that he is ready. Interesting. He did say a couple of episodes ago that there was somebody who would join forces with him.
If I had to guess, putting the clues together:
- the vignette about his training
- the master comment
- the being ready comment
- the arm thing
I would say that he is having to prove himself worthy to whoever this master is before they will join him.

Coming up next is a first meeting between Drago (Ok, he didn’t take too long off) and Aerostar. They also have a nice graphic for it which they obviously stole from me



Dario talking to the Monster in the cage. Where is this anyway, does the Temple have a dungeon?
Dario tells him/her/it that the news of what’s happening in the Temple is spreading and it’s such a shame that they can’t share it. He says that ‘she’ came looking for them. She (it’s probably safe to guess ‘she’ is Mystery Woman) calls herself ‘The Black Lotus’  (did I miss that last time?) and she was a little girl back then, but he should see her now.
He could have let her have the key and come for her revenge, but he has to protect the Temple from Matanza. Ominous shadow and growling from the thing in the cage as Dario leaves.

This is getting good / complicated.
- Mystery Woman = The Black Lotus.
- She wants revenge against the thing in the cage
- Thing in the cage (and possibly Dario?) knew her when she was a child. Something obviously happened back then.
- Matanza. The way Dario was talking, it doesn’t sound like the thing in the cage is named Matanza, but I do like my throwaway theory from last episode of Matanza being an Aztec god (or demon?) and needs a person as a vessel (think of the angels in Supernatural). To expand, it could be that the thing in the cage used to be the host for Matanza, but was forcibly separated and placed in the cage where he couldn’t be repossessed.
- Thing in the cage does seem kind of mindless.
- Maybe the Temple itself is important.
- Is the key just extra fancy to show up on screen well or is there more to that.

Back to the wres…. What about the effing bull?

Drago vs Aerostar

This should be a fun one, but I don’t see it going too long, especially since Aerostar has to get back to filming Power Rangers.



We’re only about halfway through the show, this episode is just crammed full of stuff.

I like how Aerostar is in his away kit so that its easy to identify who is who, but it’ll take a little bit to get used to him not being in blue.
Lots of quick stuff to start us off, nothing too hard hitting though, pretty much what you’d imagine it would be like.
Drago down near the corner, Aero on the apron. Aero springboards off the middle rope, over the top and into a stomp on Drago while remaining vertical.
Bit more running around, Drago hits a flying codebreaker from the middle turnbuckle.
Aero hits a 619 but above the ropes instead of between them

Not spectacular and spinny, but still very impressive.
That is a place that I feel could have done with an edit so that Aerostar goes straight to running without the delay when he gets back in the ring.
A couple of minutes later, Aerostar somehow doesn’t jump enough on the leapfrog and gets a spikey Drago head in his dangly bits.
Drago picks up the win with a vicious running blockbuster.
This one kind of felt like it had more to give, but they didn’t get going full pelt.

--------

A show of respect after the match as Drago helps Aerostar to his feet and shakes his hand, Aero raises Drago’s arm.

Fenix is beating up a punching bag somewhere in the Temple, he is approached by Catrina. She asks if his tattoo protects him from nightmares and what could possibly scare him. She has a message, but it’s NOT from Mil Muertes, it’s from her. She kisses him, then tells him to keep it between them because if he found out, he would bury both of them alive. I like the phrasing on that and how it plays back to the Muertes origin story. I bet it wasn't an accident either.

…I’m not sure I buy it. Fenix gave Muertes his first loss last week, so this could just be a revenge scheme.

Johnny Mundo vs Cage

Pick up your Cage action figure, it comes with ‘destroyed belt’ accessory:



Wonder when he got that since Puma had it at the end of the last episode.
Cage shows off his power at the beginning and Mundo’s agility can’t keep him out of trouble as Cage turns a hip toss into a backbreaker.
Big back body drop. Maybe a little too big as Mundo does a complete rotation and lands on his feet. He follows up by stealing Kofi’s Trouble in Paradise kick to take the advantage.
Another spinny kick sends Cage to the outside. Mundo jumps over the ropes but sees that Cage is moving and so lands in the apron, Cage pulls him off and he’s gonna powerbomb him… into the ring post!

Vampiro: “You know how dangerous that is? You know if you fall and hit your head on those metal steps, you could die?!”
Vamp makes it sound like one of those myths/rumours you heard in school where you were pretty sure it was bullshit, but you weren’t going to test it.



Ooh, Spider-Cuerno on the hunt. Is his next prey Mundo, Machine, or zebra?

Back to the match, and Cage is working on the lower back of Mundo while Striker makes odd comments about Tony Atlas liking feet. (try and work that one out without any more context)
Big slam by Cage who perches on the middle turnbuckle. Jump up to the top while spinning 180 and immediately into a moonsault. Nice. It would have been even nicer if Mundo hadn’t rolled out the way. Hard shots by Mundo while he dodges ones coming the other way puts the big man down, and a knee to the face keeps him there for a two count.
Cage eventually regains control and gets a two count with the sitout Alabama slam. Counters and more counters. Cage rolls out the ring to avoid the End of the World, Mundo does a corkscrew dive over the corner as Vamp tries to start a “That was Awesome” chant.

Cuerno is trying to sneak his way down the stairs, the big spotlight on him probably isn’t helping. He makes it to the ring and takes out Mundo’s leg just as he’s getting back in the ring. That’s a DQ win for Mundo, but he doesn’t get to celebrate as Cuerno continues attacking.

-------

This is a nasty assault as Cuerno smacks Mundo face first into the ringpost, then goes after his leg as well. Firstly by smashing it into the ringpost and then hitting the knee with a chair.
Cage is back up and leaves with a ‘meh’ kind of attitude.

Ooh, here’s Dario.
He tells Mundo that since they’re friends now, he’s not going to let his matches end like that and we’re going to restart the match right now!

Johnny Mundo vs Cage (Part 2)

Cage makes his way back down the stairs and he’s looking pretty pleased with things. Mundo is on his feet in the ring but is basically on one leg. I don’t think this part of the match will last too long. Yep, Cage goes for the leg and Mundo can’t keep him away.
They both end up on the apron and Mundo was doing pretty well with the ropes to hold onto. Then Cage dropped off the apron and Mundo kicked the ringpost.
Stretch muffler by Cage! Mundo makes it to the ropes, he catches a smiling Cage with a sneaky kick In the head and hits him with Moonlight Drive, but only gets a two. Mundo tries to go for the End of the World, but Cage grabs the leg, lifts him up and the F5 that he does almost puts Mundo into the mat head first. Still only gets a two though.
Cage is pissed and quickly ends it with a discus clothesline and Gory special into a hard slam.

-------------

Dario in his office on the phone. He says that all he knows is that she found the place and she’s pretty pissed off, and ‘they’ told her something about this.
He’s interrupted by a knock at the door. He tells whoever it is that the show is over, and they reply that it’s just getting started.
Hey, it’s Bertie.



but you already knew that *wink*

Post episode thoughts/questions

- Now that it’s happened, I think I was vaguely aware of Penta becoming known for the arm snapping thing in LU. I guess this is the start of it, and I did say the other episode that it felt like he was about to do stuff.
- I gave my thoughts on the Mystery Woman Black Lotus / Matanza (I keep wanting to say Mendoza) stuff already. It has sucked me right in and I can’t wait to find out more.
- Late addition: The phone call, which I’m assuming is related. My initial thoughts of the ‘they’ that was mentioned: It’s a cult, or a secret order, something like that instead of an individual. Also, who was Dario talking to on the phone. (I can't believe I almost forgot about that part of the mystery)
- I can see now what Fenderbaum was saying about how we’re done with the preliminary stuff and are about to get into the real thing. It feels like just the start of the crazy.
- Cuerno vs Mundo eh? Should get some fun stuff out of that. I want Cuerno to start laying traps for people.
- Wonder when Puma will turn up again. I mean, he is still the champ.
- Bertie being there is another thing that I think I was vaguely aware of. I don’t know any details but I also have something telling me that his LU stay didn’t have a happy kayfabe ending.
- That episode felt so much longer than 45 minutes (in a good way), there was just so much stuff packed into it.
- I hope Dario keeps messing with people while using friendship to justify it.
- I don't know if Vamp has improved on commentary, or if I've just got used to him and his weird random things that he brings up.

This is more of a general observation than episode specific.
Apart from Blue Demon, there's not really anybody who gets a definite negative reaction from me when they show up. Even Famous B, you know what his role is and that the match isn't going to be too long. If there's anybody else who I would say that I wouldn't miss if they didn't show up again, it would be Chavo, and even that is more of an over familiarity thing than anything else.

One more thing re: the third gif, which is actually a video. That working good for everybody? It should load quicker than a gif and I'll probably use them for any bigger gifs in future unless there's an issue with them.

[Deleted]

Something tells me you are really gonna despise the letter "B" as this rabbit hole goes deeper lol.

This isn't a spoiler but I will tell you this about Angelico , Havoc and Ive is that their story here begins atleast initially a very not welcomed tone that the live audience (since that was what they could gauge what people liked and did not like being a taped show an all) did not like and there will be a hard tone change but you wont see it yet because all those episodes with the uncomfortable tone were taped in the same weekend. so that is a bit of outside the kayfabe info there on a strong (for the better) shift in both story and tone for all of them.

Ah yes THE ANGLE that turns Pentagon into the star he is starts right here and it is an amazing ride to watch his growth from a nobody in AAA to what he will become ..oh and more little nuggets of info the man responsible for giving Penta his famous arm break is the man that is responsible for both the visual style of LU and all the amazing vingettes and I personally love that bit of info because it shows that a creative idea in LU does not just come from the creative or even the wrestlers themselves.

The Cuerno and Mundo stuff to come is really fun stuff.

So many awesome angles are piecing themselves together...like a roller coasting we have been on the slow climb but now the ride is really begins.

And ah yes Bertie...oh I will get to him in due time but for now enjoy a run where he feels truly reinvigirated and tonealy different from his WWE run at the time it was said at the time and even rings true now...him here and anywhere else was like 2 entirely different people.

And legit got a laugh out of me that power ranger line on Aerostar lol.

[anglarite]

Since you mentioned the previous episode the ref having his arm in a cast, I was wondering whether Penta was using him as a test subject.
Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havok is still one of my favorite LU storyarcs. Catrina and Fenix might also lead to some very good stuff.
The video worked fine for me.

[Gecko]

Episode 14 – A Shot of El Patron

Bit of info here before we get started. During the WWE Wrestlemania Backlash: The FAN thread, there was a bit of LU discussion (because zombies) and while I did manage to avoid most of it, There was a part that my eyes betrayed me by reading and my brain stabbed me in the back by focusing on and remembering despite my best efforts.
Those words were:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}‘Literal god’
I don’t know any more than those words, but it has a kind of Matanza feel to it, right? I don’t need to know if I’m right on this or even if it’s referring to something that happens further down the line, just thought It seemed right to mention this whole thing.

On to the show.

Recap one is of Dario gaining the Goons and their turn on Ryck.
Going way back for the next flashback (episode 3): Catrina (and Mil Muertes) and Chavo after Chavo’s attack on Blue Demon. She tells him that he took something that doesn’t belong to him and he (Mil) never forgets. I’m pretty sure that’s not exactly how the conversation went at the time.
Recap the third: Fenix beating Mil and Catrina’s later smoochies with him.
The Final Recap: Mundo and Dario and Cuerno and Bertie from last episode.
That was a big recap.

Starting off in Dario’s office where he’s meeti AAAH! The BULL!.... where he’s meeting with Bertie. Dario thanks Bertie for coming to the Temple and tells him that he’s always admired him.



Bertie says that he likes Dario’s key and asks what it unlocks. Damnit, Bertie, could you not leave it more than 30 seconds before jumping headfirst into things? But while you’re there, ask about the bull.
Dario ignores the question. Alberto wants a favour before he gets involved in things, but we don’t get to hear what it is as we move into the main arena.

Commentary tells us that Alberto will have an open mic tonight where he reads his poetry

Argenis vs Fenix

Striker gives a bit of info on Argenis and his family ties. A bright pink Fenix shows off a bit by running along the top rope.

Tie up to start off, the crowd immediately breaks into a “Lets Go Fenix!” chant. Looked like a bit of miscommunication which ends with a Fenix knee strike with both almost falling over instead of whatever they were planning.

I swear I have to say somebody kicks somebody up the arse in every episode.

Argenis follows up with a hurricanrana that sends Fenix to the outside and chases it with a tope con hilo. Poor Argenis, he doesn’t get a personalised chant, just a generic “Lucha!” one. Well, maybe he’ll get one when he learns to not stop and gloat on the turnbuckles. Fenix takes his chance with a springboard dropkick to send Argenis outside. Fenix’s dive is considerably fancier.

Commentary has been talking about AAA and it’s history. (this makes even more sense after watching the whole episode)
Back in the ring and Argenis catches Fenix coming off the springboard with a sloppy kick. That’s the second noticeable error in the match, and I’d have to put the blame on Argenis.

A nice flapjack variation where Argenis does a pop up / flapjack type thing then grabs the legs of Fenix and lets him fall face first into the mat.Fenix does his bouncing on the ropes while holding onto his opponent spot, it wasn’t that smooth at the end, and again I’d have to say it’s because of Argenis. Maybe he’s just having an off night.

Catrina makes an appearance (psst! Catrina! This isn’t gonna keep things very secret!) Fenix is distracted and who can blame him?



Top rope hurricanrana by Argenis and then a standing moonsault but it only gets a two count!
A bit more back and forth with Catrina looking on from the corner. Argenis sets up for a tombstone but Fenix does what he knows best and flips it over so that he can hit a driver of his own and get the victory!

Bit sloppy at times, but the match wasn’t the real focus of things.

--------------------

Catrina crawls in the ring and gives Argenis the lick of death as Fenix looks on. He is looking a little confused as he leaves.

Footage of Alberto arriving in a car that’s probably worth a little more than mine. Should I be paying attention to the graffiti on these establishing shots?

Backstage with Catrina and Mil. She tells him that the power of 1,000 lives is valuable and the power was too much for him. You need to… He silences her and then grabs her by the throat. He lifts her off the floor as he tells her that he needs nothing.



That’s a great shot. It makes Muertes look huge (and we know Catrina is in heels), and just the whole thing prison vibe that it's got going on.
I think I’ve caught the Fenix/Muertes connection: 1000 deaths/lives, and the man who can’t die/is reborn.

Cut to Muertes walking alone backstage when Chavo appears from one of the rooms. Chavo turns to leave, but then tries to attack Muertes. It doesn’t go well for him, and Muertes tells him that next week he will pay his debt.

Well, this is an interesting choice of shot and not at all symbolic:



We’re going to a confessional. And the person on the other side asks for forgiveness for they are about to sin. He’s going to destroy 3 Judases. Ah, it’s Ryck. Cue promo on who he’s targeting. And he has an eye patch! I thought he might have been gone a little longer.

Mariachi El Bronx are too upbeat… I don’t trust them.

Son of Havoc w/Ivelisse vs Johnny Mundo

Havoc on the mic, this might actually be the first we’ve heard from him since it’s usually Ivelisse doing the talking. He says that Dario Cueto has finally given him some real competition and he’s dedicating the victory to Ivelisse. Oh dear.

Mundo still selling the knee from Cuerno’s attack last week and commentary mention that he was with the trainers all day and he’s not taking time off since he knows that somebody would take his spot. Tie up, headlock, off the ropes, shoulder block, nothing fancy to begin the match apart from a Mundo Parkour sweep of the legs and a spinny senton thing.

Mundo misses a kick, Havoc rolls him up in a schoolboy for two. Handspring elbow by Havoc connects, but Mundo avoids the follow up crossbody attempt. Havoc runs around the ring to prevent Mundo jumping on him, but Mundo does some gymnastics in the ring and catches him on the other side.

That was just a fun little sequence all round. As much as I like Havoc’s flashier stuff, I also appreciate the subtler things like his reaction to seeing Mundo about to jump on him.

Ivelisse screaming at the crowd for appreciating that. She gets involved and pulls Havoc down when Mundo puts him over his shoulder, which lets Havoc push Mundo into the ringpost. Flying nothing by Havoc gets countered with a dropkick. Ivelisse earning her keep by grabbing Mundo as he goes for a springboard causing him to fall. Corner forearm, snapmare, senton combo by Havoc gets him another two count.



Parkour! to escape the submission hold. Vamp takes a break from perving over Ivelisse to inform us that he tried that kick one time and knocked himself out.

Mundo doesn’t like Havoc showing off his agility and forgets the wrestling thing and just starts throwing punches. Mundo catches Havoc with a clothesline that spins him around 450,000 degrees (according to Vampiro). Mundo misses End of The World and Havoc hits a springboard double stomp to the back into a standing moonsault. Still not enough for the three!

They’re almost taking turns showing off now. We end up on the turnbuckles, Mundo goes for a hurricanrana, but Havoc holds on to the ropes, then wastes time being distracted by Ivelisse. Mundo catches him with the knees as he tries for the shooting star press, then hits End of the World and makes the cover for the win.

That was a great match and possibly a breakout performance by Havoc. It was one of those where you knew going in that he wasn’t going to win, but as the match went on, the “what if…” thought kept getting louder and more persistent.

------------

Ooh, I thought we would be focusing on the Havoc/Ivelisse story, but here comes the Hunter! Cuerno takes a wounded prey down with dropkicks, but Mundo isn’t totally defenceless yet and fights back. It’s to no avail as Cuerno takes him down with another dropkick before planting him with the Thrill of the Hunt and slowly departing.

Ricky Mandel vs Pentagon Jr

Poor Ricky, not only does he have to face Penta, he also gets mistaken by Vamp for Rick Martel. Commentary also ponder on whether Penta’s mysterious master is a Sith Lord.

Early on Mandel ends up on the wrong end of a hammerlock, he tries to counter and ends ups in a worse position when Penta just drops him back first onto his knee. Hey, a back body drop that is successfully executed! Penta follows it up with a solid kick to the back. As Penta leans his victim against the ropes so he can receive a chop, a cry of “Don’t do it!” is heard from the crowd. Penta doesn’t listen.

Ricky fights back for a few seconds, until Penta trips him up and jumps on his chest feet first. Ricky gets some more offence in with the headscissors and dropkick. He goes for a blind crossbody from the top, but Penta saw it coming from a mile away (since it was kind of botched) and caught him with a dropkick in midair.

Penta goes for the cover, and pulls Ricky up at two. Booo! Slingblade by Penta and then he starts to focus on the arm. Quick submission from Ricky once he was tied up in the hold. A repeat of last time as Penta shoves the ref away and yanks back on the arm.

Penta did seem more aggressive than he has been and commentary was really playing up his change in attitude.

-------------

As Ricky is getting treated, Penta grabs a mic and announces that he has given another sacrifice to his master. Ah, so is it like a collect a certain number of broken arms and then you can send off for a free master type deal?

Matt Striker is all of a sudden wearing a hat. Don’t know why I’m mentioning it, but it just seemed out of place and looks odd. Is it an evil hat that controls whoever wears it? or just a case of making merch visible?



We get introduced to Alberto El Patron, who is the current AAA champion, and the crowd are really into it. Let’s hear what he has to say.
He says that tonight he doesn’t have to impress anyone, because they (the crowd) are his family. He also appears to be slowly stripping as he talks. He talks about coming from a lucha family, his uncle Mil Mascaras, his father Dos Caras. He loved the name Dos Caras Jr, but there was a place he needed to go and conquer (Crowd: winding up for boos), the United States (Crowd: sort of cheers since they got caught off guard).

It was in the US that he became a household name, an idol, an icon a showstopper, a main event, the Heartbreak Kid , but then he was stabbed in the back. They disrespected him, his family, and what he represents, and that’s why he left.
He then goes on to say that he is there because he wants to be in a place where equality means something and support isn’t decided by skin colour. Somewhere where they only hold you back if you don’t get the job done, and he always gets the job done.

He is interrupted by what appears to be a non-Smoking Gunn, wrestling cowboy. It’s Texano, the man Alberto beat for the AAA title. Speaking of beating, that’s quite the beating Texano is putting on Bertie, including using a rope to whip him with.

And that’s our lot for this episode as we leave it with Texano telling a prone Alberto that the AAA title is his and he’ll be taking It back.


Post episode thoughts questions

- That was another full show, but it somehow did it more sneakily. I had to go reread stuff to remember what had happened.
- The Fenix/Catrina stuff would be a simple game of ‘is she playing him or not’, were it not for the interaction between her and Muertes. That adds another intriguing level to things.
- Some less obvious stuff with the Havoc / Ivelisse friction this time, but it was still clear things aren’t quite right between them.
- Famous B was the first victim, Ricky Mandel is number two on the arm break list. I hate to say it, but if I had to take a guess at who was going on next, it’d be Mariachi Loco.
- It's kind of hard to remember everything that's gone on with Alberto, but his comments make it obvious that this was after he left WWE due to the altercation with the crew member over racist comments. And that was his first WWE stint, yes? (I'm just trying to get the timeline right in my head)
- Even if it was a bit of a “that company up North” promo, Alberto did seem to have a lot of passion and energy, and I do remember him having a lot of goodwill at the time after leaving WWE.

[rnrk supports BLM]

May 21, 2021 18:13:42 GMT -5 Gecko said:

- It's kind of hard to remember everything that's gone on with Alberto, but his comments make it obvious that this was after he left WWE due to the altercation with the crew member over racist comments. And that was his first WWE stint, yes? (I'm just trying to get the timeline right in my head)

Yeah, this was after his first WWE departure. As stale as he'd gotten in WWE, there was still a lot of goodwill for him at the time over the circumstances behind how he left.

'Berto was able to present as this conquering Mexican hero who made it into the main events in WWE and then left on his own terms when he stood up against racism. Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to sink that reputation.

[Deleted]

10 outta 10 everytime Catrina shows up love that woman.

And now with episode 14 in the books we are creeping up (not gonna say when) though on an episode that alot of LU fans came in on including a friend of mine it was the episode I used to get him into the show so I can't wait for it.

Yes LU was his first major stateside stint once he left WWE and of course spent a bit on AAA but again in due time I will get to him for a very specific reason.

AHHH THE BULL! this is my new favourite schtick

That Big Ryck vingette is the best thing about Big Ryck in LU it is amazingly shot and an awesome precuser to amazing vingettes to come it gave him big time star presence IMO.

Mariachi El Bronx lookin bit sus lol

And Stryker with the hat nice little merch game and that is a rare version of that never sold again after S1 if I remember but the completely botched merch in this company is notorious so no surprise they never sold it....although speaking of it was great before it got stopped by the big wigs but the wrestlers would use the parking lot to sell merch to the audience before , during and after the tapings because anyone who went to S1 tapings will tell you it was a complete party atmosphere people would tail gate in parking lot before the tapings etc it was amazing and it was great for the moment because it was the wrestlers keeping all that profit and the execs at the show had no problem with it...it was the suits that sadly put a stop to that.

[Gecko]

After an unplanned delay thanks to:
1) a couple of days getting over my covid jab
2) a bit of general apathy (not lack of interest in this, I'm still enjoying it a great deal but didn't want to do a half arsed job)
3) me enjoying the "nice weather we're getting over here" & "things opening up a bit more" combo
The next episode is finally here!

Episode 15 – Eye for an Eye!

From the number of recaps, it looks like it’s going to be another busy show.

It may be my imagination, but Mariachi El Bronx seem a little more subdued this week. (See how I focus on the important stuff?)

Thank you, commentary, for going over the Chavo / Mil Muertes stuff. It’s only just clicked that before Chavo attacked Blue Demon, it was Mil’s attack that he prevented and THAT is what Chavo has stolen from Muertes: his victim.



Mil Muertes vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

No Catrina with Mil, so the crowd starts a “Where’s Catrina?” chant. This will be Mil’s size and strength against Chavo’s Guerrerro-ness according to Striker.

Chavo tries a cheap shot to start, he should have learned from last week that it doesn’t work. Muertes does simple power moves to show his superiority: throw into the corner, a shoulder block, throw Chavo out the ring.

Muertes follows Chavo outside the ring, which allows Chavo to scoot back in and hit Mil with a dropkick when he tries to follow. Chavo goes for a flying nothing off the apron, Mil catches him and runs him into the ringpost. The way Muertes looked at the crowd, I thought he was going to throw Chavo into them, but instead he goes the other way with a gorilla press to put Chavo in over the middle rope.

Mil takes too long getting back in the ring, Chavo hangs him on the top rope and then hits a plancha. Chavo tries to throw Mil back in the ring, but it’s reversed and Chavo ends up in the ring first. Muertes really isn’t getting the whole “don’t follow Chavo into the ring” thing as he gets kicked in the chest this time.

Muertes looked to be getting into the no-selling part of his repertoire, but Chavo takes out his legs with a dropkick before focusing more attacks on the left leg, including wrapping it round the ringpost. As Chavo tries to drag Mil back towards the centre of the ring, Mil grabs him by the throat, stands up and just punches him in the face.

Back outside the ring as Catrina appears carrying the rock. (You are now imagining Catrina carrying The Rock). Back in the ring again and Chavo ends up on Mil’s shoulders. Electric Chair drop and both are down.

Mil defaults back to his base power moves like running his opponent into the corner, punches, and clotheslines. We get the first cover of the match, Chavo kicks out at two. Chavo escapes the flatliner attempt, kicks Mil when he ducks his head for a back body drop, then runs at his opponent when they are against the ropes and therefore goes over the top rope.

Catrina unveils the rock, which grabs Mil’s attention and she entices him away from the side of the ring where Chavo is.



Don’t pretend you wouldn’t follow her as well. Meanwhile, Chavo grabs a trusty chair from under the ring.
SPLAT. Shot to the back with a chair causes the DQ

-------

Hey, Chavo, if a person just looks at you when you whack em with a chair: Don’t hang around.
Mil punches the chair out of Chavo’s hand, then punches the teeth out of his mouth. Flatliner onto the chair!

Mil gestures for Catrina to come in and get to licking. Catrina turns to leave and Mil grabs her by the hair and pushes her down to Chavo. She still refuses, so Mil grabs her by the throat and sets her up for the flatliner.

Here’s Fenix for the save! You knew it was going to happen, it just took a while. Springboard dropkick causes separation and Fenix bundles Catrina out of harm’s way. Catrina then kisses Fenix as Mil looks on.


Somewhere in the Temple (It’s a room with sinks, a spider, and a weird door.), Black Lotus (I’m still not used to not calling her mystery woman), demonstrates her lockpicking skills. I’m gonna go ahead and assume that this door leads to Dario’s dungeon where he keeps the monster in the cage.
She gets the door open and there are some steps. Ok, maybe not a dungeon then. She heads up the steps into the darkness…



I couldn’t get a better picture, since most of them would just look like I was posting a pic of her arse.
What was that sitcom where they had a character go upstairs and then just never appear again?

Dario in his office, and we get a close up of the key. I had to rewind the start of this and watch again since the first time round I was watching for the bull. (it’s still on the desk). Anyway, he’s talking to the Goons, who now have team shirts.



He’s saying how impressed he is with them, how they beat up Mundo and Puma on the debut episode, but his favourite memory was how they took out Ryck. They’ve earned a main event spot as a reward and he wants them to prove they deserve to be in the main event by destroying their opponents: Sexy Star, Pimpinella, and Mascarita Segrada in a no DQ match.


Ivelisse in the ring with Havoc and a mic. She says that Havoc was supposed to have his rematch against Angelico tonight, but after watching Havoc lose week after week, it’s best if she handles his battles for him. She calls out Angelico.

Ivelisse w/Son of Havoc vs Angelico

Ivelisse starts off with some strikes, Angelico is blocking them pretty easily and isn’t taking things seriously. A drop toehold by Angelico takes Ivelisse down, he then offers his hand to help her back up. He actually offers to help her up a couple of times and gets a kick for his troubles each time.

Angelico grabs a hold of Ivelisse to stop her hitting him, and gets a knee to the midsection. Irish whip countered into a… um…



…whatever you’d name that move. They both have a look over at Havoc, who is not pleased with this. Angelico gets a slap from Ivelisse.

Ivelisse aborts her kick since Angelico saw it coming and was ready to block it. Angelico takes a moment to bask in his own greatness and gets hit with the previously aborted kick.
Angelico dodges the corner attack and Ivelisse ends up on the second turnbuckle while Angelico tells her to get down. He offers his hand to help and Ivelisse takes it, but only to help her balance for the springboard hurricanrana.

Angelico losing his cool, grabs Ivelisse who puts on the puppy dog eyes to halt him. More kicks by Ivelisse, but she gets caught running off the ropes as Angelico just tosses her up in the air and lets her fall.

Havoc has had enough of playing cheerleader and jumps up on the apron and kicks Angelico while the ref is checking on Ivelisse. Angelico stumbles backwards and trips over a kneeling Ivelisse who takes advantage of the situation and bundles him up for the three count!

That’s the first LU win for Ivelisse.

--------

Angelico is amused by the result, Ivelisse does not want Havoc to raise her hand. Angelico gets a mic and says that if she ever wants to go one on one with him without her boyfriend around, it’d be his pleasure *wink*. Then he pushes Havoc off the apron. Ivelisse leaves with Havoc.


Texano falls into the category of “I know him, but can’t tell you anything about him”. Commentary (Striker) tells me he’s the youngest and longest reigning AAA champion in history.



Here’s a game idea for your non-wrestling watching friends. It’s called “Stripper or Wrestler?” You show them a bunch of pictures and they have to guess which. The twist is you only use pictures of wrestlers.

Vamp interview with Texano.
Vamp introduces him and Texano takes exception to the ex-champion bit. He says he’s a superstar in Mexico and will be the next superstar in LU. While clips of his time there play, Texano says that he dominated AAA for two years.
Vamp apologises but says that El Patron (I keep accidentally typing El Parton and now I want a lucha Dolly Parton) is the person who won the title from Texano. Texano counters that Patron stole it from him.
Texano says the only reason he is here is to destroy Alberto El Patron and take back what is his. And then he doesn’t shake Vamp’s hand.

Super Fly vs Texano

Did we need that interview in order to give Texano time to get out of his entrance gear? He’s just about finished as we go back to the ring. Vamp goes through every possible thing about Texano and says it’s the exact same as his dad.

A back and forth, no real impact moves bit to get us going, which ends with the traditional pause for applause. Super Fly goes for the dropkick and Texano has been watching Regal/Samoa Joe footage as he just steps out the way.

Texano rolls through SF’s crossbody and hits a Rough Ryder type move



Texano puts SF up in a fireman’s carry position, flips him over so that his spine lands on his knee:

You'll have to imagine the picture here since I accidentally deleted it.

Brings him back up and hits a neckbreaker. Oh, and that’s it. That finish caught me completely off guard.

Kind of hard to form an opinion of Texano off of that one. I'll have to see some more of him.
---------

Texano stands and gloats over his fallen opponent for a while, which give Alberto El Petron an opportunity to show up. Bertie runs down the steps like a gameshow contestant and Texano scarpers out the ring. Bertie follows him and the fight is on! Bertie takes control and gets them both back in the ring, stopping to grab the bullrope on his way. He gets a few shots in before security intervene.

Back in Dario’s office, he’s writing in a notebook. And yes, I did pause to read it.



Nope, I'm not getting anything out of that.

The shot pans to the door (passing the bull on the way) as Cage enters. He demands that Cueto declare him the LU Champion. This allows Dario to set up a non-title match with Puma next week, if Cage wins he’s next in line. Cage throws the destroyed belt to Dario and tells him to get him a real title belt and not that Aztec piece of crap.

Dario doesn’t get a moment’s peace as Chavo (with bag) comes in as Cage leaves. He tells Dario to call Mexico and tell them that they got what they wanted. He’s had enough and he quits. Dario wishes him the best in his future endeavours.  He examines the title and says that the gods are not going to be pleased about it.


Another mysterious door. Black Lotus breaks it open and it looks like we’re at the cage of the monster. BL tells Monster that when she was a little girl, the only thing she wanted to be when she grew up was the woman who killed him with her bare hands. (that must have been fun for her career guidance counsellor).
Took me a couple of watches, but she gets a bag put over her head. Somebody isn’t happy with her snooping. 

No DQ Trios: Bael, Mr Cisco, & Cortez Castro vs Sexy Star, Mascarita Sagrada, & Pimpinela Escarlata

You can’t complain about them doing the same stuff every week.



The Goon reaction to their opponents.

The bell rings and the goons go on the attack. They pair off and the others go outside leaving Pimpi alone with Cortez. Pimp tries a hug. Not a bear hug, just wrapping his arms and legs round his opponent. He then kisses Cortez before getting distracted by the ref.

Cortez has had enough and grabs his stick. *nudge nudge wink wink*. A bunch of kendo shots before he just starts choking Pimpi with it. He then alternates between the two types of assault.

Bael and Mr Cisco are double te… are working together to beat up Sexy Star. Mascarita is down, and Pimpi looks to have almost lost consciousness. This one might be over quick.

Unusually unanimous boos from the crowd for the goons, so good job them. Pimpi gets rolled out the ring and checked by the trainer as Mascarita comes in and gets booted in the face. He does recover and uses his speed to fight back against Mr Cisco, but gets caught with another boot after a dive outside.

Mascarita gets powerbombed onto the corner of the apron (that’s the hardest part of the ring, don’t you know?). Ow is all I can say. It’s probably worse for him since he can’t take any of the weight on his feet since they’re not on the floor. I’m guessing that’s him done for the match.



Sexy Star’s turn. It doesn’t take long for her to be in serious trouble. With her sitting in the corner, the goons take turns hitting dropkicks through the ropes (while her head happens to be in the way). She heads out the ring for a while, so Bael brings Mascarita back in.

Three on one on Mascarita starts with a Death Valley Driver by Bael. That’s one of those moves where it feels like you don’t really see them (or at least not a vanilla version) much anymore.

As they set up a curbstomp on a chair, Vamp says it’s straight out of the hooligan 101 handbook. Ok, he’s definitely done this time, and we’re down to one left



She does pretty well for herself. It looked like she was caught at one point, but it’s no DQ, so why not hit a low blow? Tornado DDT on Bael on the outside. She shouldn’t have celebrated as Cortez grabs her and brings her back in.

In between Vamp sound like he’s auditioning for a Parappa the Rapper reboot (Chop! Kick! Punch! Elbow!) and the ref repeatedly wandering in front of the camera, Cortez hits a claymore.

Mr Cisco takes over and gets himself caught on the top turnbuckle. He blocks the attempted hurricanrana, stands up for a powerbomb but gets slapped a few times which allows Star to get the hurricanrana. Two count!

The other goons show up and all three kick her when she’s down. This feels like there’s going to be somebody (Ryck?) showing up to help out soon…



Well how about that. Although I’m guessing Star being in trouble has nothing to do with him showing up. Sexy Star takes advantage of the distraction to roll up Bael for the three count!

-----------------

See, as soon as Ryck shows up, they start losing again.

We go off air with Star celebrating, and Ryck in the ring staring at the goons who are gathered outside

Post Episode thoughts / questions

-    Still don’t buy the Catrina betrayal and one reason is a line that Striker said. He asked if she would be the one to quench the flames of the phoenix. That suggests to me that she’s on a mission to get close to him and steal his ‘power’.
-     Chavo gets off pretty easy with these revenge beatings. Might explain why he keeps doing stuff to earn them. I guess we (aka I) will have to wait and see if Penta does any more damage when he gets his revenge. Late addition: Assuming he comes back, of course.
-     The bull is taunting me by not doing anything.
-     The Havoc/Ivelisse/Angelico thing. I think Angelico is supposed to be the face here, but it feels like one of those situations where the heel is more likely to end up getting cheered and they do an alignment switch.
-     A bullrope really does need that extra metal element on it, unless you’ve got the knack of making it make a lot of noise when it connects. We do seem to be heading in the direction of a gimmick match with that at some point.
-    I still say there's a curse that somehow relates to the title.
-    Black Lotus. There’s still a lot of mystery there: We know for sure now that she’s after the thing in the cage. We don’t know why though (or who is in the cage), and we don’t know who bagged her. The obvious person for that last one is Dario since he’s the only other person we’ve seen there. Her revenge motive feels less like something that happened only to her and more like something that involved an entire family or community.
-    I probably would have had Ryck get physical with the goons on his reappearance instead of just a staredown.

[Deleted]

I have very little to say about this episode because well it is universally agreed upon LU fans that this is the worst episode of LU simply because of all the things they did with the women on this episode and this is really where the reaction I said about the Angelico , Ive and Havoc stuff hits the writers hard and makes them change direction hard for the better.

But on the other hand GAWD DAMN FENIX YOU LUCKY f***! Catrina ate his face lol

But what I did like was them starting to delve into the mystical side of things with Mil but trying to get over the stone oh the fun is really about to begin with this.

lol funny you should mention Texano with stripper reference because the nickname the believers gave him was SEXANO lol.

That interview though was not good Texano basically just cut a typical cliched wrestling promo that was to put the AAA title over.

Oh and here is a tib bit if you go back and look at the security guys who showed up for the Patron beat down...yea no one will reogognize them unless you have seen them without their masks but those are guys who typically wear masks...who are they? well that will left up to whoever to guess for themselves.

In short this was a very WWE trope heavy episode so any wonder why it is seen as the worst episode in LU history but atleast it is in the can and things never fall this low again.

[Gecko]

May 31, 2021 13:34:17 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

In short this was a very WWE trope heavy episode so any wonder why it is seen as the worst episode in LU history but atleast it is in the can and things never fall this low again.

Thinking back on it, that is the perfect way to describe it. It's easy to imagine it as an episode of Raw with a few alterations after switching out characters.