Gecko
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Post by Gecko on Mar 27, 2021 12:29:07 GMT -5
The timing of this and the LU news is just a coincidence, I've been meaning to watch it for a while and, unlike a sensible person who would have done it sometime in the past year, I choose to do it now... I started watching a couple of weeks back, and after enjoying the first couple of episodes, I thought I might as well keep notes of my thoughts since it's something new that I've not seen before, apart from small bits and pieces. There's no promise about how often I'll add a new episode, it's just a case of when I get a chance to watch and make notes, but I'll try and keep updates pretty regular. I've got a couple of episodes as a buffer, so that gives me a bit of breathing space. I will ask, since I'm going into this pretty much blind, to please be careful with spoilers. I obviously won't tell you not to discuss upcoming stuff, but if it's an episode I've not reached yet, please use spoiler tags if needed and note which episode is in the spoiler. I'll start in the next post, that way I can keep this one as an index.  Season 1
Season 2
Season 3Season 4Episode 01 - El JefeEpisode 02 - Darkness and The MonsterEpisode 03 - Rest in PiecesEpisode 04 - Pain, Love, and SacrificeEpisode 05 - SacrificioEpisode 06 - Break The MachineEpisode 07 - The Gift that keeps on GivingEpisode 08 - The Ranks of the ReptilesEpisode 09 - A Match Made in HeavenEpisode 10 - A Snake ScornedEpisode 11 - Last Man or Machine StandingEpisode 12 - Til Death do Us PartEpisode 13 - The Circle of LifeEpisode 14 - Pet CemeteryEpisode 15 - The HuntedEpisode 16 - Kill MilEpisode 17 - The Moth and The ButterflyEpisode 18 - Spiders and SkeletonsEpisode 19 - SavageryEpisode 20 - Seven to SurviveEpisode 21 - Ultima Lucha Cuatro - Part 1Episode 22 - Ultima Lucha Cuatro - Part 2 |
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Gecko
Grimlock
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Post by Gecko on Mar 27, 2021 12:33:33 GMT -5
Episode 1: Welcome to The Temple
Will there be fun and games? Let's find out.Right from the start it lets you know that it’s going to be something different from just a wrestling show. The Temple is a great setting and I love the idea of having a house band. Not sure about this ring announcer. We get our introduction to the boss man, Dario Cueto. I’m assuming he’s gonna be a heel character, but again, it doesn’t feel like the usual heel authority figure that has basically been a constant thing for, what, 20+ years? I don’t mind you as a commentator, Matt Striker, as long as you keep things toned down a little, but please don’t let the snide remarks about things like ‘brightly coloured t-shirts” become a regular thing. Blue Demon Jr vs Chavo Guerrero JrI’ve seen Blue Demon a couple of times, and obviously he’s very well known. I have also seen Chavo. Hmm, different entrance ways, neither of which actually looks like a proper entrance. I like it. I don’t need to see up Striker’s nose,
stop using that camera on the desk, please
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Nothing too fancy to start the match, and I’m not expecting anything spectacular here. There’s the advantage of not being live, you can edit stuff like a botched head scissors to try and cover for it at least a bit.  Chavo’s outside the ring, Striker talks about the high flying style of lucha libre, but Blue Demon didn’t want to play along and went for a baseball slide instead.  Blue Demon counters either a top rope hurricanrana if you take my opinion, or a hanging triangle choke if you believe Striker. Whatever it was going to be, it ends up in a powerbomb on Chavo. It doesn’t get the win, but Demon follows it up with a sharpshooter type thing to make Chavo tap.  It was a perfectly serviceable match, but I don’t think it was the best choice for the very first one. Chavo was a good choice, he’s dependable and there’s the name recognition, but I would have switched out Blue Demon Jr for somebody who could work a quicker pace. ------------------------ Dario is having a meeting with Konnan in his office. Konnan has a fighter that he thinks is great, Dario has a Johnny Mundo who needs to be made an example of - match made. Followed up with an intro video package for Konnan’s fighter, Prince Puma. Son of Havoc vs Sexy StarHavoc seems sort of familiar, but I don’t know… you’d think the beard would be a big clue? Sexy Star, I mainly know from the Rosemary Triplemania thing. Standard heel “I’m not wrestling a woman” promo. Star gets out the ring until Havoc turns his back and gets a quick advantage before Havoc uses his size and strength to take control. And it’s over pretty sharpish. It ends with a big backbreaker. A quick match with a very clear story. Havoc misses a move, Star uses her speed to get a few moves in before Havoc hits another big move to stop her momentum. This wasn’t a helpless woman put in a match as a punishment though, this was a match where one of the competitors happened to be a woman. ------------------------ Chavo is backstage getting berated by Dario for his loss. This is also used to set up a match between Blue Demon and a debuting person next week. 1,000 Deaths may be coming for us all. Johnny Underground vs Prince PumaApparently, it’s the first match for Johnny Lucha in three years. It doesn’t take long for them to start bouncing around the place. Puma’s trained by Konnan? I want to see the video of him showing Puma how to do some of these moves. Parkour! Spinny Kick! Purposely tripping over the ropes to get the rotation is such a weird thing.  Luchamaniacs? Really? Those concrete steps are going to be very painful for somebody at some point. Parkour! Ow, Puma ricochets off the ring post. Whoops, I was enjoying that and forgot to take anymore notes. Johnny Temple wins with the End of the World/Starship Pain ----------------- Here’s Cueto to present the $100k bonus... Oh no, it was a setup! Johnny InsertNameHere and Puma get attacked by (from right to left) that guy who looks very familiar, that guy who looks kinda familiar and that guy who will be known as the other one.  Solid debut episode. It did a good job of establishing how things are going to be done, and it felt like it had its own identity from the start. We also set things in motion for the next episode. The commentary wasn’t the greatest, it seemed to lack energy. I think it’s more to do with Vampiro than Striker who needs somebody better to complement him. The Temple is a great setting, nothing fancy, a bit grimey and unpolished, which fits perfectly.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2021 13:06:56 GMT -5
I am not going to spoil anything but just saying I am lookin forward to your deep dive into this insanity especially all the interweaving and overarching stories.
Oh those humble beginnings everyone was so fresh faced and innocent...boy that changes real quick lol.
I will say though IMO Blue Demon is easily the weakest story in S1...I know why they wanted to use Blue Demon and it was commendable to use him and attract the much more hardcore lucha libre audience but it was clear that he was out of his element here.
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Gecko
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Post by Gecko on Mar 30, 2021 12:01:40 GMT -5
I've not actually had the chance to watch anymore, but I figured it's been a few days and I've still got a couple of spares after this one, so why not put up the next episode?
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Episode 02: Los Demonios
I believe that translates as "The Dominoes" Starts off with a full recap of the last episode. They’ve not got what I would call a proper intro, hope that changes at some point. The group of three who showed up last week are in the ring to cut a promo. That guy kind of looks like Low Ki, but is Cortez Castro. Second member of the group is Cisco, or at least that’s what he claims ‘they’ call him. Big Zeke Ryck shouldn’t smoke, it’ll stunt his growth. Not sure about this crowd, it seems a little too much like a tv show audience. Heeeere’s Johnny! He smartly attacks the three in the ring… but what do I know, since he runs them off with ease. The group of 3 grab some chairs, but that's no match for a Puma, who runs out to assist Johnny Outnumbered. Here’s Teddy Cueto to make a tag match right now! Johnny Mundo & Prince Puma vs Cisco & CortezThe first tag match in LU. Puma gives the start of the match a quick exciting bit to draw you in before we get down to some more serious stuff. Parkour! Sort of. Heels cheat to take the advantage just as I was thinking “shouldn’t the heels be in control here?” Commentary talking about Cortez’s name and the connection to conquistadors. If Los Conquistadores showed up now, this would be the greatest show ever. Parkour! Johnny HotTag gets Puma back in. It all breaks down a bit and Johnny Jannetty jumps away into the crowd like a coward...  ...but returns in time to save Puma from the double team. Puma takes out Cortez on the outside, Cisco fails to cheat properly and gets caught with his feet on the ropes during a pin. Double 450s get the win for the flippy guys. Solid match. --------------- Konnan talking Puma in the back and telling him to stay away from Johnny NotYourFriend. Time for a look at Mil Muertes. The package gave us a quick peek, didn’t really tell us anything, but I liked the style of the video.  (grrrr!) Son of Havoc & Ivelisse vs Chavo Guerrero & Sexy StarMixed tag match. “Blah blah, those other promotions won’t let the women compete with the men, we’re equal opportunities”
“Blah blah, Havoc had to cheat to beat a woman”So are the women equal to the men or not? The men kicking it off, this (Chavo vs Havoc) might have been a better match for the opener last week? Chavo grabs the beard. Havoc takes control, Ivelisse makes a difference from the apron before tagging in and also beating up Chavo. Chavo counters Havoc and gets the tag to Star. Havoc hits an elbow on Star that may have dislocated her face (according to Vampiro) Catfight! Caaaatfiiiiight! Or not. The women are both in and wrestling. Another switch and the men are back in. "I could come up with names for it but I don’t dare." Good decision, Matt.  Chavo hits the frog splash on Havoc, but doesn’t go for the pin. Instead, he tags in Sexy Star who picks up the win for her team with a rollup. I really enjoyed this match, Good outing for everybody involved. -------------------- Blue Demon getting ready for his match gets interrupted by Catrina, an associate of Mil Muertes. She delivers a message from Mil, which is a face lick. I’d have very different feelings depending on whether it was Catrina or Mil who was licking me. Segment to give a bit of backstory to Prince Puma and his heritage, and the reveal that while Konnan brought him in, it was Konnan’s unnamed mate who found him. Blue Demon Jr vs Mil Muertes w/ CatrinaDemon is already in the ring, here come his opponent, from beyond the grave, Mil Muertes. Catrina and that high camera shot looking down go well together… and um… Sorry, I got a little distracted there for a moment. Don’t know what’s going on with the red cloth that Catrina is holding for Muertes. I’m also not sure about the tights for Murtes, they seem a little bland for what he’s been presented as so far, especially with the entrance gear with the cape and feathers.  Anyway, let’s see if he’s actually any good. Muertes jumps Demon at the start and just lays into him with kicks and chops. We wander outside and Demon’s head bounces off the commentary table. Catrina gets on the apron to distract Demon and allow Muertes to regain control. I’m not buying Muertes as any special kind of threat so far. Flying nothing by Mil, then Demon follows up with a DDT. Spear by Mil, then a flatliner finishes it off and Mil Muertes gets a win in his debut. Maybe it’s Blue Demon that’s the issue here, cause once again I’m thinking a different opponent would have given a better match. Catrina was the most interesting things about that match. -------------------- After match beatdown by Mil, but here comes Chavo with a chair to run him off. Swerve! Chavo clonks Demon with the chair. Yep, that seems like a very Chavo thing to do. Then he takes over on the Demon beatdown. Oh, and a couple of refs go down! “Why, Chavo, Why” is the chant from the crowd. Can I boo the crowd? A couple of unnamed luchadors run in and get laid out with the chair as well. Here’s Sexy Star trying to talk sense into Chavo… wow, it doesn’t work and she gets smacked in the face with a chair shot. Obviously with what we know, chairshots to the head aren’t good, but that definitely got a reaction from me.  Rampage over, here’s the Luchamedics. Demon gets carted off in the ambulance and that’s how we’re ending this episode: Chavo standing tall. Another enjoyable episode, the only real negative was the Blue Demon vs Mil Muertes match, which wasn’t great and didn’t really build Muertes as a threat. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2021 13:21:29 GMT -5
Sexy Star caught that whole chair shot to her nose so while she is despised nowadays she is also pretty tough though.
And the audience at this point was mostly friends and family of crew members with a spaterring of actual people but soon enough people start packing in and having to fill the bleachers with those friends and family of crew and staff will be a thing of the past.
All of these very early episodes are just learning on the fly finding learning what their identity will be etc
And also alot of the AAA talent got held up Mexico as they traveled together and were suppose to debut on this episode but as you know now it did not happen.
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Gecko
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Post by Gecko on Mar 30, 2021 13:39:58 GMT -5
And the audience at this point was mostly friends and family of crew members with a spaterring of actual people but soon enough people start packing in and having to fill the bleachers with those friends and family of crew and staff will be a thing of the past. That makes sense I suppose it'll be like any other show where after its been going for a while, you can go back and watch the first episodes and see all the little things that they didn't quite have sorted yet. I'm appreciating the comments on these, at least I know somebody is bothering to read them and the extra details on things are interesting to learn. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2021 13:54:27 GMT -5
And the audience at this point was mostly friends and family of crew members with a spaterring of actual people but soon enough people start packing in and having to fill the bleachers with those friends and family of crew and staff will be a thing of the past. That makes sense I suppose it'll be like any other show where after its been going for a while, you can go back and watch the first episodes and see all the little things that they didn't quite have sorted yet. I'm appreciating the comments on these, at least I know somebody is bothering to read them and the extra details on things are interesting to learn. LU is my thing as I am sure everyone here can atest to that I wont shut up about it lol so yea I am always going to comment lol. I am always interested to see what people have to say when they discover this show but sadly seems most usually only get to the first 2 seasons and that is about it for usually the reason because they could not find a way to watch seasons 3 (IMO the best season) and 4. I will definetly be chiming in with off screen info that I know each episode. |
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Gecko
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Post by Gecko on Apr 2, 2021 12:34:11 GMT -5
I think a goal of a couple of episodes per week at minimum is sensible and achievable, so that's what I'll be aiming for.
Episode 03: Crossing the Border
Anything to declare? Recap of the first two episodes, showing the whole of the stories being told. Still waiting on a proper intro to replace this ‘shots of the city with credits’ deal. One of the Co-Executive Producers is Chris DeJoseph, I know the name, but I can’t place who it is.  Konnan is peeking out from behind the blinds of Dario’s ringside office. He tells the boss that the guys he’s bringing in are some of the best that Mexico has to offer… yeah, I’ll believe it when I se… oh, it's Fenix & Penta? fair enough then. Drago is vaguely familiar as well, but we’ll wait and see how he is. Triple threat between them? That should be gooooood. Vampiro gives us an update on Blue Demon following last week’s attack: He’s in a stable condition. Well, gee, thanks for that, Vamp. Dario Cueto (I keep typing Cuerto for some reason?) makes his way to the ring and introduces the person already in the ring. It’s El Mariachi Loco. Dario discovered him at his favourite Mexican restaurant, just down the street. He kind of reminds me of Fandango. His opponent (coming to the ring to some familiar music) is Mascarita Sagrada. Looking it up, Sagrada was Nova in WWF in the late 90s when they were doing stuff with the minis, unless this is a different version? El Mariachi Loco vs Mascarita Sagrada.Starting off with the traditional move of Mariachi mocking Sagrada’s height before getting on his knees to make if fairer.  This ends with Mariachi getting kicked in the head. A nicely done tilt a whirl headscissors, followed up by a not quite as smooth springboard rebound arm drag. (not the second half with the leg kicks, that looks planned)  So far, the match is pretty much what you would expect: Lots of twirly, spinny stuff that’s fun to watch. Big kick from Mariachi. More kicks and mostly simple shots from him, he doesn’t need to do anything else to get boos from the crowd. He is getting cocky though, that’s probably going to cost him the match. Mascarita gets the win with a small package. That was enjoyable and didn’t come across as anything other than a normal match. --------------------- Chavo shows up and continues where he left off last time by attacking Sagrada. A recap of Chavo’s actions leads into a Vampiro sit down interview with Guerrero. Vamps accuses Chavo of coasting on the Guerrero name and asks what he’s going to do in LU. Chavo says how great his family were, and he was doing things their way out of respect, but he’s leading the Guerreros now and is going to do things his own way. He says that even when Blue Demon Jr was at his best, he still sucked in the ring. I’ve not seen anything that proves him wrong so far. Chavo has been a champion everywhere he’s been except here. Huh, I didn’t even think about championships or notice there weren’t any. I’m gonna guess some turn up soon. That was a nice interview segment. Chavo was showing emotion and it explained his motivations. Chavo and Konnan meet backstage, Konnan warns Chavo to make himself scarce since people are coming after him from Mexico due to his actions. Konnan walks away and we get a jump scare appearance from Mil Muertes. Mil walks away and we get a Catrina jump scare. Catrina says that one day Chavo will belong to Mil Muertes. Then licks him.
Ricky Mandel vs Mil Muertes w/CatrinaHere’s hoping for a squash Ooh, getting some back story on Mil. Mil’s family was killed in an earthquake in ’85 in Mexico. He was 7 years old and buried alive, alone for days. He was called Pasqual Mendoza before the earthquake, but he felt comforted by being close to death and brought it with him when he emerged from the rubble, along with his new name. So he’s a little supernaturalish, but not really. Onto the match. Ah, is the rock in the red cloth from the ruins of the earthquake? Muertes showing off his strength advantage early, Mandel countering with speed. Big spear! Flying nothing countered with a punch to the face. Flatliner ends it. A short match, but that was a much better showing for Mil Muertes. ------------- Johnny Mundo is making his way to see Dario, but gets stopped outside the office by Cisco and Cortez (me having to look up a name doesn’t bode well for them). Johnny Appointment beats them up and goes in. We have a match made for next week: Johnny MainEvent vs Big Ryck. Dario is paying Big Ryck a bunch of cash and wants Johnny Ambulance to end up in the hospital next week. Another look at Prince Puma. It’s easy to tell who’s getting the pushes around here. Drago vs Pentagon Jr vs FenixI like Drago’s look, Penta definitely looks less …developed? outfit wise than now, and Fenix is a Red Rooster tribute.  If Drago is anywhere close to as good as the other two, this should probably be the best match so far. Starting off quick, a bunch of superkicks followed by a Penta dive. Then it’s Drago’s turn, with an assist from Fenix, before the Red rooster climbs to the top for his own spinny jump. Ok, Drago can keep up.  Fenix hits a springboard, springboard, springboard…. …armdrag. There’s a good thing there’s a limit on gifs per post otherwise this match would just be a whole bunch of them. Fenix countered a pop up powerbomb/flapjack type thing by doing a forward roll in midair and then hitting a hurricanrana. I can’t describe what that one was, just go watch the match yourself. Top rope hurricanrana by Fenix, who then rolls out of a Drago rollup only to be hit by a Penta backstabber. Drago calling for some..thing? one? Oh, nope it was just Fenix relaxing on the stairs. It seems like they’ve got 2 hard cameras (or none?), in essence, so things do sometimes get turned around. I was wondering where Fenix went to, there he is on top of Dario’s office. That’s deceptively high, you don’t notice it until there’s somebody standing on it.  Anyway, he jumps off and gravity does its thing. Package piledriver by Penta on Drago, Fenix hits a piledriver of his own on Drago before picking up the pin with a poisonrana aka “a reverse hurricanrana piledriver brainbuster?” (™ Matt Striker.) Well, that lived up to expectations. If I had one criticism, it would be that it was a 1 on 1 a lot of the time, with the third man standing outside. I realise that that’s how triple threats usually are and it makes things easier, but it’d be nice if they had managed to keep all 3 involved for the majority of the time. ----------- Commentary says goodbye and we end up with Dario in prison? He’s still going on about Mundo, and says he won’t be intimidated by anyone, not even the mysterious person in the cell. I’m also guessing that the key Dario is wearing is for the cage. Hmmm, intriguing.  I think that was my favourite episode so far; 3 very different matches but all were entertaining in their own way, building more stories, and Mil Muertes finally getting a good outing. |
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Apr 2, 2021 14:20:07 GMT -5
Drago's the Christopher Daniels to Fenix's AJ Styles and Pentagon's Samoa Joe. You watch their triple threats and wonder why he didn't break out like the other two, until you realize he's like fifteen years older than them.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2021 15:03:15 GMT -5
Notice no Blue Demon and things get better? trust me it will be a running gag all season lol.
Mariachi Loco is mah boy love that guy
As for the cameras they have if I remember correctly 11 cameras 8 of them are handcams around the ring and they have two hard cams one where the band is and one where Melissa is and then they got the jib cam that swings around so it makes for an extremely dynamic way of shooting and confusing especially to a first time viewer because you will see something that seems to go left to right but then they switch either to the job or hand cam and now you watch right to left again very dynamic but takes getting used to the not WWE way of setting everything to be played to the hard cam.
And the line between Konnan and Dario about having trouble with Visa's total shoot
And idk if you took notice of it but when Chavo calls him Blue Demon but he does it with finger quotes lol yea they went there and you notice there is a hard edit to so Chavo went shooty and they had to reel him in lol.
Vamp laughing everytime Mascarita gets beat up never gets old lol
And you notice the crowd is beginning to fill up with people word starting to make the rounds during these tapings
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Apr 2, 2021 21:14:33 GMT -5
I love how goddamn expensive Drago's masks have got to be.
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Post by saneiac on Apr 2, 2021 22:08:10 GMT -5
It was a perfectly serviceable match, but I don’t think it was the best choice for the very first one. Chavo was a good choice, he’s dependable and there’s the name recognition, but I would have switched out Blue Demon Jr for somebody who could work a quicker pace. The Chavo vs Blue Demon stinkfest could easily have been Lucha Underground's version of Booker T vs Buff Bagwell, and killed the company before it even got started. I wonder how many people tuned in to check out the new promotion, and tuned out again due to that match. It was an AWFUL choice for the very first one! One of the Co-Executive Producers is Chris DeJoseph, I know the name, but I can’t place who it is. Chris DeJoseph was Big Fat Naked Oily Guy (aka Big Dick Johnson) in WWE, along with being a lead writer for both WWE and LU. He actually went back to WWE after LU shut down, but was fired in spring 2020 for inappropriate behavior. |
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Post by Rave on Apr 2, 2021 23:04:05 GMT -5
Oh jeez, the memories. I've written sooooo much about Lucha Underground that it's not funny. My fingerprints are all over the LU TVTropes pages. Used to go on post-show each week and update the character pages. Baby!Penta! Mil Muertes' pinstriped pants! LU had so much early installment weirdness. It wasn't until about midway through this season that stuff kicked into gear. And yeah, Blue Demon was easily the weakest thing about season 1. Drago's the Christopher Daniels to Fenix's AJ Styles and Pentagon's Samoa Joe. You watch their triple threats and wonder why he didn't break out like the other two, until you realize he's like fifteen years older than them. Even then, dude did get some decent play for a while, as did Aerostar. |
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Gecko
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Post by Gecko on Apr 5, 2021 14:24:32 GMT -5
Episode 04: The Thrill of the Hunt
Be vewy quiet, I'm hunting dwagons!Recap of Mundo/Puma/Dario story Hey, it’s the house band again. This whole set up kind of gives of a 'From Dusk til Dawn' vibe.  Commentary talks about Chavo’s recent actions. Sexy Star vs IvelisseStar is in the ring with a new coat and cuts a subtitled promo on Chavo (I've been ruined by the dirty captions in the WWE live threads). Ivelisse makes her way to the ring while mocking Star on the mic, which gets her a slap and the match gets going.  The match starts with them rolling around and punching each other before getting into some actual wrestling, which makes sense. I was about to say it was a good start, before the obvious botch.  It wasn’t that bad, and they recovered fine from it. Crowd is split on who they’re supporting. Two amigos suplexes. Vampiro is giving the match a 10 so far, he's easily pleased. Star rolls up Ivelisse for the win. Decent enough match, but nothing to make it stand out. -------------- Dario is talking to Drago, who has a gold outfit this week. He is unsure of Drago (cause of last episode's triple threat result) and informs him that tonight he will be the first prey of King Cuerno. (is that who was in the cell last episode? We'll have to wait and see. Unless you already know) Drago dribbles at Dario. Pentagon Jr vs FenixIt’s the night of the pre match promos. Penta has a mic, he thanks Cueto for giving him the respect he deserves. He’s going to use Fenix as an example of what will happen to anybody who wants to confront him. Poor Fenix doesn’t get a promo. He has to settle for running along the ropes instead. Here we go again, and we get a nice, simple graphic.  A bunch of quick counters to start us off, followed by a stand off. Fenix hits a twisting tope con hilo or, in Gecko speak: A spinny, twisty dive. A gorgeous Springboard leg drop only gets a two. That can’t have felt good for Fenix.  Fenix hits a multi springboard dropkick, then a corkscrew tope. It’s really just a highlight reel at this point. Penta regains temporary control with a nice backstabber. Penta goes up top but pauses at the second rope to gloat a bit, which lets Fenix jump up and kick him in the head.  Fenix hits the Spanish Fly from the top to pin Penta, despite the shoulder being clearly up. Penta has a legit grievance there, wonder if that was planned or not?  --------- Promo for King Cuerno, complete with cape and deer head. Wonder if he got that from Al Snow? Drago vs King Cuerno
And we’re straight into the next match. The gold and silver is an even better look for Drago than the blue.  Thinking of it, didn't Kalisto have a similar look for a while? We get our first proper look at Cuerno. I think I also solved the mystery of why I kept calling Dario 'Cuerto' instead of Cueto. Ah, the deer is a hat and his cape is a deer skin, it makes sense with the whole prey/hunting thing now. I should wait and see if I can work out who people are instead of looking it up like I did for Cuerno.  Drago tries a headscissors, but Cuerno simply refuses to move. He goes down from the follow up enziguri though. King Cuerno… has a nice… standing dropkick. Nah, he really does.  Cuerno starts with the heelish tactics. He pulls the ref down in front of him to block Drago. Drago just uses the ref as a step.  Jeez, Cuerno was going full throttle on the dive. He ended up halfway to the arena exit. Wow, Drago rolled Cuerno around a bit and then pinned him. Was not expecting the match to end there, or Drago to be the winner. I do appreciate an occasional finish like that, where one person is just caught off guard and it costs them. --------- Konnan approaches Puma backstage and reminds him to not get involved in the main event tonight. It’s kind of obvious where this whole thing is going, but there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s well done. Oh yeah, we’ve still got another match to go. Big Ryck vs Johnny Mundo
Ryck already in the ring, Cortez & Cisco don’t appear to be around yet, not that they’d be useful anyway. Johnny Poser makes his entrance. Big Ryck is big, you forget just how big some people in WWE are until they go elsewhere and interact with more average sized people. Simple and obvious story of the match is size & strength vs speed and agility. Ryck is looking good on offence here, his stuff is looking like its hitting hard. Johnny Selling of course has a part to play in that. We cut to the locker room where Cisco and Cortez assault Puma. They make their way to the ring and get involved to cause the DQ since Ryck is down and in trouble. ----------- A 3 on 1 beatdown starts, I am pretty sure I know what comes next... or not. I guess they did a good job with the locker room beatdown. A table gets set up in the ring and Ryck puts Johnny Splinters through it with a uranage.  Ryck and The Goons (do they have an actual group name?) stand tall as the credits roll. ---------- Another fine episode. We’ve got some clear stories moving forward and more stuff set up for next time. Some good wrestling as well. It does feel like every episode is important and brings something a little different from previous ones, unlike current WWE where you can skip a couple of weeks and jump back in without having missed much. This format really does seem to work so far.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2021 15:10:12 GMT -5
Your point about every episode being important is exactly why this IMO is the best written wrestling show of all time because the deeper this goes the more things you are gonna have to remember because they are teasting , planting seeds however you want to put it all over the place for things that will pay off in future seasons and it is gawd damn so good....as much as I love the wrestling it is the stories and each characters growth and arc that inevitably grab you and keep you engaged.
The goons do have a name nothing spoilerish but they are called The Crew.
Cuernos dive is the undisputed best in the business and you really get to see it in this show because of the airport like space he gets to work with and it only gets more gorgeous everytime...oh and it will be called THE ARROW FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL.
Kalisto did make a feabled attempt at copying Drago's look....and needless to say naw you aint copying that because that entire amazing look is just one of a kind and it only improves going forward my favourite variation comes in a future season.
And one little tidbit...i Cuernos introductory promo there is shot of him standing on the roof of the temple that was inspired by The Dark Knight.
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Rave
El Dandy
Perpetually Bored
Posts: 8,431
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Post by Rave on Apr 5, 2021 23:04:53 GMT -5
King Cuerno >>>>> Santos Escobar, any day of the week.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Apr 6, 2021 1:07:58 GMT -5
King Cuerno >>>>> Santos Escobar, any day of the week. I think Cuerno's been his best work anywhere, even over the Fantasma gimmick in Mexico. He played into the character on Lucha Underground and worked this deliberately-paced, methodical style that you don't usually see mixed with lucha libre, and it really stood out. |
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Gecko
Grimlock
FAN Pyrite Member. Muahahaha
Posts: 13,694
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Post by Gecko on Apr 9, 2021 5:08:26 GMT -5
This one is split into two posts to accommodate the extra gifs.
Episode 05 – Boyle Heights Street Fight
🎵There's gonna be some trouble, tonight. Something, something, Boyle Heights street fight!🎵
Recap of Drago/Cuerno, Chavo’s actions, and Johnny Mundo/Ryck & Crew/Puma & Konnan stuff. Immediately into Dario Cueto’s office where Konnan is telling him that he prevented Puma coming to see Dario himself for Dario’s own protection. We get our street fight set between Big Ryck and Puma. We move into the temple proper and it’s a high energy start with excited, loud fans and the Band. What are the odds that the band end up being vampires? Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs DragoIt took me a couple of appearances to realise that Drago isn’t just drooling everywhere and that is his freaky tongue. Drago is looking sneaky before the match starts, he’s got his back turned to Mil and looks to be hiding something. Mil attacks as soon as the bell goes and if Drago was planning anything, he didn’t get a chance to do it. Quick start to the match, Drago uses his speed to avoid most of the strikes from Muertes before hitting one of these.  “The lucha bump used to create space” - I don’t know what the official name for it is (if any), and am aware it’s a commonly used thing, but I have to say I’m not a fan of it, just bumping into your opponent and then running away. Mil counters with a traditional punch to the face. Ugly, ugly powerslam, luckily there was enough rotation that Drago didn’t land on his head otherwise that could have been nasty. The match goes to the outside as we see King Cuerno perched up high.  “He’s got his eye on one of these two, and I think it’s Drago.” – Ingenious deduction from Vamp The competitors get back in the ring as the crowd starts to get behind Drago. A bit of ref distraction allows Catrina to get involved for the first time just as I was thinking that she hadn’t done anything yet. Big running powerslam by Muertes, who has been in control for the majority of the match. Muertes pausing to play to the crowd gives Drago a chance to get back in the match with some striking before he hits a springboard DDT. This doesn’t get the job done, so Drago goes back up top and attempts to hit a flying nothing, which is countered by Mil with a spear. Mil pulls Drago to his feet only so that he can put him back down with a flatliner and pick up the win. Drago gets a lick from Catrina as a consolation prize. Very entertaining match. --------------- Cuerno comes down from his perch as Drago is still laid out in the ring and takes advantage. Johnny Mundo promo video. He talks about how he was on the edge of greatness but refused to play politics and went his own way. Dario approaches Mil & Catrina backstage to congratulate them. Catrina says that they know about the darkness that Dario is trying to hide and they learned long ago that you can’t keep darkness locked away forever. Dario indicates the key he wears about his neck, so I guess it wasn’t Cuerno in the cell after all. Interesting, another new character on the way then. Son of Havoc w/Ivellsse vs Mascarita Sagrada Sagrada’s entrance music is bugging me because I know it, but not what I associate it with. Beardy mocks Sagrada before the match starts, but quickly ends up on the outside after some spinny armdrags and stuff. The crowd is firmly on Sagrada’s side. After getting embarrassed, Havoc gets back in the ring and just grabs his opponent by the throat. He goes for a chokeslam that gets countered into a rollup and a two count. Ivelisse trips Sagrada in full view of the ref who just shouts at her a bit, but it does let Havoc gain control. Havoc shows off some amazing strength:  And follows it up with agility by doing a standing moonsault. He doesn’t go for the pin and just bounces Sagrada’s head off the mat a few times. Oooh, who that?  Havoc counters Sagrada coming off the middle rope with a boot to the chest as the mystery woman wanders away. Ivelisse waits till the ref isn’t looking this time, then punts Sagrada in the head. Sagrada tries for revenge and just about lands on his head. It's a little hard to see, but Ivelisse caught just enough of him to prevent it.  Sagrada chases Ivelisse around the ring a bit (which apparently is what Striker watches on the internet), before hitting a top rope crossbody to the outside on Havoc. Round the world we go, headscissors is countered into another counter and Sagrada rolls up Havoc for the win. Another fun match and, again, I like that they’re not treating Sagrada as a novelty. Question: Are we going to get any more minis coming in at any point? -------------------- continued in next post. |
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Gecko
Grimlock
FAN Pyrite Member. Muahahaha
Posts: 13,694
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Post by Gecko on Apr 9, 2021 5:14:24 GMT -5
Sexy Star vs Chavo GuerreroStraight into another match. “I’m sure that sooner than later we will see Blue Demon in the ring again in Lucha Underground.” Vamp threatens us. Chavo takes his time getting to the ring. The match starts with Star shoving him a couple of times, before Chavo replies with a push of his own. Chavo goes straight for the heel moves; pulling the hair, scraping his boot on the face. It ends with a kiss from Chavo that gets him a slap. Chavo ends up outside the ring and Star takes the chance to grab a chair. The ref tries to do his job, but quickly learns that sometimes it’s just not worth it. DQ ending, which I'm fine with since it makes sense.  Penta shows up, disarms Star and we have a stand off while he decides who’s getting the chairshot. It looks like he’s siding with Chavo, but before he gets a chance to do anything, Fenix jumps in for the save  -------------------
Prince Puma vs Big Ryck – Boyle Heights Street FightWe’re ready for our first gimmick match (I think). Standard street fight rules, let’s see how they handle something different from the norm. Ryck makes his way to the ring backed by Cisco and …Cortez (still takes me a second to remember their names). Oh, sorry, it’s Mr Cisco, now. Puma makes his way to the ring and indicates that he can see that it’ll be 3 on 1. I wonder who he could possibly get to help him out? It does actually start off with a fight, with punches getting thrown. One of Rycks hits has more impact than a bunch from Puma. Nothing fancy going on from Ryck, but he doesn’t need to (and probably shouldn’t try). As soon as Ryck gets in trouble, the useless goons (yep, I think I'm sticking with that name for them) get in the ring for a few seconds before they get thrown back out again.  Show off. Cisco provides the distraction and Ryck hits a big clothesline and follows up with a couple of elbows. Cortez is busted open somehow. Is this the first blood we’ve seen? Cisco throws a bin in the ring and clips the ref. Striker mentions how street fights are about the innovation of violence and Vamp acknowledges the Tommy Dreamer reference. A chair gets added to the ring debris and Ryck shows off his strength (which is almost as impressive as Havoc’s)  Ryck uses the chair…. To take a seat and watch as the goons actually manage to do something successfully. That doesn’t last as Puma takes them both out then hits a dropkick on the sitting Ryck. Cortez misses with the kendo stick and gets a kick for his trouble, Puma uses the stick to assist with a backstabber  Puma uses stick attack on Big Ryck… it’s not very effective. Ryck uses smack ‘em in the face…. It’s super effective!  A ladder comes out (from under the ring, not from backstage as a run in), followed by a table. Puma gets hung upside down on the ladder as the goons hold his arms. Ryck is about to start swinging with the kendo stick but Johnny Parkour finally jumps in to help  Mundo goes to hit Ryck with a chair but in a twist that everybody could see coming, accidentally lays out Puma instead. Goons manage to be useful again and take out Johnny MyBad. Ryck puts Puma through the table and pins him to win the match that I totally remembered was still going on. ---------- Plenty of variety in this one with the matches. Everything seems to be moving along nicely. It's good that they’re not rushing and trying to do everything in one go. I like how they're just slowly introducing characters and taking a few weeks to reveal their backstory while also getting an angle started with them. Of course, not everybody needs this, some are fine just showing up and jumping straight in. I notice that they don’t really do replays. If they did, I think I’d prefer the longer, post-match highlights version over the mid match split screen style. Still not enjoying Vampiro commentary too much, Striker is doing a pretty solid job though. It’s easy to see now how much the crowd has improved from the first episode. Dario's monster that he's keeping locked up is already intriguing. I get the feeling it's going to be one of those 'once you let it out, you can't lock it away again' deals. I know I'm only 5 episodes in, but you can see the planning and thought that's gone into things.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2021 9:11:17 GMT -5
To anwser your question earlier yes there will be another Mini but that wont be for a good long time from where you are as far as episodes go Mascarita is the chosen Mini in LU and he has some future banger matches coming I believe you will really enjoy, Mascarita is so much fun.
All these early episodes are just like dipping toes into the water...when the show starts to ramp up though it is gonna make looking back on these early episodes look like a whole different show and the start to that change is approaching really soon.
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