Gecko Watched Lucha Underground (completed)

[saneiac]

Aug 7, 2022 13:43:56 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

I love passive agressive Mundo lol after weeks of yelling and demanding title shots , now he is being a bit more reserved here by knocking showing up alone and trying to I guess appeal to Dario by showing off his albeit impressive abs but continues to not be enough to sway El Jefe....maybe he should think about sending him a fruit basket , I see Dario is a man that is very appreciative of a nice peach.

It's stuff like this that demonstrates why Dario is the best authority figure, hell, the best non-wrestling character, in pro-wrestling history.

It was established way back at the start of season 1 that Dario just doesn't like Johnny Mundo. Johnny is arrogant. Johnny makes demands. Johnny fights for money and fame rather than for the love of fighting. Johnny only fights when conditions favor Johnny. Dario doesn't like those things.

With any other authority figure in any other promotion, when Johnny turned heel, he and Dario would have suddenly become best friends. But not here. In LU, Dario is a personality, not an alignment. Johnny's character didn't change all that much. Thus, Dario still doesn't like him.

Compare Dario's attitude towards Johnny with the way he treats someone like Cage. Cage is a man of violence who never backs down from a fight. Dario likes that in an employee, so even though Cage is more of a face now, Dario still favors him. When Cage asks for a match, he usually gets it.

Just, um, keep in mind that at the end of the day Dario is still an evil murderous bastard, so being his friend may not always be a good thing.

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2022 17:30:21 GMT -5 saneiac said:

Aug 7, 2022 13:43:56 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

I love passive agressive Mundo lol after weeks of yelling and demanding title shots , now he is being a bit more reserved here by knocking showing up alone and trying to I guess appeal to Dario by showing off his albeit impressive abs but continues to not be enough to sway El Jefe....maybe he should think about sending him a fruit basket , I see Dario is a man that is very appreciative of a nice peach.

It's stuff like this that demonstrates why Dario is the best authority figure, hell, the best non-wrestling character, in pro-wrestling history.

It was established way back at the start of season 1 that Dario just doesn't like Johnny Mundo. Johnny is arrogant. Johnny makes demands. Johnny fights for money and fame rather than for the love of fighting. Johnny only fights when conditions favor Johnny. Dario doesn't like those things.

With any other authority figure in any other promotion, when Johnny turned heel, he and Dario would have suddenly become best friends. But not here. In LU, Dario is a personality, not an alignment. Johnny's character didn't change all that much. Thus, Dario still doesn't like him.

Compare Dario's attitude towards Johnny with the way he treats someone like Cage. Cage is a man of violence who never backs down from a fight. Dario likes that in an employee, so even though Cage is more of a face now, Dario still favors him. When Cage asks for a match, he usually gets it.

Just, um, keep in mind that at the end of the day Dario is still an evil murderous bastard, so being his friend may not always be a good thing.

Just another onto the pile of why LU is the best written wrestling show of all time.

The stuff these characters go through isn't thrown away and suddenly fogotten just because they change alignments and if suddenly someone starts to favor someone they hated previously more often than not it is because there is something else that hadn't been revealed yet.

Like look at the Puma , Mil and Matanza dynamic right now and by proxy Dario and Catrina and floating in the dingey background in his pop attire is Vampiro all in some way have been revolving around one another since the beginning in some way and the dynamic is forever shifting and nothing is suddenly forgotten for the sake of forcing a narrative...like you understand why Vamp is being the devil on Pumas shoulder and why Puma is receptive to it...Vamp sees the chance for a new student one who is a former champion , one who has shown to hold his own against a Mil Muertes and someone that is in such a state that getting him on his side is far easier than trying to get nut job get Pentagon to listen to him , and Puma is listening because he is desperate in the simplest way to put it.

The characters on this show feel like actual people inhabiting a world ones that do not forgive or forget and if they do forgive it more often than not is for selfish reasons...and Puma himself is proof that no one on the show is purely good there is always a way to ones darker side.

[Gecko]

Just giving advanced notice that all signs are pointing to me taking this week off (or possibly just having a several day delay) for a mental health/ 'I can't be arsed doing much due to the run of days in the mid 30°' break.

[Gecko]

Right, let's get back to it. To keep things relatable, just pretend last week was bumped for some live sporting event.

S03E06 – The Open Road to Revenge

Last time
• Ivelisse beat Mariposa, but then was beaten down by her and Marty
• Mundo failed to get any title shots yet again.
• Follow the white rabbit
• Cage beat Texano to go up 2-0 in the best of five
• Jeremiah (Sami Callahan) showed up as Ivelisse’s main squeeze, tried to defend her honour and then forced Ive to drive herself home by having a drink.
• Puma, who “won” Dario’s dial of doom, almost defeated Matanza but was prevented becoming the new LU champ by Mil Muertes
• Killshot received a charred note that accused him of leaving somebody to die.

Recaps of
• Dragon Azteca earning a match against Penta by beating Chavo (with help from Rey)
• Famous B betraying Mascarita Sagrada and then his new client, Dr Wagner, beating Sagrada
• Mundo failing to get a match against Sexy Star and giving Dario the idea to give the title shot to Jack Evans
• Sagrada and Havoc recuperating and planning their revenge
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We open with Dragon Azteca masking up and preparing for his match. He’s looking at one of those fun little touches:



He says that he will fight with honour even though his opponent won’t, just like he was taught. A voice behind him says that he won’t be fighting at all tonight, as Chavo tries attacking with a chair!

Despite a miss on his first swing, Chavo manages to get a couple of shots on target (one of which targets the arm) to take Dragon’s defences down. While he’s sitting helpless in the corner, we get a first person view of Chavo repeatedly smacking us/Dragon on the head with the chair.

That’s some lucky timing as we follow Chavo leaving after his assault and he runs into Rey who is just entering. We follow Rey back to Dragon who, in between shouting for help, asks if it was Pentagon? Before screaming Chavo! to the skies.
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No more monkey business as The Chimpz have finished their stint and are replaced by Slapbak… Now there’s a name with potential.
Vamp looks like he’s reading his lines even more than usual here.

Famous B & Dr Wagner Jr w/Brenda VS Son of Havoc & Mascarita Sagrada

Oh yeah, B is actually a wrestler, I wonder how much he’ll be involved in this one though.

Ok, these two are my new favourite team:

You get comedy and in-ring ability from them.

That thing looks custom built.

While Brenda stands in the middle of the ring screaming, the bikers slide in the ring to avoid a couple of baseball slides by the medics, then dive back out. Sagrada ended up bouncing off of his own sidecar.

B is still in his full suit, as he gets hit by a Havoc assisted flying Sagrada.

Once things are back in the ring and Sagrada is in trouble, B gets the tag in.

Does Brenda think that Wagner’s first name is ‘Doctor’? From her, “Come on, Doctor!” encouragement, it’s sounding plausible and I choose to believe it's true.

I don’t know how, but Wagner looks more like a wrestler than most other wrestlers.

Famous B gets caught breaking up a pin and is at the mercy of the other team for a bit, but is eventually rescued by Wagner pushing Havoc off the top. He completes his cowardly heel act by pinning Sagrada after Wagner did the damage.



That is the first win for Famous B. Sagrada and Havoc need to head back home (my head canon says they both now permanently live at Mama Havoc’s place) and strategise some more.
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We head to a nice, relaxing forest. Nothing creepy ever happens in spooky, deserted woods… apart from disembodied voices and a magic rabbit. Tick tock. They’ll be here soon.

We head back to the Temple and over to commentary where Striker lets us in on what is coming up next week; Dario’s Dial of Doom, and Puma vs Mil.

Gift of the Gods Championship: Jack Evans vs Sexy Star(c)

Early prediction: Mundo gets involved and manages to cost Jack a victory.

Jack’s got his voice back!

The other week it was Sinestro looking Skeletor-ish, now it’s Star giving off Evil-Lyn vibes.



Maybe it’s not Evil-Lyn, but it definitely reminds me of something.

Jack making up for that time where he couldn’t speak, by saying a whole bunch of stuff, ending with him claiming that he’s going to be called the Star Destroyer after the match.

Striker goes on about how inspirational Sexy Star is and says that she knows that today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present. Yeah, you’re not the only one who saw Kung Fu Panda, Striker.

Ha! It’s not enough for Evans to speak for himself, as he puts Star in a camel clutch and moves her mouth while also providing her half of a conversation too.



Yeah, that one looked like it hurt and I did hear a voice, it wasn’t clear, but it may have been asking if she was alright.

Star gets back on offence and here comes the Worldwide Underground! PJ Black does a reverse rumble save spot and jumps from the barrier to the apron. He then gets in the ring and on the turnbuckle to play a very ref-distracting kendo stick guitar (with sound effects).

Aaaaaand there’s Mundo on the outside, spearing Sexy Star before rolling her back in the ring. Easy pin for Evans… No!

Aerostar and Drago are out to even things up. Once those four are out of the picture, Fenix shows up to cause a distraction of his own. This allows Star to grab a kendo stick, smack Evans down low with it and finish him off with a swinging neckbreaker.

I thought I heard a few boos for Fenix coming in as a distraction. It was kind of a heelish move, even if it's been done to them previously.

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We visit Dario for the first time tonight as he is finishing a phone call. He looks up at Chavo standing on the other side of his desk and confirms that Dragon Azteca isn’t leaving the hospital any time soon. Chavo is pleased as it looks like Dario is putting him in as the replacement against Pentagon. Then, Rey barges in and tells Dario that he has a new main event tonight: Rey vs Chavo.

Dario is sitting back and enjoying the show as Chavo is first offended that Rey could accuse him of the attack, then tries a cheap shot that ends with Rey holding Chavo in a painful position.
Dario says that he has already promised Pentagon the main event tonight… so he just makes it a 3-way with Rey and Chavo involved. They leave and Dario grabs a mic out of a handy drawer and makes his way out too.
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Pentagon Dark VS Rey Mysterio Jr vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

Obligatory ‘how great is Penta’s music?’

Dario makes it out of his office to inform everybody of the change in the match.



That Dragon Azteca is a bad influence on Rey. First, he calls Chavo a piece of shit, and now this?

High tempo, energetic start as you would expect.

Chavo hangs out on the outside for a while and also grabs a chair (surely so he can sit and have a rest?)

Rey and Chavo both have tender legs, wonder if Penta is against switching up which limbs he breaks?

Striker calls Chavo the Swagger Soaring Eagle. Was Chavo the one in that costume? I can't even remember if the timing lines up for it.

In a rare instance of poor camera work, they miss the full shot of Penta powerbombing Rey onto his own knees.

Chavo pulled Rey’s foot while he was on the turnbuckle, Penta then kicked Chavo off the apron and hit a package piledriver on Rey to pick up the win.

After the match, Penta goes to break Rey’s arm, but Rey is aware enough to send him to the outside with headscissors takedown. As he tries to follow up with a dive, Chavo runs into him, then grabs a chair. Chavo smacks Rey’s knee with the chair, then puts him in the tree of woe and gets the chair again. The ref steps in front of Rey at this point to stop the attack, but Chavo just hits him with the chair too, before going back to attacking Rey’s knee.

And that is how we're finishing this one.

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Not too much to say about that episode, probably as much of a filler episode as you can get with LU. It does feel like everything's in place now and we’re about due a run of ‘big’ episodes. Maybe this one was the calm before the storm, but it is a loooooonnng season so we might have to wait a bit more.

Next time: Payback Time

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- So, were there stories of any names that just didn’t want to work with Mascarita Sagrada? I seem to remember one or two taking liberties in matches with him in previous seasons, but were there any that just didn’t want to be involved with him at all because they thought he was beneath them?
- I’m thinking that every other week for Dario’s dial is a good choice, it keeps it regular while also giving it a bit of breathing space.
- (What I’m assuming has to be) The Rabbit Tribe are getting closer. Wonder if the tick tock is related to a certain other current person who likes tick tocking since I think he does show up in LU at some point.
- That’s Rey and Dragon both out ‘injured’ (unless the next episode title is about them), I do have a thought that maybe this’ll play into Black Lotus & Ninjas showing up soon.

[Deleted]

This episode is if nothing else atleast fun.

There is no real lore progression here and the episode of one of those heavy on the in-ring stuff and very light on any real story.

But there are some wonderful iconic moments here.

CHAAAAAAAVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! is so over the top for someone like Rey it spins off into just being so memorable lol , loved the touch of the lucha libre poster being Chavo's father Vs Dragon Azteca sr...LU world building just being so perfect.



What a gawd damn sell by B lol that is how one conveys shock and awe , everything about this was great from the bike with Mascarita in the sidecar , to B's selling like his soul just left his body , this is what I love about this feud it is the levity to the seriousness that is everything else again just fun.



"Put baby in the corner"


Brenda I f***ing love you lol.

Poor Mascarita did a f***ing header into the sidecar off the first dive.

Not much else to say...with the heels getting the win here it all but tells you this is not quite over yet.

JACK HAS HIS VOICE!! best episode ever!...wait no Catrina...3RD BEST EPISODE EVER!

"Jack from the heavens , The Dragon Slayer , Star Destroyer , Evans" this needs to keep going and by the end Jack has like 100 different nicknames he demands to be listed before he ever wrestles would be amazing.

But again like I said this episode if nothing else is just fun and this largely because of Jack applies to this match and this ends up being one of Sexy Stars best matches because Jack is just bumping his ass off here.

Babyfaces running interference to stop heel shenanigans you love to see it.

The main event was great as to be expected but the important thing here is Pentagon pinning Rey is absoloutley huge for him because the character has needed a siginificant win to get him back on the track and to be only the 2nd after Matanza to pin him is pretty significant for him moving forward here.

Me repeating myself here but this was just a fun episode nothing to really elaborate on with this one.

The next handful of episodes though ramps everything the f*** up...so this was most definetly a cool down episode because alot of what has been seed planted so far you will now begin to see bear fruit as they say.

[Gecko]

S03E07 – Payback Time

Last time
• Dragon Azteca gets taken out by Chavo before he can have his match with Pentagon
• Famous B & Dr Wagner beat Havoc and Sagrada
• Jack Evans failed to gain the GOTG from Sexy Star in a match seeing involvement from Worldwide Underground and Fenix, Aerostar, & Drago
• Rey wants a match with Chavo, Chavo wants his match with Penta, Penta’s been promised the main event. Dario makes it a 3-way.
• Penta wins the match, but fails in his arm break attempt on Rey, so Chavo goes after Rey’s knee with a chair instead.

Recaps of
• The history of Puma and Mil Muertes
• Killshot getting the mysterious note
• Mundo’s inability to get a title shot or help his partners get a title.
• Dario’s Dial of Doom
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We begin tonight in the locker room with Puma in the middle of preparations for his match. He is visited by Vampiro who is there to wish him luck in his match against Mil Muertes. Vamp even starts to offer his help before Puma cuts him off and tells him that he wants nothing to do with Vamp. He would rather die by Mil’s hand than live by Vamp's. Ooh, that’s a good line.

As Puma leaves, Vamp gives him his prediction for the match; He thinks that Mil Muertes will die by Puma’s hands.

Once Puma leaves, Vamp’s demeanour changes completely as all the friendliness disappears.



Random thought before I forget: Payback Time… Time as in… Tick tock? Perhaps?
------------------------------------------------------------
Vamp made it to commentary in time for the start of the show. He and Striker welcome us and let us know what is in store for tonight. Puma vs Mil for the first time since UL. As Vamp is hyping the match, there’s noticeable boos around the Temple. They are for Matanza, who is in the ring, which must mean it’s time for:

Dario’s Dial of Doom! (back by popular demand)

Killshot
Ivelisse	The Mack
El Dragon Azteca
Mariposa
Chavo Guerrero
Dr Wagner
Kobra Moon	Prince Puma
Dario's Choice	Son of Havoc
Johnny Mundo

I feel like Matanza is due for an easy one this week, possibly Dario’s choice?
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Lucha Underground Championship: Killshot vs ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto(c) w/Dario Cueto

Dario gives a passable ‘WAAAARRRRR!’ when doing his intro for Killshot.

I like how Matanza, despite being champ, still hasn’t earned himself a new boilersuit from his brother to replace his torn and stained one.

Killshot is going into this one pre-injured from his WMD match.



He makes sure to turn round to hang his dogtags up and give Matanza a good look at his target. He doesn’t get the chance to make a strong start as Matanza immediately goes on all out attack mode and starts throwing him around the place.

Killshot eventually dodges a corner splash, but is then caught off the top by the Monster. What does work for him, is bending Matanza’s fingers back. Well, for a little bit anyway.

Killshot breaks a pin attempt with a foot on the rope. I can’t remember the last time that happened in LU, it’s certainly not common.

Wow, Matanza got a reaction from everybody by going for a middle rope tombstone. Killshot managed to fight and then flip out of it, luckily for him. Things don’t get better for him though as, just a minute later, he gets hit with a brutal running European uppercut.

Wrath of the Gods finishes it for Matanza.

The result was never in doubt, but that was a good outing for Killshot. He showed his resilience in that one.

There’s something more happening here, Matanza and Dario leave and Killshot is just getting back up.

Killshot has a confused/disbelieving look on his face as he sees somebody approaching the ring. The guy, in military style get up, enters the ring and Killshot, after making sure he’s actually there, gives him a hug. The other guy doesn’t look thrilled.



Gee, I wonder who this guy is? Anyway, he attacks and leaves Killshot down in the middle of the ring with a musclebuster type move. The left for dead guy drop his own dogtags on Killshot and shoots him with his finger before he leaves.
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Better late then never. TICK TOCK.



They’ll be here soon.

Also, rabbit cam? Reminds me a little of WCW’s crab-cam at Bash at the Beach.

Fenix, Aerostar, & Drago vs

Fenix is letting the team down on the costume side of things.

Before the match, Dario exits his office to inform everybody of what the match will actually be, but first he has some exciting news! Four weeks from tonight… WARGAMES! AZTEC WARFARE!!!
Dario is still looking for a challenge for his brother, nobody has come close to beating Matanza for the title (apart from Puma, but let's not mention that, eh Dario?), and Dario doesn’t think there is anybody on the roster who can beat him. So, Matanza will be defending the title in AW! And he’s starting at #1! And he’ll be blindfolded!
He’s also giving the three in the ring the unique opportunity to enter at #20! They’ll be in a 3-way match against each other. The winner gets #20, but the losers are out of Aztec Warfare!

Drago vs Aerostar vs Fenix

The three start off by circling each other, but then Fenix steps out to allow the other two to wrestle. He framed it as a generous thing, but once again it comes off as a slightly heelish tactic from him.

Fenix eventually sneaks in sneakily like a sneak. The other two do take breathers as well, but it feels much more natural for them.

9 out of 10 doctors recommend not letting a dragon man land on your face from a crossbody.



the other 1 out of the 10 is Dr Wagner. After a while you can see all the blood spots on the mat. It’d look even worse on a normal mat compared to the grimy LU one.

After Fenix gets taken out of the picture with what Striker calls a reverse rana into piledriver, Drago hits a running blockbuster on Aerostar and gets the win, which caught me slightly off guard with the suddenness.

This one went just how you would expect a match between these three to. Plenty of spectacular stuff, some fun spots, and you could buy any of them winning.
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We are in the Lucha Bathroom with Drago and see Kobra Moon slithering across the floor. That’s got to be a risky move, have you seen the state of that place? The whole thing is a health hazard. She pops up behind Drago…



So, has she moved on from Daga (who we also haven’t seen yet this season), or is she just getting them confused because their names are similar?

Ooh. The scales have tipped in his favour, and now she expects Drago to win Aztec Warfare and bring the title back to their tribe. Yeah, that makes sense that they're the same tribe.
Ooh (again). Drago says that he left her tribe 1,000 years ago. All the interesting stuff just happened to take place 1,000 years ago, eh? (Oh, and I almost just brushed over the fact that Drago is at least a millennium old). Drago leaves after telling her that he’s never rejoining and she is interrupted by:



“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought this was the men’s room.” *chew, chew, fart*

Is that a just a random disgusting guy or am I blanking on who it is?
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Dario is relaxing in his office when *guitar note* Johnny Mundo enters carrying a briefcase. The music continues and suggests that we’re heading for a showdown.

Dario wearily asks what he can do for Mundo this time?
Mundo NEEDS to be LU champ. The world NEEDS to know that he’s the greatest.
He didn’t get picked for Dario’s gameshow, he didn’t get a GOTG title match despite all his friends getting one, so he’s a desperate man.

The solution is going back to when they didn’t see eye to eye and when Mundo gave Dario a black eye.

We're heading alllllll the way back to the very start of LU if we want to remember what Mundo is talking about.

*wavy lines*

Episode 1, Mundo won the main event on the first ever episode, which should have given him a Dario-promised $100K instead of getting attacked like he was by The Crew.
Episode 6, he takes Dario’s key to ransom for the $100K, and ends up in a ladder match for the money.
Episode 7, he beats Puma and Ryck in the ladder match, exchanges Dario’s key for Dario’s $100K, and gives El Jefe a black eye.
*wavy lines*

In the case is Dario’s $100,000 $94,373. He had to pay someone off. (I couldn’t catch who Dario said it was)

It is still enough for Mundo to get his shot against Sexy Star for the Gift of the Gods, next week.
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Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs Prince Puma

Catrina is… wow.

As the match starts, Vamp says that he can’t pick who is going to win. Uh uh, sure.

The match goes to the outside pretty early on and, after a couple of dives from Puma, he loses control of the match and Mil takes over. They end up wandering up the bleachers and Mil beats Puma down. He parts the believers and walks down the middle of them as they bow to him, back to Catrina.

Puma isn’t done yet!



Puma struggles to get Mil back in the ring after that. Puma goes for the 630 but aborts mid-move and rolls through as Mil dodges out the way. The momentum swings over to Mil again and he hits some big moves such as a powerslam and his spinning chokeslam.

Puma fights out of the flatliner attempt, this lets things switch again and Puma manages to hit the 630. That’s enough for the win!

We leave the Temple as Puma celebrates in the ring and Vampiro looks satisfied at commentary.
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We head somewhere else and hear Rey speaking to somebody as he walks on screen. He says that him and this person’s son go back a long way, so they must know how hard this is for him. He has nothing but respect for their family, but there are bigger things happening in the Temple, and Rey is fighting for more than just himself. If Rey does what he has to with Chavo, where does that put him with the Guerreros?



It's Chavo Classic who he's been talking to, and he asks if Rey is sure that what he is planning is the only way? Is he sure that’s what he needs to do?
Rey is positive; The Temple isn’t big enough for both him and Chavo Jr, one of them has to leave.

So we’re getting a Lucha Leaves the Temple match?
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After a bit of a lull last time, things are in motion again. Killshot’s past coming back to haunt him, Mundo’s past coming back to help him, Rey’s past coming back to…let's be honest here, probably betray him.

Puma getting his win over Mil should move things back in the right direction for him, but how much credit will Vamp get for it?

and TICK TOCK.

Next time: Gift of the Gods

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- Left for dead guy. I don’t immediately recognise him, do your thing and enlighten and inform me.
- That $100K goes way back. I can barely remember Dario and Mundo being so openly hostile towards each other.
- During the last match, I noticed that the ropes had some kinks in them and it became one of those things that you can’t ignore once you notice.

[Rave]

Bathroom dude is Vinnie Massaro, making his first appearance on the show since season 1. After this episode aired, I asked where he'd spent the whole of season 2, to which he replied that he'd been eating in the men's room.

[Deleted]

So time for story time.

I have been really sick hense why I did not do my usual response , but good news I am on the mend so I will hopefully be back to normal sooner than later but as of right now I am still walking death (sadly no Catrina by my side).

I will just say MAH BOY AR muthaf***in FOX has arrived!..this is who attacked Killshot there.

[Gecko]

Ah, AR Fox, I know the name at least.

I was wondering where you had disappeared to, I missed the extra input. It's good to hear you're on the mend, hope your recovery goes smoothly.

[Gecko]

Well there's a lot of wrestling on this weekend... But yesterday's was at a reasonable time so there's no delay here.

S03E08 –Gift of the Gods

Last time
• Vamp is still trying to get in good with Puma
• Dario announces Aztec Warfare is in 4 weeks, Matanza will be entering first and defending the title
• Killshot loses to Matanza after being chosen by Dario’s Dial. After the match, he is confronted and attacked by the one he left to die
• Tick Tock
• Drago beats Aerostar and Fenix for #20 in AW, the other two are out of the match
• Kobra Moon wants Drago to win AW for their tribe, he says he left the tribe 1,000 years ago
• Mundo returns Dario’s (almost) $100k he got in season 1 in exchange for a gotg title shot
• Puma defeats Mil Muertes
• Rey visits Chavo classic to inform him of his plans and says that the Temple isn’t big enough for him and Chavo Jr

Recaps of
• Cage going up 2-0 against Texano in a best of five for the ‘ultimate opportunity’
• Mundo finally getting his GOTG title match
• Ivelisse telling Jeremiah that she wants her relationship with him to be separate from her work

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Dario’s office is the first stop this week, and we find El Jefe checking over some financial records. Sexy Star is the one who doesn’t knock this week. She tells Dario that she’s not afraid of him or his brother. She wants her Lucha Underground Championship match next week!

Dario happily agrees… assuming she doesn’t lose her Gift of the Gods to Mundo tonight. He has also told Fenix, Aerostar, and Drago that if they interfere in the match, they are banned from the Temple forever. (I notice he didn’t mention Worldwide Underground). Sexy Star puts a brave face on things and says she hopes Dario is looking forward to crowning the first female LU champ.

Once she leaves, Dario points out that, as his mother could attest to, women don’t fare well against his brother.
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Slapbak are still playing the Temple as Striker and Vampiro do the usual intro stuff before sending it up to the ring.

Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez w/Mariposa vs Ivelisse



Mariposa doesn’t do anything other than watch, which is creepy enough on its own.

I think it’s pretty easy to have a guess at where this is going: Ivelisse wins, gets another beatdown, Jeremiah runs in, Ivelisse is pissed at him for getting involved.

Marty takes control, and commences with the creepiness. Mariposa gets in on things by also biting Ivelisse when the chance arrives. This actually gets a shot of Melissa at ringside with a “Come on!” complaint.

Marty locks in a seated full nelson then switches to a standing variation with Ivelisse suspended



He gets the win with a version of the suspended full nelson that he turns into a slam.

After the match Mariposa gets in the ring and she and Marty… roll Ivelisse out the ring and celebrate. Huh. Here comes Jeremiah anyway with a solid kick for each of them. The rest of his attack doesn’t go as planned and the Martinez siblings are soon beating him up instead.

We see a frustrated Ivelisse get in the ring to even the numbers and she and Jeremiah manage to run the Moths off.

I may have been wrong about some stuff, but I was right about Ivelisse being pissed at Jeremiah. He tries to explain and apologise and hug her while still in the ring, and continues as they leave.
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A top hat and white suit? It’s a magician! The return of Phantasio!

“I was lost until I followed the white rabbit. It led me back to my roots, to my tribe. And now, I’m not lost…”



“I’m found!”

I did kind of know that Paul London was showing up at some point looking like that (I never would have guessed otherwise) thanks to a sig I did years back, but my brain still refused to make the connection with that info and what I’ve been seeing with the rabbit tribe. I know there's a couple of others that show up with him, but I can't remember who so we'll have to find out.
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Outside the Temple, Ivelisse is marching to her car. She pauses to explain again to Jeremiah that she doesn’t want him here.
He tells her that Dario gave him an offer to compete and he accepted since it’s always been his dream to hurt people for money. I bet Dario just loved him.

The couple that slays together, stays together.

Ivelisse reluctantly agrees to team up with him, but warns him that she’ll kick his ass if Dario makes them fight each other.
The camera follows him walking round the car to get in, before it’s distracted by Dario walking to a more expensive car nearby.

In the limo, Dario is told that ‘His’ descension is now complete. This pleases Dario as now they’re close to being unstoppable. When asked if he’s chosen the next host body (hey, I remember guessing something like that!), he says that he has two in mind and either is perfect. They’re both big and strong; almost god-like themselves.



What’s in the box?! If it’s a bunch of spider monsters, they stole that from Buffy.

Dario says that the timing is perfect since one of the men might win the ‘ultimate opportunity’ in tonight’s next match.

You don’t really see potential apocalyptic situations in wrestling these days. I’m assuming Dario and crew succeeding is bad for absolutely everybody else, and that’s why you’ve got others working against him.
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Best of Five: Texano (0) vs Cage (2)

Series point for Cage here, Texano needs the win and starts the match with urgency.

The match spills outside as commentary has fun with some sports references.

Hard sunset flip over the ropes into a powerbomb on the floor by Texano. He misses a senton to follow and that puts him in trouble.

Top rope superplex from Cage!

Nothing too technical in this one, just a bunch of big, hard hitting stuff.

Texano gets caught with a sneaky discus lariat, and I thought that was it for him. Cage follows up with a bucklebomb and F5, but the lazy cover lets Texano kick out.

Small package gets the quick pin for Texano, he’s still in the series.
Texano 1-2 Cage

Nothing too special, but it had the story of Cage’s overconfidence costing him the match. Cage is not looking happy with himself.
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Back to Dario’s office where he is having a Pulp Fiction moment by looking at the glowing contents of the box he received without showing us what it contains. He is interrupted by a polite knock on the door.



He puts his forbidden box of mystery away and turns his attention to Mysterio.

Rey politely enquires as to whether Dario has a moment for him. Dario assures him that he has all the time in the world for Rey.
Rey says there may not be much time left for him in the Temple. He launches into his sales pitch about how he’s known Chavo for a long time and his work is too important to be dealing with his bullshit, so he’s asking for a loser leaves lucha match.

Dario is more than pleased to accept the request and has his main event for next week and hopes Rey will enjoy it as much as he will enjoy watching.
Rey admits he won’t enjoy it as much, but sometimes you have to put a dog down for it’s own good.
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Gift of the Gods Championship: Johnny Mundo vs Sexy Star(c)

Melissa really put a lot into saying the match was for the GOTG. She makes sure that the gods can hear when she mentions them.



Mundo coming out alone, that’s no guarantee that it’ll remain that way. Mundo has to be winning here, right? Even as a heel, you can’t have him go through all this only to fail at the final hurdle. (well, unless it's Clash at the Castle).

Ha! Mundo goes to give his sunglasses to a lucky fan, only to give him the finger instead!

Mundo takes control of the match with some straight up wrestling to start.

That’s certainly one way to take a neckbreaker…



Mundo is doing all the work in this match. I’m not the most observant when it comes to this sort of stuff, but it’s obvious that Star is just kind of there to do what Mundo says in order to make the match happen.

Ref bump! That’s a rare occurrence in LU. Mundo has Star across his shoulders and turns which clonks the ref on the head with Star’s feet. This causes a delay for the count on a potentially winning pin for the champ. You wait ages for one, and then two come along at the same time! Sexy Star is arguing with the ref about the slow count, but her female intuition allows her to step out of the way just in time for the spear from Mundo to connect with the ref instead. Now he’s down properly.

Cue Worldwide Underground? Yep. Black and Evans run out to save Mundo from getting choked out and hit a double superkick on Star. There’s even time for a quick air guitar performance from the trio before they hit a triple team move.

Black and Evans exit the ring as a second ref slides in. Mundo pins Star… and Star kicks out! The second ref gets shouted at by Mundo for not counting quick enough before he's dragged out of the ring and gets hit with a double superkick.

LU don’t have too many refs, do they? They must be running low on spares at this point. Striker, as quite often happens, answers my question by saying that they only have three officials on staff.

A chair is introduced. It is placed around the neck of Sexy Star while she is held down near the corner by Evans and Black. Mundo reeeeeeaaaallllllyyyyy wants that title.



I wouldn’t be too worried if I was Star, Mundo doesn’t have the best aim with this.

Hey, it’s The Mack! That’s right, he’s friendly with Star. He takes out Black with a stunner, but then gets caught with a plancha from Evans… that he gets right back up from? Hang on a minute *several re-watches later* Ahhhh, he actually caught Evans with a stunner on the way down! Nice.

Mundo gets a stunner too, just so he doesn’t feel left out. Star then smacks him in the head with the chair. The original ref chooses now to recover and crawls over to count the three….No! Mundo kicks out!

Star gets distracted by Mack fighting with Evans and Black outside which gives Mundo a chance to recover.

Mundo is prevented from using the chair by the ref, which is fine by him as then he can use the brass knuckles that he had hidden while the ref is busy getting rid of the chair.

That’s enough for the win! New Gift of the Gods Champion: Johnny Mundo!



An emotional Mundo celebrates his courageous victory in the ring as the commentary dismiss it as nothing more than thievery.
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We join Puma training by hitting things with a stick. Wouldn’t you know it, he gets another visit from Vampiro. He asks if Puma is proud of himself, because he should be. Beating Mil was a great first step, but he’s not done with Mil.

Vamp asks if he’s forgotten what Mil did to Konnan?
No, Puma hasn’t forgotten, but he’s also not forgotten all the things that Vamp said about Konnan. (Ha!)
Vamp says he didn’t like Konnan, but he wasn’t the one to stuff him in a casket while he was still alive and send him to an early grave. To find his true potential, Puma is going to have to do the same to Mil.

Vamp takes his leave, having given Puma some more to think about.

I like this. If Vamp’s advice keeps panning out, Puma will come to trust him and I predict that we’ll eventually get a scene where Puma seeks out Vamp for guidance instead of Vamp having to go to him.
------------------------------------------------------------

Next time: Loser Leaves Lucha

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I liked the result of the Marty/Ivelisse match more than my guess. You could see Jeremiah’s reasoning if she was getting attacked, but that was just an unprovoked sneak attack… that she had to rescue him from.
- What’s in the box?! Some mystical, magical, ceremonial thing probably.

- Mundo’s got the GOTG… now what does he do? Did he have a plan for this part? I don't see him being in any rush to cash in, he probably likes just having a title.

- Unless things go all screwy, we'll be seeing the last of Rey or Chavo next week. But since this is wrestling, there's nothing to say that it'll be permanent.

[Deleted]

I am still on the mend here but feelin good enough to get back into a groove here...so before I drop dead here I go.

SE3 Episode 7

I love this little cat and mouse game between Vamp and Puma , where Vamp keeps prodding Puma to give into all his negative emotions by drudging up all the things that keep mentally beating Puma down but Puma seemingly wont give Vamp what he wants....but Vamp knows he is winning this because just by going after Mil he knows Puma is listening to Vamp.

That Die by Mil then live by Vamps hands was such a fire line though and not so subtley plants the seeds.

I will come back to the match in a bit but right now AR MUf***IN FOX IS HERE1! Mah boy , when I tell you things are about to kick up a whole buncha notches I am absoloutley underselling what is coming from this...like Sam Jackson once said hold onto to your butts.

Rabbit cam Vs Crab cam LETS GO! the ultimate animal kingdom throwdown ...I got money on the furballs because they can multiply like gremlins...although if the crab moves the battle to the water might be advantageous.

And now we get a bit of a (good) retcon here with Kobra Moons character and I say a bit since it is not a complete reinvention but now she is developing a proper direction for the character overall, because the first vingette had her as a sort of jewel thief very catwoman'esc but then when she debuted Vamp was talking about her tribal history and so this vingette basically solidifies the direction and from here on out you really get to see the improvement in Kobra Moon begin.

And we get a huge lore info here for Drago confirming quite a few things....he and Kobra Moon have history dating back 1000yrs, he infact did belong to one of the 7 tribes ontop of Vamps knowledge he dropped way back during her debut in the temple when he said this tribe was the first and is the most evil.

As for crawling around in that place Kobra Moon should probably take heed of Catrinas words.

Karlee/Catrina: Everything in that place is made to give you tetnis

And now we get to my favourite vingette on this episode and argueably the best call back in this shows history , this is Johnny in spectacular fasion his desperation on full display and I love how this has built on the relationship between these two since the beginning...Dario has always dangled the preverbial carrott in front of Mundo and so it has made total sense he has spent weeks doing it here just to see how desperate Mundo would get just for his own amusement and it results in us going back to the beginning by bringing back the briefcase full of money in order to show how desperate Johnny has become , this is absoloutley brilliant on so many levels as the perfect callback to move not just a story along but also building not just the individual characters but the relationship between Dario and Johnny.

It is absoloutely one of if not Johnnys best acted moment on the show , just how you can just see it but almost feel the desperation radiating off of him untill Dario finally lifts that pressure off his shoulders by confirming the match , every single thing about this was built to perfection.

This is just my opinion but I would not doubt if there was some genuine real world emotion here from Johnny in that he really did want to show the world that he is as great as he has always believed he is and this would be his time to finally prove it.

And then get a pretty cool Godfather'esc moment with Rey and hi Chavo Classic...this was a neat surprise and how it is used to tie the history of Mysterio and the Guerreros together and of course actual lucha libre history.

As for the rest of this episode the matches were bangers but there is still so much I cannot quite elaborate on because I am not trying to drop any hints of real major things to come hense why alot of what I say here is atleast like scattered lego parts (don't step on those) at the moment......but these is something on the horizon though that is going to kick up alot of discussion though.

Gonna get to the next episode either later tonight or later in the week depending on how I am feeling.

[Gecko]

S03E09 – Loser Leaves Lucha

Last time
• Sexy Star activates her GOTG power for a title match in one week’s time
• Marty beats Ivelisse relatively fairly
• Jeremiah attacks Marty and Mariposa after the match and then has to be rescued by Ivelisse
• Tick Tock
• Jeremiah reveals he’s now part of the Temple and convinces Ivelisse to team up with him
• Dario meets with Delgado, is told that ‘his’ descension is complete, gets handed a box and confirms that he has candidates for the next host body.
• Texano beats Cage to go 1-2 in the best of five, thanks to Cage’s arrogance
• Dario grants Rey’s request for a Loser Leaves Lucha match against Chavo
• Mundo, with help from Evans and Black, defeats Star, who was assisted by Mack since the Trios champs were banned from getting involved, for the GOTG
• Vamp is in the ear of Puma again, he says to reach his true potential, he’ll have to do to Mil what Mil did to Konnan

Recaps of
• Joey Ryan betraying Cortez by revealing his true identity as a cop to Dario, leading to Penta breaking his arm after a match.
• Chavo attacking Dragon Azteca, which ultimately makes Rey decide that one of them has to leave the Temple.

------------------------------------------------------------
Striker welcomes us and lets us know that there are a lot of special guests in the Temple tonight, such as The Believers, Slapbak providing the tunes, and Chavo Classic. As Matt gets into talking about tonight's main event, he’s interrupted by Dario who wants to get his Dial of Doom segment going.

Joey Ryan	Killshot
Ivelisse	The Mack
El Dragon Azteca Jr
Mariposa
Chavo Guerrero Jr
Dr Wagner
Kobra Moon	Prince Puma
Dario's Choice	Son of Havoc
Johnny Mundo

Joey Ryan is the newest name on the wheel, and wouldn’t it be awfully convenient for Dario if his name came up and Matanza made him disappear? It's not like Dario can trust him to any degree.

Dario reminds us that in two weeks, it’s Aztec Warfare, with Matanza defending his title in it, from the number one spot no less.

I really do want to see a LU inspired gameshow hosted by Dario.

Tonight’s selection on the dial: Dario’s Choice! Dario’s having fun with this, he first asks for volunteers, then he dismisses everybody in the crowd who wanted to have a go, as he wants some real competition.
He goes through some names. Rey? Already has a match. Pentagon Dark? We’ve already seen him lose to Matanza. This does give him an idea though. There’s a guy backstage who had his arm broken, but he still turns up every week to rehab and train just in the hope of getting his shot again. Uh oh…



Is that a cat or a rabbit? Either way, it’s a suspicious looking group.

Lucha Underground Championship: Cortez Casto vs ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto(c) w/Dario Cueto



I really, really think that Cortez is winning the title here!

Ooh, wonder if we see a cast getting broken spot.

Cortez manages to dodge once, then a headbutt takes him down and Matanza just starts stamping on his arm.



I got my wish, but I didn’t imagine it quite like that. I didn’t do a gif of it, because you need the crack and crunch of it to get the full effect.

Cortez is still somehow fighting and uses the discarded cast as a weapon. The fight doesn’t last much longer though and Matanza beats another one with Wrath of the Gods.

Dario hands Matanza his title, then turns his attention to Cortez. He says that he didn’t know that he wasn’t ready to get back in the ring yet. He tells Cortez to get plenty of rest “under covers” and come back as soon as he can, Rat.
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Dario is in his office with Joey Ryan having a great laugh at how things went with them both mocking Cortez. A knock on the door signals a new visitor, so Joey takes his leave.
Dario is confused about why Havoc is here, he’s got a match on next. Havoc says he’s here on behalf of his buddy Sagrada, who is with him.

Mascarita wants Famous B in a match, one-on-one. After some convincing, Dario agrees to make the match… with some conditions. The match will happen, but whoever wins tonight’s match between Havoc and Wagner gets to pick the stipulation for it.
Dario amuses himself by getting in another size joke before they leave.
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Puma is in the ring with a mic. He says that he beat Mil Muertes two weeks ago, but just beating him wasn’t enough. It sounds like Vamp is having some significant influence on him now.
Puma brings up Mil putting Konnan in a coffin, and that he won’t stop until he does the same to Mil! He challenges Mil Muertes to Grave Consequences! Yay! (the yay was all me)

It was pretty obvious that we were heading for Grave Consequences, but that didn’t lessen ut abty (This is where Catrina appeared at the top of the stairs and I got distrtacted from typionfg.)



Catrina is here to accept the challenge. Also a distraction as Mil, wearing a suit, runs in to attack from the other side (pun intended? I don’t know. On a similar note, it took me far, far too long to get the actual joke in the chicken crossing the road joke).



Puma fights out of the Flatliner and forces Mil’s retreat from the ring. Puma was nice enough to throw Mil’s jacket back to him as he was leaving.
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Dr Wagner w/Famous B & Brenda vs Son of Havoc w/Mascarita Sagrada

Melissa just gives up introducing Wagner part way through as she knows she’s getting halted at some point anyway.

Famous B is really killing it in this role.

Melissa is still in the ring, maybe just to announce the extra bits for this one? Yup.

Did I hear Brenda say “Shave that beard off!”? She’s being very vocal at ringside and has a voice that cuts through the other background noise.

Moonsault off the barrier by Havoc as B tries to get the crowd to calm down.

Famous B gets a couple of cheap shots in on Havoc and takes care of Sagrada when he comes over to stop him.

There’s a D&D reference and Striker’s response mentions six-sided dice aka dice. (I know they also get used in D&D, but they’re pretty much standard for everything else) Vamp does actually say that it’s a 20-sided dice.

Brenda manages to get a Doctor Wagner chant going all by herself.

After what was a solid match, Havoc gets the win with the SSP.

Brenda and B look distraught, but Wagner is getting helped out by the ref and a crew member, which isn’t a good sign.

Looks like we won’t have to wait to learn the stip, Havoc has a mic. He says that he’ll pick whatever Sagrada wants. Sagrada whispers in his ear and next week Famous B will face him in…. A Believer’s Backlash Match!

Quick reminder: This is where the believers at ringside have straps that they can use on the participants. We saw Hernandez lose to Drago in the only previous one at the end of Season 1. But wait, there’s more: This time, the believers get to bring whatever weapons they want! E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub!
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More from the Rabbit Tribe representative.

“I’ve always tried to understand my destiny, but could never see clearly… until I followed the white rabbit down the hole.”
“He told me the ancient tales of my ancestors, and to go and compete in The Temple.”



He goes on to say that the rabbit told him that all he has to do is open his eyes and he would see his destiny.

Talking rabbits, eh? Yeah, why not, it’s not crazier than some of the stuff that goes on here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Back to commentary for some breaking news: They can confirm that next week will be Prince Puma vs Mil Muertes in Grave Consequences. A career may end next week, but tonight one will definitely come to a close.

Loser Leaves Lucha: Chavo Guerrero Jr vs Rey Mysterio Jr

So, how long until Chavo Classic gets involved?

Commentary doing a good job of building up how influential each lucha (and their families) have been and just how long they’ve been around, and how it’s going to end for one of them tonight.

Chavo keeping things slow and grounded at the start.

Who was it that had that ridiculously slow falling off a chair bump at commentary? Chavo Classic doesn’t quite match it, but it’s not one for a highlight reel as he gets hit by a hurricanrana-propelled Chavo Jr and knocked off his chair.

These two being so familiar with each other is good since they’ll know what’s coming without even thinking and everything should look smooth (Future Gecko:  there are actually a couple of slightly dodgy looking bits during the match), but that’s also a negative because it’d be easy to get lazy and just repeat spots that they’ve done so many times before.

Vamp hopes that Chavo Jr having so much support from his dad doesn’t confuse him

Both of them now have one sore leg each.

Its been a pretty back and forth fight so far, with neither obviously winning on points.

Chavo, as is traditional, fails to complete the Three Amigos suplexes. Rey hits an ugly tilt-a-whirl thingy to put Chavo in place for the 619.

This brings Chavo Classic in the ring with a chair… Rey pauses in his run up, Chavo Sr smiles… and then turns and smacks his son in the head with the chair!
Wait, is this a DQ situation? IT IS!



Chavo Classic jumps around and starts celebrating with his unconscious son as Rey is still in shock.

A flustered sounding Melissa announces the winner as Chavo and that Rey must leave LU forever.

Here’s El Jefe! I was wondering if he’d show up. Of Course, knowing Dario, he might just be here to say bye to Rey.
No, he’s not happy with the ref for calling for a DQ in his main event! This match is not over, there will be no DQ’s as anything goes, and he restarts it.

A quick attack attempt from the Guerreros sees them both end up draped over the second rope. Jr dodges, but Sr is removed from the equation for the time being. Chavo rolls through a seated senton into a single leg crab. Rey manages to reach the ropes, but Chavo just drags him back to the middle of the ring.

After a few more minutes, Rey manages to hit the 619 and falling splash to get the win!

I feel like that one benefited a great deal from it essentially being split into two halves.

And I guess that’s the last we see of Chavo.
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Next time: Ready for War

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I blame LU (specifically Matanza) for the recent cannibalism trend in wrestling.
- Brenda is great, Partly because she doesn’t really feel like she has an alignment. She’s with the heels right now, but it feels like you could switch her over to supporting a face within a couple of weeks without much issue.
- I hope somebody brings a big Marshmallow shaped pillow or something as a weapon.
- As I was filling in my reference document, I realise that it’s been a while since we saw Lotus and her ninjas starting their journey back to the Temple. Maybe that's one for AW, along with a potential rabbitty debut.

[Deleted]

So after alot of rest and bedside care from Catrina which involved alot of.....wait I think I am saying the quiet part loud forget you heard this YOU HEARD NOTHING!...now I have to pay off those internet photos.

But seriously though nice to finally be back up and normal 95% is normal right? that is what this porn profile...I mean damn it.

but I got twice the coverage so lets do this.

Season 3 episode 8.

I love how quick Dario sways back and forth on who he likes week to week but it is all in the situation and not for just any reason , like for a bit there he was kind of on sexy stars side during the whole Mariposa feud but then sexy won the GOTG and it flipped back to Dario trying to pressure her into cashing in her GOTG on his brother and now he is swayed even further by Mundo giving him back his money , Dario doesn't even really have to do anything here because the situation is playing right into his hands but also goes back to what I said about Dario in that he has become very complacent believing his brother (outside of Limo Dr Claw) is absoloutley untouchable , going as far as to put him at #1 in aztec warfare and going all random chance his brother wont lose with his gameshow of doom , Dario has been arrogant before but he is on a whole other level of cocaine high at the moment.

And tieing the entire thing back to how it ended for his mother against his brother great stuff.

Ive Vs Marty was fun for what it was but this was all about just furthering the Ive and Jeremiah "love" angle here but I like how it plays at the end with Marty and Mariposa not doing anything to Ive after the match but Jeremiah feels compelled to suddenly be mr hero AFTER the match (could have been out there during the match bruh lol) like it paints him as such an asshole even in the midst of something that usually would be a babyface thing to do very well played.

PAUL LONDON IS HERE!! and the drugs are about to be free flowing , this I can tell you is just so much fun , this fills in a role that only Famous B right now is occupying and that is comedic levity amongst the rest of the stories but Paul is such an amazingly insane creative mind and really this run reminds everyone just how good he is.



But here is some fun info about this entire thing without spoiling anything.

When they first came up with look of this gimmick and they were testing out different looks for what they wanted during dark matches at one point they came out looking like old school naval divers lol.

Paul London before this had a gimmick pitch...in which he would debut washing up on a beach and he would find a treasure chest and in that treasure chest he would find the Giant Gonzalez body suit and he would absorb its powers before debuting in the temple and no I am not joking this is from the very mind of Paul London lol.

But trust when I tell you this is one hell of a fun time with Paul London.

Hey Dario I am sure everyone has one question for you.



Yea I cannot elaborate on this because one could take a million guesses never know whats in the box.....and this is one of those planted seeds I will not risk even hinting at.

But moving back into something I touched on earlier about how I love Dario flipping his emotions well here we are again he has all but completely thrown sexy star to the wolves , but here he is being all chummy with Rey because the situation is playing right into Dario's hands , he knows eventually he has to deal with Rey if Rey sticks around but loe and behold a chance to get rid of him falls right into his lap and he is more than happy to give Rey what he wants because it potentially benefits him in the long run , it is that untouchable ability to weave so many stories in and out seemlessly together that LU has and is on full display here. , and oh yea Chavito is involved to ...will get to him in a bit.

Mundo Vs Sexy Star is what it is...you know what you are getting out of sexy star and Johnny tries his damndest get something half way decent out of her and I guess he succeeds depending on your defition of success , but what is a success NEW GOTG!! AND THINGS ARE RIGHT IN THE MUNDO!

I know you brought it up but ima bring it up again here love how they touched on the ammount of refs they have available something that as far as I know no wrestling show ever touches on and fills in that gap of how they are allowed to do all their bullshit with no consequences AND you already know why Dario is gonna get up off his ass to do anything here , this is brilliantly and wonderfully executed.

And Johnny that hardworking honest man with the tears in his eyes , overcoming all those odds put against him what a hero to us all he is.

But there is something in that result I cannot yet touch on but it is on the horizon and what a tale it is.

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

Season 3 episode 9

Poor Cortez Castro , he quite litetally Dario's whipping boy at this point but there is nothing he can really do about it because he is loyal to his job and it doing nothing but making the foley artists job so much more fun because that was such fun but at the sametime YEOW spot when Matanza rebreaks his arm and great spot when Cortez just blasts him in the skull with the broken cast , great hope spot but alas like all others he suffers the wrath of the gods.

And Cortez was wonderful here his screams in absoloute pain as Matanza just murder stomps really painted the suffering he is going through he sells it wonderfully and Dario is at his most sinister here because he knows Cortez isn't a threat to him at all.

And just to further how little Cortez means to Dario here he is having a howl of a time with Joey in his office.

Hell this entire thing is Dario having a hell of a time as it transitions from laughing about Cortez getting murked to the short joke factory and Dario has been so chipper , the dude isn't short on happiness tonight things are just going all his way right now.

Speaking of things going their way 10 OUTTA 10 EPISODE CAT SUIT CATRINA IS HERE!....I mean suit Mil is here and Puma can say all he wants about not listening to Vamp but clearly he is.

I love how Pumas first instinct when Mil gets into the ring is to stab him with the mic , it is pretty much a recreation of their final confontation before Ultima Lucha 1 so this was all a nice little call back.

Speaking of call backs and this is not something elaborate but if you go back a few episode to when Dario got those mysterious photos but he also pulled out a hat...a Famous B hat , remember what color the hat was? because that was a little clever hint to Famous B's salmon colored suit he debuts here , which is something LU did not have to do and idk how many people even realized it by this point because again it is not a mind blowing piece of info but it is real fun to catch this fun little detail.

You have to always admire Brendas dedication to her job look at her out here with her giant synringe , always prepared to save her clients never know when someone might need some epenephrine.

Vamp corrected Striker on D&D knowledge about twenty sided dye all while he has prior buried him for his comicbook references always makes me laugh as Vamp proves how much a nerd he really is and also being deeply offended by Motorcycle Gang , Vamp is very sensitive confirmed.

Wagner and Havoc in a chopfest always here for it.

"You son of a bitchy baby" I f***ing love Brenda lmao

And now we get our first clear look at the entirety of the rabbit tribe and they are somehow even kookier than they look , but I am gonna only gonna spoil one of these because the identity of the other one will become obvious...but I will tell you if you were not impressed when you first saw him which I do not blame you he was not around very long atleast the character but...see that nightmare of a thing in checkers outfit? remember Mariachi Loco? say hello to the former Mariachi Loco and IMO an absoloutley highlight of the rest of the season he gets to really show out from now on.

Rey Vs Chavito...or as I like to call it which I never thought I would ever say it when I first saw it but welcome to Chavitos best match in LU and no surprise it against Rey who he has pretty much instant chemistry with and it shows here , both guys came with their working boots on here , but not much to say otherwise the match speaks for itself.

I love the twist of Chavo Classic though hitting his son and get him the win , I mean how many times have we seen this same situation in other companies but they never logically follow through but LU pulled the trigger here but then it gets reversed and this goes back to what I have said earlier and has been a running theme Dario's emotions and the situation dictating who he wants to help at any given moment and it all makes sense here.

I also love that instead of the match ending right away once Dario does his thing the match plays out a little longer to still keep that seed planted in your head that maybe Chavo is still going to win regardless.

Sadly there is a donwer here as I believe this is the litersl last time we ever see Chavo Classic as a few weeks or a few months aft this aired he sadly passed away , so it is all a bitter sweet ending here.

[Deleted]

So I have been been tip toeing around elaborating on the tribes for good reason but as we have a new tribe on the way I will do what I did with some tribes before by posting about their actual history which you can kind of disren (sp?) will play into what they may or may not get up to in the temple but it does help flesh out an understanding of the tribe itself as LU mixes the real hisory with their insane creativity.

The rabbit was the Aztecs’ favored creature of the hunt and was identified with the Chichimecs, the hunter-gatherers, and the patron hunting god, Mixcoatl, also known as the “cloud serpent”. The rabbit was also the ancient Mesoamerican symbol of the moon and is depicted in the art of Pre-Hispanic Central Mexico, Classic Mayan, and ceramic Mimbres art of the American southwest.

According to Miller and Taub, “In Postclassic Central Mexico, the rabbit was also closely identified with the intoxicating drink PULQUE. This association is well documented in the day name Tochtli, meaning rabbit in Nahuatl. The patron of Tochtli was MAYAHUEL, the goddess of MAGUEY [agave plant] and by extension its principle product, pulque. Moreover, the many PULQUE GODS were known collectively as the centzon totochtin, meaning 400 rabbits, or by the calendar name Ome Tochtli, or 2 Rabbit” (pg 142).

pulque: alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant

So they may or may not be drunks lol gonna have to wait to find out.

And yes while we did get confirmation that Kobra Moon and Drago were part of the same tribe I am not gonna be talking further about that one...not yet atleast.

[Rave]

I used to frequently crack contact high jokes about the Rabbits for reasons that, if they aren't already clear, will be clear very soon.

Brenda is a treasure and Believer's Backlash in the next episode is one of my favorite things LU put on.

El Jefe is forever a lover of violence and an enemy of stupid finishes. I've found my old weekly posts and I remember hating that DQ. Was ready to give them so much grief before the restart.

And yes, this was Chavo Classic's last hurrah, as he passed away during the mid-season hiatus.

[Gecko]

S03E10 – Ready For War

Last time
• It’s Dario’s choice on his Dial of Doom. He picks Cortez Castro, who still has his arm in a cast.
• Cortez loses to Matanza and has his cast (and arm re-) broken, Dario subtly lets him know that he’s aware of his true identity.
• Puma challenges Mil Muertes to Grave Consequences, Catrina accepts for him, Puma fights off a Mil sneak attacked
• Havoc beats Dr Wagner and gets to chose the stipulation for Famous B vs Mascarita Sagrada. He choses, in consultation with Sagrada, a Believer’s Backlash match where it’s also bring your own weapons.
• More members of The Rabbit Tribe reveal themselves
• Despite some Guerrero shenanigans, Rey beats Chavo to banish him from the Temple forever.

Recaps of
• All that led to tonight’s Believer’s Backlash Match

• Vampiro’s sneaky influence over Puma and manipulating him into going against Mil in Grave Consequences.

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A Catrina pep talk to start things off tonight. She knows that Mil has beaten Puma before, but she doesn’t want him beaten this time, she wants him gasping for air as the life leaves his body, just like she’s seen Mil do before.

At this point, Mil rises to his feet, and I swear the music is from one of the old God of War games.

Catrina also warns Mil that if he leaves again, she won’t bring him back.

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Ha, it took me a second before I remembered the answer to the question: “Why’s that guy got a bicycle wheel?”. It looks like there’s a fair selection of weapons, some more dangerous than others.

Slightly unusually, Vampiro is the one to lead the introduction from commentary in this last episode before Aztec Warfare.

I’ve got a good feeling about this episode already.

Believer’s Backlash: Famous B w/Brenda vs Mascarita Sagrada

No Nurse Brenda as she is representing fame instead tonight.



B is not really dressed for this.

No Havoc joining the marshmallow at ringside. I’m guessing since Wagner isn’t about, he thinks he’s not needed to counter just Brenda. Could be a critical mistake.

I’m seeing double, Two Famous B’s! Oh, wait, one’s a cardboard cut out that has been brought as a weapon.

Sagrada having fun, putting on football pads and helmet so he can tackle B. Wait, he’s looking under the ring, he’s getting a ladder! It’s… appropriately sized for him.



He more than doubles the height by putting it on the commentary desk.

A big bag of popcorn?

Brenda provides a distraction by not actually doing much.

A Sombrero! Somebody pleeeeeaaaaaasssseee put it on for FAN’s sake.

The wizard hat! Yes, I know this match recap is mostly just me typing random objects with no context.

B goes through the contents of a toolbox, which ends with him finding Arrogance! As in Rick ‘The Model’ Martel’s atomizer.

What the hell am I watching? I’m loving it, but I’d sound crazy trying to explain to a non-fan that this mini luchador put on a wizard hat and used a magic wand, that was previously used to make a woman attractive, in order to help get a bowling ball out of a bag to use as a weapon in a wrestling match.

Ha, they had sound effects when he bowled it in between B’s pins.

Brenda is up on the apron providing another distraction… and here comes Wagner. There’s a temporary halt in his attack, as B stops him from using a picture of himself as a weapon. The delay gives Havoc time to get out here to even things up.



As Havoc and Wagner fight to the back, Famous B tries to crawl away too and begs for help from Brenda.

Famous B is getting choked by his own tie, so Brenda helps out by cutting it with THE GIANT PAIR OF SCISSORS THAT MELISSA SANTOS HAS FOR SOME REASON!? What, were they for protection against Marty or something?

Brenda gets a cream pie from Sagrada. Yes, I know.



Sagrada hits Famous B with Matt Striker’s shoe, before coming off the top with the DDT and pinning famous B in a detritus filled ring.

That victory has earned Mascarita Sagrada his own vest from Havoc, he’s properly in the club now.

Wow. That has to be (one of?) the best 'serious stipulation worked as a less serious/comedy match' I’ve seen. The only thing that springs to mind to compare it to is WeeLC. Just well done to everybody involved with it, great fun all round.

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Killshot walks into the locker room to talk to his old buddy, who I think he called Dante? (future Gecko: Yup) He says he hears that Dario gave him a job. Dante says that Dario was impressed by what he did to Killshot.
Killshot he understands why Dante did what he did, but hopes that they can put it all behind them, he’s just happy to have him home.
Dante says, as they hug, that tonight they stand united, just like old times.

Neither one of them looked that trusting or happy in that hug.

“Never trust a hug. It’s just a way to hide your face.” - The Doctor

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Drago practicing his Nunchuk moves in the Lucha bathroom mirrors when Kobra Moon pops up behind him again.

She asks if he’s preparing for war, just like he did a millennia ago for their tribe, and then throws a few punches at him. He blocks them and tells her that he was never a member of her tribe, he was a slave.

I'm thinking he was only used as a weapon against the enemies of the tribe and was never rewarded for his achievements or allowed to be a proper part of the tribe and so he left. Or maybe he was rescued by a certain spaceman?

She asks if he wants to suffer the same fate as Daga? (His absence has been noted) Torn apart by Lord Pindar. So, another super powered monster to keep track of? I supposed it’s only fair that every tribe gets one of their own. Bet he's a big snake-god.

Drago is surprised that Pindar is alive. Kobra confirms it and says that he’ll make Drago kneel before her and call her his queen.

...This guy. This guy, has terrible timing (and hygiene).



He does realise that he’s interrupting something and says that he’ll just use the ladies room, before leaving… possibly using jet propulsion going by the noise.

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5 on 5: The Mack, Mariposa, Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez, Ivelisse, Jeremiah Crane vs Killshot, Argenis, Dante Fox, Texano, Cage.

Just a random 10 person tag match, but with the added bonus for the winning team of getting into Aztec Warfare. Once we get to the second name announced, it’s clear this is a Dario special. We also get to hear Jeremiah’s full name, as well as confirmation on Dante’s.

Other things of note: 1) Melissa stared right at Marty being creepy while she announced Cage. What's the matter, Melissa? Missing your scissors? ...I said, what's the matter, missing your scissors? 2) I see Argenis is here for his make up the numbers spot.

I’m thinking a Team Mack win here… maybe.

The new boys kicking things off for their respective teams. Jeremiah Crane I think will fit right into the Temple, I’m not familiar with Fox’s stuff, but he’s off to a good start and came in with a story which is an advantage.

It doesn't take long for the first team argument to happen and it comes from Cage and Texano. It eventually evolves into a shoving match on the outside with Killshot trying to intervene.

Fox and Killshot are left alone in the ring after the traditional ‘everybody dives out the ring’ section of the match. They don’t appear to be entirely friendly, but an attempted ambush by Mariposa and Marty sees them perfectly in sync as they take out the moths.

Killshot tries an Orange Crush (suplex into a powerbomb) on Ivelisse, but she counters into a hurricanrana. She looks in serious pain from her left foot after the sequence, and more viewings suggest that it got crushed under the weight of a couple of people while twisted at a funny angle.



Fox stops Marty finishing off Killshot… because he wants to do it himself. It’s an easy pin for Marty as Cage can’t get there in time to stop it.

The Moths celebrate in the ring as Jeremiah carries a distressed Ivelisse away, and Mack looks unhappy for somebody who just won while standing next to a recovering Killshot.

If that's another significant injury for Ivelisse, which she appears to think it is, then that's rough.

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

I was just about to type that it appears that this might be a Dario free episode when he shows up.

He’s talking to his brother, as he goes over what is going to happen next week. Matanza will defeat 19 other luchadores. He tells Matanza that he will show the world what their family is capable of.



A manic looking Dario (probably been busy in his office doing "paperwork") checks that his brother knows what do? Knows what they’ve worked for? What their father trained him for?

We hear from Matanza for the first time, and his answer is a single word. WAR!

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

I always forget about, and then have a pleasant surprise from, the set dressing that they do for these matches.




Grave Consequences: Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs Prince Puma

Puma gets a sneak attack in on Mil as he’s making his entrance and knocks him into the bleachers from the top of the staircase. Then takes a dive after him! Hopefully, this one carries on as it started.

Puma takes a trip through the door into (the red light) room of myste… HA! He got his head bounced off the ring bell and it made the noise! Mil’s head makes the same noise when it happens to him.

The casket is sitting on a nicely, purposely designed wheeled contraption… So Puma obviously tips it off of that and struggles to drag the casket around ringside while Catrina recharges Mil with the rock (that isn’t actually a rock, I’ve not forgotten).

Powerbomb onto the casket crumples the lid and puts Mil firmly in control. It also gives him plenty of time to grab a chair and table.
The chair works against Mil, as he runs head first into it while it’s wedged between the ropes. The adrenaline keeps him going long enough to run to the opposite corner to spear Puma through the table over there. He didn’t half arse that one, he went full tilt.

Mil loosens the bottom rope in order to obtain the metal hook that is part of the set up. It also had the added benefit of making it much easier to get the casket into the ring. Being that Mil only hit Puma with the hook once in passing, that might not have been his main motivation in removing the bottom rope.

Puma fights back and ends up hitting a 450 on Mil who is lying on the casket. It was very impressive and didn't look easy to manage all the individual elements.

As Puma goes to grab a chair after slamming Mil’s head/torso repeatedly with the casket lid, Vamp gleefully says, “He’s not trying to win the match, he’s trying to hurt somebody.” in almost a sing-song voice.
It's an interesting switch around from what you might expect as Mil tries to put Puma in the casket as soon as he gets the chance, instead of doing what Puma did and going to set up more stuff to hurt his opponent with.

Flatliner! Countered with a handstand!

Mil crawls over to Catrina (who can blame him), and gets a hug (lucky sod). Have we seen Mil do that before? There’s definitely a slightly panicked feel about him. Puma seems to have Mil’s number tonight.

There’s a big spot coming up, it’s just a question of what is it and who does it benefit.



Mil wanders off and comes back dragging another casket that Striker informs us is the same one that Konnan was stuffed into. Hope he’s not still in there, that could be messy. With a little assistance from the ref, Mil manages to get the second casket positioned on the wheels.

I hate that I noticed this if what I’m thinking happens, happens, but:



Doesn’t that look a bit shallower than what it should be? Almost like there's a false bottom with another compartment that is just big enough to hold a person?

Oh. Guess not, Mil carries Puma over, puts him in the casket and closes the lid to win without much ceremony.



That’s an expression all right. No idea what one, but it’s certainly there. Striker starts giving a eulogy for Puma.

We leave this episode with Catrina and Mil in the ring watching the casket being wheeled away from the Temple by the bearers in day of the dead finery.

Interesting note that I found when looking into if there was an actual name for the day of the dead stuff: Skull Mexican makeup, sugar skull makeup or calavera makeup, is a makeup style that is used to create the appearance of the character La Calavera Catrina that people use during Day of the Dead (Mexican Día de Muertos) festivities.

Bet that’s not a coincidence.

Oh yeah, the match. It was very good, but still does not manage to top the first for me. Will Puma be back? Who knows? Probably you, but I don’t. It certainly sounded like a final send off for him.

It feels like we've bumped up into that next level run of episodes that had to happen at some point.

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

Next time: Aztec Warfare III

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- Of course it was Marty that pinned Killshot, there’s plenty of recent history there.
- It seems like we’re just in one of those periods where there’s a bunch of people getting injured at the same time. Taya is out injured from a few weeks back, Wagner had to be helped to the back last week, and now Ivelisse.

- If there’s any time that is suited to take the title off of Matanza, it’s next week.

And that puts us at a quarter way through this season. I'm not planning on taking a break quite yet, just thought I'd mention it.

[Deleted]

10 OUTTA 10 CATRINA IS HERE!...And we are going all sami rami with the camera into Mil's eye there.

Let this episode be a lesson to many a wrestler who don't sell , that a man in a salmon colored suit just bumped his ass off for a bag of popcorn.

"This should be an olympic sport , kicking a little dude in the face" - Alright who let Gecko onto commentary?.

But remember sometime ago (not likely but ima remind you anyways) about how we were gonna get sequels to certain matches and some possibly surpass their original.....well this is one of them because while the original is very memorable (mostly for Hernandez amazing reactions and getting legit whipped) this one is just balls to the wall fun and Famous B is absoloutley the perfect fit for such a match as we get to witness.

I cannot explain how much I f***ing loved when he not only broke out arrogance but we get a rick the model chant in the temple.

There is so much incredible stuff in this match it is just something you would have to watch because simply describing it does not do it justice to how much insane ridiculous fun it is , this is LU endulging in their madness in such a fun way.

I mean come on Melissa brought giant gawd damn scissors lol.

Here is an interesting bit of info about this match...LU had to back track a bit on this match because intially not only were the believers going to bring their own weapons but it was gonna be just like the original match where they would be free to use them on the wrestlers to their disrection , but one guy changed all of that as the story goes that he showed up with a wiffle bat covered in thumb tacks and so they realized ...giving this audience THAT much freedom is probably a step too far so that is why while the audience does have weapons they are only allowed to hand it off to the wrestlers instead of being in the match as originally intended.

Brenda getting cream pied gets a holy shit chant lol but that bloody shriek is living in your nightmares for the next little while.

Great tension builder between Dante and Killshot and we get the drop of Dante being hired off of what he did to Killshot and is just another piece of story I love about this why , everyone is brought into the temple for a reason no one just happens to show up with no explanation there is a reason with each and every person on this show.

More build for Kobra Moon and Drago and we get our first mention of Pindar.

I do like how they play this with us getting the info drop last episode that Drago was part of this tribe but he was a slave and thus filling in the little gap of why he would never go back...because Kobra Moon is a biatch lol.



And now we get to what I spoke about from the very episode and also why Ive challenged Catrina to Ultima Lucha in the very first episode and this is just absoloutley heartbreaking because as soon as it happens you can hear her shout...NOT AGAIN! and I am gonna tell you this right now this is gonna be very important to what I address in the next episode.

As for the match itself LU just doin what they do perfectly weaving so many stories in and out of each other , it reminds of the first part of six survive which remains of my favourite 2 episode arcs in the entire show , but again sadly this match for all the talent that gets to show out here is all about Ive's injury as the central point.

But speaking of great storytelling Puma Vs Mil has always been an absoloute banger and this is no different that 450 onto the casket with Mil ontop of it was proper insane.

But Puma's declaration comes true as he dies by Mil's hand instead of living by Vamp's.

This episode was fantastic but next week we start on a streak of just HOLY SHIT! episodes..including...nawww not gonna say it just yet.

But Aztec Warfare 3......everything so far has been a phrase I have been using alot of seed planting well this is the start of alot of those seeds start to bloom because we about to enter the 2nd act of this madness and boy oh boy.

[anglarite]

Recently did rewatch the AEW match between Dante Martin and A.R.Fox. Whenever commentary mentioned "Dante", I was thinking of the wrong person...

[Gecko]

S03E11 –Aztec Warfare III

Last time
• Catrina warns Mil that she won’t bring him back from death again
• Mascrita Sagrada beat Famous B in the Believer’s Backlash and earned his vest from Havoc
• Killshot and Dante Fox agree to work together, just like old times
• Kobra visits Drago again and threatens him with somebody Drago is surprised to hear is still alive, Pindar, if he doesn't come back to her willingly
• Mack, Mariposa, Marty, Ivelisse and Jeremiah win a 5 on 5 to gain entry into AW3. Ivelisse is injured during the match.
• Killshot, Argenis, Dante Fox, Cage, & Texano lose the match. Cage and Texano cannot get along, and Dante betrays Killshot and costs his team the match.
• Matanza Cueto is made for one purpose: WAR
• Mil Muertes manages to defeat Prince Puma in Grave Consequences

Recaps of
• Nothing

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This is obviously going to be one of those almost all wrestling episodes, but they’ve shown that they’re perfectly capable of doing them and weaving the stories into the match itself.

Dario is walking along twirling his keys, going to fetch his brother, when he runs into Johnny Mundo. Mundo blocks Dario from proceeding so that he can let El Jefe know that he is going to win AW tonight and become the first to hold the GOTG and LU titles at the same time.

It’s such an historic event that he’s getting a documentary made about it



And who is doing the filming?



Taya’s back! Or at least good enough to do this even if she can't compete in ring yet.

Mundo adds that if he somehow doesn’t win tonight, whoever does will be facing him as he’s claiming his title match next week. After Dario makes sure he’s got this straight, Mundo reveals his draw as #12.

Oh, Johnny, you should have quit while you were ahead. Since Mundo claims that he’s taking everyone to Slamtown, including Matanza, Dario takes his #12 entry and rips it in half to give him back the #2 spot instead.

Dario doesn’t think that Mundo will be fighting for the title next week, he’ll only be fighting for his life. Taya is still doing her job and filming this whole thing, much to the annoyance of Mundo.

Right, so how does this work? Does whoever is in the #2 spot get punted all the way to #12 or does everybody from #2 to #11 get bumped up a place?
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Oh yeah, all the fancy presentation, see last week for my comment about how I forget about it. Dario and Matanza are already in the ring waiting. In case you’ve forgotten the rules, Striker goes over them:

Two people, in this case Matanza and Mundo, start the match and then every 90 seconds another person joins, all the way up to #20.

Elimination is by pin or submission in the ring.

Last person left is the winner and Lucha Underground Champ.

See, it's not that tricky to explain rules, ring announcers.

Aztec Warfare – Lucha Underground Championship

#1 – ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto(c)

Has held the title since being unleashed by Dario at AW2 (S02E09) and winning it there. Has defeated everybody put in front of him and Dario felt like he needed a bigger challenge.

Dario has a word with Melissa and lets her know that #2 is now Johnny Mundo instead of Sexy Star.

#2 – Johnny Mundo (GOTG)
By “random draw”. He finally got a shot at the GOTG title a couple of weeks ago and managed to take it away from Sexy Star. Was #12 but isn’t any more because he can’t stop talking.

I mean, the smart thing would be to survive until you have a few people in the match and they all team up to get rid of Matanza, but this is wrestling so…

Mundo is doing what he can just to get through this. After a tactical running away attempt fails, he tries a low blow which is blocked, but does leave Matanza’s face open for an eye poke.

#3 – Son of Havoc
Former Trios champ, has recently formed a partnership with Mascarita Sagrada as they share common foes.

I guess that answers my earlier question and Sexy Star got a luck break and will be coming out #12.



Mount Your Friends: Lucha Edition?

Havoc and Mundo are working toge… oh, nevermind, that’s finished now. Nope, wait, they’re together again.

#4 – Jeremiah Crane
A newcomer to the Temple, he showed up a few weeks back as the partner of Ivelisse, tried to help her out but just pissed her off, but Dario was impressed enough to hire him.

As Jeremiah enters, Matanza takes out Mundo and Havoc with a double clothesline.

Ooh, Striker brings up a good point. Ivelisse is dating Jeremiah, her last boyfriend? Havoc. Something has to happen there.

A whole bunch of kicks from the non-champ trio send Matanza out of the ring where his brother tells him to stand down for now. Back in the ring, Havoc and Jeremiah are showing their feelings towards each other (spoiler: it’s not a positive thing).
Outside, Dario is coaching Matanza some more. He tells his brother to start by killing Johnny Mundo first…

#5 – Pentagon Dark
Was not allowed in last year’s AW. Has since undergone more training from Vampiro to evolve into Pentagon Dark. He lost his title match against Matanza at the end of last season and blamed Vamp for it, so destroyed his former master. Still likes to break arms.

We’ve not seen him for a few weeks. Hey, guess what? The music is still great. And we head for a break as Penta superkicks Matanza on his way to the ring.
------------------------------------------------------------
In the match: Matanza, Mundo, Havoc, Jeremiah, Penta. There have been no eliminations yet.

Everyone in the match is dressed in black (or close to black).

The match continues with four in the ring as Matanza is still on the outside and showing signs of frustration. Penta goads him into getting back into the ring because he is Cero Miedo!
It may have been a mistake as Matanza initiates a frantic attack against Penta.

#6 – “The Darewolf” PJ Black
Part of the Worldwide Underground with Mundo. They’ve had their ups and downs, but he is a former Trios champ.

Black makes an immediate impact and almost gets the first elimination.

So casual about doing moves that others might train for ages so that they've got something to pull out on an extra special occasion.

While Mundo and Black complete their choreographed celebration, Penta and Matanza are both down on the outside having apparently attempted to destroy each other.

Ooh, that was nasty looking.



It was as if Mundo was going for a suplex, but Crane was thinking DDT. Not content with that, Mundo then lands on his own head seconds later.

#7 – Mariposa
Along with her brother, has had a recent rivalry going with Ivelisse and Jeremiah.

Still no eliminations.

Back in the wastelands of ringside, Penta is now choking Matanza with a cable as Dario screams at him to stop.

Mariposa is doing pretty well until she stops to pose and then gets taken out by Crane. Uh oh, Matanza is back in the ring.

Jeremiah becomes elimination #1 as Matanza ragdolls him about and then hits a German suplex to pin him.

Mariposa and Matanza have a bit of a moment...



..that turns into a huge chokeslam and Matanza’s second victim of the night.

That spot was very Frankenstein-ish. I liked it a lot.

#8 – Rey Mysterio
Has become a mentor to Dragon Azteca and is coming off of a win over Chavo that banished him from the Temple.

We go to a break as Rey stands on the steps and Matanza is in the ring with the tension rising...
------------------------------------------------------------
We come back as Rey has psyched himself up enough and runs down the steps and slides halfway into the ring before being intercepted.



Even if nobody else likes them, they’ll always enjoy their own stuff.

AS Rey fights the World Wide Underground outside, Penta has made his way into the ring again and resumes battle with the monster.

Havoc eliminates Matanza! Is what I would say if this was the Rumble. Interestingly, as Havoc took his run up for his dive out the ring, Penta tried to prevent it but was a little slow and missed.

Penta and Rey are in the ring… and Mundo is under it.

#9 – Dr. Wagner Jr
The Doctor is in. Since coming in as Famous B’s new client at the end of last season, Wagner has had reasonable success, but lost to Havoc in the match to earn the right to pick the stipulation for the match that ended up as Believer’s backlash between B (alliteration!) and Mascarita Sagrada.

He is joined by Famous B and Brenda who is holding a giant syringe, which could have come in handy last week.

Wagner and Penta decide to team up against Rey. Rey gets rid of Penta but struggles with Wagner (He’s Famous!). Havoc is getting back in the ring as we see that Mundo and Black are still hanging out underneath it, and Matanza is just lurking in the shadows.

#10 – Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez
Was looking like it was building to a Marty/Mariposa vs Ivelisse/Jeremiah feud which is probably on hold for now thanks to the injury. Marty did get the pin to get his team entry into this match.

With presumably, Sexy Star being next and this being about half way, let’s have a quick recap.

Still in the match: Matanza, Mundo, Havoc, Penta, PJ Black, Rey, Wagner, Marty
Eliminated: Mariposa & Jeremiah Crane, both by Matanza

The match hasn’t really gone how I would have expected it to. Matanza hasn’t been too much of a focal point and hasn’t dominated it. I was thinking that he would go on more of a rampage with only the numbers keeping him from complete control, as they slowly wear him down.

And just as I type that, Matanza empties the ring to prepare for Marty.

The ref is the only one in the ring as everybody else is fighting (or hiding) outside as the countdown reaches zero

#11 – Sexy Jack Evans.
After failing in his own attempt to win the GOTG, he helped out Mundo when his chance came.

Well, that’s not Sexy Star, not that I’m complaining (Future Gecko: no, not complaining, but you're definitely confused). And neither are Mundo and Black who emerge from their hiding spot to regroup with their comrade.

The trio pick out Havoc as their first target and separate him from the herd. A three on one assault ends with Jack pinning Havoc for the third elimination of the match. But as one participant leaves, another is about to arrive.

#12 – Sexy Star
Recently lost the GOTG on the same day that she activated it. But at least she can count.

She tackles Mundo before Evans and Black realise what is happening. Let’s see if they can get control after the break
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Mundo, Evans, and Black are having a much nicer time of things beating up Sexy Star in the ring compared to Marty and Rey who are struggling with Matanza on the outside.

Vamp asks what happens if it comes down to the three who are together, Striker says we might see a fingerpoke of doom.

Everybody gets their flying and/or catching out the way to make sure we can all focus on the next entry.

#13 – Ricky Mandel
Lucky number 13. Ricky Mandel. The last we saw of him was actually this season in episode 3 when he went to ask Dario when his next match was and ended up leaving with some haunted photographs. His last match was a battle royal at the end of season one, where he was first eliminated.

Striker mentions that Mandel is here because injuries have opened up a spot.

Hope everybody got a good look at him cause he doesn’t look like he’ll be here for long or be back any time soon.
Superkick, then a package piledriver by Penta. I bet if Mandel were still conscious, he’d be submitting right now while his arm is still intact…

Ninjas! Thousands of ‘em! Ok, maybe not thousands, more like three being led by Black Lotus.



They’re not here to rescue Mandel, that was just a lucky break () for him. I'm going to have fun trying to differentiate these three. Short hair ninja 1, short hair ninja 2, & slightly longer hair ninja who's obviously the rebel of the group.

A suspension of disbelief breaking Canadian Destroyer on Penta by a ninja before they sneakily sneak away and leave Penta to get pinned by Mundo. Elimination #4

Elimination #5 follows immediately as PJ Black was feeling lonely being the only member not to have an elimination and so he just pinned Ricky Mandel since he was handy.

#14 – Mascarita Sagrada
Recently became buddies with Havoc and defeated Famous B in the Believer’s Backlash match.

Mascarita going against Matanza. No, don’t laugh, Gecko. It’s not funny to imagine what might happen here... You should wait and laugh when it actually happens.

Oh. Just a Wrath of the Gods slam with a couple of extra spins in it. Sagrada gets eliminated (#6) much to the amusement of Famous B.

#15 – Famous B

That expression on Brenda's face.

Well, that explains why he was that happy about Sagrada. He approaches Rey in the ring and hands him a business card. When he tries to explain about 423-GETFAME, Rey decides he’ll stick with 619 and quickly eliminates him. (#7)

Ow, what is it with people landing on their heads tonight? Rey kind of rolls Marty up to get another elimination (#8)

#16 – The Mack
He’s had a bit of a quiet season so far. He had a shot at Matanza via the Dial of doom, helped out Sexy Star, then was in the 5 on 5 match to gain entry to AW.

A Stunner for Marty since he was passing by anyway (just like last year) before he launches himself out the ring to take out the World Wide Underground.
The numbers game doesn’t work if you’ve pissed everybody else off so that you actually end up outnumbered.

#17 – Joey Ryan
Betrayed his partner, Cortez, to Dario because he wanted to be on the winning side.

He’s having another go at the handcuffs trick from last year, this time he locks himself to the handrail at the staircase. He’s pretty confident that he’s secure this year. One thing he may not have thought of: He’s directly in the path of everybody coming to the ring…

#18 – Mil Muertes w/Catrina
Finally removed the annoyance known as Puma by beating him in Grave Consequences.

Joey tries to direct Mil past him and to the ring, unsuccessfully. He was right about the rail being secure, but the handcuffs can’t stand up to Mil and Joey is soon free.

Mil hits the flatliner and pins Joey(elimination #9) as, at the same time, Matanza pins Dr Wagner (#10). This literally brings them face to face.

The brawl erupts as we greet the penultimate entry:

#19 – Kobra Moon
Her recent goal has been to get Drago back on her team, but she’s had little success and has resorted to threats involving a mysterious person(?) known only as Pindar



She does the smart thing and does a bit of basking on the announce desk and amuses herself by making Vamp uncomfortable while everybody else destroys each other.

Mack catches Jack Evans in a stunner to eliminate him (#11), then catches PJ Black (#12) with another to pin him too. No, I’m not counting Sexy Star’s attempt to help with the pin.

#20 – Drago
Oh, yeah. He beat Fenix and Aerostar to get the last spot and the other two don’t get in at all.

Recap time.
Still in the match: Matanza, Mundo, Rey, Sexy Star, The Mack, Mil Muertes, Kobra Moon, Drago
Eliminated: Havoc, Jeremiah, Penta, PJ Black, Mariposa, Wagner, Marty, Jack Evans, Ricky Mandel, Mascarite Sagrada, Famous B, Joey Ryan,

Drago goes straight for Kobra Moon and doesn’t even get to the ring. After a bit, they do make it into the ring and Drago pins her with his fancy rollup. Elimination #13. That’s not going to improve their relationship any.

Drago doesn’t make it much further as he gets taken out by Matanza.

Matanza waits in the ring as the other five remaining in the match don’t all team up against him. Rey gets in the ring alone as Mil and Catrina watch and Mack continues to beat up Mundo. Sexy Star is also about somewhere.

Matanza hits a Samoan drop on Rey and, before he can get back to his feet, he gets a boot in the face from Mundo. Mil follows with a spear, which leads to the monster just taking move after move from the others.

This seems to be working… so they immediately abandon it and go back to hitting each other.

Rey hits a 619, Matanza is wobbly, so a springboard dropkick sets him up for another call. Matanza catches Rey on the redial though. Rey fights out of it and manages to position himself for a Code Red and PINS MATANZA!



C’mon Dario, that was obviously against the rules somehow. We go to break as Dario is working out how to fix this.
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Here’s the Matanza rampage. It’s mostly directed at Rey, but a ref gets knocked out for being there too.

Mundo will never learn.

Matanza hits wrath of the gods on Rey and finally looks to be leaving. He uses a chair to destroy some ringside furniture before starting to exit the Temple. Dario, holding the key aloft, instructs his brother to go back to the ring… and Matanza shoves him over. Wow. A bunch of firsts for Matanza tonight. First loss, first time disobeying his brother, first time showing emotions other than pure rage?

Back in the ring, Mundo picks up the scraps and pins Rey. Elimination #16

Mil Muertes, Johnny Mundo, Sexy Star, & Mack are left

Star almost catches Mundo out by rolling him up while he’s celebrating how great he is. Meanwhile, Rey is not looking too happy outside and this looks like it could be yet another injury.

Mundo summons Black and Evans back out to the ring to help him out with Star.

Yeah, this is looking like a legit problem for Rey. The medical team are here and taking their time with him.



Even if you know the secret handshake, are you capable of performing it?

Hey, Angelico’s back! And he’s up on his favourite perch!

That will never not be impressive.

Oh, please don’t tell me he re-injured himself on that. No, it looks like it was just selling/probably did hurt a bit.

Sexy Star crawls over to pin Mundo. Elimination #17

We’re down to three: Sexy Star, Mil Muertes, The Mack.

It’s a two on one as Mil is outnumbered. It doesn’t bother him and he gets to work. A nasty looking Flatliner puts an end to Mack. (#18)

They wouldn’t do it to us would they? C’mon there’s only one decision that works here.

Mil is toying with Star and goes to grab a table and chair. It backfires and ends with him taking multiple shots to the head from the chair. She then dodges him and he goes through the table. They’re doing a good job of making me believe that she might win.

Punch in the face.

Star fights off a super-flatliner and pushes Mil off the ropes and through a table, then follows him down with a double stomp. 1,2,3! They actually did it.

Ok, yeah it is a feel good moment, especially for that group of women in the front row. And I’m guessing Mundo is taking the title off of her next week, since I do know he wins it at some point... unless Dario is still pissed at him and throws in obstacles… but he does have other issues to be focused on right now.

The fallout from this match is going to be interesting to see. It was another good example of them being able to continue stories while having a pure wrestling show.

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Next time: Every Woman is Sexy, Every Woman is a Star.

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions

- I was thinking that since this one was all wrestling that it’d be a quicker type up, but it ended up being longer than normal.

- I completely missed it until doing my edits, but Penta, at least for the first half of the match and we didn't see too much of it, was seemingly doing significant damage to Matanza and weakening him for his eventual downfall, and then it seemed like Wagner took over that role later once Penta was gone.

[Deleted]

Oh Aztec Warfare 3.....argueably the most divisive match in LU history but oh where do I begin with this.

Well alright we will start with the big pink elephant in the room....TAYA IS BACK YAY!!!!!

Not that one? ohhh I got it...RICKY MANDEL IS BACK!!!..YAY??

But seriously I have been both lookin forward to this for for inevitable reaction but also dreading this because it is so difficult to talk about this even years later because of just the sheer ammount of layers here but I am gonna try and make this as condensed and easy as I can to understand.

(deep breath)

Sexy Star was not suppoose to win this match let alone the title.

(and exhale)

What did you think there was more?

(gets handed note off screen...threatening words..lots of exclamation marks and money signs and a picture of a Gecko)

Soooo where was I? Ah yes

So now we have to go back to the beginning of the season to one Iveliesse because I told you last episode that Ive's injury which was the reason she challenged Catrina for Ultima Lucha in the season premier BUT also another impact it had was this match right here....because this allegedly was suppose to be Iveliesse winning aztec warfare and the title....and a big hint to this possibility is that Mil is in the final 2 against a woman...and the only one to ever face him 1 on 1 was Ive in the previous season for the title.

So when Ive got hurt they basically had to get Sexy Star back almost under last minute and get her to drop the GOTGs title to Mundo because again she was not suppose to win aztec warfare let alone the title.

But see this is where it gets difficult for me to talk about because there is a reason I said it was allegedly suppose to be Ive winning the title here because and this one comes from one of the head writers themselves one Mr Chris Roach and THIS person whome I will not name because (future things) this person was said to be the actual person winning the title in aztec warfare but things happen lets just say and I guess I can spoil this one for ya...you will infact see this play out in a future episode.

And so when that something happened then it just to go with sexy star...and you will get a much better clear picture of this in the next episode.

So to recap...sexy star was never their first , second or in the plans at all to win the LU title incase anyone was worried LU had lost their damn minds lol.

But also something else about this match is that when this was taped and months away from airing this was the only LU spoiler to ever blow up on the internet and those of us like myself that made it a rule to never going looking for spoilers had no choice here because EVERYONE had an opinion on this and no one would shut the f*** up about it...for the following few days this was THEE headline and is why I say this is the most divisive match argueably in LU history.

Hopefully that anwsers that portion I wanted to make this one its own seperate post because that entire thing and how it all came about is its own story but my next post will be about the match itself.