Gecko Watched Lucha Underground (completed)

[Deleted]

If I had to pinpoint when Marty goes from very good to absoloute greatess it is this feud right here.

I have dabbled just a little on talking about Mr Marty the Moth but let me fawn just a bit because this dude and his story does not get the love he deserves because he embodies everything I love about a wrestler and just character in general and his story from Erik Van Wagnen sneaking his headshot into the pile on Tough Enough because he knew Marty was special but the WWE people at tough enough saw nothing in ole Marty to him breaking his leg even though on just complete natural ability was pretty much going to win.

To Erik going to the hospital with him and never forgetting him after Tough Enough so much so he brought him into LU and then Martin the Magnificent getting injured in a dark match to where it took him out for a good chunk of season 1.

Marty was always in LU known as the guy that would pretty much kill himself to entertain the audience that was his goal and even though he is forever the creepy bastard (who dared to keep wearing smaller tights every season) he became beloved by the believers.

The likes of Bray can play spoopy but this vingette by Marty IMO surpasses any of that and what makes this so absoloutley unnerving is how natural it comes across.

His facials , movements , the tone in which he talks not only about Melissa but then the absoloutley heavy implied incestual tones between he and Mariposa.

Again the man does not get enough f***ing credit which he absoloutley deserves from going from a clear obvious joke of a character to makin your skin crawl , his growth as a character is IMO amongst the best ever in wrestling.

Everything about this scene is magnifico and is just one of those everyone in wrestling should study especially if you wanna play a creepy character beause I would argue he is the best to do it especially in recent times.

Have I given this man the credit he deserves? I hope so because he is awesome and his real life wife is wonderful person as well.

And I love that when you really think about it for a moment the opening doesn't really come out of nowhere because , take your mind back a bit to when Marty was stalking Melissa outside the temple....he never did that before but suddenly he kicked it up a notch why , clearly because he was already witness to this.

Oh and it also makes more sense how the moths so conveniently just happen to be facing off with Fenix in the tournament back to back , again lets pitch our minds back to early season 2 where Marty and Dario had a conversation and were chummy and Marty's family helped out Dario while he was locked up , so there is presedence for scratch my back I scratch yours here and I love how we do not have to see this just have to remember the history and it explains itself.

But this is the feud that absoloutley cements how great Marty is and how far he has come.

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The Fenix Mariposa match is alot of fun for the reason that it nicely plays off of the Marty vingette where she was excited about wanting to hurt Marty in a very sexual sounding manner and then contrast that to her match with with Fenix where he is being chivalrous but Mariposa's desire to fight and be violent just forces Fenix's hand and this is a guy who has been to wars with gawd damn Mil Muertes , so no surprise when he clocks her he puts her down.

And this is sort of the theme of the episode with one of the opponents being out of their element sort of.

Fenix and Mariposa was chivalry against agression

Pindar Vs Mascarita was your david vs goliath

Marty Vs Saltador was who can outweird who more

I find it even more fun to delve into things like this because it is not something that is ever obvious and just fun to be able to find that when watching.

But Mariposa is no slouch and they let her get stuff in here and also goes to show how good Fenix is and just LU in general that you never see Fenix in any less of a light while Mariposa kicks his ass.


And Melissa plays her part well especially when Marty gets anywhere near her...she has had alot of unfortunate practice with this.
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And then from the sister to the creepy bastard

In another very fun for a different reason match where it is more character work and it was the smart way to play this even though both guys are tremendous in ring.

Marty being confused and straight creeped when Saltador runs his hands over him lol will always get a big chuckle outta me , it is a great match that really cements the odd from the creepy.

And this is what I was talking about the benefit of this tournament is getting these matches that you would normally because they have not crossed paths and in totally different stories but the tournament allows this without forcing a meaningless story just to have this.

And I love how Saltador uses things like tieing Marty to the rope and then jumpin in for offence things like this are why I love this show being so character and story driven because alot of wrestlers just well...wrestle but Saltador is not only an oddball character his wrestling style compliments it , everything about him fits with his persona and that is so gratifying to see because alot of wrestlers just do not do that.

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It is true what they said about Pindar when this was airing the man is the best base in the bidness and it is exemplified here with Mascarita because he allows Mascarita to so all his cool offence and Pindar has no trouble at all...I mean for f*** sakes the man does a pop up cutter from his knees lol

But again much like the other matches this was just alot of fun....apart from Pindars zipper count reaching the 1000th mark.

And someone needs to use Mascaritas cannon ball to the outside into the huricanrana because that looks so f***ing cool.....I nominate Otis to try it.

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Poor Vinnie Massaro.....I mean not much to say here apart from WE GET TO SEE THE SNORING ELBOW!! IMO the best one next to Masato Tanaka.

Cage isn't gonna be the worlds greatest actor but he is great at selling his obsession with the gauntlet and his agression getting out of hand as his obsession grows.
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All in all this was a great episode alot of fun but big time showcase for The Moths and that is always welcome.

Next episode AN ABSOLOUTE BANGER OF A MAIN EVENT!!

[saneiac]

Jan 1, 2023 7:42:54 GMT -5 Gecko said:

Cage has his left leg all wrapped up, it’s a shame he doesn’t have a *goes to look up what that bit of armour is called* cuisse to go with the gauntlet. Note to self: go look up if anybody ever wrestled in a suit of armour… why do I feel like I’ve thought of this before?

I can think of two examples.

1988-ish, the WWF held a Costume Battle Royal that was shown on Wrestling Superstars. "Leaping" Lanny Poffo entered in a full suit of armor.

WCW hardcore champion "Screamin'" Norman Smiley also fought a match in a full suit of armor. This one was particularly funny because the suit had a comically oversized helmet. Every time Norman screamed, it echoed loudly inside the helmet and hurt Norman's ears.

EDIT: Unfortunately, I couldn't find either of these matches online, but while looking I found a third example, also featuring Norman Smiley.

link


Jimmy Hart vs Norman Smiley for the WCW Hardcore Championship with Jimmy in the armor.

[Gecko]

S03E24 – Macho Madness

Last time
• Fenix and Melissa Santos are a thing, Marty isn’t happy
• Cage beats Vinny Massaro in the Cueto Cup and then destroys him
• Rey vs Mundo build up
• Marty beats Saltador in the CC
• The Rabbits are still looking to Mascarita Sagrada to lead them
• Marty has a Melissa shrine, Mariposa says he’s become weak
• Pindar beat Sagrada in the CC
• Fenix beat Mariposa in the CC, then fights off a Marty ambush

Recaps of
• The Cueto Cup is a thing
• The recent history of Killshot and Dante Fox
• Jeremiah bragging to Catrina that he beat the man she loves, her replying that he’s not the one she loves

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Mil Muertes is meditating (it probably won’t be as successful as DDP Yoga) when he is interrupted by Catrina. She tells Pasquel Mendoza to rise. Uh oh, she’s using your proper name.



She says that it’s time once again for Mil Muertes to do battle. Tonight, he begins his journey to take back his Lucha Underground Championship by winning the Cueto Cup.
Catrina goes all spooky as her voice gets echoey and the rock glows as she says that Mil must not let anything stop him, he must destroy them all.

“I will destroy them for you, my love.” replies Mil. Poor Mil, the talking bit isn’t a strength of his. But he does get a smooch from her, so it’s not all bad.

As they leave, Jeremiah appears from out of the darkness. He is giving Marty a run for how not to handle rejection.

Right, let’s sort this out.
Mil loves Catrina. Kel loves orange soda. Jeremiah loves Catrina. Everybody loves Raymond. Catrina loves somebody*, not Mil. We’ve got a love… pentangle going on here.

*Maybe it’s not anybody, but something more along the lines of a concept, like Power or control.

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Sergio Ageu are the tunes tonight as Vamp introduces himself and Striker. After a quick discussion about how the Cueto Cup is going, we head up to start the second half of it.

Cueto Cup (1st RND): Veneno vs Mil Muertes w/Catrina

Hey, Veneno’s back! We last saw this mystery man getting beaten by Cage during a match, and beaten by Sexy Star after the match because he has a spider-persona. He might have a tiny chance at winning this if Jeremiah chooses to screw up Mil’s opportunity.

Spear and fists to the face to start and then just a mauling. That’s by Mil on Veneno, just in case you were thinking otherwise. I don’t think this one will last long.

Not long = around 1:10 in this instance. Complete domination by Mil, Veneno had zero offence and never got a chance to even try. With Veneno’s luck, he’ll be going against Matanza next.

Mil moves on in the Cueto Cup.

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Since the last one didn’t take up much time, let’s throw another on right away.

Cueto Cup (1st RND): Paul London vs Vibora w/Kobra Moon

Should I be hoping this one doesn’t last long either?

Paul runs into a tricky issue. Is what he thinks he is seeing actually there or not?



Paul’s early offence, which is high impact, only staggers Vibora at best, and he takes off his glasses as he realises he’s in for a proper fight.

If only Monty Python had done an instructional video on self defence against vegetables instead of fresh fruit, Kobra Moon might not have ended up in this situation.

Vibora is hesitant to approach while Paul London is holding Kobra Moon hostage with a carrot. Completely ridiculous and yet somehow also completely acceptable.

It’s another dominating performance (not quite at the level of the previous match) as Vibora throws London around the place.

Here come the other rabbits! Mala Suerte and Saltador into the ring from opposite sides… and they cross over and exit the ring on the other side from where they entered before ducking beneath the apron.

It’s a handy distraction for London. From the apron, he manages to pull Vibora out of the ring and then goes for a springboard coffin drop/trust fall… which he overshoots.



Yeah, that’s a hard landing. He’s only lucky he didn’t smack his head on the chairs too.

Vibora does the Taker sit up and follows London back into the ring… or he tries to:



That’s what friends are for. It may be by countout, and they may have cheated, but: THE RABBITS WIN A MATCH!

The gimmick is helping out Vibora a fair bit at this point as he doesn’t need to do anything too fancy or even sell much.

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Cueto Cup (1st RND): Taya vs Joey Ryan

It’s been a fair while since we’ve seen Taya in a match, the last time was the atomicos match in episode 4 of this season where she got injured.

No, bad cameraman! Stop zooming in on Joey.

Taya does not lick Joey’s lollypop.

After Joey catches Taya with a superkick coming back into the ring, he will not leave the ref alone to count at his own speed. He has no issues with winning by count out, apart from it not happening quicker.

Joey eventually gives up and gets Taya back in the ring, then spends a couple of months making sure everybody, including Taya, knows that he’s going up top.

Nice Northern lights by Taya, who then flips over onto her feet and hits a double stomp to get the win!

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One of my favourite things for some inexplicable reason: Lucha mask and suit



As Mil makes it to the exit of the room, that’s the signal for Jeremiah Crane to start his vicious assault with a chair. He beats Mil back into the room and, once Mil is down and out, Crane grabs his head to let him know that, “She’s mine!”

Jeremiah sets up a chair so that the horizontal support bar connecting the legs is over Mil’s throat and then, with only a minor pause, he smacks it down with another chair. The screen is blurry and we hear what may be Mil struggling to breathe before we leave.

Ball’s in your court, Marty. You need to get crazy and creative with Fenix to top that.

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It’s time for the next instalment of Rey vs Mundo hype.

This time, it’s about how fights like these make other luchadors into spectators.

Chavo: Doesn’t think either has any weaknesses or anything to exploit. What it comes down to is that you better hope your 'A' game is enough to beat the best.

Cage: Mundo can be beaten (just like how he did) and everything you do against Mysterio, he’s got an answer for.
I’m going to assume this was pre-gauntlet going just by how vocal and undistracted he was.

Prince Puma: Rey vs Mundo is the sort of match that doesn’t happen often and hasn’t taken place in the Temple yet, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. Mundo thinks outside the box and knows what he can get away with, Rey has a million ways to beat you and he never stops pushing forward.

Matt Striker: compares the match to previous great matches and rivalries, sometimes it’s about out lasting your opponent. Whoever wants it more will win.

As to the actual predictions for winner:
Rey: Chavo, Puma
Mundo: Cage,
Neutral: Striker

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Cueto Cup (1st RND): Jeremiah Crane vs Killshot

Looks like we’re getting a fair bit of time for this one, and  going by previous hints, it'll be worth it.

Match starts and we’re going full speed ahead from the get go!

Crane bails to the outside, only to get hit by a Killshot dive. Killshot throws his opponent in, who then carries the momentum to bounce off the ropes and hit a dive of his own, then throws Killshot back in, who bounces off the ropes… and repeat that a few times.

Crane clears the usual group of chairs at ringside.



Braun who?

There’s a sequence where they’re both on the top, Killshot backflips out of a sunset flip powerbomb, hits some kicks and falls into a cover. In the background, Melissa gets so excited that she drops her notes.

I can absolutely believe Crane as somebody who might suddenly snap over a random harmless thing at any point.

TLDR of this match: It’s the type of match where they can end up trading shots only to hit each other at the same time and both end up down... and they get a deserved standing ovation for it.

*bunch of stuff goes here but I was too busy watching it to type*

Killshot eventually builds up momentum, comes close to winning a few times and looks to be on the verge of victory when a voice interrupts.



Sting Dante Fox is up in the rafters (I had a feeling he’d be a factor since he was in the recap), and he tells Killshot that things aren’t over between them.

The distraction is enough for Crane to lock in the piledriver and get the win.



MOTY (so far . This is the first time I'm seeing it, so yes it does count)

Jeremiah Crane is kneeling in the middle of the ring after his victory when the lights suddenly cut out. When they turn back on, Catrina is standing at the top of the steps and is not a happy bunny.



Or maybe she is a happy bunny? Crane thinks so anyway as he blows her a kiss. We stay on this slightly ambiguous scene as Striker says goodbye.

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Eh, there’s still time for a quick visit to El Jefe.

He says that the Cueto Cup is turning out to be the greatest event of not only lucha libre, but of all time! Hey, At least he’s not underselling it.

We get a look at the board and a sneak peek at the final first round matches next week. If you don’t want to know what they are, look away now.

Prince Puma vs Ricky Mandel

Sexy Star vs PJ Black
El Dragon Azteca Jr vs Dante Fox
and….
?? vs ??

Ok, you can look again.

The last match involves the person Dario is talking to. Son of Havoc asks who he is facing, and Dario says that there’s only one name left. It’s gonna be Matanza, right?

Wait, that’s not Havoc that he's talking to!



Next week it’ll be Son of Havoc vs... Son of Madness!

He even tells Dario to have Melissa introduce him from The Open Road.

Is this because Havoc brought Sagrada into the gang? I say it as a joke, but the more I think on it, the more I think I might be right, he's here to teach Havoc a lesson and make sure he knows his place. And this is how Sagrada finally agrees to join forces with the Rabbits! He needs the backup to counter the 'Son of' Bikers.

That was a great reveal. It had me fooled, thinking it was Havoc only to turn it around.

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Next time: Left For Dead

[Deleted]

This episode is all about the absoloute banger of a main event and goes back to what I said about this tournament giving matches that you wont be getting at that moment in time because they just are not crossing paths with where their characters and stories are at in the show.


But everything else is very much just quick fun AND 20 OUTTA 10 EPISODE CATRINA AND TAYA ARE HERE!!

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Mil Kills spiderman....I would watch it.

The opening vigette with Mil at his amazing death shrine was great with Catrina's voice echoing her instructions to Mil.

And adds another interesting layer to all of this by having Mil refer to Catrina as his love...which could be interpeted in a few ways because lest we forget Catrina is in the triple digit age bracket....Mil was a child when she saved him in the earthquake.....and they have sucked face a few different times.

It an interesting layer to add to an already deeply complex pairing and then Jeremiah taking cues from Marty on both the stalking front and not taking the news of love very well.

But also what makes this interesting is Catrina did not resipcricate(sp?) by saying anything back in reponse to Mil calling her his love.

It is very well done in keeping this little cat and mouse game going by doing the little things like the above Mils call her his love but she does not give him a reponse and really seperates it from the other love stalk storyline going on at the sametime and normally doing that is bad but LU has made them dystinct enough because of how strong their characters are.

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Paul London and Vibora

Idk what to tell anyone if they do not know what to expect from the rabbit tribe by this point lol. they are that levity I have been saying they are and again LU's strength of characters shows through here because while Vibora is just not good in ring at this point in his career , between Pauls antics and Vibora just having to be big lurching monster. This ends up working out better than it normally would.

Paul taking off his glasses realizing...yea he is actually that tall and that scary lol little antics like this just make Paul and the rabbit tribe so enjoyable.

"SAVE THE CARROT" chant I love this show lol.

That was a beautiful carrott by the way exquisite if I do say so.

Would anyone have been surprised if someone did infact get killed via vegetation on this show? lol because you should absoloutley not be.

That trustfall miss was just scary.

I love the rabbit tribe interference because it shows that they clearly are not all their that they are very clever...because they could have attacked Vibora just to save Paul but did not and thus not costing him the match , it is very clever but at the sametime very in line with who they are.

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Taya and Joey not much so say here WELCOME BACK MY BEAUTIFUL NORTH WIND BEAUTY!.

Taya gets to play a bit of the babyface here which is nice to see and Joey plays his role just fine as the sleeze shitbag everyone wants to see Taya beat the shit out of and win and that she does and commentary being all on her side was great as well , they are not trying to clever in any way they both also were all in and selling Taya as this badass and really elevating her which was great.

Short but with the clear right result good stuff.

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More very well done ESPN style for Mundo Vs Rey but this time focusing in on guys who have big history with them in the temple.

I love Puma's line about how "Rey does not know how to lose".

That is such a great line on alot of levels because you know that is both him dishing out a compliment but holding that resentment that he lost to him at Ultima Lucha Dos and thus is also furthers Puma's ongoing character arc , that anger festering and driving him further into darkness.

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Killshot Vs Jeremiah Crane

BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER.

This match gets super overlooked because so many people ride on that IMO dumb thought that only the first 2 seasons of this show are worthw watching and ignore matches like this one.

I said it that alot of guys bubbling under the surface to main event status come into their own this season and there is probably none bigger than Killshot , ever since the Marty feud he has just been in bangers and this is just added to the pile.

But also I been doling out the props to Jeremiah/Sami and this gets added to that pile to because he is so f***ing good here , his offence is some of my absolouteley favourite because it looks so f***ing snug everything he hits killshot with looks like it it meant to hurt you badly.

And it compliments killshot perfectly because his offence is no less snug lookin.

And the other thing is I love how agressive they are from the start and the character work especially from Crane (like when he spits on Killshots mask) and you can feel like these two really wanna hurt one another , this match was fantastic on every front but never gets its due amongst a bigger contingent of fans.

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Always makes me smile to see Dario so happy , he has been having quite the up down but the greatest thing ever (do not fact check it just believe it) in the cueto cup has so far gone off without a hitch.

And next week we get a Mortal Kombat style Mirror Match. My favourite thing about this is not just the reveal but the big bombastic music cue to close it out.

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[Gecko]

S03E25 – Left for Dead

Last time
- Jeremiah Crane has his turn to stalk somebody (Catrina)
- Mil Muertes beats Veneno within a minute or so in the Cueto Cup
- Paul London beats Vibora in the CC (with some help from the other Rabbits)
- Taya beats Joey Ryan in the CC
- Mil is attacked by Crane with a chair
- Rey vs Mundo Hype
- Jeremiah Crane beats Killshot in the CC thanks to a Dante Fox distraction
- Catrina comes to have a look at Crane
- Dario sets the final first round matches of the CC, including one involving Son of Madness

Recaps of
• Dante Fox showing up and his betrayal of Killshot
• Rey trying to warn Puma about Vampiro
• Dario inventing the revolutionary Cueto Cup and Son of Madness turning up for the final spot

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We’re starting this one away from the Temple as we join Dante Fox on a jog around the glamorous locations of Boyle Heights



As he goes along in slow motion, there’s a heartbeat we hear that is speeding up. When it hits a certain bpm (88?), we get a flashback to his time as a soldier when he was captured with his unit and held prisoner.



He hears gunshots outside and we see somebody taking out the guards with relative ease. The sensible option says that this is Killshot. Dante runs to the door of his cell and shouts for help as return to the present.

Our next flashback has him tied to a chair for interrogation. The two people standing in front of him tell him that his friend escaped, but they will find him and kill him. And if they don’t… they will kill Dante....

...Taken from the point of view of a video camera, we see Dante in a small room, on a chair with a bag over his head. Two people are standing next to him, one of which is holding a sword. It’s very clear where this is going and the sorts of things it was inspired by.
Dante is saved at the last second as somebody bursts in, knocking over the camera and shooting the bad guys. The bag is removed and, once his eyes have adjusted to the light, Dante looks up into the face of... somebody who isn’t Killshot.

Back in the present, Dante approaches the outside of the Temple and looks up to the roof where he sees Killshot who then targets him with fingerguns.

This one was really well done, 3½ minutes to tell Dante's version of the story and make you understand his motivations and why he feels so betrayed. Killshot took out the guards pretty quickly but couldn’t take the time to check around to save his friend and just abandoned him?

The music was great, the transitions between present day and memory worked well, and having the flashbacks in black and white and slightly grainy was a good choice.

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Vampiro is a long-lost Bushwhacker, apparently. He’s very energetic tonight as he introduces Sergio Arau and Striker. We send it up to the ring for more Cueto Cup action as Vamp continues to gurn at the camera.

Cueto Cup (1st RND): ‘The Darewolf’ PJ Black vs Sexy Star

Black isn’t too happy about his opponent. (probably for multiple reasons )

The match starts and PJ takes control of the arm of Star, throws her around a bit… y’know, it feels like his heart isn’t really in this one.
Bless him for trying, but there’s only so much you can do.



I’m surprised that didn’t end up in at least one dislocated shoulder.

Funny thing, for some reason the fourth image of these tends to be a gif. If things stick to how they usually go, the seventh will be too.

After Black gets in a bit of trouble, Taya wanders out to ringside to lend a hand. She gets up on the apron to distract the ref which also lets her throw some brass knuckles to PJ.
Swing and a miss from Black, who loses his weapon in the process. Star retrieves them and hits Black, just as Taya jumps down and the ref turns back around.

After the ref DQs her, she knocks him out too. I swear Sexy Star is the only person who manages to get herself disqualified via blatant cheating.

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Time for the next Rey vs Mundo hype package.

This week, we get insight from the competitors themselves.

We hear from Rey who says that Mundo has to be LU champ as he has let too many labels define him his entire career. Rey wants to be champ because he wants to represent the greatest collection of talent in the world. He wants to bring honour back to a belt that Puma gave to it as the first champion. Rey gets his energy from all the love and support he gets from the people in Boyle Heights, and all around the world.

Mundo admits that Rey’s resume is ridiculous, but you don’t win matches based on what you’ve already done. It’s about who you are right now, and right now he has the title, so he’s the best. Easy as that. Suck it, Rey.
Then we get a bit of footage from Taya’s documentary and of Mundo in training.
The workout never stops, never gets easier. You’re not born with rock hard abs, or the ability to jump off the top rope. You have to earn everything with hard work.

Back to Rey who says that there’s a right way and a wrong way to conduct yourself. Lucha Libre is for the people, and that is who Rey identifies with. He does it for them, to give them a little hope in their lives and their struggles. That is why he fights.

Talk is cheap. Chicks dig scars and abs (Oh, we’re back to Mundo, by the way). Mundo isn’t afraid of anybody, he’s the champ and nobody can take it away from him. Rey is in his world…



and just like everybody before him, Rey is going to leave the ring with a first class ticket to Slamtown.

More top notch stuff here. Yeah, Mundo may be arrogant and obnoxious, but it also shows how hard he works. Rey is all about trying to give something back at this point in his career and be a role model.
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Cuteo Cup (1st RND): Son of Havoc vs Son of Madness

So it’s a case of nobody knowing Havoc’s opponent at this time. Melissa has to read the intro from a card and is a little confused while doing it.



How embarrassing, they wore the same outfit. Who would’ve thought a biker gang would have a wrestling uniform? This one has the potential to get confusing.

Havoc isn’t waiting and goes out the ring and up the steps to meet Madness. He throws Madness down from half a dozen steps up and creates quite a thud. He doesn’t let up and beats Madness around the ring before throwing him in.

Commentary talks about Madness being here as an enforcer/debt collector, but he’s not doing a great job if he’s the muscle of the gang.

Image #7? must be gif time.



If one of them wasn’t noticeably paler and hairier, this is where it’d get complicated.

Havoc misses the shooting star, but manages to land on his feet. A schoolboy rollup by Madness with a handful of tights only gets a two, but Havoc’s one without the cheating manages to get the three!

I think we’re in for a post-match beatdown. It’s actually only one kick, but it’s enough to put Havoc down as Madness leaves after claiming his prize/bounty.



Havoc is out of the gang going by that, it’ll be interesting to see how he evolves from this, and whether Madness (or any other members) turn up again or if they've got what they want and are done.

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Cueto Cup (1st RND): Prince Puma vs Ricky Mandel

Well I think it’s clear who will win here. The Worldwide Underground intern will be facing PJ Black in the next round.

Aw, the wind machine used for his entrance is a bit on the chilly side. He also hasn’t learned how to do it in slow motion yet.

Puma isn’t intimidated by Mandel’s pre-match promo where he threatens to take Puma to Slamtown, and kicks him in the face.
Mandel is lucky to not lose in the first minute, and when he does manage to get a superkick of his own in, it doesn’t trouble Puma at all. Puma hasn’t even bothered to take his hoodie off yet.

Puma soon hits a nice driver for a quick and easy first round victory. Vamp is looking pleased with this performance from his student.
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Rey goes to see Dragon Azteca as he’s preparing for his match. Dragon says that Rey should be training, but Rey says that he wasn’t going to miss Dragon’s big comeback.
Dragon says that when he wins the Cueto Cup, he wants to face Rey for the LU title at UL3.



Puma announces himself by telling Rey that he better beat Mundo because after he wins the Cueto Cup, he wants his Ultima Lucha rematch, and this time he won’t lose.

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Back out to ringside where Striker lets us know that the second round of the Cueto Cup will begin next week. But, we’re not quite finished with the first round, so…

Cueto Cup (1st RND): Dante Fox vs El Dragon Azteca Jr w/Rey Mysterio

Is it too obvious to predict a Dragon win via a Killshot distraction of Dante? I’m guessing Rey gets removed from ringside at some point too.

A fun first few minutes sees Dragon show off his agility, but Dante also gets to show off with a couple of very nice dives. Vamp hasn’t been happy with Rey being out here at all, and is even less pleased when he checks on a downed Dragon.

In the category of ‘looks great but you probably don’t want to do it too often’: A top rope apron leg drop from Dante. Dante just has some really smooth, flowing moves and combos going on in general. Add him to the list of people that LU has made me a fan of.

I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to land on your head for a reason



That only adds weight to the thought that he reminds me a bit of RVD.

Ha, Rey hitting the apron in rhythm to get a chant going and it ends up with half doing, “Dan-te Fox! Dan-te Fox!” instead of “Az-tec-a! Az-tec-a!”.

Some more back and forth ends with them both being down. As Dragon recovers, he seems to be having an issue with his back, which Vamp did highlight earlier in the match.



As Dragon is telling the ref to not stop the match, and Rey is… well, I honestly don’t know which way he’s arguing, Taya runs out and pulls him off the apron. She then runs at Rey and gets a boot in the face, then he has to turn and fight off other members of the Worldwide Underground.

The numbers are too much and Rey is soon down getting stomped by five people. Dragon is aware of what’s happening and, like the foolish hero he is, dives out the ring when the chance appears… And then immediately gets caught with the Fox-catcher when he gets back in the ring and loses.



Mundo and crew are looking pretty happy with the outcome, apart from the poorly Jack Evans.
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Next time: A Fenix to a Flame

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions

- Ok, I spent a couple of minutes looking at a screen of the face of Madness and all I could think was, “That looks like Miro/Rusev with a giant beard”. I’m obviously wrong about that, so fill me in here.

- I really hope there's another one who shows up called Son of Abyss just for the pun.

[Deleted]

Most wrestling promos can't get to the f***ing point in 20min.

LU just told an entire story , furthered a feud and tied it into a previous vingette in about 3min....yea there aint no company on LU's level as far as character vingettes and story goes and this is one of the most masterfully done.

Showing Dante's ptsd , playing on the viewers moral view of the story with now making it look like Dante is absoloutley right to be as angry as he is and Killshot as a terrible brother in arms.

And the production cannot be praised enough on this from the foley work on the heartbeat as his ptsd kicks in , to the music que as he gets rescued in the flashback and then sees Killshot in present day on the roof.

Even the little touch of Dante reacting in present day to the sun in his eyes as the same way he is reacting in the flashback to the lights in his eyes...they are treating ptsd as an absoloute serious thing Dante is suffering from and not just brushing it aside because we need to move a story alone or no one would care about this detail.....LU is all about paying that attention to detail so you are as invested in watching as they were in creating it.

This cannot be praised enough and put it into the mass pile of why no other company can even compare and why this damn show is still so missed.

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Hey look Sexy Star is here....hey wait come back

I mean atleast her entrance gear is cool and PJ Black doing what he can is to be comended.

But not much else to say here really...it is a sexy star match you kinda know what you are in for.

I do like the little subversion here of when PJ misses with the brass knucks you think okay sexy is gonna knock him out and win but nope she gets Dqed.

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Another great Rey and Mundo build vingette...this one about how one guy's mindset is all about the physical aspect training harder etc vs the emotional even spiritual aspect.

I love how each vigette is focused not just on both guys but also in their individual values and how they conduct themselves as people it clearly defines the tecnico and the rudo.

I like the added that Rey still calls Puma his friend even though Puma is being a complete asshole at the moment.
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The Mirror match of the century as Havoc meets Madness.

This is a decent match , son of madness is infact an indy wrestler (idk if he is still wrestling) whose name I cannot tell you off the top of my head at the moment.

It is the whole Kitana and Mileena thing going where they are almost one in the same but obvious features seperate them....Havoc is refined , he is in great shape but also a bit on the smaller side. Madness is bigger , not as smooth , harrier and got a little dad bod goin on.

We sure Shang Tsung isn't involved with this?

Again not a whole lot to say here it is great though to finally be getting backstory on Havoc.

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PrinX Puma Vs an Intern lol.

There is nothing to go into detail here over other than a little nice laugh.

Mandel went from who the hell is ricky mandel? to Mundo fanboy to now an intern.....and Puma is not here for the lowlife interns and gives him his 2 week notice to the morgue because GAWD DAMN he pretty much kills him especially with the second shot but like Vamp said he must have his glasses glued to his face because how those shades did not come off his face is a gawd damn miracle lol.

I hope his internship atleast gets him an icepack....he still has to pay for it out of pocket though.

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The main event is stellar as expected and shows what alot of people are learning now in AEW and that is how unbelievably amazing Dante Fox is...dudes offence is so smooth and innovative.

And Dragon Azteca really gets to show out here as well and this is again another one of those overlooked matches because this is not a match you would be getting on the regular because they are so far apart in story that them crossing paths was nowhere nearing happening so again the benefit of this tournament showing itself again.

Oh and I LOVE how azteca has back issues a nice big call back to when Matanza threw him into the shadow realm....LU paying gawd damn long term attention and not just ignoring that azteca got his entire shit f***ed with when Matanza damn nere killed him.

And something else I love when WWU attack Rey they come at him from the different entance ways so it feels like a well thought out attack to make sure they get to him and plays into Mundo whole he is a complete ego centric narcassit that he is a great strategizer and knows how to use his allies to his benefit.

And Rey dodging like he is in a bullet hell game was great to watch.

And there is Jack Evans with his Jaw all of a sudden broken again because LU had to adjust just to get around the injuries.

All in all another absoloute banger of a main event with an amazing opening vingette...Fox was the big splotlight in this one more than well deserved.

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Next episode is a complete episode of bangers and one of my absoloute favourites as far as the tournament goes.

[Rave]

Jan 16, 2023 14:09:44 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

This is a decent match , son of madness is infact an indy wrestler (idk if he is still wrestling) whose name I cannot tell you off the top of my head at the moment.

IIRC, Son of Madness was Kevin Martenson, formerly of the RockNES Monsters and current UWN Heritage champion. He hasn't popped up outside the west coast much since Johnny Yuma retired, though Cagematch tells me he worked GCW fairly recently so that's hopefully changing.

[Gecko]

S03E26 – A Fenix to a Flame

Last time
• Dante Fox has PTSD flashbacks to his time as a POW
• PJ Black beats Sexy Star by DQ in the Cueto Cup
• Ray/Mundo hype
• Havoc beats Madness in the CC, but then loses his vest to Madness
• Puma beat Ricky Mandel in the CC
• Discussion of who wants to fight who after the CC between Rey, Dragon Azteca, and Puma
• Dante Fox beats Dragon Azteca in the CC after Rey is attacked by Worldwide Underground at ringside

Recaps of
• The Cueto Cup and the stories happening around it in the first round: Sexy Star vs Worldwide Underground, Fenix and Melissa Santos (and Marty!), Texano and Famous B

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A calm Vamp introduces himself, Matt Striker and tonight’s band, El Conjunto Nueva Ola, who give me a bit of Madness vibes.

Striker puts a terrible accent on as he says that they’re going to turn it up to 11. (I’ve never actually seen Spinal Tap, but it was on the other night and I recorded it so…). We’re getting three of the round two matches tonight.

Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Jeremiah Crane vs Taya

This is an interesting one, looking forward to seeing how it goes.

The bell rings and Jeremiah runs towards Taya screaming. She’s probably used to that sort of thing and tells him to stop, then slaps him. She has a bit of a dance and gets kicked in the face. Jeremiah doesn’t dance.

A brutal looking diving elbow, probably helped a bit by the camera angle, but…



...the reaction at the end tells you it wasn’t just that.

He follows up by doing a circuit of the ring and cannonballing into a seated Taya.

Jeremiah lands a running kick to the face and still ends up coming off worse:



D’ya think Taya killed whatever her boots are made of herself?

Oh my god, he killed Taya!



Ah, they got me. I thought Taya had it off the Alabama Slam counter into the flipping piledriver thing.

As Taya looks to finish off Crane and climbs the turnbuckle, out comes Sexy Star. The distraction is all Crane needs to hit some major moves and…. Ha, they got me again with a quick Taya rollup, but Crane quickly ends it with the Cranial Contusion.

I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore when a Taya match goes hard, but it still catches me out. That one was just great fun, a good showing from both and then adding in the bit of story at the end to create the result.

Sexy Star gets in the ring and kicks Taya awake before producing brass knuckles and using them to put her right back to sleep.

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I’m not sure that’s how you’re supposed to use that particular bit of equipment, but then again I’ve never been LU champ.

Fenix is interrupted by his buddy Aerostar who tells him that he’s putting all his money on Fenix now that he’s out of the tournament himself. I don’t think that’s how betting works, you don’t get your money back if you bet on yourself and lose… unless you’re a time-traveller.
I’m psychic! Fenix says it’s not fair to let a time-traveller gamble.

Moving onto more serious stuff, Fenix says that he knows that nobody was closer to Drago than Aerostar, but he will see the light. He left the Reptile tribe once before and will again.
Aerostar isn’t sure and counters Fenix’s suggestion of being optimistic by saying it’s hard to be optimistic when you’ve seen the future.

Fenix doesn’t get a proper answer from the spaceman when he asks if he’s going to win tonight.

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Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs Paul London

“Mil’s gonna kill you! Mil’s gonna kill you!” Normally that’s an exaggeration, but we may in fact see our first in ring murder.
Mil doesn’t want Paul London’s glasses.

Dodging and Dancing and Thrusting (and tickling?) by London keeps Mil off balance at the start but he eventually gets snared by Mil.

London gets some offence in, but Mil pops right back up while he’s celebrating



and a bemused Catrina looks on.
London escapes and runs round the ring while Mil… stands in the middle and watches.

Now this match is really getting going, London hasn’t dropped the weird stuff entirely, but he’s a bit more serious.

As London hits a long series of superkicks on the outside, the other Rabbits show up again for a quick cameo.

He’s Rabbiting up!

The other Rabbits are back again for a run across the ring, but Mala Suerte gets caught by Mil this time and receives a punch in the face. The distraction gives London enough time to catch his breath and he hits a SSP from the middle rope, this only gets a two so he goes and hits one from up top. He’s convinced this one got a three, but the ref says no. Paul turns around into a Mil spear and Flatliner follow up for the win.

Very different from the last match, but even more enjoyable. It was a reminder of what Paul London is capable of beneath all the fun stuff, and also a reminder of how much of a monster Mil is by taking all of London's best stuff and still not getting put down.

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A cowboy bar is our next stop



Brenda asks if Texano will buy her a drink. She’d like something strong, like him. Brenda can’t hold her booze and says she’s getting dizzy after one round of whiskeys. She lets Texano know that when she gets tipsy, the truth comes out, and the truth is…. Texano is boring. He may be an asskicker and a brawler, but he’s dull.

Brenda calms an angry Texano down and tells him that all he needs is a woman’s touch. In what is becoming tradition at this point, there’s somebody spying on them:



This is a slightly less threatening form of stalking though, Famous B reeling in Brenda's catch.

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We come back to the Temple with Marty already in the ring for his match. He is carrying his Melissa Trinkets tin.

Commentary run through which Cueto Cup matches are happening next week, and gives a good look at how things currently stand



Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Marty “The Moth” Martinez w/ Mariposa vs Fenix

I was wrong, it’s just a lunchbox that Marty has. How do I know this?



Because he tries feeding Melissa during the introductions. 😆

Back and forth at the start, each getting to show off a bit. Marty gets sent to the outside and it looked like he almost landed on his head. It doesn’t take long for Mariposa to get involved by grabbing Fenix’s leg. She gets involved a second time to swing things back in favour of her brother when he gets in trouble again.

Outside the ring, in front of a screaming Melissa Santos, Marty rips at the mask of Fenix. He gets back in the ring and Mariposa continues the assault. C’mon, Melissa, get off your chair and help out.

Fenix weathers the storm and after a couple of minutes of getting beat down by Marty, begins his comeback.



X-Pac would be proud of that one.

More back and forth action, with Fenix gaining the advantage. Melissa finally gets involved when Mariposa tries handing Marty his lunchbox



Maybe she is getting a bit peckish after all?
Marty is distracted long enough for Fenix to recover enough to catch him out

That’s a win for Fenix.

You'd be happy from an in-ring action perspective just with that match, but add the other two in and it's a great wrestling episode.

See if you can figure out which of the following statements is true:
Marty is a humble and gracious loser who congratulates his opponent on a well fought battle.
Marty smacks Fenix in the face with his lunchbox (not a euphemism).

Marty struggles to get the dented box open after the impact, but has a snack to reward himself when he does. He then pulls a fork out as we hear Melissa in the background begging Marty to stop.

As Mariposa restrains Melissa, Marty forks Fenix’s face up



Ok, this is actually getting a little uncomfortable. Melissa is pleading with Marty to stop, saying she'll do anything, as he repeatedly stabs a bloody and semi-concious Fenix. Marty eventually has had enough and leaves the ring to stand in front of a distraught Melissa, whom Mariposa then releases to allow her to go check on Fenix.

Marty has fully transitioned from that slightly weird guy into a dangerous and unpredictable threat.

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Next time: Fade to Black

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I’m not hungry right now for some reason.

[Deleted]

Idk about anyone else but I am feeling famished could totally go for a sandwhich right about...oh Hi Marty what you got there.

One of my favourite episodes of this tournament portion of the season and every single match is IMO a banger.

Taya makes her grand return to in ring competition with a banger of a match and gets to play very babyface'esc here and hugely helped by the audience being completely on her side and commentary continuing to big her up...Striker does a hell of a job here especially on the pinfalls.

People give Striker a hard time but dude is enthusiastic , knowlegeable and is always invested in everything on this show and also I have no doubt helps he pretty much has complete free reign to just to do his job with no one in his ear telling him what to say...although the attempt to get him to break Vamp with cat puns is always a genuinley funny story and so IMO he deserves more respect than alot of the fandom is willing to give him.

Oh and another point into the intergender pile that LU does it better than anyone else and proves that it infact CAN work , but everyone else would rather tease it than to actually go all in on it , because Jeremiah does not hold back here he gives as good as he gets and vice versa and is why Sami/Jeremiah cites this as one of his favourite matches not just intergender or otherwise.

I do love how this match starts with Taya not learning her lesson from the showdown with Cage by starting off the match by slapping her more dangerous opponent and then gloating about it only to get f***ing murdered the very next moment lol.

This was a fantastic sprint of a match that did not overstay its welcome and really reminded everyone that Taya is beloved by the believers for a reason.

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Further confirmation that timetravelers are assholes.

But also this is atleast confirmation (not that it was not already obvious) that Fenix was atleast around when Drago intially left the reptile tribe(another one for the three digit if mot more age pile) because as far as we are aware they have never had any conversation pretaining to any of these events and also clearly Aerostar knows better than to open his mouth and f***ing break the timeline by giving out info to someone he shouldn't , so Fenix is addressing it as if he was there with the others.

I am not gonna spoil anything but there is a huge seed planted here and it is all you are getting....for now.

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20 OUTTA 10 CATRINA IS HERE AND TAYA WAS!

Mil hates London comfirmed....Paul that is.

This is another banger and like already said is a big showcase to remind people that Paul despite the character work being off the f***ing wall , I mean he tickles Mil for gawd sakes lol despite it thoough he shows out here and reminds everyone he can still f***ing bring it.

Like you know from the get go he isn't winning this but the two shooting stars are great nearfalls that get the audience to bite on that he might just pull it out....no not that you pervs I mean the win and the multi superkick outside the ring is a great run of a little hope spot.

I like how Catrina has got this smirk on her face not so much a satisfactory one but one of...don't break character lol.

All in all this match is just so much fun , fantastic character work as well as in ring from both men but the real core of this is Paul reminding everyone that he indeed still has got it and this match more than proves that he does.

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Famous B's out here catching mexican fish.

This was a great vingette to further whats honestly nowhere near a big story in the overarching of the show but it is doing well enough to develop Texano but this is definetly the writers at work here calling Texano bland etc someone would say it is a burial...but is it a burial if it is true? fantastic wrestler but got charisma like a brick.

Brenda is fantastic here and for a bit makes you question whethere the airhead ditz is an act and adds an interesting layer to her and Famous B.

And as usual LU production is just on f***ing point from the music to the final shot of B tilting his hat as a fade to black into the main event.

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I fawned over Marty previously but seriously this match has perfected the creeper act far better than anyone else in recent memory if not the entirety of wrestling.

Oh and as a reminder everything Marty and Melissa do in the ring as far as their interactions go is all adlibed by both and that includes this moment.....I believe it was a ham sandwhich if I am correctly remembering when he spoke about this moment incase one was wondering what type of sandwhich he stuck in her mouth and she spat back at him...normally spitters are quitters but in instance we will allow it.

The foley artists were getting their shit in with this match because that Van Damme kick to Marty was IN f***ING SANE , when people talk about gun shot sounds LU is famous for or infamous for depending on your point of view this is the stuff they mean.

And the way Marty just slumps down after he got f***ing murdered with that was the PERFECT sell job and goes back to what I say Marty was famous amongst the crew for being one of those guys if not the guy that was willing to go out there and practically kill himself to make sure the audience left satisfied with the show.

Oh and something I never mentioned about Marty I believe he had it under controll by season 3 but since his debut he had been wrestling while dealing with lime disease , so as if one would need another reason to not only just be a fan of Marty the performer but the person there ya go.

This is another absoloute banger of a match and ups the anty with this feud in a sickening fashion and the character work by all is perfecto , it is a feud that comes out of nowhere but immediately sucks you in because everyone is nailing their part.

Oh and if you think back Aerostar pretty much gives this away to Fenix but without outright telling him....you win but see uh it doesn't well so you descide if you win or not....timetravelers are assholes confirmed..again.

...............................................................................................................

Banger of an episode with out a bad match on it and solid vingettes.

Next episode we get another banger but this one sneaks up on you because while this talent has been around for a bit he hasn't really shown out but they get to in their match though.

[Deleted]

Mid week treat here is Mundo and Puma in a spinaroonie battle...battle roonie? battloonie?

[Gecko]

Man, that was a long rumble. It gave me no time to do an episode this week... which is why I made sure to get it done early. Haha, I fooled you, I'm the greatest prankster ever!

S03E27 – Fade to Black

Last time
• The second round of the Cueto Cup begins with Jeremiah Crane beating Taya thanks to a Sexy Star distraction
• Aerostar and Fenix talk, Fenix is sure that Drago will leave the Reptile Tribe again, unlike Aerostar
• Mil Muertes beat Paul London in the CC
• Brenda had drinks with Texano at a pub while Famous B looked on in the background
• Fenix beats Marty in the CC. During the match, Melissa Santos eventually got involved to stop Mariposa’s interference
• After the match, Mariposa holds Melissa while Marty destroys Fenix with a fork

Recaps of
• The Cueto Cup
• Cage and the Gauntlet
• Son of Havoc getting kicked out of his gang by Son of Madness
• Puma wanting to beat Rey for the title

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

We start on the roof of the Temple at night. Puma is standing in front of the LU sign (which still has a big question mark on it) while he relives some traumatic memories: The Konnan murder, his own demise and resurrection, and his battles with Mil Muertes.

Vampiro walks up to him as he tells Puma that coming up here looking for peace and quiet won’t work. There’s only one thing that will silence the voices, and Puma knows what that is.



Puma comes up with the answer: The Championship. Vamp confirms that that is Puma’s sole purpose. Puma asks what happens if he doesn’t win? Answer: The visions consume him, there’ll be nothing left…

Puma hears more voices, but this time it is coming from street level. The Worldwide Underground are arriving, Puma is focused on the belt carried on Mundo’s shoulder. PJ Black is the only one to notice Puma above and stops to flip him off.

One final vision of Mundo becoming LU Champion prompts Puma to declare that he will not lose, no matter what.

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Matt Striker gets to do the intro this week, he introduces Vamp and El Conjunto Nueva Ola before going on to talk about the Cueto Cup. Former champs Fenix and Mil Muertes join relative newcomer Jeremiah Crane as those that have advanced into the next round.

Oh, and I see that Puma and PJ Black are going against each other for their next match in the CC.

Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Pindar w/Kobra Moon vs Cage

Time to see how unhinged Cage has become in the few weeks since we last saw him.
Pindar getting a last minute pep talk as Cage approaches.

The match starts and Cage doesn’t even want to take the gauntlet off to wrestle any more.

Welll…. That was a short one. Cage barges past the ref who grabs at Cage’s gauntlet arm and then eats a clothesline.
Cage really doesn’t care and tries to just carry on the match (which he looked like he might win in seconds) until the ref comes round enough to signal for the bell.

As Cage pulls the ref up, Kobra Moon wisely stops Pindar from going to get involved.



The ref gets a falcon arrow before Cage walks away.

How unhinged? The answer is very. He just threw away a chance for a title match, and he had to be a favourite considering his recent power boost.

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Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Dante Fox vs Son of Havoc

Ooooh, this could be really great.

AWWWW!



Damn you, Madness.

Oh, maybe we will get a match: Havoc is fighting back.

In the ring, Fox is looking like he wants to go and help out. Planted the seeds a couple of weeks back and we see the first hints of a face turn here.
Havoc gets a chain wrapped fist in the face and looks like he might be done. Work complete, Madness wanders away.

Hey, it’s El Jefe! He apologises to Havoc, but the Cueto Cup must continue and he will not postpone this match. Havoc can either forfeit, or get ready to fight! I may have misread the Fox situation, he’s looking pretty pleased with things.
Havoc, as you might expect, gets in the ring to at least give it a go.

This one might not last long either, Havoc gets a boot in the head to start the match, and when he does fight back, any kind of impact to his head knocks him down again.



Fox got a little too up close and personal with Vamp’s anatomy there at the end.

Havoc gives himself some breathing space by wheelbarrowing Dante’s head into the metal guard rail.

Beautiful Swanton by Dante, all the way into the middle of the ring too.

As is tradition, I got caught up in the match and didn’t make any more notes. There was a DVD off the apron to the floor in there somewhere.

Dante wins with the foxcatcher after avoiding the SSP from Havoc.
Loads of fun, I absolutely need to see them go again without the pre-match handicap.

I noticed Havoc was taking his time getting up after the match, hopefully that was nothing more than him selling the punishment he endured.

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

PJ Black walks into the Lucha Locker room to meet the rest of the Worldwide Underground. He interrupts a pitch for Ghost Dad 2 (but with no ghost and no dad). His match is up next, but apparently there is important news.



It’s Benjamin Cooke. He is Worldwide Underground’s new representation. I don’t know if he’s the best person they could get to handle their stuff. A slimey Hollywood type (literally if you go by Black’s reaction to the handshake), who calls PJ Black stupid, gets Mundo’s name wrong at the end of a kiss-ass speech, says they’re the stars in LU… apart from the intern.
They should have their faces on cereal boxes, and magazines, and billboards, and they need somebody to represent their interests to the fat cats in the owners office.

As PJ leaves for his match, Benji wants to hear more about Dario since he sounds like somebody he could get along with.
Poor Benji, he has no idea what he’s got himself into.

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

Cueto Cup (2nd RND): ‘The Darewolf’ PJ Black vs Prince Puma



Puma’s mask has lost even more colour, and I like this a lot more than the original design.

The match starts off at a brisk pace before just ramping up the speed to stupid levels. There was a mid-ring monkey flip by PJ and Puma landed on his feet!



You’d think the new, more aggressive Puma who is using some stuff that isn’t exactly setting a good example would be getting some flak, but nope, Vamp (obviously) as well as Striker, and the Believers are all still behind him with the commentary duo agreeing that it’s a good thing he’s getting a bit meaner.

PJ Black showing off his submission knowledge in this one.

Puma hits a mini 619 in the corner, maybe to send a message?, and then catches the cameraperson out by springboarding halfway out of shot.



You know that thing I do where I forget to note down things and just watch the match instead? Well, it happened again.
There was some spectacular stuff in there; a poisonrana from the turnbuckles, a standard ‘rana with them both standing on the very top. Puma gets the win with the 630.

Another hugely enjoyable match. If I had one criticism, and it’s not even specific to this match but more of a general thing with the style of today, is that some of the stuff that they did should have finished it instead of getting kicked out of.

Just a couple of matches left to go in the second round: The Mack vs Texano, and Penta vs Drago.

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

The phone rings in Dario’s office and he answers. He tells whoever it is, “Yes, yes, I understand.” before letting them know that HE has just arrived, and hangs up. HE turns out to be PJ Black, who is fresh off of his loss and holding his arm.



This isn’t an unexpected visit as Dario wanted to see Black.
Dario is sorry that PJ won’t be continuing on in the tournament, but a Mr Cooke has already called him 17 times, saying that he deserves another shot.
Maybe ol’ Benji will be useful after all?

Before they get any further, the phone rings again, Dario does the practical thing and rips the line out the wall.

Dario cannot re-enter PJ in the tournament, but Mr Cooke had another idea that Dario likes. Next week, PJ will take on the current number one contender, Rey Mysterio.

PJ leaves and Dario is left to wonder how Benji got a hold of his mobile number. Poor Dario, he has no idea what he got himself into with Benji.


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

Next time: Booyaka! Booyaka!

[Deleted]

Benji Cooke is here.....ima get to you in a bit because there is infact a little info on this one.

But first Cage kills Justin Lefty Borden much to the in joke of the creative and show runners lol because Borden was known to be a little bragadocious so to speak because he was known for earning degrees for just about everything and he would brag when he earned a new one so him getting killed here is a funny look at an inside joke in LU.

But also what I like is that Kobra Moon as leader played this smart and did not try and puff out ones chest so to speak to try and asert physical dominance she took the obvious win and protected Pindar from himself here because he tries a few times to go at Cage post Borden murder with Kobra Moon pulling him back.

Nothing more to say about that one the inside joke with Borden murder is funny though.

...........................................................................................................

Dante Fox Vs Son Of Havoc.

Love all the little things at play here...DETAILS!

1.Havoc does not show up with his vest magically reattached to him

2. Madness as an enforcer does not just dissapear after getting the cut back but is back to finish the job and inflict more pain because what Havoc did as Vamp himself keeps reiterating is sealing your own fate , so it makes sense that Madness would keep coming back at the order of the biker leaders to keep making Havoc suffer.

3. The moral play with Dante Fox ..he is clearly happy that he might be up for an easy victory but also does not just go out there and help beat down Havoc more to guarantee that win.

4. Dario forcing Havoc to forfeit or fight is a nice little add onto their history because Dario has had it out for Havoc for awhile now so of course he puts him in a position where he is almost guaranteed to lose...Dario is such a wonderful shithead.

Wonderful story bits all before the actual match which is just another great one out of this tournament and not one we were likely to get any time soon outside of this tourney.

But it really furthers Havoc as a resilient babyface though , gets his ass beat and still nearly comes out with the win in a damn fantastic match and one that has just a little bit of everything despite them not being entangeled in a story together.

.......................................................................................................

Ok Benji ima get to you finally in just a sec....almost like I am trying to avoid him lol.

But first *chefs kiss to the camera work in this scene*

The camera starts on PJ walking on and the long tracking shot to the rest of WWU and then they step aside for the reveal...Like I always say every other wrestling show knows how to use a camera...LU knows how to shoot a damn show.

Now to get to ole Benji...Benji Benji Benji , I am unbothered by Benji he just happens to be there and he works within the context of the group , agenting them so to speak to be even bigger stars...and I wanna say this was a play on someone obvious but I have never gotten oncreate info on that one but knowing LU he is surely a play on someone.

But what I do know is who this role was actually suppose to go to first and it was suppose to be a former WCW world champion...the greatest infact..I mean this man Starred in ready to rumble.

But also went all kind of meta (allegedly) when he pitched to be a biligerent drunk agent for WWU....yes if you are thinking DDP you are totally mistaken...because the correct anwser was infact not also Jimmy King but one David Arquette.

But why did he not land the biggest role of his wrestling career well because he showed up to a LU taping drunk off his ass hence the meta part of this story is what I have heard from not just believers who were there but also one of the execs I forget who at the moment.

oh and incase there was anymore proof needed that this was infact going to be David , you get the end vingette with Benji relentlessly calling Dario which was a clever little knod to Scream.

.......................................................................................................................

Puma Vs PJ Black was the match I eluded to last episode that would be the hidden gem of this episode and PJ really gets to show out and show how actually talented he is and and Puma continues to be ridiculously Puma.

And the fact they let him pretty much take this version of Puma who has been on a murder spree to his limit says alot about how they saw PJ and are seemingly preping him for a big babyface turn with his performance in this match and the vingette and then he gets rewarded (atleast in PJ's mind) facing Rey Mysterio because of course Benji would throw PJ ..who did not fist bump him in the vingette prior out there to soften up Rey.

There really little clever nuances going on with WWU that I love...seed planting these are just a few of my favourite things.

.................................................................................................................

This was a very match heavy show which works to its benefit and gives a solid spotlight to PJ black who comes out smelling like a dozen pitulias.

[Gecko]

S03E28 – Booyaka! Booyaka!

Last time
- Cage gets himself DQ’d before his match against Pindar in the CC begins properly
- Son of Madness attacks Havoc as he’s making his entrance for his CC match, Dario refuses to postpone it
- Dante Fox beats Havoc in the CC
- Worldwide Underground enlist the services of Benjamin Cooke as their agent
- Puma defeats PJ Black in the CC
- Benji wastes no time in getting PJ Black a match with number one contender, Rey Mysterio instead

Recaps of
- The Cueto Cup
- Drago’s return to the Reptile Tribe
- Rey Mysterio (and Dragon Azteca) and Johnny Mundo (and Worldwide Underground)
- Son of Madness targeting Son of Havoc
- Benjamin Cooke and him getting PJ a match with Rey

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

♫ “This is Awesome!" ♫: just as annoying in song format. El Conjunto Nueva Ola get introduced by Striker as Vampiro cuddles up to him.
Down to business. Rey vs Mundo is just four weeks away, but tonight he goes against PJ Black. There’s also the second round of the Cueto Cup that will get finished tonight, then the quarter finals start next week.


Cueto Cup (2nd RND): The Mack vs Texano

Texano is still by himself, but he does have a cheering section now.



I’m imagining Famous B struggling to get his printer working, only for Brenda to fix it in seconds and reveal that she’s some sort of tech wizard.

A handshake to start, initiated by Texano. The match quickly moves into some big boy flippies.



And we get another handshake. This niceness can’t possibly last.

Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the outside by Mack. It looked like he didn’t quite have his leg planted properly and it got wrenched to the side a bit on impact. He does go down holding his leg and (may or may not, it’s a bit hard to tell) has a weird look on his face.
Doesn’t look like it’s anything too worrisome though, as he continues on without it seeming to bother him.

Hold on there, partner!



Stupid and ridiculous. And great.

This earns Famous B a stunner, which he sells by flying halfway across the ring. He’s trying out his Rumble save spot as he ends up sliding out the ring head first with his feet hooked under the bottom rope.

The distraction is enough for Texano to get Mack up for a powerbomb, and get the win to advance.

Yep, just a solid match with an ending that makes sense. Famous B is still pushing to get Texano and is willing to suffer for it.

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

♫ The Devil has come to carry me home
Leave me at the bottom… the bottom of the river♫

Ominous lyrics for the next segment.

Havoc is hanging out at the Lucha/Sons of bar. A drink is slid down the bar towards him, but gets intercepted by Madness, who drinks it himself.

Havoc tells Madness that he knows why he’s here. ICMC (?) business. Havoc throws punches at Madness, who blocks them, and tells him that he’s not going back, not after what happened.

A bit of grappling and Madness tells him that they can fight, or Havoc can hear him out. In the midst of more struggles, Madness tells Havoc that he turned his back on the club, and now he’s going to make his life hell until he returns to the Invisible Cult (I think?).

Madness leaves after warning Havoc that he’ll return home eventually, even if it’s just his head.

If I got the Invisible Cult name right, there’s definitely meaning behind that. I’m guessing we’re looking at another ancient group that are tasked with stopping something… or making sure something does take place?

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

I don’t want to know where they stored the pieces for the game of checkers/draughts that they’re playing on Saltador’s chest. (Paul London wins)

Mascarita Sagrada arrives bearing gifts, and also looks like he’s upgraded his outfit. Perhaps he’s accepted his role as a Rabbit God?



London asks that Sagrada not be angry with them even though they failed him in the Cueto Cup.
Sagrada leaves the present and swaggers away. Mala Suerte tries opening it, only to get told off by London for being rude, they need to read the card first.

A simple message: “Hope this brings you better luck.”

They’re really excited to get a big box of packing peanuts (which I believe are non-toxic? not that I'm recommending you try eating any).
I think Sagrada must work for Amazon as that giant box was actually for: a lucky rabbit foot keyring.

The Rabbit Tribe, understandably, find this terrifying.



Oh, no. This is going to be a whole series of Mascarita trying to do nice things for them, only to get his actions misinterpreted.

His version: He gave them a nice gift to hopefully help them out since they’ve not been doing great.
Their version: He dismembered a rabbit and sent them its foot as a warning of what will happen if they fail him again.
-----------------------------------

Cueto Cup (2nd RND): Drago w/Kobra Moon vs Pentagon Dark

Here we go for the last match in the second round, and we’re getting a first-time match in The Temple. They’ve faced each other before (a triple threat, also involving Fenix, happened in S01E03), but not one-on-one. They are also both in a very different place than when they first arrived.

The obvious winner here is Penta, but you wouldn’t say that Drago sneaking a win somehow is completely out.

The opening exchanges are surprisingly a little awkward looking.

They don’t want to over do it, but they should definitely use this camera angle more:



Just one or two shots from there per episode would be enough.

Drago going for lots of rollups and pin attempts, he’s looking to end this one as soon as he can. Penta, by contrast, hardly put any effort into his pin attempt and then had a go at the ref when he only got two.

I wasn’t feeling this match at first (which is very odd), but it’s starting to pick up now.



I don’t know if that happening like that made it safer or more dangerous? It was more rolling than impact. Either way, it still didn’t get the win.

Drago gets an assist to vault over Penta onto the top turnbuckle, but takes his time turning around which gives Penta time to hook in the package piledriver and get the victory.
It kind of felt like they weren’t going 100% in that one for some reason. It was still enjoyable, I was just expecting more from it.

Penta is going for his traditional post-match celebration of an arm break, but Kobra Moon gets in the ring to try and stop him. She gets a superkick, Penta goes back to breaking Drago’s arm.

Next to interrupt him is Aerostar, who hits a code red on Penta to get him out of the way. He helps Drago to his feet and offers his hand to his former friend. Drago hesitates, so Aerostar grabs his hand and forces the handshake, which turns out to be a mistake and causes Drago to attack him.

He leaves Aerostar face down in the middle of the ring, and absolutely sees Penta waiting as he exits. Penta is determined to break somebody’s arm tonight and Aerostar is perfectly set up for it. A double stomp to put him down properly and then the skeleton snaps the spaceman’s arm… again.

He didn’t see that coming. Or maybe the outcome was dependant on the handshake happening, which is why he tried to force it?

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

Penta is backstage after his victory and encounters somebody he has a fair amount of history with.



In the Cueto Cup, if Penta beats Texano, he will face either Mil Muertes or Jeremiah Crane. I’m guessing that’s what Catrina wants to talk about.

The lights flicker and she teleports the few feet between them instead of walking. Don’t say you wouldn’t do the same if you could. She reminds Penta that once upon a time he took something from Mil Muertes, and gives us a handy flashback via Vulcan Mind Meld with Penta.

At Aztec Warfare in Season 2, as Mil enters, he is attacked with a chair by Penta, after Catrina (who was running the Temple at the time) did not let him take part in the match. This led to Mil quickly getting pinned by Rey and Puma.

Mil and her never forget a debt. Penta doesn’t even bother speaking, he just signs Cero Miedo. Flickery lights and Catrina jumps to behind Penta. She says it’ll be interesting if he advances in the Cueto Cup, Mil will be waiting for him and he won’t just end Penta’s chance at the cup, he will end Penta.

Why do I now get the feeling that Mil is losing to Crane?

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

‘The Darewolf’ PJ Black vs Rey Mysterio Jr

Black is out here alone, I expect to see the rest of Worldwide Underground at some point, either during the match or as soon as it ends. Which means we will probably see Dragon Azteca, too.

If we get a performance from Black like last week, we’re in for a treat.
This is the first match for Rey since Aztec Warfare (S03E11), but we have seen him both in the Temple and in the hype videos for his match with Mundo.

Good catch by PJ as Rey flips around him and they tried to get in a torture rack position but Rey slipped down. PJ held him underarm and then hoisted him back up on his shoulders.



Yep, that did take a fair bit of strength.

Rey catches PJ coming off the top with a dropkick that connects fully.



Getting the timing right for this sort of stuff so that it looks good is always impressive

And speaking of impressive:



Beautifully done, still didn’t get the win though, much to the shock of PJ.

PJ catches Rey on his shoulder from a springboard moonsault, and that ref is looking a bit too close to things… and gets Rey's boots in his face as he spins round for a DDT.

Here comes a shirtless, long-haired, replacement ref! One! Two! And Johnny Mundo stops bothering to count! He is highly amused by his own antics. Beatdown time.

Not to be left out, here’s Jack Evans with a superkick



Here’s Dragon Azteca to help out his buddy. Jack Evans makes a quick exit as Dragon takes out PJ with a DDT and dodges Mundo to send him to the outside. He gets a run up for a dive onto Mundo, but gets tripped by Taya who has also sneakily shown up.

As Taya takes care of Dragon on the outside, the others position PJ on top of Rey and revive the ref. The Worldwide Underground only get a few seconds to be shocked when Rey kicks out, as they are soon chased away by a chair wielding Dragon Azteca.

A 619 and springboard frog splash gets Rey a victory soon after.

Rey was moving great during this match, and it’s another one to go in the list of matches that you want to show somebody if they ask about PJ’s work.

Rey has a mic. He tells an unconscious PJ Black, still lying in the ring, that this doesn’t really concern him. He addresses Mundo, since he knows that Mundo can hear him. Mundo won’t be able to run his whole life, there’s going to be a time when he gets tired of running. That time will be in four weeks, when Rey will see him back in this ring, in this Temple, in front of his people.

In four weeks, he is not going to make history… we (the believers) are going to make history as he is going to become Lucha Underground Champion. He’s not going to leave Mundo empty handed, he’s going to take home a 619.
-----------------------------------
Next time: The Hunger Inside

[Deleted]

The sexano section is alive and throbbing in the temple.

10 OUTTA 10 CATRINA IS IN THIS EPISODE!

Thicc boy battle to kick off the show and Ilove Vamp talking about guys putting their money on a post and Striker after letting him ramble juts immediately like never missin a beat right to takin about the match.

Texano did not want to take that flying knee from Mack which made for that not looking as good as it usually does mostly beause Cage takes that head on and it looks stellar everytime.

Always love how the believers go completely quiet when a chop is about to happen.

I also like how they cover for Texanos I guess mild no selling by saying it is because he is just willing to absord Macks offence.

It is not a very long match but it is a nice showcase that don't judge the thicc boys by the cover because they can move and fly especially The Mack , who can and has just casually done an AJ Styles spiral tap because everyone else around him was trying to show off.

Famous B antics post match are always much appreciated and this time with a water pistol because Famous B is all in with his clients...good thing he doesn't yet have a client who went to prison or worse.

.....................................................................................................................................

LU doesn't use licensed music like at all so this was a nice little treat to kick off a vingette.

It took awhile but I am glad we finally get some backstory on Havoc and now what we learn is called THE INVISIBLE CULT , and with a name like that this is not just some biker club.

I do appreciate everytime we have seen the lucha bar it is distinctly different instead of boyle heights looking like it is just one bar...although not very many patrons , although the one Texano dwelled back in season 2 had a few that he promptly beat the piss out of.

No sure what ICMC is...I am guessing it is INVISIBLE CULT....and something maybe they are dedicated Mc Hammer fans and that is what the Mc stands for.

And I love the continued continuity not only with Madness still stalking and going after Havoc because the job is not done but also Havoc wears nothing but his vest but he aint got no vest so just a black beater it is.

And as usual excellent LU production at work from the choreography to the lighting and camera work all around.
......................................................................................................................................

I have no doubt in my mind that Paul London gets legit this excited when he recieves anything with packing peanuts.

This is usual antics like of course they would play checkers on Saltador that was such a gimme there was no way LU was never gonna do it and when they did it ends up being amazing.

Mascarita is confirmed to have a sick sense of humor...here I am wishing you good luck , by the way that good luck comes in the form of one of your kin being slaughtered.

Everything the rabbit tribe do is so off the wall kooky but they have nailed every single bit of humor with them so far and that is not easy to do with how flimsy comedy especially in wrestling can be.

....................................................................................................................................

Ladies and gentlemen god has arrived and his name is Pentagon.

I say it all the time there something special and magical about this show that no matter where post LU is at now that company cannot channel the absoloute cool factor the talents on this show embody and it is none more obvious than with Pentagon.

From his god tier music to how they film his entrance coming in from the back through the smoke and the chants of Cero Miedo , it is up there with the coolest f***ing things in wrestling ever.

This match takes just a little to get pack the initial awkwardness but I chalk that to each wanting to work a different pace like Drago wants to work like he worked with Aeorstar but Petagon tries to slow it down but then eventually find that middle ground and one they do this match becomes spectacular.

Dragos running blockbuster is always a thing of beauty , seriously why has no one taken this up as their finisher it looks killer.

lol I love that Striker when he tries to explain to Vamp the "Pentakin destroyer" how he quickly realizes okay that was dumb and sounds completely defeated lol and ends it with Vamp staying he loves him only for Striker to say someone has to lol.

Kobra Moon is not having a great tournament first Mascarita slaps the biatch outta her (Vamps words) and now Penta just rearranges her jaw.

............................................................................................................................

Add another power to Catrina's obsurd ammount of things she can do with now being able to drum up past memories in someone...she has to be the most powerful supernatural character in wrestling due to the sheer ammount of things she can do with no limiations.

But Penta is pure Pentagon in this scene he doesn't flinch a lick and his only response is his cero miedo hand gesture lol , this man only has one language and it is amazing.

.................................................................................................................................

PJ Black has absoloutley shown out these last two episode and Rey also shows at this point he still could go at a very high level.

This was just a fantastic main event and another one of those super overlooked matches from LU that further show why season 3 is my personal faboruite.

....................................................................................................................

Next week lots of big developments and some absoloute bangers..especially one that on paper you immediately go yea this one is going to be amazing and it indeed it does end up being amazing.

[Rave]

Feb 6, 2023 13:00:09 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

No sure what ICMC is...I am guessing it is INVISIBLE CULT....and something maybe they are dedicated Mc Hammer fans and that is what the Mc stands for.

Invisible Cult Motorcycle Club.

So IIRC the name Invisible Cult was originally from an idea that had been batted around a bit and ultimately rejected early on, as a faction for the then-named Son of Chaos. Just one of several might've-beens regarding Havoc.

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2023 18:44:31 GMT -5 Rave said:

Feb 6, 2023 13:00:09 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

No sure what ICMC is...I am guessing it is INVISIBLE CULT....and something maybe they are dedicated Mc Hammer fans and that is what the Mc stands for.

Invisible Cult Motorcycle Club.

So IIRC the name Invisible Cult was originally from an idea that had been batted around a bit and ultimately rejected early on, as a faction for the then-named Son of Chaos. Just one of several might've-beens regarding Havoc.

]
Oh and I found this little diddy that involves you asking a question about Madness.

twitter.com/LuchaElRey/status/1057794796591304705

I aint directly linking because the question does get anwsered by the official LU twitter.

[Rave]

I remember that tweet! I'd been thinking out loud during Ultima Lucha Cuatro and never expected an answer. I'm pretty sure I remember what prompted it, but we won't be able to talk about that for quite a while yet.

[Gecko]

S03E29 – The Hunger Inside

Last time

• Texano beats The Mack in the second round of the Cueto Cup thanks to a Famous B distraction
• Havoc is told that he will eventually re-join the Invisible Cult Motorcycle Club whether he wants to or not, but until then Havoc will make his life hell.
• The Rabbit Tribe receive a gift of a rabbit’s foot from Mascarita Sagrada
• Penta beats Drago in the CC
• Aerostar prevents Penta from breaking Drago’s arm, only to be attacked by his friend and left to have his arm broken instead.
• Catrina warns Penta about the fate that awaits him if he gets to Mil in the CC
• Rey defeats PJ Black in a match that had involvement from the Worldwide Underground and Dragon Azteca

Recaps of

• As usual, Dario announcing The Cueto Cup, and Mundo vs Rey
  
• Dario refusing to give Matanza a match with Rey, leading to Matanza knocking Dario out and escaping his cage
  
• Benjamin Cooke being hired and getting PJ a match with Rey

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

In a dark, dark, Temple, there were some dark, dark stairs. Up the dark, dark, stairs, there was a dark, dark, door…

Dario is bringing his brother something to snack on:



Of course he eats raw meat. Actually, we already knew this, it's just that it's not normally in nice little chunks already and he has to prepare it himself.

We’ve not seen much of Matanza recently. Episode 14 of this season was when he knocked out Dario to escape and go attack Dragon Azteca, Episode 19 was when he put Dragon through the bleachers and then got put through the roof by Rey.

Dario guesses that Matanza is hungry, since he seems to be a slave to his hunger lately. The hunger that wants revenge. The hunger that has made him weak, it made him put hands on the only person who has cared for him, it allowed him to be overpowered by Rey Mysterio.

Matanza has the power of a god, but the desires of a man, and he must learn to overcome them. If he doesn’t, Dario fears that the other gods will not let him keep his humanity (I mean, he doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of it to lose to start with).

They could decide to use him as nothing more than a vessel and take away all that is left of his brother. Dario tells Matanza to control his hunger or it will destroy them both, as he leaves the tray on the floor and exits.

Matanza reaches for the food, but then stops and resists.

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

Usual intros from Striker before he gets talking about the Cueto Cup. We’re at the quarter finals now, only eight are left. Also, in three weeks Mundo defends the title against Rey.

Pentagon Dark & Texano, Mil Muertes & Jeremiah Crane, Prince Puma & Dante Fox, are the other QF match ups, but first up is:

Cueto Cup (Quarter Final): Pindar w/Kobra Moon vs Fenix

Have to go with Fenix for this one, right? Unless there’s shenanigans afoot.

Normally I’d say this was pure luck, but with LU who knows



The smoke drifting into the lights kind of looks bird-like, and the colours could make you think of fire?

Some random Believers, that guy in the middle looks like he's gonna end up locked up somewhere, if he hasn't been already.



It's Rey's family, if you hadn't realised. I bet they're only here so that Dom can get beat up by Mundo.

Bit of banter on commentary with Striker wondering if Melissa would look at him like she looks at Fenix if he wore a mask? Vamp says he’ll look at Striker like that if he wants, but Striker turns him down as he doesn’t look as good in a dress, to which Vamp questions how he knows that.

Pindar is still adjusting his mask on a regular basis, which is still very distracting.

You know you get those wrestlers who would have been much more successful and appreciated if they had come along a decade or two later? Pindar makes me think the opposite and that he would fit in better in an earlier period.

In one corner, Pindar has the ref occupied, which leaves Kobra Moon free to choke Fenix in the other corner and neutralize his momentum.

HUUUUUGGGEEEEEE Monkey flip out of the corner, Fenix clears the seal in the middle of the ring.

I’m getting suspicious of the ref’s positioning, he’s in a conspicuous spot on the side closest to the hard cam with his back to us… also on that side of the ring, you can see Kobra Moon hovering… ok, I was overly suspicious, nothing happened.

It takes a couple of attempts for Fenix to get Pindar up and over for a German suplex, which I like. Fenix struggling just a little and showing that he's been worn down a bit.

I only just noticed that Kobra Moon’s necklace is just a bunch of snakes.

I don’t know what this was supposed to be, but I don’t think it went as planned. Pindar did not look comfortable up there.



I also don’t remember seeing Fenix just go with knees from the top, maybe a little bit of genuine frustration/anger?
Anyway, that’s enough for him to win it and move into the semi-finals.
------------------------------------------------------------

Dario is meeting with The Worldwide Underground. He starts by asking how Jack’s recovery is going? And the answer is *mumble mumble*.
PJ is on hand to translate the next bit of gibberish and informs us that it was something about a ventriloquist act and that his dog had a vasectomy.
Why do I feel so sorry for Jack? And how can I also laugh at the same time?

Down to business. Dario has given them countless opportunities, and time and time again they fail, despite them using all the tricks they can. All of them together couldn’t get PJ to beat Rey last week.
For Mundo’s main event match against Dragon Azteca, he wants none of them to get involved.

Next week, there’ll be an opportunity for PJ, Taya, and Ricky to earn three medallions. That's the carrot.



It’s been a fair while since we’ve seen the medallions.

However, if any of them go out there during Mundo’s match, their opportunities in the Temple are over. And there's the stick.
At this point, Jack isn’t really listening, he’s confused and shocked that he’s not getting a chance at a medallion.
------------------------------------------------------------

Cueto Cup (Quarter Final): Dante Fox vs Prince Puma

I think that a Puma wins in a fight with a Fox…. But meh, it sounds boring so *skip*

*ring ring* oh, that’s me, sorry, I’ll just get that. Hello… oh… yes… no, I understa… no, you’re right, I do need that to live… well, no, that doesn’t sound pleasant at all… no, I'm quite fond of that bit too... and my other option is to just… ok, I’ll do that then. Thank you, toodles.

I’ve changed my mind, let’s watch this match.

Vamp talks about Puma being involved in a transition process and links it to secret societies. Way to throw everybody off the trail, Vamp.

Ooh, it looked like Dante caught the back of his head on the stairs as he went down from a Puma dive on that side. It’s not slowing him down any though, as this match is still going at full pace a few minutes in.

I said that Dante’s work was so smooth, and that’s still the case, but especially so on the counters. He could match anybody on that aspect. The sequence that inspired the comment:



Not that Puma’s a slouch or anything, he’s definitely holding up his side of the deal.

Puma showing some frustration after not getting the win from some big moves. He shouldn’t worry as he hits the hard dropkick and follows up with the 630 which does get him the win.

Fantastic match. Dante has quickly become somebody that I look forward to seeing.

We have our first semi-final set: Fenix vs Prince Puma

Dante might have been in position to receive some accolades from the believers for a great match here, but instead he gets a double stomp from an attacking Killshot!
To some boos, Killshot puts down Dante before grabbing a mic. All he says is that Dante’s right, it isn’t over between them.
------------------------------------------------------------



Somebody’s performance review is not going well. Cortez Castro AKA Veneno, is waiting while Captain Vasquez is watching his match against Cage.

It doesn’t take long to watch the whole thing. Her opinion is that it wasn’t his best match… but most people wouldn’t fair too well against a god. Cortez says he’s not a god, he’s a machine. He is also a murderer, according to Vasquez. He walked right into City Hall and killed a councilman.

Cortez has the outrageous suggestion of arresting Cage, but Vasquez isn’t after him, she’s after the Gauntlet… and she wants Cortez to bring it to her. Ha! Good luck with that one.

Cortez is aware of his limits and says that there isn’t a man alive who will be able to take that thing away from Cage, before he is dismissed.

Vasquez opens a drawer and removes her remaining piece of Piedra Immortal. She considers it while saying that Cortez may be right.

Now, gee, who happens to have the rest of the rock and also is associated with a guy who is all about death? Unless she is just planning to murder Cortez and bring him back to life?

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

Johnny Mundo vs El Dragon Azteca Jr

Hmm, they are paying plenty of attention to Dominik, that can't possibly be important.

Solid match so far, pretty much what you would expect from these two.

This one of those matches where it’s good, but what you’re really waiting to see is the post-match incident, since it absolutely has that feel and all the signs that something will happen.




Pfft, he didn’t even go over the ring post.

Fingerpoke to the eyes is the first underhanded tactic from Mundo, he’s been playing fair up until now.

The C4 at the best of times is a move that can’t hide that the two people are working together to do it, and that one wasn’t the greatest example, there was minimal contact between them due to one of them running into it.

Mundo eventually picks up the win by knocking Dragon off the top and then hitting the End of the World.

Yep, another good ‘un.

A quick victory pose for Mundo before he goes and grabs a chair. There’s just one shot from the chair before Mundo reveals his true intentions…



He wants Dragon out of the way permanently.

Here’s Rey! He dumps Mundo out the ring, but you have to believe that Mundo knew this would happen and must have more coming?

One more pose from Mundo on the stairs before he retreats. Rey goes out to greet his family before heading to the back again. Mundo turns round and heads back to ringside, he's probably got a couple of minutes for mischief before Rey can reach a Lucha monitor and then get back out here again.

Mundo stops at the Mysterio family to greet them too. He hardly recognised Dom, since he’s gotten so big… but his dad ain’t worth shit.
This is kind of smart, taunt the young guy, attack his ego and get him to throw the first shot so that you can claim self defence.



We’ve got some uniforms out to help keep the peace, but Mundo takes the chance to pieface Dom.

“Better recognise who you’re touching next time.” Good one, Dom. Amazingly, It doesn't cause the security to fall to the floor in hysterics and they keep a hold of him despite his struggles.

Rey makes it back out here again, but this time he gets ambushed by Worldwide Underground. Wonder where Dragon has got to?

It seems as if Mundo had everything planned and under control at all times. Look how it’s worked out for him:



Dom is being held by officials and forced to watch Rey being held by Worldwide Underground for Mundo and what looks like an upcoming belt shot.

It is a belt shot, but to the younger Mysterio! Even more evil, make Rey (and the rest of the family) have to watch his son get hurt.

Worldwide Underground make their escape as the Mysterios tend to Dom.

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Hello Melissa, you probably don’t want to be wandering around outside by yourself. Oh, you’re not, Fenix is there too, and he wants to walk her to her car. Is Marty hiding in the back seat?

They make their way to the car, having a nice conversation about when Fenix wears his mask or not, and Melissa being a bit tired and ending up getting carried by Fenix. Laughing and happy. Oh dear.

Yep, there’s a Moth stalking them. Marty watching from the shadows, says that she won’t like Fenix when he takes the mask away and she sees how ugly he really is. Hey, Marty is giggling and happy too, what a happy ending this is.
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Next time: Bloodlines

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I just realised how close we’re getting to the end of the season. Yes, it’s another 10 episodes, but several of them I believe are taken up with UL3. Which is probably why:
- It seems like we’re ramping up the story elements again. Progressing stuff that is current and reviving other stuff that has been dormant for a little while. Moving all the pieces into position for the finale.

[Deleted]

You come for the show BUT YOU GAWD DAMN STAY FOR DANTE VS PUMA!! because honestly that is what you take away from this episode.

The rest is still great stuff but that Dante Vs Puma match is off the f***ing charts.

But there has always been an interesting back and forth about this episode specifically as it pretains to peoples debate on flippy shit matches that was just puire flippy shit.

And you see the difference here because both matches are spectacular but Dante and Puma is flippy shit done with logic and reasoning (for the most part) abd what makes this match even more special...is you see something of unicorn rarity and that is Dante/AR Fox being blown up...this is a dood known for his preverbial gas tank but in this match you see him take a not a long moment to catch bis breath but just a brief one and it is like wow.

And that end sequence with him mimmicking the shot gun into the drop kick was fantastic little imagery.

And let me brag about LU production again...that airiel shot of the 630 and following him straight onto Fox...CHEFS GAWD DAMN KISS!! take f***ing note every other wrestling show...THIS is how you know the people behind the scenes know how to shoot a damn show because it is not just the ariel shot but how the camera moves and follows Puma down into catching the impact of the move.

This is the match you watch this episode for.
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10 OUTTA 10 CAPTAIN HOTNESS IS HERE!!!!

Not alot to say about the vingette other than Cortez for just a minute became the smartest man on this show when he just noped out from being sent on assignment to go get the Gauntlet from Cage...which even he knows is a complete death sentence.

But reading between the lines you know exactly where this is going and things are about to get f***ing nuts because the rest of this season is absolutley fire.

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The opening vingette with Dario and Matanza is unique in dropping alot of interesting bits but you wont get to see them paid off just yet but the coversation is one to keep in mind.

But I love Dario's bit of hypocratic gaslighting I guess where he tells Matanza what will happen to him but yet here is Dario using his brother in the exact same way while be berates him for being weak etc.

Always a joy when Dario burns this candle at both ends because you know somewhere in there he does really care for his brother but also sees his brother as a means to an end and needs him at his strongest and to rid himself of human desires.
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Poor Jack Evans lol this is a fun little vingette and just goes back to what I said about Dario playing both sides masterfully because here he is berating a group who he himself admits he has given pretty much free reign to do whatever they want and they cannot get the job done.

And this is why he is IMO the best authority figure in wrestling because he isn't simple a heel or a babyface , this is a man who has his own agenda and while he does favor some talent more than others , he reacts to things within his temple in a genuine way and it is finely on display here...just because he has given WWU countless chances doesn't mean he will ignore their failures either because it taints his reputation.

And again poor Jack Evans lol

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Pindar and Fenix was a great match just try and get past Pindars constant zipper problems and Fenix nearly breaking his neck.

Oh and idk if I have ever said this about Pindar but allegedly the reason for the problems is because Pindar is wearing an outfit designed for MVP...yes that MVP.

He was briefly a producer/agent on the show but he spoiled a little something on his podcast that he was not suppose to and higher ups were pissed and he ended up being fired.

And the thing he spoiled was revealing Catrina's age....a wholely trivial reason to fire someone but also it is a pivotal reveal within the show so give and take I guess.

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Only in Boyle Heights can a hardened criminal get front show seats to the beatdown of his father...Hi Dom at this point was lookin beefy as hell.

Another great match on this show that would have been match of the night if not for Dante and Puma just being on the same episode.

All in all this episode is solid with an absoloutley show stealing match that for anyone that is a fan of both needs to watch because you wont be getting it again anywhere else anytime soon right now.

And as far as the end vingette....Marty stalks his one true love and Melissa is there to , not much to say about this at the moment but the seed planting is obvious here and with only 10 episodes left in the season we are officially in the end game now.

And next episode has my absoloutle favourite match of the whole tournament.

[Rave]

Reading this thread makes me happy that AR Fox is finally back on a national platform. Dude's just too damn good.

Feb 13, 2023 12:46:13 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

Oh and idk if I have ever said this about Pindar but allegedly the reason for the problems is because Pindar is wearing an outfit designed for MVP...yes that MVP.

He was briefly a producer/agent on the show but he spoiled a little something on his podcast that he was not suppose to and higher ups were pissed and he ended up being fired.

And the thing he spoiled was revealing Catrina's age....a wholely trivial reason to fire someone but also it is a pivotal reveal within the show so give and take I guess.

MVP was under an NDA as part of his contract which he accidentally violated by not getting that interview approved beforehand. He's lucky they only fired him. He had a video up where he admitted that he screwed up, but since that's been taken down here's a summary.