Post by Gecko on Oct 24, 2021 7:24:10 GMT -5
Episode 37 – PenUltima Lucha
Recaps of:
1) The Aztec Medallions
2) Cage replacing Mack in the Trios team
3) Texano and Blue Demon (and Chavo and The Crew)
Dario in his office saying to the person opposite him that they haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye. He immediately realises his mistake in using that phrase whilst talking to Ryck, and quickly tries to move on by explaining that there were big plans when Dario first signed him, but Ryck has lost focus (oops), he’s been blinded by the money (oops again).
He holds up the last Aztec medallion and says he’s going to reveal their power tonight. He asks Ryck which is more important, money or power?
Ryck takes the Medallion and responds with a question of his own: Why choose? Dario unhappily hands over a stack of cash before Ryck will leave. Just like the end of last episode, Dario kind of lost control of the situation there.
And we end with a shot of that f***ing bull!
The design doesn’t look like a whole lot, but if we turn it upside down:
It’s the Evil Penguin Tribe! (penguins are traditionally associated with Aztec culture, right?)
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Into the Temple we go. Sergio Arau providing the tunes tonight. Commentary with Striker and a hyped, sweaty, Vampiro. They recap Konnan taking a trip in a coffin last week and let us know that this week we will hear from Puma himself for the very first time.
I swear that me mentioning stuff (like lack of promos) and then something related happening next episode is pure coincidence and not me looking ahead so I can predict things (otherwise I’d know what the deal with the bull is)
Striker mentions UL is two weeks away. Not going by my schedule, it’s not.
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Johnny Mundo vs Texano
Hellllooooo, Melissa Santos.
Chants of “Johnny Zero” and “Texano”. Vamp contrasts the two: Mundo is a pretty boy who’s always in the gym, Texano is a shitkicker.
Shitkicker - noun
VULGAR SLANG•NORTH AMERICAN
1. an unsophisticated or oafish person, especially one from a rural area.
😀
“Oh!” – Striker, The crowd, Gecko, when Mundo takes out Texano’s knee.
Mundo then mocks him by showing how good his own knee is, while Texano doesn’t bother selling it at all.
Still a little odd seeing Mundo as a serious heel when I’m used to him being the comedic variety.
Mundo does his monkeyflip spot where he goes completely round and lands on his face. That kind of feels like a what a modern Mr Perfect spot would be like.
Eventually Texano starts building a bit of momentum, gets Mundo up for the powerbomb, and the crew jump in for the sneak attack. DQ win for Texano.
After a slight pause, The Crew and Mundo decide that they can work together and all three put the boots to Texano.
Heeeere’s Bertie! (Hey, a spooky film reference). He runs Mundo off and turns The Crew into their secret alter egos: The Goons.
Texano grabs his rope and gets some shots in on the goons. Wonder if he’s noticed who’s helping him because Bertie and Texano haven’t been friendly in the past.
Ah, now he notices. They decide to let it go (not a film reference) for now and Bertie leads the crowd in a Lucha Libre chant.
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Don’t know If we’ve seen that panning shot before but I like it.
So yeah, into Dario’s office we go as he correctly guesses that Hernandez is not a fan of galleries or museums. Dario isn’t either, but he is a fan of art, and what Hernandez has done with the strap is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Hernandez rejects the offer of a drink from Dario's selected bottle, his choice of tipple is a can of lite beer. Which he places on Dario’s desk much to the annoyance of El Jefe.
Dario says that he wants UL to be a masterpiece (He said it again, That’s a clue! Surprise appearance by Chris Masters!) so he is extending it to two weeks and it starts next week. He does let the crowd (and commentary) know this as well, later on.
Dario adds Hernandez vs Drago to UL, but it won’t be just a normal match. Hernandez isn’t as good at guessing, as his guess of a strap match isn’t exactly right. The fans hating Hernandez (and the feeling being mutual) gave him an idea.
The fans at ringside will be the ones with straps that they can use on Hernandez or Drago if they get close. It’s called ‘The Believer's Backlash’ (a Dario Cueto original idea and you can't prove otherwise)
Hernandez says that he hopes Dario has insurance because if any of them try to hit him, he’ll paint the canvas red with their blood.
This suits Dario fine, apparently.
‘Now THAT sounds like a masterpiece to me.’
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All this and we’re only 16 minutes in.
The Mack vs Cage
Vamp loves The Mack, he looks like a big jumbly bumblebee that he wants to give a hug to.
Really liked this match from a couple of episodes ago, let’s see if that was a fluke or if they work well together. I know that they have another match next week, so I’m guessing Cage takes this one to even it up.
Vamp thinks that Cage looks like a bumblebee squisher and doesn’t want to hug him.
A very quick start for the two big guys.
Bit of a botch where Mack didn’t ge….. oh, he won.
That was even shorter than last time.
Since it’s been a topic of discussion recently with the Queen’s Cup match lengths: short matches aren’t the issue, it’s a frequency thing. Doing it occasionally for a shock and/or to build a story works (like here), but you can’t do it for every match and expect people to like it. Limit how often you do it, and have a reason for it when you do and things are mostly fine.
Cage is understandably angry and attacks Mack who fights back as a couple of useless Security people get thrown around while trying to separate them. They fight all the way up the steps as more security turn up and manage to separate them.
The commotion brings Dario out of his office (holding a suspicious red coin sized bag). He says he’s going to find everything he can that’s laying around the Temple and put it ringside for them to tear each other apart with at UL. Mack and The Machine will kick off night one of UL in a falls count anywhere match!
On one hand: he didn’t come up with a fancy name for falls count anywhere, but on the other: He is about to tell us what the deal with the Medallions is.
Sudden Idea: Does the red bag contain an eighth Master Medallion to control all the others and the holders of the Medallions become Medallion-wraiths?
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That looks title belt like. Is it a collect all the medallions and put them in the belt deal? Hey, Gecko, why don’t you just shut up and listen to Dario and you’ll find out!?
The seven Medallions together make up what Dario calls ‘The Gift of the Gods’.
A Medallion title belt.
It’s a prize like no other (uh huh, sure it is, Dario). Whoever holds the belt is guaranteed a LU title match whenever they want… but he likes to promote his champion’s matches so there will be no “cash this in whenever you want”. That got a laugh from me and the crowd. Dario needs a week’s notice when it gets activated.
Ooh, it’s also a belt and therefore needs defending, so you could lose it if you take to long to use it.
Once it gets used, the medallions get redistributed and we start again.
There will be a seven way match at UL to decide who gets the Gift of the Gods, the entry fee is an Aztec Medallion.
Dario calls out the Medallion holders. Jack Evans, Aerostar, King Cuerno, The Mighty Bengala, Sexy Star, Big Ryck, …Fenix? No?
The sound effect when the Medallions go in the slots 🤨
Once they’ve all put their Medallions in the Belt, Dario shoos them away in order to address the glaring issue. Fenix won the first Medallion but Mil Muertes destroyed him (which Dario finds highly amusing), so his medallion is going back up for grabs in a battle royal, which switches to pin/submission win conditions when there’s only two people left.
Here’s Fenix! Kind of late there, buddy. Oh. Dario’s going to force him to win his medallion again, isn’t he? Yep, that’s exactly what happens. Dario is such a smarmy git here, it’s great. He's on top form tonight.
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Aztec Medallion Battle Royal: Fenix, Marty, Mascarita Sagrada, Killshot, Argenis, Famous B, Vinny Massaro, Ricky Mendel, Super Fly, Delavar Daivari.
Marty is the last to enter
You really don’t want that much attention on you in this sort of match. Third time lucky for him getting a Medallion? Probably not. Although he’s got a better chance than Mendel, Massaro, and Famous B.
*shudder*
Speaking of …that whole area: crotch chop and Pedigree by Famous B, followed up by a big leg drop, brother. It’s a spoiler risk for me to go looking for exact dates, but this must have been right around the time of the Hogan stuff coming out?
Mandel tries to take advantage of B’s posing, but the ol’ switcheroo sees him be the first out.
B turns around in time to toss Argenis over onto the apron and then kick him off for the second elimination too.
You can see how Killshot is starting to develop in his mannerisms. But he’s not winning as he goes up top and gets pushed off by Daivari. That’s elimination #3.
Daivari gets his second by eliminating Vinny Massaro (#4)
Sagrada tries a monkeyflip on the apron and eliminates Super Fly (#5) but also falls off as well (#6)
Four left: Famous B, Marty the Moth, Daivari, Fenix.
Is that a “Kill The Moth” chant? I approve.
For Famous B’s next impression: Shawn Michaels in a Royal Rumble as he almost gets eliminated with one foot touching the floor. Before he can get back in the ring, Daivari and the Moth team up to push him off the apron. Eliminated #7, He did much better than I was expecting and also got to show off some of his stuff which was nice.
How long will the heels team up? Until Fenix eliminates Daivari (#8). And we’ve got our final two.
Back to a standard match now. Commentary point out Fenix being covered up and wonder if it's because of the injuries inflicted by Mil. I think he's just a bit chilly.
Second clumsy match finish of the night. Wonder if it’s a fatigue thing?
Anyways, Fenix wins his Medallion again. He ascends the stairs to place his Medallion in the Gift of the Gods Title as Dario stands in his doorway and he’s not a happy bunny.
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Commentary run down Ultima Lucha
Falls Count Anywhere: The Mack vs Cage
Johnny Mundo vs Alberto El Patron
Gift of the Gods: Bengala, King Cuerno, Sexy Star, Big Ryck, Jack Evans, Fenix, Aerostar
Texano vs Blue Demon Jr
Trios Titles: Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, Angelico (c) vs Disciples of Death w/Catrina
Believer’s Backlash: Drago vs Hernandez
Pentagon Jr vs Vampiro
LU Title: Prince Puma (c) vs Mil Muertes
That’s a hell of a card. The obvious weak spot is Texano vs Blue Demon, but it might be ok as long as they keep it short, and they’ve got The Crew to help out as well.
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Melissa Santos introduces Prince Puma.
Striker: “Many experts are saying that Mil Muertes is going to be the next Lucha Underground champion.” I guess I’m an expert then, cause I definitely think Puma’s losing the belt.
Commentary point out Puma has a black mask, the colour of mourning.
We’re going to have to wait a bit longer to hear from Puma as here comes Mil (in a suit) and Catrina.
It’s just a distraction (and Catrina is very distracting) to let the Skull Mask Gang ambush the champ.
The Skull Mask Goons don’t last too long.
This is surprising, Mil runs down the stairs to a waiting Puma instead of doing the traditional heel tactic of getting halfway and then turning round and leaving. He doesn’t fair too great either though, Puma hits the 630 and the audio guy hits the play button on the music as he connects.
And we are all set for Ultima Lucha
Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- Looking forward to seeing if they do anything special presentation wise for UL
- I did catch the thumbnails for UL. Part 1 is fine, but part 2 with Penta: Am I annoyed for having it spoiled or am I looking forward to it more knowing that it’ll be that sort of match? I Don’t Know.
- I like GotG, It’s like Aztec Warfare where they took an established concept (or multiple ones and combined them) and put their own spin on it so that they’re not just repeating the same scenarios that have already been done elsewhere.
- UL was already looking good before this episode, then they went and added a whole bunch more to it and improved it.
- Still undecided on how I’m going to do UL (since it’s essentially three episodes). Probably depends on how early in the week I start it and how I feel when I finish part one. But I am looking forward to it.
- I’m glad I started this whole thing. If I just watched normally, yeah I’d get through it a lot quicker but at best I’d miss a bunch of stuff and at worst it would end up just being background noise while my focus was on something else.
Recaps of:
1) The Aztec Medallions
2) Cage replacing Mack in the Trios team
3) Texano and Blue Demon (and Chavo and The Crew)
Dario in his office saying to the person opposite him that they haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye. He immediately realises his mistake in using that phrase whilst talking to Ryck, and quickly tries to move on by explaining that there were big plans when Dario first signed him, but Ryck has lost focus (oops), he’s been blinded by the money (oops again).
He holds up the last Aztec medallion and says he’s going to reveal their power tonight. He asks Ryck which is more important, money or power?
Ryck takes the Medallion and responds with a question of his own: Why choose? Dario unhappily hands over a stack of cash before Ryck will leave. Just like the end of last episode, Dario kind of lost control of the situation there.
And we end with a shot of that f***ing bull!
The design doesn’t look like a whole lot, but if we turn it upside down:
It’s the Evil Penguin Tribe! (penguins are traditionally associated with Aztec culture, right?)
------------------------------------------------------------
Into the Temple we go. Sergio Arau providing the tunes tonight. Commentary with Striker and a hyped, sweaty, Vampiro. They recap Konnan taking a trip in a coffin last week and let us know that this week we will hear from Puma himself for the very first time.
I swear that me mentioning stuff (like lack of promos) and then something related happening next episode is pure coincidence and not me looking ahead so I can predict things (otherwise I’d know what the deal with the bull is)
Striker mentions UL is two weeks away. Not going by my schedule, it’s not.
------------------------------------------------------------
Johnny Mundo vs Texano
Hellllooooo, Melissa Santos.
Chants of “Johnny Zero” and “Texano”. Vamp contrasts the two: Mundo is a pretty boy who’s always in the gym, Texano is a shitkicker.
Shitkicker - noun
VULGAR SLANG•NORTH AMERICAN
1. an unsophisticated or oafish person, especially one from a rural area.
😀
“Oh!” – Striker, The crowd, Gecko, when Mundo takes out Texano’s knee.
Mundo then mocks him by showing how good his own knee is, while Texano doesn’t bother selling it at all.
Still a little odd seeing Mundo as a serious heel when I’m used to him being the comedic variety.
Mundo does his monkeyflip spot where he goes completely round and lands on his face. That kind of feels like a what a modern Mr Perfect spot would be like.
Eventually Texano starts building a bit of momentum, gets Mundo up for the powerbomb, and the crew jump in for the sneak attack. DQ win for Texano.
After a slight pause, The Crew and Mundo decide that they can work together and all three put the boots to Texano.
Heeeere’s Bertie! (Hey, a spooky film reference). He runs Mundo off and turns The Crew into their secret alter egos: The Goons.
Texano grabs his rope and gets some shots in on the goons. Wonder if he’s noticed who’s helping him because Bertie and Texano haven’t been friendly in the past.
Ah, now he notices. They decide to let it go (not a film reference) for now and Bertie leads the crowd in a Lucha Libre chant.
------------------------------------------------------------
Don’t know If we’ve seen that panning shot before but I like it.
So yeah, into Dario’s office we go as he correctly guesses that Hernandez is not a fan of galleries or museums. Dario isn’t either, but he is a fan of art, and what Hernandez has done with the strap is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Hernandez rejects the offer of a drink from Dario's selected bottle, his choice of tipple is a can of lite beer. Which he places on Dario’s desk much to the annoyance of El Jefe.
Dario says that he wants UL to be a masterpiece (He said it again, That’s a clue! Surprise appearance by Chris Masters!) so he is extending it to two weeks and it starts next week. He does let the crowd (and commentary) know this as well, later on.
Dario adds Hernandez vs Drago to UL, but it won’t be just a normal match. Hernandez isn’t as good at guessing, as his guess of a strap match isn’t exactly right. The fans hating Hernandez (and the feeling being mutual) gave him an idea.
The fans at ringside will be the ones with straps that they can use on Hernandez or Drago if they get close. It’s called ‘The Believer's Backlash’ (a Dario Cueto original idea and you can't prove otherwise)
Hernandez says that he hopes Dario has insurance because if any of them try to hit him, he’ll paint the canvas red with their blood.
This suits Dario fine, apparently.
‘Now THAT sounds like a masterpiece to me.’
------------------------------------------------------------
All this and we’re only 16 minutes in.
The Mack vs Cage
Vamp loves The Mack, he looks like a big jumbly bumblebee that he wants to give a hug to.
Really liked this match from a couple of episodes ago, let’s see if that was a fluke or if they work well together. I know that they have another match next week, so I’m guessing Cage takes this one to even it up.
Vamp thinks that Cage looks like a bumblebee squisher and doesn’t want to hug him.
A very quick start for the two big guys.
Bit of a botch where Mack didn’t ge….. oh, he won.
That was even shorter than last time.
Since it’s been a topic of discussion recently with the Queen’s Cup match lengths: short matches aren’t the issue, it’s a frequency thing. Doing it occasionally for a shock and/or to build a story works (like here), but you can’t do it for every match and expect people to like it. Limit how often you do it, and have a reason for it when you do and things are mostly fine.
Cage is understandably angry and attacks Mack who fights back as a couple of useless Security people get thrown around while trying to separate them. They fight all the way up the steps as more security turn up and manage to separate them.
The commotion brings Dario out of his office (holding a suspicious red coin sized bag). He says he’s going to find everything he can that’s laying around the Temple and put it ringside for them to tear each other apart with at UL. Mack and The Machine will kick off night one of UL in a falls count anywhere match!
On one hand: he didn’t come up with a fancy name for falls count anywhere, but on the other: He is about to tell us what the deal with the Medallions is.
Sudden Idea: Does the red bag contain an eighth Master Medallion to control all the others and the holders of the Medallions become Medallion-wraiths?
------------------------------------------------------------
That looks title belt like. Is it a collect all the medallions and put them in the belt deal? Hey, Gecko, why don’t you just shut up and listen to Dario and you’ll find out!?
The seven Medallions together make up what Dario calls ‘The Gift of the Gods’.
A Medallion title belt.
It’s a prize like no other (uh huh, sure it is, Dario). Whoever holds the belt is guaranteed a LU title match whenever they want… but he likes to promote his champion’s matches so there will be no “cash this in whenever you want”. That got a laugh from me and the crowd. Dario needs a week’s notice when it gets activated.
Ooh, it’s also a belt and therefore needs defending, so you could lose it if you take to long to use it.
Once it gets used, the medallions get redistributed and we start again.
There will be a seven way match at UL to decide who gets the Gift of the Gods, the entry fee is an Aztec Medallion.
Dario calls out the Medallion holders. Jack Evans, Aerostar, King Cuerno, The Mighty Bengala, Sexy Star, Big Ryck, …Fenix? No?
The sound effect when the Medallions go in the slots 🤨
Once they’ve all put their Medallions in the Belt, Dario shoos them away in order to address the glaring issue. Fenix won the first Medallion but Mil Muertes destroyed him (which Dario finds highly amusing), so his medallion is going back up for grabs in a battle royal, which switches to pin/submission win conditions when there’s only two people left.
Here’s Fenix! Kind of late there, buddy. Oh. Dario’s going to force him to win his medallion again, isn’t he? Yep, that’s exactly what happens. Dario is such a smarmy git here, it’s great. He's on top form tonight.
------------------------------------------------------------
Aztec Medallion Battle Royal: Fenix, Marty, Mascarita Sagrada, Killshot, Argenis, Famous B, Vinny Massaro, Ricky Mendel, Super Fly, Delavar Daivari.
Marty is the last to enter
You really don’t want that much attention on you in this sort of match. Third time lucky for him getting a Medallion? Probably not. Although he’s got a better chance than Mendel, Massaro, and Famous B.
*shudder*
Speaking of …that whole area: crotch chop and Pedigree by Famous B, followed up by a big leg drop, brother. It’s a spoiler risk for me to go looking for exact dates, but this must have been right around the time of the Hogan stuff coming out?
Mandel tries to take advantage of B’s posing, but the ol’ switcheroo sees him be the first out.
B turns around in time to toss Argenis over onto the apron and then kick him off for the second elimination too.
You can see how Killshot is starting to develop in his mannerisms. But he’s not winning as he goes up top and gets pushed off by Daivari. That’s elimination #3.
Daivari gets his second by eliminating Vinny Massaro (#4)
Sagrada tries a monkeyflip on the apron and eliminates Super Fly (#5) but also falls off as well (#6)
Four left: Famous B, Marty the Moth, Daivari, Fenix.
Is that a “Kill The Moth” chant? I approve.
For Famous B’s next impression: Shawn Michaels in a Royal Rumble as he almost gets eliminated with one foot touching the floor. Before he can get back in the ring, Daivari and the Moth team up to push him off the apron. Eliminated #7, He did much better than I was expecting and also got to show off some of his stuff which was nice.
How long will the heels team up? Until Fenix eliminates Daivari (#8). And we’ve got our final two.
Back to a standard match now. Commentary point out Fenix being covered up and wonder if it's because of the injuries inflicted by Mil. I think he's just a bit chilly.
Second clumsy match finish of the night. Wonder if it’s a fatigue thing?
Anyways, Fenix wins his Medallion again. He ascends the stairs to place his Medallion in the Gift of the Gods Title as Dario stands in his doorway and he’s not a happy bunny.
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Commentary run down Ultima Lucha
Falls Count Anywhere: The Mack vs Cage
Johnny Mundo vs Alberto El Patron
Gift of the Gods: Bengala, King Cuerno, Sexy Star, Big Ryck, Jack Evans, Fenix, Aerostar
Texano vs Blue Demon Jr
Trios Titles: Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, Angelico (c) vs Disciples of Death w/Catrina
Believer’s Backlash: Drago vs Hernandez
Pentagon Jr vs Vampiro
LU Title: Prince Puma (c) vs Mil Muertes
That’s a hell of a card. The obvious weak spot is Texano vs Blue Demon, but it might be ok as long as they keep it short, and they’ve got The Crew to help out as well.
------------------------------------------------------------
Melissa Santos introduces Prince Puma.
Striker: “Many experts are saying that Mil Muertes is going to be the next Lucha Underground champion.” I guess I’m an expert then, cause I definitely think Puma’s losing the belt.
Commentary point out Puma has a black mask, the colour of mourning.
We’re going to have to wait a bit longer to hear from Puma as here comes Mil (in a suit) and Catrina.
It’s just a distraction (and Catrina is very distracting) to let the Skull Mask Gang ambush the champ.
The Skull Mask Goons don’t last too long.
This is surprising, Mil runs down the stairs to a waiting Puma instead of doing the traditional heel tactic of getting halfway and then turning round and leaving. He doesn’t fair too great either though, Puma hits the 630 and the audio guy hits the play button on the music as he connects.
And we are all set for Ultima Lucha
Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- Looking forward to seeing if they do anything special presentation wise for UL
- I did catch the thumbnails for UL. Part 1 is fine, but part 2 with Penta: Am I annoyed for having it spoiled or am I looking forward to it more knowing that it’ll be that sort of match? I Don’t Know.
- I like GotG, It’s like Aztec Warfare where they took an established concept (or multiple ones and combined them) and put their own spin on it so that they’re not just repeating the same scenarios that have already been done elsewhere.
- UL was already looking good before this episode, then they went and added a whole bunch more to it and improved it.
- Still undecided on how I’m going to do UL (since it’s essentially three episodes). Probably depends on how early in the week I start it and how I feel when I finish part one. But I am looking forward to it.
- I’m glad I started this whole thing. If I just watched normally, yeah I’d get through it a lot quicker but at best I’d miss a bunch of stuff and at worst it would end up just being background noise while my focus was on something else.