Gecko Watched Lucha Underground (completed)

[Deleted]

Oh and let me touch on this real quick....it is impossible for you to ever guess what that is without anyone outright telling you now (no not the envelope I see that joke coming down the mile long road lol) and we will eventually get there.

But it always makes me smirk just a little because pretty much everyone gets it wrong when they talk about it.

[anglarite]

Jan 16, 2022 17:44:18 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

Oh and let me touch on this real quick....it is impossible for you to ever guess what that is without anyone outright telling you now (no not the envelope I see that joke coming down the mile long road lol) and we will eventually get there.

But it always makes me smirk just a little because pretty much everyone gets it wrong when they talk about it.

That's clearly the Aztec division of Spectre or Hydra...

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2022 19:56:13 GMT -5 anglarite said:

Jan 16, 2022 17:44:18 GMT -5 @sigmax said:

Oh and let me touch on this real quick....it is impossible for you to ever guess what that is without anyone outright telling you now (no not the envelope I see that joke coming down the mile long road lol) and we will eventually get there.

But it always makes me smirk just a little because pretty much everyone gets it wrong when they talk about it.

That's clearly the Aztec division of Spectre or Hydra...

[Gecko]

It's now time for the Royal Rum... oh wait, that's next week. So close with the timing. I will give one final plug for the Royal Rumble Pools if you haven't joined, there are still some spots left.

S02E09 – Aztec Warfare II

Major points from previous episode

- Ivelisse, Angelico, & Havoc regain the trios titles.
- Mundo antagonizes Puma
- Dragon Azteca’s training is complete, he and Rey have invites to AW
- The Crew abandon Chavo before he loses a bull rope match to Texano.
- Mil destroys the DOD
- Dario decides Matanza is ready and so they, along with Lotus, head home.
- Fenix beats Mil Muertes to become LU Champion
- Catrina makes AW a title match; Fenix enters first, Mil enters last.

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Fenix runs into Penta while wandering round the Temple. The scary skeleton tells him that the title is coming to him tonight.
Lights off, lights on, Catrina! She tells Penta that while his master may be teaching him about the dark arts, he knows nothing about the darkness. Her rock does some glowing lightning stuff and…

Psst, Catrina, your skull is showing. (It looks much better in video where it flashes up for a frame than in a static image.). We appear to have been transported into the shadow realm or something with the pink/purple tint and weird streaking/blurring.

Catrina questions why Penta is even here since he never got an invitation to compete in AW due to him putting his hands on her.
Penta says that she doesn’t scare him… and neither does Mil Muertes. She doesn’t tell him what to do, he only listens to one person and that person is his master. He is Pentagon Jr and he has Cero Miedo!
Catrina tells him that the only reason he has zero fear is that he doesn’t know true fear.
Oh, Fenix is still there. Catrina lets him know that tonight he will take his last breath and Mil will take his title back, before she vanishes into the darkness.
The two luchas decide to leave the fight for the ring and walk away from each other.
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Into the Temple…
Oh yeah, I forgot about the presentation side of it. We have a look at the Aztec drummers, dancers, and performers as Striker runs down the rules for Aztec Warfare; 2 people start, every 90 seconds another person joins the match. Pinfall and submission is the only way to be eliminated and whoever is left at the end is the winner and Lucha Underground Champion.

Lucha Underground Championship - Aztec Warfare

We already knew who was the first person in the match. It’s the current champion, A very colourful Fenix.
Hey, look who made it to the Temple and is cheering for Fenix (at least for the time being)



The second entrant is…. Rey Mysterio Jr! That’s one way to kick off a match, the champ and the debut of the biggest name that has been in LU.

Fenix shows respect and gives Rey time to take in the cheers.
A handshake between the competitors before Fenix relinquishes his belt.

I’d be able to appreciate a refreshed and motivated Rey more if he stopped adjusting his mask every ten seconds.

The drums start up for the first countdown, building to the reveal of entry #3: King Cuerno



That was the best one of those in a while.

Everybody ends up outside the ring just as the countdown hits zero for #4: Argenis

We’ve not seen Argenis since episode 37 of season 1. But he does bring the traditional kick up the arse back with him.

Rey’s outfit suggests that he’s sponsored by Texaco.
Rey hits the 619 and follows up with a frog splash to pin Argenis. That’s the first elimination of the match.
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Entry #5: Johnny Mundo

Rey gets flipped over the turnbuckle a bit too much



As Fenix and Mundo trade pin attempts in the ring and Cuerno stands on Rey’s neck on the outside, the drums begin to beat again…

#6: Joey Ryan
Joey has his invitation in hand. Why do I get the feeling that that is a bad idea and is just asking for somebody to steal it?

Joey has a plan.



That’s either really smart or really stupid.

Vampiro: “Dude, what do you call a baby cat?”
Gecko: “A kitten.”

Vamp: “Exactly, it starts with a ‘p’. That's Joey Ryan.”

Gecko: "A pitten? ...oh."

Cuerno takes the time to kick Joey in the head as he’s passing. Famous B takes the opportunity to hand Joey a business card.

#7: Prince Puma

The former, former champ hits a springboard SSP to the outside and then punches Joey Ryan in the nose.

#8: Jack Evans
It seems like these entries are getting quicker and quicker.

As Evans makes his way to the ring, Rey hits a seated senton on Cuerno and then locks in an armbar to make the hunter tap! That’s the second elimination and they were both by Rey. If we’re heading into a Cuerno vs Rey feud, that’s fine by me.

Rey, Puma, and Fenix are stomping on a downed Mundo as Evans waits on the apron for his chance. He goes for a springboard crossbody and everybody else, including Mundo, moves out the way. Evans then takes Mundo’s place as the thing getting stamped on by three people.

After a Rey splash from Fenix’s shoulders, Mundo pulls Evans out to safety in the hopes of building an alliance against the masked trio. The pair wait and see if the next entrant will be somebody that will assist them.

#9: Taya
That’s a yes.

3 on 3. Mundo against Mysterio, Puma battles Evans, and Taya just casually beats up the champ for a while.
Puma looks like he hurt his knee as he went to the outside.

Rey is left alone in the ring with Mundo, Taya, and Evans. The drums start again. What are the odds that this is somebody who will help Rey?

#10: Cage
I was expecting Dragon Azteca, but Cage works as well. Cage starts his demolition of his opponents.
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Halfway through, let’s have a reminder of how we stand.
In the match: Fenix, Rey Mysterio, Johnny Mundo, Joey Ryan (I didn’t forget about him ), Puma, Jack Evans, Taya, Cage.
Eliminated: Argenis and Cuerno both eliminated by Rey

Famous B is handing out his business cards to everybody now. We cut from that bit of fun to something much more deadly:



That’s one way of getting him out of the match, assuming the window is more effective than beer bottles.

#11: Mascarita Sagrada
I bet Sagrada is pleased that Cage got taken out before he arrived. Can you imagine how that fight would go?

Mundo is amused by Sagrada as Cage’s legs stick out the window in the background.



Mundo catches Sagrada on the dive as there is movement in the background…

WeaponX by a bloody Cage to Mundo on the floor. He rolls Mundo back in the ring where Puma nabs the pin. Elimination #3: Johnny Mundo. As Cage turns his attention to Taya, we get..

#12: Marty “The Moth” Martinez

Vamp suggests a title belt for Marty and Joey Ryan to see who can be the creepiest.

Oh, I’ve missed Sagrada getting kicked in the face. When it happens, he probably looks like this under his mask:



#13: Drago



Drago looking a little like a white walker, so it’s no surprise that Jack Evans is panicking a bit.
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Evans ducks the mist by Drago and Joey Ryan gets sprayed in the face (ew). Drago and Evans head into the believers.

Rey found somebody shorter than him in Sagrada. They work together to pin Marty.
There are fights going on all over the place as we say hello to…

#14: The Mack
Wonder if Marty is still hanging around? He is, and he gets a stunner from Mack.

I don’t know if that crowd reaction was for the in ring showdown of Mack and Cage, or for Jack Evans falling down the stairs in the background.

#15: Chavo Guerrero Jr

Chavo quickly makes Sagrada tap to a camel clutch (don’t tell Vamp that otherwise he’ll go on a rant about what it’s actually called.)

5 People left to enter.

Mundo comes back with a cinder block and smashes it over the head of Cage.


This lets Taya get the pin on the Machine.

#16: PJ Black
As the Darewolf makes his way to the ring, Fenix grabs a celebrating Taya and pins her off a German suplex.

PJ doesn’t actually get to the ring, he takes a detour into the believers to help his new friend Evans with Drago.

#17: Aerostar

The two pairs battle in the ring and we end up with double eliminations: PJ pins Drago while Aerostar pins Jack.

#18: Dragon Azteca Jr
Oh yeah, this guy. I suppose he would be a ‘Jr’ at minimum. Probably more like Dragon Azteca XXVII

Two more to go. We know who is #20, it’s just a question of whether Penta ignores the fact that he’s not invited or if we get somebody else for #19.

Vamp makes note of the Dragon mask and that there’s a long history behind it.

#19 Texano

Really?



That reaction for Texano? Well, I suppose he does have a weapon… which is perfectly fine in this match. Why has nobody else bothered with one?
Everybody scrambles out the ring and Texano spins his rope around
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They all regroup on the outside in a handy scrum of people for somebody to land on.

PJ Black is pinned off of a Texano powerbomb.

#20: Mil Muertes w/Catrina

That’s everybody, here’s how things stand:
In the Match: Fenix, Rey Mysterio, Joey Ryan, Prince Puma, The Mack, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Aerostar, Dragon Azteca Jr, Texano, Mil Muertes
Eliminated (by): Argernis (rey), Cuerno (rey), Mundo (puma), Marty (Rey, Sagrada), Sagrada (Chavo), Cage (Taya), Taya (Fenix), Drago (PJ), Evans (Aerostar), PJ Black (Texano)

Oh, here’s Penta. Running through the crowd, he ambushes Mil on the stairs. He knocks him off the stairs and then goes to work with the chair that he was carrying.

After the beating, he chucks Mil into the ring where Rey hits a splash and then he and Puma pile on top to get the pin!

Mil gives chase as Penta leaves ringside. Catrina, who has just seen another part of her plans crumble, turns her fury on Vamp. She screams at Vamp to get out as… the clock counts down again? I think things may just be about to get worse for Catrina. The countdown reaches zero as Catrina slaps Vamp

#21?
Dario Cueto makes his return to his Temple. As he re-introduces himself, everybody else in the match is paused and watching him, Catrina is looking on with concern, Famous B says that they can make him famous too.

El Jefe reasserts himself as the man in charge and announces that there is one more entry in Aztec Warfare.

#21: “The Monster” Matanza Cueto

See, now this is somebody you all stop and turn towards when they approach the ring. (I realise that there's a lack of images for Matanza's part of the match, but it would require overloading the post with gifs, so you'll just have to go look it up on Tubi yourself.)

As much as I don’t think it’ll work, they do the smart thing and rush Matanza. Nope.
Fenix is the first to recover, but he gets caught in a huge slam and pinned. New champ guaranteed.

Mack takes a go at the Monster. He hits a stunner, but it has no effect.
OW! Brutal German Suplex and Mack is done. And another one for Aerostar for Matanza’s third elimination.

Texano has his rope as he sneaks up behind the monster. It doesn’t help him and he ends up getting pinned when Matanza steals his finisher and hits a sitout powerbomb.

Along with Matanza, we’ve got Rey, Joey Ryan, Puma, Chavo, and Dragon Azteca remaining.

Matanza waits patiently in the middle of the ring as Rey and Azteca discuss things, Chavo tries hiding, and Joey Ryan is probably regretting the handcuffs. Matanza snaps the bar off the guard rail to free Joey and tosses him into the ring. Triple gutwrench suplexes end Joey’s hopes.

The four remaining victims targets other people in the match put aside their differences as they realise their only possible chance is to work together.

That lasts for a few seconds before Chavo remembers he’s a Guerrero. He attacks Rey and Puma and throws Azteca in to be sacrificed. Azteca gives it a good go, but eventually gets caught in a chokeslam and pinned as a very happy Dario looks on.

Chavo knows the situation and goes to have a chat with Dario. He suggests an alliance between himself and Matanza, and Dario seems accepting of it. Dario is all smiles… until Chavo turns away. Yeah, Matanza takes down Chavo and then hits a standing shooting star?! Where did that come from!?.

Rey and Puma work together and have a little success, but it doesn’t last. Puma is pinned from the German Suplex after Rey is thrown outside.

We’re down to our final two. A few minutes of valiant fighting from Rey can not prevent the inevitable and he falls to Matanza like all the others.

The winner and Lucha Underground Champion: ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto

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What a gloriously chaotic match that was. Great fun. Like last time, they still managed to include story elements and rivalries into the match.

While I was expecting Dario & Matanza to show up, I wasn’t thinking Matanza would be in the match.

I think Rey being the last one left was a good choice. Him putting up a fight made sense with all of his history of taking on bigger opponents, but it also made sense that he lost to this unexpected and completely unknown showing up.

I’m interested to see more of Matanza, this just felt like a little sample of what he can do. It’s going to be a tricky balancing act between keeping him impervious and making his matches fun, but I’ve got faith they can do it.

On to the next part of the season with some people having things potentially set up and others in a ‘what now?’ situation.

Next time: El Jefe is Back

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions

- Late realisation from last episode re: Cortez and Cisco walking away from Chavo. Normally that would just be what it is, but the actual identity of Cortez makes it into more. He’s under orders to focus on Dario and forget Chavo. Did he just take advantage of the situation or did he manipulate things to give him a good excuse to split?
- Good job of keeping people looking strong without them winning. Cage got a cinder block, Mil needed a sneak attack and a couple of people on him to keep him down for a few seconds.
- Joey Ryan: handcuffs because he’s an undercover cop or because he’s Joey Ryan?

[Deleted]

And now we reach a literal game changing event because Aztec Warfare 2 is just all out insanity and IMO atleast is when LU usurped the royal rumble as the best version any wrestling show has ever done because this quite literally has everything....from progressing ongoing feuds , to character work , to comedy , high drama , moneumental debuts it is damn near perfect in its execution.

Pentagon remains a complete shithead lol dude gets taken to the shadow realm and is just all CERO MIEDO! but I get why it would not bother him dude has been hanging around Vampiro so he has likely seen some weird shit lol but more further beautiful continuity Vamp sent Penta after Catrina and then Catrina retaliates by taking away his chance at the title...so technically this is Vamps fault if we analyze this beyond the facevalue.

And what a start...the past and present meets its future and what a gawd damn pop but yet still doesn't do it justice from what I have heard from people in the temple that when Rey came out it rivals just about any pop in wrestling ever it was that loud BUT even still that apparently pales in comparison to a pop we will never get to see because I believe it was either edited out or happened off screen and that is when Willie Mack dropped the N word in the temple and believers went f***ing nuts lol the legal team wasn't pleased lol.

I love that the beginning and the end was extreme opposites...Rey gets all the adjulation and respect at the start with the ultimate babyface only to find himself against the ultimate evil at the end.

Something I mention a few times with WWE about how perception is reality and while it is a small thing in comparison to the overall match but when the rudos and technioos square off and Taya gets paired off with LU champion Fenix that was IMO huge for her because she comes off taking a whomping from Cage and now she gets paired off with the champ here is just a very important thing to further tell the audience how everyone should see her from here on out and it is f***ing fantastic.

MAH GIRL! Brenda lookin bangin and Famous B handing out his business cards is such fantastic character work and incase you are wondering those cards he handed out were legit and I believe everyone in attendance got one or atleast those in the first few rows got one and they aren't shabby cards either but nicely made ones.



Jack Evans falling down the stairs will never not be one of the funniest random things I have ever seen in wrestling.....you get this epic faceoff with Cage and Mack only for Jack to nearly die in the background lol.

Speaking of shitheads lol how they use Joey Ryan here is perfect...he is set up as complete fodder and it is executed flawlessly and I love how no one who gets near him ignores getting free shots on him , even famous B takes his chance to give him a card lol , if you gonna use Joey Ryan this is the way to do it.

Now onto Rey absoloute game changer because this debut IMO is what truly legitamized LU...Johnny was a WWE name but he was considered especially by the time he left a major name top shelf name , but Rey Mysterio who could have walked back to WWE if he wanted choosing to come to LU really got people who thought LU was just a fly by night thing to really pay attention.

I see you mentioned it and lets talk about Rey's mask...yea Rey was adjusting it alot because he learned pretty quickly that wrestling in that type of mask isn't for him as that mask comes from him seeing Drago in LU and wanted himself an armored mask which IMO is a f***ing awesome evalution of his traditional masks and so he had Drago's mask maker make him a mask with the same more armored styling and yea it looks great but atleast for Rey's style of mask it isn't the best thing to be wrestling in and that comes from his own admission.

Between the short jokes and some joy seeing poor Mascarita getting kicked in the face...Gecko might have a grudge at height deficent people lol.

All the pieces of a certain group are coming together as they were all here but not at the sametime but amazing things come to those who wait.

Catrina's entire arc has been so well done IMO her complete rise to power but almost immediately you could see the fault in the game she was running which was basically a game of keep away and how that all leads to return of Dario awesome full circle moment from the end of season 1 to now each one played the game and lost...but what played into Catrina's advantage before was she had a monster that no one could stop and now we welcome THE monster this power creep is amazing.

And I touched on it how their is a heirarchey going on and it complete gets flipped on its head here in amazing fashion.

What many argue is the 2nd best debut of a monster character ever with only Kane's debut at Badd Blood topping it.

Last episode we get the reveal and this week is the masscare , now some would say doing the reveal might have taken away an ever so slight bit off what happens here but IMO they did it in the right way because LU how it is shot has to basically give to two different audiences at once...and it was played the same way with Rey and Dragon Azteca Jr where the TV audience gets something the live audience does not get where the live audience at the taping gets the in person treatment and getting to be there for the actual debut it is not an easy balancing act they work to perfection.

And I have said about about him previously but CAGE in LU has something that no other company has been able to grasp for some reason because when his music hits here it is just a mass shot (HA get it because roids) of adrenaline and his immunity to glass no matter bottles or windows is never fails to make me smile and is why I say LU is the absoloute best at pay attention to what would ultimately be trivial details to any other company.

And speaking of details I love that some people got pinned by people that while they are not in feuds with them currently are really great call backs.....Puma pinning Mundo , Puma helping to pin Mil and then you got Taya getting a pin on Cage.

Shithead Pentagon at it again lol a great callback to the first episode of season 2 but in Pentagon running afoul of Catrina and Mil again but also Puma being involved by pinning Mil.

LU satisfying all the continuity nerds in us all.

Oh and did Marty become Geckos fav wrestler by kicking Mascarita in the face I think so lol.

Jack Evans just spent this entire thing courting death (Not Mil though lucky for him or unlucky) by taking those bumps on the bleachers and then getting put through the mat by Aerostar..lucky he is infact made of rubber.

Mack's flying knee is a thing of beauty especially when he hits it here on Cage he just goes full speed with it and it looks and sounds fantastic.

I laugh at your reaction to Texano being #19 lol like a complete deflating moment only for LU to completely yank you back in with everything to follow.

Oh and incase you are wondering what Texano said when he went after Matanza and I believe I have this ..."f*** YOUR MOTHER MONSTER!" lol Texano gets away with alot of serious cussing because he is swearing in another language and so the censors can't do anything lol and Texano says shit that if he said in english would have gotten LU yanked from the air lol.

Hey kids look it is El Dragon Azteca Jr..yay lol no seriously though he gets a solid debut here but all his best moments are yet to still come.

And then we get to the ending and what an moneumental  game changing end.

Normally this would result in a WTF HE MADE EVERYONE LOOK LIKE SHIT! ...normally this would be a valid stance but think about it he came in after everyone else had been through war and alot of the bigger names were already gone so why he was able to pick off everyone so easily is understood and it works that eh debuts here and not just after say a 1 on 1 match or something...it is a tricky thing to get this right and they did it brilliantly. and then the immedate first body he wrecks is Fenix going back to my talk of heirarchy.....Fenix resiliant as anyone else in the temple has been the forever thorn to Mil Muertes just gets beat that guy in 1 move...nothing else would have needed to be said because that put him beyond the top of the food chain everyone else was just for the body count.

And a detail that comes from this...Dario stays at ring side where as before he would come out and then retreat back to his office so there is also difference here with Dario and seeing how different and bolder he is now that he has let his brother loose.

Gawd I love this show all the character growth how the characters evolve and change over time , how situations change them like with Dario he was never this strongly confident before but we see how much stronger he feels now that he has his brother in god mode.

All in all Aztec Warfare 2 is important for so many reasons to every single story and character going forward we haven't just jumped up a leve we took the damn warp whistle and things are about to get somehow even more insane.

And speaking of amazing things to come...not gonna tell you which episode it is but it is soon though , it atleast sits in my top 2 (simply because I am trying to remember off the top of my head) character specific vingettes  in wrestling history...it takes someone we are not currently talking about and completely elevates them in one single vingette and it is amazing again I know which episode it is coming in but not gonna say of course lol why spoil the surprise.

[Deleted]

So as we head into the next monster part of the season here are all the S2 posters in one go with the remaining ones I did not show off individually so enjoy.

[Deleted]

And this is something I was wanting to show off because it is just fun.

LU's uniqueness was also extended outside the ring because no other wrestling show had wrap parties and so here is a nice little look at I believe this is the season 2 wrap party there is nothing spoilery here so you should be fine to watch this and it is only a couple seconds long anyways just don't read the comments of course.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLdViVBHTb

Oh and something else I forgot to mention and idk if you caught it but when Catrina is flipping out on Vamp..she drops an F bomb she wasn't suppose to lol but makes a heated moment even more so queen of her craft.

[Gecko]

Bonus points for me for remembering that the Rumble was on and I needed to watch this one earlier than normal.

S02E10 – El Jefe is Back

Major points from previous episode
- Penta was not invited to take part in AW, so he attacked Mil and caused him to be eliminated
- Dario returned to the Temple, he took back control from Catrina and unleashed Matanza
- Matanza was the surprise #21 in AW and dominated. He won and is now LU Champion.

Recaps of:
- Sexy Star & Mack, Marty & Mariposa
- Ivelisse, Angelico, & Havoc regaining the trios titles
- Penta and Mil/Catrina
- The return of Dario and the triumph of the Cueto Brothers

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Hey, it’s the return of the in-house band! This time it’s Chingon (Isn't that a Pokemon?).

Dario is all smiles as he gets into his ring. He says Aztec Warfare was amazing, but it was just the beginning of what he’s got planned.
Starting next week: An all-new Trios tournament!
As he’s about to tell us his brilliant (and more than likely, completely original) idea for deciding the number one contender for his brother’s title, he is interrupted By Pentagon (in a sparkly mask). Penta tells Dario that the reason that his brother won AW is that he wasn’t in it.
With a monster publicly backing him up now, Dario is more confident than ever and suggests that the reason Penta wasn’t in AW was that maybe he’s not ‘championship material’. Ooh!



…I want that shirt. Well, not necessarily that specific one, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, let’s get back to the Temple and see how things are going after that insult…



Oh.
Penta demands Matanza tonight, but Dario is refusing. Penta throws Dario to the ground and sets him up to break his arm, Dario is still saying no, though he does change his mind when Penta starts applying pressure. Title match tonight: Penta vs Matanza.

So much for that triumphant return. Being Penta’s boss doesn’t seem like the easiest thing in the world.
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Over to commentary where Striker talks about what we just saw. Vamp says that’s what you have to do to get things done.

Taya & Johnny Mundo vs Mr. Cisco & Cortez Castro

A fun moment at commentary where Vamp was talking about how long Cisco and Cortez have known each other and mentions they were stealing nipples & formula together in kindergarten. Striker understandably wants clarification on how you steal a nipple.

The more of Taya I see in this environment, the more impressed I am.

Vamp is on form tonight. After Taya takes a front bump, he says that she’s not going to break her nose from that.

Mundo eventually tags himself in when his team has the advantage. Cisco was a little slow taking the Moonlight Drive (swinging neckbreaker) which made it look like it hurt more.

Wait. Am I rooting for the goons here? How did that happen?
Castro gets the tag and starts building momentum, so Mundo tags himself out.

Things are breaking down- I’M A MACHINE! Here comes Cage!
Cage slowly walks down to the ring as Mundo backs away. This leaves Taya on her own in the ring and she gets hit with the Psycho Realm (Shatter Machine /Big Rig) and pinned.

Cage allows Mundo to retreat this time.
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Who’d live in a house like this? (Brit reference)



The music in this segment is putting me in mind of Edward Scissorhands for some reason.

It’s story time with Marty.

"A long time ago, The Moth tribe ruled the Aztec Empire. We were known for two things – Our Aztec pride and our wealth."
Bunch of images of Marty being rich: At a pool, with a Ferrari, holding a bunch of cash, and because it’s Marty:


Boobs.

"The Moths were drawn to Aztec Gold, like their namesakes to a flame. As you can see, that wealth is still important to his tribe today." Ooh, Lucha goons in suits. "But when you possess what others want, they get jealous. They try and take it from you!" Maybe not lucha goons, the masks are looking too fancy.

"The Moth tribe knew the envy of the other tribes would bring war, but they had a secret weapon." Ahh! Jump-scare Mariposa! Sneaking up behind a lucha suit. "Mariposa – The greatest warrior the Aztecs had ever seen. Mariposa destroyed anyone who tried to take their tribe’s gold. And her viscousness became legendary." Wearing a suit doesn’t make you any less of a lucha goon it seems.

"The Mariposa mask was passed down over generations. And now the deadliest Mariposa of them all wears it. Beware my sister, The Mariposa, for she will lead the Moth Tribe to rule again."
A second group of goons does even worse than the first lot.
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Back in the Temple and Lotus is hanging around outside Dario’s office. I was wondering where she had got to and it appears that she’s now working security. Which makes sense considering how many times she managed to sneak in.

There’s the bull, back in its rightful place on the desk. Dario has got things back to how he likes them, including re-installing his drinks cabinet.

Lights off, lights on, Catrina! Dario: “I didn’t see you come in.”

Dario then says that’s kind of her thing, going in and out of places like a ghost… a sexy ghost? No, no, I’m not doing that again.

Dario then thanks Catrina for keeping the Temple going in his absence, but it is his temple and he’s back now.

Catrina is not happy with Matanza being champ and says that sooner or later death will come for him.

That was a fun bit. Dario leans forward, tells Catrina that his brother doesn’t fear death, then when he leans back again, Catrina is right next to him.

Dario doesn’t have an issue with Catrina and suggests a partnership, Catrina rejects him with the warning that when the time is right, his brother will face death and the temple will be hers again.
Lotus is still outside doing an excellent job of preventing anybody going through the door.
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Trios Titles: Elimination Match – Angelico, Ivelisse, Son of Havoc (c) vs Disciples of Death w/Catrina

So, the DOD aren’t dead after all... well, ok they might be dead, but they’re not dead, understand?

Vamp thinks the champs have improved 10,000%. He might have a point since the champs have been in control the whole match and I don’t think the challengers have made a single tag yet.

So of course, they immediately get a tag. But then turn into goons who are unable to hit Ivelisse.
Ooh, nice Northern Lights by Ivelisse.

Catrina gets involved, allowing the purple Disciple, Siniestro(?) to knee Ivelisse in the face and pin her. New Cham… oh, yeah, it’s eliminations.


You knew there was something fun coming with that setup, it was just a question of what.

Trece of the DOD gets pinned after Fall of the Angels by Angelico.
Havoc and Angelico vs Barrio and Siniestro (And Catrina)

I can see the camera and its operator on top, but I’ve been conditioned to expect somebody to jump out that big box at some point.

Ooh, that was nasty. Siniestro jumped onto Angelico’s back with his knees for what looked like a backstabber, but Angelico overbalanced forward and landed on his face with Siniestro on his back. Whether Angelico couldn’t continue or they just decided that was a good spot for it, he gets pinned.

Double double stomp by Havoc! He got them lined up then jumped from the top onto the back of one then onto the back of the other! He pins Barrio off of this, we’re down to one on one (and Catrina)

Catrina takes advantage of an inattentive ref to knock Havoc off the top, this brings Ivelisse back out to ringside to take Catrina out with a kick to the head. Shooting star by Havoc on Siniestro gets the final pin and the champs retain!

Exactly as good as you would think it would be, but with the elimination element added to keep things feeling fresh.

Angelico is also back out to celebrate with the other two, guess it was one of those that looked worse than it was.
------------------------------------------------------------
There’s another bull guarding Dario’s drinks.

Dario turns in his chair to address his guest, who he admits makes him a little starstruck. It is, of course, Rey that he is talking to. Rey is here because of El Dragon Azteca.

A smiling Dario tries to get out of what he knows is coming by saying that it was good to see Dragon back in action in AW. But Rey is not talking about Dragon Azteca Jr, he’s talking about their mentor, the one that came into the Temple and never left. Dario denies all knowledge.
Rey knows that he is dead and is pretty sure that Dario’s brother is responsible. Maybe the police should have recruited Rey instead of Joey Ryan?
Dario swears to Rey and to the gods that his brother had nothing to do with whatever happened to him. I mean, he’s technically telling the truth, it was Lotus that did it.
Dario moves the conversation on by saying that whatever issues his father and DA had, it’s nothing to do with them and he’s only here to create the greatest fighting arena ever. He butters Rey up by telling him how impressed he was with his performance at AW. He makes an offer for Rey and Dragon Jr to compete in the Temple as long as they agree to leave the past in the past.

They seal the deal with drinks.

Interesting note: Dario paused and didn’t drink until after Rey did, guess he’s still a little jumpy about things.

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Sexy Star w/The Mack vs The Mariposa w/Marty “The Moth” Martinez

Star is looking unhappy before Mariposa even gets in the ring. Star avoids Mariposa for the first few seconds then bails to the outside, only to back into Marty who throws her back in.

This one doesn’t last too long (thankfully ) and Mariposa ends it with the Butterfly effect (Vertebreaker)

Mack checks on Star and is attacked by Marty and Mariposa.
------------------------------------------------------------
A scary door



Oh, it was the scary door at the top of the scary stairs, We've not seen it for a while. Dario enters carrying the LU Title and tells his brother (who is back to being locked in his cage) that he has done well, but his work is not over. He wants Matanza to break Penta’s back so that he never returns to the Temple. Holy Bane homage, Batman!

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

Vamp says that every time he hears the Cero Miedo chant, he gets migraines. That’s… not a good thing. (Future Gecko: It's the little things that make LU great)

Matanza takes his time getting to the ring, letting the anticipation build. He looks like he almost trips on the ring steps which could have been a major impediment to keeping the gimmick going as it is. Matanza is looking to Dario for guidance as the match is about to start.

Despite Penta kicking Matanza in the head so hard he undid part of his mask, the monster is unfazed by anything early on.

Penta eventually gets caught and Matanza, as per instructions, goes after his back.

Striker makes a point of mentioning that this carnage is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. I’m a little disappointed he didn’t switch them round.

It seems like there was a fair bit of editing and cutting to commentary during this match.

Matanza ends it with the big spinning slam, “Wrath of the gods”. He was never in trouble during this one.

Penta looks to be hurt. I mean, Vamp did point out that he was telling the ref that during the match. The ref tries to get some help, and Vamp is on his feet looking on with concern. Vamp makes his way into the ring to check on Penta and gets a boot in the head from Matanza.

As Vamp recovers in the ring, the monster finishes his destruction of Penta with a pleased Dario looking on.


That look towards Vamp in the ring. Letting him know who's in charge? Seeing what effect this has on Vamp?

That's a stretcher exit for Penta, guess he’s gone for a while.

The last shot is of Penta getting loaded into an ambulance, joined by somebody who looks like he’s going to stop fighting against his dark side…

How's that migraine, Vamp?

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

Next time: Bird of War

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I think one of the things that makes Taya enjoyable is that she commits to everything. Plenty of other women tend to not go full force when bouncing off the ropes or are a bit hesitant when going over the top, but there’s none of that with Taya, she’s confident with what she’s doing.
- Definitely feels like we’re into top gear for this season and we’re not stopping for anything for a while.
- New gimmick by way of typo: Marioposa. It’s just Mariposa in dungarees with a moustache.
- Love all the lore stuff about the masks, how they get handed down through generations and end up representing more than a person, It’s closer to a title or an ideal. Of course, one tribe’s champion is another’s adversary.
- There was a sequence early on in the Trios match where they spent 30 seconds or so following the action without a camera cut. So enjoyable, it gives you a chance to appreciate things more since you’re not spending that fraction of a second readjusting to where everybody has moved to all the time. And then they waited until things slowed and there was a hold applied before switching shots. Fantastic.
- Dario is an obvious vulnerability to attack if you’re going against Matanza. But, as an opponent, if you take out the brains do you end up with an easy target who has no idea what to do, or a totally uncontrollable monster who is even more dangerous? I think we’ll find out at some point.
- Nice little touch by Penta as he was getting beat up after the match and he threw his hands up in the X.

[Deleted]

"A pitten?"
"Oh."

LOOOOOL

[anglarite]

I recall you mentioning once how the announcer table in LU doesn't break. See, it does, but it was built up for this moment.

I love Taya, but sometimes when she was tossed around like a ragdoll I was really scared for her. One example would be when Fenix suplexed her in AW2. Coincidentally, when Matanza suplexed Mack later in that match that also looked painful as hell.

[Deleted]

Shithead Penta f***s around and he finds out real quick that fighting Rick from splatterhouse aint no joke.

Hey CHINGON IS HERE! AKA Robert Rodriguez band and this is how you know this episode was taped on the same day as Aztec Warfare 2 because Robert does not show up in person often , but a funny off screen moment with him is that when he was coming down the stairs at the taping and doing the whole slapping hands bit as he was doing this and not really paying attention he ends up just paintbrushing some guy across the face lol.

What I love about Pentas booking is this right here because especially in recent times top guys are booked to be OP as hell run through everyone and have next to no weakness they must be protected but it aint like that with Pentagon , he is absoloutley in the top tier of talent on this show but he is his own worst enemy and when he fails he fails tremendously and it keeps his booking not predictable if that makes any sense and we get to see that here in violent glory hence why going back to what I said he was dubbed the Vegeta of LU , he boasts like he is the baddest but there is always one waiting to put him in his place.

AND WE BREAK THE UNBREAKABLE TABLE! again another tremendous piece of story and character work here , that table has had people throw into it and ontop of it and it has never broken but Matanza shows up and immediately puts a body through it , absoloutley brilliant way to show just how powerful this monster is besides just thrashing Pentagon like he is Argenis.

Something to note here thoug is Dario. Here in his first time ever in a managerial role is not great like at all BUT I say take note of this because you will see a huge marked improvement the very next time and this is the mark of how damn great an actor this man is and immediately goes from not really knowing what to do as a wrestling manager to looking like he has been doing it for years. So again just something I wanted to put attention to.

There is a clear shift in how they use Dario from here on out he is doing alot more wrestling oriented stuff and it is fantastic.

And yes Taya is FAN f***ING TASTIC and you are seeing how badly WWE f***ed up...AGAIN lol.

She knows how to lay her shit in and she only gets even better she was such a marked improvement over Sexy Star not that that is a high bar to overcome and don't do it now but in the future go watch her match with Hamada in AAA ..people praise the Britt Baker Vs Thunder Rosa lights out match (I have my gripes) but the Taya Vs Hamada match blows that outta the water and does not get anywhere the love it should.

And I love how this match was structered it is 3 men and a woman and no one bats at eye at it because Taya has already cemented herself as just this badass and I love that and really just further goes to show how seemlessly LU integrated it and it becomes a core of the entire show , these women sit at the same preverbial table with the mean this is being treated as the equal and not some talk about it bs.

Poor Ricky Reyes he got no reaction for his hot tag in this match lol

But Gecko becoming a fan of the goons....ya know what that means we are on the road to him becoming a fan of Mascarita (GECKO from a distance: AW HELL NAW) give it time.

And Mundo has come into his own as an amazing cowardly heel by leaving his woman to the wolves and her getting pinned again and his transition has been so seemlessly beautiful after being for most of season 1 the number 2 babyface and the chemistry with her and Taya is undeniable already at this point and this is only the beginning of something masterful.

And speaking of amazing transitions...remember when Marty was a complete joke and trying to get into the temple? yea that was like a glitch in the matrix because that guy is not this guy and it is amazing and this vingette is so wonderfully well done because you get all this interesting lore and backstory only to realize...oh this dude is out of his f***ing mind but also...was he telling the truth or did he just make up an entirely elaborate backstory out of thin f***ing air and I absoloutley loved this because it creates so many questions about both Marty and the Moth tribe...did he make it up? or was he telling the truth off the top of his head it is fantastic character work because is he this crazy? there are alot of fantastic layers when you stop to really think about this vingette and I love that the vingette feels it is out of movie seven very fitting and a fantastic introduction to Mariposa and further proof how gawd damn important vingettes are for any character in wrestling.

Lore for the mask , the character and the tribe all in one vingette fantastic.

lol Dario no longer really being affected by Catrina sexy ghosting into his office was damn funny but also another nice little change in his character.



And what a sexy sexy ghost she is....I mean.....damn.

RETURN OF THE MACK CHANT! believe this is the first time we get it in the temple one of my absoloute favourite chants.

This is peak Iveliesse , everyone likes her and she is just owning it in the ring and yes that northlights was gorgeous.

Always love me some double mario double stop from Havoc.

Really funny moment where Havoc pulls the rope down but one DOD goes through and not over the rope instead lol.

Rey and Dario vingette was such a great seed planting scene and also Rey came off pretty badass.

Not much else to say about this episode it is a more than solid follow up to the previous amazing episode but was a clear cut cool down ep only slightly of course.

[Gecko]

S02E11 – Bird of War

Major points from previous episode
- Dario announces a new trios tourney
- Penta assaults Dario to get a title match
- Cage cost Mundo & Taya a match by being distracting and intimidating
- Marty gives lore revealing what Mariposa and the mask are about.
- Catrina rejects an alliance with Dario
- Angelico, Ivelisse, and Havoc retain their trios titles. Against DOD
- Dario persuades Rey to come wrestle in the Temple after seemingly deflecting suspicion about the murder of Dragon Azteca
- Mariposa easily beats Sexy Star
- Matanza defeats Penta without trouble, attacks Vamp and then sends Penta off in an ambulance.

Recaps of:
- The undercover cop situation
- Mack and Sexy Star being beaten down both physically and mentally by the Moths
- Penta/Vamp/Dario/Matanza interactions from last week

------------------------------------------------------------
We start off with a high-powered business meeting in the little Lucha’s room. As Vamp contemplates his bottle of anti-psychotic meds, Dario arrives. He initially calls Vamp, Ian Hodgkinson, but corrects himself by saying he doesn’t use that name anymore.



An image of contrasts. One is on top of the world with everything going his way, the other is struggling and has just suffered a serious setback. One is fighting against his demons, the other is happily embracing his violent side.

Dario imagines that there’s some part of Vamp that is thinking about doing something stupid like bash his brains in and then go looking for his brother. Vamp replies that it’s all of him that wants that, not just a part.

Dario admits that his brother went too far (under whose orders?), but they are lucky that Penta is still alive. Before Dario leaves, he asks that Vamp not make the same mistake as Penta, he’s valuable as the voice of Lucha Libre, but if he tries anything then he won’t be as lucky as Penta.

Vamp manages to keep things in check for now and takes some pills instead of pouring them away.
------------------------------------------------------------
Into the Temple police station we go…

Joey Ryan takes credit for bringing attention to the fact that Dario is back in The Temple. Cortez complains that Joey didn’t have anything to do with it, but also admits that neither did he when questioned on it.

Cortez also provides the info that Matanza has been released from his cell, Joey points out to the captain that he sounds scared.

The Cap wants evidence against Dario. Joey says that he made a point of introducing himself to Dario and has got a spot in the trios tourney, teaming with Cortez and Cisco (That’s MR Cisco, thank you).
------------------------------------------------------------
We are played into the Temple by El Conjunto Nueva Ola as commentary talk about Dario granting Fenix a match against Matanza. Vamp says he wouldn’t want to be in Fenix’s shoes.

Ivelisse vs Kobra Moon

No fancy moves at the start, just some simple stuff but it was done well enough.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to take certain strikes of Kobra’s seriously since every time, I hear Santino Marella shouting, “Cobraaaa!” in my head.

Ive threw a punch that legit looked like the speed you’d do it if you were practicing a sequence.



Don’t want to bother with a gif for it, it’s at the 08:09 mark on Tubi if you want to see it.

Ivelisse eventually picks up the win with a Code Red.

I quite enjoyed the mat work and the fact that there was quite a bit of it, gave it a different feel. That was the best outing from Kobra so far.
------------------------------------------------------------
Killshot Vignette

Another backstory segment to build up and flesh out an identity. Killshot sitting on the edge of a ring (not in the temple) talking about how he got here, interspersed with recreation shots of him in action He joined the military at 18 and became a sniper. Killshot became his nickname, 37 confirmed kills, all bad guys… or so they told him.

He was good with his hands too, so they put him on an elite squad, going into hostile territory, getting the job done. They were the best… but sometimes even the best isn’t good enough. His team was captured. He was held prisoner for 13 months before he escaped. We see a recreation of this with some international goons.

He doesn’t know if the others made it out; according to the US government, they never existed. Now, he fights to forget and only hopes that his brothers will find their way back.

That story is one of those that you think is fantastical, but at the same time could kind of believe it (or something close to it) could happen since there are similar stories of people surviving against huge odds.
------------------------------------------------------------
A Sudden mood change as Famous B walks up to a lucha who is working out.

It’s obviously El Pequeño Tigre Bianco (thank you subtitles) aka The Little White Tiger (thank you google translate for ‘Penqueño’) aka Mascarita Sagrada (I was really thrown off by him wearing normal clothes).

B is here to give him his business card. So, is Dario just letting B wander around the place? B walks struts away, complete with different theme music after his pitch.

Ok, I’m starting to get this. Up until now, I wasn’t 100% sold on it, but this is one of those times where a single little segment can have a major influence on your thoughts about somebody for some unknown reason.

He passes Mack and Sexy Star on his way out.

As Star is lifting weights while being watched by a pervy cameraman, Mack shares his news with her: Dario has put him in a trios team with Mariposa and Marty (Maybe it’s for the name alliteration?).
Mack wants Star out there during the match for support, but Star refuses.
Mack leaves and we get Star having a bit of a flashback to some of the stuff that the Moths have done to her.
------------------------------------------------------------
Some Vandal spray-painting the LU sign again.



It’s obviously Rey related… but I’m not having much luck deciphering the other graffiti there.

Trios Tourney: Cortez Castro, Mr Cisco, Joey Ryan vs Marty “The Moth” Martinez, Mariposa, The Mack


♫ One of these things is not like the others ♫

“The crew have slowly been winning the favour of the believers.” See, it’s not just me.

Early prediction: Winning is a secondary goal for The Moths, their focus will be on more abuse of Mack (and indirectly, Star).

It’s like each team had to randomly trade a member to the other side and Mack and Joey were the ones chosen to join the wrong team.

Starting off with Cisco and Mack and they show respect to each other. Some nice sequences where Cisco gets to show off a bit and Mack does some Flippy stuff. Another Show of respect before Joey tags himself in and, being Joey, wants Mariposa in.

Vamp talking about Marty: “He’s like one of those weirdos who is going to dig a hole in the basement” 😆 “and put little kids in it.” 😲 That went a lot darker than I was expecting… you sure you took enough of those pills, Vamp?

Both odd team members tag themselves in. Mack hits a hard slam on Joey and then a nice, high leg drop for a two count.



It breaks down a bit and ends up with Team Moth dumping the other outside the ring. Mack goes for a dive, but Mariposa stands in the way of it on the apron. Mack kicks her off the apron and gets back to what he was doing:


Strike!

As Mack goes to finish Joey Ryan off (ew), Marty tags himself in again. Mack has had enough and this turns into them tagging each other before devolving into them just chopping each other. Mack hits a stunner on Marty who stumbles into The Crew’s Psycho Realm then Joey Ryan jumps on top for the pin.


Joey celebrates his magnificent victory.

That one had a fun dynamic with both teams having a member that doesn’t fit. Much better showing for Mariposa too.

As The winners leave, Mariposa attacks Mack from behind which brings out Sexy Star. Star looks like she might have changed her mind after she gets in the ring and is face to face with Mariposa, but she gathers herself and uses her anger to go on the attack and forces a retreat from the Moths.
------------------------------------------------------------
Up on the roof, Dragon Azteca Jr is sitting in front of his vandalism from earlier. Surely there has to be an easier way of getting in touch with Rey?

Rey does show up (doing a terrible Batman cosplay) and says that he knows what Dragon’s thinking. It is not in fact, “Why don’t you own a phone?” but about how Matanza killed their teacher. Rey says “and now you’re going to kill him?” Yeah, I don’t fancy his chances there.

Rey points out Dragon got his arse kicked in AW. He now fights for the pride of their tribe, but he’s still got a lot to learn. Wasn’t Rey the one who said that he was ready? Shows what he knows.

Rey tells him to fight for honour, not revenge because that will come in time. Rey does have some good news; he got them a spot in the Trios tourney and they have a match next week. When Dragon asks who their partner is, Rey says that’s the bad news, it’s Matanza Puma comes out and says it’s him.

Hang on! Hold everything. Is that the first time we heard Puma speak? I remember he was going to say something after a Konnan beating but then got interrupted, and don’t remember him actually saying anything else.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lucha Underground Championship: Fenix vs ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto(c) w/Dario Cueto

Striker brings up the fact that ‘Matanza’ translates as ‘Slaughter’ (Google agrees). I’m not at all surprised that they put some thought into the name.

Striker calls him the ‘Eater of Worlds’. Hmmm, I’m sure I’ve heard that elsewhere in wrestling

We’re back to big, strong guy vs smaller, quicker guy. Fenix has shown he can play the part well in his matches with Mil Muertes, but I’m not expecting this one to reach that quality.

Ow. High release German suplex into the corner.



As mentioned by Fenderbaum, Dario is already greatly improved in his managerial role since last week. He’s more animated, vocal, and reacting more.

Fenix has put in enough shots that it is starting to affect Matanza a bit. He’s a little staggered, but still on his feet. It’s going to be a big moment the first time somebody manages to knock him down.

After Matanza catches Fenix on the outside and slams him down hard, Dario switches his instruction to English with a simple, “Make him bleed.”

Wrath of the Gods puts an end to Fenix shortly after this.

Matanza continues the beating after the match as he just clubs away at Fenix. Outside the ring, Dario shouts at the ref and tells him to shut up or he’ll fire him.

No lights off, no lights on, Catrina’s here anyway!

She is a very effective distraction to allow Mil Muertes to sneak in behind Matanza. Mil is definitely having an effect with his attack and knocks Matanza over the top rope (he does land on his feet).

Catrina holds the rock for Mil while Dario holds the key for Matanza. Upcoming gimmick match involving the talismans somehow?
Mil departs and leaves a recovering Fenix alone. It appears that Catrina still has her eye on Fenix for future use.
------------------------------------------------------------

Next time: Three’s a crowd

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- I’ve just realised that Matanza reminds me a bit of Nailz. Obviously, the outfit is similar, but he’s also got that feeling of violence around him where he’s often not trying to win the match, just hurt his opponent.

- It’s interesting that the people who have shown up recently (Matanza, Mariposa, Kobra) all had a much better outing this time around compared to previous matches.

We're approaching the half-way point of the season, so I'm thinking I'll take a couple of weeks off as a mid-season break. Any upcoming episodes that would be a good one to end the first half of the season on?

[Deleted]

SELF: HE IS TAKING A MID SEASON BREAK WHAT?!?>!?!?!?

Other self: Did you not send him the gift basket?

Seriously though take whatever time you need and will look forward to the return as for which episode to take a break on ...I would give you an anwser but I do not have one so HA you will have to wait...HOW DO YOU LIKE IT! lol.

This episode has many of my favourite things.

CATRINA!.............because Catrina.
Ive's bubble pants...because Ive in bubble pants.
Mariposa........because Cheerleader Melissas instagram.

I mean......hey look over there.

Dario has become so embolden now dude is out here taunting Vampiro like a game of "poke hahaha you can't touch me OTHERWISE YOU WILL DIE!" and I am always here for it because it shows how much of a slimeball he is but also why wouldn't he be. His brother holds the most important piece of gold in the temple and there is no one that can stop him and he just knightfalled Pentagon and it only heightens Vamps struggle while Dario is quickly getting out of controll by literally making enemies of everyone...and if someone can take down his brother well making all these enemies probably isn't going to end well.

This episode did alot to showcase the new faces or in one instance reintrodouce one and I love that about this episode and like you pointed out you see the improvements across the board.

Dario immediately after last week is like a fish to water with being a wrestling manager now.
Kobra Moon and Mariposa put in their best showings so far
Mack is getting more and more screen time

Unlike other companies they aren't depending on the exact same talent to carry them show after show and they are spreading that wealth around.

But lets talk about what I eluded to and I am sad you did not talk about it a bit more BUT THAT KILLSHOT VINGETTE! that still blows me away everytime I see it , THIS is how you do character work what a vingette IMO the best singular character re-work/re-introduction however one wants to put it and this backstory about 95% of it from what I remember was all Swerve's idea and then creative helped craft the rest out to tie into the LU world and this military side to Killshot is in part basked on swerves real life experience in the military.

Like I said this is the best singular character vingette IMO in all of wrestling you get every single piece of info you need on the character , you get to see his combat skills in action during that time , you understand why he came to LU in the first place and even why he wears the mask. This vingette is nothing short of brilliant in every manner when it comes to a character especially in wrestling and then they drop all the little teases in there as well and no one is gonna tell you anything less Killshot is about to become the talk of the LU world from this episode on out because I said it before he went from someone none of us were talking about to now he is gonna be talked about in the same breath as your Puma and Pentagons.

The episode did alot to showcase the new faces but no one got more out of this episode than Killshot did with that epic vingette.

Hey remember when I said one of my favourite gags in LU was the smaller wrestlers lifting obsurd weights lol well we get an awesome dose here lol go back and watch Mascarita and check out how much he is...rowing? we will go with rowing lol but even that aint nothing compared to gawd damn sexy star though lifting the weight of a small f***ing buick like it is just a loaf bread lol I always get such a laugh out of the LU gym because of scenes like this.

Glad to see you are getting on board with B and he is just getting started like pointed out he pretty much becomes the central source of comedy in LU and it was largely a core that was missing to this point but he is here now and we haven't even gotten to the best part of his act yet oh she is coming.

And sticking to that scene what a gorgeous tracking shot...go from B and Mascarita to Mack and Sexy Star in one single continous shot and really shows that oh everyone is walking around in the temple just doin their own thing and not everyone is just set off to one area and no one interacts outside of their own story or everyone has to come to this certain back drop to cut a promo it feels like an actual lively world.

BATEN DOWN THE HATCHES BOYS WE GOT A MONSTER FIGHT!! there is not much to say about the actual match other than poor Fenix just bruh that bump into the turn buckle you posted is just a lose your breath for a moment type of bump because it legit looks like he may have broken his neck on it ..which spoilers he thankfully he did not.

But that ending though CHEFS KISS LU's brilliance at weaving character and story seemlessly and for anyone that had been watching you completely understand everything playing out.

You get why Catrina sends Mil after Matanza but it is also her going after Dario and him saving Fenix is Catrina preserving Fenix so Mil can be the one to kill him but also for her sick...sexual....my....doh I mean for her own personal reasons which was already nicely laid out..speaking of laid out...Hey Ca...I MEAN!

This episode is low key so great sets up so many things and showcases the newer faces while letting those on the come up shine as well.

Oh yea I almost forgot THE LUCHA JUSTICE LEAGUE! is formed and yes this is the first time Puma talks in LU lol I love it is just one word because creative is full aware that is one Kentucky sounding luchador lol. but this is just more of LU's fantastic camera work and framing doin their thing here but my favourite bit ontop of that is yet again another awesome music cue after they come together and the music kicks up if this isn't one of the most seriously pure babyface moments with that music idk what else is and I love how blunt Rey is here...NOW YOU WILL KILL HIM , HE KICKED YOUR ASS IN AZTEC WARFARE lol hey Rey you forget you got your ass kicked but you are Rey Mysterio so of course we ignore that and shit on DAJ lol.

Oh and something that was a great little touch is at the end during the opening vingette is when Vamp takes his pills...he doesn't shake off a couple into his hand but instead puts bottle to mouth signifying both how strong those violent urges are and also how much more it is taking to keep those urges in check.

[Deleted]

It is almost endearing how much of an oblivious dumbass Puma was in season 1 lol.

It is a nice solid couple seconds Marty holds that " I am gonna kill you now face" and Puma not a clue in the world.

[Deleted]

So I went on a run of episodes and next weeks episode is solid with an absoloute banger of a main event.

But it is more or less a cool down in comparison to what follows ever so slightly but then we seriously ramp the f*** up with 3 of the best episodes in the season to follow and so if I had to reccomend when you should take your break I would say after you finish episode 16.

[Gecko]

S02E12 – Three’s a Crowd

Major points from previous episode
- Dario warns Vamp against doing anything stupid in revenge for Penta
- Ivelisse defeats Kobra Moon
- Backstory on Killshot and his military past
- Famous B gives Mascarita Sagrada a business card
- Cortez, Cisco, and Joey Ryan beat the Moths and Mack to progress in the trios tourney
- Sexy Star stands up to Mariposa
- Matanza beats Fenix
- Mil Muertes returns and attacks Matanza forcing him to leave.

Recaps of:
- The 7 Aztec Medallions and the Gift of the Gods Championship
- Mundo and Cage’s rivalry
- The return of the brothers Cueto
- The setup for the trios tourney
------------------------------------------------------------
Starting off in Dario’s office…

Fairly quickly? Which does raise the question of Bertie’s status. (I think I’ve said it before, but just in case I haven’t: I am vaguely aware that Bertie doesn’t have a happy end to his LU tenure, but I don’t know the specifics (this isn’t me asking either, unless there's nothing more to come from him))

Dario is talking to Mundo, Taya, and Cage and hoping they can control themselves since he only just got the window fixed. Three people? You might even call them…. A trio? That is exactly Dario’s plan as he wants the trios tourney to top last year’s, with only the greatest and most unique teams taking part in it.

Mundo sees what Dario wants, but Cage wants a match with Mundo tonight. Dario gives it some serious thought, but after several seconds decides that he likes his own idea better.

He tries to officially introduce himself to Taya, but his charms don’t work on her. Back to business and Dario appeals to their greed and chance to win Lucha gold to get the trio to put their focus in the right place.

Poor Cage, nobody takes his catchphrase seriously anymore. Dario doesn't let him finish it and then Mundo mocks it (after he's left).
------------------------------------------------------------
Into the Temple we go…

El Conjunto Nueva Ola are back again to provide the soundtrack for this episode as Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us. Striker lets us know that as well as the Trios tourney getting underway tonight, there’s a returning luchador who made their debut in last year’s tourney.

Argenis vs Killshot

Killshot, building off of last week, is wearing a camouflage entrance jacket and dogtags. I don’t think he had the dogtags before, but if he did, there’s much more focus on them now.



Traditional Kick up the arse by Argenis.

Striker could tone down the military related puns and analogies by 75% or so.

This one has been a showcase for Killshot and he is the unsurprising victor.

It’s great to see how Killshot has improved and gained confidence since he first showed up. While he still has that unique feel to his style, he now seems like he’s aware that not everything needs the extra flair to it and you can keep things simple for most stuff which means that breaking out the fancy stuff is more impactful.
------------------------------------------------------------
Back to Dario’s office…

Or more accurately, outside Dario’s office where Black Lotus is still on guard duty. She is approached by Dragon Azteca Jr who asks how she can work for Dario?
She, while looking a bit nervous about being overheard, tells Dragon that she had no choice. He locked her in a cell and if she didn’t pretend to align with him, he would have killed her.
The answer to Dragon’s next question is going to be interesting. He asks if she knows what happened to their master.
Ooh. She pins the blame for his death on Matanza. She assures Dragon that they’ll get their revenge, just not yet as he’s too powerful. Dragon confirms that she’ll stay close to him before he takes his leave.

Interesting. Which side is she on? Or is she on her own side with her own goals?

Now into Dario’s office….

As he pours a drink, he says that he’s so pleased to finally meet his guest. He’s got a reputation as one of the hottest new competitors that the sport has seen.



Oh, it’s… Daga. Yeah, I’ve got nothing apart from maybe having heard the name (but he does look strangely familiar). Enlighten me, please.

New guy doesn’t endear himself to Dario as he dismisses the Aztec Medallions as a bunch of old coins. Once Dario has corrected him and explained what they are for, he tells Daga that his debut match will be for one of the Medallions… against Texano.
------------------------------------------------------------
Aztec Medallion #1: Daga vs Texano

Ok, so there’s no wait to see what Daga is all about.
Texano milking that whole ‘longest reigning AAA mega champion in history’ thing for all it’s worth, eh?

First impressions on Daga are good, is he on the small side or is Texano just surprisingly big?

Daga’s holding his left arm oddly, Striker even draws attention to it. It’s hard to tell if it’s legit since the match is continuing without it really affecting things.

Texano wins with the powerbomb. Wasn’t expecting that result. This is one of those matches where you don’t realise just how much you’re enjoying it until it’s done and then realise you want a bit more. Definitely looking forward to more Daga, hopefully it's not one of those cases where somebody gets injured in their debut and disappears for ages.

Texano claims the first Aztec Medallion.
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In the Shrine of Mil Muertes, Catrina approaches Mil as he is meditating to inform him that the Disciples have claimed a spot in the trios tournament next week.

She then summons them with some lightning as they wish to beg his forgiveness. Well, he doesn’t murder them, so I’ll take that as them being forgiven and they make a sharp exit when the chance arrives.
Catrina assures Mil that they will not fail again. She also says that Mill will be champion again, but at the same time warns him that The Monster is unlike any he has faced before and may be more devastating than the earthquake that made him.

She leaves Mil to practice some dramatic posing and growling


------------------------------------------------------------
Trios Tourney: El Dragon Azteca Jr, Prince Puma, Rey Mysterio Jr vs Johnny Mundo, Taya, Cage

I was thinking earlier that if Rey had been wearing red last time, they’d look like traffic lights and look:



Um… that’s a dragon, is it? Vamp can give as much history on it as he wants, but paired with the feathery cape, that’s 100% a bird.

Cage pushes past his teammates as they are posing for their entrance, just in case you didn’t get how this one is going to go.

Ha, that’s great. Dragon was in a headlock and tried to get out of it by sending Cage to the ropes. Not only did Cage hold onto the headlock, he literally dragged Dragon (ha) across and around the ring.



The rest of the stuff between Cage and Dragon was a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it went well, other times there was noticeable hesitation as they were doing spots.

That bit of commentary about the history between Cage and Puma was definitely dubbed in later. Had a very different sound to it.

The Puma and Mundo stuff was as quick and smooth as you would expect. Mundo grabs the advantage after Taya grabs the leg of Puma.

I see what they’re doing with this match. Everybody has been in the ring apart from Rey. He’s going to completely change how the match is going when he finally gets a tag.

Cage is in control of Puma, but this doesn’t stop Mundo sliding a chair into him. Cage slides it back out again. When Mundo complains about it he gets a slap in the face from Cage, which also doubles as a tag.

Puma manages to fight all three of his opponents off so that he can tag Rey in! But Mundo pulls Rey off the apron! No tag! Great stuff. He does make a tag shortly after this, but Rey isn’t back up yet so he has to bring in Dragon.
Mysterio does eventually get tagged in and bounces around the place a bit with nobody able to touch him.

I knew this match was missing something…



Tags? What’re they? Yeah, we’re at the point of the match where everybody just jumps in and out when they want.

The Traffic lights clear the ring… or thought they did until Cage runs over Puma and Dragon, flipping both of them over.

A Mundo/Cage miscommunication leads to this situation:



The huricanrana followed by a 450 by Puma does Not get the win! They did get me with that one though.

Cage blocks Rey's ‘rana attempt and hits a buckle bomb… or he would’ve if Taya didn’t happen to be standing in that corner. Oh well. Cage showing off his strength by catching anybody who dares to jump at him and ends up holding both Dragon and Puma at the same time.

Yet another miscommunication sees Mundo kicking Cage in the face, Cage retaliates with a discus clothesline.

The Traffic Lights are jumping all over now, the highlight is a beautiful DDT by Dragon, but Puma picks up the win by pinning Mundo after a 630.

That was great fun. You would guess the Traffic Lights were winning it, but the other team put in enough that it wasn’t a sure thing.

Striker says goodnight as the winners celebrate in the ring…
------------------------------------------------------------
Dario at his brother’s cage.
He tells Matanza that next week he’s having what will be his biggest match, Mil Muertes.
It has taken years to prepare Matanza to embrace his destiny, but now nothing will stand in his way.
He invites Matanza closer in order to explain why he must stay there in his cage; he is the most valuable thing in the world to Dario. What do you do with valuables? You lock them away where nobody can steal them. (I wanna see somebody try to steal Matanza. No, I really do.)
No one understands the beauty of Matanza’s destruction like Dario. He wants Matanza to make him proud next week and bring death to the dead.

Dario steps back to let Matanza practice his growling and bar shaking.

Woo, big ol’ monster fight next week!
------------------------------------------------------------

Next time: Monster meets Monster

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- The recap at the start of this one especially was oh so smooth in the transitions between what it was focusing on.
- Bertie is one of those people who can just disappear without you noticing he’s gone.
- Oh yeah, we’ve got the whole medallion thing to go through again. It’ll have a slightly different feel this time since everybody knows what is up for grabs at the end.
- The mirroring between Matanza/Dario and Mil/Catrina is still going strong.

[Deleted]

A solid episode worth just for the main event alone but like usual even the cooldown episodes always has tons of seed planting to keep the intrigue going and this one is no different.

When it comes to Bertie there is nothing more to him being gone other than he was an entitled asshole that thought he was above putting over Pentagon and wanted the preverbial red carpet rolled out for him and LU said....f*** no to your shitty ego and they let him go.


That will never not be hilarious and Darious fed up disgust is added amazing and a nice meta play on wrestlers and their obsession with spamming their own catchphrases.

Hell Dario in this entire scene is hilarious and it is all in his facial expressions.



As far as Killshot goes he has not had the dogtags prior to this but there is something I eluded to awhile ago that may surprise you about his entire run so far but I of course will not talk about it ...just yet HA! you have to wait on something else REVENGE BE MINE!! and you threw me out of the rumble....DOUBLE REVENGE! is coming.

But yea you see Killshot now really understands his own character and it shows instead of being vague guy with a sort...of gun gimmick and everything he does plays into it and things only go up and up for him as the show goes on.

Striker could tone down the military related puns and analogies by 75% or so

I love the Black Lotus story even since it has begun and while not at the forefront the way it continues to develop is so f***ing good and really shows LU's strength because Lotus has not wrestled one Iota but her story has remained this highly intriguiging piece of progression.

And I love how heavy it is all based on lies and deciet about who is telling the truth and who is lieing but also why they have to lie , there are so many great layers to this story.

SELF" DON'T GIVE IT AWAY!

OTHER SELF: AWWW BUT YOU KNOW IT IS AMAZING

*sound of gun*

Hey look it's Daga......Hi Daga.....what do you mean who is Daga? oh sorry my mistake you probably remember him with his proper identity.



MR TESSA BLANCHARD.

Daga is a great wrestler if not a whole lot of personality though I mean I wish I could tell you more about the guy as a talent but he never really stands out to me I mean for gawd sakes his biggest claim to fame is the above lol but again he is fun to watch in the ring though so he has that going for him.

As for the match it was a fine match with 2 solid luchadors and yes Texano is a big beefy boy but it is not really emphasised much and so it goes largely unmentioned , althoughs striker did mention it in aztec warfare 2 about Texano being one of the few who could match size with Matanza.

And yes the continued contrast especially now that they both have monsters to weild against one another is wonderful with Catrina and Dario especially here where they are doing the samething but Catrina is more manipulative in weaving Mil's emotions from one end to the other in a rather cold manner...she does not care about anything else other than him getting the job done no emotion where as Dario is showing all the emotion and surprising humanity towards his brother and you feel how proud he is of his brother.

"bring death to the dead" is such an amazing finishing line to a monolgue like you wanted to really emphasis how big the kaiju clash next episode is , there is how you do it.

But can I fawn over this vingette also because like every other one this was amazingly shot ..from the lighting to making sure we stare into Matanzas eyes as he is slightly confused as to why his brother is touching his face like that lol and then the music cue when Matanza starts rattling the cage absoloute perfection.

And lets once again applaud the f*** out of Dario again....he is the only one talking and the dude is mesmeric you hang onto his every word and all the emotion how he goes from teped about how this will be his brothers biggest challenge and that it wont be easy to bring proud but somber getting his brother to understand why he has to lock him up to being the ultimate motivator and driving his brothers rage.

Absoloutley masterful , not to take anything away from Matanza because he is acting with just his eyes and you can understand exactly what he is feeling, Everything about this is perfection the acting , the directing , the visuals.

HAHAHA Vamp got you on this one Mr Gecko you think it is a bird that DAJ's costume is repping when it is infact a feathered Dragon.



Called Quetzalcoatl.

And now we start to come to the stuff ....that I cannot yet elaborate on HA! see now you have to wait for more take that you rumble eliminating scum lol.

We ramp it all the way back up next episode because it is not just for the match though....I am such a tease lol.

[Gecko]

S02E13 – Monster meets Monster

Previous episode highlights
- Killshot beats Argenis
- Lotus appears to still be secretly working against Dario
- Texano beat a debuting Daga to claim the first Medallion
- Mundo, Taya, and Cage were forced to team up for the trios tourney. They lost to Rey, Puma, and Dragon Azteca
- Catrina and Dario were psyching up their respective monsters.

Recaps of:
- latest Trios tourney results
- The collision course that Mil Muertes and Matanza are on
------------------------------------------------------------
Starting off in Dario’s office with El Jefe telling Fenix that he’s lucky he survived his encounter with Matanza.



Oh, There’s also a Drago present. There’s also also Aerostar there. I doubt that there’s any more people waiting to be revealed just off-screen as Dario is looking for one more team for his Trios tourney and they should be it.

But wait, they were a team last year and lost in the first round because Drago and Aerostar couldn’t get along. Dario doesn’t want to risk it happening again, so he’s going to give Fenix two different partners.

Fenix will take on the Disciples of Death and team with… PJ Black and Jack Evans.

Aerostar and Drago seem to get along pretty well these days, so Dario is going to test the friendship by having them compete for an Aztec Medallion.

Ah, Classic Dario with the multi-level trolling. You’ve got to love it. Breaking up the trio in case two of them couldn’t get along and then putting those two in a situation just to see if he could make it happen. And their former partner is now teaming with their enemies and in prime position for a beatdown.
------------------------------------------------------------
Into the Temple we go…

El Conjunto Nueva Ola still hanging around providing jaunty background noise as Striker runs down what we’ve got tonight.

Aztec Medallion #2: Aerostar vs Drago

Texano claimed the first Medallion this time round.

Hey, look, it’s a non-feathery dragon

It says something when I can watch a match between a dragon man and a time-travelling spaceman with an ancient medallion as the prize and not think how ridiculous the whole idea is.

Very quick start but with a lot of mat-based stuff which is nice.

Happened to pause on a good shot of Drago’s mask



It’s still the best mask, but it’s not always easy to spot the details. I can see silver, green, purple. The horns look like bone with colour variations instead of being a uniform colour and it all blends together perfectly.

Nasty fall for Aerostar as he tries a multi-springboard thing from the apron. He bounced off the bottom and middle ropes ok, but slipped off the top and came down right on the ring steps.

Aerostar recovers and quickly gets back on the horse… and then jumps off it and does a bunch of spins.

Aerostar is the victor after hitting a series of springboard moves, finishing with the splash.

This one was up to the usual standard of these two.
------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in the Dojo, as Mundo trains, Taya asks him if it’s even possible that he looks better today than he did yesterday.
Mundo confirms that is possible, he’s not just A man, he’s THE man.

Taya is here to bring news (my finger slipped while typing this several times so that it read ‘newds’. Stupid subconscious.) from the Temple. She talked to Dario and Demanded that he give Mundo one of the Medallions. I’m sure that’ll work out well with absolutely zero backlash.
Mundo checks that she remembered to mention that he didn’t get a chance to compete for one last year. Ah ok, Taya went and did this… under instruction from Mundo.

Dario didn’t just give out a medallion, but he does have Mundo down for a Medallion match next week… against Cage.

😆 Taya’s expression as Mundo is talking himself up and trying to convince himself that he can take Cage to Slamtown one more time is fantastic. You can tell that she’s got more to add but doesn’t really want to.

That one more bit of info? It’s going to be a cage match. Cage in a cage. I think we’ve got the title for the next episode.

Great work from both of them here. Taya may have been that missing element with Mundo that you didn't know it needed until it happened.
------------------------------------------------------------
Trios Tournament: Jack Evans, PJ Black, Fenix vs Disciples of Death w/Catrina

The last match of the first round of the tourney. I’m going with DOD winning and a Fenix beatdown by his own team at some point.

Fantastic. Black had a hold of Trece and went to his corner for a tag. He held out his hand to Fenix only to snatch it away when Fenix tried to tag in. He then actually went for a tag with Evans who told him to carry on, he’s doing great. Evans is great in this role.

Fenix looks like he may have done his knee in on a dive and as he limps round the ring, Evans is reluctant to tag in as he doesn’t want an injury.

Evans gets a tag, does a bunch of stuff which gets praise from Striker. Vamp: “Whatever he smokes, I want three of ‘em.” Striker: “Well, today’s the day.” I guess that answers the question of when this episode is taking place.


Black gets an unexpected tag in as he keeps his hands well clear of his opponent.


Black gets an unexpected tag out as he goes for a dive after telling Fenix to get out the ring.

Evans shows Fenix how it’s done as he somersaults over the top, which leaves Fenix clear to hit a springboard 450 on, and pin, Barrio Negro.

This match did a whole lot to make me more of a Jack Evans fan.

Catrina not looking happy. It’s not even an anger thing, more of a disbelieving look. She leaves on her own as Evans and Black don’t want Fenix to celebrate with them.
------------------------------------------------------------


If you wanted to make Matanza into a modern-day minotaur, I think this proves that horns would work on him.

Dario has the current trios champs in his office and is trying to drive a wedge between them telling them the truth about what they think of each other.

Oh no, Dario hasn’t explained himself properly again. Ivelisse, Angelico, and Havoc aren’t facing the winners of the tourney, they are in the tourney. They do get a bye to the finals: a four way match to determine the trios champs.

A final shot by Dario as he calls them Team Havoc. Then gets fed up with the ensuing argument and tells them to get out.

------------------------------------------------------------
In the locker room with the lightning covered DOD

They are getting a dressing down from Catrina… (go on, you know you want to say it). Mil gave them one last chance to prove themselves and they failed miserably! The worst part? Fenix is the one that beat them. She wants one reason that she shouldn’t destroy them.

Trece turns and literally rips the still beating heart out of the chest of Siniestro!

Well... um... yikes.

This… doesn’t impress Catrina, so he does the same to Barrio Negro. You’d best hope that satisfies her, Trece, because you’ve run out of hands. This does get a smile from Catrina and she leaves Trece to… absorb his companions’ powers, I guess?

Add Barrio Negro and El Siniestro de la Muerta to the list of the dead.

Are we getting a super-powered skeleton goon?

------------------------------------------------------------
Lucha Underground Championship: Mil Muertes w/Catrina vs ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto (C) w/Dario Cueto

Time for the monster mash!

When Mil gets described as the lesser of two evils, you know his opponent is bad.

Vamp provides translation for Dario who tells Matanza when they’re at the top of the steps that if he doesn’t finish Mil here, it’s over. Wow, high stakes.

There are the obvious similarities between the two which we’ve already seen, but you get to see the differences here. Mil is a lot more controlled than Matanza, who still looks as though it’s a 50/50 on whether he’ll jump into the crowd and bite a few fingers off or not. Mil is standing perfectly still while Matanza is always moving in some way.

They didn't rush into anything, took their time and let it all build up.

No wrestling to start us off, they’re just trading punches as it should be. Matanza initially looks to have the advantage, but Mil fights back and actually beats his opponent down to a prone position!

A giant clothesline. Not extra vicious or violent, but... giant. So weird, it somehow had a huge sense of scale.

Mil is putting up a good fight, but even he is struggling to have any lasting effect on the monster.

This is great so far. Such a different feel to anything else that has been happening in the Temple, but still has that lucha element to it.

Oh, Dario, I thought you were smarter than that. You know those times when you do something (like hitting Mil Muertes) and then immediately realise that you’ve made a huge mistake?



Matanza recovers in time to kind of save his brother from his predicament of getting held a couple of feet off the ground by his neck.

You knew it was coming; Catrina attacks Matanza. She does put up a much better front (insert joke here) of not being scared by the opposing monster.



Mil is back up and makes use of a handy chair. Dario is looking worried… and his hair is a bit messed up. It's a little detail but he usually looks so composed.

What’s that thing against the office wall? I’ve not noticed that before. Why, It’s a very solid sounding metal can.
The monsters fight up to the top level of the Temple. They’ll come down again, it’s just a question of method of descent. They both end up on top of the office.


The face you make when your monster/brother is close to getting thrown off the top of your office.

I keep seeing little bits of smoke rising from the office roof. Hmmm. I guess it has something to do with what happens next:

I didn't notice it on first viewing, but you can see Matanza still fighting to block it here.

That’s the end of the match. And very enjoyable it was, too.

Dario, standing on top of what remains of his office roof, holds up the key and points at Catrina, screaming “War!” while Catrina holds the rock and points back at him.
------------------------------------------------------------
We finish this episode in the police station where we see a deceased poster for Bael (aww) and then we pan over to… Bwahahahahahahahaha!



Not shown in this shot but also featuring in the lineup are Big Ryck and Daivari (I think?).

A knock on the door causes Captain Vasquez to cover over her investigation board with a pull-down map as she turns to greet Councilman Delgado.
Delgado has a problem with her investigating in his jurisdiction of Boyle Heights. His employer feels it would be in her best interests if she would drop the case against Dario Cueto.
Delgado corrects her when she says she doesn’t care what the mayor wants, he’s talking about somebody much more powerful. He takes his leave after giving her this friendly advice and she appears frustrated.

Ooh, more intrigue.

A mysterious secret boss, a cop getting warned to stop their investigation, a corrupt official. I'm basically watching a movie here.
------------------------------------------------------------

Next time: Cage in a Cage (told you)

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- Love the music in the opening scene. Actually, the music was top notch all the way through the episode.
- The DOD dismantling caught me off guard. Not that they’d get destroyed, but that one of them would do it to the other two.

- It’s not generally the style of Catrina or Dario to just run straight up and hit somebody, that’s a great little touch to show how much this means to them and what they’re willing to risk. Or possibly how they're not thinking sensibly.

- Late addition: I notice that the picture in the background of the first image has a bull in it. And I mention Matanza the minotaur. The bull motif is running through everything even if you don't notice it all.

[Deleted]

This song seems fitting.



This episode is amazing because it is LU endulging in how f***ing insane they are.

Normally you get a guy in a suit or whatever across from the boss...in LU you get a Dragon , living embodiement of life and a timetraveler.

I like to imagine Drago just does everyday things like grocery shopping , his taxes looking just like that.

And Dario showing what a worm he is by just gleefully f***ing with friendships because he can but also is so ingeinus.

Aerostar and Drago doin fantastic lucha things as they do.

Normally one would complain about them leaving in the botch but I personally love that they left it in because commentary doing a fantastic job by tieing it into their friendship with Drago showing a bit of hesitation and concern for his friend and one could also say it played into the rest of the match with Drago not being as aggressive as he should have been friend or not he probably should have taken advantage.

"MAKING ME WORK FOR IT EH...CLASSIC CUETO" lol his candence when he says CLASSIC CUETO always makes me laugh a little.

Taya has spoken about this but this is the first vingette they ever filmed together and according to Taya she herself is very awkward in this scene but honestly I do not see anything less than the obvious chemistry.

And it is amazing how deadly serious this man was able to say CAGE...IN A CAGE , all the machine wording...MACHINEY , SHUT THAT MACHINE DOWN , LU creative heads just having so much fun with word play and makes for amazing things like this and again Taya and Mundos chemistry is already so obvious here and see why she is such if not the most intergal part to his overall character.

And yes Jack evens is a gawd damm treasure on this show "I'M MANAGEMENT YOU'RE GOING GREAT" lol "I'm stretching I don't want an injury".

Alot of talent on this level that teater on main event breathrough are really starting to hit their stride whether it be understanding the nuances of their character , finding their voice etc you can see the creativity really beginning to boom and it only leads to more amazing things to come.

a funny moment on commentary is Vamp mocking Striker's ..new yawk accent when he is talking about the superkick and if he was in yankees stadium he would sent it out of the PAWK lol leaving striker dead silent for a bit which I am sure pleases alot.

And commentary again being on the f***ing ball especially Vamp here by pointing out how the death putties were not actually going for the win and Striker tieing it together pointing out that this is likely because of Catrinas instructions about focusing in on Fenix and he personal grudge got in the way of actually winning the match.

So what was this about dressing down Catria...because I.....will move onto speaking about other things HA!

"They thought you were nothing more than a peverted pretty boy" lol.

I love LU subveting the typical tournament trope here by having the titles as the prizes here.

"That sounds ridiculous" this coming from the guy with the deeply altered voice is something I always find myself getting a little chuckle at.

I imagine Dario pulling a Rita Replusa about having such a headache everytime these three are in his office.

"MAN LU IS THE MORTAL KOMBAT OF WRESTLING"

"NAW *insert some other comany name here" is".



Add another to the HOLY SHIT pile in LU because this comes right the f*** out of nowhere and it is amazing.

My favourite bits are how the other 2 DOD are just resigned to their fates like...okay we know our purpose and just get the hearts ripped out of them Kano style and I like how immediately upon getting their source of life torn out they become just piles of burning ruble.

And yes he is absorbing their power...but how much power does one gain from this you ask...well what do you get when You add two zeros to another zero...not Fenix is the correct anwser.

Everything about the monster mash lives up to what you would expect...nothing flashy but every single hit has such weight to it especially that clothesline you mention and really makes this clash in LU very unique because of all the lighter high flying talent that make the majority of the roster so this is special IMO for this reason.

And the further contrast of the poise....Mil stands there waiting while Matanza is chomping (the bael this time RIP) at the bit when he throws down the title and how Matanza is breathing heavyly while Mil is calm and just waiting. It is again a match in contrast in every possible way from the monsters to their handlers to just the character work this is all masterful in showing how different on a creative level LU is because more often than not in other companies big guys tend to blend together especially over the long haul but not here ...the only similarity they have is they are big and beefy but everything about them is such worlds apart and this perfectly exemplifys it.

But even with all that at the end....it is even ground and I love the play into the gimmick here...Mil can die and take Matanza with him knowing Catrina can and would likely (if for no other reason she still needs him to kill Fenix) bring him back where as if Matanza dies that is game over for Dario's brother or atleast removes him from the equation for a length of time where Catrina can take back controll and send Dario on the run again or kill him entirely...absoloutley brilliant because you understand why Mil took Matanza to roof top hell and was willing to sacrifice himself to get the job done.



And now we get to oh boy.

But first now I can FINALLY touch on this ..because this is in part why I did not want to talk about the LU comics when people brought it up at the start of the season and also why I have not really talked about certain people not being around anymore because of this moment right here and I am glad you got a nice big ole laugh out of it as I did and still do because it is LU being amazingly cheeky lol forget announcing releases on a website or over twitter...THIS is how you do it lol and it plays perfectly into LU AND into the ongoing story...LU have I mentioned how f***ing great you are? because no one does it better.

But to touch on one particular picture and that is Big Ryck now we all know by now the real reason he never came back..well here is the kayfabe reason and it relates back to the comic in which the now 2/3rd defunkt disciplles of death killed him and took his skull and adorned to Mil's throne he was sitting on during the first part of the season.

And I believe Del Rio was back in WWE by this time so them listing him as "missing" is even further amazing lol.

HI WORLD RENOWN ACTOR LORENZO LAMAS!

AKA The Renegade(no not the shitty WCW wrestler)



I cannot wait to really get into this....buuuuuttttttttt I can't because THIS is game changing and it is all I am going to say for now except for this...if you thought the mystery of the bull drove you insane.

[Gecko]

S02E14 – Cage in a Cage

Previous episode highlights
- Aerostar beats Drago for the second medallion
- Evans, Black, and Fenix move on in the trios tourney
- Ivelisse, Havoc, Angelico are informed that they are part of the tourney
- Trece kills the other two Disciples of Death
- Matanza vs Mil Muertes ends when they plummet through the office roof
- Captain Vasquez gets warned off of investigating Dario

Recaps of:
- Trios Tourney
- Mundo / Cage history
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Into the Temple where the cage is already set up around the ring.

Bang Data are providing the tunes tonight… There’s a Star Trek joke in that band name somewhere.

Over to commentary where Striker has an update on Mil Muertes and Matanza after the events of last week. Both will return to action soon. That’s not really much of an update.
Vampiro interrupts Striker to hype the Trios Tourney finals, before they send it up to the ring for the cage match.

Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve pointed out a suspicious person in the crowd:



Her in the middle is looking a little out of place.

Medallion #3 - Cage Match: Cage vs Johnny Mundo w/Taya

I kind of forgot that this was for a medallion (which is pretty bad since it's the whole reason for the match ), but one of these two will join Texano and Aerostar as Medallion owners.

Striker bringing up history and mentioning that the only previous cage match in LU was won by Mundo.

Cage goes on the offensive at the start; Mundo tries to go over the top first chance he gets. As it should be, the face is looking to get a bit of revenge while the heel will take any opportunity for a win.

Cage builds up some momentum and just repeatedly throws Mundo into the cage with no retaliation as Taya looks on helplessly.


Ow.

If I have to suffer with this mental image, so do you: When Mundo knocked Cage’s feet away and caused him to fall sensitive parts first onto the top rope, Vamp says he gave him what you would call a cameltoe.

Mundo goes to climb out over the top but is caught by Cage. As they fight up high, Taya takes off her belt and climbs up the outside in order to whip Cage’s hands and give Mundo the advantage.

Mundo is much quicker and more confident in climbing the cage, which lets him catch up to his opponent and bring him back down with the Moonlight Drive.

Taya fails in passing a Kendo stick to Mundo, but she at least also retracts it in time to stop Cage grabbing it.

There’s a great shot here that starts outside the cage, only a little higher than it would be if the camera was being held by a person, then it goes up and over the top so that you get a clear shot of the ring.

Mundo gets powerbombed into the side of the cage… then he slides down between the ropes and the cage, scraping his back on the chain link as he goes… then he lands back first on the apron, which as we all know is the hardest part of the ring.

While he’s recovering from this, Cage has made it to the top of the cage. Taya meets him up there with a kendo stick and delays him enough for Mundo to get back into it.

Mundo makes use of the kendo stick for a while, but then Cage grabs it off of him. The next sequence is great as it is Mundo jumping all over the place to evade Cage. It went something like this:

The catch at the end is just the cherry on top.

Cage then goes to work with the kendo stick.

Mundo is barely surviving as Taya climbs the Cage with a chair. She times it right and chucks it down to Mundo who just smacks Cage on top of his head with it, which is a little uncomfortable to watch.

The chair shot doesn’t get the pin, so Mundo heads all the way up. He launches himself from his knees in a corkscrew that misses Cage as the Machine rolls out of danger.

Taya climbs up the cage yet again, but this time she leaps off and hits Cage with a crossbody.
“modified” magic killer by Mundo and Taya. They both pile on Cage and get the thre… two! Cage kicks out again.

Taya produces a set of handcuffs which she attaches to the bottom rope. Cage recovers as they try to fix him to the rope and Taya is the one that ends up stuck.


No prizes for guessing where this is going.

After Mundo takes out Taya with an accidental chair shot, Cage gets the win with a hesitant screwdriver onto the chair and claims the Medallion.

They really do have the hang of how to do gimmick matches, don’t they? You never get a whole bunch of spots that you’ve seen countless times before.

No time to rest as we’re straight into…
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Just as Melissa Santos is about to introduce the first team in the finals of the Trios tournament, she is interrupted by Dario with some breaking news!

He doesn’t have all the details, but Angelico has had an unfortunate (and not at all suspicious) accident. They will get to the bottom of it, but he’s been rushed to the hospital. The match will go ahead with Ivelisse and Havoc defending the belts. Dario wishes them the best of luck, (aww that’s nice) because they’re really going to need it! (Oh)

I was already thinking we were going to see a title change here, and this just makes me more sure of it.

Trios Championship – Elimination: Fenix, Jack Evans, & PJ Black vs Cortez Castro, Mr Cisco, & Joey Ryan vs Prince Puma, Rey Mysterio Jr, & El Dragon Azteca Jr vs Ivelisse, Son of Havoc, & Angelico(C)

This one is going to be complete chaos, in a good way. I really don’t know who’s winning this one, none of the teams would feel like a wrong choice. I think Team Cortez has the lowest chance of winning, but they also have potentially the most interesting story if they did win.

Evans goes down the steps on his hands during his entrance just because he can.

It’s great that they can A) throw out a dozen people for a match without sacrificing other matches B) have the match mean something C) not feel like anybody is just there to make up the numbers

A bit of a choreographed routine to start us off.

By the time the second round starts with the next team members tagging in, you already get the idea that there is going to be zero pauses in this match.

“Whatever happened to Bael? You remember that guy?” – Vampiro

Joey Ryan is lounging disgustingly in his corner.

The Crew are one of the unexpected success stories in LU. I (and the Believers) have become very appreciative of them.

Joey Ryan gets a tag for the first time when Ivelisse also gets tagged in. No comment. His first move is to run away from her.

I’m sure I’ve seen some of these dives in the Olympics. Not Rey’s though, that was just a splash from the turnbuckle. Go on, ref! You’re the only one left, you know you want to have a go.

Ivelisse is denied her turn by Joey Ryan. He ends up getting a load of slaps and a German suplex and tags out to Cortez. Cortez hits a brainbuster on Ivelisse, which prompts Joey to want a tag back in. This distracts Cortez enough that Ivelisse catches him with a rollup and that team is the first eliminated!

Oh, I can just imagine how Joey is going to play this at the next meeting with the Captain.
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With three teams left, it has actually calmed down a bit
They’re now doing the thing where two of them wrestle while the third has a rest on the outside, then they’ll rotate positions.

Jack Evans, after knocking Ivelisse down with a boot to the face, lets everybody know that it is in fact he who is the baddest bitch in the building.

He follows this up a short time later by being on the end of a Code Red from Ivelisse. The ref is distracted and doesn’t count, which gives an opportunity for PJ Black to jump in, kick Ivelisse in the head and reverse the pin. The ref turns around and counts the three! Ivelisse and Havoc are gone, we’re getting new champs!

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Jack Evans, Fenix, PJ Black vs Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca, Puma.
One team will be the new trios champs at the end of this match.

Puma is taking out all of the other team by himself. He hits a 630, but then the heels remember they’re supposed to cheat and so draw Rey into the ring to distract the ref and, one low blow later, they’re back in charge of things.

Normally you don’t need to be specific when you tell your teammates, “hold him!”, however there are occasions when you should use names…



Jack ends up hitting Fenix and the confusion is enough for Puma to make it to his own corner for a tag to Rey.

A Puma assisted DDT by Dragon followed by them both diving out the ring, leaves a downed Evans at the mercy of Rey. He hits a split legged moonsault and pins Evans to win!


New Trios Champions: Prince Puma, El Referee, El Dragon Azteca Jr, & Rey Mysterio Jr

Wait, we only had two matches on this show? And it still managed to be a pure wrestling episode… well, unless there’s a post credits sequence, but what are the odds of that?
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For the post credit sequence we are in what appears to be Penta/Vamp’s domain. The hooded and cloaked figure tends to suggest the same.

The hooded one calls out for Pentagon and Penta makes his entrance in a wheelchair. (I did have a shot of this, but apparently my computer is not playing nice since this is the second time this episode I've overwritten an image with one from a few seconds later and it's not saved the new version)

Vamp (he lowers his hood and looks like he could do with a good night’s sleep) tells Penta to get up. Penta tries a couple of times unsuccessfully, so Vamp encourages him by dripping pouring hot wax on him.

Penta does make it out of the chair, but only to fall to the floor. Vamp calls him weak.

What a gruesome mask that is.

Vamp goes and just leaves Penta lying on the floor staring at the candle. Still better than having to listen to Rey lecture you for your training.

That’s the beginning of Penta’s journey back, guided by Vampiro the evil physiotherapist
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Next time: No Mas

Post Episode & General Thoughts/Questions
- The cage has had an upgrade since last time. It still doesn’t feel overly polished and new (and is probably easier/safer to work with) but the first one had a certain charm to its home-made aesthetic.
- Vamp claims to have been alive for 1,000 years. It would explain all his knowledge about historical things if he's just remembering stuff.
- You don’t even notice that most of the teams are just kind of thrown together with there being very few ‘proper’ teams (DOD, Cisco & Cortez), since they feel legit very quickly.
- Ooh, maybe Angelico’s accident involved him hurting his back by lifting a big pile of cash?
- That’s about as much wrestling as you could squeeze into a show (literally nothing apart from matches, entrances, and a minor Dario interruption), and they still managed to shove a significant story hook in at the end.