What's happening everybody? Mark Adam Haggerty back again with some Lucha Libre action courtesy of AAA, Mark Burnett and the El Rey Network. May 5th is a holiday observed in Mexico the United States known as Cinco De Mayo, celebrating the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This week's episode of Lucha Underground took place one day removed from the annual festivities, and featured a number of subtle clues as to the future of the performers inside the Boyle Heights Temple. What were the most exciting moments of the night, and who walked out of TV with their hands held night? Let's kick things off with this, the 26th edition of "Viva La Lucha Libre."
This week's episode opens much the same as previous installments, inside the darkened office of Dario Cueto. Dario is at his desk, assembling what looks to be some kind of bracket for an upcoming event. In fact, Dario looks like he's putting together a ransom note, which given the vibe of Lucha Underground, isn't the craziest thing he could be doing. Dario is soon joined by two former WWE Superstars-turned-Temple Warriors—Johnny Mundo and the AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion Alberto El Patron. They argue over who is the rightful number one contender to Prince Puma's Lucha Underground Championship. Dario tells both men that they are probably the best in the business, and they will each get their opportunities in due time. Johnny Mundo says that they can all agree that both he and Patron are better suited to challenge for the LU title than "Fernandez." Dario Cueto corrects him: "Hernandez is the number one contender." Dario draws two slips of paper from his current project, one reading Johnny's name and the other con el nombre de Alberto. Dario says that Alberto El Patron will battle Johnny Mundo, and the winner will wrestle Hernandez in a NEW number one contender's match. The two tecnicos stared one another down, as Dario looked on with an evil smirk: "I'm really looking forward to finding out who's the best."
We are back inside the boisterous Lucha Underground Temple! Boyle Heights is a cool little neighborhood—one of hundreds that make up the overall metropolis that is Los Angeles. I use to live in Downtown LA, which is just a quick drive up the street from the Temple itself. Now I'm down in Long Beach, planning to move to Las Vegas so I can cover Global Force Wrestling full time. But you don't want to hear about me, you want to hear about Lucha Underground! Sergio Mendoza is the musical performer once more, or Sergio Mendoz y La Orkesta, to be exact. When this show debuted, I wasn't sure how to take Vampiro and his whole "Canadian Cholo" routine, but I have to say he has been a phenomenal addition to Lucha Underground. While there are certainly production meetings and scripts to follow, nobody is in Vamiro's ear when he's calling a match. And he doesn't pretend to be an expert; on more than one occasion, Vampiro has admittedly defaulted to Matt Striker for technical analysis when he was just overwhelmed by the action. He's the perfect multi-faceted bridge between a litany of different fans, including residents of the WWE Universe, Lucha Libre aficionados, and even Old Schools WCW fans.
The opening bout of tonight's card is already set to begin—a tag team match between members of the Trios Champions and the Crew—with all four participants in and around the ring. Ivelisse is sitting this one out, still on crutches from the events that would eventually lead her to the Trios Championship two weeks ago. Bael is also on the shelf this week, but in his team's corner, pacing behind Mr. Cisco and Castro Cortez. Son of Havoc starts things off against Castro, and quickly brings his partner Angelico into the action against Mr. Cisco. The Crew gains the advantage over their opponents, as Angelico and Son of Havoc are still anything but friends. Ivelisse screams from ringside, "Oh my god! Do I have to do everything around here?" Angelico turns things around with a series of spinning knees against both Castro and Cisco, and attempts his "Fall of the Angels" crucifix power bomb, but to no avail. The Crew was back in command, but Havoc and Angelico were resilient; Angelico flew over the top rope onto his opponents on the outside, while Ivelisse put the kicks to her adversaries behind the officials back. The crowd began to chant "We Want Havoc," as Angelico was on the receiving end of a gang beating by the Crew. Son of Havoc blind tagged his partner, essentially saving him from further torture, and set to work taking on the most dominant faction in Lucha Underground. However, the numbers would eventually prove to be too much for the masked superstar, especially with Angelico still reeling on the outside. Cortez Castro plucked Son of Havoc in the eye, temporarily blinding him, and putting him in the direct trajectory of the "Psycho Realm," a Codebreaker-Flapjack combination by the relentless Crew. Mr. Cisco and Cortez Castro get the win this week over the Trios Tag Team Champions.
Dario Cueto is enjoying a cool beverage in his office with an unknown free agent. He tells him that it "takes real huevos to come back to the Temple after being called out by a man like Texano." The man he's speaking to is none other than Shawn Daivari, formerly of TNA and WWE fame, who appears far more fascinated with his smart phone than he is with the owner of Lucha Underground. It's unclear what this character is all about. He spends countless seconds texting, completely ignoring Dario's comments, until the promotor is forced to be honest: "I'm surprised you want to compete in my temple. I know who you are, you're a very wealthy man. Your family owns half the real estate in Boyle Heights and half the neighborhoods in LA. Why put your body on the line?"Daivari finally looks up from his phone and tells Dario, "You like to watch violence—I like to inflict it."
The next scene is incredibly interesting, as I don't think anyone's been sure about what to think of Konnan since this show began. He claims to have Prince Puma's best interest at heart, but quite often plays the heel side of his character to a more prominent degree. But last week, Konnan held Drago's hand high after Puma defeated Drago in the main event. And this week, Konnan comes at his longtime friend Hernandez with some substantial accusations. "Hernandez," Konnan began, "I don't think it was cool the way you got involved in Puma's match last week." Hernandez was immediately defensive, "Oh you mean the way I saved his title?" Puma was ready to strike the moment he and Konnan came around the lockers, but the "Artist Formerly Known as K-Dawg" was trying to play peace-keeper as best he could. "Tranquilo," he told Puma, almost as if he was saying, "I know how you feel, but why are you going to fight someone in the locker room? Use your head." Konnan told him that they go back a long time, and from where he was sitting—it looked like Hernandez was trying to cost Puma the title. "I don't want to think—," Konnan began. Hernandez cut him off in an instant, "You don't want to think. Cause if I want that belt, I'll make damn sure it's him I beat for it." Konnan told Puma to relax once more, in the same tone, although this time with less restraint behind his left arm. "Now that is something I would like to see." From the shadows, emerged Dario Cueto, "Hernandez, there's been a slight change of plans. In order to be the number one contender, you'll have to beat the winner of Alberto El Patron and Johnny Mundo." Hernandez asked if the Lucha promotor was joking, to which he said no, and informed all three men that Hernandez and Puma would be involved in a tag team contest against King Cuerno and Cage. "If anyone can get you two on the same page," Dario said, turning to Konnan, "It's you."
Melissa Santos is in the squared-circle, under a spotlight when she informs the �Faithful' that the following Lucha is scheduled for one fall. "Currently in the ring, from Beverly Hills…" Huh? Who could this be? Shawn Daivari, otherwise known to the Boyle Heights fans as "Delavar Daivari." For those that might be curious as to where the new stage name comes from, it's interesting to note that there are a number of locales in modern day Iran with Delavar preceding the rest of the city name. I'm not going to go into more than that, because if I do, I won't finish watching Lucha Underground, I'll spend all day on Wikipedia learning about Iran. Big Ryck use to smoke cigars on the way to the ring, and Daivari appears to be sipping a cocktail. While I'm sure he's actually enjoying an iced tea, I wonder if Big Ryck's cigar was actually a vaporizer enclosed in tobacco leafs? Daivari is set to meet Texano Jr. For those that might not remember, Texano was part of a final team in the Trios Tournament, but was distracted and subsequently eliminated, after run-in with a gentleman seated in the front row. Well, that gentleman was the mouthpiece for the Great Khali, he managed Kurt Angle, and even held the TNA X-Division Championship. Texano doesn't wait for his introduction and runs from the backstage area into the ring where he meets Daivari head-on. Within moments, Texano is in possession of his trademark bullwhip and beating Daivari within an inch of his life. Delavar gets loose after smashing a microphone over the skull of Texano and escapes into the dressing room. The crowd went wild for Texano; it seems that this consummate rudo might be gaining a babyface following now that he's making a name for himself in the �States.
The next match is the tag team bout featuring yet another set of uneasy partners, in Hernandez and the Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma. Their opponents are King Cuerno and Cage, who were partners with Texano during the aforementioned Trios tournament. The team of Puma and Hernandez arrive to the musical sounds of the champion's entrance theme, which appears to bother the incumbent number one contender. Konnan pleads with both men to get along, and within seconds, this match is underway with Hernandez against Cage. There are no real villains in Lucha Underground—save for the Crew, or Dario Cueto himself—and competitors like Cage and Cuerno are afforded the same respectful response from the Temple as the more heroic characters. The �Faithful' fans are not dissimilar to those found down at NXT, or PWG, or even the old ECW, in that they are there on a regular basis and appreciate the ingenuity of the performers they come to see.
The two power house members of either team went at each other with considerable momentum, with Hernandez coming out on top. He extended his hand in an always unwilling, and sarcastic manner to tag his "partner" Prince Puma. Puma took the fight to Cage, with a much more aerial-based offense than the 40+ year old Hernandez. King Cuerno turned things around for his team after a well-placed set of knees caught Puma's standing Shooting Star Press in the breadbasket. Props to Gorilla Monsoon for that colloquialism. Puma continued to be at the mercy of King Cuerno, and ultimately the monstrous Brian Cage. Cage surprised everybody when he hit the Lucha Underground champion with a 619, prompting Matt Striker to say: "Usually someone else answers from that area code." He followed suit with a delayed Jackhammer for a near pinfall over the champion. Cuerno tagged in, giving Puma the split second he needed to tag Hernandez. The veteran demolished King Cuerno and sent Cage flying out of the ring. Puma kicked Cage off the apron, and Hernandez threw Puma down and onto his tag team partner. The big man then hit the ropes and flew over the top, landing on his opponents on the outside. Puma attempted to continue the trend and hit a high-flying assault of his own, but was unable to do so when Hernandez was standing in the way, strutting his stuff. The duo continued to have trouble inside the ring, but their differences actually turned them into a formidable two-man fighting force. King Cuerno was able to get the upper hand on Puma once more and went for his signature suicide dive on Hernandez, but Hernandez pushed Puma in the way. After recovering, Puma questioned Hernandez, to which Hernandez responded with a boot to the face, followed by a crucifix power bomb against the crux of the apron. Konnan had seen enough, and chased Hernandez out of the arena with his wrought iron cane. Cage and Cuerno picked up the victory in a huge upset over the Lucha Underground champion and the number one contender.
The main event this evening is a qualifying match for the number one contender's match against Hernandez next week on Lucha Underground. Alberto El Patron is the first to arrive and receives an uproarious ovation from the Faithful inside the Lucha Underground Temple. He carries with him the AAA Mega Heavyweight Championship, which to me COMPLETELY overshadows the pointless Lucha Underground title, but whatever. His opponent is Johnny Mundo, who doesn't get the EXACT same fanfare, but is very well received, even prompting the fans to chant: "Mundo, Mundo, Mundo, Mundo Mundo."
We head into commercial and once we get back, senior official Marty Elias is calling for the bell and this bout is underway. Johnny and Alberto meet one another in the center of the ring with a classic tie-up, that then turns to a battle for early supremacy in this exceptionally important match. Alberto is the first to earn a considerable advantage over Johnny, hitting him with massive shots to the head and a mean streak that hasn't arisen thus far on the El Rey Network. Vampiro says that he "really likes that Alberto is fighting dirty," alluding to the stiff repartee between combatants. Johnny soon finds his way back to the top of the action with a springboard back kick to El Patron's jaw. He hooked the AAA champion in a sleeper hold, but the Faithful at ringside kept chanting: "El Patron." Alberto threw Johnny to the outside and followed behind with a suicide dive that shoved both competitors into the hard back wall of the Temple. They each struggled to return to the ring before a count out, and proceeded to trade shots, until the former WWE champion landed the former Intercontinental champion with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Johnny fought valiantly, hitting several twists and turns from the top rope, but it would all prove futile when the veteran Patron landed on Johnny following a Super Kick for the win. Following the contest, both men showed signs of mutual respect and admiration for the other, perhaps stemming from Johnny's earlier comments that "they both deserve to be champion more than Hernandez." Alberto El Patron will go on to wrestle Hernandez next week, and the winner will face Prince Puma for the Lucha Underground Championship thereafter.
Before this week's show comes to a close, we're transported to a blackened room with a coffin in the center. Catrina speaks cryptically, and tells somebody named "Pasqual Mendoza" to rise as Mil Muertes. The coffin door raises, the same coffin that Mil was buried in following Grave Consequences with Fenix, and Muertes' eyes open—revealing glistening whites and piercing black pupils.
We are just thirteen episodes away from the season finale, and with no deal in place to continue into 2016, it's currently unclear what lies ahead for the men and women of Lucha Underground. This was another spectacular show—well worth the $200K+ price tag—from the undecided leader in professional wrestling production and cinematics. Until next time, keep checking out Cheap-Heat and Daily Wrestling News for all of my latest work; follow me through social media via @TapeTraderz and on Facebook at “The B+ Players”; and be sure to catch my tri-weekly podcasts available exclusively at Cheap-Heat.com!
