Bienvenidos amigos! It's your favorite gringo that HABLA's the LINGO! What's happening on this bright and beautiful Thursday morning? My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I am back again to talk about the number one Lucha Libre promotion north of the border. Of course I'm talking about Lucha Underground, where the action is fast and furious and the competition is electric! Let's not waste any time with the usual pleasantries. I'm jumping right into this week's episode, starting with the opening festivities.
This week's episode started with a slew of vignettes and videos per usual, revolving around the Trios Championship Titles and the ongoing saga of Black Lotus and Chavo Guerrero. Chavo Guerrero has been tasked with keeping an eye on Black Lotus as she hunts for the man who killed her family. Chavo isn't on Lotus's trail however, but rather sitting down inside Dario Cueto's office. He tells Dario that Lotus is there and looking to kill Dario's brother, Matanza. Dario says that it was Chavo's job to get to Lotus before she could reach the Temple, but Chavo says Dragon got to her first. "In fact," Chavo continued, "He's offered to erase my debt down in Mexico if I agreed to protect her." After a moment's hesitation, Chavo assured Dario that "a Guerrero is only truly loyal to the highest bidder." Cueto smiled, "I want Black Lotus on a silver platter." He opened his desk drawer and began to retrieve stacks of hundred dollar bills. "So what does that cost me?" Chavo told Dario that instead of money, he wanted "round the clock protection from Mexico." Dario dropped the dollars back into his desk and said, "Fine. Now that we've got that out of the way. Tell me what you really want."
The Temple is on fire—or en fuego—and burning up to the beats of Los Rayobacks, while Vampiro and Matt Striker sit ringside. The first match tonight is a one-on-one match between the insanely agile Jack Evans and Argenis. Jack comes to the ring, walking on his hands and showing off his one-of-a-kind talents. Once inside the ring, Evans got up close and personal with a camera man at ringside, and told the cable television world that he is "the best ever," and that he "invented modern lucha libre." Matt Striker tells us a little something about Jack Evans before the match might even begin: he was trained in the "Hart Family Dungeon." Before the bell, Dario Cueto exits his office and calls to Argenis: "You come from a great family of luchadors, but let's face it—nobody really cares about you." Jack Evans hyped Dario's claim by once again playing to the camera: "That's true! That's true!" Dario continued, much to the chagrin of Evans: "And Jack Evans, you've had one match with us. And as impressive as you are—you lost! So why would I care about this match? Because Dario Cueto's going to make it interesting!" Dario held another Aztec Medallion, one of the seven he began bestowing upon his competitors just a few weeks ago. Dario says that the Medallion will "bring great fortune to the man who holds it."
This match starts off with both wrestlers receiving considerable support from the crowd, but Jack Evans gets the advantage in the early going. He betrays Argenis during the initial handshake and this match is off and running. Argenis launched Evans into the air and kicked his tailbone—sort of like a GTS but in the rear end. Jack came back with an innovative maneuver wherein the referee was used for support. Picture a 619—but the official is the top rope. If kicks were water then the ring would be drenched; both men use their educated feet to the best of their ability, until Jack Evans heads to the top rope in an attempted finishing sequence. Argenis knocks him from his perch, but Evans counters with a flying reverse arm bar, almost earning him a victory via submission. This match is all about Jack Evans, who is a true SUPERSTAR, in every sense of the word. Argenis gets the upper hand and provides a high flying plancha to Evans on the outside. Evans comes back with a moonsault from the ring apron, followed by an attempted hurricanrana, turned to a power bomb against the balcony railing. Back inside the ring, both individuals jockey for position, in mirrored unadulterated attempts at earning the Aztec Medallion. After much back and forth, Jack Evans achieved victory with a backslide pin in the center of the ring. Very awesome opening contest; with three competing promotions on Wednesday night, this might have been the best opener.
Backstage Daivari Delavar and Big Ryck are rejoicing about their Trios Title opportunity tonight. They need to find a third member, and Ryck suggests his "cousin," the Mack, better known to independent audiences as Willie Mack. Brian Cage comes out of the shadows and asks why they would pick Mack if they could have him? Cage delivers a cheap shot to Willie Mack, and two square off in a highly stylized backstage brawl, with Ryck and Delavar on hand as spectators. Cage wins without issue and the three leave as the Mack is left lying on a pile of wreckage.
Down the hall, Chavo Guerrero is chatting with Black Lotus. He tells her that he had the chance to talk to Dario Cueto, and he agreed to let her compete inside the Temple. She asks about Matanza, and Guerrero responds with: "All in good time." He tells her to get ready, because her first match inside the Temple is tonight. Lotus doesn't trust Chavo, and can sense something might be coming. She turns and Chavo goes to attack; she swings the locker door open and fights back, causing Chavo to call out for back up. The Crew make their entrance and Lotus makes quick work of them before being blindsided by Chavo with a steel pipe. Chavo is holding a set of handcuffs, and the scene fades out to the sound of the cuffs clicking around Lotus's wrists.
We head back into the Temple for our next match—the Trios Championship is on the line between the title holders and the team of Daivari, Ryck, and Cage. Vampiro says that he "isn't feeling" how Big Ryck comes to the ring smoking a cigar, nor does he like how Daivari drinks a cocktail while making his entrance. Ivelisse is still on crutches, although she hasn't had any trouble in mixing it up alongside her partners since being injured. In fact, the audience is chanting for Ivelisse as she hobbles down the steps, while Angelico carries her crutches. Things start off between Angelico and Brian Cage. I know his name is just "Cage" in Lucha Underground, but I prefer to call him by his full name. The SoCal powerhouse takes his liberties with the South African high flyer. Cage has had his sights set on the championship scene since arriving in Lucha Underground. Believe it or not, his in-house quest for gold predates the Trios Titles themselves, and tonight he might just be on the path to success. Delavar Daivari and Son of Havoc are the next Luchadors to enter the fray, and the heel team captained by Delavar remains seated in firm control. After a quick return from Angelico, Cage uses his strength to overcome the champion, and plants him in the middle of the canvas with a power slam. Big Ryck enters the match for the first time, which coincidentally or not, is the first time that Ivelisse isn't lobbying for a tag. Angelico is on the receiving end of a three-on-one assault, clear across the ring from his partner, Son of Havoc. Cage hits Angelico with a beautiful delayed brainbuster, with a little support from Big Ryck. Angelico fires back, but can't regain the edge, suffering a power bomb in the process. For the record, I would have loved to see Cage versus Mack, but this match is pretty entertaining considering the "squash element" of it all. Ivelisse popped up on the apron in an attempt to tag her partners, despite her obvious ailment. Daivari attacked Ivelisse, which garnered the attention of the official long enough so as to afford Texano the chance to make a run-in! He clubbed Big Ryck across the back of the skull and distracted Daivari from Angelico and Son of Havoc. Havoc finished this match with a Shooting Star Press to Delavar Daivari, retaining the titles for his team in the process.
We're back in Dario's office once more when Chavo arrives, and orders the Crew to "bring her in." Dario smiles, looking up from whatever he was working on. Black Lotus is brought before "El Jefe" with a gag in her mouth, and her arms behind her back. Dario says that he has something special place for her—right across from his brother, "so he never gets lonely again."
Tonight's main event is a submission match between two arch rivals in Pentagon Jr. and Sexy Star. Don't be fooled by her name or looks, Sexy is without question one of the top female performers in the world. She was part of the original Aztec Warfare match to declare the first ever Lucha Underground Champion, and is now defending a number of male competitors, who were crippled at the hands of Pentagon Jr. Sexy was forced to wrestle her friend Super Fly in a mask versus mask match, that resulted in Super Fly's exodus from Lucha Underground. Following the match, Pentagon struck and broke Super Fly's arm with his dreaded arm bar. We head into commercial, and when we return, Pentagon Jr. is regaling the �Faithful' with a tale comprised of zero fear: "Sexy Star, tonight I promise that I am going to break you. It's a sacrifice that I'm making for my Master." Before Pentagon could finish his monologue, Sexy attacked with a forearm smash, signifying the official start to this match. Senior referee Marty Elias is on hand to call the action, and does so while Pentagon goes to work on Sexy Star. He hammers away with a number of strikes and offensive blocks, rather than going straight to his strength, which is submission wrestling. When Pentagon finally takes things to the mat, Sexy is quick to return the action by rolling Pentagon and applying a front under-hook face-lock. Pentagon got out of harm's way and this match degenerated to a fight on the floor where the high flying Sexy Star reigned supreme. This was an impressive back and forth match where both luchadors were forced to cater to the others' style; Sexy Star had to meet Pentagon in terms of mat technique, while Pentagon needed to contend with Sexy's aerial arsenal. Sexy had the match won, when Super Fly returned and attacked Sexy Star. He kicked her in the head and powerbombed her, before feeding her to Pentagon Jr. Pentagon applied his patented package driver and finished Sexy with a modified stretch, not unlike a bow-and-arrow hold.
The bell rang and Pentagon wasn't finished with Sexy Star! He threw referee Marty Elias to the outside of the ring, and sought to break Sexy's arm, the same as he did countless other wrestlers in week's past. Vampiro saw this from the commentary position and threw his headset to the table. He sprinted toward the ring and dove into action for the first time since the debut of Lucha Underground last year! Vampiro hit Pentagon with a huge body block, giving Sexy Star the chance to escape. They stared one another down as the fans chanted for Vampiro. Vampiro was ready to fight, but decided to leave the ring instead. After the credits rolled, Vampiro was in the backstage area, staring into a dirty mirror while the voices in his head began to drown out his conscious thoughts. He head butted the mirror several times, until he show faded out, leaving us with a ton of questions.
What do I think? I think this might go one of two ways. I think the obvious guess is that Vampiro will return to in-ring action as the conquering savior over the evil powers of Pentagon Jr. But how about this idea—Vampiro is Pentagon's master. He stopped Pentagon because he didn't want to see harm come to someone he cared about, perhaps? A reverse Anakin Skywalker deal? Maybe? Possibly? Or maybe he didn't want Pentagon to take it that far—yet. I like how they're using Vampiro as a character for the first time, after allowing him to be featured as a peripheral part of the show for so long. Very intrigued by what's to come, and excited about the possible news on the way regarding the future of Lucha Underground.
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