ВЎLa bienvenida mis amigos para “Viva La Lucha Libre!” It has been storming something nasty here in Southern California for over two days, leaving my seaside city of Long Beach almost completely flooded. But the show must go on! And despite losing power halfway through the episode, I was able to pick back up in the morning so that I could bring you this week’s breakdown of Lucha Underground.
Like the majority of Underground episodes, we begin with Dario Cueto meeting with one of his more dastardly undesirables. Dario and Big Ryck sit in Cueto’s dusty office discussing what Cueto reveals to be Ryck signing an exclusive deal with Lucha Underground. All Kayfabe aside, not a bad route to take as Lucha Underground is perhaps poised to be the number 2 promotion in America by this time next year.
Not less than a minute later we’re smack-dab in the squared-circle along with Ivelisse and Son of Havoc who are challenging anyone in the locker room to a fight. After weeks of facing women and miniature competitors, Havoc demands a match with a “man.” I think it might be Wrestling Law that states: “Whatever can be crazy, WILL be crazy.” Without a moment’s delay, Havoc’s challenge is accepted and the Lucha Underground audience is introduced to the flamboyantly androgynous Mexican superstar Pimpinela Escarlata! The modern-day Gorgeous George, as Vampiro put it, erupted into the arena and dazzled the crowd with a daring display of high-risk acrobatics. Pimpinela Escarlata, known in English as “The Scarlett Pimpernel,” approached the ring to a chorus of applause, shaking his feathered accessory pieces which served only to further infuriate an already furious Havoc. But don’t be fooled by the theatrics, as this 25-year pro seemed to have no trouble keeping in step alongside the younger, perhaps better-conditioned Son of Havoc. Like the WWF’s Goldust before him, Pimpinella preys on the homophobic fears residing in many men to illicit a reaction that will in turn help him to achieve victory. In the heat of battle, amid a flurry of fury, Pimpinela was able to land his patented “kiss” in order to catch his challenger off guard, thus defeating the now thrice-thwarted Son of Havoc.
The frightening backstage segments continue this week as shadows leap across the screen and eventually assemble the babyface of Johnny Mundo, who’s out for blood—with Dario Cueto in his sights. After demanding Cueto pay him the hundred thousand dollars that he is owed, he eventually settles on snagging the key that Cueto wears around his neck as an insurance policy. I’m not entirely sure where Cueto’s bizarre-looking key might allow access, as it seems rather easy for anyone to bust into his office whenever they like. I hope the key becomes an important plot point as weeks turn to months and Lucha Underground continues to grow. I might speculate that Cueto’s key could open a great many things—maybe a cage where he keeps his most fearsome, nearly cannabalistic fighters? Maybe it’s a key to the cabinet where he keeps the vacant Lucha Underground Championship? Mysterious, indeed.
I was thrilled to see SoCal’s own and Santino Brother’s Academy graduate Fabulous B standing in the middle of the Lucha Underground ring. Not only was I pumped to see one of my favorite local workers get some mainstream recognition, but I was excited about the sort of matches I knew he could be having on a weekly basis. But then they introduced his opponent, and my dreams were shattered. I’ve made no effort to hide my disdain for Mil Muertes as I am both fed up with squash matches and Ricky Banderas. Within a matter of moments Mil manages to add another victory to his tally that’s been steadily increasing since his debut one month ago.
I thought Lucha Underground was about finished blowing me away with their cinematics. But then I heard a little girl whisperer, “What do you know about Dragons?” Drago’s vignette was so well put together and worked to convey his character to a wide audience without fear of being lost in translation. Despite his gruesome appearance, Drago proves to be the fan favorite in this equation against his newly discovered nemesis King Cuerno. Both athletes are star performers which is why they’re already household names through much of Mexico and with AAA fans worldwide. We see the same statuesque Asian woman appear during the match, maybe with her eyes set on Cuerno. Or is it Drago that she’s interested in? Lucha Underground has been wonderful in how they combine international flavors of wrestling in order to create an original program that appeals to everyone. These two represent the best of Lucha Libre while still maintaining enough American-inspired sports entertainment training to connect with the gringos at home like yours truly. Cuerno won the bout using his finishing maneuver, “The Thrill of the Hunt.” Following the pinfall, Cuerno continued to embarrass Drago, finally yelling, “The hunt has just begun!”
I was always a Johnny Nitro and John Morrison fan and fully expected the former Friday Night Delight to be my favorite part of Lucha Underground. However since the show began six weeks ago, I find myself craving more AAA wrestlers and cringing at the former WWE Superstars. Johnny Mundo waves the aforementioned key in the air demanding to be paid. The first person with anything to say regarding Johnny’s claim to the money is Big Ryck who explains that the hundred grand is actually his signing bonus. The two engage in a brief scuffle that leaves Big Ryck dazed on the outside of the ring. As the heat begins to rise, Konnan appears at the top of the stone staircase. After his traditional sayings and slogans, he tells Johnny that the money belongs to Prince Puma, and goes on to say that Puma will no longer have Johnny’s back in the future. Unfortunately, Konnan’s warning left Johnny’s back blind to Big Ryck who took his chance to strike, dropping the former Intercontinetal champion to the ground. Despite what Konnan might have claimed, Puma darted to the ring and helped the Shaman of Sexy ward off the behemoth-like Big Ryck. The nonstop physicality was enough to prompt Dario out of his office to announce the hundred thousand dollars is still up for grabs and will be awarded next week in the the first ever “Hundred Thousand Dollar Ladder Match.” The sudden spike in competition sparked something in Puma and Mundo, leading both men to trade blows.
I thought the main event was particularly thrilling as it featured some over-the-top innovatIons and served to connect four of the biggest names in the company. In this contest, which saw FГ©nix and Sexy Star take on PentagГіn Junior and Chavo Guerrero, it’s interesting to note Sexy’s place on the roster as a main eventer. She’s able to engage in competitive matches with men in a way that allows for the audience to suspend their disbelief. During the course of the match, all four competitors excelled individually as well as a team; Sexy wowed the studio audience with her Corkscrew off the top into PentagГіn on outside, where she proceeded to land on the stone staircase. This was not to be outdone by the always defiant FГ©nix, who capitalized on his teammates effort and employed his own “Bird of War” aeriel assault. The final moments of the match came as Chavo snuck away like a snake in the grass, leaving PentagГіn all alone with both of his opponents.
The stars are starting to align as rivalries have seemed to spark organically from the predetermined competitive matches that made up the first four or five episodes of Lucha Underground. Now that we’ve seemingly finished with the introductory phase, it’ll be interesting to see how Lucha Underground stands up from week to week. I have no doubt that it will continue to evolve and leave viewers speechless every time, but one must wonder if the introduction of a world title could be on the horizon? Until next time, my name is Mark Haggerty, and this has been Viva La Lucha Libre.
