Pentagon Dark vs. Matanza Cueto, Drago vs. Dragon Azteca, and the debut of Jake Strong.
Airdate: June 20th, 2018
We started with a recap of Antonio Cueto taking over Lucha Underground last week and what he did in the previous episode. The recap also touched on the Gauntlet of the Gods and Trios titles history. After the recap, Catrina teleported into the home of King Cuerno. She was there looking for Gauntlet of the Gods. Her search wasn’t successful, as the case for the Gauntlet was empty. King Cuerno walked into the room and told her that he gave it to someone for protection. That didn’t make her happy, as without it she can’t get her life-force back. Cuerno then told her he doesn’t give a shit if she gets her life back. She was upset at this and teleported away.
Over at the Ice Temple, Matt Striker and Vampiro welcomed the audience to the show as Mariachi El Bronx played in the background. The first match set for this episode is a Trios Championship match. Melissa Santos introduced the Trios champions, who were in the ring, and then their opponents Texano, Dr. Wagner Jr., and Famous B. Famous B came out and said that Texano and Dr. Wagner, Jr. were in Mexico making him money and that they won’t be there. Instead, he introduced three new additions of his stable to compete in this match. He then brought out Big Bad Steve (a mechanic he found while getting his Cadillac fixed), Sammy Guevara, and “The Savage” Jake Strong. During the promo, Beautiful Brenda kept spouting one liners.
Lucha Underground Trios Championship: The Mack, Killshot, and Son of Havoc (c) vs.Infamous Incorporated (Big Bad Steve, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Strong) w/ Famous B and Beautiful Brenda
The match focused more on action to start, and would later develop a story as it went on. Lots of fun sequences here, especially between Killshot and Sammy. During the match, Vampiro mentioned on commentary that Killshot has had a more aggressive attitude lately. As I mentioned, there was a lot of action in this match, but it wasn’t heavily story driven until the latter part. During the finishing sequence, Famous B would distract referee Justin Borden while Strong had an ankle lock on Killshot. Killshot would tap, but Justin Borden was distracted by Famous B so he couldn’t call for the bell.
The champions would retain after Son of Havoc hit a Shooting Star Press on Big Bad Steve. Jake Strong wasn’t happy about this, and would attack his partners after the match. Famous B got in the ring, pleading with Jake not to throw Sammy outside to Big Bad Steve. This didn’t work, as Jake threw Sammy onto Big Bad Steve outside of the ring. Jake then attacked Famous B and put him in an ankle lock. After, he stood over Famous B, pounded his chest, and said “Strong.” The fans would then chant “Strong!” along with him.
After a commercial break, we are back at the Ice Temple. Melissa introduced Antonio Cueto, who emerged from his office. He talked about the Gift of the Gods. Antonio said he’s bringing it back, and that the next match was for a medallion that he was holding inside a sack. Melissa then introduced the competitors before a commercial break.
Gift of the Gods Medallion Match: Drago w/ Kobra Moon vs. Dragon Azteca, Jr.
This was full of action. Both wrestlers were evenly matched for most of the match. Dragon Azteca would get the upper hand, but Kobra Moon would get involved and distracted him to Drago’s benefit. Drago would start to go after Dragon Azteca’s mask, which got some “culero” chants from the crowd. Matt Striker asked what this meant, and Vampiro said it meant “Matt Striker in Spanish.” Drago would deliver several big moves onto Dragon Azteca, but was unable to put Dragon Azteca away. Azteca would eventually win after hitting a Victory Roll from the second rope to win a Gift of the Gods Medallion.
After the match, Kobra Moon went into the ring and yelled at Drago for losing. Johnny Mundo would come out to distract Kobra Moon from ringside, mocking her and Drago for losing. This allowed Taya to attack Kobra from behind. Mundo then attacked Drago inside the ring. After the attack, Mundo and Taya stood in the ring gloating as Drago and Kobra Moon looked on.
After a commercial break, we go inside Antonio Cueto’s office as Mariachi El Bronx played in the Ice Temple. Catrina then teleported into his office. She asked him to book Mil Muertes and Fenix in a Grave Consequences match. After getting what she wanted, she teleported out. As Antonio fell back into his chair, we go inside the Ice Temple as Mariachi El Bronx finished their song. Melissa Santos then introduced the main event.
Lucha Underground Championship Match: Pentagon Dark (c) vs. Matanza Cueto
The match started off with Pentagon going after Matanza during his entrance. The two would brawl outside of the ring, where Pentagon had the advantage for a while. During the match, Antonio Cueto was standing outside of his office, watching and selling the action. Matanza would mount a comeback before throwing Pentagon into the ring. Inside the ring, Matanza would throw Pentagon around a few times while going for the pin, but was unable to put him away. Shortly after, Pentagon would hit two sling blades to get back into the match. Pentagon would get a lot of offense in the latter part of the match, doing whatever he could to put away Matanza. After hitting two Mexican Destroyers and a Package Piledriver, Pentagon Dark defeated Matanza Cueto to retain the title.
After the match, the fans would chant “Break His Arm.” As Pentagon went to break his arm, Antonio emerged from his office holding his key. Matanza would power out of Pentagon’s attempt to break his arm and escaped from the ring. Antonio would yell at Matanza, calling him weak. Matanza would cower at this, and Antonio continued to chastise him by saying Dario spoiled him. The two would then walk away as Pentagon Dark celebrated in the ring.
Back in Antonio’s office, Antonio is walking around upset as Jeremiah Crane walked in. He wants a match next week because he has an attraction to Catrina. Antonio then made a match between him, Fenix, and Mil Muertes next week in a Three Way to the Grave match to end the episode.
Final Thoughts
The matches on this episode were fun. Dragon Azteca vs. Drago was a fun sprint, and the opening match was a good opener. The main event was a fun brawl, but it felt like a filler main event that was meant to advance a story between Matanza and Antonio Cueto. I didn’t really care for any of stories here, but this was still a fun show wrestling wise.
I can’t help but laugh whenever I see Antonio Cueto. Don’t get me wrong, Luis Fernandez-Gil is good at his role, but everything else about the character just seems so cheap when you look at it. The wig and makeup come off as cheesy and low-rent. It also doesn’t help that the writing for the character isn’t that good. I really don’t know where this story is going, but so far it has been unintentionally funny to me.
Overall the episode felt more action heavy than storyline heavy, but I’m not complaining as the matches were pretty good. This was an enjoyable show, even with the corny acting and stories.
