This week, I’m distracted by the Dodgers vs. Brewers game, Killshot faces The Mack, Johnny Mundo faces Jake Strong, and the road to Ultima Lucha Quatro continues.
Lucha Underground Season 4, Episode 19: Savagery
As always, we start with a recap of what has happened in past episodes. After the recap, we head inside Antonio Cueto’s office. Jake Strong walked in wearing a suit, and Antonio asked him to take a seat. Jake would ask why Antonio asked him there. Antonio began talking about putting him in the main event of Ultima Lucha Quatro. Jake turned down his offer of being given favoritism because he wants to be legitimate.
Antonio understands. He gave him an ancient Aztec Medallion and a shot at the Gift of the Gods Championship. As Jake was leaving, he said the temple was no longer Antonio’s, but his. When he declared that it was his temple, Jake had a demonic tone in his voice. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are up 5-1 against the Brewers in the 8th inning of Game 5 of the NLCS.
After the segment, we head inside the Ice Temple. Antonio Cueto was at ringside and declared that there must be a new Gift of the Gods Champion. He said he gave seven medallions to worthy competitors and introduced them all. After all seven medallion holders entered the ring, Antonio said that there will be a Battle Royal, as there will be six competitors competing for the title next week. The winner of the Battle Royal would get to select who would be removed from the match.
Battle Royal: Aerostar vs. P.J. Black vs. Hernandez vs. Big Bad Steve vs. King Cuerno vs. Jake Strong vs. Dante Fox
Aerostar would get a bunch of offense in on Big Bad Steve before eliminating him. After that, Hernandez would be eliminated by P.J. Black and King Cuerno as he stood on the ring apron after trying to eliminate Aerostar. Shortly after, Jake Strong eliminated both Black and Cuerno with an assisted dropkick from Dante Fox. Strong would go on to eliminate Aerostar and had a segment with Dante Fox. After some back-and-forth action, Jake Strong eliminated Dante Fox to win the battle royal.
After the match, Antonio asked him who he wanted to see eliminated. Jake then said “nobody” because he wants to destroy them all. Antonio declared that next week there will be a “Seven To Survive” match for the Gift of the Gods Championship. Jake replied saying Antonio could put him against anyone and he’d snap them in half. Antonio then said he’ll be facing Johnny Mundo in the main event.
After a commercial break, we head back inside the Ice Temple where Melissa Santos introduced the next match. The Dodgers are still on top 5-1 against the Brewers in the bottom of the 8th.
Killshot vs. The Mack
During the match, Son of Havoc watched from the balcony/catwalk area. This was a pretty competitive match. Both guys got a lot of offense and countered each other’s moves. The match would end by DQ after Mil Muertes ran in and attacked The Mack. Son of Havoc would try to make the save, but was taken out by Mil. As all this was happening, Killshot left the temple After laying out Son of Havoc, The Mack tried to get some revenge. Mil Muertes would instead hit him with a Flatliner on The Mack as the show went to a commercial break.
The Dodgers are now heading to the 9th inning now and look to go up 3-2 in the NLCS. After a commercial break, Ivelisse and XO Lishus requested some interview time with Matt Striker in the ring. Ivelisse said they have a new partner to face the Reptile Tribe for the Trios Championship at Ultima Lucha Quatro because Joey Ryan won’t be ready. They then introduced Sammy Guevara as partner.
Famous B interrupted them and said Sammy has a seven-year contract with Infamous Inc. He then declared that he’s sending XO and Ivelisse a cease and desist order. Hmm. Famous B then offered him a chance to team with Dr Wagner and Texano if he wanted a Trios Title shot. Sammy would hit a dive on Famous B and threw his contract in a garbage can.
How people give notice in #LuchaUnderground @sammyguevara pic.twitter.com/xwXnPmhIqO
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) October 18, 2018
After laying out Famous B, Sammy posed in the ring with his partners as the show headed to a commercial break. The Dodgers are on the verge of beating the Brewers now. Ryan Madson is currently on the mound.
After the commercial break, Matt Striker and Vampiro went over the card for Ultima Lucha Quatro. As all this was happening, Curtis Granderson hit a two-out, RBI double. Fuck! Kenley Jansen is now being brought in to get the last out and put the game away. After Striker and Vampiro talked, Melissa Santos introduced the main event. The show then went to a commercial break after Johnny Mundo made his entrance.
Johnny Mundo vs. Jake Strong
As the show was in a commercial break, the Dodgers beat the Brewers to go up 3-2 in the NLCS. Now I can put my undivided attention to this show. The match would start after a commercial break. Mundo would try to grapple with Strong, but Strong got the better of him. Strong would have a heat segment before Mundo mounted a comeback. Mundo would get some offense before his comeback was cut off.
The match would spill outside of the ring where the two brawled in the bleachers. Mundo then used his parkour to get away from Strong. Moments later, he hit a sunset flip powerbomb onto Strong on the floor from the bleachers. The match would head back to the ring where the two had a pretty slow back-and-forth sequence to tease a superplex. Strong then hit a running avalanche throw on Mundo off the ropes. The finishing stretch would see the match go back-and-forth before Strong got the win with an Ankle Lock submission.
After the match, Strong put Mundo in an Ankle Lock before Matanza Cueto entered the ring. Strong would let go and handed Mundo over to Matanza. Matanza attacked Mundo before Taya tried to make the save. Matanza would lay her out and continued to attack Mundo, was bleeding after being head-butted by Matanza. Antonio emerged from his office and left the Ice Temple with Matanza behind him. The show would end with Johnny Mundo laying bloodied int he ring as Taya was trying to reach out to him.
Final Thoughts
This was another solid episode of Lucha Underground. There were some issues with certain storytelling elements of the show, but it’s something that plagues the entire series. I’ll probably write about that in a season recap, but for now, all I can say is while this episode wasn’t as good as recent ones, it was still solid. The main event was kinda boring at some points. Jake Strong matches are usually pretty boring. Wrestling fans might be familiar with his work, but he’s a terrible choice to be this show’s top star, and it seems like he’s being groomed for that.
As I said earlier, this episode wasn’t as good as recent ones, but it was still an improvement over episodes from earlier in the season.
