Holy Moses.
First of all, I definitely have to wish all American readers a Happy Thanksgiving (and if you’re like me, Happy Black Friday that actually begins Wednesday night)! I just got in from doing some spending because I can never own too many TV Show DVD’s, so you can bet your ass the first thing I’m about to do is sit down and indulge in my wrestling spirit animal, Lucha Underground!
I really can’t do this justice to type out a preview for tonights stacked line-up, so I’m going to hold off this week and let everyone head in without my blabbering. Just know we’ve got a lot to cover, and I cannot wait to do so.
First up in tonights bountiful festivities, we head to the ring as our trusty and talented announcer, Melissa Santos, informs that the following lucha is scheduled for one fall. Up first? He is accompanied my benevolent lord and savior of the squared circle, Catrina! He is the one and only, Mil Muertes!~
Together, the duo strut down the entrance steps and into the ring, and might I add Catrina looks pretty darn incredible tonight? Because she does. The terrifyingly terrific twosome step inside the ring and execute their team pose as Catrina hands out the stone for him to kiss before the bell.
Out next is his opponent for the night, Drago! Drago is also known as the luchador with one of the coolest attire/costumes I’ve ever seen. Woo lord, he got in the ring quick. I’m guessing that was an edit, but hey, edits have to be made to fit in the timespan so they have to go somewhere right?
The crowd is immediately into Drago, as Mil ambushes him from behind and begins the beat down. The temple is NOT amused by this, but Mil doesn’t care as he lands a sick chop. Drago runs off the ropes and nails a slick, quick flip off the back, knocking aside a few punches but then getting booted into the corner. He dodges out and hits a kick, before climbing to the top rope and delivering a sick corkscrew crossbody! Mil, being the more powerful of the two though, quickly kicks out.
From there, Mil takes control with a standing powerslam and delivers some boots to the chest and head area. Catrina alert! She slams her hand on the ring apron to cheer her man on, and by the looks of things, it’s certainly paying off as he sends Drago flying to the outside and nearly into the fans. Mil then slides outside the ring and… oh Jesus, a nightmare inducing shot of King Cuerno sitting atop the stage staring down at the match greets us.
Mil slams Drago’s head off various sections of the temple and the crowd gets behind his opponent even louder. Muertes places Drago’s head on the ropes and backs up a bit, taking the referee’s eyesight with him and allowing Catrina to snap his neck! The fans boo our queen of mean, as she just smirks and soaks it all in. Cuerno continues to scout, as Muertes hits a huge powerslam for another near fall.
Suddenly, Muertes spies Cuerno watching and continues the assault. The fans are still quite unhappy, but Drago quickly fixes that with a kick to the side of the head! He begins to fight! Shots and kick combo’s commence, ending it up with a nice leg sweep for a two count. Drago then nails a NICE springboard DDT. Again, just a two count. From here, Drago climbs up top and leaps off, but Mil speeaaaars the loving crap out of him. He’s completely done, as Mil then hoists him up and hits the flatliner. One… two… three! Mil remains undefeated and Catrina enters the ring. We know what this means! She steps over the fallen body of Drago, then proceeds to kneel down and grab his head. Her tongue escapes her mouth and slides up the side of his mask.
#LickOfDeath
Cuerno continues to watch, as Catrina sweeps some dirt on the fallen Drago and celebrates with Mil as the duo engage in a kiss and head to the back. Perfection.
Afterwards, Cuerno walks down the steps and steps inside, crawling towards Drago and delivering a huge sit out driver. He then slithers out and follows in Mil & Catrina’s footsteps as we head to a commercial break.
Backstage, we see Dario Cueto Jr. approach the seductively ferocious team of Mil Muertes and Catrina (Catrina Promo Alert!!!!). He compliments them on Mil’s victory tonight, but Catrina is not here for petty congratulatory messages.
Mil Muertes learned long ago… you can’t keep darkness locked away forever.”
YES. Short, sweet, and with a special serving of on point side-eye. Dario, looking as terrified as I am thrilled, quickly wanders off after finding out what we have all known, in that Catrina will forever be one step ahead of you even on your best day.
Back out to the temple we go, as Melissa Santos introduces our next opponent participating in singles lucha, Son of Havoc! … AND IVELISSE! Okay, she’s not competing. But she’s here, and as the baddest bitch in the building, that’s all I ask.
The pairing appear looking like they just walked out of a Sons of Anarchy style bank robbery, and I love every second of it. I also love the added beard tugging Ivelisse displays, which gains complete bonus points in my book. His opponent for the evening is none other than Mascarita Sagrada!
On a completely unrelated note, I’m adding Melissa Santos to my “How on Earth did a mainstream company never swipe you up and turn you into a star before Lucha Underground?” list. She has got such a great voice for announcing, it’s crazy.
Okay, back to the action. Mascarita greets the entire temple on his way to the ring, and has some of the most inspiring entrance music ever. No matter how inspiring it is though, Ivelisse isn’t having any of it… as made evident by her bending down on one knee and swinging hands in an attempt to mock him.
Following a commercial break, we return as the action gets underway with Son of Havoc and Ivelisse poking fun at Sagrada. This doesn’t last too long though, as Mascarita runs off with a headscissors takedown and Ivelisse heads outside as the bell sounds. Wheelbarrow arm drag, followed up with another variation off the ropes as he rolls through and taunts Team Tough Enough outside the ring. Our temple fans absolutely love Mascarita, but Havoc walks right back in and goes for a choke. He signals for the slam portion of a chokeslam, however, Sagrada rolls through! Just a two count.
Mascarita runs off the ropes, but Ivelisse trips him up! Like Catrina earlier, the crowd is absolutely sickened by her behavior. And also like Catrina, she doesn’t care. Son of Havoc then gains the upper hand with a huge tossing slam and begins beating him down and around the ring. Mascarita up top as Havoc goes for a gorilla press and absolutely nails it, before capitalizing with a beautiful standing moonsault. He starts to gloat, and then…
AND THEN…
Every single remaining prayer I have in this world is answered. A stunning woman dressed in black who we know as Queen of FCW (Hey it was a real title, I’m not JUST stating my opinion), Angela Fong, begins sharply walking down the stairs and scouting the action going on much like Cuerno did earlier, but with a little (okay a lot) less creepiness to it. She looks so badass, I need every piece of information on her character stat!
Okay, focus… focus. Back in the ring, Son of Havoc continues the beatdown… and we get another shot of Angela… and I again begin to lose focus because I’m so happy and completely dead. Havoc nails a huge boot to the chest, and Angela leaves us! No, come back please. But I have to admit, she’s got me intrigued so if you must head out, I understand.
As we go back into our match, Son of Havoc goes for a cover but Sagrada kicks out. Ooooh! He gets thrown out to the side off the ring and Ivelisse drills him with a sick knee to the face. Have I mentioned enough how much I love the interaction managers have here? Because I do. Especially when it involves our baddest bitch kneeing a man in the face. She rolls him back in and taunts the fans, allowing Havoc to obtain a cocky pin cover for a near fall. He goes for a kick, but Mascarita rolls through, runs off the ropes, and dives outside onto Ivelisse! I guess that’s definitely one way to stop her knees.
He snaps Havoc’s neck off the ropes as Ivelisse gets back up and he chases her around the ring! She finally cowers in Son of Havoc’s arms, as Sagara leaps off the top rope and takes Havoc down with a crossbody! Mascarita rolls back inside the ring, with Havoc not far behind, as Sagrada delivers a double headscissors into a victory roll for the pinfall win! Ivelisse channels her inner fury, looking beyond pissed with Havoc’s loss.
Up next, Sexy Star takes on Chavo Guerrero!
Following a commercial break, we return to the Boyle Heights Temple and become greeted by the entrance of Sexy Star! Sexy walks out from the back in a stunning coat, looking a bit more serious and less fun tonight, given what has lead up to this match. Out next is her opponent, Chavo Guerrero, and he looks a bit scary in his poised strut to the ring. Sexy warms herself up inside as the music stops and the bell sounds.
Chavo and Star eye each other down, as she shoves him back to not much avail. Chavo piefaces her, as she runs off the ropes and tries to take him down… again, unfortunately not to much avail. Chavo drags her down by the hair and begins stomping on her face, then hoisting her up and drilling her face into the turnbuckle. He plants a big kiss on her, but she smacks him across the face and dodges out of the way from an attack. Run off the ropes into a hurricanrana! She has a chair!
Sexy bangs it on the canvas and wants to return the favor he paid her, no matter if it costs the win or not. GASP! Sexy Star kicks the referee right in his groin and calls for the DQ, as she blasts the chair around the ring and Chavo begs for her to stop. Suddenly, from behind comes a masked luchador named Pentagon Jr., and he now has the chair. He seems undecided who to strike, but before he can pick, Chavo has Sexy by the hair once again and in comes Fenix!
Fenix leaps off the ropes and kicks the chair right into Pentagon Jr’s face, then hitting a back kick to take Chavo out. From there, Sexy Star runs off the ropes, he hoists her up over himself, and she flies off with a hurricanrana to Pentagon Jr. WOW! Fenix and Sexy pose as they have the upperhand, while Pentagon Jr. and Chavo crawl to the back in anger.
Thoughts: Talk about satisfying! Jesus. I never kept up with spoilers because since this was a new product and all, I wanted to go in knowing as little as possible to make it as exciting as possible, so I had no idea Sexy Star was going to continue having such an impact working with men, and I had absolutely ZERO clue Angela Fong was about to walk out in her black leather. Needless to say I pretty much lost my entire mind throughout this episode, so let’s hit on each person one by one!
Sexy Star is just incredible. I’m not even going to take any shots at WWE or TNA for not embracing intergender because while I think it can work, I do get their sponsors might see it as some sort of domestic-esque issue given how prevelant that has been in the media. Instead, I’m just going to say that I really really enjoy the fact we have an alternative that can embrace it. We don’t need to see it everywhere, and I genuinely believe the fact we don’t see it anywhere else is what makes it so special here.
The booking of this match was just great to me, and it made Sexy Star look so strong. Some might say her low blow was heelish, but I think it was more that she just wanted to beat the shit out of Chavo and if he (the referee) was going to stand in her way of doing that, she was going to take him out. Clearly the fact she grabbed the chair in the first place showed that she didn’t care about winning, so hitting the ref was of no concern to her. Incorporating Fenix and Pentagon Jr is an EXCELLENT choice to me, because while I didn’t cover their three way a few weeks ago since no woman was involved, it was ridiculously insane, they (Fenix and Pentagon) are incredible, and I cannot wait to see what Fenix and Sexy Star can do as a team. We already saw one move tonight, and I absolutely loved it.
Ivelisse was on fire throughout Son of Havoc’s match! I LOVE her attitude and fiestiness. Normally I would hate seeing her majority of the time as a manager because of how much she has to offer in the ring, but given the fact managers can have so much interaction, I’m actually very into it. I wasn’t sure if they were keeping her and Havoc as a team, but I’m so glad they did. They fit perfectly, and I think they bring a different dynamic because Catrina & Mil are a bit more dark and dominant, whereas these two are badasses that may not be able to bulldoze opponents like Mil can, but they’ll do anything to reach the top even if it doesn’t always pay off.
Her involvement throughout was so strong, and not once did I ever forget she was present throughout. A lot of the times, managers tend to just be allowed to stand and clap or slam their hands on the ring. While I don’t mind that, I love when they get to be a force. Ivelisse, given how much of a force she is when competing, is not someone I buy just standing to the side. She is, however, someone I buy whacking her knee into Havoc’s opponents faces and getting taken out by flying dives. She just brings such an edge that I don’t think anyone else has, and that’s what makes this group of women work. They’re all so distinct and bring a different identity to Lucha Underground, but all of them fit and have a place that feels like only they could obtain it. So, so good.
Catrina is, was, and always will be perfect to me. Tonight proved that she can literally say all of two sentences and not only hold my attention, but also both impress and intrigue me to the fullest. Her delivery just never fails. She literally feels unhuman to me (in the best way!) because I have so rarely ever felt this captivated by someone in wrestling. Her mannerisms, the look she gives whoever she’s talking to, the posing… it’s such tiny little trinkets but that’s what makes her her. You’d think I’d run out of things to praise this woman on considering I’ve been doing it on the site since late 2011, but I just don’t because I feel like every time I see her on screen I become more and more blown away by how good she is and continue finding additional credit she deserves to be given.
Going forward, Catrina is someone I eventually do want to see wrestle, especially after viewing Knockouts Knockdown where I was absolutely flabbergasted by how competent and great she looked in the ring. That’s not a knock at her ring work, but instead in the sense that she revealed it was the first bump she had taken in two years so I wasn’t sure what level to expect her on. To me, she looked pretty darn awesome, not even just for someone who hadn’t taken a bump in two years, but for a wrestler period. I think for now, though, she has a role and she fills it very, very well. When the time comes where the story makes sense for her to wrestle, it will be all the more worth it because each and every week, we’re growing to know more about her as Catrina and, at least speaking on my behalf, I’m starting to finally be able to separate her from Maxine. I’ll always love the Maxine character, but no matter how much talent you have, you’ve got to evolve as time goes on and that’s exactly what she’s doing as Catrina. It’s sort of a new step. Sure, the work is as excellent as ever, but it just has a different spin on it, and that’s what I love the most. I cannot wait to see what she brings to us not only the coming weeks, but in 2015 as a whole.
Angela! Jesus lord almighty. Okay, let me give you some backstory for anyone who doesn’t know me. There have only been three contracted women I’ve ever seen wrestle that I have genuinely been beyond upset and forever disgusted over the fact they were not given any chance at all to shine on the main roster (Raw and SmackDown) of WWE. Those three women are Kendall Skye, Maxine, and Angela Fong. The fact that one of them got signed to Lucha Underground? Mindblowing. I was on the floor asking what I’d done to deserve such a treat. But two?… I’m going to need oxygen.
I just loved Angela Fong so much in FCW. To say she had potential would be an understatement, and this girl was given absolutely zero to work with when she got called up. I still to this day have nightmares over the fact that while she was absolutely killing it in every way possible at developmental, most fans only knew her as an interviewer and a ring announcer (so basically she was the original JoJo).
I’m so freaking excited she’s back in a wrestling promotion, and while I knew she was signed from the press release a few months ago, I had no idea she debuted on these tapings at all. To be honest, I had just been assuming she was waiting until their next batch, so imagine my surprise when out she walks wearing all black and scouting that match like nobody’s business. I have zero idea whatsoever where this role is leading, but I’m already 100% in, even if only because she was rocking the black leather and looked like she was ready to kick some ass on her way backstage.
Like Catrina, I do eventually want to see Angela wrestle. Unlike Catrina, however, I have nothing recent to go by, so I’m more than happy with Angela becoming a manager for now until she feels comfortable in her wrestling to be able and have some matches. It’s been a while since she’s stepped inside the ring, and with how much I’ve missed seeing her, I don’t want to rush it and be disappointed. Gradually working her into a role so we get to know more about her is the way to go, and I’m very happy she’s taking on this sort of mysterious talent scout role. I kind of would like to see her form a group, or at least a tag team, if I’m being honest. I just feel like Catrina capitalizes on the dark and mysterious singles valet, whereas Ivelisse has the badass version down too. Seeing Angela with an assortment of people would automatically make her stand out as a manager since we don’t currently have a female doing that, and overall I think even if she debuts with one person, more could be added and it could really take off as something great.
Phew. Okay, I actually somehow survived a show where they blessed me and did exactly as I wanted by spreading women in just about every segment so I could recap it from top to bottom. Thank you Lucha Underground. If there’s anything in wrestling I’m thankful for, it’s you. I’ve said 500 reasons why already, so you know them I’m sure. Just please keep being amazing and never leave me. I don’t need a full fledged women’s division at the moment, and honestly I don’t even really want one right now because I love how special and how unique each of these women feel. With Sexy Star wrestling men, we can still get our wrestling fix and that works just fine for me. You’re doing so much right and it makes me happy that a lot of positive buzz is spreading. Here’s to hoping YOU become the baddest bitch in the professional wrestling building come 2015!
Until next week (hopefully!),
Bobby
