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Welcome back to the Temple, Believers! Last night we were treated to a rematch for the Lucha Underground Championship that also continued to showcase how women are breaking the mold. Sexy Star fought Johnny Mundo in a steel cage, becoming the first luchadora to compete with such a stipulation.
The intensity of their rivalry reached its boiling point as they squared off against each other. But before we get to that match we are taken to a vignette of the Super Friends, Fenix and Aerostar, as they look for Drago:
They are soon cornered by Kobra Moon who says that Drago is now hers. She sicks Pindar and Vibora on them. They all fight and her soliders lay them out.
After that confrontation, The Mack joins Sexy backstage while she prepares for her match. She congratulates him on becoming the number one contender:
She tells him she’s proud of him. She believed he could do it and he proved everybody wrong. He said it’s a dream come true for him. He tells her it’s time for her now to beat Johnny and become the first two-time champion. He teases her and she says it’d be an honor to fight him if she wins the title back. At the end of the segment we see that big spider from last week scurry across the floor. Hmm.
Then Jeremiah Crane meets with Dario Cueto. He asks for a match against Mil Muertes and then removes a ceiling tile in the office to take something “he left there as a child.” I was just as confused as Dario was here, haha.
In the hallway, Catrina appears and he shows her a makeshift Ouija board? He tells her next week he’s got a match with “Pasquale Mendoza” that will make him wish Catrina left him for dead after the Earthquake. Then with him out of the way, he’ll have Catrina all to himself?
We then get to our main event:
Before the match Johnny shows off for a bit but Sexy plays back.
Time for a #luchaunderground pose-off! GO! Who won? pic.twitter.com/O20nSAN2K9
— Andrew (@TypeAndrew) December 22, 2016
The match gets underway and Sexy fires back quickly and hard with slaps and chops. They reverse a few submissions before Sexy is able to make a scramble for the top of the cage.
Sexy would use the cage to her advantage and wasn’t afraid to get dirty with Johnny when necessary. She’d gain the upper hand several times and attempt to climb over the top, with Johnny quickly racing to knock her down.
Hurricanrana followed by a dropkick by Sexy Star! #LuchaUnderground pic.twitter.com/GzjMVAGTUz
— Jocay ?? (@Jocay19) December 22, 2016
Ouch! #LuchaUnderground pic.twitter.com/IwsZkCtOvE
— Jocay ?? (@Jocay19) December 22, 2016
They’d go back and forth for a bit before matching each other in a race to see who would be the victor. At one point Sexy took to the top of the cage for a flying cross body. It wasn’t enough to put Johnny away, however, and they’d continue to fight to escape the cage.
Johnny gained the victory after unmasking Sexy, which sent her cowering to the middle of the ring as she scrambled to put her mask back on. In Lucha culture it is an incredibly disrespectful act to unmask your opponent. Johnny would scurry over the cage to retain the Lucha Underground Championship.
Some may think Johnny Mundo disrespected Lucha Libre in winning that way and in fairness, he has it in him #LuchaUnderground pic.twitter.com/o5o3D7yHro
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) December 22, 2016
After the match The Mack would make an appearance to lay the smack down on his cocky ass.
One of these days that disrespect may catch up to Johnny — WAIT, IT'S THE MACK!! #LuchaUnderground
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) December 22, 2016
Johnny Mundo retains the #LuchaUnderground Champion but The Mack is in his near future #LuchaUnderground
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) December 22, 2016
Thoughts: Lucha Underground continues to make history and not beat us over the head with it. Instead, they let the matches speak for themselves. Last night was another good episode of a series that keeps me on my toes constantly.
Let’s start with our main attraction. Placing Sexy and Johnny in a steel cage match was the perfect progression to up the ante of this feud. This match was much different than their previous bout which focused more on smothering Sexy while watching her slowly overcome. What made this different was the frantic pacing of trying to reach the other side of the cage. Sexy never gave up, she wouldn’t let Johnny catch her. She would use her flexibility as a strength and because so, Johnny again had to cheat to win. This doesn’t weaken Sexy’s resolve or character, this further strengthens her claim to the title and the fact that he can’t beat her clean. She still comes out looking strong from this feud.
I must also admit, Johnny’s character is really doing it for me too. Every disrespectful heel thing he does raises the bar for him. He’s been doing great work this season as an entitled prick. He’s also backs up his claims in the ring. Attempting to unmask Sexy gives him another level of heat that he might not have gotten otherwise. The person who eventually does defeat him for the title will gain a huge advantage.
I’m also still wondering who put that spider in Sexy’s locker or if it was just a random occurrence that threw her into a tizzy. The spider is still there, what does it mean?
Speaking of, The Mack is now number one contender so Johnny’s feud with Sexy is still far from over. I really appreciate how sweet The Mack and Sexy’s friendship is and how it has stayed platonic. A non-sexualized friendship between the two competitors is almost rare in televised wrestling. They respect each other and have each other’s backs, that’s something I think could be further explored on deep friendly terms. Males can have mentors and partnerships with each other, why not male/female friendships or general female friendships? Which is actually something we haven’t explored fully in the temple. Hmmm.
The dynamic is anything but friendly for the reptile tribe though. Kobra Moon commands her soldiers and does her bidding alongside them. She looks wonderful in her role and I’m eager to see how she fits into the entire mythology of the temple. I also absolutely love the backstage fights. It adds such amazing depth to this world. It’s so engrossing and effective.
And what a puppet master Catrina continues to be. She’s the real boss here. Any time she’s on screen there’s such purpose in her interactions. Where does Jeremiah fit into her and this world? How old is he really? (props to Dario for always being on top of his acting game in this segment too.)
Catrina is part of the ancients so, what exactly is Jeremiah? Ivelisse is going to be livid when she finds all of this out too. I’m hoping we get some action from her towards the end of the series. Wow, it’s going to get really fascinating to see where this goes.
What did you think of last night’s Lucha Underground? What do you think Kobra Moon’s ultimate goal is? What is Catrina really thinking? Sound off in the comments below.
