The opening contest saw Hideo Itami defeat Bull Dempsey. Funny how Bull has gone from this unstoppable force to an almost jobber though he usually has a fighting chance. Hiopefully his rut since losing to Baron Corbin goes somewhere bigger and better for him. After the match Hideo Itami was attacked by Tyler Breeze and apparently this feud is continuing. As Breeze tried to take a selfie with the fallen soldier Itami managed to get back up and take down Breeze once more, never losing face. I would have much rather seen Breeze get involved in the match if this is what they were going for because it could have at least prevented Bull Dempsey from taking another loss.
Points Awarded: 5
Next up was the Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan. Jason Jordan used to be an NXT jobber but apparently they're trying to push him as having some great pedigree or something. Whatever it is they're trying to do (Shelton Benjamin?) it's not working for me. Jordan walked out of the match leaving Dillinger to get the loss on his own. This match was one of those things about NXT that bothers me. Here we had a victory for the Lucha Dragons, who were really facing jobbers anyway, and yet the Lucha Dragons can go up to the main roster and be treated seemingly like jobbers themselves. When Titus O'Neil was in NXT for a little bit it was like this: he was supposed to be such a huge threat, but then on the main roster he was jobbed out. I wish WWE could just have consistency throughout their shows and stop making NXT seem inferior because it isn't. Heath Slater is bad no matter where he wrestles. I'm only awarding this one any points because Solomon Crowe cut into the ring entrance of Jordan & Dillinger and said he was going after the NXT Championship. Remember what happened with the last guy who said that?
Points Awarded: 3
Back from break, Tye Dillinger said he wouldn't leave the ring until Jason Jordan came out to apologize. Awww, maybe Tye should be moved from NXT to "Total Divas" since he's so butt hurt. Dillinger said he wanted to know why Jordan did that and someone could very clearly be heard in the crowd yelling, "Because you suck!". Funny. Tye said he'd fight whoever had the next match and that brought up the music of Baron Corbin. So who was Corbin supposed to face? I'll give this match two points only because Tye Dillinger worked double duty and a jobber has to get paid.
Points Awarded: 2
Charlotte cut a promo where she sounded stoned and said that nothing is guarenteed in life but what is guarenteed is that the title is coming back to her next week when she has her rematch against Sasha Banks. So how can nothing be guarenteed and then something is guarenteed? Since The Worst Flair Child has contradicted herself so badly once again I'm actually going to have to take away points now.
Points Awarded: -2
A video package was shown of Sami Zayn on the WWE tour in Abu Dhabi. I grew up watching "Garfield" cartoons and always thought Abu Dhabi was a made up place because, you know, Garfield's a cat so how could he know of such a random country? Anyway, Bayley and Becky Lynch had a match next, the fourth of the show now though two and three kind of blended together for me. I don't know what it is, but there's just something about Becky Lynch that I don't like.
Bayley did the slide through the ring post ropes drop kick type of move ala Sami Zayn only in a... lesser, slightly more awkward way. Bayley eventually ends up tapping and this match does little for me other than enforce the fact that the guy on commentary who isn't a former wrestler says some really stupid things. (I believe at one point he said, in reference to Bayley, that "his shoulder" was in a bad way) This match won't get any points, but I'm also going to do NXT a favor right here also by not taking away any points because of the Rhyno promo that followed. Wow. Rhyno needs to let his work in the ring speak for itself.
After an awkward encounter with Jason Jordan we're onto the main event with Kevin Owens on commentary. The Brian Kendrick does not have his "Hey Yo!" ska type theme song he used to when in WWE before. I feel like it was earlier this year but it was probably late last year when I just saw The Brian Kendrick in ROH against Adam Cole. Remember that? A lot was taken away from this match when Kevin Owens was on commentary because they weren't talking about the match so much as building to a potential feud between Kevin Owens and Alex Riley. This will only be interesting to me if I can see A-Ry get beaten to a bloody pulp worse than Sami Zayn.
Still, a decent match with #1 Contender Finn Balor getting the victory. Would have been nice to see Kendrick get a win in his return like Rhyno but you can't win 'em all. Maybe Paul London can come back too? The tag team division in WWE would be better with the Hooliganz. Thankfully the show ended with Kevin Owens coming back out and throwing Alex Riley over the annouce table... I just wish it went into a pit of fire ala Frodo at the end of Lord of the Rings but that might not have been PG. A good match none the less and it will be awarded points as such.
Points Awarded: 10
Total Points for NXT This Week: 18
Lucha Underground opens with Mariachi El Bronx, who will be here this summer with Gogol Bordello and Flogging Molly. (!) The first match was Aerostar vs. Drago in a rematch from not last week but Drago won even though both men shook hands afterwards. Following a huge leap over the top rope, Aerostar gets the pin and win. This was just a good back and forth match with high flying, fast paced spots from both. If I was going to start a wrestling promotion I'd certainly want Drago in it as he has become one of my favorites not just in Lucha Underground but overall. After the match the two luchadores shook hands. Dario Cueto appeared and said that since they loved each other so much they'd get the chance to spend more time together. The two of them were put into a best of five series, as instead of a rubber match the first to have two more victories will get a special opportunity. How does Drago keep ending up fighting the same guy over and over? Still, every wrestling show should start this hot. Everybody take notes.
Points Awarded: 7
Our second match was a non-title match between Prince Puma and Cage. I've been out spoken about not liking Cage, but this was a good match with a good finish. There were some believable near falls from both men and I really did think at one point that Cage had this one in the bag only for Prince Puma to kick out. This was all for a shot at the title and these two men left it all in the ring. In the end though, Konnan made his return after being taken out by Cage only to throw in the towel for Prince Puma. So Cage gets his title shot and I have flashbacks to Bret Hart/Owen Hart/Bob Backlund. At least Konnan didn't throw in the towel during the title match itself, though now I am much more skeptical that Konnan might turn on Prince Puma during the title match and Cage could become the new Lucha Underground Champion. As much as I don't like that, I loved this match as it had me on the edge of my seat and the seeds being planted make me want to see the title match that much more.
Points Awarded: 8
In an office segment, Sexy Star said she was tired of men coming to her rescue. Dario Cueto puts her in a match for next week against Big Ryck with the winner getting to face The Crew. So, wait, the winner has to face three men? That hardly feels like a prize. Oh well, Sexy Stars deserves it for not sticking to her rudo roots from AAA Mexico.
Pentagon Jr. then destoryed Vinny Massaro, whoever that is, getting the pin and win then putting him through a table and basically popping his shoulder out as well. This made Pentagon Jr. look very dangerous while also making him look smart (Smarter than Cage already) as he didn't get disqualified but rather did the real damage post match.
Points Awarded: 4
The fourth match was the main event with Johnny Mundo taking on King Cuerno, as Cuerno had been stalking Johnny Mundo for a few weeks now. This was a good match in the ring and under its "official" contest, but both men were eventually counted out and the match was ruled a draw. I assume this means we'll be seeing these two face off again and perhaps Dario Cueto should consider putting everyone in a best of five series. After the official decision, Mundo and Cuerno kept fighting around the arena and it was madness. People were gathering around the monitors as Vampiro shook hands with them because they wanted to see what was going on. Though not exactly the same it had that similar vibe to when all the fans got into the ring in ECW and the ring broke. It was just one of those chaotic moments that made you happy to be a fan and experiencing this if only on television. This may or may not lead to a falls count anywhere or last luchadore standing type of scenario for these two, but at the very least it is a nice way to keep Johnny Mundo occupied while not in the title picture. This was quite possible the best non-finish match I have ever seen.
Points Awarded: 8
Total Points for Lucha Underground This Week: 27
*** Lucha Underground Wins Week 2 27-18***
(Lucha Underground Leads 63-42 Overall)
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