We begin with a recap of last week's main event with Johnny Mundo costing Prince Puma the match and having him put through a table. Konnan warning Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Sexy Star vowing to do something not sexy are also recapped.
Dario Cueto is in his office drinking while Big Ryck is smoking a cigar. Cueto says that Big Ryck has signed an exclusive contract with Lucha Underground and he will get a signing bonus which Big Ryck requests in cash. Perhaps someone should have told Dario Cueto that Big Ryck's options are limited since he left WWE and TNA. Cueto says he brought Johnny Mundo in so he could make an example of him because he likes violence. I kind of like that idea, except that it makes Johnny Mundo look really stupid for being there now. It also makes me wonder who he brought in strictly to be a jobber.
The camera goes to the ring where Ivelisse and Son of Havoc are introduced. Ivelisse cuts a promo saying that ever since they have been there Son of Havoc has been made to look like a joke. She points out things that I did last week about how he's been booked poorly. Ivelisse says that they signed a seven year contract and if they wanted to be treated this way they would have stayed in Nashville. Not sure what's in Nashville or if that's a hint at Son of Havoc one day going country but congrats to these two for thinking Lucha Underground will be around for seven years.
Son of Havoc challenges any man in the back to come and face him. Pimpinela Escarlata answers the challenge and I'm back in the 1990's when Goldust was using mind games by kissing other wrestlers. Seriously, this guy is like the Guerrero that Adrian Street fathered and no one wants to see that. (Side Note: They do still use kissing other men as mind game in Mexico for wrestling, so we have that to look forward to here) This type of character is also the reason why I could not enjoy the movie "Rio". So disturbing.
Match 1: Son of Havoc (w/ Ivelisse) vs. Pimpinela Escarlata
Vampiro pointed out that Gorgeous George may have started this flamboyant style of gimmick but Pimpinela brought it back in the 1980's. I immediately hate that he brought it back for similar reasons why no one should wear blackface again ala Roddy Piper. Matt Striker names off others who have adapted this gimmick and says The Miz to nothing but his own laughs. Seriously, Striker, if you have to laugh at your own jokes then they're not funny. Son of Havoc got the early advantage with the distraction by Ivelisse but she eventually ended up taking a top rope cross body for her troubles. The crowd started chanting for the kiss at one point, as apparently that is a signature move of Pimpinela. Son of Havoc had some good offensive moves while PE was all comedy. Ultimately, Mascarita Sagrada came out to even the odds with Ivelisse and after a kiss Pimpinela got a rather fast count on Son of Havoc. Guess who's not looking forward to the inevitable Son of Havoc & Ivelisse vs. Pimpinela & Mascarita Sagrada tag team comedy match?
One of the things that bothered me about this match is that during the commentary Matt Striker made mention that Son of Havoc comes from Wisconsin and there aren't a lot of people like Pimpinela there. He also said that Son of Havoc has more of a close minded way of thinking, basically implying that Pimpinela represented a gay man and Son of Havoc was like the masked version of Duck Dynasty. While those ideals may have worked even in the 1980's the fact is that having someone portray a character such as this in the 21st century is the backwards way of thinking. Not all men who wear makeup are gay and not all gay men wear makeup. The fact that this could be on television right now and considered okay is a huge blow to the LGBT community no matter what side of it you're on. In a lot of ways this is as bad if not worse than, say, putting Big Ryck (an African American man) in an angle with Johnny Mundo where he becomes Mundo's slave. Professional wrestling- in any country- needs to learn to move on from these awful, awful stereotypes and generalizations and give us characters we can relate to because I don't think anyone in their right mind views as black people as acting like Cryme Tyme, all white people as being like Jack Swagger or all Latinos as being like Gobbledygooker. Okay, I may have lost sight of my point on that last one there, but having to watch this is painful and the idea of this being "only entertainment" really does seem valid. We're two matches away from a heel turn and the crowd chanting "f****t" at the guy.
Ok. Off my soapbox. Back to the show.
Johnny Mundo is shown walking "backstage" where he grabs Dario Cueto by the throat and demands his money or he beats him down. Cueto says beating him up won't get him his money and he says he can make things right again. Somehow this just didn't have the same feel of any other professional wrestler putting their hands on their boss. It actually kind of made Mundo look like a bully if anything because Cueto is not an in ring talent.
Back in the ring, Famous B is introduced to little or no reaction. When I google his real name (Thanks, Wikipedia!) all I get all links for a Chef of the same name and pictures of his mugshot. (The wrestler's mugshot, not the chef. Unless the wrestler is the chef in which case the gimmick seems like a missed opportunity) Mil Muertes is introduced with Catrina as his opponent and this Famous B guy better hope he has that chef career to fall back on because he is about to be murdered.
Match 2: Famous B vs. Mil Muertes (w/ Catrina)
Mil Muertes has theme music kind of like Abyss in the sense that when you hear it you know someone is about to get beat up. This was a glorified squash match and Famous B never stood a chance. The fans actually got behind Muertes here and that might not be a good sign if he's supposed to be a monster heel. On the plus side, I learned Mil Muertes' finisher is called The Flatliner.
A rematch between Drago and King Cuerno is hyped for later on in the night. A video for Drago is shown. It's basically a child's voice giving a review of the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies with Drago shown fighting some guys. Apparently after all the dragons were wiped off the earth one remained and turned into a human. Lucha Underground has some wacky backstories but I like them.
After a commercial break, we return and Drago is in the ring. Looks like the rematch happens now.
Match 3: Drago vs. King Cuerno
The mystery woman appeared again during this match. I got a better look at her now and thanks to my suspicions being confirmed via the Lucha Underground Wikipedia page I can say she is Angela Fong, another former NXT talent who never made it to the big stage. A decent back and forth match but following his finisher King Cuerno got the clean pinfall victory. Something I wish I didn't learn in this match: Cuerno's finisher is called "The Thrill of the Hunt". That's a rather clumsy name. Post match Cuerno beat down Drago and told him that "the hunt is on".
Given Matt Striker saying that they were 1-1 now and the post match antics I don't see any reason for the rubber match now, do you?
The wrestlers are shown walking forward as Matt Striker says the main event is still to come: Sexy Star and Fenix vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr and Pentagon Jr. Wow that was rushed. At this rate, Drago and King Cuerno might have their rubber match tonight.
Back from commercial and Johnny Mundo was in the ring. He said he'd give Dario Cuerto to the count of ten to come out and give him his money or he wouldn't get his key back. As Mundo was counting, Big Ryck came out to tell him why the money was his but Mundo went flying out of the ring and started hitting him with punches. Mundo went back in the ring and resumed counting when Konnan came out and explained how Prince Puma would no longer have his back. This gave Big Ryck time to recover and he hit Mundo from behind. Prince Puma came out to help Mundo in the latest episode of "Konnan is Always Wrong (About Everything)" and once Ryck was out of the ring Mundo and Prince Puma had a pull apart brawl. Dario Cuerto came out and said he had a briefcase with $100,000 in it and it was Big Ryck's signing bonus but Ryck didn't read the fine print. Next week, Ryck would have to fight for his $100k in a ladder match against both Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma.
What I found funny was that after Big Ryck rolled out of the ring his other Johnsons came out to check on him. Where were they when Mundo and Prince Puma were double dropkicking him?? Also, Matt Striker said that the announcement by Cuerto was "social media and dirt sheet worthy" which just makes him look like a complete and utter baffoon. If Vince McMahon fed lines to commentators in WWE I wonder if anyone is feeding lines to Matt Striker. If no one is then Striker may never want to show his face in public again. We know the money isn't real, Striker, stop acting like such a mark-- you're giving us all a bad name.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. was introduced first and I kind of wish he and Pentagon Jr. came out together for some reason. Also, Sexy Star has really annoying music.
Match 4: Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Pentagon Jr. vs. Sexy Star & Fenix
This match broke down for me when Sexy Star entered it. Chavo Guerrero Jr. was being worked over by Fenix, so Sexy Star was tagged in and she hit Chavo Jr. with a flurry. Everyone- even the commentators- cheered her on, but when the tables were turned and Chavo Jr. gained the advantage the tides turned. It wasn't a feeling of "Oh, the heel is in control" so much as it was uncomfortable because a man was beating up a woman. Matt Striker did point out that Sexy Star knew what she was getting into and that she was asking for it without making her sound too much like a victim of domestic violence. Oh yeah, and I googled "Sexy Star unmasked" and learned she wears a mask for similar reasons as Kane. After a top rope finisher by Fenix, Sexy Star gave Pentagon Jr. the old 1-2-3.
Now while that wasn't a particularly bad match, as I love the work of Fenix, it didn't really help anything with Chavo Jr. and Sexy Star which means that will unfortunately have to continue. Why can't Sexy Star just lose to Ivelisse like everyone wants her to? Not as good of a show as last week but let's hope the ladder match next week makes up for it.
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