Lucha Underground Report And Analysis: Episode 17 ‘A War Started In Mexico’

http://youtu.be/0trfxNf0oNM

At a press conference held earlier this week in Mexico City, an “alpha” global city with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US $491 billion, Mexico’s Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) officially announced that Rey Mysterio will be joining fellow ex-WWE wrestlers Alberto El Patrón (formerly Del Rio) and Myzteziz (the original Sin Cara) and will debut next weekend at the company’s Rey de Reyes (King of Kings)show on Sunday, March 15th. The press conference was designed to emphasize AAA’s intentions to compete with WWE in the global pro wrestling market and confirmed they will be running a trios tournament for the first time since 2006 on the May 23rd show they are calling an “International Tournament of Lucha Libre”. The event will feature three Mexican teams, a Japanese team, a U.S. team and a “rest of the world” squad.  It’s expected that Rey, El Patrón and Myzteziz will form the trio representing AAA. One of the highlights also covered was AAA’s expansion into the English-speaking market with Lucha Underground. There was no mention of when Mysterio will join the program but I have it on good authority Mysterio is expected to work the next set of Lucha Underground tapings on March 21st in Boyle Heights, California. Can AAA compete in the U.S. with Vince McMahon? That’s the real storyline here.

Another great video package this week calling attention to the things that have transpired over the last few episodes. The recap included the Texano/Alberto feud in both AAA and Lucha Underground, the Catrina/Mil Muertes/Fenix love triangle and the history between Big Ryck and his former allies, The Crew. Let us also not forget Black Lotus was kidnapped (and apparently rescued) last week by a mystery man who was shown fighting with a green mask and a green shirt in the very first segment of Lucha Underground. These angles are somehow connected so stay tuned. We go straight to business in Dario’s office after beautiful screen shots of the Los Angeles city skyline.

Cueto says tonight is epic because El Patron debuts in his very first Lucha Underground match against Ricky Mandel but this infuriates Alberto who demands a worthy opponent in Tejano Jr. Cueto says he needs to warm up first and suggests he face Famous B but El Patron will have nothing to do with enhancement talent and demands a match against his archenemy Tejano. Cueto then says he needs at least two weeks to promote such attraction and asks “How about Alberto El Patron versus El Hijo de Havoc?” El Patron grows even angrier and wipes Dario’s desk clean of everything on it. Without nearly as much apprehension, Cueto finally agrees and gives him what he wants – a match against Tejano Jr. Dario says it is the making of a great main event and tonight is going to be a historic night. Alberto thanked him and left office.

That’s what I’m talking about, a pay-per view caliber main event on television. If this was happening week in and week out on Raw and Smackdown, Vince McMahon would have made it to the Forbes list of billionaires again this year. Alberto looked like a bada** here. Great opening segment promoting a huge match and once again showing Albertos new found fire. I cant stress out how important this match really is. Tonight’s main event will literally feature the hottest wrestling feud in all of Mexico. Everybody’s talking about it south of the border. You can find posters on the walls of every city, from the Northern states all the way down to the National Palace and even beyond to the peninsula. Next to world news and geo-politics, commercials promoting lucha libre are among the most important to air on television. In case you’re wondering, I travel a lot. I’m shocked this match is going down tonight without proper advertisement but I’m loving it. This is the kind of spontaneity we need in professional wrestling. With today’s predictable booking and the Internet to tell us everything, legit shock value is tenuous and virtually non-existent. I can’t wait to see what they do with it. Talk about momentum, Lucha is on a roll.

Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us to another thrilling hour of Lucha Underground and introduce the new house musician, “Amandititita.” They hype the main event between El Patron and Texano with colorful clips of both men standing in the hallway preparing for battle. The spotlight shines down on ring announcer Melissa Santos who is ready to introduce the opening contest.

Mil Muertes vs. Fenix

These two put on one hell of a match. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, very few men in the industry have a build like Mil Muertes, and in wrestling where everybody is working to look like Goliath, that’s saying a lot. Fenix is an amazing talent, fearless doesn’t even begin to describe him. The action starts immediately as Fénix descends the staircase toward the ringside area, leaps onto the rail from the sixth step and catches Muertes with a high flying hurricanrana. Muertes regains control with a series of powerful elbows but is taken off guard with a super kick that connects and can be heard from LA to the New York. The action travels to the ring where the match is finally underway; Phoenix springs toward a downed Muertes from the top rope with a spectacular Alabama Jam leg drop. He literally flew, seriously, and the crowd loved it so much. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s Fenix. He continued to take the monster to his limits but soon meets the sadistic side of Mil – a knife edge chop that flips Fenix like a clothesline from hell followed by sick DDT that turns him inside out. People always tell me wrestling is fake but I always tell them if it looked like it hurt it’s because it did. When it comes to wrestling the public can be so dumb and naive. I’d like to see them step into a ring and try it. By the way, please don’t try this at home. A perfectly executed TKO from Muertes and suddenly Fénix is the one flat on his back. He throws Fenix outside and Muertes is about to go for a suicide dive but Fenix quickly rushes back into the ring and hits an RKO, literally out of nowhere. Didn’t see that coming. The audience is hot, equally supporting both competitors, something I find interesting being that the consummate babyface in the match is Fénix. According to Vampiro, Fénix is the only member of the Lucha Underground roster to own a victory over the diabolical masked man. Suddenly, a light cast down from the ceiling centered at the top of the staircase where Catrina made her surprise appearance. She looks like she came to arouse. Muertes is mildly distracted, as is all of the audience, and Fénix capitalizes by landing a twirling leap over the top rope which causes the audience to go absolutely insane, cheering for the match above any particular individual. The clash of styles between the super heavyweight and the flashy highflyer is incredible, leading one to wonder who has the advantage. Fénix climbed the ropes in an effort to earn a second pin fall over Mil Muertes, but is instead caught by an uppercut and a heinous top rope Code Breaker that looked like it broke Fenix in half. He hits him with the Flat Liner and this one is over. Following the bell, he summoned his former valet to the ring where he once again ordered her to lick the face of his fallen opponent. Upon denying his request, Catrina is brutally choked and dragged over the ropes and into the ring but is once again saved by her prince in shining armor as he hits Muertes with a flying kick to the head. Catrina then to applies the “lick of death” on Mil Muertes himself and we go to commercial. Lucha Underground has been catching a lot of heat from different media outlets for its portrayal of violence on women. Women are choked, lifted from their feet, beat, jumped,abused and kidnapped. Not sure how the PR team is going to handle this. Personally I don’t think they care. Mexico’s true culture is one of chivalry, honor and respect but over the last couple of decades Machismo, violence and drugs have lowered morale. Here’s hoping our people can regain themselves. Great match exemplifying everything wrestling should be about – physicality, athleticism, innovation, crowd response and story telling.

Back from break we get a video of Konnan standing in the rain, in what is perhaps the most beautifully framed shot since this show hit the air, and, again, that’s saying something. If you can make rain look bada** and put water over, then you can pretty much put anything over. I’ve been watching WWE for 20 years and never have I seen this level of production. Kudos to Lucha for already having the upper hand in this department over the giant conglomerate. The phrase “Appear weak when you are strong” is shown at the end of the promo and now I’m convinced the writers/creators have thoroughly read Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and more than that, they are students of his.

Dario is really busy this evening as another Luchador is seeking a main event spot from the querulous promotor, but this time it’s the beautiful and aggressive Ivelisse. She starts to go off again about how she’s the “baddest bit** in the build–” but Dario comically interrupts, “I know, I know—I got your calls and texts and emails.” Dario says that she only beat Angelico because Son of Havoc got involved; next week Ivelisse will have a rematch with Angelico, and to ensure that Havoc doesn’t interrupt, he will be the special guest referee. This is all very interesting as spoilers dictate that these three wrestlers will capture the inaugural Lucha Underground Trios belts in just a matter of weeks. That’s right we’re getting new belts. Can’t wait to see what other titles they create. Angelico is one of my favorite all around competitors in wrestling today. He’s so good and comes off like a seasoned actor on the silver screen. You can’t buy natural born talent, just ask Roman Reigns.

The Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma is hitting the bag backstage when Alberto El Patron shows up. “That’s right brother! That’s right,” he began. “I don’t know what Konnan told you to motivate you—what I do know is that if you want to survive, you’re going to have to man up. Because next time you see Cage, you have to make sure you let all that aggression out, amigo. Because you’re not going to need it.” El Patron started to back away, but left Puma with the following warning: “If I were you, I would pay close attention to my match tonight. Because if you keep that title, you know I’m coming for it after.” Great segment except Prince Puma is the LU champion and deserves to be holding the title. Hopefully it’s being redesigned after Cage ripped it to shreds because now that Alberto El Patron is interested in holding it, the title’s prestige is about to go to a whole ‘nother level.

Big Ryck vs. Sexy Star

According to Melissa Santos, the winner of this match will get a 3-on-1 opportunity against the Crew. What a prize. Big Ryck now wears an eye patch over his right eye thanks to the actions of his former boys, the Crew. Sexy Star makes her way to the ring along with a standing and ruckus ovation from the Boyle Heights fans. The crowd chants, “She’s so sexy,” although everyone knows what this woman is capable of between the ropes. Big Ryck immediately tells Sexy she should just lay down but Star begins to assault the super heavyweight. Although Ryck has been commonly featured as a heel where he may be despicable and unapologetic, in this match he maintained a glimmer of decency. Even though Ryck wants to exact revenge on the Crew, he isn’t willing to completely obliterate a female competitor in order to do so. Ryck simply places Sexy Star on the mat and holds her shoulders down for the 1-2-3. He immediately relinquished the pressure when the bell sounded and out of nowhere The Crew strikes with kendo sticks. Cortez Castro, Mr. Cisco and Bael emerged on the scene to attack Ryck, but didn’t count on Sexy sticking around to help even the odds. The Crew tried to break Ryck’s arm as they wrapped it around the pole but the Guyanese powerhouse turned the tide and caused all three to flee before he could finish the job. Can’t wait to see Ryck dismantle these wanna be gangsters.

Back from the break Melissa Santos introduces the AAA Mega Champion Alberto El Patron. A video package hypes his dominance and triumph in the world of wrestling as well as his family pedigree. I cannot do justice to the video with words. You have to see it for yourself. If you think I’m exaggerating, I’m not. For the most part I try to be critical and objective because that’s my job but I must give credit where credit is due. It was an outstanding video package highlighting Alberto’s journey from Dos Caras Jr. to an American household name. El Texano Jr. arrives to a litany of heat from the audience as he prepares to fight the man who ended his historic 735-day championship reign. Vampiro points out that this is the first time the two meet on American soil. The match hasn’t even started and it already feels like a main event.