The Hollywood star helped to make waves for the recently released biopic surrounding the heartbreak and tragedy behind The Von Erich family and it didn’t hit a note with just movie goers, but Efron himself.
Efron took to his social media to pen a short love letter showing his appreciation for all of the talent that make a decision to step inside the squared circle and points out one star in particular.
Notable WWE stars took a moment to commend both for their work on “The Iron Claw” including Natalya, Chelsea Green and Mojo Rawley.
Guerrero was a recent interview of SEScoops and went into detail behind the training process, particularly with Holt McCallany, who portrayed the patriach of the Von Erich family, Fritz.
Chavo Guerrero trained all the actors in preparation for “The Iron Claw,” but one of them did some added work in light of playing a pro wrestling patriach.
Speaking with SEScoops’ Dominic DeAngelo, Guerrero spoke to the level of commitment by veteran actor Holt McCallany, who took on the role of Fritz Von Erich in the new film by A24.
Before production even started, McCallany, who is greatly known for his work on Netflix’s Mindhunter, already put some time in the squared circle.
“He comes on set and it wasn’t like he just stepped foot in the ring. He went like a month out. He went to Gleason’s gym in New York and was getting trained in pro wrestling by Johnny Rodz who’s a family friend. He was great friends with my dad. So when he came on, I was like,’Wow, like he put the effort,’ he was already ready to go and he’s an ex-boxer.’ So Holt’s a very intense guy, anyway. So he was ready to go.”
As a matter of fact, Guerrero talked about having to slow Holt’s intensity down as he brought the brute out for Von Erich.
“He was like, ‘Man, I’m really gonna have to hit it hard.’ And I said, ‘No, you don’t, We’re going to make it look like you’re hitting it hard,’ and I kind of had to untrain him at certain things to retrain him the way I wanted him to do things, but he’s a he’s a like he’s a baller, man. He’s a pro. He’s a professional I mean in every sense of the word.”
You can catch both Guerrero and McCallany on screen now as “The Iron Claw” is available in theaters everywhere. You can watch SEScoop’s full video review of the film below.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. knows all about having family in the pro wrestling business along with the generational pressure that comes with it, but he believes Dom Mysterio is bucking the convention.
Throughout his wrestling career, Chavo had carved out his own unique path, so much that it led to him working in Hollywood and becoming an intrical part of A24’s “The Iron Claw” set to release this Friday.
Much like he did with the critically-acclaimed GLOW on Netflix, Guerrero trained all the actors in the ring for the wrestling scenes in Iron Claw, as they tell the emotionally heavy story of The Von Erich family. It’s evident his teachings left an impression on the cast as in promotion for the film, particularly Jeremy Allen White, who plays the legendary Kerry Von Erich.
“You know, I was very proud when I heard him say that and then the rest of the wrestlig community was as well. They’re like, ‘Wow, this guy gets it.’
“He really he understood that because that’s storytelling. That’s what he does in movies. It’s not the car crash. The car crash helps tell the story, but the car crash itself is not the story. The moves help tell the story, but the moves themselves are not story. And that’s I think it’s lost in today’s wrestling little bit because these guys are incredible athletes, and they’re doing great moves. But I just think sometimes the storytelling needs to be worked on a little bit as well. They could probably do less moves and tell a better story.”
Chavo adds that he has learned just as much from White and the rest of the cast as they learned from him, noting that he would have been a better wrestler if he somehow got involved in Hollywood first.
Dom Mysterio Is Ahead Of The Generational Game
During his analysis of the “little details” with Jeremy Allen White, Guerrero uses both Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio as examples to how they make the moves mean something in their storytelling. That prompted a discussion on Dom Mysterio who Chavo is extremely impressed with.
“He’s doing so great. He’s far above where he should be. You know, I said, he’s not supposed to be this good, but, you know, he had some trials growing up.
“If you remember, when he first started, fans were didn’t really like them that much. They were kind of like, ‘Hey, this kid is not ready, I don’t know if he’s gonna live up to the Mysterio name.’ Well, we all felt that. Every second/third generation [wrestler] felt the same thing because you sometimes get the door open, but every second or third generation actor has felt the same way or any performer.”
Iron Claw releases everywhere in theaters on Friday, December 22 and you can catch Chavo playing The Original Sheik in the film.
If you have a brother or a sister you’re close to, get ready to text them after you see “The Iron Claw.” I was fortunate enough to have mine sitting right beside me to catch an advance screening of the film, and both of us being ardent wrestling fans, it hit several different notes.
The looming tragedy of the Von Erich’s is immediately set in the first scene of the film with Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich, battling in “Raging Bull” black and white, showing the raw brutality that pro wrestling fanatics of yesteryear yearned for. The punishment wrestlers put on their bodies is a lingering backdrop to the sad story that’s on tap. Director Sean Durkin does a beautiful job at making it a visual necessity, giving the viewers the feeling that they’re the ones taking the elbows and backdrops. The cinematography is foreboding and immersive throughout the majority of the film.
Dominic DeAngelo of SEScoops is joined by his wrestling podcast brother, Marcus DeAngelo, to give their advanced (spoiler-free) review of “The Iron Claw” – including if it hits with wrestling fans, if it hits with the non-wrestling fans, the standout performances and what was missing.
The Acting ‘Does The Work’ In “Iron Claw”
From a performance standpoint, there isn’t a weak link in “The Iron Claw.” McCallany (from “Mindhunters” the amazing short-lived FX boxing series “Lights Out”) is prideful, blunt and frustratingly cold as patriarch Fritz. Zac Efron will surprise people with the range he shows playing the title role of Kevin Von Erich, bringing a caring naivety to a person who ultimately endures so much. Jeremy Allen White delivers as Kerry, so much that it feels like he doesn’t get enough screen time. However, the low-key stars of the Von Erich brothers are the portrayals of David and Mike.
Harris Dickinson gives the role of David his just due, the Von Erich brother who really defined the familial identity that so many World Class fans were drawn to. He’s positioned in a supporting role, but his efforts are imperative to displaying the loving kinship the brothers have with one another, making his passing all the more devastating.
Stanley Simons is spot-on at portraying the unnecessary loss that became Mike Von Erich. Due to his lack of desire to wrestle, Mike was a lighting rod for the cruelty of Fritz. Simons is excellent as the funny, sweet son who could have been an invaluable asset to the family’s success without ever having to step inside the ring. He, for many reasons, defines the tragedy as a whole.
Familiar Faces & Heels
When it comes to the wrestler cameos, they are there, but they don’t necessarily stand out to the un “mark”-ed eye. Ryan Nemeth has brief dialogue as Gino Hernandez and you see Chavo Guerrero Jr. working smoothly against Efron as The Original Sheik. “Iron Claw” executive producer MJF gets just a sip rather than a full “cup of coffee” as Lance Von Erich. The fake family cousin has literally a second of screen time (but the AEW Champ does makes the most of that).
Two legends do get their promo time in the film. We have a full monologue from Ric Flair, portrayed by Aaron Dean Eisenberg. His mannerisms, cadence and body type are pretty accurate to that of The Nature Boy’s and it’s likely the closest you can get without grabbing a time machine. It’s hard to nail Ric Flair without actually having Ric Flair.
The other talent to get a spotlight was Harley Race and it’s with good reason. Kevin Anton nails it as “The Greatest on God’s Green Earth.” Fans will also enjoy seeing the Fabulous Freebirds get their screen time, but may also come away not being fully satisfied considering how big that rivalry was for WCCW. The late Jerry Jarrett gets a hat-tip with a portrayal near the end of the film.
Music Puts You In A “Stranglehold”
Music in “The Iron Claw” is, quite simply, great. You want those 1979 vibes? The film delivers and Von Erich fans will absolutely eat up the “Tom Sawyer”-fueled montage mid-film (I know I did). It should be a sought-after playlist on Spotify. Coinciding with this vibe, is the film’s first showing of Allen White as Kerry. In true pro wrestling fashion, Durkin makes you wait in anticipation for your first sight of the late great Texas Tornado.
Significant Differences From The Full Story Down In Denton, TX
From a historically accurate standpoint, “The Iron Claw” takes its fair share liberties; primarily its biggest one is not including the youngest brother, Chris Von Erich, at all in the film. Like Kerry and Mike, the smaller Chris also committed suicide in 1991 after not being able to compete in the ring due to health issues.
In addition to that glaring omission, timelines are shifted and occurrences are substituted in an effort to streamline the story for the masses. Fans super in tune with the Von Erich history may come away frustrated, but local Pittsburgh wrestler, Shawn Blanchard, a WCCW diehard, didn’t let that deter his overall enjoyment of the film. In turn, fellow wrestling journalist Tom Letergy noted it may be difficult for the regular movie goer to keep track of all the “who, where, and when” (Note: We were watching it on a Dolby surround screen and the bottom part of the film was cut off, so there could have been significant notations us viewers didn’t see.)
While it’s touched upon, the wild lifestyle of all the Von Erich brothers was mostly burdened onto Kerry in an effort to show his own unraveling. Like Kerry, Kevin also had the tendency to get crazy and miss shows. More of an effort could have been made to embrace the fun (yet ultimately destructive) side of the business that the brothers were known for, simply to give viewers a break from all that heartache.
Family Comes First In “The Iron Claw”
As expected, the overall story of the film is drastically sobering. That’s all the more accentuated if you grew up in a family of siblings, have experienced loss, or are concerned with losing someone. There were several moments where I wanted to turn to my own brother and tell him how much I love him, but I followed the unhealthy method of the callous Fritz by expressing no feelings. It’s certainly moving for a wrestling fan looking through such a prism. Therefore, the ending of the film makes a very unique choice to lighten all the sadness the family endured and if you loved the Von Erichs, you’ll be grateful for the effort made.
If you’re an old school wrestling fan, you’ll have plenty to appreciate. If you have a brother you can talk to afterwards, you’ll have even more.
“The Iron Claw” releases everywhere on December 22. Follow Dominic DeAngelo on X @DominicDeAngelo.
Dave Batista may have yet to become a WWE Hall of Famer, but the Animal continues to make an impact in Hollywood. In the latest trailer for Dune: Part Two, Batista can be seen reprising his role as Glossu Rabban. Dune: Part Two, the sequel to the 2021 sci-fi epic, will be released in cinemas on March 1.
John Cena Proud of Zac Efron
This week saw the premiere of The Iron Claw, the new biopic about the lives, careers, and tragedies of the Von Erich family. John Cena was at the premiere and was spotted with AEW World Champion MJF. Taking to Twitter, Cena said he was proud of film lead Zac Efron for his role as Kevin Von Erich. The Iron Claw will be released on December 22.
Incredibly proud of @ZacEfron for an outstanding performance in @A24’s #TheIronClaw. Thank you for doing the work to help introduce a new audience to one of our industry’s most important families.
In the main event of this week’s Raw, Shinsuke Nakamura faced Cody Rhodes. Rhodes won by DQ after Nakamura sprayed the American Nightmare with the Asian Mist. Nakamura would also attack Rhodes after the match. On Twitter, Brandi Rhodes had some choice words for the King of Strong Style.
‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio has impressed plenty of people since joining The Judgment Day at Clash at the Castle last year. Speaking on the Insight podcast, Chavo Guerrero shared his take on the self-professed ex-con.
“Dominik Mysterio is killing it. He’s doing so good. He’s far beyond where he should be. As far as being good as well. It’s pretty cool to see them doing all this stuff.”
Chavo Guerrero has praised the efforts of the upcoming The Iron Claw as a service to the legendary Von Erich family.
The Iron Claw delves into the lives and numerous tragedies of the Von Erich wrestling family. The wrestling lineage began with Fritz Von Erich (real name Jack Adkisson,) and his sons would also find success in the squared circle. The Von Erichs are still a force in wrestling today with Marshall & Ross Von Erich competing to this day.
Chavo Guerrero on The Iron Claw
Chavo Guerrero is, like so many, excited to see The Iron Claw in cinemas later this month. The ex-Superstar is tied to the film as the official wrestling coordinator and has worked with the cast to create an accurate and compelling performance. Appearing on the Insight podcast, Guerrero spoke about the film and how it effectively represents the Von Erichs.
“It’s doing one of the most influential families a service. It’s portraying their story and not making it a martyr film… They’re actually making this movie, a really true awesome movie. It’s not a wrestling movie. It’s about a family who happens to be wrestlers.”
Working with the Cast
Guerrero’s role as the film’s wrestling coordinator is the latest big project that the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion has been tied to. On the podcast, Guerrero spoke about the connections he was able to make with the cast of The Iron Claw.
“I’ve created a bond. Wrestling creates a bond with people. Being on the road and traveling, being in the trenches with other wrestlers of course but also when I’m training actors, there’s this trust we have to build with each other.”
You squish in as much as you can, whatever they can absorb. Every actor is different. Zac [Efron] was able to absorb a lot so we kind of sped him through it but I threw a lot at him. When you’re creating a scene, there are a lot of things you have to take into consideration. We have to take in the script, what the director wants, how the DP [Director of Photography] wants to shoot it. But also what your actors can and can’t perform. So you have to work within the parameters.
“Once I can get them to give me trust and just know that I’m never going to put them in harm’s way. Safety is the number one port of order for me. Of course we’ve got to get the shot I have an actor to protect. So the number one thing is safety and I won’t let them do anything that I’m sure they can’t repeat a hundred times. It’s one of those things. You know there are fluke accidents and freak accidents that happen.”
Guerrero added that in a way, the actors of the film already know some of the fundamentals of wrestling, even if they don’t know that they know.
“I explain to my actors, the same thing with my GLOW girls, everybody on that awesome Netflix show. I explain to them, ‘Y’all know how to wrestle. You just don’t know you know yet.’ They’re like ‘What do you mean?’ So I portray it to acting a lot. What do you do in acting? You’re convincing the studios that you’re better looking than you are, you’re a better actor than you are, you’re taller than you are. You’re much more handsome or much more beautiful than you are actually are.
“That’s what I’ve been doing in wrestling for the last 25 years. People, every time they see me they go ‘Gosh you’re a lot bigger.’ Yeah, because I portray myself a lot bigger.”
MJF has a role in The Iron Claw but his role was originally much bigger than what made the final cut. Click here to find out more.
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
Fans attending the upcoming Christian National Wrestling Exhibition Alliance event to see Chavo Guerrero will be disappointed to learn that he won’t be on the show.
Last week, the promotion advertised a “big name” on their Facebook page that will be doing a signing in Butte, Montana, adding that it was a third-generation wrestler.
When further clues indicated that the big name was Chavo, Guerrero himself commented saying he is not appearing, and the page’s admin called Guerrero’s account a fake.
On Twitter, the former WWE Superstar reiterated his message, saying that he will not be appearing and has not been contacted for the show.
Tony Khan is aware that Chavo Guerrero has expressed gripes with him recently.
When Chavo made his AEW debut back in July 2021, fans were excited to see him manage Andrade El Idolo. Chavo’s run was short-lived, however, which left many confused before it was revealed that he took on a role for the filming of Young Rock.
Tony Khan Owes Chavo Guerrero A Call
Chavo told Wrestling Inc that he was none too pleased with Tony Khan for not responding to his messages and a voice mail. He took it as a slight and assumed Tony no longer had any plans for him.
During the AEW Revolution post-event presser, Tony Khan cleared the air and insisted he only failed to respond to a single message from Chavo.
“I am gonna call Chavo. I’m about — to be honest, I was a little surprised cause I only missed one message from him and then he went to the media after I missed one message from him.
“I don’t wanna say what Chavo got paid for being the stunt coordinator for Young Rock but he got paid a huge amount of money and he asked if he could take the time off and leave. I said like — he was not under contract, he was on a weekly deal.
“So, I said, ‘I would love to have you back and I do like you a lot and you did a great thing,’ but now we’re gonna have to make our plans going forward without him here. We made plans going forward without him here and we went on and we’ve done a lot of great stuff and I really like him. He did great stuff for us.
“I definitely owe him a phone call and I was a little surprised to hear that.”
Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article
Andrade was not happy that Chavo Guerrero interfered in his match with Pac recently. The former La Sombra then attacked Guerrero and left him for Death Triangle. Guerrero being written off AEW programming was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
According to Dave Meltzer, Guerrero was always supposed to be written off television at this time. He works as the wrestling coordinator for NBC’s “Young Rock” and the filming of the show’s second season has begun. Guerrero has done similar work in the past for Netflix’s GLOW as well. He is expected back with AEW after the show wraps filming.
? truth is that Forrest Gump scene inspired our final scene here at the end with my real mom. I’ve lived such a wild, unpredictable Forrest Gumpian life this was an homage. What a box of chocolates huh???#YoungRockhttps://t.co/lPVmlz6uP3
Guerrero spoke to Wrestling Inc earlier this year about how he got involved with Young Rock. He noted that he received a call from show producer and former WWE writer, Brian Gewirtz.
“I got a call from Brian and said, ‘Hey, we have this show called Young Rock. We can’t film. We’re ready to go. It’s all green lit, but we can’t film in Los Angeles because of everything going on. Everything’s shut down. So we’re going to Australia to film. Do you know any wrestling coordinators in that area?’ And I’m like, ‘First of all, a wrestling trainer and wrestling coordinator for TV are two completely separate things. That’s like apples and oranges. I know one person, me.’”
I did keep my promise and bought my parents their very first house in 2000 (we lived in apartments & trailer parks our whole lives). Then is 2004 they divorced and at all went to hell but at least the enjoyed it for a while ?#YoungRockhttps://t.co/Y0ii1CymQr
All Elite star Andrade El Idolo revealed on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite that his new ‘consultant’ was former WWE Superstar Chavo Guerrero.
Before this week’s show, Andrade El Idolo had been accompanied to the ring by Vickie Guerrero, who was acting as his manager on-screen. According to a report from the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, several ‘complaints led to the storyline direction being changed for Andrade.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez did not confirm if the ‘complaining’ had come from those within AEW or the fans, but it was enough for Tony Khan himself to change the former WWE Superstars’ push.
Meltzer stated, “I guess sometimes when you complain a lot, things happen. [Chavo] was not the surprise, this was a change. Tony Khan made a change from Vickie Guerrero to a new manager, and the new manager is Chavo Guerrero. So, that was not the original plan. The original plan was for Vickie Guerrero.”
Andrade El Idolo and Chavo Guerrero
There’s no news either on whether Andrade himself requested the change of manager to now have Chavo as his consultant.
El Idolo and Chavo interacted with Death Triangle on this week’s episode of Dynamite, with PAC, Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix interrupting the newly signed AEW star during his segment.
It’s not confirmed what the direction now is for Andrade going forward. Still, it will likely be similar to what was originally planned, but with Chavo Guerrero managing him rather than Vickie.
Vickie Guerrero appears only to be managing Nyla Rose on AEW programming at this point. Dr Britt Baker D.M.D defeated Rose on this week’s episode of Dynamite in a contest for the AEW Women’s Championship.
Another surprise appearance at AEW Fyter Fest came during a segment involving Andrade el Idolo who introduced a new associate in the form of Chavo Guerrero. The nephew of the late great Eddie Guerrero is a wrestling veteran. His emergence from the tunnel as the new executive consultant for el Idolo certainly shocked the raucous AEW crowd.
Since his AEW debt, Andrade el Idolo has been working alongside Vickie Guerrero, who is Chavo’s aunt through marriage. The wrestling world has a special affinity with the Guerrero family. AEW is certainly a great place for Chavo Guerrero to be.
Addressing the crowd, Chavo Guerrero made a quick impact with the fans, praising the talent that he had seen backstage. However, he quickly moved into character, positioning his client at the top of that list.
Only a few moments after making his debut, Chavo Guerrero started to stir the pot for Death Triangle. Andrade has wasted no time in picking on the talented faction since his arrival. Chavo went one step further by suggesting Penta and Rey Fenix should switch allegiances and side with his client.
The deal was swiftly rejected, and a classic referee pull-apart ensued, furthering the feud between Andrade and the Death Triangle. As of writing, little has been confirmed about Chavo Guerrero’s involvement with AEW. We have yet to see the classic Chavo is All Elite image. However, it seems unlikely he would be introduced in such a role for a single or short run.
At 50 years old, it’s unlikely we will see him lacing up his boots in AEW. However, a move into management could be exactly what the veteran needs at this stage of his career.
Chavo Guerrero had a decade long run with WWE from 2001 to 2011 but the former champion hasn’t made any appearances for the company since then and a lot of people wonder why he hasn’t made a comeback.
The former Lucha Underground star recently had an interview with Rick Bassman’s ‘Talking Tough’ show where he spoke about a number of things and also explained why he hasn’t returned to WWE.
Guerrero explained that he is doing a lot of different things such as running his own cigar and beer company which he would have to give up for a WWE return:
“I would have to give up too much to sit there and go back to WWE full-time. WWE takes — you have to give up what you’re doing in your life to do that,
And I have so many other things going on with Hollywood and my own ventures, my own cigar company, my own beer company, my podcast so it’s hard. I think it’d be hard for me to give up everything like that.”
Though later in the interview, Chavo Guerrero claimed that he doesn’t have any hard feelings and suggested that he would be open for a return for the right amount of money:
“It’s all about making money. If we can make money and Vince [McMahon] thinks like, ‘Hey Chavo, let’s bring you back in,’ make him money, make me money then it works out. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t. There’s no hard feelings.”
Chavo Guerrero had a successful career in WWE and he won over a half a dozen titles in the company but the former WWE star left the promotion in 2011 after requesting his release.
A 9-time WWE Champion, and 4-time World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton currently places 4th in WWE’s list of most championship victories. He has left an indelible mark on WWE during his time with the promotion.
One person who considers Orton to be one of the best of all time is another multi-generational wrestler: Chavo Guerrero.
Speaking with the WINCLY podcast, the former WWE Superstar discussed working on Netflix’s show, GLOW, before turning the conversation to Orton’s in-ring skills—skills Chavo believes makes Randy “one of the best” that has ever performed.
“He’s so good; his timing is impeccable. His presence in the ring is so good. He’s got you from his entrance to his exit, and he commands the audience,” Guerrero observed. “I remember the first time I saw him do that Viper thing…I thought to myself, ‘Man, why didn’t I think of that? That’s so cool!’
He continued, “You can really feel it; he just connects with the fans so well. He’s special for sure.”
Dissecting Orton’s talent, Chavo commented that although he may only have a limited arsenal of moves, it’s the way he executes them so flawlessly that elevates “The Viper.”
“Randy does what he does; he does maybe 10 moves. But he does them really good and at the perfect time and with great presence…That makes him one of the best wrestlers, arguably, of all time.”
Randy Orton recently rekindled a long-running feud with rival, and current WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston. The two are scheduled to compete for the WWE Championship on August 11th at SummerSlam.
– Former WWE star Chavo Guerrero has offered to challenge John Cena at WrestleMania 34, who does not have an opponent officially set yet.
Guerrero, a one-time ECW Champion, four-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, and two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, made the challenge to Cena on Wednesday via Twitter.
I hear many people putting their names into the hat to Face @JohnCena at Wrestlemania. Well here’s mine…Cena, The Guerreros help mold u, but we didn’t teach you everything…there’s still a lot in This Tank! ?? #topofmygame#luchaunderground#muchrespect
– Former WWE star Jillian Hall will be in action on Saturday, April 14 in Brooklyn, New York at Warriors of Wrestling’s “Women of Warriors V” event. She will be teaming with C-Bunny against Katred and Thumper.
Hall, a one-time WWE Divas Champion, wrestles on occasion these days after her announcing her retirement from wrestling in January 2014.
– Former WWE and WCW star Lex Luger has joined Funko’s “POP!” WWE Vinyl Figure line. “The Total Package” is part of a two-pack with Sting in his “Surfer Sting” persona (Funko previously released figures on “Wolfpac Sting” and Sting with black and white face paint). This product is being exclusively sold by WWEShop and FYE.
Brand new UK promotion Lucha Forever have announced a big co-branded event with Fight Nation dubbed ‘Fight Forever’ on May 17th at a to be named location in London.
Several Lucha Underground stars have already been confirmed for the event including Pentagon, Fenix, Drago, Chavo Guerrero Jr and Angelico.
Tickets have recently been released for the event and they can be found here.
Dario is shown searching for something above a removed ceiling tile when Catrina walks in. Dario says, “Good, we need to talk.” Catrina replies, “Mil Muertes almost destroyed your brother.” He interrupts, “Actually I think you have it backwards, my brother almost destroyed Mil Muertes.” She says, “Your brother was lucky to escape with his title.” He retorts, “That’s the key phrase, isn’t it, his title. And no one is going to take it from him.” She stops him, “You fear Mil, as you should, but if you deny him this rematch, I promise you it will take a lot more than fear to protect you.” He laughs, “Deny his rematch? No Catrina, you don’t understand. Me is scared, yes, but my brother fears nothing. Whatever power you possess in that rock of yours is nothing compared to the power this key unlocks. Mil is getting his rematch for the title next week. And to prove how little fear I have, let’s make it Mil’s signature match, Grave Consequences.” Catrina likes the idea, “You are much braver than I thought, we accept.” Dario explains, “You know, Mil Muertes vs. The Monster Matanza Cueto in Grave Consequences, that’s good, but why don’t we raise the stakes? Why have 1 coffin, when we can have 4? Next week, will be Graver Consequences.” Catrina replies, “I like the way you think,” and she starts to exit, “Oh and after next week, there will be no question of who destroyed who.” He says, “I’m counting on it,” and looks at the ceiling.
The band Bang Data opens the show. Vampiro welcomes us to the temple, and Matt Striker says every match tonight is for 1 of the 7 ancient Aztec medallions.
Marty “The Moth” Martinez vs. The Mack
Already in the ring is Martinez. Striker says, “He’s been called many things, creepy, annoying, and those are the compliments.” Melissa Santos introduces his opponent, from South Central, Los Angeles, The Mack. Striker says, “You know, in this day and age of sports, sometimes you can just look at a guy and realize that he’s a tough son of a b**** and that man right there embodies every single ounce of the word, fighter, talking about The Mack.”
As Mack approaches the ring, Martinez crawls out to the apron, Mack slide thru and knocks Martinez to the floor, Mack runs the ropes and front flips onto Martinez while still wearing his ring jacket. Mack throws Martinez back into the ring, kick by Mack, deadlift German suplex, belly-to-belly suplex, cover, kick out. Mack with a belly-to-back Northern Lights suplex, and Martinez rolls around the ring laughing. Mack picks him up, slaps him in the face, whip reversal off the ropes, Mack ducks a clothesline, and then Martinez hits a standing drop kick. Martinez raining down punches on the Mack, then Martinez takes off his Aztec Pride t-shirt, wiggles his hips, and licks his fingers. Martinez throws his t-shirt at Melissa Santos as Vampiro says, “She better get a tetanus shot, a rabies shot, and take a bath.”
Martinez rolls Mack to the corner and stomps on him, plays to the crowd, whip double reversal sends Mack into the turnbuckle, Martinez hits the Exploder into the second turnbuckle, cover, but Mack kicks out at 2. Martinez covers again, kickout, and he yells at the referee. Side headlock by Martinez, the Mack gets to his feet, shot to the gut, throws Martinez off the ropes, and nails him with a clothesline. Martinez gets up and then meets a spinning heel kick by Mack, pick up powerslam, Mack runs the ropes, and nails the leg drop, brother. Kick and a stunner by Mack, the fans chant, “One more time!” and then a helicopter stunner, cover, 1-2-3.
Winner: The Mack
The Mack gets a yellow medallion bag to match his yellow trunks and yellow knee pads. Mack starts chewing on the medallion and then realizes it isn’t chocolate.
Catrina is in the locker room with King Cuerno, “Next week, Mil Muertes will regain his Lucha Underground Championship, but this time it will not be you entrusted with the Gift of the Gods, it will be my disciple Sinestro de la Muerte.” Cuerno replies, “No, you see, tonight your disciple is my prey, because he stands between me and my Aztec medallion. And if Mil does get the Lucha Underground Championship back, well, I won’t make the same mistake I made last time. I will take the title off of him, and Mil’s rotting carcass will be the most prized possession in my trophy room, because the hunt is on.” He smells her, walks away, she runs her fingernails down the lockers, and then the whole place shakes with thunder as her eyes glow red.
There is a knock on the door of Dario’s office, “Come in. Oh Sexy, please have a seat. I know you and I have not always gotten along, but I want you to know, I respect you. And I know something happened to you, something very bad, because I have seen the change in your eyes. It’s not the first time I’ve seen that look. I saw it many years ago reflected in the mirror, my mother, she was, how do I put this, an evil bitch. She did cruel thing to my brother and I, we were captives to her cruel and sick desires. Sound familiar? The only way to stop my mother from torturing us, was when we stood up and said no more. Whatever Mariposa did to you, tonight you will say no more, because I’m giving you the chance, to not only win an Aztec medallion but to make Mariposa pay, and pay dearly. So senorita, do you like that?” She replies, “Yes.” Dario continues, “Excellent, because the pain Mariposa inflicted on you, you will now get to inflict the same pain on to her until she screams ‘No mas!’ It will be a ‘No Mas’ match, the only way to win, is when one of you shouts, ‘No mas!’ But here’s a secret, once you make her cry out ‘No mas!’, once the match is over, don’t stop. Because if you ever want that look in your eyes to go away, you have to put the same look of pure terror in her eyes. Trust me it works. Do you understand?” She stands up and says, “Yes I understand,” and walks away.
Sinestro de la Muerte vs. King Cuerno
In the ring, accompanied by Catrina is Sinestro de la Muerte. Making his way to the ring next is King Cuerno. Striker says, “He wears an 11 point buck on his head as a message to his opponents that he collects trophies in the form of souls.” Cuerno blesses the ring and gets ready for work.
Running dropkick to the chest by Cuerno, 6 stomps, whip by Cuerno, duck under and then drop kick to Sinestro. Kick to the back of the leg by Cuerno, Irish whip into the corner, running double knee, swinging cutter, backs Sinestro into the ropes, and then a loud open-handed slap to the chest, whip reversal, Cuerno ducks a clothesline and then a hits running hurricanrana. Cuerno reaches back and poses with his bow, goes to run the ropes, but Catrina climbs up on the apron and smacks him in the face with a rock. Sinestro springboards off the ropes with a guillotine leg drop to the back of the head, cover, 1-2-3.
Winner: Sinestro de la Muerte
Sinestro receives a purple medallion sack to match his purple mask and purple ring gear. After the match, Catrina crawls into the ring, seductively straddles Cuerno, lifts up his head to give him the Kiss of Death blessing with her tongue, but then punches him in the side of the head.
In the back, Mascarita Sagrada is doing arm curls. Famous B enters, “I hope you are ready, because I just set up the biggest match of the century for you. And when you beat this man, you’re going to be Famous. And get this, he already has an Aztec medallion and has agreed to put it on the line, tonight, against you. So come on, your match is next, stop stalling, start balling. Famous B puts a cape on Sagrada and they exit.
Dario’s office door opens. Dario asks, “What is it I’m missing?” Chavo Guerrero Jr. responds, “I’ll tell you what is, how come I don’t have a match for one of the medallions.” Dario explains, “Because I don’t think you deserve one.” Chavo is in disbelief, “Excuse me?” Dario continues, “I don’t think you deserve one. When I give you the match of your life for the Lucha Underground Championship, what do you do? You got hurt. You’ve been in Aztec Warfare and lost twice, let’s face it Chavo, you don’t exactly step up to these opportunities so, I’m done giving them to you.” Chavo replies, “You want me to seize the opportunity, huh? No problem,” and walks out and slams the door.
Mascarita Sagrada vs. Cage
Melissa Santos starts to introduce the first competitor before she is interrupted by Famous B, “Hold up, hold up, hold up. My name is Famous B. And people all around the world have been making my hotline bling. By calling me at 423-GET-FAME. That’s 423-GET-FAME.” Famous B hands a nearby female fan a business card, “Here you go, give me a call, give me a call, that’s right. So without further ado, I am proud to present to all of you, my new client, now hailing from Little Hollywood, California, accompanied by the beautiful Brenda, make some noise for Mascarita Sagrada.” Sagrada, Famous B, and Brenda all make their way to the ring. Melissa introduces his opponent in her sexiest voice, “From the 559, Cage.” Matt Striker asks, “What?” Sagrada blesses himself repeatedly in the ring.
Sagrada goes for the leg, but Cage kicks him away. Cage goes for the running boot, but Sagrada gets out of the way, and then kicks Cage in the back of the leg. Sagrada runs the ropes, spins around his shoulders, front facelock, before Cage flips him to the mat. Cage runs into the corner, drop toe hold by Sagrada, Sagrada runs into the corner, Cage flips him over-the-top to the apron, Sagrada climbs to the top turnbuckle and goes for a crossbody, but Cage catches him, lifts him on his shoulders, then a Metallingus fireman’s carry facebuster, 1-2-3.
Winner: Cage
After the match, Cage, Brenda, and Famous B all come in to check on Sagrada. Suddenly, someone runs into the ring, and steals Cage’s medallion. Famous B looks at Cage and says, “You got robbed.” Cage looks to the top of the stairs, and it’s Chavo holding the medallion, and Cage takes off after him. Famous B tells Sagrada, “It’s okay, no no no, we’ll get him next time.”
Mariposa vs. Sexy Star (No Mas match)
Mariposa comes out in her big leather wings and her Cheerleader Melissa pigtails, Marty Martinez does not accompany her. And her opponent, from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, Sexy Star. Sexy makes a heart symbol with her hands at the top of the steps, heads to the ring, and we go to commercial
Striker tells us, “This the first ever ‘No Mas’ match here in Lucha Underground. No pinfalls, no submissions, the only way to win, force your opponent to utter those words that strip the pride from them.” The bell rings and off we go. Sexy and Mariposa exchange go-behinds, Sexy throws Mariposa to the ropes, and Mariposa nails a shoulder tackle. Mariposa powerslams Sexy to the mat right on the ancient Aztec seal, hits the ropes for a running back elbow, mount position and then rains blows upon her head, rear headlock grinding Sexy’s face into the mat, picks her up, runs her head into the turnbuckle, knife-edge chop, punches to the gut, picks her up and runs her head into the other turnbuckle, pushes a boot into the jaw. The referee comes over the with the microphone and asks, “What do you say? What do you say?” but Sexy does not submit.
Mariposa runs in and misses an elbow, Sexy returns with slap to the face and then a kick to the gut, Mariposa runs over drop toehold by Sexy runs her head into the corner, Sexy climbs up onto the apron and then 2 swinging rope-assisted sit-down splashes to the chest, drags her back to the center of the ring, kicks her in the ribs, nails 3 rolling suplexes, then a single leg Boston crab, and the referee holds the microphone to Mariposa as she screams.
Mariposa gets out and lands blows to the face, modified Indian deathlock by Mariposa, kicks to the back, Sexy crawls to the ropes, but as Striker tells us, “There is no rope break, remember the rules of the match.” Sexy Star is wearing skin-colored underwear tonight. Kick to the shoulder by Mariposa, Mariposa runs, Sexy holds the ropes and Mariposa flips over to the outside, Sexy runs off the apron with a sit-down splash. Punches to the head, 2 slaps to the chest, whip reversal send Sexy into the wall, kick to the gut, 2 knees to the gut. Mariposa picks up a chair, chokes Sexy, the referee holds the microphone to her throat as she coughs. Mariposa grabs another chair and throws it at Sexy, then does it again with two more chairs, the ref asks, Sexy shakes her head no. Mariposa picks her up, but whip reversal sends Mariposa into the steel railing. Now Sexy picks up a chair, puts it in Mariposa’s crotch, Vampiro asks, “What the hell is going on? I don’t even know how to call that. It’s not a nut shot,” and then swings one chair into the other as Striker yells, “Steely Dan!”
Sexy with a kick, rear naked choke, punch to the chest, kick to the groin, Mariposa fights out with shots to the ribs of Sexy, throws her head into the railing, drags her up the stairs by her hair, her back grated on the concrete, they reach the top, Mariposa chokes her with a headscissors, tears away at her mask, and then shakes her head violently. They walk across the balcony, Mariposa shoves a bunch of fans out of the way, climb to the rail, but Sexy pushes her off onto the top of Dario’s office, Sexy kicks her in the head, and then climbs even higher as the fans chant, “Holy s***!”
Mariposa follows her up the ladder, Sexy is kicking Mariposa in the head, and they’re up in the rafters now. Sexy walks across the catwalk, Vampiro says, “I’m shaking, I don’t like it, I feel uncomfortable, this is not good.” Kick by Sexy, punch by Mariposa, Mariposa sends Sexy’s head off the railing, Sexy begins to dangle off the side of the rail. Striker says, “Vampiro has gone off of headset, showing concern, and that is a man who has seen everything.” Sexy is gushing blood down her face, as blood drains from the sky onto the fans, Mariposa grinds away at her face. Sexy gets up, kicks Mariposa in the gut a few times, and begins to climb down. Vampiro is back on commentary now.
Sexy makes it to the top of Dario’s office, but now Marty Martinez climbs up the other side, creeping, stalking her, kicks her in the gut, grinds her head against the steel railing, swings the gate onto her face, and then The Mack shows up. They begin to brawl, Mack with clubbing blows to Martinez, runs him back the balcony into the wall, sends him through a door. Sexy pulls Mariposa off the office onto a set of stairs, and then stands on her face as Sexy holds the railing. Mariposa fights out with kicks, they begin to walk down the stairs, Sexy grabs a purse and starts beating Mariposa with it, Mariposa slam Sexy’s head into the side of the wall, Mariposa with a snapmare off the last step onto the floor.
Sexy Star is covered in blood, Mariposa picks her up by the legs, slams her shoulder into the announce table 3 times, Striker yells, “That’s a human being, that’s someone’s daughter.” Sexy fights out with kicks from her backside, and then push kicks Mariposa off her feet, Sexy picks up a trash can and nails Mariposa in the back of the head. The fans chant, “Holy s***!” Sexy puts the trash can on Mariposa’s head and then kicks it, stomps on the trash can, grabs her by the pigtails, hairmare takeover. Mariposa fights out with 3 punches to the gut, hits her in the back with the trash can lid, and throw Sexy back into the ring. The fans chant, “This is awesome!”
Mariposa grabs Sexy by the hair, sets her up for the butterfly effect, but Sexy slides out, 3 kicks to the gut, runs the ropes and then Mariposa meets her with a clothesline. Striker says, “That wasn’t as much of a clothesline, as it was a punch to the throat.” Mariposa locks in a leg lock submission, Sexy bridges, the referee asks Sexy if she wants to give and she yells loudly into the microphone “F*** you! F*** you Mariposa, f*** you!” as the fans go insane.
Mariposa with slaps to the back of the head, Sexy with a kick to the groin, climbs onto her shoulders and locks in a rear naked choke body scissors. Mariposa is fading, walking around the ring, trying to slam Sexy into the turnbuckle, and then all the sudden Martinez comes out with a clubbing blow to Sexy’s back. Martinez picks up Sexy, wipes the blood from her face and rubs it on his face, goes for a punch, but Sexy ducks under, Mack runs in with a kick to the gut on Martinez, and nails a stunner. Sexy locks in a cross armbar and Mariposa yells, “No mas!”.
Winner: Sexy Star
Striker calls the victory, “Never once did we question gender, never once did we question heart, never once did we question spirit. With every ounce of venom and vinegar in her heart, Sexy Star is victorious and has claimed an ancient Aztec medallion, and she’s not done yet.” After the match, Sexy won’t let go of the hold, the referee tries to get a break, but Sexy stands up and knocks out the referee, and locks in the cross armbar again. Sexy finally picks Mariposa up by the hair and throws her out of the ring. Sexy drapes herself across the second rope, completely exhausted, covered in blood, staring at the camera, smiles, and then passes out. The Mack comes in the ring to congratulate her, points at her as the fans cheer. Mack offers her a hand, gives her the Aztec medallion, she asks, “This is mine?” and then kisses it with her blood and the Mack raises her hand, she hugs Mack and wraps her legs around him, and the fans chant, “You deserve it!” as the credits roll.
The following report comes courtesy of F4WOnline.com:
Dark match:
Jeff Cobb defeated El Mariachi Loco
Wednesday, February 24th:
Jack Evans defeated PJ Black
Jack cut a heel promo on the crowd before the match started where he called himself “The Dragon Slayer”. Midway through, Drago appeared on one of the corner platforms wearing a dragon skull and taunting Jack with nunchucks. Finish saw Drago come down and try to spit mist at Jack, but ended up hitting PJ which led to a rollup.
King Cuerno defeated Killshot
They messed up a move on the apron but it didn’t take much away from the match. Cuerno kept beating on Killshot afterwards until Fenix came out for the save
Chavo Guerrero, Mr Cisco, & Cortez Castro defeated El Texano Jr in a gauntlet match
Cisco is eliminated within 10 seconds after a kick to the face, Castro put up more of a fight in that it took just 2 minutes to beat him. Most of the match was Chavo/Texano with Cortez using Texano’s rope to trip him and hold his feet down for the cover
Johnny Mundo defeated Cage
A woman came out to distract Cage but I could not identify her (Blonde hair, similar attire to Asuka). After the match, both of them beat down and taunted Cage. Good match
Wednesday, March 2nd:
Cobra ??? (Last name sounded like Moon) defeated Sexy Star via submission
Cobra made her debut and looked to be Cheerleader Melissa under a blue snakeskin bodysuit (If it helps, she had a tiki tattoo on the back of her neck). The Mack came out to cheer Sexy on and Marty the Moth was in the stands near the end to distract Sexy. Cobra won with a rear naked choke and did some hissing towards Marty, clearly some type of relationship between them.
Prince Puma vs Pentagon Jr went to a no contest
Nice back & forth matchup until Mil Muertes ran 5 minutes into the match and beat both of them out. Mil left both laying with a double flatliner
Fenix defeated King Cuerno in a ladder match to regain the Gift of the Gods title
Awesome ladder match which saw them fight in the stands and in the floor seats. Match ended with Fenix giving Cuerno a top-rope hurricanrana through a table, then grabbing the title. The tapings ended with a staredown between Mil Muertes from his throne and Fenix on the ladder.
– For those curious about the amount of listeners a podcast hosted by a pro wrestler can garner, WWE Superstar Bubba Ray Dudley noted that the recent episode of “Talk Is Jericho,” which featured Chris Jericho interviewing The Dudley Boyz, drew over 700,000 downloads already. For those who missed the show, you can download it today at PodcastOne.com.
– The Usos will make their return to WWE SmackDown as a tag-team on this week’s episode of the show, which airs on Thursday night. The duo will take on The Ascension in tag-team action in what will be their first tag-team match on SmackDown since March.
– Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero are launching a brand new clothing line on November 16th. Chavo Guerrero did a photo shoot recently with Melissa Santos and Jasmin Gonzalez. You can check out a photo from the shoot below.
Lucha Underground star Chavo Guerrero recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On what is The Chavo Show and what makes it different from other shows: “What I didn’t want to do is another wrestlers podcast. This is a different kind of interview show on the net and you know how the interest of fans go, so it’s a quick little twelve to nineteen minute video thing but it’s actually more then just a podcast with talking it will be something where you can see us interacting.”
On Roddy Piper taping the pilot episode of The Chavo Show: “The way it came about and it’s sad that we are even talking about it like that now but it was going to be my pilot episode. That actually was the fourth episode that I filmed but it was Piper, so he gave us some They Live stories and how that all came about, I’ve known the guy since I was five years old so just the camaraderie of us hanging out together really came through on camera and since things weren’t really ready we were wondering, do we scrap this episode but it was just so good and I want people to see Roddy the way I knew Roddy. It’s getting a great buzz and again Roddy Piper is getting ratings and stealing the show and thank GOD he was able to help me out so it’s kind of bitter-sweet. I am happy and proud it’s out there but I am missing my friend.”
On how do you handle working different characters and gimmicks when they are pitched: “A lot of times it was how things were done at TV and thinking about how you get on TV, so when they pitch stuff to you sometimes you say that’s something I probably wouldn’t pick for myself but if it was all up to us we would all be the Heavyweight Champion, the John Cena or the Batista. When they give you something it’s like, Ok let’s not knock it out of the park and let’s run with it. One thing that I’ve been told also is that I kind have shown on TV that I was able to do everything. I’ve been able to be a tag team wrestlers, a singles wrestler, a heel, a face, a different character making people laugh and cry and people hate me. So I’ve kind of been able to do a little bit in a sense, kind of do everything. Which is cool because that translates into Hollywood because they kind of start seeing different ones I play on TV and they start thinking wow this guy can do some stuff.”
On if being an accomplished performer has helped at Lucha Underground: “Being on Lucha Underground now it’s like a movie so you’ve got to be able to act a little bit. We go back there and the Director Skip Chasyn likes working with me because I can do things in a few takes so it’s kind of worked to my advantage.”
On Eddie Guerrero not being recognized by management while alive: “If you remember he (Eddie) went a long time with getting overlooked and passed over and told by WWF/WWE he was just a Cruiserweight and would never be THE guy. We all knew that Eddie was great. The fans knew that Eddie was great. But it’s like he wasn’t 6’10’ and he wasn’t 300 pounds, he was always the guy that could work and get those people over who couldn’t get themselves over. Eddie was in that spot for a long time and even after he was the World Champion in WWE he went back and he ended up working with Luther Reigns they wanted him to get this big (Kurt Angle’s) henchman over and Eddie was pissed. He was just coming off a World Champion run and now they wanted him to get a guy over when he should have been working with Triple H, with Shawn Michaels but they put him back with putting guys over. It took him a long time to get that recognition.”
On wrestlers similar to Eddie that don’t get the respect they should by management: “It makes me kind of angry a little bit. People always say he’s so good, well YES. Like CM Punk it was the same thing. He was really good, threatened leaving the company so they put the rocket on him for a little bit. Sometimes, the guys that are always held down are the guys that are the best ones at making everyone look good. They are so good at their craft that nobody else can make them look good so they are stuck in a rut just alway putting people over.”
On what made Eddie and Chavo, Los Guerreros so special as a team: “I think at that time and there were a lot of good tag teams that were at their best. The Hardyz, The Dudleyz, Edge and Christian were still around here and there but there was a lot of really, really good tag teams. But at that time as far as overall and as far as wrestling and performance and entertaining and kind of doing everything I feel that we were just in the zone. Teaming with Eddie was the best because we didn’t even have to talk matches. We knew each other so well, we’ve been doing this with the ring in the back yard since we were born it just came so natural to us.”
Lucha Underground TV Taped at “The Temple” of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California Aired July 1, 2015 on El Rey Network Report by John Moore and ProWrestling.net
The intro video this week was focused on Chavo’s fear of Mexico, and what drove him to betray the trust of El Dragon Azteca for the temptations of Dario Cueto. Chavo’s creepy and hilarious evil smile was included. Texano’s ongoing feud with Daivari was also a focal point of this week’s video package.
The actual show started in Dario Cueto’s office where he was counting money. Chavo walked into the office to cash in on his final request. Dario Cueto said he couldn’t remember which pissed Chavo off for a bit. Dario was joking of course, and he said that Chavo could have a No-DQ match against Prince Puma on this week’s episode. Dario Cueto added that he’d do anything for Chavo. Chavo said he wanted something done about Konnan and his cane. Cueto said that if Konnan interferes in the match, Chavo automatically gets the title. Chavo did his funny Evil Chavo smile as he left the office.
Mexican Dubweiser came back to the arena (M. Bison and all) after handing the reigns back to the Ryobacks for one week. Vampiro was so happy he was pointing his finger more than Sin Cara would. He was really pumped for the Drago vs. Hernandez feud brewing. Matt Striker said that many feuds were heating up leading up to Ultima Lucha including the Texano vs. DelaVar Daivari feud. “The Golden Warrior” was in the ring spitting Whiskey at people while he was flanked by Big Ryck. This prompted the crowd to chant “Golden Shower” at him. Texano came out through the babyface entrance for once as his awesome, in my opinion, theme played.
1. DelAvar Daivari vs. El Texano Jr. Texano wasted no time and brought the fight to Daivari on the onset. Daivari ducked outside after a backdrop and hid behind his human shield known as Big Ryck. Daivari snuck back in the ring and gained a little bit of an advantage. Texano hit a springboard splash on Daivari and got a nearfall. Ryck provided a distraction which allowed Daivari to chop block Texano. Daivari went on to target Texano’s left leg. Vampiro said that Texano was the longest reigning world champion in AAA (random fact: Texano beat Mil Muertes to get that title)
After softening up the left leg of “The blue collar hero” Texano, Daivari got a nearfall. Daivari distracted the ref so Ryck can sneak a punch in. Daivari locked in the Figure Four Leg Lock after Texano showed that he couldn’t stand due to the attack on his leg. Texano reversed the weight of the lock to force Daivari to break the hold. Throughout this match, Matt Stryker and Vampiro kept going over how they couldn’t really pronounce the name DelAvar Daivari.
Daivari used the corner turnbuckle to wrench on Texano’s left leg. Texano tried to escape, but Daivari laid a huge slap on the chest of Texano. Texano fought his way out with a front dropkick from the second rope. Both luchadores got up on their feet to beat the ten count. After a fairly even chest chop battle, Texano hit the Ruff Ryder leg lariat for the nearfall on Daivari. Texano lifted Daivari for the powerbomb, but Daivari hit the x Factor on him for the nearfall.
Daivari summoned Ryck who came to the ring apron with Texano’s bull rope. Daivari escaped the fireman’s carry from Texano sending him into Big Ryck. Texano dodged the bull rope punch and sent Ryck to the ground with a superkick. Texano lifted and hit the sitout powerbomb to defeat his rival Daivari.
Texano defeated DelAvar Daivari via pinfall in 6:15.
Texano quickly left the ring to avoid an attack from Daivari’s hired bodyguard…
Prince Puma was training backstage with Konnan advising him on Chavo. Konnan said that it ain’t nothing but a thang. Catrina teleported into the room and said that if Puma survived this ordeal, he was going to need all the help he could get because Mil Muertes was going to destroy anyone between him and his title at Ultima Lucha. Mil Muertes approached and stood face-to-face with Puma. The lights freaked out and Mil Muertes instant-transmissioned away which confused Puma a bit. Konnan said it was just mind games… [C]
Back from the break in a hidden part of the Temple, Konnan was conversing with a mystery figure who supposedly hates Chavo for disrespecting Mexico and Mexican heroes like Blue Demon Jr. Konnan said “that Chicken-Sh*t wouldn’t have the balls to ask for a match against Puma, unless he had a trick underneath his sleeve”. Konnan said that he was giving the green light to this mystery person who was supposedly Mexico, to have revenge against Chavo…
Back in the arena Hernandez strutted to the ring with his smug look. Drago 2.0 was his opponent, looking for revenge for costing him his title shot at Ultima Lucha… [C]
2. Hernandez vs. Drago. Hernandez tried to gloat with his muscles and got a cheap shot on Drago. Drago immediately kipped back up and stood face to face with the taller luchador. Drago attempted to sunset flip Hernandez, but the man wouldn’t budge. Hernandez lifted Drago but got hit by an enziguri. Drago punched Hernandez from the ring apron and hit a springboard dropkick on Drago. Drago grounded Hernandez with a sweep kick and hit him with a running senton. While Hernandez was seated after some kicks, Drago hit him with a front dropkick to have him lying down.
Hernandez ended the Drago onslaught with a buckle bomb, which prompted him to do his cocky strut. Matt Striker said that there might be some animosity against Hernandez from the locker room for hating on Mexico in favor of Texas. Hernandez grounded Drago with a backbreaker leading to a two count. Hernandez chopped Drago in the corner while rubbing Drago’s dragon horns in a mocking way. Hernandez caught a running Drago and hit a half-tilt-a-whirl side slam. Drago made a bit of a comeback but that comeback was thwarted by Hernandez’s boot. Drago managed to come back and hit Hernandez with the frankensteiner.
Hernandez was sent over the top rope after Drago dodged him. Drago then followed up with a tope. Hernandez tried to backdrop Drago, but Drago converted his momentum to get a springboard senton on Hernandez. Hernandez countered and hit the Boarder Toss on Drago on the ring apron. Hernandez grabbed a fan and ripped the belt right off his pants. Hernandez whipped Drago with said belt. It took a while, but Hernandez was finally disqualified after choking Drago with the belt.
Drago defeated Hernandez via DQ in 6:43.
The camera panned to the crowd where the fans looked ashamed of Hernandez for using such cheap tactics. Hernandez grabbed the mic and told the “dumbass” fans that Dragons weren’t real. he said their hero was just a man, and a man who just got his ass whooped. He said if you have a problem with that, he would whoop your ass too…[C]
Chavo was getting hype for his upcoming match and the lights freaked out again. Catrina teleported behind Chavo this time and said that Mil Muertes was going to destroy the man with the championship, even if it’s Chavo. Chavo was unfazed after Mil Teleported in and said he was going to meet them both at Ultima Lucha. Chavo walked away and Mil let out a demonic scream…
Back in the ring, Melissa Santos handled ring introductions as Marty the Moth flapped his wings while invading Melissa’s personal space like a creepy fanboy. I’m not sure why, but Marty looks like he gained a few pounds in his face since the last episode we saw him. Marty’s opponent was the AAA Mega Champion, Alberto El Patron. El Patron vs. Johnny Mundo was hyped for Ultima Lucha.
3. Marty “the moth” Martinez vs. Alberto El Patron. Alberto El Patron went right at Marty with punches and kicks not allowing Marty a glimpse of hope. Marty escaped for a bit with his own punches but only got kicked back. Marty got sent right into the turnbuckle. Afterwards Alberto El Patron locked in the Cross-Armbreaker for the quick submission victory.
Alberto El Patron defeated Marty “The Moth” Martinez via submission in 0:53.
After a quick celebration, Alberto grabbed the microphone. He told Los Angeles that El Patron was in the house! He then called out Johnny Mundo and said that he knew that Mundo was here and could hear him. He thanked Mundo for putting him through the window and awakening something inside Alberto (In Spanish) The Evil Alberto El Patron. He said that was the biggest mistake of Juanito Mundo’s life because Evil Alberto was crazy and sadistic. He then said that Mundo tried to disfigure the face that El Patron’s mother gave him. He then said that he was going to rip off Mundo’s face. He said that messing with El Patron wasn’t only the worst mistake Mundo has made, but his last, but “You already knew that!”…
4. Chavo Guerrero (w/ The Crew) vs. Prince Puma (w/Konnan) in a No-DQ match for the Lucha Underground Championship. Chavo was flanked by the living Crew guys, Mr. Cisco and Cortez Castro. Vampiro wondered where Bael was. Melissa Santos made sure to state that if Konnan interferes, Chavo would win the title. Vampiro acted extra pissed off because of course, he is always pissed off when Konnan is around.
Chavo taunted Konnan to try to get Konnan to hit him. After a lockup, Chavo hit a shoulder block. Puma got up immediately and got an armbar on Chavo. Chavo escaped, but faked a leg injury to distract the ref. He didn’t have to since it was no-DQ, and the Crew went on to attack Prince Puma. Konnan teased interfering, but only provided a distraction for Puma to recover, which of course pissed of Vampiro since it was Konnan.
The Crew brought the action back in the ring and hit their footstomp combo on Puma. The Crew held Puma into position for the frogsplash while he was selling his leg injury. Konnan called in Texano to clean house. Texano hit the sitout powerbomb on Mr. Cisco. Prince Puma went to the top rope and hit the 630 on Chavo for the pinfall victory.
Prince Puma defeated Chavo Guerrero via pinfall in 5:56 to retain the Lucha Underground Championship.
Prince Puma stood in the ring with his belt as Texano looked on from the steps. Texano had the mic and said that Mexico was coming for Chavo, and Mexico was right here (Wait? Doesn’t El Texano translate to “The Texan?”. So the Texan is Mexico, okay?). Chavo yelled in the ring and threw a mini-fit. Prince Puma and Texano stood together with the crowd as the show ended.
Then again… not quite yet! Chavo was angry in the locker room selling his leg injury. Blue Demon walked in to continue the feud that just won’t end and laughed. He said he wasn’t going to fight people already hurt. He said he was a good man unlike Chavo. Chavo taunted Blue Demon by saying that Texano was doing Demon’s dirty work. Chavo then said that Texano drew more of a pop than Blue Demon has ever had. He then called Texano Mexico and Demon was just a has-been from Miami. Demon started throwing Chavo around and said “YO SOY MEXICO CHAVO! YO SOY!”. Blue Demon walked out of the room as Chavo flashed an evil smirk to the camera signifying that he has gotten into the head of the legend, Blue Demon Jr. This closed the show officially.
WWE has moved Rey Mysterio’s Superstar profile to the Alumni section of WWE.comand is expected to announce his release before the weekend.
Mysterio’s deal was set to expire in May, but he was ultimately granted his release after extensive negotiations. There had been talk of Mysterio requesting his release last year, with WWE wanting to extend his contract since he missed so much ring time due to various injuries.
It’s expected that he’ll will be joining Alberto El Patron in Lucha Underground. On New Year’s day, he told fans will be seeing him soon.
Happy New Year! Blessings & the best to all for this new year 2015! See you all soon. 1 love:
As noted recently, Alberto El Patron (aka Alberto Del Rio) made his Lucha Underground debut at the January 17th television taping in Los Angeles, California.
El Patron came out to a big pop from the fans and was announced as the AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion. While holding his title, he cut a promo in the ring and was attacked by former champion El Texano Jr., who was also making his Lucha Underground debut. Chavo Guerrero joined in on the attack, but ultimately, El Patron fought through it and put Guerrero in an armbar.
El Patron’s Lucha Underground debut is expected to air on the February 11th edition of the show on the El Rey Network.
For a photo of Alberto El Patron’s Lucha Underground debut, click here.
Following up on Rey Mysterio’s recent tweet that fans will be seeing him again soon, Chavo Guerrero is teasing a potential feud with the former WWE World Heavyweight champion in Lucha Underground.
With conflicting reports about whether Mysterio will be returning to WWE or not, Chavo responded to a fan on Twitter who said they want to see Rey vs. Chavo in Lucha Underground.
Soon!! RT @LuchaRAGE: @reymysterio,would love to see him go @LuchaElRey & feud w/ @mexwarrior again. Rey vs Chavo = 1 of my fav WWE feuds.
The following are highlights of a new Newsday interview with Lucha Underground wrestler Chavo Guerrero:
On criticism of Lucha Underground featuring ex-WWE stars like John Morrison (as Johnny Mundo): “If they couldn’t do that style, I would see the difference. If they pushed a guy with big name brand recognition who can’t do lucha libre, who is kind of just adding name value, I would see people getting upset. But you have a John Morrison, who can do things in the ring that a lot of even the Latino luchadors can’t. So it’s not like he’s a charity case.”
On Lucha Underground’s unique production style: “If you look at any other wrestling show, they’re filming backstage segments and promos on video with one camera. We’re filming them like a movie. We have lighting, a props department, wardrobe. We’re filming them from all sorts of camera angles, spliced together with music in the background. I think, and not just because I’m working there, that this is the best wrestling product on the market. The best.”
On what Eddie Guerrero would have thought of Lucha Underground: “He would have loved this. This product is so different and gritty. I know he would be asking, ‘How do I become part of this. His wrestling IQ was off the charts . . . As great as [Lucha Underground] is now, it would be even better with his knowledge.”
The following are highlights of a new v2 Wrestling Podcast interview with Hernandez:
On Chavo Guerrero using Eddie Guerrero’s mannerisms to get himself over: “TNA wanted him to do that. You know damn well when he was in WWE he wasn’t doing that crap. Why else would he do it? The guy’s been wrestling twenty years, he’s not retarded. He’s an excellent wrestler. Why would you want to be a novelty act? They didn’t even give us a team name because they wanted to sell Guerrero t-shirts.”
On his departure from TNA: “The only way I know that I’m not on the show no more is I don’t get a cheque no more. The last time I got a call from TNA was the end of November 2013; my contract ended May 12th (2014), which is awkward because I thought it was the 14th of May. I wake up on the 12th, and it was all over social media, Impact wrestling unfollowed me on Twitter… I text Mrs Carter the day after my contract expired saying “thanks for the eight years”; I’m still waiting for a response. It is the most bush league thing I’ve ever heard of.”
On the main problem with TNA: “As long as the Carters have billions of dollars, that company will never go away. I just think the infrastructure just needs, you know, how you snake a toilet? They have Jeff Hardy, you had Sting, Kurt Angle, the best up and coming talent (like) Austin Aries, Roode, Styles, all these guys that could do anything, and you let every former WWE employee that served coffee to Vince McMahon try to be the boss time after time after time.”
On LAX: “The reason why you saw LAX being so good and so strong on TV was because Konnan literally had to threaten to quit and take his bag and roll into the parking lot every time they came up with some corny ass idea for LAX.”
On whether he would return to TNA: “Of course not. You wrestle somewhere eight years, you do every stupid semi-racist vignette. I know how a Mexican looks, acts and talks. I don’t need a fifty year old white man telling me I’m not being Mexican enough. At the beginning of Mexican America I was doing all the talking, but because I wasn’t saying essa and orale I magically became the non-speaker. I told them I wouldn’t talk like that because I live in Houston and I’m not gonna get my ass kicked because I’m making fun of my own people.”
Hernandez also revealed that he has signed on to wrestle for Lucha Underground.