After last week’s intense, dramatic, and of course entertaining return to our screens, Season four of Lucha Underground continued this past Wednesday night in what was another stacked show. With a striking opening segment and a must see main event that saw Pentagon Dark defend his Lucha Underground Championship against Matanza Cueto this was a show you did not want to miss!
The Opening Segment
Opening this week’s episode was Catrina, who after appearing out of nowhere unveiled the case where the Gauntlet of the Gods should be, however, after discovering the prized possession was not where it should be and in fact missing, Catrina was confronted by King Cuerno who revealed he had hidden the Gauntlet of the Gods. Understanding that some trophies are just too dangerous to display and that he cannot let anyone strike down the Seven Tribes he told Catrina he had given the Gauntlet of the Gods to a mystery person and he no longer knows when or where it was hidden. Catrina revealed to Cuerno that she needs the Gauntlet to remain human, however, Cuerno was lacking compassion and the segment ended with Catrina once again disappearing out of thin air. The opening was strong and focused around a main story we really will see dominate this season of Lucha Underground. We have an excellent story now revolving around Catrina again and it will be interesting to later find out who has the Gauntlet of the Gods, what will happen next, and what awaits Catrina later in the season.
Welcome the New Arrivals
With Famous B telling announcer Mellisa Santos she didn’t have all of the facts after she announced the members of Infamous Inc who would be taking on the Mack, Killshot, & Son of Havoc this week fans were set for very interesting opening contest. Revealing DR. Wagner and Texano were away making money for him in Mexico it meant infamous inc where getting “a fresh coat of paint” with three new clients: Big Bad Steve, Sammy Guevara, and Jake strong (otherwise known as Jack Swagger). The announcement was a huge deal and the reaction for all three men in particular Jake Strong spoke volumes. All sure to bring something new and exciting to the temple this is a fantastic, unique next chapter in the careers of these talents and once again, especially Strong.
Matching in size, Killshot and new kid on the block Sammy Guevara kick-started the action and while he is new to the temple, Sammy was able to match the speed and agility of Killshot and the two were very even from the get-go, however, a cocky Guevara made a slight mistake that gave Killshot the edge he needed until the tag was later made to Big Bad Steve. The new trio looked to be working very well together despite their lack of chemistry and time together. Strong appeared just that, strong, Guevara was very quick and added to the fast-paced action we saw, and Steve played a key part in slowing down some of that action. The closing moments of this match did see a miscommunication with the referee too busy distracted by Famous B he was unable to witness Killshot tapping out to the ankle lock applied by Jake Strong and the current Trio’s champions were able to score the win thanks to the Mack breaking the hold over time and the three working together to pin Big Bad Steve after some excellent teamwork.
Following the results of the match fans witness, Jake Strong take out his frustrations attacking his partners of the night showcasing his dominance in a way we haven’t seen a very very long time. The opening match really did show us a lot. We got an insight as to the type of talent Strong is and what he can bring to the temple. Applying the Anklelock to Famous B Jake made sure to make a Strong impact (mind the pun). It’s also key to note we got to see Son of Havoc prove to be an excellent addition to the team of Killshot and the Mack with the three stars working very well together despite the indication they were not happy with the decision to including Son of Havoc to their team during last week’s show.
The Process to Crown the New Gift of the Gods Champion
We next saw Antonio Cueto appear as he told the believers one of his son’s concepts was, in fact, brilliant: The Gift of The Gods. He then announced a process would now begin to crown a new Gift of the Gods champion starting with the first medallion which happened to be on the line in the next match seeing Drago take on Dragon Azteca Jr.
Very early on in this match, we saw Cobra Moon prove to be a key asset once again as she provided a distraction on Dragon Azteca Jr for a moment, but it wasn’t long before the action focused simply just on the battle of the two dragons. After a series of spots outside the ring including Drago hitting a dive to the floor, the pair returned to the ring and ended up on the top rope where Drago began to untie his opponents mask, the ultimate disrespect in the Lucha Libre world. Despite being the vulnerable state Azteca found himself in, Drago didn’t use the opportunity to his advantage and it was clear that if he had stayed on his opponent Drago would have been able to walk out with the victory. After placing his mask back on, the action continued, and the momentum was able to shift for a while until Drago hit a blockbuster/DDT picking a very near fall. The closing moments saw Drago caught up on the top rope and Azteca hit a flipping pinning bomb while making sure to keep Dragos legs crossed to secure the pinfall victory and win the first medallion.
Johnny Mundo soon appeared following the match up and while Mundo kept Cobra Moon distracted Taya hit a spear on her right at the perfect time as the pair looked to send a message following what we had seen during last weeks episode of Lucha Underground. This, of course, is too a growing story and one to watch develop over the coming weeks!
Ahead of the main event, we saw Catrina appear once again in a backstage segment with Antonio Cueto. Still stuck in between earth and the spirit realm Catrina tells Antonio she desires Fenix in a coffin and convinces Cueto to book a Grave Consequences match between Fenix himself and Mil Muertes next week.
The Main Event
Following the announcement made by Antonio Cueto during the closing moments of last weeks episode of Lucha Underground we saw Pentagon Dark defend his Lucha Underground Championship against Matanza Cueto in this week’s main event! Believers have seen these two go at it in the past and so were expecting yet another brilliant performance and must-see bout between two of the most dominant and popular stars in the temple and they did not disappoint. From the get-go it was difficult to pinpoint just who would be walking out as champion. As dominant as ever Matanza impressed yet again with his sheer dominance over the champion, however, Pentagon Dark walked into this match determined to not only keep hold of his championship but put to sleep a monster that has played such a major part in his Lucha Underground career and the temple as a whole.
While at times it appeared as though Matanza was edging closer to a victory after the champ took some intense bumps and close calls, however, Pentagon was on fire this week and while the shining wizard may not have scored him the victory it was the start of a very interesting closing segment and moments later a flipping piledriver and a package piledriver allowed Dark to score the win which meant he not only remained champion but become the first man to pin Matanza!
Final Thoughts
This was yet another excellent episode of Lucha Underground. While we are still very early into the season fans were treated to brilliant in-ring action and we really are starting to get a feel of the storyline’s we can expect to see in the coming weeks and the new feuds that have begun. The relationship between Matanza and his father did appear flawed and a touch disturbing and so seeing where that goes also makes for a must see! Join me the same time next week to take another look at Lucha Underground!
All pics courtesy of Lucha El Rey and screen captured by @frenchnygma