Back in August of 2015 when Part 2 of Ultima Lucha aired, I was so mesmerized I didn't want to review it until I rewatched it few times. And then I simply couldn't make myself do it, lel, I was waiting for Season 2 debut instead, to revisit the show again and review it excatly on a day of premiere, so here it is (yes, I know I'm one day late, heh):
aired: 2015/08/05
Previously
on LU, with big video package that touched the very premise of the Lucha Underground project and all the feuds/angles/matches from this episode. Awesome shit.
Michael Schiavello replaces Vampiro on commentary. It's obvious he knows everything about the company, but there's something about his voice that doesn't fit this enviroment, idk... But he was solid enough, let's not be too harsh.
Mundo/Alberto was excellent, even better than their first clash. Loved Mundo's masterful stalling at the beginning and Alberto's brewing frustration and anger. The match was very back-and-forth, but it was so intense and heated that taking turns felt natural and welcomed even. It's kind of weird and unsettling to watch Alberto in Lucha Underground now, after everything that happened with that douche in between, but hey, waddaya gonna do, at least Mundo won and now in retrospect - he was right all along about el Patron. Great match with fantastic post-match stuff. Melina!
Dragon Azteca finds Black Lotus and Matanza. Dario Cueto enters the scene and warns Azteca about the propechy. And guess what - DRAGON AZTECA DIES! But not by the hands (claws?) of Matanza, no, he was offed by Black Lotus who bought into Dario's talk that Dragon Azteca was the one killing her parents. Huh! Weird and cheesy, and I love it! They escape and bring MATANZA with them! Gang wars!
Pentagon/Vampiro was fantastic, and even though I did expect great things from these two - the match still managed to overdeliver. Vamp's entrance was legendary, long live black metal pope! The early parts were not that great and I feel the match suffered from the mediocre "arena brawl" on the stand, and Pentagon annihilating Vamp by not-hitting him directly with the chair was kind of ridiculous, but everything after Vamp's comeback was pure thrill. Amazing hardcore wrestling with jawdropping atmosphere and captivating storytelling. Vamp's tecnico comeback was sooo well done. They used the thumbtacks and both hit each other with lighttubes right across the face, in super dangerous Abdullah Kobayashi style that makes you bleed instantly. So surreal to watch it on American TV. They bled a lot, obviously. Vampiro's slash looked particularly brutal and dangerous. The match was meant to be a gigantic test for Pentagon, and they sure as hell made it look that way. One other (tiny) flaw is PentaGOAT pinning Vamp outside the ring, despite the match not being a FCA, but hey... If Lucha Underground decides to enter the DVD/Bluray/whatever business one day, this tussle will be the first one to watch, especially if they put an unedited version in there.
Everyone and their mothers know what happened after the match. Needless to say, I loved it.
The Gift of the Gods match was damn good. There were highspots and crazy moves, obviously, but there was also a fine balance to it, and Big Ryck added a lot to the match. They kept it real and it really helped. No true complaints here. Also the right guy won.
You know what, I liked Texano/Demon. It served two purposes: 1) the fans needed a break like this before the epic main event, and 2) this was more of an angle than a proper match anyway, this story is far from over as now we have Demon, Cisco, Castro and Chavo seemingly united in a potential stable, and I'm totally okay with that. Honestly, the impromptu No DQ stipulation was for the best.
Main event was endlessly great. Honestly, it's right up there with Mil/Fenix as best match in company history. This one had a disadvantage of not being a super heated bloodbath, but they still delivered on the same base as Mil/Fenix. They brawled a lot, Puma was using his skilled aerial tactics like never before, Mil was being a wild powerhouse animal, and they tore the house down. Perfect mixture of naturalistic fighting and exciting and dramatic pro-wrestling. My favorite "little thing" in the match was both guys using stiff punches to help themselves in every situation. I adored it. Both kicked out of each other's finisher, and it totally worked. Simply epic clash, amazing stuff all around.
And now the glorious ending: Dario and Black Lotus are running away and they bring Matanza with them; Fenix is happy and going on the cruise but King Cuerno is right behind him; The Moth has kidnapped Sexy Star, lel; Angelico, Havoc and Ivelisse are riding away on bikes; Aerostar & Drago have formed an alliance; Vampiro and Pentagon are going to a dark place; some dude is putting on a Dragon Azteca mask and sprays a question mark on the Lucha Underground banner; and finally a Dario Cueto style of curtain call happened to end the season in a highly dramatic fashion. Incredible sequence of what everyone's up to. Fantastic ending to a fantastic season of pro-wrestling.
Michael Schiavello replaces Vampiro on commentary. It's obvious he knows everything about the company, but there's something about his voice that doesn't fit this enviroment, idk... But he was solid enough, let's not be too harsh.
Mundo/Alberto was excellent, even better than their first clash. Loved Mundo's masterful stalling at the beginning and Alberto's brewing frustration and anger. The match was very back-and-forth, but it was so intense and heated that taking turns felt natural and welcomed even. It's kind of weird and unsettling to watch Alberto in Lucha Underground now, after everything that happened with that douche in between, but hey, waddaya gonna do, at least Mundo won and now in retrospect - he was right all along about el Patron. Great match with fantastic post-match stuff. Melina!
Dragon Azteca finds Black Lotus and Matanza. Dario Cueto enters the scene and warns Azteca about the propechy. And guess what - DRAGON AZTECA DIES! But not by the hands (claws?) of Matanza, no, he was offed by Black Lotus who bought into Dario's talk that Dragon Azteca was the one killing her parents. Huh! Weird and cheesy, and I love it! They escape and bring MATANZA with them! Gang wars!
Pentagon/Vampiro was fantastic, and even though I did expect great things from these two - the match still managed to overdeliver. Vamp's entrance was legendary, long live black metal pope! The early parts were not that great and I feel the match suffered from the mediocre "arena brawl" on the stand, and Pentagon annihilating Vamp by not-hitting him directly with the chair was kind of ridiculous, but everything after Vamp's comeback was pure thrill. Amazing hardcore wrestling with jawdropping atmosphere and captivating storytelling. Vamp's tecnico comeback was sooo well done. They used the thumbtacks and both hit each other with lighttubes right across the face, in super dangerous Abdullah Kobayashi style that makes you bleed instantly. So surreal to watch it on American TV. They bled a lot, obviously. Vampiro's slash looked particularly brutal and dangerous. The match was meant to be a gigantic test for Pentagon, and they sure as hell made it look that way. One other (tiny) flaw is PentaGOAT pinning Vamp outside the ring, despite the match not being a FCA, but hey... If Lucha Underground decides to enter the DVD/Bluray/whatever business one day, this tussle will be the first one to watch, especially if they put an unedited version in there.
Everyone and their mothers know what happened after the match. Needless to say, I loved it.
The Gift of the Gods match was damn good. There were highspots and crazy moves, obviously, but there was also a fine balance to it, and Big Ryck added a lot to the match. They kept it real and it really helped. No true complaints here. Also the right guy won.
You know what, I liked Texano/Demon. It served two purposes: 1) the fans needed a break like this before the epic main event, and 2) this was more of an angle than a proper match anyway, this story is far from over as now we have Demon, Cisco, Castro and Chavo seemingly united in a potential stable, and I'm totally okay with that. Honestly, the impromptu No DQ stipulation was for the best.
Main event was endlessly great. Honestly, it's right up there with Mil/Fenix as best match in company history. This one had a disadvantage of not being a super heated bloodbath, but they still delivered on the same base as Mil/Fenix. They brawled a lot, Puma was using his skilled aerial tactics like never before, Mil was being a wild powerhouse animal, and they tore the house down. Perfect mixture of naturalistic fighting and exciting and dramatic pro-wrestling. My favorite "little thing" in the match was both guys using stiff punches to help themselves in every situation. I adored it. Both kicked out of each other's finisher, and it totally worked. Simply epic clash, amazing stuff all around.
And now the glorious ending: Dario and Black Lotus are running away and they bring Matanza with them; Fenix is happy and going on the cruise but King Cuerno is right behind him; The Moth has kidnapped Sexy Star, lel; Angelico, Havoc and Ivelisse are riding away on bikes; Aerostar & Drago have formed an alliance; Vampiro and Pentagon are going to a dark place; some dude is putting on a Dragon Azteca mask and sprays a question mark on the Lucha Underground banner; and finally a Dario Cueto style of curtain call happened to end the season in a highly dramatic fashion. Incredible sequence of what everyone's up to. Fantastic ending to a fantastic season of pro-wrestling.
- Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto el Patron ****1/2
- CERO MIEDO MATCH: Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro ****1/2
- 7-WAY for Gift of the Gods: Aerostar vs. Bengala vs. Big Ryck vs. Fenix vs. Jack Evans vs. King Cuerno vs. Sexy Star ***1/2
- NO DQ: Texano Jr. vs. Blue Demon Jr. ***
- Lucha Underground Championship: Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma (c) *****
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