Lucha Underground S4

[El-P]

New temple, looking a bit more lo-fi than the previous one. Gotta see what kind of cool style they can do with this set-up.

 

New owner... ummm, not too sure about that. Damn, he's gonna hurt his throat speaking with that raspy voice. It's so B-movie though, so why not.

 

This first episode really was a way to introduce a bunch of characters to a new (?) audience. Did Mariposa gained quite a bit of weight ? Did King Cuerno quit the roids cold turkey ? These two physical changes struck me.

 

Dreamer showing up was pretty damn cool.

 

Vamp with hair ?

 

Catrina....

 

Ok, let's hope for a fun zany season again.

[Blehschmidt]

Antonio Cueto looks so ridiculous, that I don't even care if he is real or Dario in disguise. Absolutely hilarious, and like El-P said "Very B Movie"

 

I definitely didn't think Aztec Warfare would come out this early in the season, and it unfortunately felt like a whole lot of filler until Fenix showed up.

 

Could have done without Mr. Pec-tacular, and certainly didn't want to see Hernandez again.

 

Dreamer was awesome, and smaller or not, I am so glad to see Cuerno back in the mix. Definitely one of my favorite characters from the show.

 

Not to keen on Muertes going that fast.

 

No Cage, or Aerostar, or Drago? Interesting

 

 

Pentagon vs Matanza!

 

Yeah, first episode was a little rocky, but it's still L.U. and I am still along for the ride!!

[SomethingSavage]

Lucha Underground is the one wrestling program I can binge watch like an actual television show, so I typically wait until I've got a good chunk of five or six episodes to burn through at once.

 

My comments will likely be scattered & staggered (and always late), but I *am* stoked that they're back for another season.

[Tenese Sarwieh]

Solid season opener with an ok Aztec Warfare. Really hoping they don't spilt up Mil/Catrina again, together as a act they're perfect. I'm so hyped for S4.

[Boss Rock]

Thought this premiere was solid if a tad disappointing for a few reasons.

 

I'm convinced Dario faked his own death. Antonio ordered the hit but Agent Winter said Dario was killed by "gangbangers". Something definitely doesn't add up there.

 

I dig the new temple set up. I just hope there will be enough scaffolds/high places to jump off of.

The first half of Aztec Warfare dragged and the action just seemed off, like everyone was a bit rusty. It also didn't help that the editing and camera work felt super choppy. Eventually, Pentagon came in and started cleaning house. I feel like this episode was basically an apology for Pentagon's on-off booking for the past three seasons, just letting him kill people left and right like a badass. The second half of this match was a huge step up as some of the more familiar faces came in and got their time to shine. I had a few issues with certain eliminations like old-ass Chavo taking out Fenix AND Cuerno. Also wasn't crazy about Mil getting eliminated as quick as he did but they're obviously building to something with Catrina so I'll let it slide.

Overall not a bad match and the finishing stretch was a lot of fun. Was never all that impressed by Marty before but he killed it in the Fenix match and he was great here, too. With all that said, this was still easily the worst Aztec Warfare which is a shame as it's always one of the most exciting parts of each season.

 

I'm hoping this episode was just a bit of growing pains as I had similar apprehensions about season 3 and things turned out very well for the most part. Either way, glad to have more wrestling to watch during the week after having checked out on Raw and SDL.

[Boss Rock]

Luchablog's review was also interesting as he pointed out that a ton of stuff seemed (intentionally or not) retconned or not even mentioned. Like obviously Vamp's master is going to come after Pentagon and Mil's going to go after Cuerno and the gauntlet, but they never once mentioned what happened at Ultima Lucha outside of the opening vignette.

[clintthecrippler]

Any idea what got cut from the Pentagon/Hernandez segment? On air Penta hit like two moves and Hernandez was out, but when he was being carried from the ring Hernandez had a gash on the top of his head and there was a blood smear on the canvas.

[IpponDropkick]

I thought the premiere was ROUGH. Show looks way worse, and the pacing is all kinds of off. Building to a three way grave consequences match in the third episode of the damn show seems like a mistake. They're just throwing too much out at once.

[gingears]

I think it makes sense storyline-wise.

 

They've established a clear-if-convoluted path for Catrina where to get the medallion she has to get the gauntlet so the casket match is really nowhere near the end goal for her. Considering the past history, I think her idea was to sacrifice Mil Muertes to Fenix so she could bring him back even stronger again and then go after King Cuerno but Jeremiah Crane getting involved is going to screw all of that up somehow. Whatever happens, it's going to be a lot more about the aftermath than the actual outcome.

[Blehschmidt]

I've enjoyed both episodes so far, but I do have to agree that it seems like they are rushing things.

 

Aztec Warfare and Grave Consequences in the first 3 episodes.

 

Beating

Matanza

clean in the 2nd episode.

 

The matches feel super edited and fast, even Melissa Santos feels like she is rushing.

 

I dunno, it just seems like the whole thing is in fast forward right now.

[Boss Rock]

Episode two was a bit of a step up from episode one, but still had a few kinks.

 

First was a trios title match.

 

The champs vs. Famous B's new clients: Big Bad Steve, Sammy Guevara, and Jake "formerly Jack Swagger" Strong. This one was a mess although Guevara did well for his first match. The editing was really bad as Mack was taken down offscreen with no mention and didn't get involved until late in the match. The exchanges between Killshot and Guevara were good but Strong was actively pretty bad here. He seemed bored and looked like he had no clue what to do until the finishing stretch. The champs retained and Strong took everyone out. Props to Famous B for bumping and floundering like he did.

 

 

Next was a match for an Aztec Medallion

 

Drago vs. Dragon Azteca was a much-needed breath of fresh air after the trainwreck that was the opening bout. Pretty much what you would expect from these two with cool high-flying action. Drago nearly took Azteca's mask off here but Azteca won with a victory roll off the top. Afterwards Johnny and Taya took out Drago and Kobra as payback for last week.

 

 

Grave Consequences next week! Consider me hyped.

 

Pentagon vs. Matanza was the main event.

 

Good match with the two battling it out on the outside, Pentagon starting strong before Matanza could take advantage after an errant chop to the post. Back in the ring Matanza ragdolled Pentagon who managed to rally back and utilize a steady diet of kicks. Pentagon got the win with TWO destroyers and a Package Piledriver. It's amazing how much of a 180 Pentagon's booking has taken with him dominating Aztec Warfare and now being the first person to beat Matanza in a singles match.

 

 

Final vignette

 

Fenix vs. Crane vs. Mil: Three Ways to the Grave!

 

[El-P]

Well, it took three episodes to get back into the groove (although Matanza vs Pentagon was already really good), but damn, that Grave Consequences three-way was everything I love about LU. Can't wait to see what comes of that post-match...

No idea what that talk was about them running on such a smaller budget it would not look like the previous seasons. The production is just as good as ever.

[Boss Rock]

Agreed. Grave Consequences 4: A Good Day to Grave Hard was everything you'd expect from a Grave Consequences match.

[Boss Rock]

Tonight's episode looking like Matanza-Pectacular and Worldwide Underground-Reptile Tribe.

[El-P]

I have no idea who that Pectacular guy is (don't even remember him from Aztec Warfare), but he's got the goofiest name this side of Justin Crdeible. The WU vs the Tribe should be a whole lot of fun though. I love Vibora, this guy really looks like a legit freak.

[Mrzfn]

Pectacular is Jessie Godderz, he's used it as his nickname for a long time but never as his ring name, for obvious reasons. I actually like the guy, he's a bit of a bump machine so he should be fun with Matanza.

 

Yeah, loved Grave Consequences as well. Mil bursting back through the doors was as cinematic a moment as they've done in a match in recent memory, only slightly hampered by Crane pulling ridiculous faces. Ivelisse returning to beat her shitty ex to death with a hammer was spectacular.

[SomethingSavage]

Famous B is everything the Titus Worldwide gimmick wishes it could be. In a previous era when the Federation took care in crafting its characters & their presentation, that's what it would look like.

Instead, they haphazardly put Titus out there doing... whateverthefuck he's been doing for about 3 years.

[Boss Rock]

I enjoy Famous B's dedication to the thing a whole lot. Him reacting to Mascarita cutting the head off his cutout like it was his own head remains one of my favorite moments.

[SomethingSavage]

Famous B has been a blast since showing up. The vignettes, the cheesy delivery, and the slick fucking suits are all tremendous.

Christ. I've missed Lucha Underground. The emphasis on actual characters and progressive stories was sorely missed. NXT does that stuff in an old-school, more traditional way - which is still a lot of fun. But LU is everything I like about pro wrestling mixed with my favorite action revenge flicks or some shit.

I've only seen episodes 1 and 2 from this season. And I won't lie. Nothing's grabbed me so far. I wasn't able to avoid spoilers for episode 3 though, so I know the main event is worth the wait. I'll probably get all caught up this weekend.

Here's hoping the stories pick up some steam soon and the writing returns to form.

[Boss Rock]

I was expecting episode 4 to be bad but it was surprisingly pretty good.

Jake Strong looked better this time around and came off a bit more as the aggressive bruiser they tried to paint him as in that awful trios match. But at the end of the day, he's still charisma vacuum Jack Swagger. 

Worldwide Underground vs. Reptile Tribe was a fun tag match. Daga has to be one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world. And holy crap, the athleticism on Vibora! Did not expect that.

Won't go too much into Matanza-Pectacular but Mrzfn was right in saying that the latter is a solid bumper.

Main event between Chavo and King Cuerno was a lot of fun, easily one of the best this season.

 

Next week: 

Spoiler

Mil vs. Cage for an Aztec Medallion! First ever one-on-one match between them!

 

[SomethingSavage]

I'm still running behind. I only just now got the chance to catch episode 3. But mygoddamngod. That main event was a fucking blast.

Jeremiah Crane sounds like a generic name some random fanfic writer would conjure up on CreepyPasta, plus I'm so hot & cold on Callihan. I feel like he has this terrible, awful look of some backwoods pudgy thrillbilly from Justified or some shit - but he doesn't play up to that as a character. So it's this weird case of being a potentially great character, although he doesn't lean into it enough to really make it work in his favor.

On the other hand, he'll occasionally bust out these incrrrredibly fun performances and participate in these frenzied, crazy-ass brawls. I think I'd still point to his body of work prior to the NXT run as his best overall, but that disparity is shortening. He's sneakily put together some good stuff since then, almost returning to his roots over the past year.

But yeah. Episode 3 was great. It was an hour of television that flew by & (how's this for a wild concept?) left me wanting more at the end.

As enjoyable as that main event was though, the main takeaway thus far this season has been Catrina. Gawt damn, y'all. Catrina is fiyah. The girl is dripping with sex appeal and really does steal any scene she's in.

Melissa has also been surprisingly good in her role since last season. She's thrown herself into the mix and seems seriously engaged in what she's supposed to be doing at all times. She's much better than she necessarily needs to be on a taped & edited pro wrestling program. Pro wrestling is awfully forgiving of terrible acting, so kudos to her for not totally phoning it in or anything.

[Boss Rock]

19 minutes ago, SomethingSavage said:

I'm still running behind. I only just now got the chance to catch episode 3. But mygoddamngod. That main event was a fucking blast.

Jeremiah Crane sounds like a generic name some random fanfic writer would conjure up on CreepyPasta, plus I'm so hot & cold on Callihan. I feel like he has this terrible, awful look of some backwoods pudgy thrillbilly from Justified or some shit - but he doesn't play up to that as a character. So it's this weird case of being a potentially great character, although he doesn't lean into it enough to really make it work in his favor.

On the other hand, he'll occasionally bust out these incrrrredibly fun performances and participate in these frenzied, crazy-ass brawls. I think I'd still point to his body of work prior to the NXT run as his best overall, but that disparity is shortening. He's sneakily put together some good stuff since then, almost returning to his roots over the past year.

But yeah. Episode 3 was great. It was an hour of television that flew by & (how's this for a wild concept?) left me wanting more at the end.

As enjoyable as that main event was though, the main takeaway thus far this season has been Catrina. Gawt damn, y'all. Catrina is fiyah. The girl is dripping with sex appeal and really does steal any scene she's in.

Melissa has also been surprisingly good in her role since last season. She's thrown herself into the mix and seems seriously engaged in what she's supposed to be doing at all times. She's much better than she necessarily needs to be on a taped & edited pro wrestling program. Pro wrestling is awfully forgiving of terrible acting, so kudos to her for not totally phoning it in or anything.

I was going with the theory that he took the Solomon Crowe name and replaced the first name with a different Biblical figure and replaced the last name with a different kind of bird, heh. And he's definitely much better in LU than his recent indie stuff. Cuts out a lot of the schtick and gets right to kicking people in the face.

[SomethingSavage]

Hmm. I never thought about that, but it's a good point. I completely blanked on his silly NXT name. He was so out of sight, out of mind for such a long time.

I just hear "Jeremiah Crane" and think of the Scarecrow from Batman or some shit.

[Boss Rock]

Cage-Mil Muertes was just as good as you would expect it to be, but I couldn't help but feel they should have gotten more time. And without going into too much detail for those who haven't seen it yet, the finish of the match and the immediate aftermath didn't really make much sense at all.

 

Spoiler

Pentagon costs Cage the medallion, but then proceeds to grant him an immediate title match. Why interfere in the match if you were just going to give him a fast track to the title?

 

[SomethingSavage]

All caught up. Episode 4 did nothing for me, but episode 5 was a surefire winner.

Up until this point, the season felt a little flat. Everything seemed so disjointed. Everything looked like leftovers. The stories, conflicts, and feuds all seemed to be running on residual fumes from last season.

But this episode started to steer shit back on track in my eyes.

Ivelisse is great. Even with all the injuries and missed time, she's had one of my favorite character arcs in the grand scheme of things. I've seen people rip her work apart, but she's a lot of fucking fun to watch when she's on offense - throwing strikes and constantly pressing for the win.

The triple threat was a blast, too. The stipulation was a neat touch. Obviously they could have made it a more integral part of the match - with guys wrestling more cautiously to NOT lose rather than to win - but that just ain't Lucha Underground. And hey. I'm okay with that.

I dug the finish anyhow. I actively disliked Killshot when he first showed up, but plenty of his performances last season were solid. And that match with Fox was fucking 'nanners. It was just a tremendous, insane gimmick match filled to the brim with violence.

So Killshot's teased turn - combined with Havoc's history in dysfunctional trios teams - could hopefully set up something good for this season.

Gawt damn, though. Catrina, y'all...

And that main event was ACES. Big turbo-charged bombs being thrown straight out the blocks. Surprising spots of agility. Flying monstrous dives. It was the final act of that Rampage flick brought to life. It was the best possible version of any Lesnar match you'll never see. It was everything Roman/Lashley should have been. Just so much fun.

I was iffy on the finish, but the actual moment of the Pentagon reveal in the crowd came across well on screen. Some of the jumpy cuts looked a little wonky, but I loved the rest of the show so much that I wasn't about to be too bothered by the editing or anything.

The White Rabbit Tribe is ultra trippy and visually very cool. I loved the look and vibe of that whole scene. But that was a weak way to write off Mascarita. Maybe that's just my knee-jerk reaction and it'll feel like a justified, story-driven decision. But I don't know. At first glance, it feels like a waste of a truly fun light-hearted character.