Lucha Underground S4

[Tenese Sarwieh]

Solid episode of this week's LU. I stated eariler I feel strongly about not breaking up Mil/Catrina but I'm going to see how things play out. Also seeing how The Mack will factor in since he voted out Mil in the first place. Good main event with the fighting champion comes out on top.

[SomethingSavage]

I don't know. I'm kind of indifferent to Pentagon at this point. I'm probably alone in that thinking, and that's cool. But it's just one of those things where it feels like they waited at least a year too long to pull the trigger on his big win.

They *are* doing a good job in establishing him as top dog now though. It just feels like it should have come a lot sooner, when he was hotter with more momentum as a character.

[Alucard]

2 minutes ago, SomethingSavage said:

I don't know. I'm kind of indifferent to Pentagon at this point. I'm probably alone in that thinking, and that's cool. But it's just one of those things where it feels like they waited at least a year too long to pull the trigger on his big win.

They *are* doing a good job in establishing him as top dog now though. It just feels like it should have come a lot sooner, when he was hotter with more momentum as a character.

Agreed. I thought he and Prince Puma were both stale by the end of last season.

[Boss Rock]

I agree on waiting too long on Pentagon. Why they did a redemption angle in season 2 only for him to lose I'll never know. I'll take what I can get now though, ha.

[Boss Rock]

Season 4 episode 5, aka holy shit is Vibora good. Seriously, imagine if THIS guy had feuded with Bryan instead of Cass!

Cool debut for Dezmond Xavier. It should seem weird that London lost after this recent transformation but questioning who wins and who loses seems to be a moot point right now. As much as I enjoy the wrestling and the characters, the booking is just insane at times.

Further dissension between Mil and Catrina it seems.

Seriously, watch Vibora-Mundo. It's good stuff. Although the Reptile Tribe acting as the babyfaces I guess is weird. I have no clue. The cutaway felt like classic "We're out of time!" from the Monday Night wars though.

While it seems cheesy, I'm super down with psycho doll Ricky.

Pentagon-Cage was even better than Vibora-Mundo and is easily the second best match of the season so far.

All in all, really good episode from an in-ring standpoint.

[El-P]

Playing catch-up. Enjoying the new look. I wish the crazy storylines would move around a bit more. Not really feeling the in-ring action of the last few weeks, as Cage is really someone I don't care that much unless he's in a gimmick brawl. Mil Muertes remains my favourite worker of the show, while Pentagon Dark still goes through the moves way too quickly for my taste at times. Needs more multi-men acrobatics clusterfucks and less Johnny Mundo doing a hundred tigh slapping kicks.  The vignettes are as good as ever, don't feel the lower budget at all. Still waiting for that crazy-ass match with old ECW vibes.

[SomethingSavage]

Yeah. I didn't get anything from that Pentagon-Cage match at all. Felt like a total throwaway, and I couldn't recall one detail about it if you pressed a gun to my head. Completely forgettable match in my view, which is disappointing.

I dug Vibora/Mundo well enough. I was surprised by some of the stuff the big man could do, for sure. And I thought they designed several spots to help him stand out & shine, which is cool. Still don't follow the whole heel/face dynamic in this one though. It's been a confusing mess since the new season started, as far as this rivalry goes.

And that's a shame, because Mundo & company were a blast as heels last season. You gotta go full throttle with them, so it hinders things when you give them adversaries that are only kinda sorta babyfaces in the first place. It's weird.

The battle royal bit was a nothing match, but it was fun as a storytelling device. Havoc sacrificing himself for his new bud was a nice touch, and Mack making the logical decision was refreshing - since pro wrestling protocol normally calls for everybody to be unnecessarily tough to a fault. So I dug all that.

[El-P]

1 hour ago, SomethingSavage said:

The battle royal bit was a nothing match, but it was fun as a storytelling device. Havoc sacrificing himself for his new bud was a nice touch, and Mack making the logical decision was refreshing - since pro wrestling protocol normally calls for everybody to be unnecessarily tough to a fault. So I dug all that.

Yes, that was the highlight of the episode. Mack's choice was down to earth, made a whole lot of sense (although like Vamp said, it may be a terrible choice in the long run to call the wrath of Muertes on his ass). Funny that pro-wrestling that makes sense happens on a show with murders and witchcraft.

[Boss Rock]

Jake Strong comes off like an even less interesting version of Ryback. The crowd is behind him with the "Strong!" chants but God is he just a black hole of interest. Sammy Guevara jumping off high stuff is neat though.

Really liked the GotG match. Have only caught a couple fleeting glimpses of Dezmond Xavier's indie work, so I was really impressed with what I saw.

And from the clip I saw of this week's episode, Mil-Mack is gonna be super interesting.

[SomethingSavage]

Finally caught episode 7, and it was the bee's sleeves. Just a blast from start to finish.

The first portion was strictly straight squash matches, but - when they're THIS much fun - I give zero fucks. This was good stuff.

The Jake Strong name is super generic & lame, but I'm digging Swagger in his role here so far. This opener was short yet sweet, and that Sammy moonsault was fucking 'nanners.

Cueto channeling Bischoff's three minute warning by way of summoning Matanza is a neat touch to the monster's matches this season. And his squash was another winner here. Vinny played the perfect victim, too. The fat slob shtich is pure joy to watch in the right spots, and this was everything you'd want in a comedy segment of that sort.

Vinny's gas tank running on E was silly stuff, but it was legit funny at the same time. The interaction with the pizza delivery kid & the wallet was just icing also. Fun, fun, fun.

And it all worked out, because they saved the real action for the main event(s). Loved the callback to the Havoc and Ivelise connection, and Mack is a fun addition to that mix. Made total sense to play up the finish to that battle royal from last week, too.

Son of Havoc hasn't had a major role this season or anything, but he's almost bulletproof with this audience. I still feel like he's one hot angle or big story away from being a believable challenger for the LU Championship. I think he'd rate right up among the most "feel good" guys they could crown at some point, if they play it right.

I still get a kick out of Willie Mack doing the Stone Cold tribute act. ACH did it first & did it better in PWG, but it's fun here nonetheless. I like what Mack's done with it.

The three way dance to cap off the show was great, with a truckload of stunning spots and amazing athleticism. Of course, it wouldn't be LU without a thousand thigh-slappy strikes. But everything looked crisp, and they *did* bust out some barreling lariats in the lead-up to the finish, which looked nasty. There was a gnarly dive from Dezmond toward the end as well.

Oh, and there's this one point where Dezmond is desperately trying to fend off Azteca, with both guys battling on the top turnbuckle - and Dezmond is literally punching at the knees of Azteca to knock him off his perch. It's a really cool scene of struggle and desperation that is much cooler in execution than my wordy description. Check it out.

Last week, I just started to wonder where Marty the Moth had gone. Glad to see him spring back up now. His angles are among the most memorable in LU's history, so I'm stoked to see what they've got lined up next with the character.

That creepy doll shit seemed like something they'd stick on him, but I'm glad they didn't. I'm still unsure of what I think of it really, and I guess that's because I can't tell where it's going or what purpose it serves just yet. It's a weird fit for Ricky at first glance - going from the Mundo idolizing fan boy to the doll whisperer or whatever - but all bets are off in Lucha Underground. So we'll see how it all shakes out.

[SomethingSavage]

Caught up on episode 8. As story-driven as last week was, this one felt like a total placeholder.

Daga versus Black was okay, but it seemed like it ended before it ever got into that next gear. The post-match stuff was fun, with the two gangs waging war, using weaponry, and basically drawing the battle lines. A decent segment, but nothing can't miss.

I loved the Worldwide Underground last season, and Mundo as heel World Champ was some of his best stuff. Ever. Anywhere. But this season, they just feel misguided or aimless or something. They're presented as heels one week, then they're behaving like babyfaces the next. It's bizarre and unnecessarily convoluted. It dilutes the overall direction of this program with the Reptiles, because none of it comes across as shades of grey or anything. Instead, it's just kind of a mess and difficult to follow.

It's unfortunate that they can't decide on who is meant to represent what, because I'm a fan of a lot of the players involved. Hopefully they iron out these issues and deliver in the payoff anyhow.

Somebody should tell Johnny that "Slamtown" isn't happening. It's not a thing. It never was a thing. Stop trying to force it. Nobody's using it. Let it die, dude.

The backstage scene with Mack and Catrina was cheesy as fuck - and glorious nonetheless. Mack can't act for shit, but the long-delayed reveal of Big Ryck's decayed skull (complete with cigar!) was phenomenally fun. This is Lucha Underground in a nutshell.

Plus, ya know. Catrina, y'all. Gawt damn.

I'm not convinced they're actually going to stick with him all the way until Ultima Lucha, but I like Azteca as the centerpiece good guy of the promotion. He's established ties to both Mysterio and Puma in the past, so it's fitting that he'd be the next "nice guy" type to follow in their footsteps.

I've gone out of my way to avoid any & all spoilers this season, so I'm legitimately interested to see what hurdles or roadblocks await him and the Gift of the Gods. Something tells me he's TOO squeaky clean to go the distance unscathed, but the fun's in watching it all unfold.

The title scene feels flat and uninspired to me at the moment. I'm disappointed with what they've done with Pentagon, I guess. It just seems like they could have had a better roadmap for him after his big victory. And, I mean, they've gone all in by feeding him challengers & giving him definitive wins.

But this idea of presenting him as just another baby face champion is kind of... Weak. He got over on the strength of being such a dark, violent character. And now he might as well just be Puma - or insert any random baby face really - because he's just another good guy doing good guy things, acting brave and resilient and shit.

It just seems like Pentagon's character and his arc demanded a more pronounced conflict or something. Maybe one or more of his previous victims could have re-emerged with a new threat in tow. Maybe an unlikely baby face could resent Pentagon being embraced at the new temple and seek revenge. I don't know. But this whole deal with Cage just isn't doing a whole lot for me. It seems so bland.

Cuerno's hair is truly atrocious. It's awful. It looks like the carcass of some vermin that crawled into his mask & later died while trying to escape, but instead just dangles out the back there now. If the goal was to grow something in order to create a desire to see it shaved off, then he was successful. Because that shit's an eyesore.

And I don't know what that final scene was all about. Indiana Jones Mundo was an amusing visual, but ehh. If that was their way of writing off Vibora, then that sort of sucks. We'll see though. I hate to be such a downer on LU, but this season has been largely hit & miss. Definitely off to a rockier start than any previous seasons in my opinion.

[Boss Rock]

The Mack-Big Ryck reveal was fantastic. Such cheesy goodness. And count me among those disappointed that Vibora got written off. Dude blew me away. And agreed, this season has been rather lackluster outside of a few good matches.

[SomethingSavage]

Caught up on episode 9 now. Another fairly underwhelming episode overall, but it was at least more enjoyable than last week's edition.

Paul London - separated at birth from Jeremy Piven - has been a real hoot in this role with the Rabbit Tribe. I definitely wish they'd give him a bit more to do in terms of a proper rivalry or something. Still, the Rabbit Tribe is visually awesome when assembled together.

The timing of this squash was weird though. Didn't the Rabbits just realize their destiny when they ventured down the rabbit hole or whatever? Shouldn't something that significant lead to an upgrade of some sort? Just bizarre.

The Hanna Barbara sound effects were silly & over-the-top, but this is LU. And almost everything gets a pass in the Temple. I didn't care much for it, but that's mainly because I didn't find any of it particularly amusing or anything. As a whole, this thrashing wasn't even half as fun as the one we saw with Vinny & the pizza guy.

Still love me some Ivelisse. I know some people have bashed her work and called her sloppy in recent years, but I'm not seeing it. I dig her offense in general, and I especially like the fire & the fight in her comebacks. Part of her appeal hinges on her journey & her story within the LU trappings, but it still amounts to being good in the end.

I wasn't nearly as upset as some folks about the Sexy Star title win when it happened. I just went along for the ride. But, with her basically being a non-factor in everything going forward, I can't help but wish that moment would've gone to someone else, like Ivelisse. She *could* have been injured at that point though, so what do I know?

XO Lishus - essentially the Titus Andromedon of the temple - has impressed on two occasions now. I like that they protected him in the finish, without going overboard on it. Lishus' offense obviously gets played for laughs, but it's still some athletic shit. And a lot of it is on point. The look is a little Velveteen Dream, a little Dennis Rodman. And it's all flash. I kind of dig it.

And I'll admit it. The "Joey likes it!" chant cracked me up.

Vamp: "Joey has a... A certain something, ya know?"

Striker: "He certainly does, and I don't think it's curable."

Tremendous.

The post-match bit was interesting, too. Looks like they're teasing a possible oddball team-up with Joey and Lishus down the road. Feels super rushed, but EVERYTHING this season has fallen victim to that. Typically, I'd like this thing to play out over a longer period of time, making the eventual partnership more rewarding. But we'll see where it goes. Could still be an entertaining comedy team anyhow. I'd especially love it if it ended with a big time grudge match like the Guerrilla Warfare deal Joey & Candice did with the Bucks in PWG. It'd be easy enough to take this thing down a similar path.

The Gift of the Gods match was meh. I have no problem with men versus women in LU of course, and I like that Mariposa fired off the cheap shot before the bell to give her an instant edge. But Azteca was on his feet, throwing thigh-slappy kicks literally just a few seconds later. Too brief a match to be anything offensive though. And I'll take any instance of the Marty/Mariposa act where I can get it.

The Atomicos match delivered an action-packed, high-energy main event. There were PLENTY of wild dives, and Jeremiah's cannonball on the outside looked fucking BONKERS.

The changes to the lineups before the match struck me as strange & seemed really out of left field at first. But they all ended up making sense in the end, which was really cool. Jeremiah needed a way to return, so why wouldn't you resurrect the guy as an undead snake zombie? This drops him right in the thick of things, and Callihan strives in story-driven, grudge situations.

Aero Star originally didn't seem to make ANY sense as a partner for the Worldwide Underground, but he had his motivations in wanting to liberate his longtime friend. I really wish Striker and Vamp would've put more emphasis on the rich history there, because it would've made the stipulation (and its eventual payoff) so much more satisfying.

Oh. And Aero Star showing up, battle-ready with a matching bandana, was a fantastic touch. On the other side of this, Aero's inclusion here also sets the stage for Ricky's turn. In canon, this probably should've been the catalyst for Ricky's psychotic break in the first place. But yeah. The writers really accomplished a lot in one swoop with these lineup changes.

Also wish there would've been some hint of hesitation from Drago during the match. Or at least some tease of tension among the ranks. But there's been NOTHING with Drago this season to foreshadow his desire to be freed or rescued from the Reptiles. All of those things would've enhanced this entire thing greatly.

In any case, it was still a cool moment. I don't particularly like it when storytellers require you to create your own narrative after the fact like this, but at least this instance totally makes sense. All too often in modern WWE, you get left with neither the proper story NOR the logical payoff. So I'll take it.

The post-match proposal surprised me. I thought it was pretty neat, to be honest. Again, I'm left wishing it would've been teased or foreshadowed in some capacity at SOME stage, because it would've felt that much bigger. But meh. It was still a cute, charming moment. Hell, even PJ played his part well in fishing around for the ring.

Johnny's Macho Man was atrocious & among the dirt worst I've ever heard, but hey. The heart & the intent was still there. And it was quickly redeemed for me when he sealed the scene by lifting Taya on his shoulder in tribute to Savage & Liz. Good stuff.

[Boss Rock]

On 8/13/2018 at 7:27 PM, SomethingSavage said:

Caught up on episode 9 now. Another fairly underwhelming episode overall, but it was at least more enjoyable than last week's edition.

Paul London - separated at birth from Jeremy Piven - has been a real hoot in this role with the Rabbit Tribe. I definitely wish they'd give him a bit more to do in terms of a proper rivalry or something. Still, the Rabbit Tribe is visually awesome when assembled together.

The timing of this squash was weird though. Didn't the Rabbits just realize their destiny when they ventured down the rabbit hole or whatever? Shouldn't something that significant lead to an upgrade of some sort? Just bizarre.

The Hanna Barbara sound effects were silly & over-the-top, but this is LU. And almost everything gets a pass in the Temple. I didn't care much for it, but that's mainly because I didn't find any of it particularly amusing or anything. As a whole, this thrashing wasn't even half as fun as the one we saw with Vinny & the pizza guy.

Still love me some Ivelisse. I know some people have bashed her work and called her sloppy in recent years, but I'm not seeing it. I dig her offense in general, and I especially like the fire & the fight in her comebacks. Part of her appeal hinges on her journey & her story within the LU trappings, but it still amounts to being good in the end.

I wasn't nearly as upset as some folks about the Sexy Star title win when it happened. I just went along for the ride. But, with her basically being a non-factor in everything going forward, I can't help but wish that moment would've gone to someone else, like Ivelisse. She *could* have been injured at that point though, so what do I know?

XO Lishus - essentially the Titus Andromedon of the temple - has impressed on two occasions now. I like that they protected him in the finish, without going overboard on it. Lishus' offense obviously gets played for laughs, but it's still some athletic shit. And a lot of it is on point. The look is a little Velveteen Dream, a little Dennis Rodman. And it's all flash. I kind of dig it.

And I'll admit it. The "Joey likes it!" chant cracked me up.

Vamp: "Joey has a... A certain something, ya know?"

Striker: "He certainly does, and I don't think it's curable."

Tremendous.

The post-match bit was interesting, too. Looks like they're teasing a possible oddball team-up with Joey and Lishus down the road. Feels super rushed, but EVERYTHING this season has fallen victim to that. Typically, I'd like this thing to play out over a longer period of time, making the eventual partnership more rewarding. But we'll see where it goes. Could still be an entertaining comedy team anyhow. I'd especially love it if it ended with a big time grudge match like the Guerrilla Warfare deal Joey & Candice did with the Bucks in PWG. It'd be easy enough to take this thing down a similar path.

The Gift of the Gods match was meh. I have no problem with men versus women in LU of course, and I like that Mariposa fired off the cheap shot before the bell to give her an instant edge. But Azteca was on his feet, throwing thigh-slappy kicks literally just a few seconds later. Too brief a match to be anything offensive though. And I'll take any instance of the Marty/Mariposa act where I can get it.

The Atomicos match delivered an action-packed, high-energy main event. There were PLENTY of wild dives, and Jeremiah's cannonball on the outside looked fucking BONKERS.

The changes to the lineups before the match struck me as strange & seemed really out of left field at first. But they all ended up making sense in the end, which was really cool. Jeremiah needed a way to return, so why wouldn't you resurrect the guy as an undead snake zombie? This drops him right in the thick of things, and Callihan strives in story-driven, grudge situations.

Aero Star originally didn't seem to make ANY sense as a partner for the Worldwide Underground, but he had his motivations in wanting to liberate his longtime friend. I really wish Striker and Vamp would've put more emphasis on the rich history there, because it would've made the stipulation (and its eventual payoff) so much more satisfying.

Oh. And Aero Star showing up, battle-ready with a matching bandana, was a fantastic touch. On the other side of this, Aero's inclusion here also sets the stage for Ricky's turn. In canon, this probably should've been the catalyst for Ricky's psychotic break in the first place. But yeah. The writers really accomplished a lot in one swoop with these lineup changes.

Also wish there would've been some hint of hesitation from Drago during the match. Or at least some tease of tension among the ranks. But there's been NOTHING with Drago this season to foreshadow his desire to be freed or rescued from the Reptiles. All of those things would've enhanced this entire thing greatly.

In any case, it was still a cool moment. I don't particularly like it when storytellers require you to create your own narrative after the fact like this, but at least this instance totally makes sense. All too often in modern WWE, you get left with neither the proper story NOR the logical payoff. So I'll take it.

The post-match proposal surprised me. I thought it was pretty neat, to be honest. Again, I'm left wishing it would've been teased or foreshadowed in some capacity at SOME stage, because it would've felt that much bigger. But meh. It was still a cute, charming moment. Hell, even PJ played his part well in fishing around for the ring.

Johnny's Macho Man was atrocious & among the dirt worst I've ever heard, but hey. The heart & the intent was still there. And it was quickly redeemed for me when he sealed the scene by lifting Taya on his shoulder in tribute to Savage & Liz. Good stuff.

I'm generally very down on Striker and Vamp's commentary, but that aforementioned exchanged as well as "The smell of burnt hair!" line from the 5-0 match are proof that they have some gems.

I dig XO Lishus a lot. Dude is super charismatic. 

Glad Drago is out of the Reptile tribe. It was an interesting story but I think he makes for a much better babyface. Hopefully he and Aerostar resurrect the tag team.

Loved the proposal bit. Taya was tremendous and the Macho-Liz homage was cheesy yet delightful.

[Boss Rock]

"Trick or treat mother******"-this Haunted House Match will either be awesome or terrible.

[SomethingSavage]

I've enjoyed the new spin on the Matanza squash matches this season, but I'm still not sure where it's ultimately going. No clear indication so far, from what I can tell.

I've been digging Killshot a lot since last season. The Super Mario Double Stomp has become way overdone in modern wrestling, but it can still look great when done right. Killshot whiffs on it sometimes, but it's pretty brutal when he sticks the landing.

Azteca is steadily growing on me as the heir apparent to Puma's crown. He's still got that "rising star" sheen on him, but dude's feeling more & more like their ace-in-the-making with these definitive wins every week.

I miss Vibora already. Callihan is okay as the new brutish enforcer, but it's disappointing to see them just drop a guy who was initially presented as a pretty big deal. There have been several senseless murders this season, and none of them have really been made to mean much of anything. It's strange.

The brotherhood between Drago and Aero Star is one of my favorite things, and I'm eager to see what they do with those guys this year.

Willie Mack might be the dirt worst actor on the show, but I've honestly come around to believing it adds to his charm. He's so bad, he's good in these skits. His reactions & facial expressions are legitimately laugh-out-loud funny sometimes. And that closing line was money. Somewhere, Sam L. Jackson is sweating bullets.

[El-P]

On 8/7/2018 at 4:25 AM, SomethingSavage said:

The backstage scene with Mack and Catrina was cheesy as fuck - and glorious nonetheless. Mack can't act for shit, but the long-delayed reveal of Big Ryck's decayed skull (complete with cigar!) was phenomenally fun. This is Lucha Underground in a nutshell.

I popped. Honestly, it's the highlight of this season thus far. That and the Catrina/Mil intrigue (hell, Mil has been the best character & worker in the company since the beginning).

I'm at E8 and I admit I'm less into it than the previous seasons. Maybe the very indieriffic nature of the matches kinda wears down my interest at this point. I do enjoy Dragon Azteca Jr. being put into the main event mix (which is very underwhelming to me, as I never cared for Cage and I'm down on Penta).

Too bad for Vibora indeed, but the vignette was pretty cool. That's the kinda nonsense I want from LU. And less tigh slapping matches, and more garbage ECW-like brawls.

[Mrzfn]

I believe the guy under the Vibora mask was dealing with an injury, which is why he was suddenly dropped. Really hope his head grows back or something.

With the Matanza stuff, I'm hoping it culminates in a high stakes Sacrifice match with another top star, sort of the ultimate loser leaves town match. I feel like I've heard Cobb wants to get out at some point, so that could be his out. Cueto bets on him with the gods one too many times, and he gets raptured up. It would definitely change the dynamic in the Temple.

[Boss Rock]

I sort of like how LU has steered into the skid of being goofy and not taking itself too seriously. The Haunted House match was cheesy fun and surprisingly violent but far from the best match of the season. And the enhanced "slap" sound of the strikes is getting really annoying. Almost every single punch these guys threw sounded like a thigh slap. And the Melissa and Catrina stuff was good even if they totally botched the last part.

Jake Strong continues to look bored and his matches are lifeless. Hard pass.

Last Man or Machine match was fine but kinda disappointing. Heck, their brawl last week was more exciting. This largely felt like hardcore stuff for the sake of hardcore stuff. Still, the opening few minutes and the ending were really good. 

[SomethingSavage]

I haven't had a chance to check out the episode itself just yet, so I'll just touch on a few of the broader points here.

The silly "slap" sound effect had already reached ridiculous proportions by, like, season 2. I always hit a point where I can tune it out, but yeah. By the time a new season starts, I notice it again & go through the process of being annoyed by it all over again.

It's obviously way wore in some cases than others. I definitely wish they'd dial it back a bit though. A straight right hand sound exactly like a front leg back kick, which sounds exactly like a back leg front kick, which sounds exactly like a roaring elbow, which sounds...

I tell ya what, the acoustics in the Temple are something else, man.

Pentagon has been totally underwhelming in this run to me. Feels like they waited at least a year too long for the coronation, and then - when they finally crowned him - they had no firm path carved out for his reign. Guy is a character built on the strength of his stories and rivalries along the way, and - while they've given him some big key wins along the way - this thing with Cage just leaves a lot to be desired & feels largely uninspired.

Azteca feels like he has more momentum as a fighting champion, for instance. And most of that is strictly perception, but hey. That's a big part of it.

I hate to sound like a downer, because I still enjoy LU most weeks. This season is just surprisingly lackluster, after what felt like a crazy fun season 3. But hey. I'm along for the ride. It's still very unique, very refreshing, and absolutely bonkers enough for me to see it through to the end. Still, I'm certainly hoping they pick up steam at some point this season & really start to connect some of the dots. For some reason, a lot of things feel disjointed - like there are missing links in the creative chain or something.

[El-P]

Well, who am I to doubt Lucha Underground. Really loved E9. Although I'm gonna Miss Mala Suerte and his legendary top rope attack. A oddball team of Joey Ryan & XO ? I'm there. Mariposa jobbing quick was just the appetizer for what's coming with Marty, so I have no beef for that, but it did seemed rushed. Tha Atomicos match was maybe my favourite since the beginning of this season. And well, as far as straight babyface turn go, this was one hell of a 1-2 punch for Mundo. Taya crying because she didn't get the wish was goofy as hell I thought though. The proposition worked and although I wrestling wedding always suck (and hell, I don't like wedding IRL either), if there's one promotion who can do it right and make something cool out of it, it's LU. Immediately cutting to Ricky and his doll was the perfect set-up. So we get the closure of an old angle and the beginning of another one, all tied up in one sequence that made sense. Yeah, it can be written, crazy, uh ? 

[Boss Rock]

This whole angle with the Rabbit Tribe definitely gives me hope they're finally gonna do something interesting with them. So often it seems like they might be going somewhere only to lose virtually every match they're in.

On 8/24/2018 at 4:33 AM, SomethingSavage said:

I hate to sound like a downer, because I still enjoy LU most weeks. This season is just surprisingly lackluster, after what felt like a crazy fun season 3. But hey. I'm along for the ride. It's still very unique, very refreshing, and absolutely bonkers enough for me to see it through to the end. Still, I'm certainly hoping they pick up steam at some point this season & really start to connect some of the dots. For some reason, a lot of things feel disjointed - like there are missing links in the creative chain or something.

Same. I keep reminding myself that season 3 started off slow and then really took off, so I'm still hoping they turn things around.

[SomethingSavage]

That Haunted House match was soopah fucking fun. A total blast. Gruesome, brutal, and vicious from bell to bell.

Nah. Scratch that. It was fun BEFORE the opening bell, because gawt damn. Catrina, y'all. That beat down was some Dynasty meets Banshee level shit. Melissa getting her face smashed against the cage & then slammed through a glass vase was wicked.

Mil was back to being peak beast here, and he was bringing a taste of that Puerto Rican style violence. Stabbing(!) Mack with that machete was sick. Mil going through the table and quickly recovering was the kind of no-selling I'd normally take issue with, but dude is practically Jason Voorhees for all intents & purposes here. So no harm.

The two Spears against the cage looked gnarly. Clearly they expected the wall to break away, but nah. The cage stood its ground, so Mack was basically sandwiched between a cage & a hard place. Mil threw his entire body weight behind those shoulders, too. That whole scene looked real rough for Mack.

Nifty finish also, with Mack nosediving and basically spiking himself on the landing for that Flatliner through the table. Fun, fun match. No finesse to be found, but that's not what you want in these things anyway.

It's just a shame the episodes weren't timed better so that this actually occurred, ya know, sometime closer to Halloween.

On a totally random note, I never knew I needed it - but I want LU to get Tony Schiavone for one of these specialty, novelty style matches. Have him come in and announce the whole thing in his Mortal Kombat commentary neenja voice. I'd be all over that, and I'm not even kidding.

The backstage vignettes are losing steam with me. I don't know if that's more about me not digging this season as much as others yet, or if they've really lost some of their luster. This season's stories just feel so unfocused and all over the place to me.

Here we've got Mundo and the Worldwide Underground seemingly being heels again. After switching back and forth about five times throughout the feud with the Reptile Tribe. It's been very weird and inconsistent in how they're portrayed here.

I am still optimistic about the wedding though. If they shit the bed with that one, well then my faith may start to seriously falter. Because it seems ripe with potential.

That murder scene was something else. Mygoddamngod. The body count is really racking up this year. Feels like they can't wait to kill off characters fast enough lately.

The main event was fun enough, too. I went in with low expectations, because this feud truthfully just hasn't done anything for me. It has felt very paint-by-numbers. It's your stereotypical pro wrestling grudge, and that's underwhelming in the LU environment - especially when you're dealing with a richly revenge-driven character like Pentagon.

But they threw out the heavy artillery here. It *was* a bit much to keep up with, but the onslaught of offense was probably the best approach to take with these two. It gave us a truckload of big bombs and dangerous spots, which the crowd ate up.

Loved the finish. I thought that tied the story up perfectly, with Pentagon just POURING on the assault. The Fear Factor through the chairs was one NASTY bump for a guy Cage's size. Then Penta broke not only one - but BOTH - of Cage's arms. So we got the case of Penta (the baby) overcoming the odds and proving Cage (the heel) wrong by showing that his arms could, in fact, be broken by the champ.

But Cage's character was kept intact as well, because he's a machine & thus STILL tried to stand without the use of his massive arms. But Penta is right there to Curb Stomp him through a cinderblock (another fun callback to earlier battles from previous seasons). Tremendous. That's the sort of storytelling and continuity I want. Good stuff.

[El-P]

That episode was just awesome, for the most part. Angel Azteca being a good friend to Melissa, hinting on something more to come with Fenix. Catrina smashing Melissa's face in the cage and even better, on the floor. Mil Muertes going all Mr. Pogo on Mack's ass. Catrina denying the lick of death, again. That red dress... And then, the cool and gory pre-wedding vignette. The main event which exceeded any expectation, with Penta having his best performance in a long time, with some actual sympathy selling and trying to murder and cripple Cage (whose selling is still crap, but considering his style, this kind of match is exactly what he needs to be fun to watch). My jaw actually dropped with that Canadian Destroyer from the ropes through a table. The glee in Penta's eyes afterward was pretty great (as was Catrina's looking at Mack bleeding like pig earlier on). 

Of course Jake Strong is the big miss of this season (there's one each season it seems), he's got nothing going for him at all. But apart from that, this episode was up there with LU as its best to me. Just hope they gonna do this wedding right (and by that I mean, all gonna get fucked up).

[SomethingSavage]

Yeah. Outside of that one REALLY fun squash match with the crazy moonsault, Strong has been a big miss. His name & moniker is as lifeless and lazy as his work, which makes it look like he's practically sleepwalking through most matches at this point.

The exaggerated "snap" sound effects are right there with the thigh-slapping for me. They're overdone and seem very silly in the more serious, main event situations.

Fenix has been vastly underutilized this season. Not sure what the long-term game is with the guy, but it's disappointing that he's fallen so far out of sight - especially after that awesome feud with Marty last season. It was definitely a highlight.