Lucha Underground S4

[Mrzfn]

In fairness, Fenix is "dead" right now, but he's gotten over that before so yeah, the sooner he's back the better at this point.

[SomethingSavage]

Nah. I get that. It's just disappointing not having him there to contribute week to week.

What did y'all think of the wedding angle? The episode itself felt underwhelming, and Johnny's acting was atrocious. But that ending segment was fucking wonderful - with Matanza wrecking shop and just piling up the bodies left & right. Crazy fun chaos to cap off an otherwise lackluster show.

The No Mas match is indicative of everything that feels "off" about this season to me. Everything is in fast forward. Everything is so rushed. It feels like there are crucial puzzle pieces missing from the picture. The stories appear incomplete.

Normally, we would have gotten another three or four scenes to establish the Ivelisse friendship, as well as the slow-burn of the Joey turn. Instead, everything just kind of occurred all at once. As a result, a lot of it falls flat and feels unearned to me.

And that's unfortunate. Because I feel like this could be another fun trio. But we'll see what they do moving forward.

[Mrzfn]

The "Jake Strong crushes beloved luchadors with ease" angle is not working for me at all, but other than that I mostly liked the episode. I'm a sucker for wrestling weddings and I thought they did a good job with the backstage stuff and the in ring stuff. Mundo's acting is undoubtedly cheesy but they've worked that into the character at this point so I'm good with it. Matanza laying waste to everyone was indeed a great ending, especially with Mundo supposed to wrestle Pentagon next week. Lots of moving parts.

I liked the No Mas match but I see where you're coming from, in a longer season I think we would have seen a bit more build up. Just a couple extra vignettes would have done it. But the match itself was a lot of fun, XO has come off like a star and Evans has been a great foil for him.

[SomethingSavage]

I've been digging Jack Evans from day one here, for sure. And XO has been a blast. Really fun performer, and the trios team has potential. They've had a good track record with the mismatched partners formula in the past. I just wish we could get more vignettes & cut scenes out of it.

[Tenese Sarwieh]

I thought they would've build up to a match between Melissa/Catrina but what we got was classic LU. Does anyone know if Catrina is gone? cause if so that is so sad. She is so perfect in this role and bring so much to the Mil Muertes character. We're doing time travel, so I'm intrigued how reborn Fenix will turn consequences out. 

[Mrzfn]

I'm really hoping she's going to come back. She did walk around for hundreds of years despite being dead, after all, and that shimmer in Fenix's eyes make me think she's still in there somewhere. Also definitely thinking Fenix coming back may have some kind of monkey's paw style twist.

[Boss Rock]

I was sort of considering punting on this season considering it's been largely just OK and I've been watching other things, but I had some time today and finally got caught up. And I have to say, these last two episodes were definitely one of the better ones this season.

I agree with Savage about how rushed the story with XO, Ivelisse, and Joey is but I thought the No Mas match overall was really good. XO has easily been one of my favorite wrestlers this season. Jack remains a tremendous dickhead. My only issue was XO not getting the clean victory and Ivelisse and Joey helping him. Still, this seems like a really cool trio.

Jake Strong sucks. He just looks so bored and lifeless like he doesn't even want to be there. Easily my least favorite wrestler this season.

Really liked the wedding angle but the alignments continue to be all over the place with Worldwide Underground. While I like that Taya and Johnny aren't completely one-dimensional characters and genuinely love each other, their treatment of Ricky made Matanza laying out Johnny, Famous B (loved his selling of the wheelchair suplex), and PJ very cathartic. Like Ricky is a psycho killer now, but we're clearly supposed to feel sorry for him. And Johnny going from feuding with the Reptile Tribe and freeing Drago to being a complete and utter douche to Ricky, it's just confusing. Ricky letting out Matanza to wreak havoc was a fun twist rather than Matanza just ruining the wedding for reasons, though.

The Catrina-Melissa martial arts fight was tremendous. One of my favorite LU vignettes ever. And it's clear that Fenix is probably corrupted in some way.

Killshot-Havoc is developing rather nicely. While I again agree with Savage's sentiment that everything feels rushed this season, the motivations are a lot more clear in this feud. Killshot-Steve was also a surprisingly solid match. Killshot was methodical in breaking down Steve, who in turn did a great job selling the damage.

Pentagon-Hernandez was fine but definitely the worst of Pentagon's title defenses. That being said, this felt more like Hernandez being bad than Pentagon not delivering. And I've been waiting for a Pentagon-Cuerno feud forever, so I'm definitely excited for that.

[SomethingSavage]

14 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

I was sort of considering punting on this season considering it's been largely just OK and I've been watching other things, but I had some time today and finally got caught up. And I have to say, these last two episodes were definitely one of the better ones this season.

I agree with Savage about how rushed the story with XO, Ivelisse, and Joey is but I thought the No Mas match overall was really good. XO has easily been one of my favorite wrestlers this season. Jack remains a tremendous dickhead. My only issue was XO not getting the clean victory and Ivelisse and Joey helping him. Still, this seems like a really cool trio.

Jake Strong sucks. He just looks so bored and lifeless like he doesn't even want to be there. Easily my least favorite wrestler this season.

Really liked the wedding angle but the alignments continue to be all over the place with Worldwide Underground. While I like that Taya and Johnny aren't completely one-dimensional characters and genuinely love each other, their treatment of Ricky made Matanza laying out Johnny, Famous B (loved his selling of the wheelchair suplex), and PJ very cathartic. Like Ricky is a psycho killer now, but we're clearly supposed to feel sorry for him. And Johnny going from feuding with the Reptile Tribe and freeing Drago to being a complete and utter douche to Ricky, it's just confusing. Ricky letting out Matanza to wreak havoc was a fun twist rather than Matanza just ruining the wedding for reasons, though.

The Catrina-Melissa martial arts fight was tremendous. One of my favorite LU vignettes ever. And it's clear that Fenix is probably corrupted in some way.

Killshot-Havoc is developing rather nicely. While I again agree with Savage's sentiment that everything feels rushed this season, the motivations are a lot more clear in this feud. Killshot-Steve was also a surprisingly solid match. Killshot was methodical in breaking down Steve, who in turn did a great job selling the damage.

Pentagon-Hernandez was fine but definitely the worst of Pentagon's title defenses. That being said, this felt more like Hernandez being bad than Pentagon not delivering. And I've been waiting for a Pentagon-Cuerno feud forever, so I'm definitely excited for that.

Absolutely agreed on the issues with Worldwide Underground's alignments. It's something that has changed at random so many times this season, and it's a real shame. They were a TRRREEEMENDOUS heel unit last season throughout Johnny's title reign. PJ and Jack are fantastic rat bastard pests, too. They simply excel when they're behaving like vermin, and that should never change.

But, even if they were going to make a baby face switch, the writers should have had a better strategy mapped out. This entire season seems thrown together without much planning in places, and you can definitely see that in the Worldwide Underground's behavior. It's impossible to get a handle on how they're supposed to be viewed at this point.

Even so, that Matanza rampage was still glorious. And yes. The wheelchair suplex spot had me backtracking to watch it several times. Still haven't caught last week's show yet, but I'm hoping to get around to it soon. The season's definitely leaving me a little underwhelmed, but I'm sticking with it & seeing this crazy fun ride through anyway.

[SomethingSavage]

So I finally caught last week's episode, and it was just another okay edition in my view. Not at all their worst, but nothing really rocked my socks either.

The Matanza squash was extra spirited and energetic. They didn't reinvent the wheel by any means, but Joey put up one heck of a fight and got some good shots in on the monster. In the end though, they've done a solid job of rebuilding Matanza through these sacrifices.

The Mortal Kombat fight sequence between Catrina and Melissa contained all the campy style I love from LU vignettes. The over-the-top edits around the fall were great, and I especially dug the closeup shots of Catrina's face & her widening eyes as she realized what was about to happen - at the hands of her former lover, no less. Very fitting, and highly entertaining on such a ridiculous level.

Of course I have to believe this won't be the actual end of Catrina. My heart just won't fathom the thought. Cause my gawd. Catrina, y'all.

The Killshot match had some unique offense, but it got a little overly ambitious and cutesy in some spots. I loved the finish though, with Killshot just MURDERING Steve with a series of mushroom stomps.

I'm not sure if we're getting a mask match out of this feud, but that could be good for both guys. I'm still kind of crossing my fingers that Havoc eventually gets a sympathy run up top. He really feels & functions like a genuine homegrown hero of the temple. And he's always only one hot angle away from being embraced as a contender.

Brenda is a treasure, too. That chick is constantly working whenever she's on-screen. Whether it's at ringside or whatever, she's going all in all the time. Her involvement at the wedding wasn't intended to be anything significant, but she still managed to be a highlight - without ever detracting from the event or overshadowing any of the important stuff.

It's an act that could very easily feel overexposed very quickly, but LU (and Brenda) have served up the right amount in the right doses with it so far.

I thought the main event was pretty solid actually. Hernandez hustled out there. His goofy looking strut and crotch-chopping is super lame, but *I guess* that means it's working. Because that shit has "Jeff Jarrett suspender" style heat with me. I just want to see the guy get knocked the fuck out - quick, fast, and in a hurry. Early and often.

Anyway, I enjoyed the finish there also. The bump looked nasty, with Hernandez falling on his dome & folding over like a slinky.

Penta still seems aimless overall though, and that's a glaring problem for your top guy. He's effectively established as a fighting champion, which is good. But they haven't really supplemented that stuff with a compelling undercard of any sort. So the whole season has just sort of suffered for it.

Cuerno was one of my early favorites back in season uno, so I don't mind him reentering the picture here. Like Pentagon, he also feels like he would benefit from an angle or a grudge with a little more meat on the bone. Let these guys sink their teeth into something again.

I honestly figured Swagger would be next for Penta, but I guess maybe they're holding off on that. I don't know. The breaker of arms versus the breaker of ankles just seems like an inevitable avenue they'll eventually take. I just don't know what else they'd be building toward with Strong and all the bone-breaking.

And where in the world is Marty Martinez? This season needs more sleazy creeper. Ricky and his doll would be freakier if it were a ventriloquist deal, but this version of the displaced voice deal just leaves a little to be desired - especially since they can't decide if Ricky is supposed to be a sympathetic figure or a geek. Either way, we need more Moth already.

[Boss Rock]

Loved Brenda during the wedding. Her soundbites are always hilarious and I agree they've done a good job of keeping her featured but not over-exposing her.

[El-P]

I can't stand weddings, so the idea of a wedding that gets ruined always wins me over. Of course it's pro-wrestling, the wedding IS gonna get ruined anyway.

On 9/11/2018 at 6:29 AM, Boss Rock said:

Loved Brenda during the wedding. Her soundbites are always hilarious and I agree they've done a good job of keeping her featured but not over-exposing her.

Totally agree. She's great at the little things she does. Really fun character. 
I also thought it was cool to have Cheerleader Melissa as, well, Cheerleader Melissa to attend from nowhere, it keeps on the tradition of her being a masked character and showing up as herself just for a sequence (same thing in TNA where she was Raisha Saaed yet worked one match under the Cheerleader name at the same time).

And yeah, nice twist to just have Ricky watch the carnage. "We want tacos ! " is my new favourite chant. The destruction was tremendous, that wheelchair suplex was one hell of a feat of strenght. Cobb also took great care of Taya on the reverse powerslam. Great segment overall.

The XO vs Jack match was fun for what it was, but crap selling in a No Mas match really doesn't work. XO is helpless on the chair yet once he's saved, he's perfectly fine and goes on offense like nothing ? Well, ok. Ryan is so fun though, anywhere else he would have turned on XO, he's just that sleazy looking/acting even on his best behaviour. Can't wait to have a six-person match with these three, should be quite the fun stuff.

Yeah, Savage is a waste of time. He's even still doing the hand on the heart stuff, so lazy (likewise the idea of him breaking ankle, so unoriginal after Penta's streak of destruction), but he's not a very inspiring character anyway, so I guess they really had no idea what to do with him. Still his best match thus far, he's totally an decent worker, but they should have put him under a mask and go for an outrageous gimmick.

[Boss Rock]

Thoughts from this past week's episode.

Azteca-Ivelisse was a solid match, but I've sort of been underwhelmed by Azteca this season. For some reason he seems slower and sort of like he's just going through the motions. The handrail spot was particularly nasty.

Cuerno-Mil was sort of choppy in-ring but the brawling on the outside was awesome. I really liked how they didn't just pretend their past feud didn't happen and that really fueled their actions in the ring.

Jake Strong is every bit as dynamic on the mic as he is in the ring. I don't know why I'm surprised he's sucked so much considering how his WWE career turned out, but in all honesty I missed much of his singles run and only recall him having decent matches with Rusev and an awesome tag team with Cesaro.  This feud with Drago and Aerostar would be soooooo much better with a guy like Cage. Hell, just use Hernandez again. The matches with Drago weren't classics but he knew how to be an effective bully.

I dig Jeremiah as part of the Reptile Tribe as it not only allows them to highlight Callihan's positives as a crazy sprint worker, but he's also over-the-top enough to make the whole snake thing work. I just find it funny there was no further development with him and Catrina. Like, was he a ghost? What was the importance of that board he took from Dario's office last season?

The direction with Fenix should certainly be interesting to say the least. And not to spoil anything, but lots of folks will be happy with the ending vignette.

[Mrzfn]

Azteca/Ivelisse was my favorite match of the night. I don't know if I'd say Azteca seems slower to me, though Ivelisse looked better overall. I did dig the railing spot. Crowd seemed to be pretty well turned against Azteca at times, any thoughts for the guy turning heel? Could definitely see mileage in the chosen one goes dark storyline, especially now that he has no guidance from Puma or Rey.

I got what they were going for with the Cuerno/Mil brawl but I didn't really dig it that much. They just stood there punching each other, and for my money Mil's punches looked 20 times better than Cuerno's, but for the most part they just absorbed and kept going. I think the 3way will be a lot of fun though, I remember Mil/Penta/Puma was great in season 2.

So agree on Strong, I've never seen someone seem so out of place in the Temple. At least Alberto got fired up for once, and even Daivari had a fresh gimmick. He may able to get people to slap their chest and say "Strong" but I don't really think he's over in more than a sing-a-long sort of way.

I do think the Crane/Catrina thing will circle back eventually. At some point he'll get un-snakefied and probably be really pissed to find out the target of his obsession got offed in the meantime. Will he go after Mil or Melissa though? The latter could be an interesting trigger to snap Fenix back.

I liked Crane here more than his last Snake appearance because he actually dropped some of his Callihan-esque traits, like the lame "thumbs up thumbs down" thing. Learn from Fenix, Sami, if you actually go out of your way to act differently it will have much more impact. Fenix did a great job getting across the strangeness of his shift in attitude.

One interesting thing from the last vignette, Cueto seemed a little cagey about what he had in his secret barrel compartment. Maybe he's got some disguise stuff in there...? Not sure what Marty wanted at the end but I'm really excited to find out, he's been so great over the past few seasons I want as much for him to do as possible.

[SomethingSavage]

Finally caught up on the new episode, and it's officially serious. Gawt damn. I already miss Catrina, y'all.

This is effectively the end of the original run. Change the name. Call this a spinoff. Welcome to Lucha Upperground. Errr, or some shit.

Nah, but for reals. This was a pretty fun episode. Loved the opener. It didn't rewrite the book on wrestling or anything, but it was a good match to get things going.

Ivelisse is forever one of my favorites. Like Havoc, she's got that homegrown appeal. And there's a certain built-in underdog sympathy that comes along with it. But that doesn't mean she won't work for the crowd support, because she totally will. Her selling in this thing was tremendous. She's mastered the art of reacting & reaching out to the fans without making it seem like pandering. And the way she SO BADLY wanted the win made me want it for her. It drives me crazy when a baby face doesn't seem concerned one way or the other about winning. If they can't be bothered to care, why the hell should I?

Azteca was put in a weird spot here. I feel like he was stuck in subtle heel mode by default. He was the defending champ, and there's no way that crowd was going to side with him over Ivey. I'm not at all convinced that they're considering a heel run with him just yet.

The path he's on could be interesting. I mean, there's a solid story to be told in there somewhere. Azteca has been the junior sidekick. He's been the lesser partner. Now he's the last man standing, and he's being forced to graduate & level up... Or get lost in the shuffle. And so he's forced this trial by fire onto himself. He's undergoing this quest to reach Ultima Lucha by facing a steady stream of challengers.

I dig all that. I just wish they would take the time to, ya know, TELL that story. Pause. Take a moment. Show these things happening. That's perhaps my main issue with this season. The storytelling elements of old are mostly missing. Where are the kung fu and crime noir vignettes? Give me some of that shit to establish Azteca's inner strife or his mission here.

I still wish we would have gotten some segments with Joey/Lishus/Ivey, too. As of right now, it just seems like we missed out. There were several weeks of vignettes there that should have been shown - with Joey's sleaziness creeping them out, then with him trying to convince them he's secretly a good dude (but going over the top with the boy scout routine and just further alienating then instead). I don't know. Maybe we'll get some of that eventually, but past seasons would've made time to show the mismatched trio establishing their disdain before they just suddenly started getting along. It's such a crucial part of the story.

Anyway, Ivey was the real highlight. Chick carries herself like the baddest bitch in the building with that walk & entrance. It's too bad she wasn't the one to get that title reign that ultimately went to Sexy Star instead. Really wish Impact would bring her in for a run against Tessa there, if nothing else.

Mil is money. Cuerno was a favorite of mine at one time, and I still enjoy the hunter gimmick. But he feels like he's been given way too little to do lately.

Loved Cueto's line about not punishing people for violence in his temple - only REWARDING them. Good stuff.

The main event was a blast. Fast-paced action. Flashy offense. Wild dives. Good times. The changes with Fenix were on full display. Having him come out in all black - with his teammates vibrant & colorful - was a nice touch.

The experiment with Fenix itself is problematic to me. The guy is their best baby face worker by a mile. Easily. In terms of in-ring performances, nobody touches him. The guy's got more fire and spirit in his comebacks than anyone else on their roster. And it shows. Hell, it showed here with those ridiculous running shots in opposite corners. Fenix's yakuza kick is simply one of the sickest looking shots in wrestling right now. Period.

So yeah. They're executing the steps well enough with the drastic turn. And Fenix himself is putting it over. But it feels like swimming against the current. And I don't necessarily know why it needs to be done. But I'm willing to give it a shot for the short-term. I just hope it's designed to be a piece of the puzzle, rather than the end game to make this natural baby face a heel. Because Fenix should not be a heel.

Kudos to Melissa though. She's been active & involved since the end of last season. Fenix's attack on Aero Star didn't really stir up any kind of reaction in me, but shoving Melissa down like that? Shit struck a raw nerve or something, because I was suddenly like, "Come on, man. The fuck's the matter with you?!"

Marty! Da Moth! The kid's back on the scene! Fucking A. I damn near DDT'd the air out of excitement for that. And he's gone right to work, scheming and plotting and planning something. Up to no good, I presume. And I can't wait to find out for sure.

Seriously though. As a kid, I never *really* knew what Sgt. Slaughter meant when he called people pukes and maggots. But now I know, and it's totally Marty Martinez. He's absolutely it.

Jimmy Jack Jake Strong Swagger Golden is one of those guys that really SHOULD have been given a gimmick at the front door of the temple. He needs it. Badly. And while there's no guarantee it would work, at least it would've been SOMETHING to help augment his act.

Lizard people. Homicide detectives. Cosmic time-traveling spacemen. LU has seen 'em all. Surely they could spare a Top Gun or Colonel Guile style gimmick for this joker.

[Mrzfn]

Nobody has ever needed a gimmick makeover like Strong does, that's for sure.

I have the idea that the Fenix heel turn will be a short one, just a single story arc where they have to beat him to get his soul back in sync or something. Either that or it's a plan to segue him from a short term heel into a tweener than can ally with Pentagon, so they can cash in on the lucha bros thing with an Underground twist. Could be wrong but I don't see Fenix as a long term heel, for all the reasons you mentioned.

[SomethingSavage]

Yeah. I try to maintain an open mind. Just because something shouldn't stick doesn't mean it can't be approached or explored in the short-term. Those types of options can help to liven things up & keep things fresh, as long as they're handled right and the course is corrected with some sort of resolution to set things straight in the end.

Plus, I wouldn't mind the Lucha Bros. teaming to rip shit up for several weeks.

[El-P]

If that was the end of Catrina (I hope not and there's still room for her to come back from the dead), that was one hell of a send-off. Remember LU S4 was supposed to be running on a much cheaper production ? Well, that vignette was maybe the greatest ever in the entire company's history.

E14 was just a blast from start to finish, LU at its best. Azteca vs Ivelisse was Ivy's best single match ever, and although Azteca did work a bit slower and it did show in spots, it was a perfectly worked match where you just don't even pay attention about the fact it's intergender anymore. Azteca is a much more interesting masked babyface than Puma ever was BTW. Glad Ivelisse is enjoying an injury-free season, she's just as good or better a babyface as she's been a heel in the past. The trios matches with XO & Ryan should be pretty cool.

Mil vs Cuerno was a really nice appetizer. But yeah, where's Catrina, I miss her already too ! Still, Mils has been the constant MVP for his entire run, he conveys such an explosive monster work style. Cuerno really looks smaller compared to him now. The hair don't look very good, but we know it was probably all because he was losing his mask at Triplemania in the upcoming year.

Terrific trios match, although it's kinda odd that the Reptile Tribe don't really have much in term of reptiles anymore. Daga could use a snake mask though. Yes, really. And damn, two zombis for the price of one, as FenixTaker was one hell of a visual. That guy really is talented as hell, as he acted odd in a great, unique way. The post match was a great angle too and quite the cliffhanger. Although wait, Marty's back too !!  Yeah, great episode, the best of S4 and an all-time great to me (yeah, Jake Strong appeared and cut a boring promo, but what can you do, gotta have some flaws).

[Tenese Sarwieh]

The surprise title change was done well and aside from the Cage defense the Pentagon championship run was kind of meh. Dark Fenix is continuing to be a highlight for me. He is conveying this new character excellently with his physical charisma. Still waiting for Catrina's return.

[SomethingSavage]

I'm going to try to catch the latest episode in the next day or so.

Meantime, the only thing I'll add is that I really dig Son of Havoc as a homegrown favorite in the temple. But Matt Cross, without the gimmick, is duller than dishwater everytime I've seen him anywhere else.

[High Flyer]

Haven’t posted here in a while but I think episode 15 was an all timer. Max and I get in to it in the latest Lucha Afterground podcast ep. The Dark Fenix saga has quietly become one of the best angles of the year in wrestling.

[El-P]

3 hours ago, High Flyer said:

Haven’t posted here in a while but I think episode 15 was an all timer.

Agreed. Insane episode. Got to point out again how great Melissa Santos has been. The way she introduced Fenix at the start of the episode, clearly somewhat deflated but not overdoing it either. Of course, it would not get better for her as the show would go on (when she has to introduce Marty later on…). With 13-14-15, Season 4 has clearly turned the corner back into greatness. I guess we're at least half-way through the season now, and things are more intriguing than ever.

[High Flyer]

12 hours ago, El-P said:

 Got to point out again how great Melissa Santos has been. The way she introduced Fenix at the start of the episode, clearly somewhat deflated but not overdoing it either. Of course, it would not get better for her as the show would go on (when she has to introduce Marty later on…).

I’m man enough to admit that her reading of “My Fenix!” put a lump in my throat.

[SomethingSavage]

What the what! Why are we all not still celebrating in the streets?! Marty! Da Moth! The kid is crowned king! At long last! Fucking A.

Now this episode? This episode here? This one was a winner from start to finish. Top to bottom. Loved it. Almost seemed like a total seismic shift from everything they've been building up this season, but I don't care. This was a major upgrade, and things feel like they're finally clicking again. The characters are coming into clearer focus. The conflicts are heating up. And who the fuck am I kidding? Da Moth is da champ!

Dark Fenix is a revelation. It's still early, but I already feel slightly foolish for doubting Fenix going heel. The guy's dialed into his performance, every step of the way. The mannerisms, the body language, the extra oomph on some of his attacks, plus the grimacing & snarling (even under the mask) all combine to make his heel act feel like a complete package already.

Fenix is alarmingly good. The last time I remember being this surprised by such a seamless heel transition was maybe Neville, I guess? Not sure, but this is excellent stuff.

I still prefer my Fenix to be the fiery, spirited baby face making some amazing comebacks. But this Dark Fenix stuff could be a lot of fun after all. If they stay the course & see this story through to its logical conclusion, then the redemption run should be glorious as well.

Aero Star is a fun enough baby face in his own right, but their match was a total showcase for Dark Fenix. And that spot where Fenix carried Aero and threw him against the wall like a sack of shit was just delightful. Oh. And that Black Fire Driver on the floor (to Azteca) looked SICK. Gnarly bump, and a simple way to setup the title loss.

Melissa cannot get enough credit for her contributions to the temple, ESPECIALLY over the last two seasons. She was crucial to the final stages of the Moth/Fenix angle. And yeah. Her ring announcements are always given extra effort if you pay attention. She brings subtle, nuanced differences to her announcements, all dependent on the specific situation or angle at hand. It's great.

And her performance here was on point - calling out for HER Fenix, trying to offer an uplifting reality check of sorts. I absolutely loved all that.

Love me some Yakuza kicks. When done right, they're some brutal looking strikes. But jumpstarting both the first & second match with bicycle kicks was a bit much. I don't need them to go the way of the double stomp or the thigh slap kick, plz&thnx.

At the risk of sounding like a complete movez mark though, I seriously dig Marty's moveset. The Yakuza kick. The fat guy dive. The lariat. The piledriver. The Kobashi DDT. Combine those things with his commitment to the character and his creepy look? And yeah. He's absolutely among my favorites in the temple.

The Moth is such a sleazebag. Guy's got it all, and he's easy to hate too. There's no flash or sizzle surrounding him. Nothing "cool" or outright appealing to him. He's not trying to look like an icon. He's not hoping you notice he lives for crossfit. He's a dirty, rotten, lowdown cheater. He's mean, nasty, and disgusting. There's not one redeemable quality or trait to be found, and I love it.

I was disappointed to see the Rabbit Tribe slaughtered, but it's cool to see them expanding on that story now. Paul London is a lot of fun in this role. Funny that people had him pegged as a Ricky Steamboat type back in the day, considering his odd quirks and personality & whatnot.

Anyway, he's a fine fit for this character. The look itself is great, blending a bit of that Through the Looking Glass with some Pan's Labyrinth type vibes.

The set for this scene with the White Rabbit was visually stunning also. I don't want to cast judgment against the casting of Kevin Kross here, because there's a chance it could work. I'm not thrilled about selecting this spot to introduce him, since I actually like Kross a lot & could see him contributing as a big player - if he sticks around.

But we'll see. To be fair, they've already got some heavy hitters at the top - the monster Matanza, the devastator Mil, the machine Cage, etc. So right away Kross wouldn't look all that imposing up against some of those guys with built-in reps in LU. Plus, there's still a chance he could match up with those dudes in some fun "clash of the titans" wars after he's established at some point.

Meantime? Kross did well here. I don't know that he's ever left an impression of any kind on me as a talker, but he spoke well here and commanded the scene. He has decent physical presence in front of an audience, so I'm eager to see how the crowd takes him.

The main event seemed especially abbreviated, but I can understand why in hindsight. Mil is still a fucking juggernaut though, and I'll watch any fight with him involved. The sight of him hip tossing Pentagon over the rail and into the laps of the fans was supremely cool.

I've managed to avoid spoilers for LU all season long this year, so I was surprised to see Chelsea Green spring up here. I barely recognized her at first, but the darker hair is a definite upgrade. (Brunettes forever > blondes. These are the things we know.)

Her whole bipolar, maniacal girlfriend act should be an awesome addition to the Big Mawth here. I can't wait to see them stir up shit together and make everyone within a 10-mile radius immediately uncomfortable.

But for reals. These Catrina withdrawals, y'all.

[Mrzfn]

I think what I liked best about the Kross/London scene is they were so obviously on different pages. London was excited that he killed off the other rabbits, but Kross didn't seem very interested and maybe even a little pissed. He also asked to be led to the Temple, whereas I thought he was already part of it in some way. Feels like London is in some wacky Tim Burton world while Kross is more in the vein of Fight Club or Se7en, which I think will lead to an interesting split between them down the line. I'm impressed with Kross as a character so far, and I think he could easily be big in the Temple.

I'm a big Penta guy, but the way they set Moth up to get the title was great, and he's very disturbing. Assuming Penta will get the belt back in time and that's as it should be, but it should be a great ride to the top. My main complaint about Penta's reign is he's rarely felt in danger, but now in one fell swoop he's been unexpectedly knocked off his perch.

[SomethingSavage]

Ehh. I mean, Penta's had some solid matches here & there, but the title reign was largely unremarkable for the most part. They just didn't set it up with any sense of suspense, drama, or purpose. It was primarily just a string of weekly title defenses - rendering it more of TV Title run than anything.

Doesn't help that Penta felt considerably cooled off this season. He's arguably as hot as ever everywhere else, but his hottest point in the temple came a couple of years ago when the character was given stuff to work with.

Good call on the divide between Kross and London as characters. Couldn't quite tell if you thought it was a good look or a bad thing though..? Because I dig it. London is right at home in his zone as this disturbed Wonka like figure, and the dynamic between them could be entertaining. Toss in the El Bunny midget & yeah. I'm in. They could do worse. Plus LU has a good track record with mismatched pairings.