Lucha Underground Season 3 Episode 3: Ultimate Opportunities
Welcome back to the latest episode of Lucha Underground. Today’s episode opens with Rey Mysterio and El Dragon Azteca Jr. sparring in the temple gym. Azteca wants a match against Pentagon Dark, but Rey says that Pentagon has enough enemies to wear someone else will eventually take him out for them, they have more important things to do, like finding out what really happened to their mentor, the original El Dragon Azteca. However, Rey and Azteca’s sparring match is interrupted by none other than Chavo Guerrero. For those not in the know, Chavo Guerrero is a member of the legendary Guerrero wrestling family, all of whom lived by the mantra of lie, cheat and steal. Chavo himself is the nephew of legendary wrestler, the late, great Eddie Guerrero. Rey, both in the realm of wrestling and in real life is a close friend of the Guerrero family, but right now, that doesn’t matter to a snake like Chavo as he attacks Dragon Azteca and taunts him before leaving.
We go to the ring and like the season premiere, Dario has his Dial of Doom ready to go. Dario gets ready to spin the wheel, but not before getting some nice heel heat by taunting Matanza’s last opponent, Son of Havoc. He even goes as far as to say that Son of Havoc went crying home to his mother after beat him so bad. Anywho, Dario spins the wheel and we get our first match.
Match #1: The Mack vs. Matanza: Lucha Underground Title Match
This match started with the gas pedal pressed all the way to the floor as Matanza awaited Mack’s arrival from the bottom of the temple steps and Mac got him from behind with a stunner. Mack wasted no time going for pin falls, but it was clear it would take more than that to take down the monster. This was a really exciting match with a lot of intensity and some great spots. Mind you, it wasn’t quite as exciting as the Matanza’s match with Son of Havoc two weeks prior, but it was still an absolute joy to watch. I particularly liked Mack’s running shoulder tackle that sent Matanza flying. Mack is a very unique talent in Lucha Underground and it’s always great to watch him go all out, especially against an opponent of equal size and strength as we’ve seen in his matches with Cage. While Mack fought valiantly, Matanza once again came out on top.
Winner: Matanza
Following that match, we find out that the “crying home to mommy” comment wasn’t just Dario being a dick as we see Havoc at his mother’s house watching one of Famous B’s commercials on TV. Joining Havoc is Mascarita Sagrada, who let’s the audience know exactly how he feels about Famous B with a charming hand gesture. Since both men have been screwed over by Famous B and his new client, Dr. Wagner in the past, Havoc and Mascarita decide they need to put together a plan to take him down, but not before the incredibly surreal scene of Havoc’s mother walking into the room with a shiny box of bagel bites.
Next, we return to Dario’s office where I can’t be sure, but it’s heavily implied that Dario is snorting cocaine. Johnny Mundo and the World Wide Underground barge in as Johnny demands a Lucha Underground title match. Dario refuses, but offers the WWU a chance to regain their Trios titles later in the night. Johnny, not willing to settle for anything less than the Lucha Underground title itself, angrily storms out of the office, Dario naming Taya as his replacement in the title main event.
Match #2: Texano vs. Cage
Before the match, Dario comes out to make an announcement. Due to the incredible respect Dario has for these two and the fact that they both lost in the first round of the tournament at Ultima Lucha Dos, he’s adding an extra twist to this match. The winner of this match will receive what Dario describes as “The Ultimate Opportunity.” What is this ultimate opportunity? We’ll find out once this match has a winner.
I’ve mentioned many times before that I am a great fan of Cage due to his versatility as well as his great agility despite his size. However, Texano is no slouch either, after all, he was the longest reigning Triple A Mega Champion for a reason. So naturally, a match between these two great talents was nothing short of awesome. There were a lot of quick strikes as well as a great deal of solid mat wrestling in this match. Also, before I go any further, I just want to say how much I absolutely love how the fans clap in the rhythm of the theme from Terminator to show their support for Cage. Despite the two warriors being evenly matched, Cage eventually came out on top
Winner: Cage After the match, Dario comes out and announces that this match was only the first in a best of five series between Cage and Texano, the winner receiving Dario’s ultimate opportunity.
After the match, we return to Dario’s office where he’s examining some creepy looking pictures. Despite pausing to get a better look, I still cannot make out what the pictures are supposed to be of, but they seem to be bothering Dario whatever they are. Dragon Azteca walks in the room demanding a match against Pentagon. Dario thinks it’s a good idea and pencils it in as he throws the creepy pictures in the trash. We also learn during this segment that Dario’s bodyguard, Black Lotus, has returned to Hong Kong to take care of some personal business. After Azteca leaves, we get the surprise return of Ricky Mandel, who hasn’t been seen since season one. Ricky asks Dario when his next match is going to be, but not before commenting on the pictures, which, must to Dario’s surprise, have magically reappeared on his desk. Noticeably shaken, Dario gives the pictures to Ricky who promptly leaves. However, Dario’s office is rather popular today as Chavo enters saying that he and Dario need to talk.
Main Event: Fenix, Drago & Aerostar vs. The World Wide Underground: Trios Title Match
The match opened up with Jack Evans being a cocky idiot as usual. After struggling to remove his jacket, Jack then intentionally blindfolds himself in order to take on Drago. However, Jack’s shenanigans don’t really sit well with his teammates and some trouble starts brewing in the ranks of the World Wide Underground as Drago and the others look on with confusion. Eventually, the match gets underway and boy is it a sight to behold. All six of these wrestlers are incredibly talented and with many of them being high flyers, this match had no shortage of tasty spots. More than that though, the match told a great story, possibly foreshadowing a breakup of the World Wide Underground. Speaking of, the inner turmoil between the WWU ultimately led to their downfall and allowed the Champions to take advantage and get the pin.
Winners: Fenix, Drago & Aerostar
After the match, Johnny Mundo came out and attacked the champions, his presence seeming to get the WWU back on the same page. Fortunately for team Fenix, Sexy Star came out to even the odds, forcing the WWU to retreat.
Our episode ends with Rey Mysterio in Dario Cueto’s office. Dario says that he’s made El Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero for next week, the winner getting a match against Pentagon Dark (Pentagon having cost Chavo an opportunity at the world title last season). And of course, it wouldn’t be an idea from the mind of Dario Cueto without a twist, as Dario has added Rey to the match as the special guest referee.
Match of the Night: While Mack vs. Matanza and Cage vs. Texano were strong contenders this week, the match of the night goes to the trios title match. It was a perfect blend of comedic spots, high-flying action, great storytelling and just plain awesome wrestling. Jack Evans being a cocky jerk was absolutely hilarious, and when he walked out of the ring to sit and pout, I could barely contain my laughter. The spots, particularly some of the double and triple team moves from our champions, were all incredible. Taya was a welcome addition to the group and I rather enjoyed how she sort of played mother to the arguing Jack and PJ. And of course, it wouldn’t be a trios match in the temple if it didn’t devolve into utter glorious chaos at the end. All in all, a fun and entertaining match between six of the best fighters in the temple.
Spot of the Night: Mack’s running shoulder tackle was a very close second, but Aerostar’s Frankensteiner to PJ Black in mid-air won by a hair. If you think Randy Orton hitting an RKO out of nowhere onto Evan Bourne was impressive, you ain’t seen nothing yet, because the warriors of Lucha Underground pull off moves like that five times before breakfast.
Segment of the Night: I have to give it to the opening segment with Rey, Azteca and Chavo. Chavo, true to the Guerrero name, is just as sleazy and underhanded as he’s ever been, but there’s also a sense that he has some respect for Rey, at least enough to let Dragon Azteca go when Rey asks. This scene does a great job in building next weeks main event and emphasizes the conflict Rey will face next week as the special referee. Will he choose his loyalty to the Guerrero family or his loyalty to his pupil? The way Chavo makes his entrance in this scene is nice too, showing up during their practice bout to sarcastically count the pin. It’s a great scene and I’m really intrigued to see how this story develops.
Final Thoughts: While it didn’t contain a standout spectacle of a match or some incredibly story development like the previous week, this episode still managed to come out on top as usual. There are several new developments introduced in this episode that leave the audience with plenty to think about. What do Havoc and Mascarita have in store for Famous B? How will Rey Mysterio as the referee affect the outcome of next weeks match? Will the World Wide Underground ever be able to get back on the same page? And my personal favorite, what in the holy hell was up with those pictures? In the end though, I enjoyed this weeks Lucha Underground a great deal and look forward to more.