Lucha Underground Season 3 Episode 19: Gods Among Men

Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for this week’s article being late. I’ve been a bit under the weather this week. But in any case welcome once again to Lucha Underground. We have a pretty full card tonight, so let’s not waste any time. We open in Dario Cueto’s office where El Jefe and Councilman Delgado are having a drink. Delgado is there to make sure the whole thing with the gauntlet is going according to plan. Dario assures Delgado that Cage loves the power so much that he doesn’t realize that it’s slowly consuming him. We also get a hint at their endgame when Delgado cryptically says that soon, he and Dario will be nothing more than men amongst gods. Dario isn’t worried, as he knows that those gods will owe them a great deal of gratitude. However, the two are soon interrupted by El Dragon Azteca. Azteca wants Matanza tonight in a death match, and he won’t take no for an answer. Well, if Azteca has some kind of death wish, that’s none of Dario’s business so El Jefe makes the match for later tonight.

After that, we go to the ring where Matt Striker and Vampiro introduce the show, but not before Vamp delivers a cryptic warning to the man who attacked him last week, Mil Muertes. But enough of that for now, it’s time for our first match.

Match #1: Texano vs. Joey Ryan

After losing the best of five series to Cage a few weeks ago, Texano is not in the best of moods, so what better way is there to vent one’s frustrations than by taking them out on the living avatar of sleaze himself, Joey Ryan. Anywho, this was actually a pretty solid back and forth match. Don’t let the porn-stache and baby oil fool you, Joey may be gross (the fact that he keeps a lollipop that close to his junk is particularly unsettling), but under all that is an talented athlete who is more than capable of holding his own against the likes of Texano. Just as it looked as though Joey had the upper-hand, Famous B and Brenda arrived at ringside wearing stereotypical cowboy attire, apparently still trying to convince Texano to call 423-GET-FAME. Famous B’s presence seemed to cause enough of a distraction to allow Texano to find his second wind and start gaining the upper hand on Joey Ryan. The match came to an end when Brenda slipped a horseshoe in the ring which Texano used to knock Joey Ryan out cold while the ref was distracted, allowing him to pick up the win.

Winner: Texano

After the match, Famous B tried to offer his services to Texano. Texano clearly wasn’t interested in B’s offer, but he did appear captivated by the feminine wiles of Brenda.

Next up, the Champion, Johnny Mundo, is in the ring flanked by his two cronies, Jack Evans and PJ Black. Johnny basically takes a moment to pat himself on the back for all his accomplishments and say that the fans never believed in him, save for that one very loud guy in the audience who believed in Johnny all along. Anywho, the topic of conversation soon turns to Johnny’s next opponent, The Mack. Johnny makes fun of the Mack’s weight and promises to take him to slam town. However, Mack doesn’t fight with words, he fights with fists and he rushes the ring and starts wailing on Johnny and his goons. The security forces try to pull him off Johnny, but Mack gives each of them a stunner and posing with the Lucha Underground Title, ending the segment.

Match #2: Cage vs. Veneno

Out first is Cage, sporting the gauntlet given to him by Dario Cueto. Out next is our newcomer, Veneno, sporting a very cool looking mask reminiscent of Spider-Man. Incidentally, I audibly giggled when Vampiro revealed that he had no idea who Spider-Man was. However, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll recognize Veneno’s mask as the very same one that Captain Vazquez pulled out of her desk, meaning that under that mask is actually Cortez Castro, healed from his injuries and once again undercover. Something I noticed is the reluctance on Cage’s face as he removes his Gauntlet before the match, symbolizing his growing dependence on it. Veneno proved to be a quick and agile opponent, befitting his Marvel Comics counterpart, but now that Cage has been super-charged by the gauntlet, the spider was easily squashed.

Winner: Cage

After the Match, Sexy Star rushes the ring and starting beating down the already broken Veneno, revealing that he was the one who’s been taunting her with the spiders. That brings up an interesting question. If Veneno is the one behind the spiders, and Castro is the one behind Veneno, what game is he playing? Is this all part of some long con to get Dario, and what part is Sexy Star unknowingly playing?

After that, we get a scene of Puma in the back training on a punching bag, all while voices from his past keep echoing in his head. The voices are so persistant that Puma clutches his head in pain. Catrina walks in and tells Puma that once you come back from having been in the spirit realm, the voices come back with you. Puma just says that all he desires is Mil’s blood and pain, but Catrina just taunts him before teleporting away.

Main Event: El Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. Matanza: Death Match

No rules, no limitations, just blood and pain. That is what awaits the two combatants in this death match. In one corner, El Dragon Azteca Jr., the young protégé of the legendary Rey Mysterio who’s speed and quickness have won him many a match. In the other corner, the creature who murdered El Dragon Azteca Jr.’s old mentor, the original El Dragon Azteca and put his current mentor in traction, The Monster, Matanza Cueto, who’s path of blood and broken bodies has littered the temple since he debuted. These two had a great match with one another that was as brutal as its name would imply. Matanza clearly had the strength advantage, but give Azteca some credit, he was able to hold the monster at bay surprisingly well. The two combatants wasted no time bringing out the weapons and fighting their way to the top of the bleachers, but all good things must come to an end, as Matanza slammed his opponent through the bleachers leaving him nothing more than a broken husk.

Winner: Matanza

After the match, Rey Mysterio made his return to check on his defeated protégé, but as soon as Matanza laid eyes on the only man to pin him, he went wild and went after Rey. The brawl went on for a while, and while it looked like Matanza was going to put Rey right back on the shelf, Rey managed to send the beast crashing through the roof of Dario Cueto’s office, ending the broadcast.

However, we’re not done yet. Outside the temple, Melissa Santos is taking selfies with fans while the sick and twisted Marty the Moth watches her from the shadows. However, while Marty is watching Melissa, someone else is watching Marty, and they take this opportunity to strike. Marty wakes up tied up in bathroom tied up with his sister, Mariposa standing over him, clearly out for revenge from last week. Strangely enough, Mariposa’s words seem to indicate that she’s actually proud of her brother’s actions and the show goes off the air with Marty cackling like the madman he is.

Match of the Night: Definitely giving it to the Death Match between Matanza and El Dragon Azteca Jr. I loved the brutality on display, but more than that, I liked the clash of styles between the fast and agile Azteca and the brute force that is Matanza. These are two very talented athletes and they both got to show their stuff and a beautiful way.

Spot of the Night: At one point during the death match, Matanza tried to slam Azteca, but Azteca avoided it by clinging to the steel rafters of the temple like Spider-Man. (Bit of a theme tonight I suppose.) Azteca then followed up that impressive defeated with what looked like a 450 leg drop. Good stuff.

Segment of the Night: The closing segment with Marty and Mariposa was nothing short of brilliant. Marty is a great competitor in the ring already, but when you let the character loose in front of the camera like this, magic happens. My favorite moment was the reveal of Marty standing in the shadows. It was beautifully shot.

Final Thoughts: This week’s show was great as always, but it was also very bittersweet, as I’ve recently learned that this episode was the final Lucha Underground before the show goes on a break until sometime this summer. Sadly, that means that these articles will be on break as well. But fret not, because the announcement of the break also came with an official confirmation on Lucha Underground Season Four. But in any case, thank you all for reading my work and I’ll see you all again when Lucha Underground returns. In the meantime, I still have plenty of comic book, movie and television reviews here on this blog for your reading pleasure.