Csonka’s Lucha Underground Review 1.07.15

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

Lucha Underground 1.07.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Prince Puma won the Aztec Warfare match @ 53:45 to become the first ever Lucha Underground Champion [****]

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* Aztec dancers and drummers kick off the show.

* Dario Cueto then says that this will be a huge year for the promotion, and tonight we shall witness the first ever Aztec Warfare match. The winner of the Aztec Warfare match will win the first ever Lucha Underground Title, which is made of gold from the seven Aztec tribes. We’re doing Royal Rumble style entrances, every 90-seconds, anything goes and eliminations are via pin and or submission.

AZTEC WARFARE: Matt Striker is completely brutal on commentary, not because of what he’s saying, but because his voice is shot from the long tapings. He sounds absolutely horrible, and Vampiro is simply a bad commentator, so it’s a rough listen this week.

The competitors for the match were: Fenix, Johnny Mundo, Mr. Cisco, King Cuerno, Drago, Son of Havoc, Prince Puma, Ivelisse, Pimpinela, Drago, Bael, Cortez Castro, Big Ryck, Ricky Mandel, Pentagon, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Super Fly Mascarita Sagrada Jr, Sexy Star, Mariachi Loco, Mil Muertes.

I thought that the match did a very good job of playing off of the storytelling that they did in the first eight episodes. Through out the match we constantly revisited feuds (Sexy Star vs. Chavo, Blue Demon returning to get revenge on Chavo, King Cuerno vs. Drago, Mundo and Puma vs. Ryck and the Crenshaw Crew) and played off of all of the groundwork that had been done. Over and over again I have discussed the storytelling of the promotion and the way that they have effectively produced quality episodic TV. By establishing these characters and feuds, and then revisiting everything here, I felt that the work paid off well as they worked to crown the first champion.

The finish of the match was the real highlight work wise. By skipping the over the top rope rules, we were able to have all of the wild dives to make sure that this did not become another monotonous battle royal. As we weaved through all of the feuds and previous pairings, we ended up with Puma vs. Mundo, which is a revisit to the debut show’s main event. They had worked together (and against each other) through out, but it was their pairing that was able to finally pin Mil Muertes and leave us with the rematch. They worked a completely entertaining closing stretch, kicking out of the big moves, but also playing off of the first match that they had. In the end, Puma scored the pin with the 630 to become the first ever champion. Mundo showed respect for Puma, and Konnan came out to celebrate with his protégé. This also opens us up to another match with Mundo vs. Puma down the line, which I am completely fine with. There is also a lot to tell with Puma and Konnan, as Konnan has not always been pleased with his meal ticket, and you can also tell that Puma has not always been buying what Konnan has been selling.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

While always a risk to only do one match on a one-hour show, I felt that this all came off great. The match was very entertaining, I felt that the booking was good and played off of the already established storytelling that they had done, and we now have a champion. By finally having a champion, we can build off of the established storytelling and also start to have more focus for the promotion, and I love that it is Puma. I really enjoyed the match and felt that the show was very easy to watch as the hour flew by for me.