Csonka’s Lucha Underground Review 1.28.15

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 1.28.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Fenix defeated Mil Muertes via pin [**]
~ Mr. Cisco, Cortez Castro and Bael vs. Argenis, Super Fly and AeroStar via pin [***]
~ Lucha Underground Title Match: Prince Puma defeated Cage via DQ [***]

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* Apologies for the lateness of the review. I got caught up working on the big 411 WrestleMania feature. That begins on February 26th.

* Dario Cueto fed Cage’s ego as Cage did curls and looked completely jacked.

Fenix vs. Mil Muertes: In the opening match, Fenix defeated Mil Muertes in a short but fun match. Both men have been positioned as top names, with Muertes only being defeated in the Aztec Warfare match and it took two men to do it. It was the basic speed vs. power match, and overall they played it well for the time they had to work. Muertes looked as if he was going to dominate late, but Fenix scored the win with a flash roll up for the surprise victory. On one hand this came off as a clever “little man sneaks the victory” on the over confident and more powerful heel. On the other hand, I wasn’t all that sold on Muertes losing like this after he had been so dominant. There are pros and cons to the finish, but Lucha Underground has built up a lot of good faith with me, so I am willing to see where this goes.

* They aired a completely over the top, in a fun way, video of Cage walking through a junkyard of some sort. Random guys attacked him with bottles and shit, he no sold it destroyed the unfortunate attackers. Lucha Underground’s over the top cinematic presentation feels fun and fresh, and is appreciated. I certainly don’t want it from everyone, but it works for then in the world they have built.

Mr. Cisco, Cortez Castro and Bael vs. Argenis, Super Fly and AeroStar: Following last week’s big turn on Big Ryck (who was smartly no here since his EYE WAS BURNED OUT) Mr. Cisco, Cortez Castro and Bael picked up a team victory over Argenis, Super Fly and AeroStar. Argenis and AeroStar were two of the men destroyed by Cage a couple of weeks ago, but impressed with their highflying. The face team did that here, mixing a nice batch of lucha (dives and such) with the more basic, North America style of the Crew. This led to the match having a big of a smoother flow, and possibly one that is more digestible to someone not all that familiar or in love with the basic lucha style. The Crew ended up with a definitive victory at the end of the day and continue to work well together, but Argenis, Super Fly and AeroStar were also given another opportunity to impress. But they are on the edge with them, as they will need to be careful with future booking if they want them to be more than enhancement guys. If that is to be their role, that is fine, but there seems to be a lot of potential there to waste them simply in that capacity.

Vampiro Talks With Konnan and Puma: This was the video interview teased earlier in the week. Overall I felt it came off well. Konnan refused to allow Puma to talk, and was his mouthpiece for the entire interview. This eventually upset Vampiro, and allowed them to play off of the history between he and Konnan. They need to establish that more for the Lucha Underground viewer, sure I know about it and lucha fans knows about it, but they need to tell that story even more so everyone watching gets it. I did love Vampiro noting that Konnan was sure to be there to celebrate with Puma when he had stayed in the background until then, since he wanted to “steal the moment”. The other thing was that with Konnan constantly talking for Puma, it works into the cracks in the relationship, which have slowly been coming to light. Konnan wants to be the mentor, but more importantly have control; while you can tell that Puma isn’t all that happy about it, or completely buying what Konnan is selling at times. Overall I liked this, and feel Vampiro works way better in these interviews than as a commentator.

Lucha Underground Title Match: Puma defeated Cage via DQ: This match was set up two weeks ago, when Cage made his debut. He destroyed three men in the opener of the show, and then attacked Puma after his title defense against Fenix. Cage completely dominated the tired champion and was awarded the title shot from Dario Cueto. I know that he’s not tall, but I do not understand how Cage did not end up with WWE and on TV. The dude is completely jacked, is strong, and is a freak athlete. You’d think Vince would have an orgasm just looking at the guy. Anyway, they worked really well together and I enjoyed what they did overall. With Cage not being a tall guy, Puma’s offense comes across as completely believable. Plus with his established work against big guys like Ryck and Muertes, it isn’t out of the question to the established fan base. They were really building a good match when Cage kicked Puma in the nuts for the DQ. I hate the ending in many ways, but they have to continue the feud. Post match, Cage ran wild and when Konnan tried to make the save, he got brutalized and busted open. Cage then took the Lucha Underground title and ripped it in half. Overall it’s a good angle, but two things to discuss. First of all I felt that commentary was really lax on selling the entire thing. This should have felt bigger than it was, but they never sold it that way. Also, while Konnan being beaten bloody was a good visual, I am not sure why I should care. Konnan generally comes off as a dick, meeting with Cueto and looking to get paid off of Puma’s success. There is no real emotional bond between the two, so why should the audience feel bad for Konnan? With that being said, Puma continues to be awesome, Cage has been made out to be a beast and overall I do think that this worked well despite some issues I had.

* Post match mystery woman Angela Fong met with Dario Cueto. She’s looking for someone, and Cueto said he didn’t know that name. Fong then disappeared and there was actually a FUCKING WOOSH sound effect. It was completely cheesy, but I refuse to hate it because it just fits Lucha Underground.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Overall this was another good show. There was some good wrestling, and the continued build of the machine, Cage is going very well. It actually feels like they are taking a guy, giving him the proper booking to become a star, and are letting it unfold. Puma is a great face the crowd loves, and are emotionally invested in him. Due to that, they do not like Cage in the “he’s an asshole heel” kind of way. It is working.

Again, it’s not all perfect. The commentary is weak in moments it needs to be strong. Striker does fine overall, but I do not feel he’s a lead announcer. Vampiro is generally the shits most of the time, keep him on the pre-tape interviews because he does those well. The promotion needs to sell that Vampiro/Konnan history to make things make more sense as far as the friction that exists. Vampiro just dropping a few lines during commentary doesn’t cut it.

Overall this was another easy and fun hour to watch, and I strongly feel that the promotion is getting more right than wrong. The fact that the show continues to feel fresh as opposed to other promotions is one of the biggest things in their favor right now.