wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s Lucha Underground Review 3.25.15

March 25, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka
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Csonka’s Lucha Underground Review 3.25.15  

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.

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Lucha Underground 3.25.15 – Episode 20: The Art of War


OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Son of Havoc defeated Angelico @ 6:50 via pin [**½]
~ AAA Mega Championship Bullrope Match: Champion Alberto El Patron vs. Texano @ 8:26 via submission [***½]
~ Lucha Underground Street Fight: Champion Prince Puma defeated Cage @ 12:18 via pin [***¾]


Angelico vs. Son of Havoc: Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse have been having issues and matches over the past few weeks. Basically Ivelisse thinks she’s the baddest bitch in the room, and also thinks that Havoc is a loser even though she’s still with him. Ivelisse and Angelico have had matches, but I haven’t been the biggest fan of them due to the way Angelico is booked to joke around and not take her seriously. Angelico looks like he has a lot of potential but hasn’t been used that well thus far. They had a fun sprint, lots of quick moving parts and some cool dives (like Angelico running corner to corner and then hitting the dive out of that). Son of Havoc was getting a lot of near falls and also gaining the support of the crowd. Ivelisse kept yelling at him, basically acting like he was doing nothing right. Havoc had a sweet RANA counter out of Angelico’s razor’s edge, and looked to have things won. But then he grabbed the mic and said he’s been losing all of his matches due to Ivelisse, and then dumped her. He then hit the shooting star press on Angelico for the win. The match was a fun little sprint, but I wasn’t into the story all that much to be honest with you. Also, the whole “get on the mic, cut a promo and then hit your finish” bullshit really killed the end for me. He should have won the match, allowed Ivelisse to celebrate and attempt to take credit and then dumped her. I think the finish makes Angelico look weak as hell. Angelico decided he wanted to be the rebound guy for Ivelisse, but she kicked him in the head. I think I would have been more into this whole thing if they would have booked the Ivelisse vs. Angelico matches better or given me a real reason to care about Havoc. I have no idea why the crowd has taken to him so much, but its good for him that they seem invested.

* Dario Cueto has signed former TNA star Hernandez to a contract. We get that video package now.

AAA Mega Championship Bullrope Match: Champion Alberto El Patron vs. Texano: Texano was the AAA Mega Champion for over 700 days until El Patron came to AAA and defeated him for the title. El Patron made his way to Lucha Underground, Texano followed and the feud has continued here. They previously had one match, which ended in a DQ and El Patron beating the piss out of Texano with the bullrope. Texano used the same weapon when he debuted and attacked El Patron. They are tired together with the bullrope, which has a cowbell in the middle; pins or submissions to win. These guys have a good chemistry, and I felt used the gimmick well but did not rely on it as a crutch. The crowd was really good and responded well to the near falls down the stretch. We had the bullrope (cowbell), the chair and even a table, which saw Patron powerbomed off the top and through. That resulted in a great near fall. Patron won when he scored the hanging arm bar in the ropes, and Texano tapped. On one hand I appreciate the quick tap because it makes sense, but we’ve seen that spot so much over the years that the finish was abrupt, and a bit anticlimactic and disappointing for the finish. I can’t imagine that they keep the program going, Patron kicked the shit out of him last time and made him his bitch by tapping this time. They need to move on.

* Konnan works with Puma as they train for the Cage rematch. Hernandez arrives and Konnan even namedrops LAX. Hernandez tells Puma he’s a big fan and they knux it out. On a semi-related note I have the same polo shirt that Konnan is wearing.

Lucha Underground Street Fight: Champion Prince Puma vs. Cage: Hernandez is in the crowd to watch the match. Cage debuted by destroying three other Luchadores in an elimination match. Later that night, he beat the piss out of Puma and the feud was on. Cage actually ripped Puma’s title in half, beat down Konnan and left him bloody, and later got a win over the champion when Konnan threw in the towel. Since then, Konnan and Puma have been preparing for their revenge. Dario Cueto appears to reveal a new Lucha underground Title. This was a well worked big vs. small style match, focusing on the athleticism and Speed of Puma and the power and agility of Cage. They had some chances to work before and seemed to be on the same page here, some chairs and trashcan lids were involved, but not to a degree of overload. Oh, and Puma did this…

Which was pretty fucking sweet. With the street fight stipulation and the previous beating Cage gave Puma and Konnan, Puma going deep into his repertoire for something like this not only popped the crowd, but made sense because he needs t put this man away. Not only for revenge, but also to keep his title. Cage fought back from that and started to just brutalize Puma and even Konnan again. They did some really good stuff down the stretch, with Puma getting a near fall off of a chair shot and brain buster on the chair, but then missing the 630. Cage then turned him inside out with the discus lariat and then unloaded with ground and pound similar to when Konnan threw in the towel weeks ago. Cage then powerbombed Puma on the trashcan and then talked trash to Hernandez. This led to Konnan entering the ring and hitting Cage with the metal cane he crafted in the video packages over the last few weeks. Puma then hit the 630 to retain the title. It got a little too cute at the end with Hernandez and Konnan’s involvement, even if it played into the story.

* Konnan then presented Puma with the new title and they embraced as the show ended.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”

8.0
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
It wasn’t as great of a show as last week, but I felt that overall it was a very good show. I wasn’t wild about the opener’s whole deal, but I appreciate the storytelling even if I am not the biggest fan of it. The Alberto El Patron vs. Texano match was another good one for them, even with the anticlimactic ending. I felt that the title match added a feel of importance to the show, like you had to see it, which is a good thing. The same goes for the main event, which was a good match, if a bit overbooked at the end. We have seemingly closed the book on the Patron vs. Texano and Cage vs. Puma feuds, and looks to start fresh next week with some new stories.

While I am always a big fan of good wrestling, what I appreciate even more from Lucha Underground is their storytelling. They have really done well booking episodic TV. We have a great feeling of building to peaks before dropping into a small valley before peaking again; just like a great roller coaster. The show continues to be easy to follow and very fun to watch.

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