wrestling / Columns

Pentagon Jr: Bringing Simple Evil Back to Wrestling

April 18, 2015 | Posted by Dino Zee

As a wrestling fan, there are so many things that I can draw from for personal enjoyment. Sometimes, a pure wrestling match with little-to-no shenanigans can get me going. Steve Austin and Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1996, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21, or Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit battling it out during some late 1995 WCW program are examples of these types of matches that I love so much. Other times, a good, brutal brawl will suffice. Shane McMahon and Angle at the 2001 King of the Ring, or Austin and Triple H in 3 Stages of Hell at No Way Out 2001, or even Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 19 would be some good examples of this type of match.

Other times, a good shocking segment can make me forget all that’s wrong with the world. Scott Hall appearing on Nitro. The Arrival of the Nexus. Ultimate Warrior getting locked into a casket. Again, this is the goodness that makes up wrestling.

Sometimes, though… sometimes, all I need is a nice dose of some good, old fashioned evil. A bad guy. Someone who does something for no reason outside of being able to do it. No friends; no trying to be cool. A combatant who cares little for wins and championships, preferring instead to see blood and hear bones snap. Bad News Brown. Kevin Sullivan. The initial version of Mankind.

And, most recently, Pentagón Jr.

When Pentagón Jr (we’ll just call him “Pentagón” from here on out) first arrived in Lucha Underground, he was one of three talented luchadores that had been hyped up, along with Fenix and Drago. While Fenix was quickly positioned as the “star” of the trio, and Drago was able to stand out due to his unique look, Pentagón was shown to be, well, a little crazy.

He didn’t really find himself in a big feud right off the bat, instead being allowed to display the antics that make the man the nightmare that he is. Pentagón would find himself gaining traction in Lucha Underground, becoming known as the man who will hurt you. His Fear Factor package piledriver is lethal, and his powerbomb variants can crush you immediately.

But that wasn’t enough for Pentagón. Instead, Pentagón decided to rededicate himself to earning the approval of his maestro – his sensei. To that end, Pentagón unleashed his full evil, and has gone on a string of arm breaking attacks.

And like that, Lucha Underground had its evil presence. Sure, Mil Muertes was somewhat in that role already, but he seemed less an evil presence, and more of a simple juggernaut, one who showed up to destroy his opponent, but never really taking things any further than that. He was more a hired assassin than someone simply looking to find pleasure in someone else’s pain.

Pentagón, however, cares only about hurting someone. This is such a refreshing change from WWE’s world of heels that are bad guys because they play a corporate game, or act like huge chickenshits. Rusev is probably the closest thing to a true heel that they have, and even he has to play up the Foreign Menace trope in order to maintain any heat. Having someone just be a completely evil son of a bitch has been lost. Hell, we’ve had Kane running around in a suit for the better part of a year now. KANE!

It’s not much better in TNA, though we at least have Bram doing his best at the role. He’s more uncaring hooligan than evil presence, though, and while there’s nothing wrong with that (I think Bram is the best thing in TNA not named ECIII), it doesn’t quite fill the void. Hell, James Storm seemed to be heading down that path when he started The Revolution, but that appears to have been pulled back a bit, too. He’s more brainwasher than pure evil, and he absolutely cares about winning titles.

Even better, Pentagón seems to turn it up to a new level with each passing week. At first, he was breaking the arms of his opponents. That soon changed to attacking partners, which then gave way to threatening women.

This past Wednesday saw Pentagón again crank it up a level, as he attacked ring announcer Melissa Santos. He manhandled her in one of those Lucha Underground segments that get a little uncomfortable to watch, like when Chavo Guerrero smashed Sexy Star in the head with a chair. Yeah, I grew up watching Chyna eat Stunners and Trish and Mae Young get powerbombed through tables, and I even watched Bully Ray put Dixie through a table, but Lucha Underground seems to have, pardon the expression, zero fear when it comes to having men and women interact.

As Pentagón threw Melissa around the ring, he was attacked from behind by Sexy Star, bringing it all to an end. And just like that, Sexy Star has to be considered the person in the most danger on the entire roster. Is Pentagón going to get his hands on her? Is he going to succeed in breaking her arm? Better yet, will we see the in-ring return of Vampiro? After all, before Sexy Star managed to make the save, it was Vampiro that the cameras showed leaving the announce booth, looking like he was going to try to play the hero. Will he continue to show disgust with Pentagón’s antics? Will he end up paying the price for it?

As someone who has never been a fan of Vampiro, just the thought of Lucha Underground cutting to a commercial with Pentagón standing over him while he clutches at a broken arm makes me smile. Because, as I said at the start, I can enjoy a purely evil heel.

I think what makes Pentagón specifically so amazing is the environment in which he’s wrestling. Lucha Underground was positioned as a place for the top wrestlers in the world to come together in order to win money, titles, and fame. Dario Cueto, we were led to believe, would be the Evil Heel Owner, and would most likely be the one doing all the underhanded stuff.

We saw hints of this early on, with Cueto offering big money payouts for matches, only to change his mind, and to then sic his cronies on anyone that stood against his desires. At that point, Lucha Underground appeared to be giving us what we were used to, but with luchadores! It seemed like a place to dip your toes into the pool if you didn’t really watch lucha libre, or a place to catch up with some of your favorite AAA wrestlers in new spot.

Before we even realized it, however, Lucha Underground stumbled upon its villain. A man who has no loyalty to anyone but his master, a master that apparently wants to watch everyone suffer as the world burns. This is Pentagón, and what he brings to the table allows him to stand out in a land full of masked wrestlers doing crazy moves. His bloodlust separates him. His willingness to hurt anyone in the ring with him makes him the one to watch.

In Lucha Underground, there are many things to see, and many wrestlers to watch. There are aerial wizards. There are machines. There are former superstars. There are champions. There’s even a Son of Havoc. They all come together with the goal of proving they are the best, by defeating anyone that stands in their way.

And then there’s Pentagón, Jr. He is here to hurt you, and he will prove to be the best by being the only one without any broken limbs. He can brawl, he can fly, he’s got technical prowess… but everyone’s got that in Lucha Underground. What he has, is a deep hate in his heart, and nobody in Lucha Underground is going to be able to take that away from him. The only chance is to stop Pentagón, and that’s been proven to be a difficult task to this point.

For my money, he’s the best thing going in Lucha Underground, and it’s not even close. Every time he’s on screen, it’s a must-watch moment. Who will be the one to stop him? As of now, it doesn’t look like anyone’s in a big rush to be that person.

Zero Fear. No fear of his opponents. No fear of his boss. No fear of the consequences. Pentagón is a dangerous, dangerous man.


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