411’s Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors Report 08.06.10

It’s Balls Out Friday on MTV 2, which means that it’s another week of high-flying Lucha Libre USA action and we’ve got a big show this week as another first round Lucha Libre USA Tag Team Championship match sees the team of Lujo Esquire and Marco Corleone facing off against El Oriental and Tinieblas Jr., while RJ Brewer meets up with Magno in a rematch of their main event match a couple of weeks ago that saw Magno sneak out a victory by removing his own mask to force Brewer’s disqualification. The show starts out with Rebecca Reyes in the backstage area talking to Magno and she brings up that match and the disqualification, as well as the rematch. Magno says that last week Brewer came into LLUSA and tried to tell him and his friends what lucha was about and how he disrespected them and this week, he’ll get a taste of what lucha really is. While all of that is going on, we get a fight breaking out at the mini poker game as Pequeno Halloween swears that everyone is cheating and leaves, but not before getting him a little taste as he slaps Reyes on the ass. From there, it’s the standard show opening and the disembodied voices of Nigel Sherrod and Lola Gonzalez welcoming us to the show. They run down the card and show us the highlights from the Brewer/Magno rivalry before it’s time for action! The video package actually does a pretty good job of hyping up the match, making it seem like this has been a much longer feud than just a couple of weeks.

Combate Uno:
RJ Brewer vs. Magno

Brewer takes an extra-long time to make his way into the ring, soaking up every ounce of heel heat that he can, which is such a sweet move. The bell rings and we’re underway with Magno ducking a clothesline and taking Brewer down with a hip toss before whipping him into the ropes for a HUGE back bodydrop and a nice dropkick that sends Brewer out to the floor. Brewer ducks in to break the count and heads back out to the floor to compose himself before they lock up in a test of strength, but Brewer kicks Magno right in the gut. Headbutt from Brewer and a big European uppercut floors Magno before Brewer locks in a side headlock. Magno shoots him off into the ropes and Brewer takes him down with a shoulderblock and runs the ropes before Magno wins the exchange with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker that gets a two-count. Standing moonsault from Magno….1….2….Brewer just rolls the shoulder!! Magno with an Irish whip and Brewer ducks under a pair of clotheslines before chop blocking Magno’s knees right out from under him. Brewer attacks the leg with elbowdrops and then locks in a leglock, posting the knee and yanking on Magno’s ankle. Magno reaches and makes the ropes for the break, but he can’t get to his feet and Brewer drags him up and rams him into the top turnbuckle. BIG chops in the corner from Brewer and he isolates Magno’s knee on the middle rope for some kicks before charging from the opposite corner with a big seated dropkick. Brewer drags Magno out from the corner and covers, but only manages a two-count.

Brewer argues with the referee and then turns his attention back to Magno, working the trapezeus hold as the crowd tries to rally Magno to his feet. Magno fights out and works the elbow to the gut before landing a big right hand. Magno whips Brewer but Brewer reverses it into the corner and catches Magno coming out of the corner with a big boot to the gut and a European uppercut that came straight out of Belgium. Brewer goes back to isolating the knee on the ropes and tries for the seated dropkick again, but Magno gets out of the way and Brewer crotches himself on the middle turnbuckle. Magno with a massive flapjack slam and a pair of clotheslines before he ducks some Brewer punches to land a jumping enziguri. He crawls over for the cover….1….2…Brewer just barely kicks out again. Magno picks Brewer up with a fireman’s carry and hits a MAGNO DRIVAHHH!!! Magno heads to the apron and hits a SPRINGBOARD TWISTING SPLASH FROM THE TOP ROPE!! COVER….1…..2…………NO!! BREWER KICKS OUT WITH A TENTH OF A SECOND TO SPARE!! Magno with the Irish whip into the corner and he charges in, but Brewer moves and Magno eats buckle. Brewer goes for a neckbreaker, but Magno reverses it with right hands and they separate with Brewer charging in for a clothesline. Magno ducks and the referee gets WAFFLED by Brewer and down he goes! Brewer charges Magno in the corner, but Magno reverses and sits Brewer up on the top turnbuckle before hitting another jumping enziguri to the back. Magno charges to the corner and tries for a springboard into a hurrancanrana, but botches the jump to the ropes and has to climb up. Brewer takes the extra second to his advantage and lays a forearm into Magno’s huevos. Magno is down and Brewer heads over for the cover, but the referee is still down. Brewer goes back to Magno and picks him up, but Magno can barely stand. Brewer goes back to check on the referee, but Magno was playing possum….SCHOOL BOY…1…..2………3!!!! MAGNO OUTSMARTS BREWER AGAIN!!

Winner: Magno (pinfall, roll-up) ***1/2

Another great match between Brewer and Magno and this is building to be one of the best feuds in Lucha Libre USA both inside and outside of the ring. Brewer is playing his heel role to perfection and Magno is great as the smart and cocky technico that manages to keep getting the one-up on Brewer. Their chemistry in the ring is really evident and they have put on two great matches so far with this one being a little better as there was an actual finish. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Back from the commercial break and we get some highlights from the Brewer/Magno match before we go to a pre-taped segment from earlier today with Marco Corleone trying to fire up Solid about being in Massachusetts. Corleone notices that something is bothering Solid and he says that he can’t figure out how to get his revenge on Lizmark Jr. and Sydistiko and that it’s bothering him more and more. Corleone says that he needs to forget about them and not let them get inside his head. He says that Lizmark has been doing the same thing in Mexico for the past four years while Sydistiko is like a Lizmark clone. He says that he needs him to watch his back and they fist bump on it before they show a highlight package of Solid getting his ass handed to him by Treachery in the past few weeks.

Combate Dos: Trios Match
Pequeno Halloween, Saber Claw and Neutronic vs. Mascarita Dorada and The PR Powers (PR Flyer and San Juan Kid)

Oh man, this one is going to be hell to try to keep up with. San Juan Kid and Saber Claw start things out with a lock up into a Saber Claw armbar and Kid reverses it with a backflip before transitioning to a side headlock. Saber shoots Kid into the ropes and misses a clothesline, but catches him on the other side with a beautiful jumping kick to the face. Northern Lights suplex by Saber gets a two-count on Kid and he pushes Kid into the corner before whipping him across. Saber charges, but Kid flips over him and does a cartwheel before charging at Saber and ducking a clothesline. Kid up to the second rope for a flying armdrag takedown and he charges Saber, but Saber puts Kid over the ropes to the apron. Kid hits a shoulder to the gut and springboards back into the ring with a hurrancanrana before dropkicking Saber Claw out to the floor. Neutronic and PR Flyer make the switch and lock-up with Neutronic hitting a go-behind and spinning Flyer into an armbar. Flyer rolls out of it and reverses into an armdrag takedown that seems to have pissed Neutronic off. He charges and levels Flyer with a back elbow into the corner and follows it up with a big slap to the chest before whipping Flyer across the ring. Flyer reverses the whip and charges, but Neutronic backdrops him over to the apron before trying a right hand that gets blocked. Right hand from Flyer and he springboards into the ring onto the second rope, missing a moonsault and landing on his feet before rolling under a clothesline. Flyer with a casadora into an armdrag and Neutronic rolls over to his corner and looks like he’s ready for a change.

He comes into the center of the ring and offers up a handshake, but instead slaps Flyer in the chest with a hard chop and then plays to the crowd and heads over to his teammates for some gloating. Flyer eats a seated dropkick from Neutronic, but he was still able to make a tag to Dorada, who springboards to the top and hits a missile dropkick on Neutronic. Halloween takes it upon himself to switch in, charging at Dorada and kicking him in the face before trying an Irish whip into the ropes. Dorada springboards onto the second rope and hits a flying cross-bodyblock before lighting Halloween up with a big chop and a hard kick to the inside of Halloween’s knee. Dorada with an Irish whip and Halloween with a reversal as Dorada tries for a tilt-a-whirl head scissors but Halloween just dumps him to the mat. Chops from Halloween and he whips Dorada across, but Dorada hits the casadora into the tilt-a-whirl head scissors, which gets a pretty good pop from the crowd. Dorada ducks under a clothesline from Halloween and hits his patented TRIPLE TILT-A-WHIRL HEAD SCISSORS OF DOOM!! Both men stagger around dizzy and Dorada is the first to recover, but Halloween charges at him in the corner. Dorada hops up the ropes and hooks onto Halloween to see-saw him over the top rope to the floor. SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA FROM DORADA TO HALLOWEEN ON THE FLOOR!! Flyer and Neutronic in the ring now and Flyer takes Neutronic down with a spinning heel kick that sends Neutronic out to the floor before Flyer hits AN ASBOLUTELY MASSIVE SPRINGBOARD TOP ROPE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR!! He was up so high in the air he nearly missed Neutronic, but that was some freakish athleticism so props to him on that. TOPE SUICIDA ON THE PIG PILE BY SABER CLAW!!!

San Juan Kid tries to get in on the fun, but Halloween pulls him down to the mat face-first off of a springboard and rolls him out to the floor. Halloween sets up a chair in the middle of the ring and gets a running head start….TOPE CON GIRO TO THE FLOOR!! San Juan Kid is climbing the top rope in the far corner above all four men……630 MOONSAULT OFF THE TOP TO THE FLOOR!!! DORADA WITH A SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT OFF THE TOP ROPE ONTO ALL THREE RUDOS!! THERE’S BODIES EVERYWHERE!! Neutronic in the ring with San Juan Kid and he drops him with a back elbow into the corner before he clotheslines Flyer’s head off of his shoulders. Neutronic whips Flyer into the corner and charges, catching a boot from Flyer and flinging him into the ropes, but Flyer springs off the top with an enziguri as San Juan Kid heads up to the top rope. CORKSCREW SOMERSAULT SENTON FROM KID!! COVER…..1…….2……….3!!! Crazy finish as the technicos pick up the win and the crowd goes nuts!!

Winners: Mascarita Dorada and The PR Powers (pinfall, Kid’s corkscrew somersault senton on Neutronic) ***

Yeah, it was a spotfest, but damned if it wasn’t an entertaining spotfest. This is the kind of action that was missing from last week’s show and all six guys brought it in spades here. It doesn’t mean a damn thing and I’m sure that no one is going to be elevated or dropped down the card by this match, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. Great showcase of exciting lucha moves here and a very good display of the lucha formula for trios matches, but I can’t give this one any more than three stars which is about my limit for matches like this one.

After the commercial break, we get a look at a psychiatric evaluation that Lucha Libre USA demanded on Sydistiko and we get grainy footage of Sydistiko talking about running into all of these people on the street in various situations and all of them asking him if he’s crazy. He says he’s not crazy, he might have too much sugar in him but he’s not crazy. He says that he doesn’t like the cut of the technicos’ jibs and adds that he doesn’t trust anyone that has a filter between their brains and their bodies and says that there are some guys that you know about and then there are there are just some guys and he walks off-screen laughing as the footage goes even grainier and out of focus before cutting out completely. Cool segment that gives us a little more of Sydistiko than just what we get in the ring.

Backstage, Rebecca Reyes is with Mascara Pupura and she asks him about his goals in Lucha Libre USA. He says one of his goals is to be Lucha Libre USA Champion and that he’s just waiting for the commission to give him his chance to get into the tournament for the belt. He tries to go on, but he’s cut off by Super Nova, who is in the middle of the ring and calling out Sydistiko. He gives Sydistiko to the count of ten to come out to the ring and starts the countdown, getting up to ten before saying that he’s on his way back to the locker room to find Sydistiko. Wow, that was a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully we get the payoff before the hour is up.

Combate Tres: Lucha Libre USA Tag Team Championship First Round Match
El Oriental w/streamers and Tinieblas Jr. vs. Marco Corleone and Lujo Esquire

This one is starting out with five minutes left in the show, so suffice it to say that I don’t have very high hopes. The match starts out with Oriental and Esquire and Oriental does a little gymnastics before the bell before eating a wicked boot to the face from Lujo. Oriental with forearms, but they have no effect on Esquire and he hits a forearm to the face of Oriental before whipping him into the ropes. Oriental rolls under a clothesline and kicks Esquire in the gut before locking in a tornado DDT that plants Esquire on his head. Tinieblas Jr. comes in and lays in some kicks as Corleone tries to get the attention of the referee and both rudos knock Corleone off the apron to the floor. Corleone slides in and tries to get involved, but the referee cuts him off. Tinieblas with more stomps on Esquire in the corner and he and Oriental both slide under the bottom rope to hook Esquire’s ankles and post him right in the huevos. Tinieblas gloats in the ring and Oriental joins him, but Corleone has seen enough and starts laying them out with haymakers!! Corleone with a big swing and a miss on Tinieblas and Tinieblas is able to hit a sitout chinlock slam on Corleone before both rudos swarm and attack. Tinieblas locks in a reverse chinlock while Oriental just bites at Corleone’s fingers and here comes Nova and Sydistiko brawling on the entrance stage!!

They fight to the ringside area and into the crowd with Nova beating the crap out of Sydistiko. In the ring, the rudos are continuing to work over Corleone as Nova sets up a ladder on a balcony. They fight at the top of the ladder and Nova knocks Sydistiko off before hitting a somersault senton onto Sydistiko that takes him out! Nova celebrates on the balcony as Corleone continues to take a major league ass-whipping in the corner. Double-Irish whip from the rudos and Corleone floats over Tinieblas, leapfrogs over Oriental, leapfrogs over Oriental again and over Tinieblas before hitting a springboard up to the top rope for a HUGE DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE ON ORIENTAL AND TINIEBLAS!! Esquire’s in the ring now and he whips Oriental into the ropes and catches him in a bearhug while Corleone blasts him in the face with a dropkick. Spinning heel kick from Esquire on Tinieblas and we see that Rellik has dragged out Solid and is holding him for Tinieblas to come flying out of nowhere with a plancha that takes out the portly sidekick. Lizmark Jr. starts sneaking to the ring and ESQUIRE HITS A TOPE SUICIDA OVER THE TOP ROPE ONTO RELLIK AND SOLID!! Marco sets up for Air Corleone, but Lizmark whacks him in the back of the head to break it up. Left hand from Corleone sets Lizmark on his ass and Tinieblas takes advantage of the distraction to hit a pump kick on Coreleone!! He rolls Corleone up and hooks the legs…..1…..2…..3!! El Oriental and Tinieblas Jr. advance in the tournament!!

Winners: El Oriental and Tinieblas Jr. (pinfall, Tinieblas pump kick on Corleone) **

A decent match up to the screwy finish that just had way too much going on. I could tell that things were going to go a little weird with so little time left, but this was kind of all over the place. Sure, it was at least showing continuity with all of the feuds that are currently going on and could even set up a six-man or eight-man tag in the future, but it’s a shame that it overshadowed a title tournament match that should have meant a lot more than it did.

Unfortunately, my DVR ate the last two minutes of the show so I’m not sure what happened next, but I’d guess that we maybe got some highlights of the finish of the tag match with the rudos maybe beating up the technicos and leaving them laying in the ring and at ringside. Anyhow, that’s it for this week’s show. See you in seven everyone!

Final Thoughts: After last week’s disappointing show, this one came through with some quality wrestling and was humming along great until we got to the trainwreck to close out the show. As I said, it’s not that it was a terrible match or anything, it just felt like an afterthought to all of the chaos going on around it and that’s not a good thing when you’re dealing with a match in the tournament to crown your first tag team champions ever. I really liked the opener and am hoping to get to see more Magno/Brewer matches in the next few weeks as that feud seems like one that could really carry the show through the rest of the summer. Thumbs up this week and Lucha Libre USA is back on the ball with a fun show overall.