wrestling / Columns

Underdog Success: The Unbelievably Fun Rise of Team Havoc

April 25, 2015 | Posted by Dino Zee

I love Lucha Underground. I don’t care who knows it, and I don’t care who disagrees with it. Since the first episode, I’ve been completely hooked, totally enjoying the decidedly un-WWE approach to professional wrestling. The characters are fun, the matches can be incredible, and the way stories are built make it not only fun to watch them progress, but also gives the viewer a feeling of satisfaction for following along when the payoff finally arrives. Sometimes the payoff is in a week or two- other times, it takes a bit longer. Most of the time, however, the payoff is completely worth it.

This last episode of Lucha Underground managed to mix everything- great characters, a superb match, and a wonderful payoff- into the final match of the Trios tournament.

Three teams- King Cuerno, Cage, and El Texano; Big Ryck, Killshot, and The Mack; Angélico, Ivelisse, and Son of Havoc- stepped into the ring to do battle, each having earned their spot the week prior in separate trios matches. And while the team of Cuerno/Cage/Texano represented the three best rudos in Lucha Underground today, and Big Ryck’s squad seemed primed to win the belts as the final “fuck you” to Dario Cueto, it was the team of Angélico, Ivelisse, and Son of Havoc that snuck in there, to the surprise of many.

They weren’t even supposed to be a team. Angélico and Son of Havoc had spent weeks feuding, and Ivelisse had even been sucked into it, wrestling matches on her own against Angélico to prove what a loser Son of Havoc was. Havoc would rebound somewhat, and start picking up wins of his own, eventually dumping Ivelisse to the delight of the fans. Right when it seemed as though all three parties were done with each other and ready to move on, Cueto would throw a curveball their way, forcing them to team up in the trios tournament.

All three had been up and down in singles competition (mostly down). Havoc himself had two wins to his credit when the team was formed, and one of those wins was from the first episode against Sexy Star! Angélico had really only defeated Ivelisse and Havoc, but he also had losses to them both. Ivelisse had only one victory, and again, that was against Angélico. As Cueto said to them, they really hadn’t produced the results that would lead anyone to consider the team a threatening item.

Especially when compared to the opponents. King Cuerno has been a top act in Lucha Underground since the start, with huge wins over opponents like Johnny Mundo on his record. Another showdown with Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma can’t be far from taking place again. Cage came in with an impressive debut, and nearly won the LU Championship on a couple of occasions from Puma. While he came up short, he left no doubt that he’s someone to take seriously. And Texano? The longest reigning Mega Campeón in AAA history? Yeah, his record speaks for itself.

Now, the Big Ryck team is a bit more difficult to break down. Ryck himself has earned his spot in Lucha Underground, and is on a mission of revenge against Cueto and The Crew for the damage they caused to his eye. To that end, he grabbed two friends- the masked Killshot, and The Mack. I honestly don’t know much at all about Killshot, but I know that The Mack is quite the established star on the indy scene. Regardless, they’re the biggest guys in the match, with the most on the line.

So when the match got started, it was hard to think that Team Havoc had a chance. Sure, I was rooting for them, but that’s because I love Son of Havoc, and I’m stubborn as hell. Personally, I don’t really like Angélico, but I can also admit that’s because he spent the last few weeks beating Son of Havoc. He’s got some sick dives, there is no doubt about this, but I just haven’t been really into his schtick. When the team was formed, my initial reaction was “God damn it, now Havoc has to carry this idiot to glory?” Outside of looking like Dean Ambrose, there was nothing about Angélico that got me to be a fan of his. I’m sure that just ate him up inside, too.

Back to the match, we had a good thing going at the start. Everyone was doing their part, looking good. The Super Rudos seemed to be in control, while Big Ryck’s squad would cause ebbs and flows in the momentum. Somewhere along the line, however, Texano found himself being attacked by Shawn Daivari (who, like the week before, was sitting with the fans), leading to Texano eating a double stomp from Killshot, and just like that, the Super Rudos were eliminated!

At this point, I’m hoping that my call is right, but it doesn’t look good. Havoc’s team is pretty banged up, and they’ve got two mountains (and Killshot) to climb in order to get the gold. Still, the match continues, and my picks keep avoiding elimination. The crowd is into it as well, and the anticipation keeps building. Finally, through sheer luck, Team Havoc catches an opening! Angélico takes out Mack and Ryck, tags out to Havoc; Ivelisse is caught trying to hit a suicide dive on Ryck and Mack, so Havoc follows up with a tope that floors all three, and Angélico wraps things up in the ring with his Fall of the Angels (Razor’s Edge into the turnbuckles) for the victory! The entire place goes crazy as this underdog squad has shocked the Lucha Underground world!

It felt great. All three wore the exhaustion and pride on their faces, with just a little bit of surprise. It was such a feel good moment. It wouldn’t last.

Dario Cueto would return, and announce that there was still one team left: The Crew. Composed of Cortez Castro, Mr. Cisco, and Bael, this announcement wasn’t too big of a surprise- The Crew are known to do the bidding of Cueto, and hadn’t been properly placed in the tournament at the start. Something had seemed off, and now we knew why.

With Ivelisse hobbled, Team Havoc was basically fighting a 2 on 3 battle, and though they fought their hearts out, it seemed bleak.

And then… and then this happened.

Holy. Shit. Look, before watching Lucha Underground on my DVR Thursday night, I first watched the NBA Playoff game between the New Orleans Pelicans and my beloved Golden State Warriors. This game saw the Warriors enter the fourth quarter down 20 points, only to rally back and win the game in overtime. We all went nuts in my house watching the game. When it was over, we calmed down a bit, and looked to end the evening with some Lucha. There was no way anything would get us as excited as what we had just watched on NBA television.

We were wrong. That dive is one of the greatest leaps I’ve ever seen. I’m not afraid to overreact and rate it far too highly. That dive is art. For a guy that hasn’t wowed me too much, give all the credit in the world to Angélico. We rewound and watched that dive over and over and over again. When the show was over, we went back and watched three or four more times still. It was insane!

But the match didn’t end there; it just got turned on its side. Ivelisse would go on to grab a kendo stick, attacking The Crew until Son of Havoc and Angélico each climbed opposite turnbuckles and let fly- Havoc with a shooting star, Angélico with a double stomp- and got the win.

Goosebumps. There’s something about rooting for the underdog- a true underdog- and seeing the happy payoff that just can’t be beat. Sure, Daniel Bryan winning it all at WrestleMania 30 is something in this vein- but we all sorta knew what was coming, right? I’m saying that as an unabashed Daniel Bryan fan, but that “surprise” wasn’t quite the same as this. Three wrestlers that, to this point, had done very little besides trade wins and losses between each other, suddenly standing tall over names like El Texano, Big Ryck, King Cuerno, and even The Crew?

The fans showed their appreciation, showering the new champs with a loud ovation, and following up with a “YOU DESERVE IT!” chant as the show went off the air.

Honestly, the whole thing made me proud to be a wrestling fan. It was everything we love about wrestling, done correctly. Yeah, the episode started off badly with Pentagón Jr. losing the opening match to Sexy Star, but the end? The end was perfection.

If you haven’t seen the match yet, I’d look it up. I’ll provide the last match, but I’d heavily recommend watching the entire Trios Finale. The rise of Team Havoc was truly something to behold.


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