Project Lucha Underground: S1E9 "Aztec Warfare"

 

Good Morning!

Welcome back to Project Lucha Underground. It’s been a good week over here! We watched AEW Forbidden Door and Dynamite, and had a good time with both. Forbidden Door, if we’re being honest, is probably one of the AEW PPVs I’m willing to miss annually, if only because I’ve never followed New Japan Pro Wrestling with any real consistency. So, oddly, the main complaint that I saw on socials about this year’s edition of Forbidden Door was actually a positive for me: that the show was heavily skewed in the favor of AEW. I watch AEW, so this was for me, and the addition of some NJPW guys without having the show become a showcase for them made it more interesting for me. Standout matches for me included the eight-woman tag match during Zero Hour, Fletcher vs Takahashi, ZSJ vs my close personal friend Nigel McGuinness, and the steel cage match that ended the show, but I wasn’t mad at any of the matches on the card. It’s all good stuff, as we say.

It’s been days since that show, though, and since the churn of North American Professional Wrestling Machine never ends, we had Dynamite on Wednesday from the former ECW arena in Philly. Darby Allen nearly died, but won in a brutal match against Claudio Castignoli. Cope and Christian united against FTR to set up their match at All Out, and we saw some tension in the Don Callis family between my sweet Cinnabon Son Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada. A face turn is coming, I can feel it!

With Will Ospreay, Nick Wayne, and Swerve Strickland all falling to injuries -- or “injuries” to take some time off for surgeries and recovery -- it does seem like an opportune time for AEW to focus on its women. Fans have been clamoring for more than one goddamn women’s match on Dynamite, as well as for a tag division to be implemented. Why not now? We’ve got at least ten potential teams, and showcasing what I believe to be the strongest roster in American pro wrestling isn’t a bad idea, even if things get scaled back a little when the boys get healthy again. Or not! You’ve got at least four hours of programming a week, let half the roster get some reps!

Oh! Also, after that first show in the AEW residency at the 2300 Arena, Tony Khan surprised ECW legend Taz with a little tribute that made everybody cry. Take a look!

Now wipe the tears from your eyes, and let’s get back on the clock.

Last Time On Lucha Underground

“A Unique Opportunity” was kind of a reset, useful for our purposes as we’d just come back from our little break. We had two ten-person matches, opening the show with a 10-person match won by Fénix, and following up with a ten-person battle royale won by Mil Muertes. Dario Cueto had been teasing a unique opportunity --

-- and this was the payoff: a match between the two battle royale winners. The winner got to enter a new match type last, giving them a distinct advantage, while the loser would enter first. A pretty solid match between the winners closed the show, with Mil Muertes picking up the clean victory. 

We also got some tension between Konnan and Prince Puma, with the former really leaning into the heelish tendencies that Vampiro has been warning us about since the start of Lucha Underground. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Sexy Star continued their rivalry through the context of a battle royale, as did Drago and King Cuerno.

Overall, it was a solid show to set up a mysterious new match type which, given the title of this episode, might be introduced tonight! Only one way to find out. LET’S WATCH SOME WRESTLING!

Lucha Underground: Season 1, Episode 9: “Aztec Warfare”

Aztec guys doing some Aztec warfare

We opened up with a little recap of “A Unique Opportunity,” with Dario Cueto narrating over some Aztec warriors battling in a field. I say narrating, but really it was just the dialogue from the last episode, where he explained that the Aztec Warfare match was going to be for the Lucha Underground championship. 

Our mariachis have been mariachi-napped!

After that, we got the more familiar Los Angeles flyover shots along with the title card and credits. Inside the temple, things were intense from the get-go, with folks dressed in Aztec garb dancing to drum beats provided by the band, which was either our usual mariachi/punk guys in new outfits, or a replacement. This must have aired after the new year [it did: January 7, 2015, to be exact] because we were wished a happy new year by our commentary team! That’s nice. And yeah, we’re doing Aztec Warfare tonight! 

I just thought this was a cool shot

Dario Cueto was then in the ring, welcoming us to his temple. He had the Lucha Underground championship belt resting on his shoulder, and told us 2015 was gonna be huge for LU. He said he invented this Aztec Warfare match, prompting the fans to chant the match name as Cueto explained the rules. We start with two wrestlers, and every 90 seconds another luchador would enter. Eliminations are pinfall or submission, and since he loves violence, anything goes!

We knew Fénix was going to be the first entry, and by “random draw,” Johnny Mundo pulled number two. I don’t know that we’ll have time to cram anything else in this show unless we get a bunch of quick eliminations, so let’s get to it!

Aztec Warfare

Fénix versus Johnny Mundo versus Mr. Cisco versus King Cuerno versus Son of Havoc versus Pimpanela Escarlata versus Prince Puma versus Ivelisse versus Drago versus Bael versus Cortez Castro versus Ricky Mandel versus Big Ryck versus Pentagon, Jr. versus Super Fly versus Chavo Guerrero, Jr. versus Mascarita Sagrada versus Sexy Star versus 

Both guys started out with kicks and finisher whiffs, with the announcers noting that a quick elimination was on both luchadores’ minds as another guy would be there in 90. And so it was, with Mr. Cisco heading down the stairs next. “This lil’ cholo’s rolling solo,” said Matt Stryker, and I kinda love that as a line. Cisco yeeted Mundo, but after a little back and forth with Fénix, Mundo flipped into the ring with End of the World to get the first elimination on Cisco. 

After a commercial and some more one-on-one brawling, King Cuerno was #4. Son of Havoc followed at #5 as I realized I’m not a play by play guy, but I'll do my best while keeping track of who’s in and who’s out. After all, I did have a private YouTube channel commentating WWE2k24 matches involving veterinary personnel, making me about as qualified as 80% of wrestling announcers...but I digress.

#6 is beloved exotico Pimpinella Escarlata, who got a really nice intro from Vampiro about judging folks by the content of their character. #7 was Lucha Underground’s main character, Prince Puma, who immediately cleared the ring to take on Johnny Mundo for a bit. Some solid work between those two and Fénix passed the time as our announce team noticed the mysterious vinyl-clad lady was in the crowd again, and then Ivelisse ran down the stairs as the 8th entrant. Ivelisse immediately made her presence known with a flying head scissors on King Cuerno and a DDT on Fénix, and then set Pimpi up for an elimination by her partner Son of Havoc. 

My guy Drago entered at #9 shortly after, and he went for a quick pinfall on Fénix and then Mundo but came up short. Ivelisse tried to attack King Cuerno as he got Drago in a fireman’s carry, but that just got her eliminated by the hunter. She’s gone and Bael is in at #10, and we’re told he’s a real b-boy from the streets and therefore knows how to throw hands, which … is that how that works? I thought b-boys were, like, dancers? I dunno, but in my digression, Prince Puma rolled up Son of Havoc for the elimination, and Cortez Castro strolled in at #11. Castro and Bael started working together to do some damage until Ricky Mandel entered the brawl and went after both of them, and Prince Puma was eventually left alone with Bael in the middle of the ring for another pinfall elimination. Johnny Mundo then let Puma have a breather as he worked Cortez Castro into a pinfall elimination just before Big Ryck showed up at 13, just a little too late to employ his henchmen. 

Back from a break just in time to watch Big Ryck murder everyone in the ring and pin Ricky Mandel, then Cuerno eliminated Drago and Mundo rolled up King Cuerno. Penta then rolled in at #14 and we’re keeping things moving smoothly, with eliminations and new entrants balancing out nicely. Penta ran wild when he got into the ring, and had Fénix set up for elimination when Ryck booted him in the head, leading both me and the announcers to ask, uh, why, dude? It’s an elimination match, and it’s not like you get paid by the pin. Super Fly was next to enter at 15, but Mundo, Puma, and Fénix all hit a little offense on the new fella. Puma was draped on Ryck’s back as Chavo Guerrero hit the ring at 16 with a chair in tow, and he immediately laid out Super Fly and Penta, and racked up a pair of eliminations. Mini extraordinaire Mascarita Sagrada headed out in the #17 slot as we went to commercial.

Game to get in the ring with anyone, Chavo and Mascarita Sagrada matched up in the otherwise cleared ring, with Sagrada dominating. Fénix and Mascarita paired up next, and both of them left the ring just as #18 Sexy Star met Chavo in the ring. A quick back and forth led to them both leaving the ring and Big Ryck and Mascarita Sagrada re-entering the ring, which went about as well as you’d think it would for Mascarita -- he was quickly destroyed and eliminated. El Mariachi Loco scurried down the steps with the #19 entry, and he distracted Ryck from beating on Johnny Mundo for a bit.

Some action between the remaining luchadores ended with Big Ryck absolutely murdering the Crazy Mariachi as our final entrant, Mil Muertes, headed down the stairs with his pal Catrina. So we’re full up and it’s all eliminations from here on out, with Mariachi eating a Flatliner to take Mil Muertes’ first pin. Mil Muertes stared down Big Ryck next, with both men failing to take each other off their feet before most of the remaining talent entered the ring as our drummers added to the intensity of the moment.

A double stack of Chavo and Fénix eliminated Big Ryck next, after Ryck ate top rope moves from both Puma and Fénix. With the biggest threat (non-Murtes edition) out, things felt a little more uncertain. Chavo grabbed another chair and gave Fénix the old el kabong and pinned him. Sexy Star challenged Guerrero to drop the chair, and he refused so she just went after him anyways. She dominated briefly before Chavo scoop slammed his rival onto the discarded chair, and then he placed that chair onto her face and headed to the top rope -- but then a returning Blue Demon made the save and distracted Chavo long enough for Sexy to lay out the villain with his own chair and pick up the pinfall.

No, seriously, look behind you!

That left Sexy Star, Prince Puma, Johnny Mundo, and Mil Mascaras as our final four competitors as we headed into the final commercial break. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but Aztec Warfare kinda rules.

Our Final Four

We came back to a brawl that ended with Star laying out Mundo and Puma, but when she hyped herself up to take on Muertes she underestimated his speed and was broken in half by a spear, allowing Mil Muertes to eliminate her.

Welp, she's dead

Johnny Mundo went after Muertes next, with Puma recharging his stamina meter in the corner. He recovered and took an unexpected ZigZag to the back of his noggin, and the three went back and forth for a bit before Puma was knocked from the ring. Mundo got Mil Muertes up on the turnbuckle, and the good guys hit the big man with a superplex to knock the wind outta him. Catrina tried to distract Puma, but he pulled her up to the apron and threatened a slap before dodging a Muertes charge. Muertes stopped himself before knocking Catrina off the apron, but Johnny Mundo hit a Disaster Kick from the corner and caught the woman on the side of her noggin, knocking her down. He seemed apologetic to Mil, and was almost chokeslammed before Puma hit a meteora, and the good guys hit a pair of flippy moves to get the dual pinfall. 

Buddies!

So good guy vs good guy in a rematch from the first episode of Lucha Underground, very cool. Puma looked gassed until the pair locked up, and then he hit some offense as Matt Stryker desperately begged Vampiro to chime in with some commentary. “This is awesome” chants hit as Puma struggled to get out of a half-crab, and he responded by breaking the hold (rope breaks are legal in an anything goes match?) and yeeting Mundo out of the ring. 

A super Spanish fly knocked Mundo down but not out, and Mundo grabbed an ankle a couple times before Puma was able to again mount the top turnbuckle. The pair traded punches before Mundo landed a poison ‘rana, and then ran to the other side of the ring for End of the World, which Puma miraculously kicked out of. Puma was dead in the corner after that, and Mundo got him up on the turnbuckle once more. Puma somehow got a health potion, and shoved Mundo off the turnbuckle before hitting his 630 and winning the inaugural Lucha Underground championship match! The crowd went bonkers as Prince Puma celebrated alone and then with Johnny Mundo, and even Konnan came down to cheer on his champ.

The first Lucha Underground champ. No one can ever take that from you, baldie.

That was rad! A pinfall and submissions battle royale has the potential to be a slog, but frequent eliminations kept the ring and surrounding area mostly clear, and I felt like everything went smoothly. The rivalries we’ve been building all season were highlighted, we got a return in Blue Panther, and the guy who most feels like the focus of this first season of Lucha Underground got a well deserved win. I enjoyed the hell out of this first ever Aztec Warfare match, and would go as high as 8 luchador masks out of 10. Cagematch says … 8.31, so I guess we’re in agreement!

Closing Thoughts

One match for our hour-long weekly show worked for this particular event. I don’t know that AAA/Lucha Underground ever planned on doing PPV shows this early into the promotion, but if it went on to really build an audience I could see this being their Royal Rumble. Hell, it even took place around the same time as that WWE staple. I liked how we used last week’s show and this one to announce Aztec Warfare, establish its importance, figure out the first and last entrants, and then blow the whole thing off. With the season running around 40 episodes, having a big event to mark the first quarter feels about right to me. We’ll see if that trend continues or if this is just a thing LU does when they have a big event.

So Long For Now

Hey, thanks for reading! Follow me on BlueSky for updates on Let’s Watch Some Wrestling, as well as live watch-along commentary for most episodes of AEW Dynamite (and occasionally Collision). And, if you’re looking into purchasing anything from a smart fridge to a new drill, check out the writing I do over at SlashGear -- my automotive, tech, and tool-related lists are heavily researched, and ranked after thorough aggregation of expert opinions, reviews, and my own experience as a professional auto mechanic, an unprofessional handyman and a somehow even less professional homeowner. 

Until next time…Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!

Project Lucha Underground: Season 1, Episode 8: A Unique Opportunity

 

Good Morning!

Welcome back to Project Lucha Underground Season 1. I know! I’m as surprised as you. 

So, two things. First, I’m going to start this post with a chunk of blog that I apparently wrote the day after some friends and I attended Fyter Fest here in Denver, but never actually posted to Let’s Watch Some Wrestling: 

We’ll jump back into our regularly scheduled episode recap in a little bit, but since I just attended AEW Fyter Fest last night, I wanted to write about the live experience while it’s still fresh in my mind.

This was the fifth AEW show in Colorado, but the first in Denver proper. That’s big for the company, because the other venues they’ve used -- the now-defunct 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, and most recently the Blue FCU Arena in Loveland -- have all been at least an hour drive out from the biggest city in the state. Factor in things like rush hour traffic because doors are at 4:30 Mountain Time, and the fact that most of these shows were three-four hours because of Collision or Rampage tapings, and you’ve got a limited amount of wrestling fans willing to basically have to take half a day off AND be trashed the following day at work. Hence, those shows filled about half of those hockey-sized arenas.

AEW solved both of those issues by performing at the Mission Ballroom for Fyter Fest. Located just off the highway in Denver proper, the Mission is a popular concert venue that my wife and I had never been to in our dozen-plus years in the state. 

IM FROM CHICAGO VIDEO

We attended the show with our constant AEW companion and our buddy who just recently got into wrestling, and the whole time was a blast. I don’t know whether it was the venue, AXS ticketing, or AEW who decided to offer a digital parking pass with tickets, but it meant getting underground garage parking right under the venue, which was cool. Up a flight of stairs and we were right in the line, and we even spotted Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo bringing their tiny baby into the building next to the arena. Everyone in line who noticed them was really cool about doing little waves but not shouting or freaking out, which was decent of them as wrestling fans, especially when one has seen how people can act towards these performers. Good job there, Denver wrestling enthusiasts!

Once inside, I realized the arena wasn’t quite what I thought. Seating charts implied a balcony and floor, and I assumed that meant an overhang and two floors. Instead, there was kind of a wall of stadium-style seating behind the announcers, with balcony seating extending to either side of the ring, and floor seats in front of and below those seats. The stage had a ramp that led directly up to the ring, a setup we’ve seen on several of the recent AEW shows at smaller buildings, and I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house. The balconies in particular looked great -- they had little counter-style tables running in front of those seats, and if we get another show there I’ll definitely try for those seats. 

It was a blast, in short, but I have been considering taking some time to think about whether I want to attend another wrestling show before just reflexively buying tickets because they’re in my area. I’m still enjoying what AEW is producing, though, and since that’s pretty much all I watch these days (aside from Lucha Underground, that is) I’ll probably just shut up and tell them to take my money next time they’re in Colorado.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to apologize to the tens of you that kept up with Project Lucha Underground when I was doing it semi-regularly. There’s some stuff going on right now in both the world [general] and in my world [specific] that have conspired to simply not keep me on track. I’ve felt flustered and … you know that feeling when you walk into a room and you’re not sure why you did? I’ve felt that way about a lot of rooms lately. Fuzzy, I guess. So I went ahead and put together a little schedule for myself, one that prioritizes my house cholo duties, but also sets aside time for both paid writing work, most of which you’ll find at SlashGear, and this project/blog, which you’ll find, well, here. 

I think that, going forward, posting on Thursdays or Fridays might work best for our purposes, although I don’t want to lock in a schedule because a) I may not stick to it and b) Lucha Underground happened in the past so I can kinda just watch one whenever I want. Also, we’re off to a roaring start because I haven’t yet watched Dynamite because of a work party Wednesday night, and Forbidden Door is fast approaching on Sunday!

Anyways, there we go! All caught up, sorta. The TL;DR version is that I’ve not been busy, but I’ve lacked focus, and that’s no good for anyone. Now there’s a dry erase board for my daily schedule, and a Trello board for the weekly duties. I feel more ready to be productive than ever!

That being said, let’s get back into the delightful world of Lucha Underground. Now more than ever, escapism is important for all of us, and a show that gives us little people teaming up with exóticos and masked superstars representing both good and evil might be just what the doctor ordered. Hey, why isn’t there a doctor on this show? I feel like wrestlers that are just dudes doing jobs, like Irwin R. Schyster or Issac Yankem DDS, would fit right in with the possibly-undead Mil Muertes. But I digress.

Let’s watch some wrestling!

Last Week [well, two months ago for us] On Lucha Underground

“The Top of the Ladder” featured one of the best Lucha Underground matches to date in the promotion’s first ladder match, a barn-burner between Big Ryck, Johnny Mundo, and Prince Puma. Mundo was able to collect the $100,000 briefcase and knocked out Dario Cueto for good measure, although he did return the boss’s key by laying it on his knocked out body to end the show. I’m sure that won’t come back to bite Mundo in the ass, right?

We also had a couple matches to keep the rivalries between King Cuerno and Drago, and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Sexy Star, going. The main event was the focus of the show, though, and it was fantastic. We’ll see what happens next as, for the first time in a long time, we head back underground. As always, I’ll recap each segment after I watch, and will provide my own ratings out of ten lucha libra masks. After I’m done with the show, I’ll check Cagematch for the general consensus, so we can all compare notes.

Lucha Underground: Season 1, Episode 8: “A Unique Opportunity”

Why are we in here again?

We opened with the usual shots from around Boyle Heights: trainyards, industrial areas, highways, and then the Lucha Underground billboard atop the temple. Inside, the ring was packed with familiar faces (and masks). Our announce team of Matt Stryker and Vampiro are as confused as I am, saying Dario Cueto invited these ten wrestlers to the ring but nobody knows why. Fortunately, here’s Dario to clear things up. He’s wearing sunglasses to cover a nasty bruise from where Johnny Mundo punched him last week. Cueto overcomes some What chants (ugh) to let us know these guys are gonna be involved in a “truly epic event tonight” that begins with this match, and will be followed up with another ten-person match later tonight. We’re not going to be fighting for money, says Cueto, but rather a unique opportunity. Vague! So, let’s get to the match!

Half the LU roster, ready to fight

Opening 10-Person Match

King Cuerno versus Super Fly versus Fénix versus Penta versus Drago versus Big Ryck versus Prince Puma versus Son of Havoc versus Mariachi Loco versus Mascarita Sagrada

Brawling began before the bell with several dudes jumping Big Ryck before getting tossed like cartoon characters. Mascarita Sagrada continued his violent assault on Ryck, pausing to do some push-ups and show off his footwork. Ryck responded to this threat by grappling with Sagrada in an extended assault, before some of the other guys got involved. Cuerno and Drago paired off for a while, while Penta and Mascarita Sagrada had some fun in the ring. Puma and Havoc were highlighted next, with Puma getting the better of Havoc and flying out of the ring to make room for Mariachi and Fénix to work on Ryck some more before everybody started throwing themselves at the big guy and getting their collective shit kicked in. Fénix and Puma paired up after a while , giving us a mini-match that would have ruled in AEW if their paths crossed -- hopefully they get a chance to have a match during the LU run. 

Drago and Cuerno met up in the ring next, and Cuerno managed to hit his finisher before the pin was broken up by Mariachi Loco. Penta then took Mariachi out with Made in Japan, although I guess it hadn’t gotten that name yet because Stryker called it a running Muscle Buster. Some more near falls followed, and eventually the main story of “everybody vs Big Ryck” came through before we got back to Prince Puma versus Fénix, part two. Puma landed a 450 on Ryck but Fénix took advantage with a tilt-a-whirl DDT, followed up by a dragon sleeper into a piledriver to pick up the pinfall victory.

For a big brawl, this was a lot of fun! I liked the pairings used when the ring cleared, dug the flow of the match, and enjoyed that they kept going back to Big Ryck as the recognized threat everyone would naturally focus on. Mascarita Sagrada got some big pops in there, too! Seven lucha libre masks outta ten for this one for me -- Cagematch gave it 7.98.

HE BIG

After the match, our announcers put over everybody and the overall performance, and Cuerno again called out Drago afterward. And then we moved on to another Cage vignette, this time featuring the big guy doing his own narration over some video of him working out in an industrial setting, flipping big tires and shaking big ropes and hitting said big tires with a big hammer. He said that he’s pushed himself to the brink of evolution, and he’s not a man -- he’s a machine, and they call him Cage.

Konnan and Prince Puma face off in a mirror

We were then thrust into the awkward position of watching Prince Puma get dressed down by Konnan in the Temple’s dingy locker room. Konnan yelled that people would kill to have him for a mentor, and that if Puma keeps letting these opportunities pass by, the opportunities AND Konnan will be gone. Puma looked a little angry, and a little sad, but since he’s apparently mute that’s as much as we got before we headed back into the Temple for the second ten-person match. 

The other half of the roster, ready to compete

Match 2, A Boyle Heights Battle Royal

Sexy Star versus Mil Muertes versus Johnny Mundo versus Pimpinela Escarlata versus Bael versus Chavo Guerrero, Jr. versus Cortez Castro versus Famous B versus Mr. Cisco versus Ricky Mandel

I’m not trying to say this is the lesser of the two matches right out of the gate, but there’s definitely more entry-level talent in this one. It’s Royal Rumble rules -- over the top rope, both feet gotta touch the floor. Chavo got the dramatic last entrance after Stryker ran down the entrants for us, continuing his rivalry with Sexy Star, who immediately went after Chavo to start things off. Vampiro got to profess his love for the mysterious lady in the vinyl catsuit that keeps showing up on the Temple stairs to observe the action, and things devolved into the kind of battle royal action one would expect. I’m not going to try to keep up with everything, but here’s the eliminations in order:

Pimpi dumped Famous B early

Ricky Mandel was tossed by the trio of Big Ryck’s guys

Mil Muertes yeeted Pimpi

Chavo heaved Star to continue their storyline/ rivalry

Mundo threw a Ryck pal, then…

Chavo countered by throwing a different Ryck pal, then…

Mil Muertes answered by chucking the last Ryck buddy in a span of seconds

Mundo got rid of Chavo next

A solid back and forth one-on-one between Johnny and Mil Muertes followed. Mil is interesting because he’s not jacked -- Mundo is actually taller and super-ripped -- but he’s so stout that it’s still believable that Mundo had some trouble doing any effective offense. In the end, Mundo had his finisher set but Mil Muertes got his knees up, leading directly into a lariat to eliminate Johnny and win the Battle Royal.

Cagematch went 6.43 for this match, while I went a little lower with a 6. It was fine, but not as many fun spots as the first match. The finishing sequence with Chavo, Mil Muertes, and Johnny Mundo was good though.

The Lucha Underground Championship

Back from a break, our announcers hyped up the mysterious announcement as Mil Muertes and Fénix jawed at each other in the middle of the ring. Dario Cueto emerged from his office with a microphone and a belt, the Lucha Underground championship. I somehow did not realize we’ve gone eight episodes and haven’t revealed a title yet! Cueto went on to explain that he’s invented a new match type that honors the ancient warriors, and he’s calling it Aztec Warfare. There’s gonna be one more match tonight, and the winner gets to enter Aztec Warfare last, giving them a significant advantage. The loser of this match will enter first, meaning they’ll have to outlast 19 other luchadores to win. 

Mil Muertes and Fénix face off

Main Event

Fénix versus Mil Muertes for the right to be last entrant in Aztec Warfare

Despite having worked a full battle royale right before this, Muertes went right after Fénix, shoving him before the bell even rang. He dominated the first several minutes of the match, with his buddy/lover/keeper Catrina helping by distracting Fénix. Hope spots were few and far between, with Mil Muertes overcoming Fénix’s valiant efforts and laying the smaller man out with a Flatliner to end the match and the show. 

No, I think we're to exit stage LEFT, actually

We got a post-credits scene! Dario Cueto was in that prison-looking area of the temple, talking to someone off screen and holding the Lucha Underground championship belt. He explained that the gold in that belt was from each of the seven Aztec tribes, making it not only priceless, but also powerful. He ended his little speech with, “I’m sorry, I can’t let you touch it [CRASH ZOOM ON HIS FACE] I know how you like to destroy pretty things.” 

Dario admires his belt in front of prison bars

I’ll be shocked if Cagematch has a rating for this -- it was a long squash match with maybe four glimmers of Fénix offense. As a showcase for Mil Muertes’ power, it was fine, and Fénix didn’t come off as a chump, per se, but I would have opened with the Battle Royal so Fénix would look like the more recently gassed of the two, and like he barely survived his last match. As it stands, 4/10 for me. Oh, Cagematch gave it a 6, which feels generous.

Closing Thoughts

This was a great show to get us back into the swing of things, although I don’t know that I would have reacted so kindly when I watched week to week. Having a pair of ten person matches was a nice way to be re-introduced to everybody, and in hindsight the winners felt right and not knowing why they were competing kept me interested to the end. I really thought Muertes was either going to straight-up murder Fénix or Fénix would rally at the end. A squash seemed like a weird choice. But now we’ve got a title match set for a few shows from here, and 18 vacant spots to fill. It should be interesting to see how those slots get chosen.

So Long For Now

Follow me on BlueSky for updates and live watch-along commentary for most episodes of AEW Dynamite (and occasionally Collision). And, if you’re looking into purchasing anything from a smart fridge to a new drill, check out the writing I do over at SlashGear -- my automotive, tech, and tool-related lists are heavily researched, and ranked after thorough aggregation of expert opinions, reviews, and my own experience as a professional auto mechanic, an unprofessional handyman and a somehow even less professional homeowner. 

Until next time…Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!