Lucha Underground 2×9: Aztec Warfare II

how does he get so high?
how does he get so high?

the matches

Matanza won a 21 man Aztec Warfare match, becomes the 4th Lucha Underground champion

order of events

 00:00 Fenix enters (1)
 00:00 Rey Mysterio enters (2)
 01:27 King Cuerno enters (3)
 02:49 Argenis enters (4)
 03:55 Argenis out (Rey Mysterio top rope splash, 1)
 04:16 Johnny Mundo enters (5)
 05:46 Joey Ryan enters (6)
 07:03 Prince Puma enters (7)
 08:05 Jack Evans enters (8)
 08:14 King Cuerno out (Rey Mysterio cross armbreaker, 2)
 09:27 Taya enters (9)
 10:40 Cage enters (10)
 11:54 Mascarita Sagrada enters (11)
 13:02 Johnny Mundo out (Puma standing shooting star press, 3)
 13:19 Marty Martinez enters (12)
 14:48 Drago enters (13)
 15:48 Marty out (Rey Mysterio top rope splash, 4)
 16:03 The Mack enters (14)
 17:17 Chavo Guerrero enters (15)
 18:05 Máscarita Sagrada out (Chavo a la de caballo, 5)
 18:37 Cage out (Taya pin, 6)
 18:50 PJ Black enters (16)
 18:51 Taya out (Fenix German suplex, 7)
 20:03 Aerostar enters (17)
 20:56 Jack Evans out (Aerostar top rope Canadian Destroyer, 8)
 20:56 Drago out (PJ Black Black Diamond, 9)
 21:10 Dragon Azteca Jr. enters (18)
 22:15 Texano enters (19)
 23:06 PJ Black out (Texano Jr. sit down powerbomb, 10)
 23:32 Mil Muertes enters (20)
 24:29 Mil Muertes out (Rey Mysterio top rope splash, 11)
 26:09 Matanza (21)
 27:07 Fenix out (Matanza spinning powerslam, 12)
 27:30 The Mack out (Matanza german suplex Mack 13)
 27:47 Aerostar out (Matanza german suplex Aerostar, 14)
 28:10 Texano Jr. out (Matanza powerbomb Texano Jr., 15)
 29:15 Joey Ryan out (Matanza gutwrench suplex, 16)
 30:28 Dragon Azteca Jr. out (Matanza chokeslam Dragon Azteca Jr., 17)
 31:09 Chavo Guerrero out (Matanza standing shooting star press, 18)
 32:17 Prince Puma out (Matanza german suplex, 19)
 34:54 Rey Mysterio out (Matanza spinning powerslam, 20)

the developments

Cuerno didn't get much, but this tope was cool
Cuerno didn’t get much, but this tope was cool

Matanza debuted and destroyed everyone. Dario Cueto returned, declared the Temple was his again, and entered his brother as the special 21st enterant in the match. There were nine other people left in the match, and Matanza beat them all. Matanza was never dropped to the mat and rarely even shaken, with only Rey and Puma doing damage near the end.

Misterio and Azteca made their in-ring debuts – people reacted a lot stronger to Rey, but Azteca seemed to win them over a bit with his dive over the corner. Striker had no idea who Azteca was, while Vampiro spoke in myth. Argenis and Máscarita Sagrada made their returns, with Sagrada doing far better.

Pentagon Jr., Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse were all notably absent. All four are enemies of Catrina, and Catrina made it explicitly clear Pentagon trying to attack her was why he didn’t get an invite. Pentagon invited himself, coming out of the crowd to attack Mil Muertes with a chair before he could even get in the ring. Muertes was out of it and easily pinned. Catrina blamed Vampiro and screamed at him to leave, but they were interrupted by Dario’s appearance. (This meant Muertes and Matanza never interacted.)

why does this keep happening to them
why does this keep happening to them

Famous B & Brenda were in the front row handing out cards and trying to recruit both fans and luchadors. He was miced, and expressed interest in managing many people during the match.

Many of the feuds from the first set of episodes appeared at one point or other – Fenix/Cuerno, Mundo/Taya/Cage, Aerostar/Drago/Black/Jack, Chavo/Texano – along with issues from last season like Cage/Mack. Joey Ryan won a four way to get into the match, then handicuffed him to the railing to avoid being pinned. That backfired, as he was misted by Drago and unable to escape when Matanza came for him. (Matanza simply broke the railing to grab him.)

Mundo put Cage through the office window, only for Cage to return. Glass is ineffective on Cage, but a Mundo cinderblock shot worked fine and Taya picked up the pin. That issue isn’t over.

Marty and Mack weren’t in at the same time (and Sexy Star and Mariposa were nowhere to be seen), but Mack did give Marty a stunner before he could get to the back.

Thoughts

Famous B marking out is best part
Famous B marking out is best part

I’m winded from putting together the match results. There was a lot to keep track of, which was also a slight problem with the match. They wanted to keep as many bodies around for the final as possible, to give Matanza plenty of people to mow thru, but it meant fighting was all over the place at once and occasionally hard to keep track of it. There’s a moment where Cage & Mack are facing off, and off in the background you can see Jack tumbling down the stone stairs for who knows what reason. (You can say that about a lot of Jack things!) I’m sure it also allowed them to hide guys resting, which was more apparent with less people in early, but everything didn’t sink as much as it might had each thing gotten more time.

But maybe the rest of the match didn’t matter, because it was really all about Matanza’s destruction at the end. They put him over as strong as possible – he came off like Taz, a short wide guy just throwing dudes around. Taz didn’t do a shooting star press, best I can recall, but otherwise like Taz. It almost totally worked; they needed a little bit more of the menace Matanza showed when he was going after Joey Ryan and when referee Marty was reacting to him, but that’s the part that’s probably hardest to work on before you do the character. (And that’s also sort of on the other guys to show that fear.)

Matanza STRONG
Matanza STRONG

The Mil Muertes beatdown seemed weak considering what he took on previous shows, to the point where it seemed as though they were hiding an injury. I don’t recall one, and it may just have been trying to sped up things on a show where a lot needed to happen in a short amount of times. They were hardly ever doing 90 minute breaks in between entrants.

The upside to the fans not seeing the vignettes are the fans aren’t chanting “police!” at Joey Ryan. The downside is no one had any idea who Dragon Azteca Jr. is and he had about 30 seconds to get himself over. It’ll go better for him later on, I hope.

The first Aztec Warfare will be remembered as being better, because the show felt like it was making an unexpected leap. This show wasn’t really far behind, and I only wish they got a little more time or a second screen to watch it all.

 

Fujin & Rey Escorpion advance in Gran Alternativa, Cage out of Elite, Mini Charly out of AAA, Aztec Warfare

Fujin wins - a kick in the face
Fujin wins – a kick in the face

CMLL (TUE) 03/22/2016 Arena México
1) Magnus & Robin b Camorra & Inquisidor LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:58. Tecnicos took 1/4
2) Disturbio, Sangre Azteca, Skándalo b Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr., Star Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
12:44. Rudos took 1/3. Hombre Bala replaced Delta.
3) Bobby Z, Euforia, Gran Guerrero b Máscara Dorada, Stuka Jr., Titán LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
10:00. Rudos took 1/3.
4) Magia Blanca & Oro Jr. b Tritón, Flyer, Rocky Casas, Súper Halcón Jr., El Cuatrero, Fujin [Gran Alternativa, seeding battle royal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
5:27. Elimination order went Flyer, Rocky Casas, Super Halcon, Fujin, Cuatrero, Triton leaving Magia Blanca and Oro Jr.
5) Atlantis & Flyer b Negro Casas & Rocky Casas [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
3:53. Rocky made his debut, looked green.
6) Fujin & Rey Escorpión b Máximo Sexy & Súper Halcón Jr. [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
5:09
7) El Cuatrero & Rey Bucanero b Mistico & Tritón [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:43.
8) Magia Blanca & Último Guerrero b Oro Jr. & Valiente [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:16.
9) Fujin & Rey Escorpión b Atlantis & Flyer [Gran Alternativa, semifinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
4:13. Fujin pinned Atlantis and Rey Escorpion beat Flyer.
10) Mistico & Tritón b Magia Blanca & Último Guerrero [Gran Alternativa, semifinal] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:59.
11) Fujin & Rey Escorpión b Mistico & Tritón [Gran Alternativa, final] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 22 DE MARZO DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
4:54. Fujin & Rey Escorpion advance to the final on 04/05

CMLL gave away the end of it’s tournament earlier in the day. Mistico & Ultimo Guerrero were announced as being in Guadalajara on the day of the Gran Alternativa final, which meant Rey Escorpion & Fujin had to be winning when they were the only other team left. A rudo team winning this week means a tecnico team is likely to win next week.

Fujin & Raijin were announced for the 04/09 DTU show.

Today is AAA Rey de Reyes. I have a preview – kinda – going up on Voices of Wrestling this afternoon. The shorter version is some of the matches may be good though none stellar, the on-screen storylines aren’t really compelling, but the behind the scenes intrigue is highly compelling (if you’re a dork who’s into behind the scenes intrigue.) The show will start around 11 pm ET and, at this point, it’ll be a nice surprise if there’s actually an iPPV. I’m going to be around looking for Periscopes even if there isn’t iPPV and ElSaborDelRing is a good SLP lucha Twitter account to check for unofficial live results to go with the official ones.

The scheduled opener tonight is Mamba, Mini Charly Manson, Taurus & Taya vs Pimpinela, Mascarita Sagrada, Faby Apache and a mystery person. The mystery person hasn’t been revealed. The mini rudo is also now a mystery – Mini Charly Manson says he quit AAA on Monday. This is so out of left field that his brother (Mini Drago) seemed surprised by it. It’s strange Charly wouldn’t just wait until after working Rey de Reyes to quit and there’s something missing here. I guess he could fit into Elite – he could be Mini Sharly Rockstar! – but it doesn’t seem like any better position over there. He has looked talented in AAA and maybe new people looking at him will give him more chances.

As far as the rest of the card, I’m picking Pentagon Jr. to win Rey de Reyes not because I believe it’s actually going to happen, but because I can’t bring myself to be cynical enough to pick La Parka. I figure Mesias ends up with the Mega championship, the Xinetez keep the trios titles, and Averno & Chessman hold onto the tag titles, though I’m not at all sure about that last one. I am sure the Wagner/Psycho match will have many shenanigans going into the finish and I don’t like Psycho’s chances of winning in the end.

Tonight, a few hours earlier, is Lucha Underground’s Aztec Warfare. The full hour is spent on one match, and you’ll want to tune in early because important moments happen right away. The show is Rey Mysterio Jr.’s first match on the show, and – like with the season 1 Aztec Warfare – it’s the culmination of the first set of episodes and lays the groundwork for the rest of the season. Last year’s match was one of the best matches and best episodes of the season. Live reports indicated this one was at the same level, and it kind of feels like it needs to be – whatever happens tonight is going to strongly affect people’s feelings on the season and the series entirely.

Paste Magazine visited the Lucha Underground Temple and talks about raving about the show despite having some qualms about some parts of it. In talking about the buzz the product has gotten, Eric Van Wagenen mentions WWE reached out to 7-10 LU wrestlers between seasons.

Cage is off the Elite shows. He apologized for the change on Twitter, said it wasn’t Elite’s fault, and then ended up deleting most of those Twitter messages. If it’s not Elite’s decision and it’s not Cage’s decision, that mostly leaves AAA and Lucha Underground. LU has first dibs on their luchadors if they need to tape something, but they’re probably not taping on that day (and they worked with Cage enough to let him work an indie show on Saturday.) They also prohibit their luchadors from working on US based wrestling shows without their permission. Elite may want to get on US TV, but there’s been no sign of that actually happening yet and you’d have to be following lucha libre very closely to know that was a possibility. AAA would have plenty of reason to want to block (more!) wrestlers from jumping to Elite and might still have control of Cage’s Mexico work visa.

No sign of an Elite press conference today. Maybe it’ll turn up after I hit post.

CMLL announced a lineup for Saturday, then realized there was a boxing event taking place in Arena Coliseo instead and canceled the show. It seems odd they didn’t know about the boxing; maybe it was a last minute venue change? They’ll be back next Saturday with an Arena Coliseo Anniversary show – which may not be a big deal, because they seemed to be setting up Terrible versus Valiente as the main event.

The Winter Palace has an interview with Hechicero about his trip to Japan. They also have recent podcast with Alfredo of LuchaWorld and Dr. Lucha.

04/10 Lucha Memes in Ecatepec so far
Ultimo Guerrero vs Hechicero
Black Terry vs Super Mega
Aramis vs Alas de Acero vs Iron Kid
Keira vs Toxin – new

LuchaWorld has the top 10 for the week.

Segunda Caida reviews Hijo del Fantasma, La Sombra, Máscara Dorada vs Averno, Mephisto, Negro Casas

NJPW announced the Best of Super Juniors will take place from May 21 and June 7. That’s 14 shows, one more than last year. The lineup is usually announced on or after their May PPV, which is May 3rd this year.

Arena Queretaro says they’re not changing the name of the building despite rumors otherwise.

Cuatrero says he’s very happy to team with Rey Bucanero in the Gran Alternativa. I may be a day late in posting that.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 03/29/2016 Arena México
1) Shockercito & Stukita vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Delta, Hombre Bala Jr., Súper Halcón Jr. vs Canelo Casas, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado
3) Atlantis, Mistico, Valiente vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
4) Golden Magic & Rush vs Mr. Niebla & Warrior Steel and Esfinge & Volador Jr. and Mephisto & Yago and La Máscara & Stigma and Sansón & Terrible and Máscara Dorada & Pegasso andPierroth & Raijin [Gran Alternativa, semifinal]

Yago & Warrior Steel popping up on Sunday shows somewhat is explained here, as they’re needed to fill out the tournament. (There are other places to get people, and they could’ve done better than Pegasso – he was a rookie like a decade and a half ago.) CMLL almost always does tecnico versus rudos tournament finals, so the three possibilities are Golden Magic & Rush, Esfinge & Volador Jr., and Stigma & La Mascara. Esfinge & Volador are the only pure tecnico team and probably the favorites, but I’d really like to see Golden Magic & Rush advance to the finish. Rey Escorpion said he’d like to fight Rush again, let’s give him his wish.

CMLL Arena Mexico: 2016-03-22 

good to have Rey Escorpion back
good to have Rey Escorpion back

Recapped: 2016-03-22

What happened: Fujin & Rey Escorpión advanced to the final of the Gran Alternativa tournament. Skandalo and Fuego appeared to be feuding, though they didn’t get involved in the finish.

What was good: The Gran Alternativa tournament was generally good, though the format meant no stand out matches. Rocky Casas (especially) & Magia Blanca looked green, but the rest of the action went pretty well. Triton didn’t fit in the criteria but looked good in all of his matches. The tercera match was the best match, and it was an overall fun show.

Where can I watch it: It’s on CMLL’s channel. Read More