Matches
The Mack won a 13 person battle royal for a unique opportunity (3:31, OK)
- 0:33 Vinnie Massaro out
- 0:39 Son of Madness out
- 1:06 Joey Ryan out
- 1:06 Cortez Castro out
- 1:42 Paul London out
- 1:51 Mala Suerte out
- 2:04 Saltador out
- 2:30 Pimpinela Escarlata out
- 2:30 Argenis out
- 2:46 Máscarita Sagrada out
- 3:17 Ricky Mundo out
- 3:31 PJ Black out
Ivelisse beat Catrina (6:14, DDT, OK)
Fenix beat Marty Martinez in a mask vs hair match (12:25, springboard 450 splash, great)
Developments
A bloody Fenix was able to finish off Marty, though he only barely survived. Fenix was cut open when Marty ripped up Fenix’s mask, exposed a turnbuckle, and dropped him face first on it. (Fenix’s face was heavily visible during moments in the match.) Fenix got in more of the offense, but was clearly wore down by the significant blood loss as the match went on. As Fenix laid on the match near passed out, Marty pulled the scissors out of his lunch box again. Marty pressed the point into Fenix’s cut and seemed to want to do something even more severe until Melissa got up to the apron and offered to run away with Marty if he would back off. That really didn’t work, but Melissa got in close enough to foul Marty. Fenix bulldozed Marty with a kick to the back of the head and finished him off with a cross rope springboard 450.
Marty attempted to flee up the stairs to escape his hair cut, but he was cut off by an unlikely enemy: Mariposa. Marty had earlier shoved his sister in the way of a Fenix dive and Mariposa had walked out on him. Mariposa returned to cut off Marty’s escape, handcuff him to the railing, and hand scissors to Melissa. Marty’s hair was cut and shaved before the show by the victorious couple went off the air.
Speaking of couples, Ivelisse and Jeremiah Crane sure aren’t one any more. The episode began with them arguing backstage, Crane having apparently told Ivelisse he was interested in someone else. Ivelisse was even not thrilled to find it was Catrina, and even less thrilled when Crane called her a bitch. Crane took a kick into and thru some lockers.
The Ivelisse/Catrina match went on as planned, with Mil Muertes only appearing at the start of the match, and leaving the rock in a box in Catrina’s corner. Catrina didn’t need that at first, she found other weapons to use. Catrina escaped from Ivelisse into Dario’s office, waited for Ivelisse to kick the door down, and smashed a bottle over Ivelisse’s head. Catrina broke two additional bottles over Ivelisse’s skull, causing her to bleed significantly the rest of the match. Ivie still was the superior fighter and rallied back. Catrina grabbed the rock in desperation, but it appeared to have no special powers in this match. It was still a rock, and Ivelisse conked Catrina with it before finishing her off with a DDT.
Ivelisse didn’t have much time to celebrate though. Crane attacked her from behind with a hammer, targeting one of her previously broken ankles with his blows. It wasn’t exactly clear if Crane did it because of his new hate for Ivelisse or his old love for Catrina. Maybe both.
The opening battle royal was mostly focused on Pimpinela’s return to the Temple. On a run of serious matches and episodes, she brought a nice bit of levity with her. The Mack won the match with a stunner on PJ Black, then was told by Dario of what he won: a trios title shot next week. That’s the good news. The bad news is Dario picked his team: Killshot and Dante Fox. Dario himself wondered if they’d be healthy enough to put a fight, or get along at all.
Thoughts
No one’s more willing to bleed for the sake of an epic match than Fenix on Lucha Underground. He lost so much blood in Grave Consequences, and he must have lost more here. It wasn’t a drip, it was a steady flow. Both he and the mat seemed splattered with blood. There was a wrestling match in between the puddles. Fenix wrestled great as usual, and Marty did his best job of merging his character and his wrestling. This wasn’t the video game athletic match Fenix can do with others, but Marty was there for him enough to do the big moves, and the stuff that didn’t really rely on acrobatics (the running kicks) looked devastating. The Mariposa turn was quick and probably means almost nothing given they’ve kind of broken up and gottne back together before, but it was mostly out of the way. Melissa looked the part. The finish was over the top melodramatic, but this is a melodrama so that was fine for me. I really liked the haircut getting on air; this is easily the best the show has treated an apuesta match, and about as well as anyone does them. Striker pointed out early that Fenix had never lost an Ultima Lucha match and I wonder if that’ll be a streak of emphasis if there’s another Ultima Lucha.
Ivelisse and Catrina was better than the battle royal, even if I had them both OK. It was a totally satisfactory match for someone who’s not wrestling that much and someone who’s coming back for an injury. It just wasn’t on the level of other matches I thought were good. The crowd brawling and the bottle shots (where one will work, do three) got them around doing much stuff in the ring. I was a little distressed about how attractive I found these two women covered in blood, to be honest. If there’s a Season 4, I hope we get a better run for Ivelisse, but the attack at the end makes me a little concerned she might have been written out.
Not only was Pimpinela doing comedy, Dario contributed by saying The Mack had beaten some of the best luchadors in the Temple. I saw people jumping out of the ring after getting kissed, and the kisser falling out of the ring after an armdrag, I’m not quite sure this is the best they have to offer. Now that I know this aired, I’m disappointed Aerostar didn’t get one last in-ring appearance. I hope we see him in a vignette before Ultima Lucha is over, because the last shot of him getting his arm snapped would be kinda sad. I hope they remember Mack & Killshot started out as friends, and I suspect they will.
The episode guide preview hadn’t mentioned that trios title match specifically for either week, so I assumed it was airing the final week. Instead, as you’ll see below, we’ve got three matches for a one hour show, and three hours for a two hour show. That can’t be right. There hasn’t been much out of the ring stuff down the stretch. There usually is on the final night, and those final matches are probably getting a lot of time. Still…I guess we’ll see what plays out.
Still Left In Ultima Lucha 3
episode 104 (October 11, Ultima Lucha Week 3)
- The Mack, Killshot, Dante Fox vs Vibora, Pindar, Drago for the Lucha Underground Trios Championship
- Taya vs Sexy Star, last luchadora standing
- Pentagon Dark vs Son of Havoc for the Gift of the Gods Championship in a Ladder match.
episode 105 (October 18, Ultima Lucha Week 4, the end?)
- Cage vs Jeremiah Crane vs Mil Muertes for the gauntlet
- El Dragon Azteca Jr. vs Matanza Cueto in a cage match
- Johnny Mundo (c) vs Prince Puma, title versus career for the Lucha Underground championship