By Liz@Ms_Deathwish
Lucha Underground: Ultima Lucha Cuatro Part 1
The weeks of waiting are at an end, as the 4th season of El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground reaches its climax. Given its time slot of one hour weekly, Ultima Lucha Cuatro takes place over two episodes, with the first part this week.
The show opens with a recap of the events leading up to tonight and an introduction to the three matches featured on this week’s show. The first match is a three-way elimination match for the Trios Championships featuring The Rabbit Tribe, the team of Ivelisse, XO-Lishus and new team-mate Sammy Guevara (who replaces the injured Joey Ryan,) and the current champions The Reptile Tribe. This is followed by a grudge match between Taya Mundo and Ricky Mundo, with the evil, haunted doll Rosa in his corner. The main event for this part of the Ultima Lucha event is the Mask vs Mask match, which pits the Soldier Of Fortune Killshot against the rider from The Open Road, Son Of Havoc.
This opening segment also brings us a short scene featuring Aerostar and Captain Vasquez. If you have seen previous seasons of Lucha Underground you will remember Captain Vasquez as the investigating detective who sent Joey Ryan and Cortez undercover in the first season to try and collect evidence against the original owner of The Temple, Dario Cueto. It was also revealed that she is the mother of Katrina, and has her own hidden agenda regarding the temple and the power that lurks there. She is the keeper of the other half of the amulet belonging to Aerostar, the amulet that was crucial to the rebirth of Fenix. During this scene, Aerostar tells of the history of the amulet and implores Vasquez to give him the missing half so he can restore it to its full power. I can’t help but wonder what part this will play in the ongoing story of the fall of Fenix into darkness. It looks like we will have to wait until next week to find out.
Trios Championship Match
Matt Striker and Vampiro call the action as usual, and their excitement is palpable for the upcoming carnage and mayhem. Melissa Santos introduces the two challenging teams. First up we have the intimidating presence of The White Rabbit, the insanity of Paul London, and El Bunny making up the Rabbit Tribe. A few weeks ago, when The White Rabbit (played by Impact Wrestling’s Killer Kross) first debuted, events unfolded leading to the injury of one of the other challengers, Joey Ryan. Ivelisse and XO-Lishus banded together and looked for a replacement, eventually deciding upon the athletic high flyer, Sammy Guevara. Both these teams are already in the ring, soon to be joined by The Reptile Tribe, consisting of Kobra Moon, Daga and Jeremiah Snake (an incarnation of “The Draw” Sami Calihan).
The build up for this match has certainly been interesting and I for one can’t wait to see the outcome.
The White Rabbit shows yet again just how dominant he can be, not an easy feat in a match such as this, loaded with such a mix of abilities and talent. Sammy Guevara and Kobra Moon nail a spectacular Spanish Fly onto the rest of the competition from the top of the balcony area. Surprisingly the first team eliminated is The Rabbit Tribe, following a miscommunication between El Bunny and Paul London. The White Rabbit makes his displeasure known quickly, aiming his full fury at his team-mates. This leads to him hammering home his bloody and brutal mandible claw, leaving Sammy Guevara spouting blood from his mouth and needing a medic. A rueful smile on the face of White Rabbit after Sammy spits blood in his face is incredibly unsettling. I have so much love for the way he uses his face when in character. It adds so much to his story-telling ability and is one of the things that makes him such a stand out star.
The match continues with the two remaining teams however, due to Sammy Guevara being incapacitated, it is essentially a 2 on 3 handicap match. Ivelisse and XO-Lishus put in a brave effort, with both showcasing their impressive athletic ability and innovative move-sets. In the end though, The Reptile Tribe and the numbers game proves too much for them and the champs retain, following an arm bar from Daga that forces XO to tap out.
This match was fast and furious. I was hoping we would have seen a little more of The Rabbit Tribe, maybe even see them as champs, however it’s important to be aware of the time constraints of Lucha Underground. Sometimes the short time slot, coupled with how impressive the action is, can lead to a little frustration that some matches aren’t longer (Rodriguez, if you’re reading, two hour shows each week please!)
Taya Mundo vs Ricky Mundo
There is little scarier than a pissed off Bride, and boy is Taya pissed! Following her disastrous wedding, she is looking to get payback on the man who unleashed the beast who tore things apart, Ricky Mundo. Ricky is seemingly under the control of the sinister doll Rosa, who has manipulated him into adding to the ridiculous body count this season (I have lost count of the deaths to be honest). It seems as though Ricky is jealous of Taya and the attention she gets from the leader of the Worldwide Underground, Johnny Mundo. The classic tale of a man getting involved with a woman and his friends feeling left out, but with evil dolls and brutal murders and stuff.
As Taya marches to the ring, you can see that she means serious business. She wastes no time at all in flattening Ricky Mundo. The hard-hitting action spills out of the ring, proving yet again that Lucha Underground really does lead the way with its intergender bookings. Taya looks powerful and dominant in this match, while Ricky manages to play the creepy, possessed puppet really well. It’s nice to see him develop a bit more of a character as in the past he has been mostly a background figure.
This is another short match, with Taya submitting Ricky with a modified cross-face submission hold after around 5 minutes of action. After the win, Taya manages to score the ultimate revenge by slamming Ricky through a table, echoing what Matanza did to her on her wedding day.
The length of this match felt a little rushed if I’m honest, but knowing the potential of the upcoming main event I can understand it. Speaking of the main event, that’s coming up next.
Main Event: Son of Havoc vs Killshot – Mask vs Mask
This rivalry has been brewing for many weeks. Both these men have mysterious pasts and it is heavily implied that their masks are a way of trying to escape those pasts, and the identities associated with them. The rules of this match are that the winner gets to remove the mask of the loser after they have been submitted or pinned.
The crowd is pretty evenly split when it comes to supporting these two competitors. Honestly, it’s the kind of match where you know you’re in for a treat and you don’t really mind who wins. Often with matches of this kind, it is possible to have an idea of who will win. However as both these men wrestle unmasked in other promotions (Son of Havoc as Matt Cross and Killshot as Shane Strickland), it could go either way which adds to the excitement.
This match was a real battle of wills with both man leaving their heart and soul in that ring. We were given spot after spot from these world class athletes. I would say they are quite evenly matched as far as ability goes, and they worked beautifully together, creating a truly stunning match with something for everyone. There was brutality, technical skill, high-flying assaults and the story was sold to us emotionally. Quite early on Killshot unscrewed the bottom ring rope, allowing him to bring a wheeled stretcher into the ring. We have to wait a little while to see just how this will be utilised, but in the meantime we see Son Of Havoc take to the rafters for a quite frankly insane splash through a table.
The final minutes of the match really play with your emotions, as both men fight for the finish, throwing their best shots at each other only for it to end in countless nearfalls. We really believe the will and determination being shown here. Eventually Son of Havoc wins by strapping Killshot into the aforementioned stretcher and hitting him with a glorious Shooting Star Press.
After the match, Killshot takes the mic and gives an emotional speech. He reveals his name as Lieutenant Jermaine “Killshot” Strickland and confesses to absconding from military duty, leaving his brothers for dead. He then removes his mask, emotion twisting his face as he hands it to the man who beat him. He leaves the arena with tears in his eyes to a chorus of “Thank-you Killshot” while Havoc holds the mask aloft in victory.
The emotional ending to this match was unexpected, but it was brilliant. It really fitted the epic battle we had just witnessed. The episode ends with Strickland being confronted outside by his old friend Dante Fox in full military garb. When Fox first arrived at the temple he had been looking for Strickland and was angry with him, but the details of their friendship and joint service were not forthcoming. Strickland says “sorry for everything” and asks to be relieved of duty. Fox agrees and Killshot leaves the temple. I’m not sure if this is the end of his tenure with the promotion, but I hope we see him again in some form or another. He has been a pivotal part of the show since the beginning and this storyline has been excellent to watch.
Next week we have the concluding part of Ultima Lucha Cuatro to look forward to.
The card is as follows:
Sacrifice to The Gods Match: Johnny Mundo vs Matanza
2 out or 3 Falls Match: Dragon Azteca Jr. vs Fenix
Death Match: Mil Muertes vs the Mack
Lucha Underground Title Ciero Miedo Match: Marty The Moth Martinez vs Pentagon Dark
