July 18th, 2018
Matt Striker and Vampiro welcome us to the show, as they hype up the Lucha Underground Championship main event, as Pentagon Dark defends against Cage. We’re then sent off to the ring for our opening match.
For an Aztec Medallion: Paul London w/The Rabbit Tribe vs. Dezmond X
The final Aztec Medallion was on the line here, and we have yet another debut in the Temple. Dezmond Xavier is here, and there couldn’t be a better fit for the promotion. Xavier has been killing it on the indies, but struggled to find his place in IMPACT. Now he’s here in LU, and he looked really good. The crowd got behind Dezmond, as he ultimately picked up the win. It’s interesting to note that commentary mentioned there’s no Mascarita Sagrada at ringside, because we all know what happened to him last week. Solid little opener here, with London and the Rabbit Tribe still doing nothing noteworthy in the Temple (besides last week’s closing angle).
Winner: Dezmond Xavier
Match Rating: **1/2
Antonio Cueto is out to make the Gift of the Gods match official for next week. El Dragon Azteca Jr, King Cuerno, Ivelisse, Dezmond X, Son of Havoc, The Mack, and Mil Muertes all place their Medallions into the Gift of the Gods Championship. Cueto goes on to announce that only six competitors will compete in the match next week. Right now, we’re having an Over the Top Rope Battle Royal! The winner will choose who is out of the match next week.
Battle Royal: El Dragon Azteca Jr. vs. King Cuerno vs. Ivelisse vs. Dezmond X vs. Son of Havoc vs. The Mack vs. Mil Muertes
This was more of an angle than a match, with everyone going out in under a minute, before leaving The Mack and Son of Havoc as the final two. After an intense stare down, Son of Havoc runs off the ropes and hits a Tope Suicida onto everyone, letting The Mack take home the victory. I think there were easier ways to kick someone out of the match next week… But this was certainly something.
Winner: The Mack
Match Rating: NR
The Mack kicks Mil Muertes out of the mach next week, which is HUGE! Muertes lays everyone out at ringside, and with this happening, I’d expect King Cuerno to win the match next week.
Vibora w/Kobra Moon vs. Johnny Mundo w/Taya
Ultimately this began as an overbooked mess, and ended the same way. Mundo took an early advantage, but Vibora fought back, only for Mundo to use his speed and quickness to again get the advantage. PJ Black and Taya helped Mundo get Vibora down in the ring, but it wasn’t enough to put him away! Drago and Daga both came out to save the day for The Rabbit Tribe, as Vibora dominated Mundo, yet Mundo somehow stayed alive. Ricky Mundo even came out to save the day for Mundo, but Vibora escaped with a huge victory. I’m sure some will hate how overbooked this was, but it all made sense, was enjoyable, and really let Vibora shine like he never has before in the Temple. This was great.
Winner: Vibora
Match Rating: ***1/2
After the match, the two factions continue to brawl, as we head to a commercial break.
Ricky Mundo finds Jack Evans in the back, as Evans is watching XO Lishus’s every move. Johnny Mundo told Evans it was okay to sit this one out, and he walks away from Ricky and his creepy doll. The creepy doll strikes again, telling Ricky to do the same to him (Evans) that he did to Angelico. Interesting…
Lucha Underground Championship: Pentagon Dark (c) vs. Cage
This was a solid match, but felt very similar to Pentagon/Matanza from Episode 2 of this season, and lacked ANY drama in terms of Cage winning the title. They had some good brawling on the floor, and then brought things into the ring, where Cage dominated for awhile, only for Pentagon to hit a Mexican Destroyer and Package Piledriver to retain. Nothing really great here, they didn’t get a ton of time to work, and overall it was a bit disappointing. Thankfully with the pots match angle, this feud seems like it’s going to continue.
Winner: Pentagon Dark
Match Rating: ***
Cage gets up right away after the match, and goes to attack Pentagon, only for him to lay on his stomach, in position for Pentagon to break his arm. Cage fights out of it, and nails a F-5 to Pentagon on the title. Cage grabs a microphone and tells Pentagon that he can’t break his arm, because Cage is a MACHINE.
Final Thoughts:
This was a pretty good episode, as we had Dezmond X make his debut, a shocking twist to the Gift of the Gods match for next week, a great overbooked match, and a solid sprint for the Lucha Underground Title. It seems like we are getting more matches than angles this season, which is quite interesting. Usually four matches fit into a one hour timeslot doesn’t work, but Lucha Underground seems to have things down, and I expect it to only get better from here. The Gift of the Gods match next week should be a ton of fun, and I expect King Cuerno to walk out with the gold. Otherwise, the issues keep getting bigger between the Rabbit Tribe and Worldwide Underground, along with Cage not letting this loss set him back, as he still has his sights on the Lucha Underground Championship. Solid episode here, and it flew by.
Final Rating: 7.0/10