Lucha Underground Episode 4: Thrill of the Hunt Workrate Report

1. Sexy Star vs. Ivelisse

ER: Based on Star's pre-match promo it sure looks like they're setting up a huge Chavo/Star blowoff which is one of the things I'd be least interested in seeing. She even said she'd be getting vengeance for what Chavo did to Blue Demon and Mascarita Sagrada. Really, the woman who lost to M-Dogg 20 in 90 seconds is going to be the angel of vengeance, taking down Chavo? Hmmm. Vampiro and Striker call this match "anti-diva" which is a bit rich as I think the divas division is arguably the most talented it's ever been right now. I don't think Lucha Underground should be openly inviting comparison to WWE. Just do your own thing, people will notice if it's better or not. Match itself was weird, as they were doing stuff, but it didn't really move me at all. I really liked some of Ivelisse's stuff here. I haven't seen much of her since she was on Tough Enough, but she added a lot of nice little ticks to the match, like rubbing out her chin after taking a drop toe hold. Sexy Star has not done a ton for me so far in these episodes. The crowd seems into her so that's good, but I wonder if at some point they start thinking they backed the wrong horse.

PAS: Not much of a match, parts looked ok, but other stuff looked like pre-Finlay training WWE women's matches. I really like what they have done with rudo Chavo so far, and an inter-gender feud with Sexy Star is one of the least interesting directions it can go in. I am with Eric on the stupidity of the "anti-diva" comment, especially because it was followed with Striker saying something like "don't expect to see a lot of armdrags and takedowns here, this is going to be a lot of slapping and hair pulling".

2. Pentagon Jr. v. Fenix

PAS: Mixed bag match, this is similar to the three way match, as we just had a bunch of crazy spots one after another. I would have liked to see Pentagon try to slow this down a bit in parts, a little more brawling or grappling would have made the bigger spots look bigger. It need some valleys to go along with the peaks. I also thought some of the kicks looked bad, either connect better or do a different move. Although I did think Fenix's jumping enzigiri was pretty cool.

ER: Pretty much what I imagine most people expected to see: A whole bunch of stuff that looked cool, and a whole bunch of stuff in between that awkwardly got them into position to do stuff that looked cool. The cool stuff did look really cool though. That counts for a helluva lot in this type of match. I wouldn't really care about 15 minutes of this, but 5 minutes of it is plenty entertaining and again, the exact type of thing they should be putting on TV every week to set themselves apart. I agree with Phil that it would have been nice to see Pentagon try and be a rudo more, especially considering his rudo pre-match promo. He does the promo, but really didn't work any differently than Fenix except that he was a base more often. Again though, these guys do a lot of cool stuff, and it was supposed to be 5 minutes of cool stuff. Points.

PAS: Thought the King Cuerno vignette was pretty great. They are just killing it with the intro vignette's, really the thing about the promotion which is just head and shoulders over anywhere else in wrestling. I hope we get one for Fenix, Drago, and Pentagon Jr. at some point, as their lack of character development is really lacking compared to everyone else in this fed at this point. Not a ton Dario this week although I did like his interaction with creepy Drago here, that tongue is awesome looking.

ER: Gotta second the love for both the vignettes which really are on just another level, and Drago's look. When I found out they were using the generic name "Drago" instead of the awesome name of Gato Everready I was against it, but the guy looks cool. He looks like a Guillermo Del Toro creation, which is pretty perfect for the El Rey network.

3. King Cuerno v. Drago

PAS: My favorite match on the show, Cuerno was doing what I wanted Pentagon to, slowing down the match so Drago's big moments had more of an impact. I also thought his stuff was pretty violent, and the tope was awesome looking. Liked the finish with the arrogant hunter getting caught posing, that flippy cradle Drago used ruled. A little short, but I hope this feud continues.

ER: Cuerno is Hijo Del Fantasma, who I haven't seen since he left CMLL. This match was really fun and it left me wanting much more from each guy. Cuerno had some cool stuff including leveling Drago with a big fast tope. His strikes looked really nice too which was a nice change from the previous match. I actually liked how Cuerno didn't bump for an early fast headscissors, just staying on his feet and shaking his head. Don't need it as a regular spot but I thought it was a unique way to establish the size advantage. Drago has dizzying speed and it was really on display here. Loved all his roll throughs on things and his big bumps. Loved how he stood his ground before getting blasted by that tope. He wasn't afraid to lean into any of Cuerno's strikes. Both guys came off really well here.

4. Johnny Mundo v. Big Ryck

PAS: I didn't like how Striker came out and called Ryck Suge Knight, you didn't see Gorilla Monsoon talk about how Razor Ramon was "just like Scarface", an homage is an homage only as long as it unstated. I thought Mundo did a fine job bumping around a big guy, but Ryck was worse then I remember him back in WWECW, some stuff looked stiff, but other stuff looked pretty loose. He looks awesome but they probably would have been better off with Uhaa Nation or No Limit Soldiers 4x4 in that role.

ER: Really wish they could have found something cooler for Ryck to wear than old sweat shorts and generic knee pads. I could see him pulling off a Big Bubba Rogers slacks-and-button-up looks in the ring. I thought Ryck looked better here than…well, most people commenting on the internet it would seem. He always had a nice shoulderblock and he breaks that out here, and Morrison is a guy who also makes shoulder blocks look good. Also dug the cravate he used here. Still the match kinda looked like it was waiting around for the run-in and sure enough that's what happened. Love Phil bringing up 4x4 as I always got sick joy out of seeing him in WCW. He had such an absurd build as he was 5'10" but like 400 lb., all in the arms and chest, and he always wore this spaghetti strap camouflage tank top that was so stretched that it always looked like a tube top. I really loved that one match he had against Knobbs where Knobbs blindsides him to start the match and then just stiffs him for 90 seconds before a run in.


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