Lucha Underground Episode 11: Last Luchador Standing Workrate Report

1. Cortez Castro & Mr. Cisco vs. Pimpinela Escarlata & Mascarita Sagrada

ER: I've actually been liking Cisco a lot during his LU run and I thought he looked great in this. He bumps way bigger than Cortez and I think he has a bunch of really great offense. He takes moves way better than the other guys and this match was a good showcase for that, as Pimpi has a few moves that require both heels to bump at the same time and Cisco always looked better. Sagrada was also downplayed as he hits a couple ranas and a flip dive (which B-Boy bumps terribly and makes it look like he got barely grazed with a Nerf football). I like how the rudos isolate him and make the most of the size disadvantage. I still like what Pimpi is bringing to the fed (even though I've seen him getting dumped on a lot). I always think he looks fine and again, Cisco made a lot of his stuff look great.

PAS: I really enjoyed this, the crew added in a lot of nasty looking cheap shots, and Pimpi may not have the athletic juice of his younger days, he still knows how to lay it in, time comebacks and elicit sympathy. I am adding my voice to the praising of Cisco. What the fuck happened to B-Boy? He was always a guys who's instincts I questioned a bit, but his execution was always good, he has looked awful in every moment of action in this fed, did he have a stroke or something?

ER: Post match and everybody turns on Big Ryck and jumps him, brutally burning his eye with his own cigar. Nasty stuff. I'm not sure what to make of the turn but Ryck seems an odd guy to be a babyface in this promotion as it's a little tough to regularly get behind a guy who won't be an underdog in any situation. Maybe Cueto digs the "strength in numbers" thing but still curious about storyline reasons for Dario paying fat stacks of cash to take out the other guy he was paying cash. Striker is still WWE conditioned as he states Ryck has been taken to a "medical facility".

PAS: I have enjoyed the look and vibe of the backstage stuff in this fed, but the motivations have often been lacking. Cueto has great delivery, but nothing he does makes any sense. What happened to the monster he had locked up anyway? Why did he pay one group of thugs to take out another thug he payed to take out John Morrison? I am worried we are getting the same lazy writing that has plagued wrestling for the last 20 years, with a slightly flashier package.

ER: Cage interview sure wasn't much. This man has not been given the gift of speech. He had an almost comically bad delivery. Vampiro looked absurd, like Vic Mackey going under cover to stop a Byz Lats drug ring.

PAS: I like Vampiro as an aggressive interviewer. He is better in that role, than at commentary.

2. Super Fly vs. Pentagon Jr.

ER: Kind of an aimless match with a couple of cool spots. A lot of this was centered around Pentagon attacking Super Fly's leg, and Super Fly yelling about his battered leg, but outside of yelling and holding his leg after getting kicked it never seemed to bother him too much. We do get a bunch of fun superkicks that just made me want a Chris Adams style superkick match, and Pentagon does his brutal dropkick to a moonsaulting opponent, but this didn't add up to much for me.

PAS: I liked this more then Eric. Pentagon is at his best as a nasty asskicker, and I like him beating on dudes better then flying around trying to match spot for spot with guys like Fenix.


3. Sexy Star vs. Mariachi Loco

ER: This felt like the kind of match they should have had when Sexy Star debuted. Instead this match was spent acting like Star has always been an equal to her male counterparts, when they could have just done something like this the first week and had it established that she's equal. That said I liked this match and Star's comebacks and offensive runs were logical, and she even brought some stiff work especially with some kicks to the face. I dug all her armdrags and her capitalizing on Mariachi's mistakes made sense in the match.

PAS: Yeah this was pretty good, Sexy Star was really laying it in, and Marachi Loco was good too as a bumbling heel bumping around. Not really sure where they are going with her now that the Chavo feud is over, but I wouldn't mind Pimpi turning heel and a feud between those two.

4. Last Luchador Standing: King Cuerno vs. Drago

ER: Well this was disappointing, but I'm also a guy who dislikes Last Man Standing matches more than a lot of people. It's a stip that just constantly interrupts the action, with a big move and then lying around waiting. There have been LMS matches that I've enjoyed but usually with me it just ends up getting in the way of what could have been a fine normal match. And it doesn't help when you have a goofy ending where apparently it counts as a guy not being able to stand, when the other guy is physically preventing him from doing so? That took what could have been a brutal finish in a No DQ match, into a confusing finish. Both guys have shown a good rhythm together, and this stip took away that rhythm, as instead of a grueling match it just came across as a restart after every move. We still got big spots like the Cuerno tope and a sick Michinoku Driver to the floor, I just don't think overall the stip helped them.

PAS: I didn't mind the pacing as much as Eric, Cuerno is already deliberate, which is what I like about him, so the pauses kind of worked with the pacing of his matches. The pace differences is what I like about this series. Still that was a pretty dumb finish. Especially if this was supposed to end the feud. This show had some fun action, but it really made me question their booking


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Lucha Underground Episode 3: Crossing the Border Workrate Report

ER: I really like that this show hired a lot of production guys that have never worked in wrestling before. That's maybe the absolute smartest thing they did. Bring in guys who don't just base their programming on how WWE films their programming. They have their own production knowledge, not just stuff that's been dug into their brains about how a wrestling show is "supposed" to look. It gives them a fresh feel and look right out of the gate. This was an enormous decision that they got right.

1. Mascarita Sagrada vs. El Mariachi Loco

ER: No clue who Loco is. He's a slender, average height masked guy wearing fantastic mariachi pants. Not sure which Sagrada this is, either, as after a minute of watching him he doesn't seem anywhere near as good as previous Sagradas. This didn't look like Tzuki, and it's obviously not the current El Torito, and he didn't seem as good as the original who I've seen working indies…so is this the guy AAA has been using the last few years? He seems…okayish. Loco bumped around for him using a bunch of over the top Shawn Michaels bumping. Sagrada hits a nice flip dive, but really can't properly get in place for any of Loco's super kicks. He's always too close or doesn't bump right for them. He somehow sells Loco's offense less than Loco sells Sagrada's. It blows my mind that Sagrada goes over clean here with a tight choke (a modified d'arce according to Striker, despite it not looking like any sort of d'arce) rolled into a pin. So Sexy Star loses in 90 seconds in her debut, but the guy weighing 70 lb. goes over clean to a guy twice his size? Eh, whatever. Match wasn't much. I'd rather see minis against other minis. Yep. Segunda Caida is pro segregation.

PAS: I agree with Eric, I have no problem with mini's in tags or trios with regular sized wrestlers, but it stretches it a bit in a longish singles match. It was also hurt by Sagrada not looking nearly as spectacular as other guys who have worn that mask.

ER: Vampiro is dressed up as Byz Lat #3 from his Shield background extra work. The on screen graphic also calls him "Announcer/Legend". I wonder whose idea that was. I dug Chavo's interview, really dug his attitude. Best interview I've seen from Chavo in…ever? I loved the interview being intercut with slo mo shots of him punching Blue Demon in the ear last week, and attacking him on the stretcher.

PAS: Yeah this Chavo interview ruled. Shots fired at Demon being a shitty dude who only got there on his daddy's coatails. Demon being a guy who even sucked in his prime? Chavo must have gotten the DVDVR Lucha 80's set.  Liked the Konan backstage interaction, I would dig the gimmick of AAA guys coming after Chavo for taking out luchadores, and I hope that is were they go with it, instead of having Demon or Sexy Star feud with him.

2. Ricky Mandel vs. Mil Muertes

ER: Mandel is apparently from beautiful Berrrrwyyyyyn, IL (cue Berwyn soundbite) and was trained by the Ballard Bros. I've never seen him before, but I like the way he takes a spear directly on his shoulder. And Muertes has a nice punch/chop combo. But this match was not good. Mesias is a guy I've really really liked in the past, but my word as Muertes everything is just wrong. Horrendous look (we talked about those brutal pants and that awful mask last week) but he has some insanely dated offense for a squash. A flatliner finish? Yikes. Katrina is easily the best thing about the act so far.

PAS: I thought the vignette with the earthquake backstory was really cool, and I have faith in Muertes to turn it up when he gets a regular match, but man does he need an outfit redesign stat. Pretty much the only guy on the show with a bad look too, really stands out.

3. Drago vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix

ER: This match was pretty damn stupid, but stupid in a way that kind of made it critic proof. Guys did stuff, heads were landed on, some things looked bad, many things looked good. About 30 seconds in most of my evaluative brain just shut down because why bother? Fenix had the hands down spot of the match (year?) with his flapjack turned into a ridiculous rana. Holy cow that looked amazing. And we finally find a good use for the overhead camera, as Fenix's dive off the top of the stage looked like he was base jumping off a cliff. Dug all the dives, got pretty tired of guys jumping onto their own heads while another guy was touching him (thus classifying it as some sort of "Driver") until one of them got 3 counts instead of 2 counts. Still, this was a perfect kind of match to set them apart, so it was necessary.

PAS: I have a couple of minor nits to pick. I think they would have been better off just running out Pentagon Jr. v. either technico for an opening match. Would have allowed either Fenix or Drago to stand out a bit more. We at Segunda Caida are John Lithgow in Footloose when it comes to 3-Way dancing, and I still think the tag on the second show is the feds best match, but this kind of nut house match is what they need to stand out. I really like Pentagon Jr. as a violent asskicker, more then as a spot guy so I hope I get to see more of that side of him. Despite my slight issues, totally enjoyed the bat shittedness of the whole thing. Lucha Underground was something I was hesitant about before it happened, but they are 3 for 3 for entertaining shows so far.


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