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Lucha Underground recap s4e9, "A Match Made in Heaven"

Screen shot from Lucha Underground. The image is focused on Kobra Moon, a Latina with dark hair in a ponytail and she wears a blue mask with a reptilian motif. She is surrounded by the rest of the Reptile tribe, the most prominent being Drago who is wearing a green dragon mask and body suit.

By: E. Young
BrightNightmares.weebly.com

This week, Lucha Underground shows why it has some of the best storytelling in the biz. You could say it is… a match made in… Heaven!

We open the episode with (the) Mariposa using a little of that Moth tribe money and some creepy seduction to flex on Antonio; she bribes her way into a Gift of the Gods match with defending champion El Dragon Azteca Jr. Antonio also appears to be handling the mysterious phone calls now, too. What does it mean, Cueto?!

Antonio has called for another sacrifice, and the Rabbit Tribe steps up to volunteer. Man, Paul London isn’t playing any games anymore. He offers up poor Mala Suerte due to his perceived failures. Are we going to talk about how the Rabbit Tribe as a whole hasn’t been doing that well? Mala gets some pretty decent offense in against soul-free Matanza even though it’s a losing battle. This match also came with some weird bunny sound effects because all of these sacrifices so far have been very dark comedy matches. Matanza takes Mala on a tour of the islands and pins him, and sacrifices him to the gods. This is especially funny to me because under the bunny ears was Mr. Cisco from season 1… so he’s dead again. Bad luck indeed.

After the sacrifice, we have a tag-team match between Ivelisse & Xo Lishus and Joey Ryan & Jack Evans. If that seems a little random, Ivelisse has beef with sleazy Joey and Jack and Xo are continuing their feud. Two birds with one stone, why not? This match was pretty enjoyable and strong, with Xo and Ivelisse figuring out how to work as a team and Xo having some pretty good chemistry with Joey. That probably shouldn’t be surprising. Ivelisse does make some really telegraphed tags that made her look like a novice in the beginning but she got it together. Unfortunately, Jack wins by knocking Xo unconscious with a nasty looking loco plata that Joey of all people had to break up. Xo still looks good because he didn’t tap out, but Jack states that their feud isn’t over until Xo is dead. What the hell, Jack? Shouldn’t you be fighting snakes?

Next up, the Gift of the Gods title match with Mariposa vs. Dragon Azteca. With Sexy Star presumably no longer working with LU due to some controversy (to say the least), Mariposa needs a new story line to separate herself from just being Marty’s enforcer/fellow psycho. However, this match is an extended squash match which leaves me wondering about her motivations right now. Dragon Azteca retains his belt and Mariposa slinks back into the shadows to do… something.

Main event time! Worldwide Underground takes on the Reptile tribe in an atòmicos match for Johnny’s soul! Or a wish from Kobra Moon. Per last week, Johnny Mundo and Taya decapitated chief Reptile enforcer Vibora, leaving them short a member. But as it turns out, Kobra Moon is not just a djinn but a necromancer! And she has resurrected from the grave… Jeremiah… Snake! Wait, seriously? That’s the most vicious serpentine name they could give that man? This might be worse than Jake Strong.

We haven’t seen the former Jeremiah Crane since Mil shut him in a coffin a few episodes ago (you really die in a casket match, folks) and he’s just as unhinged as ever. He’s a great Big Guy substitute for the tribe. But Johnny’s team also has a replacement announced. Instead of Ricky and his creepy doll, they’re subbing in… Aerostar! My favorite part is that even though Aerostar is a huge face playing on the premiere heel team, he showed team spirit by wearing one of the WU bandannas. This is also great continuity because Aerostar is the person most equipped to face his brainwashed best friend, Drago. We haven’t really seen Drago wrestle a lot this season, but he is not to be underestimated.

With our teams set, the match starts off fast and furious. Atòmicos matches are designed to be quick-paced. They function like a trios or tag team match, but you don’t have to wait for dramatically drawn out tags as a “tag” occurs when wrestlers fall out of the ring. And with Aerostar and reckless Jeremiah in the mix, this got wild pretty fast. If you do nothing else this week, check this match out. Johnny pins Drago for a victory, sending the Reptile tribe slithering back to their lair… but not so fast! Johnny gets his wish! And in an honorable move, Johnny passes his wish on to Aerostar and wishes for Drago’s freedom. This was a great cap to Drago and Aerostar’s story line and hopefully it means we will be seeing a lot more of them for the rest of the season. I haven’t been this happy since Soldier Ant rejoined the Ant Colony in Chikara!

But wait, it gets better! Taya is big mad that Johnny wasted their wish… until it’s revealed that Johnny’s real wish is for Taya to marry him! What! PJ Black pulls the ring out of his trunks (wow) and Taya, naturally, accepts. And to cap it all off, “Pomp & Circumstances” plays evoking memories of Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth. There was so much to get hyped over with this episode and it feels like so many story lines ended satisfactorily and a few more are about to ramp up. If this were a mid-season finale I wouldn’t be too mad. The last thing we get for this episode is a short, ominous segment with Ricky Mundo and his dollfriend wishing Taya and Johnny a happy marriage… and death.

We’re getting a lucha royalty wedding! How will Drago adjust to normal dragon life? What are Mariposa’s true plans? Is Ricky getting ready to single white male someone? We’ll see next week!

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