You mean last week wasn’t the season finale? Well, damn.
By: E. Young
BrightNightmares.weebly.com
We open up with Antonio in his office opening a wedding invite from Johnny and Taya. Dario was rather chummy with Worldwide Underground but Antonio could care less. He’s interrupted by Kobra Moon demanding a match for the trios belts. Technically a rematch as the Reptiles were the previous champs. Antonio sets his phasers for Petty and points out the Reptile tribe’s many, many failures.
Line of the night: “It seems your Drago is… Drag-gone.” Holy. Shit.
Still, he grants the Reptiles a chance at the trio titles in a tornado tmatch. We also find out that Killshot is doing double duty as this week’s Gift of the Gods challenger while defending his trios belt. Speaking of Killshot, he’s gone full Raynathan from Sugar Hill on Mack and Havock. Before his match with Dragon Azteca, he tells Havock he doesn’t respect him for trying to turn Mack against him; Mack and Havock both counter this with “you did it to yourself” but Killshot’s not trying to hear all this.
Next up, another Rabbit sacrifice on the table. The side story with the Rabbits is getting interesting. Paul London is thinning the herd and the roster again by putting Saltador up for the sacrifice (kayfabe mode off: Saltador is also season 1 fave El Mariachi Loco and Trece from Catrina’s short-lived skeleton trio, also a set of Psycho Rangers). Saltador gets a more serious match than poor Mala Suerte, but a loss is a loss and a death is a death. Saltador is taken off to Looks like the Rabbit tribe has been reduced to Paul London Dark and the mysterious White Rabbit. Paul’s joy in watching his former friends die is… creepy.
Next, in celebration of Leo season, a fully unhinged Killshot comes out with his trio title on his shoulder to face El Dragon Azteca Jr. Dragon Azteca shouldn’t be underestimated; he’s a student of Rey Mysterio after all, and his family (the Eagle tribe and the late Dragon Azteca Sr) have ties to the Cuetos. But Dragon Azteca Jr is an honorable man and Killshot is… nuts. Also, if you like continuity, Killshot’s back is still looking absolutely gnarly from the Hell of War match last season. Please go out of your way to watch it.
This match is a great showcase; definitely one of Dragon Azteca’s better matches and it’s not hard to see why McMahon is interested in Killshot (aka Shane Strickland). He’s a fantastic athlete and character. I thought I was hearing really loud calls in the ring, but it turns out that was just Killshot trash talking and completely taking the piss out of Dragon Azteca. Killshot probably should have taken things more seriously, though; he loses, and this appears to break him even further.
After the match, we find out the rivalry between Pentagòn and Cage has gotten murkier. They will be participants in a Last Man (or Machine) Standing match next week. We also get a nice segment between Aerostar and Drago. Aerostar and Drago lowkey have one of the best ongoing storylines in the temple. Last episode, Aerostar freed Drago from his servitude to the Reptile tribe. But Drago is very proud and feels like he has done deeds so horrible that he doesn’t deserve Aerostar’s friendship. Drago (who is an actual dragon in human form if you missed it) blasts off. I’m not crying, you are.
Now onto the main event for the trios belt. Go out of your way to watch this one, too. It’s a little Chikara-esque with a Figure 4 Centipede by Mack and the tandem defense between Jeremiah and Kobra… as in he literally uses her body as a weapon. A lot of fun stuff going on, some gimmicky spots for those of you that like that, yet still very grindhouse as LU does.
And then there’s Killshot.
Y’all remember the Psycho Rangers? If you didn’t watch Power Rangers in Space (not to be confused with the very similarly themed Power Rangers SPD) then you missed out. Long story short, the Psycho Rangers were created to destroy the Power Rangers but they were a little too good at it. They were so obsessed with killing the rangers that they eventually got out of control.
Why did I waste paragraph space on that? Because Killshot is a Psycho Ranger. He’s been all over this show, a hero in his head but in reality quite the villain. He is so obsessed with exposing Son of Havoc for the homewrecker that he is that he allows Havoc to be pinned by the Reptiles Killshot then taunts Havoc for his loss and stomps him out. Poor Mack is caught in the middle of all this, and now he’s belt-less because Killshot decided not to give a bleep for two seconds. Whoops.
Cage comes out to address Pentagòn and roast him in effigy. If you’re thinking, “wow there’s a lot of time left at the end of this episode”, you’re absolutely right because Pentagòn jumps Cage before he can cut a decent promo. Then it turns into a slobber knocking brawl! LU really showing their ECW roots here with a brawl that spills out into the audience, the rafters, all over the place. And it was still going by the time the credits pop up! There’s also a great spot here with Pentagòn blasphemously attacking a man dressed as a priest.
Shout out to the commentary of Matt and Vampiro this episode. They’ve been fading into the background lately with no plots and not too much else besides “what a maneuver” type lines, but they got some great banter in here that reminded me of seasons 1 & 2. For the stinger in Antonio’s office, Mack requests a match against Killshot… except Catrina has already beat him to the punch by requesting a match with Mil Muertes. A haunted house match. And Antonio puts on a witch hat. Dear God, I love this show.
And so it looks like our Halloween plans are set! Who will win in the war of the Pentagòns and Gargantuas? Will Paul London sacrifice actual bunnies? Is the haunted house actually the No-End House? We’ll find out next week as Mortal Lucha continues!
By: E. Young
BrightNightmares.weebly.com
We open up with Antonio in his office opening a wedding invite from Johnny and Taya. Dario was rather chummy with Worldwide Underground but Antonio could care less. He’s interrupted by Kobra Moon demanding a match for the trios belts. Technically a rematch as the Reptiles were the previous champs. Antonio sets his phasers for Petty and points out the Reptile tribe’s many, many failures.
Line of the night: “It seems your Drago is… Drag-gone.” Holy. Shit.
Still, he grants the Reptiles a chance at the trio titles in a tornado tmatch. We also find out that Killshot is doing double duty as this week’s Gift of the Gods challenger while defending his trios belt. Speaking of Killshot, he’s gone full Raynathan from Sugar Hill on Mack and Havock. Before his match with Dragon Azteca, he tells Havock he doesn’t respect him for trying to turn Mack against him; Mack and Havock both counter this with “you did it to yourself” but Killshot’s not trying to hear all this.
Next up, another Rabbit sacrifice on the table. The side story with the Rabbits is getting interesting. Paul London is thinning the herd and the roster again by putting Saltador up for the sacrifice (kayfabe mode off: Saltador is also season 1 fave El Mariachi Loco and Trece from Catrina’s short-lived skeleton trio, also a set of Psycho Rangers). Saltador gets a more serious match than poor Mala Suerte, but a loss is a loss and a death is a death. Saltador is taken off to Looks like the Rabbit tribe has been reduced to Paul London Dark and the mysterious White Rabbit. Paul’s joy in watching his former friends die is… creepy.
Next, in celebration of Leo season, a fully unhinged Killshot comes out with his trio title on his shoulder to face El Dragon Azteca Jr. Dragon Azteca shouldn’t be underestimated; he’s a student of Rey Mysterio after all, and his family (the Eagle tribe and the late Dragon Azteca Sr) have ties to the Cuetos. But Dragon Azteca Jr is an honorable man and Killshot is… nuts. Also, if you like continuity, Killshot’s back is still looking absolutely gnarly from the Hell of War match last season. Please go out of your way to watch it.
This match is a great showcase; definitely one of Dragon Azteca’s better matches and it’s not hard to see why McMahon is interested in Killshot (aka Shane Strickland). He’s a fantastic athlete and character. I thought I was hearing really loud calls in the ring, but it turns out that was just Killshot trash talking and completely taking the piss out of Dragon Azteca. Killshot probably should have taken things more seriously, though; he loses, and this appears to break him even further.
After the match, we find out the rivalry between Pentagòn and Cage has gotten murkier. They will be participants in a Last Man (or Machine) Standing match next week. We also get a nice segment between Aerostar and Drago. Aerostar and Drago lowkey have one of the best ongoing storylines in the temple. Last episode, Aerostar freed Drago from his servitude to the Reptile tribe. But Drago is very proud and feels like he has done deeds so horrible that he doesn’t deserve Aerostar’s friendship. Drago (who is an actual dragon in human form if you missed it) blasts off. I’m not crying, you are.
Now onto the main event for the trios belt. Go out of your way to watch this one, too. It’s a little Chikara-esque with a Figure 4 Centipede by Mack and the tandem defense between Jeremiah and Kobra… as in he literally uses her body as a weapon. A lot of fun stuff going on, some gimmicky spots for those of you that like that, yet still very grindhouse as LU does.
And then there’s Killshot.
Y’all remember the Psycho Rangers? If you didn’t watch Power Rangers in Space (not to be confused with the very similarly themed Power Rangers SPD) then you missed out. Long story short, the Psycho Rangers were created to destroy the Power Rangers but they were a little too good at it. They were so obsessed with killing the rangers that they eventually got out of control.
Why did I waste paragraph space on that? Because Killshot is a Psycho Ranger. He’s been all over this show, a hero in his head but in reality quite the villain. He is so obsessed with exposing Son of Havoc for the homewrecker that he is that he allows Havoc to be pinned by the Reptiles Killshot then taunts Havoc for his loss and stomps him out. Poor Mack is caught in the middle of all this, and now he’s belt-less because Killshot decided not to give a bleep for two seconds. Whoops.
Cage comes out to address Pentagòn and roast him in effigy. If you’re thinking, “wow there’s a lot of time left at the end of this episode”, you’re absolutely right because Pentagòn jumps Cage before he can cut a decent promo. Then it turns into a slobber knocking brawl! LU really showing their ECW roots here with a brawl that spills out into the audience, the rafters, all over the place. And it was still going by the time the credits pop up! There’s also a great spot here with Pentagòn blasphemously attacking a man dressed as a priest.
Shout out to the commentary of Matt and Vampiro this episode. They’ve been fading into the background lately with no plots and not too much else besides “what a maneuver” type lines, but they got some great banter in here that reminded me of seasons 1 & 2. For the stinger in Antonio’s office, Mack requests a match against Killshot… except Catrina has already beat him to the punch by requesting a match with Mil Muertes. A haunted house match. And Antonio puts on a witch hat. Dear God, I love this show.
And so it looks like our Halloween plans are set! Who will win in the war of the Pentagòns and Gargantuas? Will Paul London sacrifice actual bunnies? Is the haunted house actually the No-End House? We’ll find out next week as Mortal Lucha continues!
