For the next three Wednesday’s, Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network will air Ultima Lucha Dos, the culmination to the second season of professional wrestling’s most theatrical product.
The first Ultima Lucha was only two episodes, including such classics as Prince Puma versus Mil Muertes and Johnny Mundo taking on Alberto El Patron prior to his return to the WWE. It only makes sense that for the second year, with expanded storylines, Lucha Underground head honcho Dario Cueto would expand to three hours with his three episodes.
If you haven’t watched Lucha Underground yet, and have only heard about it as the place Alberto Del Rio was at prior to returning to the WWE, or that place Rey Mysterio Jr. is now, this might not be the best event to start off with. There’s a lot of storylines coming to a culmination on this show which you might not fully understand. But I implore you to seek out the first and second seasons of Lucha Underground and watch them, as there’s nothing on television today quite like what we see at the Temple.
Ultima Lucha Dos: Storylines with payoff
I’m not going to act like this is a perfect card. For example, El Dragon Azteca Jr. faces Black Lotus in a match I don’t care much for at all. Black Lotus has yet to wrestle a match and has only been shown doing amateur martial arts techniques while El Dragon Azteca Jr. has lived in the shadows of his mentor Rey Mysterio Jr. Also his mask looks like a watermelon.
But this is a story we have seen play out from season one up to Ultima Lucha Dos. We know why El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Black Lotus might not like each other. Black Lotus turned her back on Azteca Jr. and his father while working for Dario, even if Dario’s brother might have murdered Azteca Sr. Lotus refuses to believe it while Azteca Jr. plans to get some sort of revenge. He can’t beat Matanza so better to face his former peer. This storyline has hardly played out in the ring but you still see why it’s going to happen.
The Gift of the Gods Championship features Marty The Moth Martinez and Killshot, who are currently in a bitter feud, but it also involves Sexy Star and Mariposa, who have had history since the end of season one. Mariposa, Marty’s sister, was beaten by Sexy Star in a brutal match, but Sexy Star is still going to confront her demons earlier in the season in the form of Mariposa and Marty the Moth. Meanwhile, Killshot is in to get his dog tags back. Even if these are separate feuds, they all come together in Lucha Underground’s version of Money in the Bank.
You also got the Trios Championship featuring Johnny Mundo, PJ Black, and Jack Evans taking on Drago, Fenix and Aerostar. This isn’t by accident. Jack Evans first feuded with Drago, calling himself the Dragon Slayer. PJ Black turned on Drago. Fenix was supposed to be partnered with PJ Black and Jack Evans, only for Johnny Mundo to attack him and take his spot. That led to Mundo, Black and Evans becoming Trios champions. Aerostar, Drago, and Fenix have had countless battles in the ring, which only makes sense for them to unite to face off against the three white guys that can play killer riffs through an air guitar. These stories have been going since the beginning of the season, sometimes at the end of the first season, and by allowing them to properly culminate as season finale matches, it adds so much more importance to the overall event.
The Dream Match You Want
The moment Rey Mysterio Jr. was said to be coming to Lucha Underground, many wondered how the King of Lucha and the Prince could co-exist. They ended up co-existing well in a dream trios team along with El Dragon Azteca Jr. Seeing the two men work together was like watching the past and present collide to create a beautiful future for Lucha Underground. But what if they fought?
Instead of a silly heel turn or just throwing them in Gift of the Gods, Prince Puma simply walked to the ring and challenged Rey Mysterio Jr. in order to prove himself. Prince Puma has already won everything in Lucha Underground. He could try to get retribution against Matanza, but that can wait. There’s a dream match he has to answer.
For Rey, this allows him to separate from Azteca Jr. and allow Azteca Jr. do his own business while wrestling a match everyone wants to see. It comes in good timing as Prince Puma could be leaving Lucha Underground soon to join the WWE. This is the best junior heavyweight in the world taking on the greatest cruiserweight to ever live. Maybe it doesn’t have weeks of storyline like most of the card, but it certainly has what you want.
You also have Ivelisse, one of the most popular superstars in Lucha Underground, taking on one of the more hated women in Taya, who has been getting her face in everything Johnny Mundo does to his delight. She’s pretty much replacing Melina, who popped up in Mundo’s match against Alberto El Patron last season but didn’t make it to season two. Ivelisse is constantly fighting men and proving herself. It’s going to be exciting to see her take on a woman who believes she’s not just Ivelisse’s equal, but her superior.
Monsters Done Right
Mil Muertes is the Lucha Undertaker. Let’s get that out of the way. Missed the Undertaker? Missed a supernatural monster who seems unstoppable and loves caskets? That’s Mil Muertes. He’s gone from Lucha Underground champion to being buried to now having bloodshot eyes and going after the man that treated him like a souvenir.
King Cuerno isn’t a monster, but he certainly hunts them. He has been one of my favourite pro wrestlers since I first saw him on Lucha Underground and it only makes sense for him to be fearless while a bloodshot zombie tries to track him down. Matt Striker said someone might die in their Death Match. I wouldn’t doubt it.
Cage is a monster of the pumping iron variety. The Mack is a monster of a STUNNER EVERYONE variety. Together they face a masked biker and a Hispanic cowboy “4 a Unique Opportunity”. Last season, The Mack and Cage fought in one of the best undercard matches in Lucha Underground history. Seeing them together again for this might not work story wise, but it does work to see four popular Lucha combatants fight for a mysterious prize.
Finally, you got the Lucha Underground championship. Pentagon Jr. has gone from a hated villain to a popular anti-hero breaking arms and showing zero fear. Matanza broke his back through a powerbomb into an announce table. Matanza is an absolute force of nature. He isn’t tall but stout. His mask covers his entire face. He’s like Taz if Taz was a caged animal. It didn’t feel right for a new monster to be introduced when Mil Muertes was already wrecking havoc. But Matanza has established himself as absolutely unstoppable. It’s hard to say how Pentagon Jr. is going to end Dario’s bizarre brother, but it’ll be exciting to see him try. And how will Vampiro insert himself?
There should be more storylines to be explained during Ultima Lucha Dos, such as what will become of the undercover cops Joey Ryan and Cortez Castro, or what happens when Night Claw makes his debut in the Gift of the Gods championship. If you don’t know Lucha Underground, you certainly should.
