Lucha Underground results: Romance clashes with lucha
Season 3 — Episode 23: “Family First”
Relationships, and the fighting that surrounds them, was a theme on the latest installment of Lucha Underground. The show tackled two different relationships. One involves a blooming romance between lovers and the other involves crazed siblings with violent tendencies.
Likewise, an eerie love triangle continues to develop in another sub-plot.
In the main event, Fenix fought in a match dedicated to Melissa Santos. Her character played a prominent role in a plot involving her being attached romantically with Fenix while Marty the Moth continues to stalk her. In the match dedicated to Santos, Fenix wrestled Mariposa in an intergender match.
All four matches on the show made up another block in the opening round of the Cueto Cup.
The opening scene showed Fenix arriving to The Temple earlier in the day. Fenix drove his sports car into a parking spot, where Melissa Santos met him for a romantic embrace. Fenix dedicated his match later on to her. They were unaware someone was watching them.
Lurking in the shadows, Marty the Moth spied on them as Santos and Fenix kissed. That greatly upset Marty, who is stalking Santos. Fenix and Santos left together, only angering Marty even more. He smashed his head into a glass window.
Moments later, after the introductory segment with Vampiro and Matt Striker, Santos was in the ring, As the ring announcer, she introduced the participants in the episode’s first match.
All the matches had a particular theme, with the opening match being about a murderous machine against a bum. In his first appearance since his character committed a gruesome murder on the previous episode, Cage enters the Cueto Cup tournament.
Cage defeated Vinnie Massaro to advance in the Cueto Cup
Cage had his gimmicked gauntlet. Massaro was doing a bum gimmick similar to the Brooklyn Brawler, without the New York Yankees apparel nor a cigar. Cage squashed him. Massaro did get a hope spot, but foolishly tried to steal the metal glove. He would pay for that by getting pummeled even more relentlessly. Cage gave him a brainbuster for the pinfall.
After the match ended, Cage kept attacking him. He put on his gimmicked glove to use as he pummeled Massaro some more. He laid out Massaro with a punch using the gauntlet. Massaro got color, bleeding from the forehead.
In the now-weekly segment hyping the upcoming match with Johnny Mundo defending his Lucha Underground Championship against Rey Mysterio, a sleek video package furthered the attempt at giving the match a big fight feel.
Mysterio trained, hung out with a mob of adoring young fans, and did an interview in front of a mural of himself painted by a street artist. The narrator played up the worldwide fame and notoriety of Mysterio.
Mundo trained by getting whacked repeatedly with kendo sticks. He also sparred with the kendo sticks and took out his sparring partner with a wicked shot to the neck. He twirled kendo sticks afterwards. He also did an interview playing a cocky and confident champion heading into the title match.
Marty “the Moth” Martinez defeated Saltador to advance in the Cueto Cup
The theme of this match was wackiness, so much so that the crowd chanted “let’s get weird” at one point. Striker called it “the odd versus the weird.” In a sub-plot of the wacky match, Marty made unwanted advances towards Santos. He leered at her as she sold being creeped out.
The personalities carried the match more so than athleticism, though they still had a good match with a simple formula of shine, heat, comeback, and the heel cutting off the comeback for the win. Marty spat on the referee during the match, which was somehow apparently not against the rules.
At the finish, Marty the Moth executed a dominator into a codebreaker before he pinned Saltador.
Backstage, members of the Rabbit Tribe worshipped Mascarita Sagrada. They bowed and knelt at his feet, praising him as their “king.” They groveled as he seemed dismissive of such a notion. Sagrada walked past them and headed to the ring for his match.
In another scene, Marty the Moth was in his lair talking to photographs of Santos. Marty muttered to a collage of pictures before his sister, Mariposa, suddenly interrupted him. Mariposa wants to fight her brother next week in the next round of the tournament.
Mariposa told him that his “lust for [Santos] has made you weak.” Mariposa and Marty slapped each other across the face. Mariposa walked away, leaving Marty to converse with the photographs.
Pindar (w/ Kobra Moon) defeated Mascarita Sagrada to advance in the Cueto Cup
The theme of this match was monster against mini. They actually had a fairly competitive match that still played off the ridiculous size difference. Pindar was a good base for Sagrada to fly around.
Kobra Moon tried to interfere at one point, but Sagrada thwarted her attempt. He then slapped her moments later. Sagrada got plenty of offense and a near fall after a moonsault press. Pindar eventually used the size difference to his advantage. He finished off Sagrada with a powerbomb into a flapjack of sorts, then pinned him.
Fenix defeated Mariposa to advance in the Cueto Cup
The theme of this match was man against woman. Moreover, two stories also played out involving two separate relationships that played into the backstory. One was romance between two lovers, and the other relationships dealt with an eerie sibling rivalry.
Fenix and Santos were at the forefront, linked together as a couple that blew kisses at each other during the match. The story of the siblings, Mariposa and Marty, played into the finish showing they will fight for family even if the family is at odds with each other.
The intergender match began with Fenix being somewhat timid with fighting a woman. That soon changed when he nailed a kick. Moments later, Mariposa countered with a tornado DDT. They fought on the floor with Mariposa getting the better with a hurricanrana. Mariposa did some lucha spots with Fenix.
Echoing the kick earlier in the match, Fenix first held back on a high kick when Mariposa offered a questionable handshake. He thought it over and then kicked her in the head. She fought back with a modified sunset flip powerbomb.
Fenix went for a Spanish Fly, but Mariposa blocked the attempt. She went for a flying crossbody off the middle rope, and Fenix caught her. He then dropped her into a Fenix Driver for the pinfall.
After the bell sounded, Marty the Moth ran in to attack Fenix. During the next round of the tournament, the two are set for a match. So Marty the Moth stomped on Fenix trying to soften him up, until Fenix fired up.
Fenix did a wild flip dive over the ropes to the floor. Santos seemed very impressed. More kisses were blown back and forth in celebration. Romance ruled the day, even if a stalker lurks.