By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post. 

(Aired 7/8/15)

Cero Miedo 

– Lucha Underground is doing an excellent job on the build to Ultima Lucha, as you feel the presence of a new era is upon us from our friends at the Boyle Heights Temple. Of course, the big match is Mil Muertes vs. Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma for the Title and that is coming along great, as Mil Muertes is an ultimate, revamped badass. You can almost sense a change coming where he’ll take reign of the company and we welcome it. Puma has been a fun fighting champion in every facet and it’ll be interesting to see how he approaches the challenge. Another large focus of this particular episode involved the conflicts between Pentagon Jr. and Vampiro, but we’ll touch up more on that below.

– We knew from the beginning of the episode when Pentagon Jr. talked to his master (revealed to us in a deep voice, no face) and said that “he” (Vampiro) refused to face him and that he was determined to change that all, to appease his master. What seemed random at the time loomed large by show’s end.

– The Mack-Cage match appeared like a random pairing but it was an entertaining big man match, complete with hard smacks and loud hits. Mack got the most of it though in the win. Looking back at the episode, it felt slightly out of place, but perhaps it leads to something good for both acts come Ultima Lucha, as they’re both without matches.

– Catrina was a hot item all over this episode, continuing to intimidate any and all of Mil Muertes’ opponents, this week’s being Son Of Havoc. The cool and obvious thing about this was that SOH has clear allies in Ivelisse and Angelico. We knew an Ivelisse-Catrina showdown was inevitable and this was a great way to get there. We suddenly remembered Catrina was playing mind games and before Ivelisse could touch her, Ivelisse leaned on SOH too hard and fell down on top of him for an awesomely awkward moment when Angelico walked in on it with a smart-ass comment, when they both told him to shut up. Funny.

– The interview segment with Vampiro and Pentagon Jr. was strong with emotion from the outset. Vampiro being the no-nonsense interviewer tried to dig into Pentagon Jr.’s mind, emphasizing his brutal nature of late. Pentagon mentioned they had common upbringings but riled Vampiro up by questioning who he was now and again laid out a challenge for Ultima Lucha. You could see Vampiro continue to struggle with himself declining while Pentagon remained relentless, throwing aside the chair and acting quite pissed off. Great build.

– The Son Of Havoc-Mil Muertes match was very good match in many different ways. Of course we know Muertes needs to be built up well in the ring on his way to fighting Puma for the Title, while Son Of Havoc was far from a pushover and we had prior interactions between everyone involved to make us believe this would be no squash affair. Havoc’s comeback was great to watch, fully getting the crowd behind him, even through all the other stuff going on outside the ring. Catrina and Ivelisse interacted well again here and it was cool that Catrina got the best of the moment by laying out both her and Angelico with the help of her stone and the Disciples Of Death.

– As for the segment with Texano, Blue Demon Jr., Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco, there were a few hinderances here despite how well Blue Demon Jr.’s heel turn came across. Going off last week’s ending segment, we knew Chavo Guerrero Jr. “brainwashed” Blue Demon Jr. into making this evil decision, bringing things full circle and at the same time, it gives Texano something to do at Ultima Lucha. The problem here was that the main beef was between Chavo and Blue Demon Jr. A “payoff” at Ultima Lucha would make more sense with Chavo-Blue Demon Jr., but we guess this was a way to insert Texano into things to make it more exciting, with the storyline being that Blue Demon Jr. was upset with Texano fighting for Mexico, insulting his legacy. While they did a great job of making him  relatable babyface last week, this felt like a bit of a step back for his character, as his English promo didn’t exactly fore on all cylinders.

– Also announced for Ultima Lucha was Drago vs. Hernandez, which won’t wow the world, but is a good placement for both acts.

– The Atomicos tag match between Alberto El Patron/Aersostar/Sexy Star/Drago and Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans/Hernandez/Super Fly was a pleasing main event that allowed four feuds to progress in their own way while providing entertaining action. Liked the way Mundo won by pulling on Sexy Star’s tights. Next week hyped a Puma-Mil Muertes face-to-face interaction. Obviously that will be great. It seemed as if the night would end here, until Pentagon jr. blindsided Vampiro with a Roundhouse Kick from behind as he sat at the commentary booth. The attack on Vampiro here was ruthless and utterly perfect, raising the shock value once gasoline was poured on him too. Pentagon Jr. threatening to light Vampiro on fire if he didn’t accept his Ultima Lucha challenge made a lot of sense, but why would he give him a week to decide then? Wouldn’t he have to pour gasoline on him all over again? He had him right there to say yes. We get it for a cliffhanger reason, but it defeated the purpose of the segment. Still a killer way to finish the show though.

Quick Results

– The Mack def. Cage via pinfall

– Mil Muertes (w/Catrina, Disciples Of Death) def. Son Of Havoc (w/Ivelisse, Angelico) via pinfall

– Atomicos Match – Johnny Mundo/Jack Evans/Hernandez/Super Fly def. Alberto El Patron/Aerostar/Sexy Star/Drago via pinfall