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 5/18/16)

A Not-So-Nice Gift Of The Gods

– It’s that part of the Lucha Underground season where we get development in different areas. This particular episode focused on the Gift Of The Gods concept – somewhat of a WWE ripoff, but done more logically. Seven people fight for separate medallions that all magnetically connect into a belt to give it its “power,” a shot at the Lucha Underground Championship whenever the winner chooses so. The opening video highlighted the medallion holders – Sexy Star, Aerostar, The Mack, Joey Ryan, Texano, Sinestro De La Muerte and Cage, though he had his medallion stolen by Chavo Guerrero. Also brought up were the early seeds of a long-term feud between LUG Champion Matanza Cueto and Pentagon Jr., as we saw highlights of when the man of “cero miedo” was manhandled by the beast.

– We wasted no time with the Cage-Chavo saga, as Cage went straight to “El Jefe” Dario Cueto himself to complain about Chavo, as the boss man declared that the medallion holder simply had to put it in the belt and they were in the match, but since Cage didn’t have one, if Chavo got it in, he’d replace Cage. Made sense for Cage to be there since the medallion turn-in ceremony was to follow.

– The in-ring medallion turn-in segment with Dario, Cage, Texano, Ryan, SDLM, Aerostar, Mack, Sexy Star and Chavo was exactly what it sounded like. Cage stood in the ring as he waited for Chavo to come down after the other competitors locked in their medallions. We saw a little bit of that Guerrero tradition as he outsmarted the ticked-off Cage and gave him a decoy medallion, only to whack him with a chair and lock in the real medallion. Poor Cage. The Weapon X there was justified, though we were surprised Johnny Mundo/Taya were nowhere to be found given their storyline connection to Cage this season. Hell, Cage had to go through Mundo to get that medallion to begin with. We’d imagine Cage wasn’t done now that Chavo took his spot.

– The four-way match between Argenis, Daga, Mascarita Sagrada and Kobra Moon was a random undercard time-filler bout, but everybody contributed differently in a way that entertained us. The bout’s biggest focus was Famous B at ringside, as he continued to boast about Sagrada, his client. Sagrada even got to show off some moves. We still don’t know much about Daga besides his boyish good looks, which played into the match as Kobra Moon flirted with him throughout the bout (we think) and Argenis was kind of there. The finish was odd as KM hit her finisher and pulled away when confronted by Daga and allowed him to get the pin. Will they become a duo? We still don’t know enough about them individually to emotionally invest in this, but we’ll see where it goes. Sagrada also continues to lose as Famous B’s client. Will Famous B seek fame with someone else?

– Killshot’s an untapped LUG talent that can go in the ring, yet his character needed some backstory. There has been some effort to rectify that department with this newfound militaristic gimmick complete with fatigues, but we want more. Hopefully, Marty “The Moth” Martinez can bring out the best of him as we go forward. Their cutscene set the tone as Moth mocked Killshot’s services upon handgun gestures backstage and they engaged in some brief hand-to-hand combat. Did like the end shot of Moth on the floor as he manically laughed.

– As for the Moth-Killshot match, it was what it was. Marty turned the “creepy” up to 11, while Killshot built up a comeback that while slow, intrigued us. Some pretty spots here, like Killshot’s Death Valley Driver onto the apron to name one. It does seem that Moth has more to gain from this feud than Killshot, but the finish where Killshot put down Moth was okay. The post-match heel attack by Moth was way better. Also liked the added effect of how Moth touched Killshot’s dog tag, which the commentators expressed had much significance to him. It appears we have a new feud on our hands. Seems more short-term than anything.

– The main event seven-way GOTG Championship match between Texano, Aerostar, Sexy Star, Ryan, Chavo, The Mack and SDLM paled in comparison to last year’s bout, but there were some favorites among this cast that could provide inserting challengers for Matanza. Texano had yet to put in a breakthrough performance and could get that chance in the biggest spotlight. Aerostar was this cool time-traveler dude, but realistically stood no chance. Given the undercover cop story and how he looked to take down Dario from the inside, Ryan winning would’ve thrown an interesting curveball. The Mack probably wouldn’t win, nor SDLM, but Mack/Sexy Star make a great team, as they exemplified a few times in the bout. Sexy Star was a long shot, but after “No Mas,” she wouldn’t be out of place in a LUG Championship match. The action wasn’t bad, but not particularly memorable. Needless to say, the finish was the hot point, meant to look like a heel turn by Cage in how he single-handedly eliminated the competition and laid Chavo on top of Ryan to allow him to win. Of course, we got the news that Cage only did it to set up a GOTG Title match next week when Chavo would have to defend against him. Given what Chavo did to him, it made sense for Cage to do this to get back at him.

– The final cutscene with Vampiro and Pentagon Jr. continued to build the “revival” of Pentagon, as Vampiro unleashed more unforgivable punishment upon his “student” to make him stronger and taunted him upon cries of pain. Typical Robert Rodriguez-style shots that made it come off even more epic. The barbed wire bat shot to close the show was all we needed there.

Quick Results

• Four-Way Match – Daga def. Kobra Moon, Mascarita Sagrada (w/Famous B, Brenda) and Argenis via pinfall
• Killshot def. Marty “The Moth” Martinez via pinfall
• Seven-Way Match For The Gift Of The Gods Championship – Chavo Guerrero Jr. def. Aerostar, Sexy Star, The Mack, Joey Ryan, Sinestro De La Muerte and Texano via pinfall to become new Champion