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 6/8/16)

Six-On-Six

– The opening video showcased storylines this episode revolved around – the “Los Angeles Police Department” storyline where Captain Vasquez, Officer Reyes and Officer Ryan were on a hunt to take down Dario Cueto for good to the extent of a sting operation, the “Dragon Slayer” storyline that showed a rivalry between Drago/AeroStar and Jack Evans/”Darewolf” PJ Black and lastly, “Resurrection” storyline with the anticipated return of Pentagon Jr. after the man of “Cero Miedo” was put down uneventfully by Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto.

– We had our first mention of Ultima Lucha Dos and the first announced match – Black Lotus Vs. Dragon Azteca Jr., which doesn’t whet our appetites. That said, the cutscene in Cueto’s office with him and Lotus was okay for what it was. Cueto has his history as a liar, so it was good to see Lotus call him out on it. After all, he had her convinced that her own mentor was the person who killed her parents. Cueto made the match as a motive for Lotus to unmask DAJ to bring to the “Lotus Triad,” or whatever that means. Give us something more interesting.

– Just because you put two people together, it doesn’t necessarily add up to greatness. Marty “The Moth” Martinez has taken on a greater creeper role this season and we saw it in its prime with the storyline with Sexy Star/Mariposa, but now he seems to have spun his wheels now with the Killshot feud. Killshot has also been “repackaged” as a militant who takes pride in his pinpoint accuracy. If you think about it, their feud has mainly been about Moth’s creepiness and Killshot’s dog tags. While their match was handled well as far as being more of a brawl, the double countout finish made both guys looked dumb even if they sold the idea they wanted to fight more than anything. Why does Moth have a problem with Killshot? Some exposition would be nice here. That said, the post-match angle where Killshot reclaimed his dog tags only to lose them again a minute later by Moth was okay. Not sure where it’s going, but we have low hopes here. The only things that work here were Killshot’s energetic demeanor and Moth’s oversold facial expressions.

– The prison interrogation room cutscene with Mr. Cisco, Vasquez, Reyes and Ryan was a minor progression in the “LAPD” storyline, as Vasquez methodically painted Cisco in a corner with his rap sheet and convinced him to help them take down Cueto by agreeing to wear a wire. The “Lynch pin to the end of days” line was a bit kooky, but we wonder how they’ll go about Cisco with the wire.

– The nunchaku match between Black/Evans (Team BlackJack?) and Drago/AeroStar was a cool new stipulation in the LUG universe that also provided a throwback to a key cutscene that gave this feud a theme. Great action here from both teams, as they performed spots around the ring than in it. Also liked the idea of the strategic placement of the nunchaku around the Temple, as it allowed the two teams to wrestle and build some drama to the eventual weapon use. Creative aerials in the Temple’s grittiest parts. There were flips onto the bleachers, flops to the floor, hell, AeroStar hit a cross-body onto Evans/Black off Cueto’s office roof at one point. This all led to the logical finish where Drago spit green mist into Evans’  eyes and used it to lead into a “lucha move” to pin Evans. Think it’s safe to say the good guys got their revenge.

– Pentagon Jr.’s resurrection and great in-ring tag action was what the six-on-six main event was all about between Rey Mysterio/Prince Puma/Texano/The Mack/Sexy Star/Son of Havoc and Johnny Mundo/Taya/Fenix/Ivelisse/King Cuerno/Pentagon Jr., though that wasn’t the original plan. The concept was a good one, as the winners of this match would move on to a six-way match entitled “Six To Survive” to determine the person to face Matanza at Ultima Lucha Dos for the Title. Pentagon looked like a badass for the way he got entered into the match with a tactic most fans would approve of – breaking Chavo’s arm. After Cueto made his entry official, the real fun began. By the way, we’ll just assume Pentagon was sarcastic in how he thanked Chavo for “being the only one to support him” and was just a lead-in to his attack. There were some notable highlights here – Tope Con Hilos galore, Ivelisse and SOH as opponents given their past, an excellent exchange of chops and kicks by Mack/Pentagon, and more advancement in the Mundo/Puma feud. What was great was the finish, as Mundo cleanly pinned Puma with a standing Spanish fly. Obviously to tell the story to get Pentagon to Ultima Lucha Dos to battle Matanza, the team he was on pretty much had to win this.

– The final cutscene had us hyped and was simple to follow – Catrina resurrected Mil Muertes from the dead once again with a killer visual as his head broke through glass and he angrily stared at us with a bloody eye. Will this have implications on Ultima Lucha Dos? Could we get a three-way?

Quick Results

• Marty “The Moth” Martinez and Killshot to a no-contest 
• Nunchaku Match – Drago/Aerostar def. PJ Black/Jack Evans via pinfall
• Winners Move On To Six-Way Match To Determine Who Gets Shot At Lucha Underground Championship At Ultima Lucha Dos – Six-On-Six – Johnny Mundo/Taya/Fenix/Ivelisse/King Cuerno/Pentagon Jr. def. Rey Mysterio/Prince Puma/Texano/The Mack/Sexy Star/Son Of Havoc via pinfall