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 6/29/16)

The Prince Vs. The Student 

– It’s everybody’s favorite time of the year – Ultima Lucha time. At least Ultima Lucha Uno had us that way. Season two has been a mixed bag of ups and downs, but the train’s near a solid stop, it’s up to LUG to take it upon a smooth sail. The opening video focused on Mil Muertes’ “rebirth” thanks to Catrina in spite of King Cuerno’s hunter mentality to take him down and a battle was set for them. Also in that package was highlights of what closed last week’s show – a bold challenge from Prince Puma to Rey Mysterio and Mysterio’s humbled acceptance. Ultima Lucha Dos was upon one week’s wait and the hype was on.

– Given that Muertes was last seen at Graver Consequences with Cuerno being one of the people to lead his casket out and regard him as another “captured prey,” Catrina has again woken him from the dead for another hurrah of morbid destruction. The opener between Cuerno and Muertes was a good continuation with both guys out for each other’s blood. The crowd was behind Muertes out of the two, yet Matt Striker mentioned a “Rudo-Rudo” dynamic that dictated the pace. The Referee was taken out by Cuerno’s suicide dive and that was when the chair was brought into the madness. Yup, Muertes took several shots to the head to sell the message. Cuerno took full advantage and when Muertes collided with the chair in the corner, he pinned him with the ropes for leverage. Cheap heel win to carry heat into what we assumed was a rematch. This was a good ending since it provided a reason for them to meet again.

– The ULD hype went on as we had more announced matches, two with one segment. The cutscene in Dario Cueto’s office with Taya, Ivelisse and Catrina accomplished this. First, it was Cueto setting the stage for Taya (whom he praised for her style flexibility) and Ivelisse (a celebrated Trios Champion at one point) to battle at ULD to see who was the best woman. It was deemed “The Perfect Woman Vs. The Baddest Bitch.” Sounds about right and there was immediate tension between Taya-Ivelisse to sell it. Also, a brief interaction between Ivelisse and Catrina where the former informed the latter she didn’t forget about her. This last portion of the segment saw Catrina demand multiple times to Cueto a rematch against Cuerno. Of course, Cueto turned her down based on how she took over his Temple and tried to take him and his brother out but she convinced him otherwise. He in turn booked a “Death Match” between Muertes and Cuerno for ULD. Good stuff.

– LUG’s calling card has easily been the fast-paced lucha libre-style matches and a great bout for that catalogue was unleashed when the Puma-Dragon Azteca Jr. match hit our screens. The purpose was to hype the Mysterio-Puma ULD match and it was an easy story to tell with Puma taking on Mysterio’s “student.” A hot start with chain wrestling upon mirrored styles and a fast pace. The crowd was super hot for this the whole time and were evenly split, even with commentary selling Puma for a darker personality, perhaps even obsessed with Mysterio at ringside. Some great near-falls on both ends with this looking much closer than initially thought. Eventually, Puma hit his 650 Splash as he boldly stared Mysterio down before he collected the pinfall. Nice post-match angle as Puma motioned at EDA and told Myserio that’d be him at ULD before they stared each other face-to-face. Excellent.

– The in-ring segment with Cueto, Cage, The Mack, Son Of Havoc and Texano was probably our least favorite thing on the show, but even that had ULD hype written all over it. In short, all four men were selected by Cueto to be entrants in a “Unique Opportunity Tournament.” The four would battle at ULD to determine a winner, who’d receive what was promised to be the greatest “unique opportunity” ever offered. If we remember right, the last time this happened, someone won a World Title shot but if they lost, they’d be forever banished from the Temple. Happened to Drago once. Could be the same thing, but it was a fair way to use these four since they’re all in that same “Not Doing Anything Special” boat. The battling at the end seemed a bit silly since it was upon a Cueto demand, but at least Cage got to look strong to end it.

– Even the “first time ever’ main event between Johnny Mundo and Fenix had ULD hype, since the two would be a part of the Trios Championship match there when Drago/AeroStar/Fenix would take on the Champions The Worldwide Underground (Mundo/Jack Evans/Darewolf PJ Black) and that was evident. These two had some good things going with impressive maneuvers, but such a short match limited this from being anything worthwhile. The finish where Taya slipped the Title to Mundo for him to use with the Referee was typical heel stuff, but good enough to get them heat and set up the post-match angle where the other WU members came and beat down Fenix before Drago/AeroStar made the save and all-out chaos closed the bout for our last “normal” LUG episode until next season. This was luckily more about the things about LUG we love – great matches, everything coming together.

Quick Results

• King Cuerno def. Mil Muertes (w/Catrina) via pinfall 
• Prince Puma def. Dragon Azteca Jr. (w/Rey Mysterio) via pinfall
• Johnny Mundo (w/Taya) def. Fenix via pinfall