Post by Slade on Aug 8, 2019 9:22:16 GMT -5
Season 3, Episode 21
From the Temple in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Commentary Team: Matt Striker and Vampiro
Ring Announcer: Melissa Santos
***
A lone beam of blue light descends into a dark room. Into that light steps the Ultimate Warrior. He flexes his muscles while looking down at his hands as he forms fists and then opens them, palms facing upwards. He slowly tilts his head up and looks into the light. He speaks towards the light, saying that he has devised a plan to acquire the Gauntlet of the Gods. He believes that tonight will be the night. A voice originating from the source of the blue light beam tells him that once it is in his possession, he must bring it back to the Planet of Warriors so that its powers can be harnessed into the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The Ultimate Warrior has received his marching orders, and so he steps out of the light and into the darkness.
***
VS.
Will Ospreay vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Will Ospreay vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Will Ospreay by pinfall. This match featured a legendary innovator of lucha libre versus one of today’s most exciting and innovative luchadores in a friendly, competitive 18-minute match. The luchadores showcased their skills by performing some great technical wrestling with innovated escapes and reversals and they brought the Believers to their feet with some exciting, fast-paced high-risk, high-reward, high-flying offensive maneuvers.
They traded unsuccessful pinfall attempts with Mysterio going for the win after Droppin’ Da Dime, Ospreay trying to win with an Essex Destroyer, Mysterio going for the pin following a leg-trap sunset flip powerbomb, Ospreay making the pin after a 540-degree corkscrew senton bomb, Mysterio trying to end it with a tornado DDT followed quickly by a frog splash, and Ospreay going for the win with a Burning Star Press. However, none of these falls could keep their opponents down for 3-seconds.
The end came when Ospreay had his OsCutter attempt countered into a German suplex. Mysterio followed up with a corner split-legged moonsault attempt that was blocked by Ospreay’s knees. Ospreay quickly followed up by attempting a running knee strike to the back of Mysterio’s head, but he ducked and then followed with a Mysterio-Rana that sent Ospreay into the ropes. Mysterio quickly followed that up with the 6-1-9 and then executed the West Coast Pop to get the 3-count and win.
***
VS.
Magnum T.A. & King Cuerno vs. Mike Awesome & Dragon Rojo
Magnum T.A. & King Cuerno vs. Mike Awesome & Dragon Rojo
Mike Awesome & Dragon Rojo defeated Magnum T.A. & King Cuerno by pinfall to win this tag team match. It was an evenly contested tag team match until around 8-minutes in when Magnum T.A. attempted a running clothesline on Dragon Rojo, who moved out of the way, causing Magnum T.A. to drop King Cuerno with the maneuver. Not long after that, King Cuerno made a blind tag into the match and caught his partner by surprise by giving him a backstabber and then climbing the turnbuckle to land a frog splash on him before leaving ringside. With Magnum T.A. knocked down and left alone by his partner, all his opponents had to do was pin him. Dragon Rojo gave him a shining wizard and Mike Awesome planted him into the mat with an Awesome Bomb to secure the victory.
***
Back in the Lucha Underground locker room, Will Ospreay is packing his ring gear and preparing to leave the Temple for the evening when Famous B and Beautiful Brenda appear. Famous B tells him that he was impressed by his match against Rey Mysterio but saw that he came up just a little bit short. He tells Ospreay that the reason he didn’t win is because he isn’t as famous as Mysterio. But the good news is that he knows someone who can fix that – “Me! Famous B!” Ospreay declines the offer, saying that he’s already experienced what it’s like to work with Famous B and it went famously wrong, so he won’t be doing that again.
***
VS.
Ultimate Warrior vs. Super Crazy
Ultimate Warrior vs. Super Crazy
Ultimate Warrior defeated Super Crazy by pinfall in a match that lasted about a minute. It was an easy contest for Ultimate Warrior, who dominated from bell-to-bell. After the opening grapple, Super Crazy’s only offense – if you even want to call it that – was an Irish whip attempt that was reversed. He was then dropped with a series of running clotheslines, then taken down with a running, jumping shoulderblock, given a gorilla press drop and the Ultimate Splash.
***
Following the match, the Ultimate Warrior remained in the ring. He took a microphone and called out to Matanza Cueto, saying that if he was in the building, now would be his chance to confront the man who took Nikki Cross away from him. He said that if he wants to get her back, he’ll have to come face-to-face with the Ultimate Warrior!
A few moments later, Matanza Cueto appeared. He came rushing down the stairs of the Temple. When he reached the floor, he was knocked off his feet by Samoa Joe, who came charging out of one of the dark corners of the Temple and bowled him over with a hard tackle. As Joe pummeled Matanza, Ultimate Warrior hopped out of the ring and went after the gauntlet on Matanza’s right hand. It took all his effort to pull the gauntlet off, but he succeeded. However, it took such great force that he flew out of his own hands and across the Temple floor. By chance, it landed at the feet of Antonio Cueto, who happily picked it up, then called for the bell to be rung to begin this match.
After that, he walked into his office with the gauntlet in his hands. The Ultimate Warrior didn’t appear to be happy about this turn of events, but he did nothing more. He walked out of the Temple, letting Joe and Matanza roll around on the floor punching away at each other.
VS.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
Samoa Joe vs. Matanza Cueto
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
Samoa Joe vs. Matanza Cueto
And so the match began outside the ring with both combatants throwing bombs at each other, figuratively. A struggle to determine who would be suplexed by whom was won by Samoa Joe. When he tried to throw Matanza into the ring, he blocked with an elbow to the bridge of the nose and then slammed Joe’s face off the ring apron. A war of knife-edge chops followed with both luchadores turning each other’s chests red (even Matanza, as Joe ripped open his prison-style one-piece jump suit to lay them in there).
Although early in the match, Matanza scored the big first blow when he executed a brainbuster on the floor of the Temple. That would have won a last standing match against anyone else, but it only kept Joe down for a count of eight. Matanza charged at Joe as soon as he got to his feet. Joe side-stepped and helped push Matanza past him, sending him crashing head-first through Antonio Cueto’s office window. Joe fell back down and stayed down for another 8-count. It was valuable time to recompose himself as Matanza struggled to untangle himself from the Ventian blind that has hanging on the other side of the office window. When he finally got free, he charged at Joe again, who sent him flying across the floor with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Matanza was counted down to a count of seven while Joe went around the ring and brought out some tables.
The match finally entered the ring and for the next few minutes, they tried wearing each other down to soften their opponents up for later. They traded both power moves and submission holds (although there were no submissions in this type of match). For instance, Samoa Joe gave Matanza a gutwrench powerbomb and transitioned that into a Boston crab. Conversely, Matanza executed an Athletic-plex before applying a bow-and-arrow hold.
Eventually, the brawl spilled back out to the floor. They fought on the ring apron until Matanza charged at Joe and received a St. Joe Slam off the ring apron to the floor. Joe followed up with a tope suicida. Joe tried placing Matanza onto a table, but he moved off. Joe had to follow after him and he got his bell rung with the ring bell. Matanza had the Believers move out of their seats and sent Joe into the wooden chairs at ringside with a release German suplex. Joe got to his feet before the count of ten, so Matanza hit him with a video camera and then choked him out with the cord. After that he placed Joe on one of the tables, climbed onto the ring apron and performed a shooting star press on Joe to put him through the table. That still wasn’t enough to keep Joe down for ten. A few short minutes later, Joe put Matanza through the other table with a big uranage slam, and that wasn’t enough to him down for ten.
The match progressed with both men brawling up into the hardwood bleachers and around the mezzanine area of the Temple. Matanza was knocked down the concrete stairs all the way to the floor of the Temple. They fought around ringside. A few kendo sticks and steel chairs emerged from under the ring and were shattered to pieces in the former case or bent completely out of shape in the latter. More chairs and tables were brought out from under the ring and placed in the small floor entrance. The chairs were opened up with the tables opened and stacked above the chairs. This foreshadowed a moment of extreme violence. As they fought into the high-rise bleachers, they eventually ended up on the band grand-stand platform above the floor entrance. They fought until, finally, Joe was teetering on the edge of the platform. Matanza backed up a few paces and ran at him but got a step-up enzuigiri. When they got back up, they traded chops and jabs until Matanza put Joe in a chokehold and brought him to the end of the platform. As he tried to lift Joe, he got a knee to the crotch that sapped him of his power. Then, Joe turned him around and destroyed the tables and chairs below by taking both him and Matanza off the platform with a falling uranage slam!
It was sufficiently violent to keep Matanza down for a ten-count. Joe used his last bit of strength to get onto his feet at the count of nine before falling back down three seconds later. However, he timed it just right so that the official decision would be that Samoa Joe defeated Matanza Cueto to win this last man standing match.
***