Cheap Pops: Wrestling News and Views - April 11, 2016

This week!

• Interview with “The Big Deal”
• Wrestlemania Results
• Does Goldust belong in the WWE Hall of Fame?
• Lucha Underground Results

Interview with “The Big Deal” Craig Steele

Mike Maillaro: Throughout this column, you have often heard Chris and I talk about our love of a New Jersey wrestling promotion named WrestlePro.  Many of the WrestlePro talent maintain a strong internet presence, so on a whim, I reached out to a bunch of them to see if they wanted to do some interviews.  Pretty much everyone agreed to do interviews (though there were some requests for bribes of cash and/or pies).  The first response came back from one half of the WrestlePro Tag Team Champions, “The Big Deal” Craig Steele.  

From the first time I saw “The Big Deal,” I was a fan.  He has a ridiculous amount of charisma, and when he comes down to the ring, even before he says a word, you know you’re about to see something special.  He comes out with his own entourage, and also cuts a great promo with the crowd yelling out his catch phrase, “My gear, my gear, costs more than you make in a year.”  BUT, The Big Deal can also back up his spectacle by putting on a hell of a match.   

1) Growing up, were you a fan of wrestling?  If so, who were your favorites?

I was a huge fan of wrestling growing up. My absolute favorites were Bam Bam Bigelow, Mick Foley, and Dusty Rhodes. I always liked the larger than life performers

2) How did you get into the wrestling business?

In 1997 I began training with Gino Caruso at the ECPW wrestling school when I was 16. Some of the men that helped me when I started out, were Kodiak Bear, Rocky Jones, and Devon Storm. They really went out of their way to help me.

3) Who are your biggest influences in wrestling and out of wrestling?

My biggest influence has always been my mother. She raised me and my siblings as a single mom. We struggled a lot as kids, but it helped mold who I am today.

4) Favorite moment in your career so far?

Honestly my favorite moment in my career thus far was Supercard 2013 in Metuchen NJ, where I defeated John Silver. It was sort of the culmination of all the hard work it took me to make my return to Wrestling. I hadn't wrestled in close to 10 years, when I decided to give it a go in 2012. It was an emotional moment for me.

5) What goals do you have for your wrestling career?

My goal is to continue to have fun doing what I love, entertaining the fans in WRESTLEPRO, and continue to dominate the tag team scene with my partner MJ in The Taboo Crew

6) Everything about The Big Deal is such a terrific spectacle.  From the flashy gear to the entourage to the "money cannon,", the Big Deal seems to be one of the most well defined personalities in WrestlePro.  How did The Big Deal come about?

Fact of the matter is, there is no character. What you see is 100% me. From the flashy outfits to the money cannon. I manage Taboo Men's Club in Linden NJ, the #1 gentlemens club in NJ. Any day of the week, what you see in the ring is what you'll see at the club. In wrestling and in the club, You Can't say no, to The Big Deal!

7) I thought it was great that you and Sandy Mann became the first WrestlePro tag champs.  I was at the show when you guys first teamed up and it seemed like an odd fit. But it worked brilliantly!  How did that partnership come about?

Sandy (now known as Micah Jenkins) started training at CAP NJ under Pat Buck, and I saw something great in him. I knew he was special, and just needed someone to pull it out of him. He's a great kid and I'm proud of the Performer he has become. We are just scratching the surface of what we can do together. Look out because The Taboo Crew is just getting started.

8) Which WrestlePro (or non-WrestlePro) guys would you like to have a match with?

The Wrestlepro roster is so stacked, that literally everyone from top to bottom would be an exciting matchup for me. I'd really like to go toe to toe with Danny Maff once again. I think we would tear the roof off. I think myself and Bull James would be an interesting match. I think we could have some great matches with The Heavenly Bodies. I'd love to get in the ring with the top teams in the world. The Wolves, Young Bucks, etc.

9) Your gear, your gear.  Not like I can afford it, of course... but where does one get an outfit like that?

All my gear is custom made from head to toe. I've used several top designers for my wardrobe. Just see what's next!

10) Outside of the wrestling business, what are your other interests?

I'm a huge sports fan, and I love to spend time with my family.

11) Why should someone come out to a WrestlePro show?

You should go to a WrestlePro show, because bar none it's the best wrestling you are going to see. We have the best athletes, the best characters, and the hardest working locker room you will ever see. I guarantee you won't be disappointed if you come!

Special thanks to "The Big Deal" Craig Steele and WrestlePro.  We should have many more of these interviews over the next few weeks.

Wrestlemania Results

- WWE United States Title Match:  Kalisto def Ryback with Salida Del Sol after Ryback hits his head on exposed turnbuckle to retain.

- Eva Marie, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Paige and Natalya def. Lana, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, Emma and Summer Rae when Brie made Naomi tap out to the Yes Lock

- The Usos def. The Dudley Boyz with a pair of superkicks.  After match, the Dudleys go to get the tables, but the Usos reverse it, and end up hitting twin splashes on the Dudleyz through tables.

- Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz vs. Sami Zayn vs. Stardust vs. Sin Cara vs. Zack Ryder vs. Kevin Owens.  ZACK RYDER WINS!  

- Chris Jericho def. AJ Styles with the Codebreaker

- The League of Nations def. The New Day.  Barrett interferes in match, hitting a Bull Hammer which allows Sheamus to finish Xavier Woods off with the Brogue Kick. After the match, the League of Nations say that no three man team can beat them.  Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin come down to the ring and kick their asses.  New Day tries to celebrate with them, but Austin hits a Stunner on Xavier Woods.

- Brock Lesnar def. Dean Ambrose in No Holds Barred Street Fight with an F5 onto a pile of chairs in the ring.

- Hilarious Snickers commercials starring Ric Flair and Zack Ryder.

- Triple Threat for WWE Women's Title: Charlotte def. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.  Charlotte locks the figure eight on Becky and Ric Flair prevented Sasha from breaking it up.  Charlotte becomes the first WWE Women's Champion (the Divas title had been retired earlier in the night by Lita).

- Hell In a Cell: The Undertaker def Shane McMahon.  Shane did a crazy elbow drop off the top of the cage.  He missed.  Taker brought him back into the ring and hit a tombstone to finish the match.

- Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Baron Corbin wins!

- The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders come out. Then Rock comes out with a flamethrower and lights his name on fire.  He cuts a promo.  He announces an attendance record.  The Wyatts come out to challenge him.  He ends up having a VERY short match with Erick Rowan.  6 seconds to hit a Rock Bottom on Rowan and pick up the win. The Wyatts are about to attack Rock.  John Cena makes his return to help Rock fight off the Wyatts.

- Before the main event, Stephanie comes out dressed as a dominatrix and basically tells the crowd that all hope dies tonight.  Well...uhm...at least we didn't get a ridiculous Triple H entrance and costume tonight, that was all Stephanie.

-  WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Roman Reigns def. Triple H with a spear

Mike: I start most mornings blasting some kind of wrestling theme song to get my day going.  For the last few weeks, it has typically been American Alpha’s “Elite” or Mario Bokara’s “Dolazak Hrvata.”  But when I came in on Monday morning, it could only be one song Zack Ryder’s “Radio.”  Thanks to my friend Grey, I have become a huge Zack Ryder fan over the years, and when he won the IC title at Mania, it was truly an incredible moment for me as a fan.   That said, I pretty much didn’t care who won that great match  I am pretty much a fan of all of the guys who were in it. It was great to see Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens facing off at Wrestlemania.  Part of me would have preferred they got a solo match, but this still worked real well.

Chris Delloiacono: Two years in a row they've started with the IC Title ladder match.  I've loved both matches, so I hope it continues next year and beyond.  The bout was filled with my favorites and didn't disappoint with its big spots.  Zack definitely deserved his “moment”.  It's sad he dropped the belt the next night, but I'm hopeful we’ll see more higher profile stuff from Z in 2016.

Mike: I kind of predicted that Zack would be a 24-hour champion.  I did think it was kind of appropriate that he lost the title to Miz.  Miz won the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania 29, only to lose it to Wade Barrett the next night.   BUT, I will say that I actually liked the way they had Zack lose the title.  Maryse and Zack’s dad both interfered in the match, and it would be easy to build a storyline off that.  Maybe they could even include Zack’s real life girlfriend, Emma into the mix.  The titles should be used to build storylines, and there is potential here to build some interesting ones.  

In both Mania and Raw, I did like that we saw a lot of new talent featured, though sadly most of them ended up losing their Mania matches or getting beat up in their segments.  I don’t care too much about wins or losses in wrestling as long as we get good matches (which we did) and they tell good stories (which they mostly did too). But it really did feel like short time gain without looking towards the future.   Jericho over Styles, Brock over Ambrose, Zack Ryder over Zayn and Owens (among others), HBK/Mick/Austin over League of Nations, and Rock/Cena over Wyatts.  I was glad to see Roman Reigns beat Triple H and Baron Corbin beating Kane for the Andre the Giant Battle Royal was a nice surprise.  

Chris: WWE just can't stop pushing the old guys.  It seems like a transition is happening, but it's painfully slow.  The Raw After did give a lot of hope with fresher faces getting pushed--Owens, Zayn, AJ Styles, Apollo Crews, Cesaro, plus Enzo & Cass.

Mike: I also loved that they have stopped calling the women “divas”.  Every time they called them superstars, I thought that was a huge step forward.  I did think that match was a little sloppy at times, which surprised me, but it still was one of my favorite matches of the night, so I can’t complain about that.

Chris: The last year of the main roster has been pretty lousy, but the one good thing that's come out of it is the increased seriousness of the Divas division.  And now, we finally have a true Women’s Championship.  That translated to a meaningful ‘Mania match with real stakes.  The ladies may have been a little sloppy, yet it was still one of the best matches of the night.  Just the idea that it wasn't four minutes long and the “cool off” bout between main events, well, that's a major success.

Mike: Shane O’ Mac and the Undertaker put on a much better match than I expected.  Shane’s dive off the top of the cage was pretty nuts, especially since the newer Hell in the Cell seems much higher than when Mick went off the top of the cage back in the day.

Josh Pollard: I am of course biased since Undertaker is my favorite of all time, but man, I thought Shane/Undertaker ruled. I loved the story they told there where Shane was incredibly overmatched, but he kept baiting Undertaker into beating himself up and sneaking in whatever shots he could. And then of course the death jump, which the announcers sold as something that would have certainly put Taker down if it hit. Undertaker even seemed impressed with his “Good job kid” pat on Shane’s face, right before ending him. Now stay down, dammit.

Chris: I've never been a huge ‘Taker fan, but he always puts on a great show at Wrestlemania.  The match ended up being meaningless in the grand scheme, yet they put on an absolute spectacle.  I can't believe Shane came off so credibly; somehow he sure as hell did.  I wonder if he does crazy daredevil stuff in his free time.  There's no way he only does this nutty stuff near a wrestling ring.  I don't know If this was the Undertaker’s final match, but it would make a great capstone to a legendary career.

Mike: I did think the show was way too long.  If you count all the pre-show matches, the show ran from basically 5:30-11:45.  There is pretty much nothing that can keep me engaged for that long. By the last hour of the show, my interest was drifting.

I also think that segment with the Rock was a real waste.  I would have had Rock show up with Shawn Michaels, HBK, and Mick Foley so you had four on four.  Instead, we get the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, a flamethrower, and the Wyatts once more being made to look like jokes.  And Stephanie’s entrance before the main events...which again...was already running way late, didn’t help matters.  At that point, it went from “I am loving this show” to “Oh my god, will this ever end?”

Chris: I adore The Rock.  I usually laugh at all of his promos and just love his shtick, yet this was a waste of time that added nothing to the show.  It’s always fun to see him show up, but shooting off a flame thrower right before the main event of  an impossibly long show?  No thanks!  Worse yet was having him decimate the Wyatt Family. I guess they’re turning the Wyatts face, but it still didn’t make sense to embarrass them with a beatdown.  Time was so crunched on the show that a Rock appearance dragged things down.  How’s that happen?  WWE should think about cutting down the feud recaps, which add nothing at all to the show.

Josh: Triple H/Reigns was just surreal. Stephanie literally cuts a promo where she is some kind of queen of Hell surrounded by Cenobites from Hellraiser, declaring that she and Triple H have come to crush all hopes and dreams...nope, Triple H was 100% face in this match, Reigns is just that hated.

Mike: Special shout out to Hollywood legend (and real nice guy) Tom Savini for designing Stephanie and the Cenobites’ masks.

Kind of weird to end on this, but on Raw, The League of Nations tossed out Wade Barrett.  I have been hearing a lot of rumors about Barrett planning to leave WWE when his contract expires in a few months.  I am thinking this Raw might have been the last we see of Barrett in WWE.  I don’t know what his future plans on, but I would love to see him do so work in the indys.  Barrett is a little injury prone, but he’s got a great look and presence.  And I really loved the Bad News character he did...before WWE shot it down, because they can’t have anyone doing anything that might get cheered.  If WWE wants you to be a heel, you better get boo’d dammit!

Chris: We all know that WWE takes very few cues from the crowd.  If they did, then the top heel in the company would be Roman Reigns, and a guy named Wade Barrett could be getting huge pops telling us, “I’ve got some Bad news for ya!”  Thank you very much, WWE!

Mike: Speaking of all the talent moving up, apparently the Vaudevillains made their WWE debut on Smackdown this week.  It feels like they are pretty much moving up the entire roster.  Who knows what that will mean for the future of NXT.  I am glad for all this fresh blood in the main roster, I just hope they use it well!

Chris: I’m definitely exciting for the shows in the next few months.  If nothing else, we should see a lot of new matches that haven’t been done a hundred times before. NXT should look very different too since they called up Apollo Crews, the Vaudevillains, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin.  Hopefully some exciting days are ahead.

Does Goldust belong in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Mike: I am not even sure how this came up, but while we were watching Wrestlemania, someone (I think it was our friend Rob) had started talking about Goldust.  The question of “Is Goldust a Hall of Famer” came up. I grinned at Chris and said, “Hey, we should talk about that in the column this week!”  So here we are.

Josh: I would say Goldust belongs in without a shadow of a doubt. In a lot of ways, the Attitude Era began with him. There was nothing quite like him before he showed up, nothing pushed the envelope like he did.

Chris: I've got to agree with you, Josh.  His work as Dustin Rhodes in the NWA/WCW was nothing special.  He clearly wasn't going to have his father’s success doing the rough and tough Texan thing, so he went off the rails nutty.  Goldust shouldn't have been anywhere near successful as it was, yet Dustin lived the gimmick.  He believed every second he was out there, so the crowd bought into the Bizarre One.  

Mike: One thing I have noticed about wrestling is that the children of wrestlers, especially HUGE names seem to have some issue finding traction.  They all seem to get a bit of a head start, but unless they are able to really have something unique to offer, they all get inevitably compared to their parents.  It’s typically unfair because they are being compared WHEN THEY START OUT against their famed parents in their prime.  I noticed this a lot in early NXT where they would always point out when a wrestler was related to someone famous, even when the character they were playing didn’t really have any connection to their parent.  As far as I remember, the only one who managed to dodge that was Bray Wyatt, but they had even done it to him when he was Husky Harris.

Chris: It's so hard to follow in an all time great’s footsteps.  Charlotte is one of the few performers with a legendary father that reached incredible heights very quickly. She's probably helped by the fact that she competes in the women’s division.  It makes the comparisons slightly different than what Dustin Rhodes faced early on in his career.  

Your point about comparing a person in their prime to a rookie is very fair.  Dustin needed time to grow up and learn the business.  Goldust was wildly successful because it allowed Dustin to mature as an entertainer and do something way different than being The American Dream, Jr.

Mike: Up front, I will say that even though I was watching WWF and WCW when Dustin wrestled in both in the early 90’s, I don’t really remember him all that much.  The sad part is that when I read some of his bio on Wiki, I say, “I do vaguely remember that storyline, but I had forgotten that Dustin was involved in that.”   But when Dustin made his return to WWF as Goldust, that is when his career really took off.  What impressed me about Goldust is that he was like nothing else wrestling had ever seen. He took the Gorgeous George or Adrian Adonis “feminine”role and just amped it up to a very uncomfortable place.  This was long before most people were comfortable with homosexuality or implied bisexuality and to this day, there are still a lot of people who don’t even want to consider the idea of transgendered.  Goldust was blurring lines in a way very few performers in any media were doing at the time.

Goldust was also really good at adjusting his character to keep him compelling.  I especially loved the stuff he did with Booker T.  Booker is genuinely a funny and cool guy, but for most of his career, he played a very serious character.  Goldust seemed to allow Booker T to finally get to show off more of the fun side of his personality.  

On top of his already pretty impressive career, what amazed me about Goldust is that when he made his comeback in 2013, he was even better in the ring!  His run with his brother Cody showed that event this point in his career, Dustin Rhodes had a ton to offer the business!  So, yes Goldust absolutely belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Chris: The return really put Goldie’s career over the top.  The Rhodes feud with Randy Orton, the Shield, and the rest of the Authority was so entertaining.  On top of that, Goldust performed at a high level, so it wasn’t just the storylines that were great, but the in-ring work was stellar too.  Goldust may never have been a true main eventer, but this is just one example of a compelling feud he was involved with.  You mentioned the stuff with Booker T and there was also fun stuff with Roddy Piper as well. Stellar feuds are a key indicator of greatness. By this regard, Goldust was pretty damn good!

Mike: On a side note, I really hope that soon WWE realizes what they have with Cody Rhodes.  He is another huge talent that seems to be often lost in the shuffle.  I would love for all three Rhodes to be in the Hall of Fame some day!

Chris: Cody seems like he’s going to slip through the cracks and never get the chance to truly shine as an elite performer.  How he’s been relegated to curtain-jerking most of his career, I’ll never know.  It’s most shameful that he is forced to mimic the gimmick of his brother instead of blazing his own path to stardom.

Mike: One thing Cody still has going for him is that he’s still pretty young at 30.  Just this morning, he said that he plans to retire when he’s 40, so he still has 10 solid years ahead of him.  Hopefully, WWE will figure out how to make it work at some point, because they could have a huge star on their hands if their ever figure out what to do with Cody.  

Chris: I have very little hope that he’ll do anything but a lot more jobs in the next ten years.  We can only hope that Vince or Triple H comes up with a real plan for Cody. He could be a legend like his father!  If nothing else, he should be a future hall of famer like his brother.  Unfortunately, I don’t think Cody’s career is on that trajectory.

Mike: Unfortunately, I tend to agree with you.  It feels like the only hope for some of these underused guys is to get the hell out of the WWE, but it’s not like there is any real competition to go to.  I love Lucha Underground, but it is nowhere near WWE.  We talked about this in passing last night.  Someone had asked Tyler Breeze if he would rather be back in NXT.  And Tyler said”Just went to the bank.... I'm good.”  And that is the reality right now, if you want to be at the “top” of the craft, you are basically stuck with WWE or going overseas.

Chris: It’s so true.  Look at all the former TNA and ROH main eventers that would rather work in NXT or on the midcard of the main roster--Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode (seemingly), and Kevin Owens are just the somewhat recent arrivals.

Mike: Not to mention the overseas imports like Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Asuka, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Literally the only person who seems to have said no to WWE was James Storm...and TNA must have literally driven a truck full of money to his front door...

WWE announces huge numbers for WWE Network

WWE® today announced that its digital subscription service, WWE Network, reached a record 1.82 million total subscribers following last night’s WrestleMania®, the most viewed WrestleMania in history. This is a 39% increase from March 30, 2015, the day after WrestleMania last year.

“History was made last night with both a record-setting crowd at AT&T Stadium and more households than ever before watching WrestleMania on WWE Network,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “WWE Network continues to drive transformative growth for our company.”

“Results today further demonstrate the power of our brand, illustrate our potential to drive long-term growth and provide evidence that we are effectively executing our multi-platform content strategy,” said George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer.

Mike: I know that this isn't 100% accurate because many people probably were using their free month, but still pretty impressive.

Chris: Definitely a huge spike. A lot of international territories have the Network now.  So that probably helped boost the number quite a bit.  Still, that is nice growth.

Jeff Ritter: The metropolitan population of St. Louis, which includes the county, is only about a million more than that. To me 1.82 million subscribers is 100% spin. A global brand with less subscribers than the 60th population center in the US, never mind places like India where the WWE is quite popular, has to be exceedingly disappointing to Vince.

Mike: I think that is a pretty fair point, but for the most part, this is still a very new way of providing content to people.  Sure, these aren’t huge numbers especially when compared to Netflix, but I still think it’s impressive, especially for something as niche as professional wrestling.

One thing I am real curious about is what the impact of Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka will have on the Network, especially now that the Network is finally reaching Japan. It seems like WWE has their eye on quite a few Japanese wrestlers.  That said, as much as I like seeing talent from all over the world, in the past, WWE has done a terrible joke of long-term booking when they have tried to bring in a more global audience.  That has brought us disasters like Great Khali and Sin Cara (though I actually like Sin Cara 2).

Chris: Nakamura and Asuka should have a huge impact.  The Japanese market is affluent and tech savvy.  Both performers are also megastars at home, and their work translates very well to foreign audiences.  It comes down to charisma and Asuka and Nakamura are essentially oozing it!  I would think WWE made a very smart call building the product around these two, since it creates outreach and shouldn’t alienate the domestic fanbase.

Mike: No NXT Results this week.  The entire show was basically just a recap of NXT Takeover, Wrestlemania, and the Raw after Wrestlemania.  The only match was Apollo Crews Vs The Drifter.  But I was not sitting through the entire show just to see Elias Samson, especially since I got to see Apollo on Raw this week.  I am just going to assume Apollo Crews def. Elias

Chris: I fast forwarded through and just watched Apollo and Elias.  Actually, it was a pretty good back and forth match.  And you were right, Crews won with the power bomb.  

Lucha Underground Results - April 6, 2016

- Vampiro is in the bathroom.  Dario Cueto comes to talk to him. He taunts Vampiro, trying to get him to attack him.  Dario says, “My brother may have gone too far last week, but at least Pentagon survived.  Lay a hand on me or my brother, and you won’t be so lucky.”  Vampiro glares at Dario. Dario tells Vampiro that he is valuable to him and Dario needs him to do commentary on tonight’s big main event.  He tells him not to make the same mistake as Pentagon.  Vampiro takes his meds.

- Joey Ryan and Castro report in to their handler.  She thanks them for getting Dario to return to the Temple.  Joey tries to take credit, but Castro admits that it was nothing they did.  Castro tells her that Dario has allowed his monster loose.  They need to work together to get more evidence. Joey Ryan says that he convinced Dario to enter them in the Trios tournament together.  Castro doesn’t look happy about that.  Their handler tells them they better win those titles so they can get close to Dario.

- Ivelisse def Kobra Moon with Canadian Destroyer

- Promo video for Killshot.  He talks about being a sniper in the military.  37 confirmed kills.  All bad guys...or so they told me.  He was placed on an elite squad sent into hostile territory and ended up a POW for 13 months before he escaped and made his way home.  Because he was on an elite squad, the military refused to acknowledge his existence, so he has no idea if anyone else in his unit survived.  So know he fights to forget.  All he has left is his killer instinct and the hope that his brothers find their way home too.

- Famous B approaches Mascarita Sagrada.  He gives him his card and tells him he can make his famous.

- The Mack approaches Sexy Star while she’s lifting weights.  Dario has put The Mack on a Trios Team with Marty the Moth and Mariposa.  He can’t trust them, so he asks Sexy Star to get his back.  She refuses, still terrified of them from what they did to her.

- Someone has spraypainted a question mark across the Lucha Underground billboard on the building.

- Trios Tournament Match - Joey Ryan and  the Crew def. The Mack, Marty the Moth, ad Mariposa.  At one point, Mariposa gets in The Mack’s way to prevent him from doing a suicide dive, so he kicked her.  Marty and The Mack start to fight, and The Mack hits him with a Stunner.  The Crew hit their finisher on Marty and Joey Ryan gets the pin, trying to take all the credit for the win himself.   Mariposa attacks The Mack after the match.  Sexy Star runs in for the save and goes buck wild on Mariposa.  Marty manages to pull his sister out of the ring.  The Mack and Sexy Star celebrate in the ring.

- Rey and Dragon Azteca Jr are sitting on the roof.  Dragon wants to kill Matanza.  Rey reminds him that Matanza kicked his ass in Aztec Warfare.  Dragon still has a lot to learn.  For now, he should honor Dragon Azteca and fight for honor, not revenge.  Rey got them in the Trios Tournament, and they have a match next week.  Their partner is Prince Puma!  Puma finally speaks!  It’s only a few words, but it’s a start.  The scene ends with a great shot of the three of them on the roof.

- Lucha Underground title match: Matanza def. Fenix with Wrath of the Gods.  After the match, Matanza brutally attacks Fenix.  Catrina comes out and yells STOP!  Mil Muertes enters the ring and attacks Matanza.  Dario leads Matanza away from the ring.  Mil stands over the fallen Fenix.  He leaves the ring.

Mike: Kobra Moon always looks way out of place. Ivelisse is one of the best in Lucha Underground.  She had a convincing match for the Lucha Underground title not that long ago and she’s basically been in the Trios Title conversation since the title was first conceived.  Ivelisse had to carry this entire match.  Kobra’s strikes and submissions just don’t look professional.  This match wasn’t awful, but that was pretty much purely because of Ivelisse.

I really enjoyed the Trios Title match.  Cisco and The Mack started the match, and they were a great fit.  Joey Ryan was creeping on Mariposa.  Joey Ryan fits in so well with Lucha Underground.  You kind of forget that even with all his antics, he’s also a real talented worker.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, as I really don’t like Marty the Moth, but it ended up being a good match.  Cisco and Castro are really starting to come into their own here.  I see big things from The Crew.

The between match segments were real entertaining on this show.  Killshot’s promo was awesome, though it probably would have made more sense when they introduced him last year.  And I loved the scene on the roof with Rey, Dragon Azteca Jr, and Prince Puma.  And we finally got to hear Puma talk!  Puma has kind of had a subdued presence without Konnan around, so it’s good to hear him actually cutting a promo!

Once again, Matanza is dominant in the main event.  Fenix is one of Lucha’s top guys, but like Pentagon, he was made to look like a total chump here.  I like Matanza’s moves, but the monster routine has never really entertained me much.  If you are going to be a monster in the ring, you better have charisma like Danny Maff.  I also hated that they kept calling Matanza “The Eater of Worlds.”  Bray Wyatt should sue him for copyright infringement.

I was glad that Mil came down to chase off Matanza, though if it just leads to Matanza squashing Mil Muertes, that would just piss me off.