Lucha Underground Presents: Ultima Lucha Dos -- Results & Afterthoughts

Ultima Lucha Dos (Spanish for Last Fight Two) is the name of the final episodes of the second season of professional wrestling TV series Lucha Underground. The first part of Ultima Lucha Dos, episode 24, premiered on the El Rey Network on July 6, the second part, episode 25, will premiere July 13th on the El Rey Network, and the third part (and Season 2 finale) will premiere July 20th on the El Rey Network and later shown in Mexico on the UniMás network in a version with Spanish commentary. The episodes were the climax of several ongoing storylines that played out throughout the second season of Lucha Underground. As part of the season finale all three of the Lucha Underground championships were on the line.

The Mack def. Cage in Falls Count Anywhere

This was pretty much the same fun match that they had at the original Ultima Lucha last year, but with a few additional spots and surprises. They went for the same cinder block spot for the finish, but Mack avoided it to roll up Cage for the win. I really hope Cage gets some gold in Season 3 as I'm tired of him coming up short in Season 2.

FYI THE Mack is not to be confused with Da Mack from WWE's CWC tournament. Two completely different wrestlers.

Son of Havoc def. Texano in Boil Heights Bar Fight

Texano started off in control but the odds quickly tilted into Son of Havoc's favor and didn't let up. Texano took a lot of nasty bumps into glass scattered throughout the Temple before ultimately falling to the bad ass biker. I have to wonder what is Texano's future with Lucha Underground when he hasn't had a noteworthy storyline since his strong debut in the promotion in the first season. His rivalry with the Chavo Guerrero and Blue Demon Jr. was just swept underneath the rug completely and he was left to wonder around aimlessly in this season while Son of Havoc manages to take every setback that his team with Angelico and Ivelisse suffer into a golden opportunity.

Son of Havoc def. The Mack for "An Unique Opportunity"

I felt that this was a pretty straight forward match, but you could tell that fatigue was settling in. If Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico are going their own directions in singles careers going forward, then I'm all for it. Every member of that team is a future champion in the making - yes, I'm aware that Ivelisse is the reigning and defending SHINE Champion.

Dr. Wagner Jr. (w/ Famous B & Beautiful Brenda) def. Son of Havoc

This is one hell of a surprise for Famous B's new client and the one who took up the new "opportunity" for the cash that Havoc turned down. I'm all for more Beautiful Brenda (Holly Meowy) on my TV anyway. Famous B is a trip too. This was pretty much a squash match at the expense of Son of Havoc. I would complain about a squash on Ultima Lucha Dos' card, but Havoc can bounce back from this since him, Ivelisse, and Angelico are the arguably the biggest babyfaces in the promotion.

I'm dying to see what they do with Dr. Wagner Jr. and Famous B's "partnership" in Season Three (Tres?) though.

Sexy Star wins a 7-Way Match to become Gift of the Gods Champion

This match was pretty awkward at times as everyone was just randomly placing themselves around the temple to catch each other for spots left and right. Daga, Killshot, Night Claw and Mariposa were the standout performers in this match, but unfortunately, not one of them came close to picking up the win. As much as I have enjoyed Sexy Star's push throughout this season, I have to admit that this wasn't one of her best performances. After seeing her go to hell and back against Mariposa to pitting her against Marty the Moth made things a little awkward and you could tell that the fans in the temple were conflicted on what was going on. I don't have an issue with men fighting women in this promotion, but it just was odd to see that these were the final two competitors when you got several MUCH more talented wrestlers who were eliminated earlier in this bout - too soon if I may add.

I remember watching this match and reading comments online criticizing Sexy Star's "lackluster" performance but I didn't see it as that. It's hard to judge her matches when it's female vs. female compared to female vs. male. In the latter, the storytelling is more important there as this was Sexy's comeuppance from being tormented by Marty and Mariposa in the time between the end of Season One to the start of Season Two. I was willing to overlook her performance in that aspect in favor for the payoff to the storyline.

If this leads to a Lucha Underground Championship win for Sexy Star then I won't frown on it as Sexy Star deserves the recognition in mainstream wrestling since this is her last hurrah in professional wrestling since she already announced her retirement a few weeks ago and will transition into the world of combat sports. That's no secret as she's made that news public in a few media outlets that saw her unmasked publicity for the first time - at least to most fans.

Mil Muertes def. King Cuerno in a Death Match

This was brutal - nothing else needs to be said. It was so one-sided that I actually felt sorry for King Cuerno but at the same time, Cuerno brought that beating onto himself for picking a fight with Mil and even going as far as trying to mess with Catrina as well. After Mil's match with Matanza a few episodes back, I didn't feel like this match lived up to the hype that his match at last year's event lead to. This match just felt like filler - much like the bulk of this card, which is ultimately the problem with this season finale as a whole.

You gotta be crazy to be taking bumps onto steps or anything made out of steel if you ask me, but that's the wrestlers' own choice if they want to have back problems later in life.

Is Cuerno out of the door or something? That's the only reason I can justify the beating he took during this match. I remember hearing about he was interested in signing with WWE at some point but damn... I remember hearing rumors about him being interested in being picked up by WWE when Lucha Underground was making media rounds to promote the start of Season Two but nothing else after the fact.

Drago, Aerostar, and Fenix def. "Darewolf" PJ Black, Jack "Dragonslayer" Evans, and Johnny Mundo (c) for the Lucha Underground Trios Championship

Please note that after this match, Fenix is now the first ever Lucha Underground Triple Crown Champion after holding the Gift of the Gods Championship, Lucha Underground Championship, and now the Trios Championship.

This was a fun match to watch as everyone got some fun spots in and there were a few false finishes/near-falls, but the real finish didn't occur until the injured Angelico (Ivelisse, Son of Havoc, and Angelico have the shittiest luck when it comes to getting injured during the height of their pushes...) came out to help Drago, Aerostar, and Fenix pick up the win. I thought it was rather strange to see Angelico aid the masked luchadors when he is known to team up with Jack Evans outside of Lucha Underground, but if this leads into a feud between the two factions, then I'm all for it, especially after Ivelisse already kick-started the tension between the two trios teams with her feud with Taya Valkyrie.

I personally found this match to be a strong candidate in the conversation of match of the evening out of all 3 episodes of Ultima Lucha Dos.

Black Lotus vs. El Dragon Azteca end in No Contest

After the arguably the best storyline for a female wrestler in a mainstream promotion in a VERY long time in Lucha Underground's first season, former WWE Diva Angela Fong - now dubbed Black Lotus, finally makes her in-ring debut against the sensational El Dragon Azteca, who's been turning heads all season with his in-ring work and athleticism. Black Lotus is no push over either as she even one-upped Azteca a few times during this match. I was genuinely surprised that she improved this much since her departure from WWE.

Sadly, this was another match that fell flat. It was cool to see Pentagon Jr. come in and break the arms of both competitors but I was hoping to see some kind of resolution to the conflict between Azteca and Black Lotus. Instead, both competitors are taken out in a huge WTF moment to act as filler/lead-in to the next match on the card.

Monster Matanza Cueto (w/ Dario Cueto) def. Pentagon DARK to retain the Lucha Underground Championship

Pentagon Jr. is no more and is reborn as Pentagon Dark after recovering from his injuries and overcoming his personal demons in his quest to confront Matanza Cueto. Pentagon had this match in the bag until his own master's intervention caused him the win after Matanza got his hands on the weapon instead. It was shocking to see Matanza get dominated in this fashion from bell to bell, but it played up to the narrative that Pentagon Dark is a much more powerful entity that he was ever before. Even Dario Cueto played up the fact that he could sense something terrifyingly new about Pentagon and that his brother's precious title was at risk of being taken away from him. It goes without saying that Dario plays one hell of a manager on top of his brilliant persona as the el hefe (boss) of this promotion.

Taya def. Ivelisse

Props to the guy in the crowd to help Ivelisse get her footing right before that dive over the railing spot. Pretty rad to see Catrina in her Maxine remix ring gear to bust out her old finisher on Ivelisse. I'm dying to see where this goes in Season 3. Outside of the brawling outside of the ring, I wasn't too crazy about this match itself, but it came together by the end of the bout.

I have to wonder why this was this high on the match card. I guess the ladies were the cooldown match before the "dream match" main event between Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio.

The Rey vs. The Prince - Rey Mysterio def. Prince Puma

At first, I didn't think it was in good taste that Puma lost, but after thinking about it after the fact a few hours later, I have to say that Rey winning was the right decision. Mysterio was moving around the best he has in YEARS, even busting out some moves he hasn't done since his days in World Championship Wrestling - the REAL WCW, not Woman Crush Wednesday...

Out of all of the shortcomings on this card, this one match made up for everything else wrong on this show in terms of the in-ring competitive aspect. This match was essentially the definition of a dream match as people have been clamoring for Rey Mysterio to join Lucha Underground and face Prince Puma since Ricochet donned the mask and exploded onto the scene of Lucha Underground at the start of the first season.

Closing Thoughts

Compared to the original Ultima Lucha event last year, Ultima Lucha Dos has some high points and low points but ultimately - no pun intended - fails to live up to the hype and high standard that the original blockbuster event left last year. Outside of a few standout performances, Dos comes off as a mere bridge or filler episode (or rather episodes...) to set the stage for Season Three rather than wrapping up feuds and blowing fans away like we were last year.

That being said, don't allow my comments to deter you from checking out this season finale. The "Unique Opportunity" series, the Trios Championship match, and the main event are well worth your time as you will get more bang for your buck watching those matches, but the rest of the show isn't bad - just merely isn't able to hold a candle compared to the rest of the card.