IMPACT Wrestling: Hard To Kill (Jan. 16, 2021) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Hard To Kill (2021) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling. It took place on January 16, 2021 at the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the second event under the Hard To Kill chronology.

The event crowned the reactivated Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship's first champions since 2013, with Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz) defeating Havok and Nevaeh to win the titles. The main event saw the AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and the Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) defeat the Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Chris Sabin, and Moose in a Six-man tag team match. Other notable matches saw Manik and Deonna Purrazzo retain the Impact X Division Championship and Impact Knockouts Championship respectively, with Manik defeating Chris Bey and Rohit Raju in a Triple Threat match and Purrazzo defeating Taya Valkyrie. The event also saw Matt Cardona make his debut in Impact Wrestling, defeating Ace Austin by disqualification.

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The pre-show had the reveal of Madison Rayne's retirement from in-ring competition. She just graduated from college last year, so it's understandable that she would want to walk away from wrestling (at least for a while) and figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Her contributions to women's wrestling - not just limited to IMPACT Wrestling but to the wrestling industry as a whole - are legendary in its own right. She doesn't have to prove anything else to anyone in my book. 

Results:

Singles Match

Brian Myers defeated Josh Alexander

Intergender Tag Team Match

Decay (Rosemary and Crazzy Steve) defeated Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K

This was a cold open for this PPV. This wasn't a bad match, but it wasn't an overly exciting one either. In hindsight, I think that they should have gone with the X-Division triple threat to start things off, but then again, it felt like this show was gradually building up to a crescendo in terms of match quality as the night went on. My biggest complaint about this match is that it felt more at place on one of the weekly television episodes of IMPACT Wrestling rather than a PPV match. 

We would see the members of Decay join Taya Valkyrie at ringside for her match later tonight though. 

Old School Rules Six-man Tag Team Match

Violent by Design (Eric Young, Deaner, and Joe Doering) def. Cousin Jake, Rhino, and Tommy Dreamer

This was an OKAY match, but it was here mostly as a display of force by Violent by Design. Joe Doering is just great and this new direction for Deaner I'm all for instead of him being a stereotypical "southern rassler". Glad to see Eric Young is able to continue thrive as the deranged mastermind of these heel factions.

Tournament Final Tag Team Match for the revived Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship

Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz) def. Havok and Nevaeh

This wasn't the best women's tag team match, but it was a fun match to watch bell to bell. I was so happy for Keira and Tasha to pick up the win here too. Havok and Nevaeh did a fine job putting over these two women for their first taste of championship gold in this company.


Even four days later, I'm a little surprised at the lack of widespread support for these ladies. This is the first BLACK (Tasha's technically Afro-Latina FYI) women's tag team in a major American promotion to win a women's tag team championship. This should be getting more attention and praise... Y'know, "For the culture!" I'm just sayin'. Either way, I'm proud of Keira and Tasha. They worked hard for this spot and it was well deserved. I can firmly support their heel antics without being utterly disgusted by it like I was with Sasha Banks and Bayley last year.

Singles Match

Matt Cardona def. Ace Austin (with Madman Fulton) by disqualification

I had to bust out laughing at the former Zack Ryder's debut since Matt Striker was acting like this was a major signing. No one cared when he showed up in AEW and I seriously doubt he moved the needle when he debuted here. The only thing I can say at least now that he's here that means that the Nightmare Family in AEW has one less member to their not-so-angry mob of wrestlers in association to Cody Rhodes, riding off his coat tails.

Triple threat Match for the Impact X Division Championship

Manik (c) def. Chris Bey and Rohit Raju

I jokingly said this during the PPV on Twitter and I'll repeat myself here again too. This match was TOO damn good for it's own good. Stellar match from bell to bell, with Chris Bey being the MVP of this match without a shadow of a doubt. The action kept you guessing from start to finish on who was going to walk away as the X-Division Champion, but it ultimately came down to Manik retaining.


If you don't want to see anything on this show outside of the main event, do yourself a favor and check out this match as well.

Singles Match for the Impact Knockouts Championship

Deonna Purrazzo (c) def. Taya Valkyrie by submission

This was another good title defense by Deonna Purrazzo. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best Taya match that I had the pleasure of seeing. If this was her last match for the company as she was doing the honors on her way out, it could have been a lot worse, so there's that I guess. I personally got a kick out of Susan (Su Yung's newest gimmick/split personality) recording the match on her phone like a stereotypical "Karen", even while her, Kimber Lee, Rosemary, and Crazzy Steve were ejected from ringside. I didn't understand that decision as them not being at ringside had any effect on the remainder of the match.

On the 1/19/21 edition of IMPACT Wrestling on AXS, Taya was found guilty to the attempted murder of John E. Bravo during his wedding to Rosemary. As Taya was being dragged away by the cops, Tommy Dreamer made a joke about her either going to Jacksonville, FL or going "up north" to Stamford, CT to be locked up for three to five years. That's obviously a reference to either AEW or WWE. It would make sense for her to want to join her husband, John Morrison, in WWE, though. I'm guessing that since COVID-19 has limited, if not eliminated completely, all of her international travel to and back to Mexico to compete with AAA, so that would be the most logical bet. Then again, AEW's Women's Division could use more high profile names to beef up that division of women who are clearly not television ready. She could definitely help in that regard. As for a WWE run, I won't deny that I wouldn't mark out for her being a surprise entrant in the Women's Royal Rumble match, but then I would get sad because I know that company wouldn't have the slightest idea how to book her properly. Hell, I wouldn't mind seeing her as a one-off in a future Mae Young Classic as well. Whenever Taya ends up, she's definitely going to be an asset to whatever women's division that she's a part of. 

The saddest part of this narrative is that Rosemary is never able to hang onto the friends that she makes. First she lost her Bunny AKA Allie, and now she lost the Valkyrie. 

In either case, Deonna continues to shine in this role as IMPACT Knockouts Champion. I honestly don't see her losing that title anytime soon, unless they have plans to build up a new challenger during the next set of TV tapings to setup an opponent for her at Rebellion. If I were to guess right now, it would more likely be Tenille Dashwood since she never lost her opportunity at the gold before her unfortunate injury, if memory serves. 

Singles Match

The Karate Man def. Ethan Page via murder.

This is only a portion of the entire "match" if you could even call this one, but it was hilariously stupid in the same vein as the "Broken" Matt Hardy stuff. I don't understand why Ethan Page was so upset and mad at the editing of this thing either. What else was he expecting with this storyline? Steven Spielberg couldn't even do better with this material. While live-tweeting during the show, I had jokingly suggested editing this match like a mirror match in the vein of the old live-action Mortal Kombat video game motion capture sessions, but they went all in with that apparently. All that being said, this TOTALLY fits the narrative that Ethan Page had went completely into the deep end after losing the IMPACT Tag Team Championships. 

I don't know where Page is going to end up next, but I feel bad that we're not getting The North vs. FTR now in any capacity since he's left the company. I have no doubt in my mind that Josh Alexander will continue to thrive as a singles competitor, but man, that was the match at the top of my wishlist of potential bouts between AEW and IMPACT Wrestling talent during this working relationship. 

Barbed Wire Massacre

Eddie Edwards def. Sami Callihan

The biggest takeaway for me with this match was seeing the unique take on the appearance of a barbwire match in modern wrestling. This didn't look completely low key or "outlaw", but instead, IMPACT clearly put some thought into how this should look visually while having enough foresight to allow the guys to have some freedom to be able to do all of their moves without any restrictions. A traditional barbwire match doesn't have any ropes, so you can't rebound off of the ropes or do moves off the top rope (unless you were just flat out crazy like Sabu). In that regard, I tip my hat to IMPACT for constructing this "playground" of sorts with all of that in mind. 

As for a match though, I can't say that I was particularly blown away by this. Going in, you know what to expect from these hardcore matches involving both Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan, so there wasn't really much to surprise people with. I did get a good laugh at the Nintendo 64 controller being wrapped in barbwire. Anyone who has played one of those for any extended period of time can tell you that the barbwire is overkill and completely unnecessary when that thing can slice up your thumbs no problem all on its own. 

Eddie managed to win the match with one of Misawa's signature moves, so that was an added plus. 

Main Event: Six-man Tag Team Match

Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (with Don Callis) def. Rich Swann, Chris Sabin, and Moose

Alex Shelley was originally booked to be in this main event, but had to back out of the event, due to unforeseen circumstances. He stated in a separate interview video on social media that IMPACT shared earlier that day that it wasn't COVID-19 nor injury related, but merely a situation out of his control. I'm not going to dwell on it, but I'm hope that he's okay in the long run. 

As a result of Shelley's absence, Moose was named as his replacement. Earlier in the show, Moose confronts his teammates and kept it real for Sabin and Swann. He reminded them both that when he was in the NFL, he worked with numerous teammates that he couldn't stand but he kept it professional and gave it 110%. Tonight would be no different as he bleeds IMPACT Wrestling. This was very interesting too because Don Callis attempted to court Moose too, reminding him not to do anything rash as he still had two more years left on his contract, but Moose didn't back down and even threatened to take Kenny Omega's AEW World Championship after he was done with Rich Swann for the IMPACT World Championship. 

From the way that I interpreted all of this, it made perfect sense as Moose was protecting his future investments. 

As for the match itself, I dare say that this was the best thing on the PPV if that X-Division match didn't occur earlier in the night. Moose was easily the MVP here, leaving me with the feeling that I want to see Moose against Kenny Omega rather than Omega vs. Swann. IMPACT has a few weeks to set this up, but I rather see a triple threat between those guys rathar than Swann against Omega one on one. I was utterly shocked that Omega pinned Swann clean in the finish as I thought they would have had Sabin eat the pin out of all of the names involved here in this match. Omega pinning Swann inserts him easily into the IMPACT World title picture if his quest of belt collecting is set out to start here in 2021. My only fear is how long is IMPACT going to wait around to pull the trigger on Moose as IMPACT World Champion. Between the win over EC3 in their feud and everything since then, this guy is ready made to take that title from Swann. Please don't repeat the mistake they made back at Slammiversary XVI back in 2018. Moose was ready for the main event run after potentially winning the gold from Austin Aries, but he was beaten by Aries only to become his hired muscle shortly thereafter. That shit made absolutely no goddamn sense and hurt Moose in the long-run until now. If Swann loses the IMPACT title to Omega, then Moose absolutely has to be the one to win it from him. It just depends on how long will IMPACT allow Omega to hold their top title while prolonging the inevitable match-up against Moose until Slammiversary (late summer) or Bound for Glory (fall). 

 

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Closing Thoughts:

This was a solid show, topped off by an excellent main event. There's no clear sight on where this partnership with IMPACT Wrestling is going to end up, it's definitely looking beneficial for the IMPACT talents that get to share screen time with the AEW World Champion. Besides with Kenny Omega continuing to make regular appearances on their programming, it's only going to continue bringing more eyes onto their product, so it's win-win all around. 

PREVIEW -- Lucha Underground Season 4 Extended Trailer

How about that trailer, yo? This just makes me more excited for Season 4 in June. I could rewind and dissect this thing from a hundred different angles, but for once, I'm going to wait and see - even though I've read some of the spoilers from the first set of tapings they did a few months ago.

You can see it first hand from this trailer though... Catrina is going find a new pawn to do her bidding. The gauntlet is going be still fought over, with an unlikely alliance of Aerostar, El Dragon Azteca, and King Cuerno meeting to discuss on how to deal with it. Johnny Mundo somehow gets his hands on it too. Paul London and the Rabbit Tribe go down the rabbit hole in what looks like a test of sanity. The Black Lotus Triad seems to have some in-fighting going on. Kairi Hojo (Sane in NXT) is in WWE, so I'm sure that they've found another talented joshi to replace her in that role. Some of past stars will return - Pentagon Dark, Ivelisse, Marty the Moth Martinez, Mariposa, Son of Havoc, Taya, Johnny Mundo, etc. - but they are joined by some newcomers (Tommy Dreamer, Jack Swagger, Chelsea Green, etc.) in a montage that went by so fast you'd miss 'em if you blinked.

Lucha Underground - Ultima Lucha Tres (Season 3 Finale - Parts 1-4) - Results & Afterthoughts

Ultima Lucha Tres (Spanish for Last Fight Three) is the name of the final episodes of the third season of professional wrestling TV series Lucha Underground. The first part of Ultima Lucha Tres (episode 37) premiered on the El Rey Network on September 27, 2017. The second part (episode 38) was shown on October 4, The third part (episode 39) was shown on October 11 and the fourth part (and Season 3 finale) was broadcast October 18 on the El Rey Network and later shown in Mexico with Spanish commentary on the UniMás network. The episodes are the climax of several ongoing storylines that played out throughout the third season of Lucha Underground. As part of the season finale all three of the Lucha Underground championships were on the line. The episodes were taped on June 25 and 26, 2016.

As we roll towards the end of 2017, I revisited this event over the holidays and decided to do a proper write-up of my thoughts of this show from start to finish.

Results: 

Famous B (w/ Beautiful Brenda) and Dr. Wagner Jr. def. Texano for his services

I have to wonder if there's any particular reason that they only manage to get Dr. Wagner Jr. to show up for these Ultima Lucha events instead of for a full season. That being said, this match was hella short to say that it was the kick-off opener for this card. I guess they just wanted to get this one out of the way to save the rest of this episode for the next match.

Hell of War Match - Killshot def. Dante Fox

Fox takes the first fall. Killshot took the second and the third. It was pretty much a Three Stages of Hell match. This match was borderline gruesome at points. The first fall was First Blood after Dante Fox dropped Killshot through a glass table. Killshot got the second fall after pulling off a Buckle Bomb into a barbwire table leaning into the corner and hitting his finisher for the pinfall. At this point, Fox was a bloody mess with his back covered in his own blood.

They kept doing spots at ringside since the last fall was a literally Stretcher Match and I couldn't help but cringe seeing pieces of Dante Fox's flesh was on the floor and on the stretcher along with his blood everywhere. The match ends with Fox falling from the balcony through a stack of tables and another glass pane, which allows Killshot to toss him into the evac unit to end this episode and win the match.

I humbly suggest watching this match just to see what these guys put themselves through in this match at the cost of their own physical well-being for our entertainment. Just holy fuckin' shit at this match at points...

Battle Royal For An Unique Opportunity - The Mack def. Vinnie Massaro, Argentis, Pimpinela Escarata, Mascarita Sagrada, Joey Ryan, Mala Suerte, Paul London, Saltador, Son of Madness, Cortez Castro, PJ Black, and Ricky Mundo

Nothing much to write home about on this one. It served as the opener to Part II of this four part event. There were a few comedy spots for laughs and athletic spots to get over the folks for their various ongoing feuds/storylines. Seriously, you knew none of these guys weren't going to win this thing, especially the ones who were mostly goons for the other various factions or acting as cannon fodder for the bulk of the season.

The shocker here was Dario's announcement that The Mack won a Trios Tag Title match on the next episode, but his partners would be Killshot and Dante Fox who just killed each other in the previous episode. Man, Fox is a better man than me to wrestle TWICE on this card after taking the beating that he took in that match.

Ivelisse def. Catrina (w/ Mil Muertes)

I don't know who idea it was for both ladies to come out here wrestling in what looks like lingerie for their ring gear, but I'm not complaining. This seemed like a typical WWE Divas match from the Diva Search era at first glance until Catrina retreated back into Dario's office and broke SEVERAL glass bottles over Ivelisse's head to bust her open. At this point, I was convinced that the Lucha Underground roster were determined to "out-bloody" themselves in each match following that Hell of War match in Part I. I honestly marked out to see Catrina bust out her old finisher from her days on NXT Redemption as Maxine. I don't care what anyone says, but Ivelisse is the marquee woman of Lucha Underground - NOT Sexy Star.

Nice way for Jeremiah Crane to garner heel heat by targeting Ivelisse's ankle after her history of injuries to that same limb over the past few seasons that sidelined her for the bulk of those seasons. Other than that, I really can't complain about this match. Sure, it was bumpy start, but the ladies served their purpose here and told a story, even if it was a brief exchange to determine who is Lucha Underground's "baddest bitch".

Mask vs. Hair - Fenix (w/ Melissa Santos) def. Marty "The Moth" Martinez (w/ Mariposa)

Mariposa bails on Marty within the first few minutes of this match, forcing him to take on Fenix on his own. Marty recycles a bit of what Mil Muertes did in Grave Consequences - biting and tearing into Fenix's mask before slamming him into the exposed turnbuckle to leave the luchador a bloody mess. Like I said during the previous match, it seems like this episode is deadset on "out-bloodying" the previous episode's Hell of War match. I can't really knock this match though. Fenix always has a knack for making these underdog babyface comebacks so compelling to watch after he's gotten the holy hell beat out of him.

I applaud Melissa Santos for her involvement in this feud/storyline too as I can't imagine her being comfortable having to be in the ring with so much blood on the canvas. If I may add, she did well in their tag team match a few episodes back, despite having so little in-ring experience. You guys know how much I mark for Cheerleader Melissa/Melissa Anderson, so you know I was all for Mariposa betraying Marty at the end.

Someone should've called Enzo and Cass for the moment where they were shaving Marty for spelling out "BAWLD" like they did for poor Marcus Louis on NXT.

Last Luchador Standing - Sexy Star def. Taya

In retrospect, I'm watching this match many months after Sexy Star's unruly behavior that caused her to legitimately dislocate Rosemary's arm during an AAA/Global Force/Impact Wrestling joint event (TripleMania if memory serves) and well after Taya's Impact Wrestling debut. I don't know what lightning/filter they use for their show, but it takes away a lot from Taya's beauty. I don't want to sound biased, but goddammit Sexy Star's ring work is damn awful here. Thankfully for her, the bulk of this match is ringside brawling and using the furniture within the Temple to their advantage, so it works to hide her shortcomings.

I know that I wrote a piece in the past about the significance of Sexy Star winning the Lucha Underground Championship, but now that I'm thinking about it, it would have meant more if Ivelisse managed to avoid her untimely injuries and won the title instead. Remember the pop she got a few seasons ago when she came so close to defeating Mil Muertes when he was the Lucha Underground Champion? It wouldn't have been a stretch if they had Son of Havoc and Angelico helped her pull it off only for her to lose it the week after like Sexy Star did, but the impact would have been the same.

Back to this match though... I can't help but feel that this match had an underlining message to vent Sexy Star's real life issues with non-Hispanic opponents. This match has Taya a bloody mess too when Sexy Star really didn't take much abuse here. C'mon, girl, you could've at least taken something in return if Taya was willing to do the job here.

In retrospect though, I honestly can't see Sexy Star popping up in the next season of this show at all due to her unprofessionalism over the past year. Seriously, who is going to trust her in the ring after what she did to Rosemary and allegedly against another opponent a few months after that?

Trios Championship Match - The Mack, Killshot, and Dante Fox def. The Reptile Tribe (c) w/ Kobra Moon

Dante Fox deserves a medal for even coming out here and wrestling again period. I'm surprised his back wasn't still a bloody mess coming out here for this match. I don't mind this storyline between Kobra Moon as the "queen" of the Reptile Tribe with her "brainwashing" Drago to serve her, but I hope her talents won't continue to be wasted at the sidelines when I know she's a formidable competitor in her own right. If I may add, every single member of the Reptile Tribe has a bloody awesomely designed costume. That's some shit straight out of a comic book and one of the main reasons I absolutely adore what Lucha Underground provides as a wrestling alternative.

I was surprised to see the Reptile Tribe drop the titles here, but I guess Kobra Moon's kingdom is about to come crumbling down around her in Season 4.

I'll say this much though... if they are looking for a replacement for Prince Puma, then put Dante Fox underneath the mask and let him play the part.

Ladder Match for the Gift of the Gods Championship - Pentagon Dark def. Son of Havoc

There were a few spots here that reminded me of El Generico (Sami Zayn) and Kevin Steen (now Owens) feud in Ring of Honor that ended in a death-defying ladder match. Doing a Package Piledriver on top of three ladders is just as bad as doing one while standing on top of four steel chairs. Hell, my neck hurt watching that spot even though I thought it was awesome at the time. I thought the table spot at the end was completely unnecessary when I would've ended it after that Package Piledriver spot.

Other than that spot, I can't say that I was surprised at anything else in this match. To be honest, this was pretty tame in comparison to everything that we have seen up to this point.

Steel Cage Match - Dragon Azteca def. Matanza Cueto (w/ Dario Cueto) via ring escape; Match restarted with Montanza def. Dragon Azteca w/ assist from Black Lotus

HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT at that cage break spot. If they planned that, holy shit that looked unsafe as hell. If not, thank god that Dragon Azteca wasn't hurt. I would have been fine with Dragon Azteca taking the win here from that cage escape bump as Matanza wouldn't have been pinned nor submitted as the assist from Black Lotus didn't make sense at all, especially when she was ready to confront Dario immediately afterwards. Like why do his dirty work?

In either case, I'm glad that they are continuing Black Lotus' storyline here. I believe that Angela Fong, who plays Black Lotus was pregnant during most of their tapings of this season so that explains her absence up to this point. As much as I liked their slow burn for her narrative in season one, I'm hoping that she becomes a regular character in Season 4. Her and Dragon Azteca Jr. should be working together instead of being at odds with each other.

3-Way Elimination Match for the Gauntlet of the Gods - Mil Muertes (w/ Catrina) def. Jeremiah Crane and Cage

They must've had a huge intermission between tapings of this episode and the previous three as the ring has been thoroughly cleaned of blood and we're treated to the lovely surprise of Catrina and Melissa Santos have had time to change their wardrobe. I know WWE must be kicking themselves for not hanging onto Jeremiah Crane (formerly Solomon Crowe on NXT). Dude took like the worst bumps in this match and pretty much in this match to get eliminated first. I can't even be mad as he always looks like a badass taking all of this punishment. That was like foreplay to the main course - Mil Muertes versus Cage.

In terms of the storyline, I'm anxious to see if Catrina is going to regain her mortality now that she has the Gauntlet in her possession for her mother... Well, once she and Mil Muertes regains it back from King Cuerno. I was wondering what happened to that dude after last season as I was under the impression that he was going to either Impact Wrestling or going to compete in the Cruiserweight Classic for WWE. It's the end of 2017 and we haven't seen him pop up in neither promotion, so no idea what's going to happen in regard of his future in Season 4.

Lucha Underground Championship Match - Title vs. Career - Prince Puma def. Johnny Mundo (c)

I have to applaud whoever did this short film (narrated by Taya) chronicling Mundo's creation of the Worldwide Underground stable and his training leading up to this match. This season has done a great job establishing Johnny Mundo as the top of the food chain in Lucha Underground. I don't blame the guy for wanting to continue working for them as well as Impact Wrestling. The guy is talented enough to juggle being in a top position in both promotions. Plus I'm anxious to see what they do with Taya as part of the Knockouts division if they are able to work out her work visa issues if Anthem plans to continue taping in Canada.

This match acts as a reminder of why these two men were positioned at the top of the card time and time again in Season One of this show. Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma have an answer for each other's offense and their levels of athleticism shown off here is simply uncanny. Don't forget that these are the two men who killed it in that All Night Long match before Mundo found himself lost in the shuffle until his rise to power here in Season Three. I couldn't think of a better opponent to act as the gatekeeper to his second championship win.

I wasn't surprised with the interference from the Worldwide Underground but the referee getting involved with the action along with Angelico's return certainly did. (Laughs) Why was Taya out here dressed like she was the lovechild of Misty from Pokemon and Joy from My Name Is Earl?

I think they screwed up the spot where Mundo missed the End of the World out of the corner then landed on his feet only to hit it again. I think that's where Puma was supposed to counter it on the second attempt and get his comeback to finish the match. Outside of that minor exchange, this match didn't disappoint.

Lucha Underground Championship Match - Career vs. Career - Pentagon Dark def. Prince Puma (c)

I have to come clean here on this one. I was reading stuff on Wikipedia earlier this year and stumbled onto the fact that Pentagon Dark won the Lucha Underground Championship. I just didn't know how. So when Dario made this last minute revision to the card, I instantly went "Oh shit..." at the time of watching this live. That's why he won Gift of the Gods for they could do a Money in the Bank style moment to end this event.

From a storyline perspective, I thought it was stupid to say that this was Career vs. Career as you already soured the mood for everyone going into this match as one of their favorites aren't coming back. Plus, on top of that I think everyone knew Puma would take the loss here as rumors of him going to WWE have been floating around since Season Two once his Lucha Underground contract expires. As of this writing, just about everyone under contract to Lucha Underground are free to go elsewhere after so much time has expired between taping Season Three and it airing on television, but after the announcement of Season Four was coming, Lucha Underground did reach out and requested that people come in for the tapings and at least humbly finish up storylines and drop titles out of respect. In my honest opinion, that's not too much to ask, especially given the popularity of some of these men and women have gotten as being part of this show.

What wasn't stupid about the story here was Vampiro's loyalty to his original pupil, Pentagon Dark, that served as the turning point of this match and was the nail in the coffin that cost Puma this match. He put so much stock into following Vampiro as his new master when Vampiro didn't have any stock into him at all.

Afterthoughts: 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Man, I hope they aren't killing off Dario Cueto for good. Give whatever money his actor wants and get him back ASAP. Let Catrina revive him with her magic or something. Wonder who is going to be taking over the Temple in his place?

Anywho... in typical Ultima Lucha fashion, we get a montage showing off what is to come. Prince Puma removes his mask and exits out of the curtain, seeming to never return to the Temple. He could be WWE bound and showing up in NXT by the time Season Four rolls around, so I wouldn't hold my breath on him sticking around. I do wonder why he of all people would be the one that Dario calls on his death bed.

Who would've thought King Cuerno would have been the one who ends up with the Gauntlet of the Gods after everything that transpired tonight? Mil Muertes is going to whoop that ass good next season, making that beatdown he got at Ultima Lucha Dos look trivial in comparison. I wonder how much Catrina is going to be involved in the next season after landing that movie role (which I have completely blanked on what it was at the moment...) since her story revolves around her "mother" going forward.

Like I mentioned earlier, I doubt Sexy Star is coming back so we can pretty much rule out this whole "spider" storyline with her. Sucks too as I was wondering where they were going with that since it was confirmed that Mariposa has nothing to do with that.

The Rabbit Tribe are off to meet the White Rabbit. I wonder who in the world could that be? Maybe this will make London's faction to be taken seriously in the future instead of being comic relief.

Melissa Santos and Fenix continue their budding romance. Santos is going to be another oddity for next season as she announced her pregnancy (she's dating Cage IRL in case you don't know...) earlier this year, so I would imagine they would want to wait until she's back on her feet afterwards before involving her into another physical storyline, especially if they want her to continue being involved in the ring.

Kobra Moon has taken Daga (who she's had her eyes on for the past season anyway) as her new "king" as Drago watches in horror while he executes the member of the Reptile Tribe. Can't say I could tell you what were the names of those two guys in the masks anyway, despite of how cool they looked. Daga was criminally under-used in Season Three, so I hope they remedy that in Season Four.

I'm dying to know who is Vampiro's new "master". This dude is looking like Shao Khan from Mortal Kombat from what I can see of his costume.

Rey Mysterio must have a death wish visiting Matanza in his cage. If they are intent on making Dragon Azteca Jr. as Rey's successor and student, then he really needs to stand on his own without Rey dragging his ass out of the fire. Jobbing to Matanza definitely ain't doing him any favors either.

As a season finale, Ultima Lucha Tres definitely didn't skip a beat, even though I thought that they went a bit overboard with just about every match having color (read: blood) over the course of this show. I humbly suggest that you take the time to check this one out if you're a fan of Lucha Underground. I honestly can't recommend the entire card to everyone else as that much blood and high spots aren't for everyone.

As for the future of Lucha Underground after this cliffhanger, I hope they don't make us wait for long before Season 4 drops. 

OPINION --- The Significance of Sexy Star's Lucha Underground Championship Win

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, Sexy Star made history in the Lucha Underground Temple, becoming the sole survivor in Aztec Warfare III to become the new Lucha Underground Champion, making her the first female wrestler to hold the title.

I know that I'm two weeks late to comment on this matter, but goddamn I have wanted to talk about this since hearing the spoilers unintentionally on Jim Cornette's podcast a few months back. I'm honestly proud of myself for not spilling the beans on this matter as I wanted to see first-hand if it was executed as moronic as Cornette described it from the source that he got the information from during the tapings earlier this year. As much as I thoroughly enjoy Cornette's podcasting and his occasional rants on professional wrestling, in this case I have to say that he was absolutely wrong on how this matter was handled. That being said... he's notorious for his negative opinion on the Lucha Underground product as a whole, so there's that too.

Back on the premiere episode of Lucha Underground, Sexy Star was defined as hero and icon for women. Most AAA fans already recognize her as such, but with this being her first mainstream appearance, it was important that Lucha Underground took great care to hammer this point home in her backstory. Throughout Season One, Lucha Underground established her as a rising star that female viewers could identify with and idolize. She wasn't the flashiest luchador on the roster, but time and time again she proved that she belonged with the best that Lucha Underground had to offer. She stood up to the likes of Pentagon Jr. and Chavo Guerrero before having to face her former friend Super Fly and deal with Marty the Moth by the end of Season One. She faced shortcomings along the way, coming up short on capturing the Gift of the Gods Championship at Ultima Lucha - a mistake that was remedied at the end of Season Two at Ultima Lucha Dos.

Sexy Star winning the Gift of the Gods Championship at Ultima Lucha Dos

When Sexy Star won the Gift of the Gods Championship at the end of Season at Ultima Lucha Dos, I was a bit skeptical as that match was a pretty lackluster affair, especially after how Mariposa and Sexy Star drove themselves to hell and back in their No Mas Match (see below). Like I said in my write-up of that event, that match was one of the weaker matches on that stacked card and Sexy Star's performance in that match left a lot to be desired. At the same time, she's not the flashiest competitor but her merit as a symbol is what makes her continue to out shine on this show over the other women in Lucha Underground.

Catrina is the seductive puppet master, commanding the forces of darkness and death at her beckoning. As of this writing, she hasn't had an in-ring match out of the three seasons of Lucha Underground, even though she is set to face Ivelisse at Ultima Lucha Tres. Ivelisse is the "baddest bitch in the building" - no pun intended, focused on proving that she's bad as - if not more - than her male counterparts, but a string of injuries over the last few seasons has derailed her from being at Sexy Star's level of being an icon for women's wrestlers in this promotion. Don't get me wrong. Ivelisse is definitely a prominent star in terms of women's wrestling in terms of this modern era, but she hasn't hit that point in Lucha Underground - yet. Despite being the most important character in Season One, Black Lotus (former WWE Diva Search contestant Angela Fong) has been reduced to being another one of Dario Cueto's many pawns and haven't had much in-ring time outside of a match against El Drago Azteca at Ultima Lucha Dos that was cut short by Pentagon Jr. Taya Valkyrie, or simply Taya as she's known in the Temple, is merely another cog in the machine known as the Worldwide Underground faction, consisting of Johnny Mundo (former WWE Superstar John Morrison/John Hennigan), PJ Black (former WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel), and long-time indie sensation Jack Evans. Then there's Kobra Moon, who seems to be more fixated on stalking Daga and Drago more than anything else right now.

I don't want to sell any of the women in Lucha Underground short, but Sexy Star stands above the rest as an icon in this product.

Sexy Star sets herself apart from the rest of the women on Lucha Underground is that she is willing to go above and beyond, even going as far as being a martyr to show what women are capable of with compassion and determination to fulfill their dreams. Whereas WWE are currently banking on a boss (Sasha Banks) or some flair (Charlotte) to carry their women's division, it is sad to see that they have lost sight of what simple factor could make the masses care about women's wrestling - a powerful narrative. Lucha Underground didn't set out to revolutionize women's wrestling - instead, they wanted to honor and respect women's wrestling by showing them as equals to their male peers.

The No Mas Match wasn't great because of the blood and the extremes that these women went to destroy each other in this match. No, it was because of the extremes that Sexy Star was able to endure, physically and emotionally leading up to this match. For months on end in the storyline break between Season One and Two, Sexy Star was kidnapped and tortured by Marty "The Moth" Martinez and his psychotic sister, Mariposa (the "future legend" herself Melissa Anderson/Cheerleader Melissa). The bulk of Season Two followed Sexy Star somehow escaping the Moth tribe's confines and getting back to the Temple where she coped with the PSTD of that experience. All of Sexy Star's encounters with Marty and Mariposa led to this moment where even Dario Cueto himself urged her to fight back and don't allow herself to be a victim ever again to these psychotic siblings. The narrative of this match was a thing of beauty. It symbolized all of the horrors that Marty and Mariposa inflicted on her physically and mentally until Sexy Star summoned the strength and determination to fight back with a powerful cry of "FUCK YOU MARIPOSA!!!" to show that she wasn't going to take shit from anyone - not from Mariposa, Marty the Moth or anyone else for that matter.

When it came down to the finale of Aztec Warfare III, Sexy Star wasn't the one who toppled the unstoppable monster that is known as Matanza Cueto. Contrary to popular belief, Matanza only fell after falling victim to a barrage of finishers and signature moves from multiple luchadors in that match before being rolled up with Rey Mysterio's old school springboard hurracanrana that could defeat even the mightiest of foes in WCW. In that respect, I could buy into Rey being the one to put the monster down even though Matanza destroyed him afterwards. People may have an issue with Sexy Star enduring the punishment and abuse from Mil Muertes but at the same time, remember that this is a guy who is tamed by the female embodiment of death that is over 500 years old (in kayfabe anyway...). That being said, it's not that much of a stretch to believe that he would fall against a woman. Matanza himself had a moment of weakness in this match so it's not hard to believe that Mil Muertes could fall as well. It seemed like he was off his game a bit after beating the holy hell out of King Cuerno (what the fuck happened to that guy anyway?) at Ultima Lucha Dos. Sure, Mil won Grave Consequences against Prince Puma a few weeks ago and fought Matanza to a stalemate a few episodes prior, but Mil hasn't hit his stride since losing the Lucha Underground Championship last season.

Besides, wrestling fans saw Brock Lesnar job to a 50+ year old man in less than two minutes at Survivor Series the week before Thanksgiving so anything is possible at this point. I honestly don't see what's there to complain about.

Sexy Star proved herself time and time again that she belongs here among the best in Lucha Underground. She captured the top prize of the promotion, bringing a happy ending to what has been a horrifying chapter to her life. Despite the fact that she would lose the title on the following episode to Johnny Mundo and the antics of the Worldwide Underground's Taya, no one can take this accolade from Sexy Star. She is the first and only woman to hold the Gift of the Gods and Lucha Underground Championships.

What makes this moment unique and special that it wasn't done as part of a "women's revoluntion" for publicity like WWE has been doing for the past year with their women that was forced down our throats. This moment was a natural progression for the evolution of her character throughout the three seasons of this show's storyline. I applaud that Lucha Underground gave Sexy Star this chance to shine with this opportunity while at the same time, making her a cornerstone of role model women in this sport to look up to for fans and non-fans alike.

Sexy Star's story is one of perseverance and determination as she continues to be the cornerstone of Lucha Underground's ensemble of lethal femme fatales.  

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.