Lucha Underground: Ultima Lucha Dos, Part 1

July 6, 2016 – Los Angeles, California

The Mack def. Cage {Falls Count Anywhere Semifinal Match}
So Ultima Lucha is three weeks long this season, and it seems like the only reason they added the third night was so that they could have an hour-long buildup for the debut of (spoiler alert) Dr. Wagner Jr. Hard for me to get excited about that one. It also let them shove this matchup into UL again, which is so weird because Cage seemed like a no-brainer to put into a more interesting storyline and the Mack actually had an interesting season-long angle going until they blew off his involvement early. Dario Cueto also notes that this was the first UL match the year before, so he started the show by making this one Falls Count Anywhere also. This one had a few gnarly spots, but then it took a sillier turn than their match the year before. I dug when they both dug into piñatas, with Mack finding a wrench and Cage only coming up with candy. I was less impressed with the Steve Austin impression. Then, a cinder block magically appears so Mack can counter the final spot from last year’s match to a roll up for the win at 10:12. Too goofy for my tastes. **½ 

Son of Havoc def. Texano {Boyle Heights Bar Fight Semifinal Match}
Cueto wasn’t satisfied with one goofy gimmick match, so he made this a bar fight because it was a cowboy vs. a biker anyway. The bar is just a cart at ringside that only briefly comes into play. At one point, Havoc dresses up like a fireman and sprays Texano with a fire extinguisher. You know, typical stuff you see when you’re out at the bar. A breakaway stool falls apart when Havoc is setting it up, making the Frankensteiner onto it seem less impressive. Texano not selling the move at all also makes it seem unimpressive. Havoc then no-sells a bad ball shot and backdrops Texano into the bar cart. He knocks Texano onto broken glass twice more for the win at 7:22, and Texano miraculously doesn’t have a drop of blood on him. If you can’t deliver on the gimmick (and really, you shouldn’t try to deliver on a broken glass gimmick) then don’t try. I rather hated this all-spots-no-selling garbage. *½ 

Son of Havoc def. The Mack {Falls Count Anywhere Tournament Finals}
Cueto just arbitrarily made this one a FCA match too. Couldn’t come up with a fresh stipulation? On the bright side, they worked this one like a wrestling match, where the damage they did to each other actually caused pain and gave the guy who was on offense an advantage. Havoc fought from behind most of the time, and had to struggle to hit the Shooting Star Press for the win at 5:32. **¾ 

After the match, Cueto opens a briefcase full of $250,000 and tells Havoc that he can have that money. Or, he can have a contract for a Lucha Underground Championship match at Ultima Lucha Tres. Havoc says he wouldn’t pass up a title shot for any amount of money. Cueto throws a curveball; Havoc has to beat one more person, who will win the cash reward if he beats Havoc. Then, Famous B comes out and introduces his new client, Son of Havoc’s opponent, Dr. Wagner Jr. 

Dr. Wagner Jr. def. Son of Havoc
This was mostly a squash, though Wagner fully bumped for Havoc during Havoc’s brief comeback. He looked pretty good for a fifty-year-old. He won in 2:05 with a Michinoku Driver. Havoc did wind up having a rather important match at Ultima Lucha Tres anyway, so this weird backdoor burial didn’t keep him down forever. N/A

Frankly, this whole episode was pretty dumb, and probably should have just been named for the tournament and not tacked onto Ultima Lucha.