Lucha Underground Review - September 7, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​Dario Cueto Introduced Dario's Wheel of Doom

The wrestling is second to none and the storylines are easy to follow more often than not, but Cueto continues to be my favorite part about the entire promotion. He is just such a dynamic and compelling character and thus it was only fitting to have him kick off the third season, especially with the debut of his new concept: Dario's Wheel of Doom. I like how he's leaving Matanza's opponents up to a spin of the wheel because it makes the monster come off that much more intimidating and how no one is willing to go up against him.


Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto def. Son of Havoc

I wasn't so disappointed that they opened the show with a Lucha Underground Championship match without any prior build simply because I thought it set the tone for the remainder of the season very well. Plus, although Havoc should be a title contender regularly, this wasn't exactly a "money match" they should have saved for down the line. That said, it was easily one of Matanza's best bouts to date, and the crowd was red hot for the exciting action. When Cueto eventually loses that title, it will sure as hell mean something.

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Ivelisse Challenged Catrina to a Match at Ultima Lucha Tres

I'm glad they aren't waiting any longer with this feud as they have done in the past and followed up on their interaction from Ultima Lucha Dos with this segment. Ivelisse has been one of my favorites in Lucha Underground since the start and I enjoyed the intensity she incorporated into her promo here. It looks like their match is on for Ultima Lucha Tres, and it is definitely something different for Lucha Underground to announce a match so far in advance, so I hope they can build to the bout in a way where it lives up to the hype.


Gift of the Gods Champion Sexy Star def. Taya

Other than Star's series of matches with Mariposa last season, it's actually rare we see women's matches in Lucha Underground, mostly because their roster depth is weak on the women side, but this was quite good. I've never been the biggest fan of Star's, but Taya is a treat to watch in the ring and they worked well together. The finish felt anticlimactic, but I'm on board for a potential eight-person tag team match involving Johnny Mundo, Jack Evans, PJ Black, Aerostar, Drago and Fenix sometime soon.


Rey Mysterio def. Pentagon Dark

While I was fine with them doing Matanza vs. Havoc on this show, I really thought they should have saved this match for down the line. It's not that it had any storyline significance in being held now, so why bother? Don't get me wrong, it was a very entertaining match, but I also don't agree with Pentagon taking yet another loss after coming up short versus Matanza at Ultima Lucha Dos. I'm not even sure where it's supposed to be leading, and if he continues along this path, I'm fearful that fans will begin to not care.


Overall Show

Oh, how I've missed Lucha Underground. Granted, it's been only two months since it last aired, but it couldn't have returned any sooner. It's almost as if the wrestling gods worked this out in a way where the Cruiserweight Classic kept me entertained in its absence, and with that ending next week, Lucha Underground is back to fill that void. Aside from a few gripes here and there, this was an excellent season three premiere, and I look forward to seeing what's in store in the months ahead. If nothing else, as solid as Season 2 was, I hope Season 3 is even better.