Lucha Underground Recap (June 22, 2016): Medallions Galore

Lucha Underground returned last night (June 22, 2016) setting up the next Gift of the Gods match in one fell swoop. Let’s check it out.

The show opens in Dario Cueto's office. He's talking to a new luchador with a black jaguar mask. This wrestler, named Night Claw, from the Jaguar tribe, will receive an Aztec medallion as a signing bonus and make his debut in the Gift of the Gods match. Night Claw says he's going to prove to everyone he deserves to be on top of Lucha Underground. Dario Cueto warns him that over confidence can be a downfall.

Interesting that they’re introducing a new character so close to the end of the year but this is Lucha Underground and anything goes. This new fighter is directly descended from one of the seven tribes. These tribes are bound to eventually factor into the plot of things big time. Right now, they are just represented by the medallions and Aerostar has the mission to unite them, but I bet soon the tribes will come front and center. Season three maybe?

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Daga defeats Mascarita Sagrada (with Famous B) for an Ancient Aztec Medallion. Kobra Moon watched from atop of Dario’s office the entire time.

After the match, Famous B superkicks Mascarita and then tells the crowd he’s going to find a winner as a client.

No!!! C’mon, B! That was not cool. I guess the B stands for bastard because that was a D move, B.

I felt really bad for Mascarita. He’s tried so hard and Famous B just burned him. It would be so sweet if after losing all year, Mascarita got his first win in recent memory against Famous B. However, it’s possible Famous B is only a manager and has no interest getting in the ring. One can only hope though because that dude needs to get his.

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Dario is talking to El Dragon Azteca in his office. Cueto tells him that his brother didn't kill his master, Black Lotus did. He tells him about the match he has against Black Lotus at Ultima Lucha Dos. He says when he gets in the ring with Black Lotus, he'll look into her eyes and realize that she killed his master and not Matanza.

Dario continues to stir the pot but the best part about his manipulation: He’s being 100% honest. Matanza didn’t kill El Dragon Azteca. Lotus did. Sure Dario was a driving force behind that, but he’s being honest here. He’d pass a lie detector. But then again, I would think Dario Cueto would be the only guy asides from George Costanza to be able to beat a lie detector.

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Killshot, Marty "The Moth" Martinez, and Sinestro de la Muerte defeats Cortez Castro, Mr. Cisco, & Joey Ryan to each win an ancient Aztec medallion.

So it looks like Mr. Cisco decided to play ball with the police or else he’d be behind bars and not in the Temple. Which means there may be a time in the next few weeks where he has to enter El Jefe’s office wearing a wire. If I were him, I may consider jail time instead of take that risk. He was the star of this match, but you could see that he felt conflicted about having to compete with the guys he knows are the law.

On the other side, Marty the Moth solidified that he’s the creepiest dude when he took Joey Ryan’s lollipop (you know, the one that Joey keeps in his trunks) and put it in his mouth. I repeat, this is the lollypop that hasn’t only been in Ryan’s filthy mouth, but his sweaty trunks as well. Who knows what diseases were exchanged in that very moment. Then Marty offered it to Killshot who wisely smacked it away.

Speaking of Killshot, Marty gave him his dog tags back at the beginning of the match as a sign of good faith, only to sneakily steal them back after the match was through. They won’t be going one on one at Ultima Lucha Dos but Killshot will have a chance to lay into him during the Gift of the Gods match.

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Sexy Star & Mariposa defeats Ivelisse & Taya to each win an Aztec medallion.

This was another match of Dario playing his games where he’ll take two people who hate each other and team them up for a coveted prize. Surprisingly enough, it was Sexy Star and Mariposa who were able to get the job done despite their whole kidnapping/imprisonment issue. It was a miscue on a spear by Taya that ended up hitting Ivelisse that lead to a Sexy Star/Mariposa win.

Sexy and Mariposa surely don’t like each other, but they can work that out in the Gift of the Gods match. We’ve seen that match one on one and I can’t imagine a second round topping the first. Taya vs. Ivelisse has the potential to be a killer Ultima Lucha match and I’m already pumped at the idea of it.

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Prince Puma has a live mic. He says that the only match he wants at Ultima Lucha Dos is against Rey Mysterio. He considers Rey the best, but he wonders is he as good as Rey Mysterio? Or maybe... he's better. And he has to know. He asks Rey if he'll take the match.

Mysterio tells Puma he has mad respect for him. He says if Puma needs to know whether he’s better, Rey needs to know if he's still the best and accepts the match. The men shake hands.

This went down a lot more peacefully than I thought. Given the show of attitude we’ve seen from Puma recently, I thought this match may have been based on some animosity. But the face of Lucha Underground is being the honorable guy is and asking for the match with respect.

There’s mutual respect and we’ll see if it stays that way as they make their way to the match. Whether it does or does, this match is going to be awesome.

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This big take away from this episode is that we have a full field for the Gift of the Gods match at Ultima Lucha. We have the unknown Night Claw, Mariposa, Marty the Moth, Killshot, Sinestro de la Muerta, Sexy Star, & Daga. Marty and his sister have an advantage because they are the only two in that match that are allies. However, there are heated rivalries between Killshot and Marty and Mariposa and Sexy Star that may take their focus away from the task at hand.

The lone disciple of death hasn’t done much for himself after eating the hearts of his mates and Catrina & Mil don’t seem concerned with him at all. This could be a chance for him to step out. There’s also Daga, but he still has the stalker Kobra Moon watching him. That leaves the mysterious Night Claw, who we know nothing about. It’s a wide open field and leaves the possibility of speculation galore, which we can do as we wait for next week to see what else is on tap for Ultima Lucha Dos.