The season three premiere of Lucha Underground is only a couple of days away. The best of season two Tope 10 got the hype train chugging. These awards will continue on those tracks. Find out who was the best around. They fought till they dropped. Never stopped. Nothing's going to keep these luchadores down. They're the best in town.
If you are new to the Lucha Underground scene, you can catch it Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on the El Rey Network or buy season one and season two on iTunes. See if El Rey is available in your area. El Rey is now on FiOS (Channel 198) and go90.
Best Newcomer: Matanza
Contenders: Taya and El Dragon Azteca Jr.
I can't argue with Matanza's resume. He won the Lucha Underground championship in his first match and still remains champion. If you ask me who was the most entertaining newcomer, I'm going with Taya all day, every day.
Breakthrough Character: Sexy Star
Contenders: Famous B and Killshot
Famous B fantastically reinvented himself in a managerial role, but I'm going with Sexy Star for this award. She had an iconic moment, a terrific performance in the No Mas match that won over many detractors (if only for one night), and has momentum from winning the Gift of the Gods championship at Ultima Lucha Dos. She is setting up to be in the mix of main event players.
Sixth Man Award: Jack Evans
Contenders: Drago, Aerostar, and the Mack
For those that don't watch basketball, the Sixth Man Award goes for the best player to come off the bench. I'm converting that to the best person outside the main event scene.
Self-nicknamed the Dragonslayer and claiming to be the baddest bitch in the building, Jack Evans is a tour de force of entertainment. Evans is highly skilled in the ring, but it is his chicanery that makes him stand out. Most people choose to walk down the stairs. Evans walks on his hands down the stairs. Things like that make me want to rename the honor to the Jack Evans Award of Excellence. The only way he doesn't win this every year is if he becomes a main event contender.
Favorite GIF: Marty's rich kid montage
Contenders: Aerostar and Drago sitting in Dario Cueto's office, Pentagon Jr. in a wheel chair, Dario Cueto laughing, and Dario selling out Chavo
#RichKidsOfAztecPride#LuchaUnderground pic.twitter.com/VUSP0xkaug
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) March 31, 2016
In a circle of boobs, Marty is the biggest boob of all.
Most Outrageous Moment: Nunchuck match
Contenders: Mil Muertes' coffin punch, El Siniestro de la Muerte ripping out hearts, and Catrina ghosting out of Pentagon Jr.'s arm breaker
The nunchuck match between Jack Evans & PJ Black and Aerostar & Drago could very easily have been terrible in execution. Instead, they knocked it out of the park. All four performers went above and beyond. There were moments of comedy, teamwork, viciousness, and mist. Not to mention Aerostar falling from the heavens. I wouldn't call it the best match of season two, but it is certainly one of my favorite matches.
Best Feud: Fenix vs King Cuerno
Contenders: Johnny Mundo vs Cage, Mil Muertes vs Matanza, Sexy Star vs the Moths
Fenix vs King Cuerno wins due to the wrestling awesomeness in their trilogy of matches. The feud itself was fairly straightforward as they battled for the Gift of the Gods championship. It began with a surprising yet satisfying title change, progressed to a last luchador standing match, then culminated with a ladder match. Each bout was better than the previous. These two have such good chemistry together.
MVP: Mil Muertes
Contenders: None
And your winner, and STILL #LuchaUnderground Champion… Mil Muertes! pic.twitter.com/LxuQwSSx42
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) March 10, 2016
Mil Muertes takes this home easily due to lack of contenders. Some were hindered by being featured less than in season one (Prince Puma and Johnny Mundo), some had long stretches of being absent (Pentagon Jr. and Dario Cueto), and one main player was kind of boring at times (Matanza).
Despite all that, Mil truly does deserve the MVP honor. As a focal point of the show, he did great work. His matches were high quality and his powerful presence in storylines were on point.
Best Match: Matanza vs Cage
Contenders: Prince Puma vs Mil Muertes vs Pentagon Jr., Mil Muertes vs Matanza in Graver Consequences, Prince Puma vs Rey Mysterio
This was a tough choice. The contenders list could have been ten deep with matches like Cage in a cage and No Mas.
I'll admit that there is bias for this pick. I like when big men go boom. Also, I appreciate that Cage vs Matanza was mostly fought inside the ring with a clean finish featuring no outside interference. That is important to me when choosing a best match.
Cage vs Matanza is one of the best hoss fights I have ever seen. It was physical with a fairly quick pace and suplexes galore. There were nice bits of strategy as Cage utilized his lucha libre skills and karate too in an effort to catch Matanza off guard. There was a tremendous German suplex standoff. Even though the larger storyline made Matanza the evident favorite to win, Cage had the crowd believing and got them in a frenzy with the Terminator clap. If his small package was successful, it would have brought the house down. Alas, that night was not to be Cage's as Matanza picked the perfect time for the Wrath of the Gods. I can't wait for the encore.
How do you fell about the award winners? Agree? Disagree? Sock it to me. While waiting for Wednesday, check out Dario Cueto's marvelous AMA, which was brought to my attention by Flashfire. I'll leave you with words from Johnny Mundo.
The Mayor of Slamtown, Johnny Mundo, speaks his mind about #LuchaUnderground & the future of #WorldwideUnderground. https://t.co/64aXIQPXlZ
— Lucha Underground (@LuchaElRey) August 13, 2016
Lucha! Lucha! Lucha!