Lucha Underground season 3 recap, with a wish list and predictions for season 4

Lucha Underground’s season four is almost here. The premiere will be Wednesday, June 13 at 8pm ET/PT on El Rey Network. With time to burn until then, let’s look back on season three along with giving a wish list and predictions for season four.

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Season three recap

Season three was 40 episodes of excitement. That is a lot of material to cover, so here is the express version of the major plot points. Some details won’t be mentioned, but this should be enough to jog the memory. The results of Ultima Lucha Tres and the closing montage will be addressed in Wednesday’s season premiere preview.

In the ring

Dario Cueto introduced Dario’s Dial of Doom to name challengers for Matanza and the Lucha Underground championship.

Matanza kept the belt until Aztec Warfare. That led to Matanza focusing on Rey Mysterio and El Dragon Azteca Jr., since Rey eliminated Matanza in Aztec Warfare.

Johnny Mundo set his sights on the top gold. Failing to get a title shot, Mundo went after the Gift of the Gods championship and Sexy Star. Mundo eventually captured that belt. Sexy Star won the Lucha Underground championship at Aztec Warfare, but Mundo’s cheating ways once again trumped Sexy Star’s heart as he won that title too the very next week.

Rey Mysterio retired Chavo Guerrero Jr. from lucha libre competition.

Pentagon DARK broke a bunch of arms and also fought ninjas.

Mack won the Battle of the Bulls Tournament, but he later lost the All Night Long championship bout, with overtime the following week, to Johnny Mundo.

Cage defeated Texano in a best-of-five series for the honor of winning the god gauntlet, which King Cuerno currently has in his possession via theft. The gauntlet acts as a conduit to transfer the soul of a god into a host body.

Prince Puma won the Cueto Cup, a 32-luchador tournament. That set up the main event of Ultima Lucha Tres, Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma for the Lucha Underground championship.

Out of the ring

Dario Cueto was released from jail after killing Mr. Cisco. Oh, hello Honky.

Later, undercover cop Joey Ryan hopped onto Dario’s payroll. Ryan also outed Cortez Castro as his undercover partner.

Vampiro began a season long manipulation of Prince Puma. After losing Grave Consequences, Vampiro resurrected Puma from the coffin.

Bagel Bites!

Dante Fox showed up as someone from Killshot’s past. Supposedly, Killshot unknowingly left Fox behind as a prisoner of war.

In a love octagon, Jeremiah Crane was dating Ivelisse before trying to recapture the heart of an ex-love, Catrina. Catrina has feelings for Fenix, while still shacking up with Mil Muertes. Fenix became a couple with Melissa Santos, who was the obsession of Marty Martinez’s eye. Also, Mariposa dropped some hints that she belongs with her brother, Marty.

Queen Kobra Moon tried to re-enlist Drago into her army but enslaved him instead when he refused. Drago’s drug-induced state caused much turmoil for his super friends of Aerostar and Fenix. Reptile men, Pindar and Vibora, debuted to eventually win the Trios championship alongside Drago.

Famous B courted Texano to sign with his management agency.

The Rabbit Tribe think Mascarita Sagrada is their leader.

Son of Madness came to collect on Son of Havoc for leaving the Invisible Cult Motorcycle Club.

A gauntlet-powered Cage punched through Councilman Delgado’s head like a sledgehammer to a pumpkin. That led to the introduction of a new intermediary, FBI Agent Winter, between the Order and Dario Cueto.

The Piedra Immortal is an amulet that provides immortality to a female only. We learned that Captain Vasquez was a little girl in an Aztec tribe a millennia ago. She possesses half of the amulet. Oh, and Vasquez is also Catrina’s mom. Catrina went after the gauntlet to exchange for the other half of the amulet.

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Wish List

All fans like to fantasy book in their own way. In the wild and wacky Lucha Underground universe, it is easy to let the mind wander on what ifs. Here is a quick list of five things I’d like to see in season four.

1. Billy Drago as Papá Cueto

If you’ve seen the season four trailer, I think it is safe to say that they picked the best possible person to play Papá Cueto.

If that long-haired character turns out not to be Papá Cueto, well, I’m nominating Billy Drago to fill that roll. I was unsure if I’d rather see a slimier Dario-type version as Papá Cueto or a Kingpin-sized man, like Matanza, to make Dario the runt of the litter. Then, a Chuck Norris’ tour de force, Delta Force 2, came across the TV screen.

Drago is such a scumbag in that movie, and he kind of looks like Dario. I can see a family resemblance if Drago were to play Papá Cueto.

Or they could go with a Robert Rodriguez favorite in Cheech Marin. How awesome would it be to see Cheech in Lucha Underground?

2. King Cuerno as Lucha Underground champ

Due to missing pretty much all of season three and having a totally badass character, many fans are yearning to see King Cuerno compete again in the Temple. As for me, I would say he is one of my favorite characters and one that has yet to get a big-time push. He’s mostly been a villain with losses used to elevate others. It would be quite nice to see Cuerno rise to the top.

If the story calls to turn him into a good guy, he could easily make the transition by hunting evil. Plus, if Cuerno wears masks like Punisher and Darth Vader as he did in his El Hijo del Fantasma alter ego, he’ll probably pick up fans even quicker.

3. Johnny Mundo back to a solo competitor

Worldwide Underground is a bundle of fun together, but their cheating ways for Johnny are played out. Mundo is one of the best, if not the best, wrestler on the roster. I want to see him wow us rather than screwy finishes in every single one of his matches that deflate the fan experience.

Speaking of Worldwide Underground, here’s a nice photo.

I can’t tell if Photobomb Joe is some random dude or Ricky Mandel. If it is indeed Mandel, then that caption plays hilariously into how Mundo treats Mandel.

4. A Lucha Underground wedding

Who doesn’t enjoy a professional wrestling wedding? Sure, they always get ruined by meanies, but imagine what kind of twist the show could put on it.

Wedding fever is in the air for Lucha Royalty, but it doesn’t have to be Taya and Johnny Mundo. There are lots of couples that could take the next step, willingly or unwillingly. Off the top of my head, the aforementioned Johnny and Taya, Fenix and Melissa Santos, Fenix and Catrina, Jeremiah Crane and Catrina, Mil Muertes and Catrina, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse, or Marty and Mariposa. There’s so much love in the Temple. Who would you like to see get married in Lucha Underground?

5. A more prominent role for the Trios champions

With the amount of fantastic athletes in Lucha Underground, trios matches are usually a guaranteed jam session of grooviness. It felt like the belts kind of disappeared in relevance for season three. I believe there were only four championship matches during the forty episodes. That is a major waste. I will be super bummed if the team of Dante Fox, Killshot, and Mack get the same treatment. They have the potential to carry several main events.

Speaking of the Trios champs, I think facing Angelico, Ivelisse, and Son of Havoc would top my dream match list. What trios dream matches do you desire in Lucha Underground?

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Predictions

Break out the crystal ball. What do you see going down in Lucha Underground for season four? The more outlandish, the better. I went zero for five in my 2017 Lucha Underground predictions, so I stink at these.

1. Dr. Wagner Jr. will lose his mask to Texano

This is kind of an easy one. Wagner lost his mask in AAA to Psycho Clown back at Triplemanía XXV in August 2017. It will be interesting to see if Lucha Underground acknowledges that result or ignores it to their benefit. I’m going to predict they ignore it and fold Wagner losing his mask (again) into the storyline of Famous B’s stable.

2. Vampiro will die

Or at least, evil Vampiro will die. I still want commentary Vampiro to be around every week.

I think it is safe to say that someone will die in season four. The question is who. I think Pentagon DARK will have had enough of Vampiro and break more than just his arm. Not to mention that I don’t trust Vampiro’s new master. I expect death in that triangle.

Who do you think will kick the proverbial bucket this season?

3. Drago will reveal the reason he is in the bathroom so often

With all that time spent in the lavatory by Aerostar, Fenix, and the Reptile Tribe, I’m convinced that Drago uses the toilets as travel gateways. That is why I always close the toilet seat before going to bed.

4. Matanza ate Rey Mysterio

Both were left locked in cells of the Temple dungeon as last season closed. My prediction is that a starving Matanza ate Rey Mysterio, soaked up Rey’s skill, and will be hitting 619s in season four like you’ve never seen. Matanza probably made booyaka noises while licking Rey’s bones clean.

5. There will be a fifth season

It feels like TNA (Impact) has lasted forever amid rumors of collapse, so why not Lucha Underground?

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Hopefully that caught you up on the major plots of season three. What were your favorite moments last season? What is on your Lucha Underground wish list? How about some season four predictions?