Shane McMahon starts the show and it's bittersweet. Stephanie interrupts and informs everyone that Vince McMahon will be at Payback to determine who will be in charge of WWE going forward. Shane has Steph removed from the arena since he's technically still in charge. It ends up being pretty funny. Steph kicks one of the security guards outside the ring before finally cooperating.
1) AJ Styles vs. Sheamus
The dream match series continues for Styles. It's not a real thing, but then again it is. This is another match made in heaven for me. Sheamus is stiff as hell and AJ is versatile so he can be, he will be, and he was. Styles was super flashy here with a moonsault off the apron where he landed on his feet plus his signature dropkick and springboard punch being on target. There was an awesome exchange with Styles clobbering Sheamus with repeated forearms, it felt like I was watching NJPW for a moment. Sheamus had his moments to shine of his own in the form of various kicks that more than made their mark. They didn't go into overkill territory with nearfalls and stuff however they delivered a super good match for all the aformentioned reasons. AJ wins with the springboard superman punch.
Match rating - ***1/4
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows come out after the match in their new attire which looks pretty dope. They kinda just stare at AJ and do the thing they've been doing for the past few weeks.
New Day comes out to talk about the tag team tournament. The Vaudevillains and Enzo & Big Cass end up in the ring. Huge pop for Enzo & Cass. This turns out to be a pretty cool segment despite the fact that I wasn't into it to begin with aside from New Day being present. Nice showcase for the two newest tag teams on the roster from NXT.
2) The Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
1) Aerostar vs. Drago - Aztec Medallion Match
After their best of five series last year, everyone knew what to expect here. Aerostar & Drago are smooth workers as it is, but they work particularly well with each other so this ruled pretty hard. Just a fun, straight to the point opener. Great sprint.
Match rating - ***
NEXT WEEK: Mundo vs. Cage in a Steel Cage Match
2) Jack Evans, PJ Black, & Fenix vs. The Disciples of Death - Trios Tournament Match
So, the trios tournament is back! That's one thing I've missed in my month away from LU. It was one of the best parts about Lucha Underground last year so I'm pretty excited and this match proved to continue that excitement. Jack, Black, & Fenix are a dream team that I didn't know I wanted until they got put together. They looked great here with their respective high flying styles being showcased as well as some teamwork. They also did a swell job portraying the tension between them in the form of one guy trying to one up the other. This came into play namely in the final few moments. Lots of good action here and a few sick nearfalls. Evans, Black, & Fenix pick up the win. Fenix looked fantastic here as did Jack in his role of the sneaky, cheap bastard he's become known as.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Matanza (c) vs. Mil Muertes - Lucha Underground Championship Match
Two monsters colliding. One with a venegance and one who's just naturally pissed off and wants to keep his throne. Therefore, this was a nice big man brawl. It was action packed from start to finish and got pretty wild. The battle rages onto the outside and they fight around the arena. The two end up atop Dario Cueto's office and MUERTES HITS A FLAT LINER ON MATANZA THROUGH THE FUCKING ROOF! Huge OMG moment. The match gets called off at this point, but boy, this was an awesome fight. They are gonna have a lot to live up to with the rematch to top what they teased here.
Match rating - ***1/2
Last night was WrestleMania and it got quite the mixed reaction. Something that has become pretty common for modern day WWE post 2014. Roman Reigns pinned Triple H to become the WWE Champion as expected to a chorus of boos, Brock Lesnar beat Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho beat AJ Styles, and The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon. Where do we go from here?
The show begins with the commentators basically making excuses for the crowd being so anti-Reigns by saying "they boo who they normally cheer" because of how passionate they are, which kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn't so, hey.
Mr. McMahon is out first to address the outcome of Taker/Shane last night. The crowd chants "Better Than Reigns" directed towards Shane which Vince once again plays off as them being "crazy people". Before Vince can leave, Shane O Mac himself comes out to a huge pop. He gets teary eyed and thanks all the fans for him giving him a moment he'll never forget. Shane bids farewell and goes to leave, but that's not good enough for Vince because that's Shane getting the last word. So, Vince says he's gonna let Shane run Raw for the night and see what he's really got.
1) The New Day (c) vs. Sheamus & Wade Barrett - WWE Tag Team Championship Match
TONIGHT: Jay Lethal defends the ROH World Title against Hirooki Goto
1) Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal vs. Moose vs. Adam Page - Four Corner Survival Match
What a way to kick off the show with this star studded match. Roddy & Sydal start things off before Page comes in to slug it out with Roddy. Both Sydal & Page get taken out which leads to Roddy having a show down with Moose which I'm hoping foreshadows a singles match happening between them soon. An array of crazy moves including Moose powerbombing Sydal into the railing, Roddy dropkicking Moose to the floor, and Page nailing his signature shooting star press off the apron onto Roddy sends us to commercial. The final few minutes sees Adam Page close in on a huge win only for BJ Whitmer to distract him. Sydal hits an SSP on Page, but Roddy steals the victory by hitting both men with jumping knees and an end of heartache.
Match rating - ***
Adam Cole comes out to the ring to discuss the "slump" he's been in. He discusses being unable to regain the ROH World title and assures everyone that Kyle O'Reilly will never be the Ring of Honor World Champion. He's soon interrupted by his own music hitting and Matt Taven walks out. This is the first time Taven has been seen since getting injured at Final Battle in December of last year. Taven & Cole embrace however that would be the last display of affection as Taven changes tune extremely quickly. Taven basically says Adam Cole is out of the Kingdom because he failed in winning gold last year unlike he & Bennett. Since Bennett is gone to TNA and Cole is out, Taven is going to rebuild the Kingdom around himself.
2) Cheeseburger vs. Foxx Vinyer
AZTEC WARFARE 2
It's Aztec Warfare week. A 20 Man Royal Rumble style match except you have to actually be pinned to be eliminated. Every minute or two, a new entrant enters the match. Last year, the winner became #1 Contender to the Lucha Underground Title, but this year it's for ALL the marbles per Catrina. The winner of this will walk out the Lucha Underground Champion. This announcement was made last week when Fenix shockingly defeated Mil Muertes to become the LU Champion. To stack the odds against the young man even more, Fenix enters first and Muertes enters last. I think that's all that needs to be covered to preface this thing so let's dive right into it.
#1 Fenix
#2 Rey Mysterio
Wow. We start off this year's Aztec Warfare with a Dream Match in the form of Fenix against Rey Mysterio. They get a few minutes to do their thing and it rules. There's a cool 619 attempt countered into an arm drag by Fenix.
#3 King Cuerno
Cuerno is the third entrant and he cleans house on both Fenix & Mysterio before hitting a huge dive to the floor on Fenix. This allows Mysterio time to recover and he comes out of nowhere the sliding frog splash off the apron to the floor as the bell rings for the fourth entrant to come out.
#4 Argenis
Argenis is in and gets a nice exchange with Fenix. Fenix goes for a springboard and gets caught with a kick for his troubles. Mysterio jumps back in the fray and it spells the end for Argenis. 619, frog splash, game over.
#5 Mundo
YAS! Mundo, Mysterio, & Fenix do their thing here as Mundo enters the temple to try and win Aztec Warfare. Lots of good stuff goes on here between these three.
#6 Joey Ryan
The Sleaze Master himself comes down and doesn't even attempt to get involved in the action, instead, he handcuffs himself to the railing to avoid the risk of getting eliminated.
#7 Prince Puma
PUMAAAAA. Shit goes bonkers here. Shooting star press to the floor on three men. Just unreal stuff like Cuerno countering Puma's blue thunder bomb into a hurricanrana. It's a momentary flurry for Cuerno as he stalls Puma's momentum, but gets caught by Mysterio and Rey Rey forces him to tap.
#8 Jack Evans
TONIGHT: The Young Bucks vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin
BJ Whitmer heads to the ring for his ROH TV Title match to start the show. The champion, Tomohiro Ishii comes out and the match is about to get underway when Cedric Alexander and Veda Scott come out. Veda offers Whitmer a high sum of money to let Cedric Alexander get his TV Title shot. Whitmer proudly accepts and we have a change of plans!
1) Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Cedric Alexander - ROH TV Title Match
I'm glad we got this instead of Ishii/Whitmer although that would be an interesting match up to see as well. Cedric has kind of been at a stagnant point creatively for about a year now however he still always delivers exciting matches and this was no different. Despite being mainly known as a high flying junior heavyweight, Alexander is pretty stocky and hits hard so he & Ishii clashed well. This was a good mix of what each man does best with Alexander's speed & striking being highlighted along with Ishii's hard hits and fighting spirit spots. Very hot final stretch. Sick headbutt from Ishii, he hits the ropes for the sliding lariat, ALEXANDER COUNTERS INTO A BACKSLIDE! 1..2..Ishii kicks out! Alexander with an elbow to the side of the head, he hits the ropes, ISHII TURNS HIM INSIDE OUT WITH A LARIAT! This leads the champion to victory as he nails Alexander with a brainbuster. Very fun match.
Match rating - ***1/4
NEXT WEEK: Jay Lethal defends the ROH World Championship against Hirooki Goto
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian come out to discuss the reformation of the Motor City Machine Guns at the 14th Anniversary PPV. This brings out Sabin & Shelley themselves who challenge them to a match. The Guns charge the ring, but The Addiction runs away.
2) The Briscoes vs. RENO SCUM
Prolonged squash match here, but a very good one. RENO gets a few moments to shine with some awesome offense near the end and even a close fall. The Briscoes end up putting them away after a few minutes with Mark hitting his death valley driver into flying elbow combo.
Match rating - **1/2
Dalton Castle is backstage hyping his Fight Without Honor with Silas Young. He says the boys won't be there because their young eyes can't bare to see what he's gonna do to Silas. That match takes place three weeks from now!
3) The Young Bucks vs. Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi
OOOOOH DADDY! A Young Bucks match always makes me happy and BIG MIKE is involved along with the ace of NJPW himself?! This ruled. The Bucks flurried early with an awesome sequence before Elgin & Tanahashi turned the tables by mocking The Bucks and using their own signature taunts like the suck it as well as the back rake in the corner. This builds to the hot tag for Nick who cleans house. Tanahashi gets isolated momentarily before Elgin is brought back in. The finishing sequence continues the high impact trend of this match and tops it off perfectly. Elgin catches Nick in mid-air going for the Meltzer Driver and power bombs him to the mat in brutal fashion. Meanwhile, Tanahashi hits the slingblade followed by High Fly Flow for the win.
Match rating - ***3/4
Fenix is backstage and is approached by Catrina who sweet talks him. She says maybe she made the wrong decision by siding with Mil and possibly, she should have stayed with him. They share "one final kiss" then Catrina dissappears after saying that tonight the Fenix will be destroyed once and for all.
1) The Disciples of Death vs. Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, & Angelico - Trios Championship Match
It's announced prior to the match that if Havoc, Ivelisse, & Angelico lose, they will leave the temple forever. So, this is basically their last chance to regain the trios titles. Everyone brawls to start before Ivelisse gets isolated. The Disciples of Death work her over for a minute or two before she's able to make the hot tag to Angelico. Damn if he doesn't blow my mind every time I see him compete, just crazy flexibility and athleticism with the way he uses his limbs. This begins the babyfaces comeback as they hit a triple drive. And before you know it, they are in complete control and pick up the victory. The trios titles are back in the hands of three fan favorites. Short, but sweet match. I felt like it should have been more given the stipulation, though.
Match rating - **3/4
2) Chavo Guerrero vs. Texano Jr - Bull Rope Match
This feud has been going on for the past few weeks. It never really grasped my attention and neither did this match. It's only six minutes long which is relatively short for a bull rope match that's supposed to be the final chapter in a rivalry. Texano wins in rather definitive fashion, thankfully.
Match rating - **
3) Mil Muertes (c) vs. Fenix - Lucha Underground Championship Match
Thus far this season, LU hasn't delivered a match that truly provided that spark that last year did on several occassions. That is, until now. Muertes & Fenix clearly still have the same chemistry that made their Grave Consequences match last year so awesome because this was another classic between the two. After Fenix tried to knock Mil off his feet and failed to keep him down thus aggravating the monster, this one turned brutal. Fenix goes for a dive and gets nailed with a chair shot to the head which leads to Mil ripping open his mask and hitting him again with the chair. Fenix begins bleeding from the head and the fight goes into the crowd as this match gets taken to a whole new level. Mil literally tosses Fenix into the fans at one point, Fenix hits a dive off the second level railing and busts Mil open after also ripping his mask apart, it got really intense really quick. This one had all the drama and emotion you'd expect, if not more. The crowd was fully behind Fenix aside from a small section which made for some awesome near falls. Fenix hits a step up springboard 450 for a two count. Mil spears the hell out of Fenix and begins plotting his next move, but he takes too long. When lifts up Fenix from the mat, he springs forward putting him in a pinning predicament! Fenix bridges back - 1..2..3.. WE'VE GOT A NEW LUCHA UNDERGROUND CHAMPION! Pretty fantastic match if I may say so myself.
Match rating - ****1/4
The place erupts with Fenix's victory and he jumps into the crowd to celebrate. His celebration is cut short as Catrina announces that next week when Aztec Warfare returns, it won't be a #1 Contender's match, it will be for the Lucha Underground title! To top off the odds being stacked against Fenix, he'll be entering at #1 and Mil Muertes will be entering at #20! UNREAL!
