TV Review: Lucha Underground S2 E03, “The Hunt Is On”

By Sachin Hingoo

I was a little miffed that Dario Cueto had so little involvement in last week’s episode of Lucha Underground, because a week without El Jefe is like a summer day without sunshine. Fortunately, a familiar face popped up during last Sunday’s Important Televised Sporting Event (featuring Beyoncé).

I’m surprised that he didn’t reveal that the 2017 Prius can only be won in a battle royal.

After a recap of last week’s show and a WHOMP WHOMP, we’re back in the Temple this week for the debut of a new female luchador named Kobra Moon. She’s basically a snake, and her opponent Bengala’s gimmick is that he’s a cat so we have some interspecies, intergender action here. Moon looks impressive as she clamps on a hold called the “Snake Sleeper” for the win.

Fenix walks into Catrina’s office and she says she gets a tingle of excitement when he’s around. He wants revenge on King Cuerno for taking the Gift of the Gods title, and Catrina says that his “thousand lives” will run out eventually. Fenix vows to destroy Cuerno, Muertes, and Catrina before that happens.

In a vignette, it’s explained that the Gods have sent a time-traveling alien named Aerostar to “reunite the tribes” that are currently at war. Aerostar was featured a lot in the first season and flew away to space at the end of it, because of course he did. This was another well-done, but batshit crazy vignette.

King Cuerno lifts weights and you can see his title belt in the background. Catrina comes in and chastises Cuerno for not finishing Fenix off when he beat him for the title, but Cuerno insists that he’s done what was asked of him and that her “wounded animal” is safe for now. Catrina takes exception to this and says Muertes would hunt down Cuerno, wounded or not. Still, she says that she has a better hunt in mind–a Last Luchador Standing match (Cuerno’s specialty) against Fenix–and that he is to ground this bird permanently. The hunt is on, says Cuerno. I’m starting to think this dude really likes hunting.

Drago (again, a literal dragon) has a fun back and forth match with arrogant Canadian luchador Jack Evans. Evans picks up the win with a slick-looking roll-up with his feet illegally on the ropes. Afterwards he grabs Melissa Santos’s mic and proclaims himself “the Dragon Slayer.”

El Texano is shown in a vignette. He also had some involvement last season but seems to be more of a main character this time around. Texano is a cowboy who lives on a ranch and is very angry with Chavo Guerrero for beating him up last season. We then see him in a bar brawl, owning some random guys with his bullwhip. He’ll be in the Temple next week.

Puma is praying backstage when Catrina walks in and asks who he’s praying for. She brings up Puma’s former manager Konnan, who was “killed” last season and stuffed into a casket. Catrina says that she heard Konnan asking for forgiveness at the end, and wondered if he had failed Puma completely. What a shit-disturber!

Fenix faces off against Cuerno in a Last Luchador Standing match and it is completely insane. It ends with Fenix shoving the hunter off a huge ladder and sending him crashing through a table. Mil Muertes is not pleased.

In our final segment, we see a police station where Captain Vasquez is being briefed about Chavo Guerrero and the whereabouts of Dario Cueto. It turns out that one of Dario’s goons from Season 1, Ricky Reyes, was working undercover this whole time to bring Dario down. Vasquez is upset that Reyes let Cueto escape into the wind, and introduces his new partner, Joey Ryan, who will join him and go undercover in the Temple. Really intriguing stuff, and the casting of Joey Ryan, best known for being sleazy, is perfectly cast as a sketchy cop.

Another great episode of TV this week with an outstanding match between Fenix and Cuerno as well as a couple of debuts. I think Lucha Underground has really found a groove this season and I can’t wait to see where this storyline with Dario Cueto ends up. Joey Ryan is one of my favorite talents right now and a personality like him playing an undercover cop is hilarious. Though he’s referenced, I still would like a little more Dario in my life on these shows.

Meanwhile, I’ll have to satiate myself with his gargantuan list of film/tv credits and the new issue of the Lucha Underground comic book.

Until next week, Believers!