By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S LUCHA LIBRE USA
JULY 16, 2010
TAPED IN PALM SPRINGS, CALIF.
AIRED ON MTV2

-The show opened with the narrator saying, "It's finally here." He pitched that lucha libre was being presented in English for the first time ever. It was framed as the quest for the heavyweight title. They cut fans in the studio arena and women in bikinis carrying flags to the ring.

-The announcer hyped three matches including Marco Corleone vs. Tinieblas Jr. in a Lucha Libre USA Heavyweight Championship match.

-We didn't see them, but the announcers introduced themselves - Nivel Sherrod and Lalo Gonzalez

1 - EL ORIENTAL & EL LIMON & NEUTRONI vs. P.R. POWERS (San Juan Kid& P.R. Flyer) & MASCARA PURPURA

The announcers pitched Limon as bitter. The sound mix with the announcers wasn't the best. The crowd noise dubbing muffled them a bit. Purpura was pitched as one of the most charismatic lucha stars and also the captain of his team. The announcers talked about the rules of a traditional Trios match where there is a captain on each team and the only way to win was to pin the captain or the other two members of the team. Reminiscent of a TNA X Division six-man tag team spotfest, but with the signature lucha twists in terms of a more chaotic atmosphere with multiple wrestlers in the ring at a time and more theatrical showmanship.

WINNERS: El Oriental & El Limon & Neutroni in 8:00.

ANALYSIS: There are pros and cons to opening with a trios match and six masked wrestlers. It provided non-stop action and a lot of theatrics, but it didn't offer that central focus in terms of a person or a sense of something being at stake that might have drawn more emotional investment from the viewers. [c]

-R.J. Brewer, billed as Arizona's own, did a heel promo saying some people here are hiding there identities and wearing masks. He said his mom taught him moral values and he believes in traditional wrestling, not wearing capes and doing backflips. He said he wants to make a statement. The announcers said he has no respect for the tradition of lucha libre. [c]

-A commercial aired for Lucha Libre USA in Las Vegas, Nev. on Aug. 7 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

2 - MASCARITA VORADA & MINI PARK vs. CHI CHI & PEQUENO HALLOWEEN -- Minis Match

Mini Park danced to the ring in the skeleton outfit. Chi Chi came out to Lady Ga Ga music and the announcers referred to "her" as San Francisco's proudest export. "She" didn't wear a top, though, which the announcers said was a wardobe malfunction. This is really going to confuse some 10 year olds watching at home. Parka knocked off Chi Chi's pink wig. "She" tagged out in embarrassment and grabbed her wig from the fans in the front row. Chi Chi's valet Tigressa powerbombed Mini Park behind the ref's back leading to the pin.

WINNERS: Chi Chi & Pequeno Haloween. [c]

-The announcers commented on highlights of the previous tag match.

-A vignette aired introducing Lujo Esquire, International Man of Luxury. He is "rich beyond belief" and "ladies love him." He plans to win the heavyweight title. He said, "I don't always buy expensive clothes. Sometimes I buy really expensive clothes."

-Backstage Marco Corleone and Tinieblas Jr. exchanged words. It was in Spanish, so they captioned it. Man does Corleone (Mark Jindrak) look like actor Kenneth Johnson on "The Shield" (he played Curtis "Lemmonhead" Lemansky) from the side.

-Ring introductions aired for the main event. MTV2 has too many commercials per hour. [c]

3 -- MARCO CORLEONE (w/Solid) vs. TINIEBLAS JR. (w/Neutronic) -- Lucha Libra USA Hvt. Tournament Match

Solid, a grown up Cartman from South Park, was going to interfere, but couldn't fit under the bottom rope as he ate a jelly donut. The announcers undersold a near fall after a top rope splash by Tinieblas at 3:00. Neutronic yanked on Corleone's leg. Solid clotheslined Neutronic, but it was one of the worst you'll ever see. He had a plumber's crack, which the announcers called disgusting. Corleone won with a schoolboy.

WINNER: Corleone in 5:00.

-Afterward, Lizmark Jr. superkicked Corleone. Another wrestler attacked Solid at ringside and shoved the jelly donut in his face. He lay at ringside knocked out while also licking the jelly off his lips. The announcers wondered why Lizmark was out there and were curious who the unidentified man was with him.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's about what I expected in all ways - production, announcing, wrestling, angles, characters. I'm curious what PWTorch.com readers thought of it, whether you've seen lucha libre before or not. It's not a high budget production, but it was acceptable in terms of presentation. It felt so different from WWE (and MMA, for that matter) that it'll be judged on a totally independent standard when it comes to the production values. They did a solid job getting the personalities across, although the show might be more successful if it was clearly built around two or three top stars with everyone else fighting for a chance to get into that very top tier some day.

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