Argentina’s Legion Nueva Era enters the Legionverse as they make their debut in a new, bigger venue

Legion Nueva Era Argentina returned with a vengeance after their excellent show earlier this month, “Bronca en el Mandril”, in last Sunday’s “Into the Legionverse.”

The show was situated in the Club Riestra, a first time location for Legion and they managed to fill the small theater to the brim with spectators hungry for the some of the best Argentina’s indie pro-wrestling circuit has to offer.

The night started with a six person scramble, involving the technically talented Ricky Rocca, the fierce rookie Taga Santos, the masked luchador McKiller, the opportunistic Mat del Mul, the crowd’s favorite Capuchita and surprisingly Jeyco, who had plans to leave the country but got delayed for Covid related issues.

A spotfest of a match, in the best sense of the phrase, with the Team Dojo, consisting of Santos, Del Mul and Jeyco (all students of Legion’s dojo) forging a temporary alliance at the start to take out the rest of the ring. But soon the alliance broke down and it was every man for himself.

Signature moves, strikes and many dives (with even the referee Anibal climbing the third rope and performing an impressive crossbody) were dealt in equal measure by all contenders of the match. But in the end, Ricky Rocca’s slyness granted him the victory, as he kicked McKiller off the ring and capitalized on a fallen Jeyco, who had been knocked down by Killer.

With a three count Rocca won, with a chorus of boos following him to the back. After the match it was announced this was Jeyco’s final match in Legion, as he plans to go to train in Mexico.

The second match involved the popular Brody Lovis, former tag team champions of Legion, and the unpredictable Kuma, who came prepared with his new stable, Kuma’s Kitchen, consisting of two masked underlings identified as the “Sous-Chefs.”

A match involving Kuma, Platino and Siniestro will irrevocably include hijinks, as Kuma’s team attacked the masked duo kicking them out of the ring to start the match. Sous-Chef #2, identified by a number of his mask, began the match alongside Siniestro exchanging offensives.

In the end, Kuma’s Kitchen ended up cheating to win. As Kuma distracted the referee Ledesma, and his henchmen attacked Platino, Kuna’s Kitchen connected on a combined standing splash in the middle of the ring by Kuma and Sous-Chef #2.

The third match featured the powerhouse stable CLS, represented by Pandemia and Exodus, against the makeshift team of Johnny Fox and Francisco Rolón. An excellent match with heavy hitting action that, unfortunately for the team of Fox and Rolón, had a small accident as Fox was injured and had to leave the match.

Francisco Rolón put in a valiant effort, trying to battle one vs two against CLS, but once Fox was out of the picture his fate was sealed. Pandemia and Exodus defeated “El Líder” with a combined move and took the win, turning their victory at the last show into the beginning of an undefeated streak that seems to be unstoppable.

The fourth match was coincidentally a fatal four way with one half of the current Tag Champions “Conurbardo”, Frankie Legrand, Teo Griffin, Mike “Wildcard” Brooks from Catch Argentino and an international guest, a Norwegian masked wrestler called El Rayo Flores, part of NWF and half of the Norwegian company’s tag team champions, REFORMASJONEN.

This was one banger of a match, with constant moves, strikes and dives, displaying a lot of intensity and technical proficiency, as each wrestler took their turn to control the ring. Legrand and Griffin had blistering exchanges of strikes, El Rayo Flores displayed his impressive athletic skills and Mike Brooks didn’t lose sight of any opportunities for him to sneak in and attack.

In the end, Brooks, aided by Striker, his partner in Catch Argentino, managed to get the win, leading to him getting booed by the whole building. The heels attacked Frankie Legrand after the match, but Teo Griffin and El Rayo Flores came to the aid of the Tag Champion, managing to fight off the duo from Catch Argentino.

The fifth match started with the arrival of Guido el Demoledor, the most imposing powerhouse on Legion’s roster. He refused to fight, complaining about the quality of his opponent and in response to his criticism of the booking, the entrance theme of Federico Monzzoni began playing.

As the music continued to play, Slovak, part of the powerful Legion stable Nemesis, appeared dressed in Monzzoni’s gear, taunting Guido and winning the mind games. What ensued was a back and forth with Guido brutalizing Slovak each time he managed to get his hands on him, while the member of Nemesis returned fire using Monzzoni’s signature moves, trying to get under Guido’s skin.

The endgame of the match involved Slovak faking an injury and taking advantage of Guido lowering his guard, allowing the member of Nemesis to trap the powerhouse in a Muta Lock, making Guido tap.

Finally, the main event. A match for the Legion Nueva Era Maximum Championship involving the challenger Chuck Dixon, the leader of Nemesis, and the defending champion, Maikol, who began the year as champion after defeating Pandemia in dramatic fashion during “La Ultima Cena” back in December.

There is no love lost between these two, as they trained side by side in another promotion before they both became independent and joined Legion. So they carried a years long grudge that was set ablaze when back in December, Maikol blindsided Dixon during his entrance as he was supposed to face Pandemia, but the current champion cashed in his opportunity from winning the Rumble earlier in that show and took the win.

As expected for a main event in Legion, this was an astoundingly physical match, putting Maikol’s almost inhuman striking power against Dixon’s equally impressive agility. The challenger didn’t hesitate to use any trick in his arsenal, even low blows, but Maikol’s resilience and sheer output of strikes broke through Dixon’s defenses. In the end, the “Tower of Chingolo” retained his title in impressive fashion, giving even more stability to his title reign thanks to this second defense.

Another show and another triumph for Legion Nueva Era Argentina, putting on great matches with an unmatched atmosphere in the local circuit as the crowds are as smarky and passionate as you can get in the country. 

What’s next for Legion? 

They have yet to announce their next show. But another great promotion in Buenos Aires, Catch Argentino, has scheduled a show March 13th, Adrenalina 2, which promises to be another excellent day of pro wrestling for the local scene.

Images from Into The Legionverse courtesy of Matias E. Alvarez. Check out his Instagram page!