In Against the Ropes (2023), after being released from prison, Angela dives into the world of Lucha Libre wrestling in order to win back her daughter’s respect. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Angela gathers her things as she gets released from prison after serving six years inside for carrying drugs that didn’t belong to her. Detective Claudia warns her not to get into trouble again.
Angela reunites with her mother, Victoria, and looks forward to meeting her daughter, Rocio, only to learn that her mother took help from her ex-husband, Lalo, to raise Rocio during her absence.
Angela starts searching for her daughter and finds her at a local Lucha Libre event, where a professional wrestler named Candy Caramelo is calling Rocio her daughter.
Candy is introduced as Lalo’s girlfriend. While Angela was in prison, Candy picked up the duties of a mother and became a role model for Rocio.
Angela’s return doesn’t excite Rocio, who now looks at her mother as a criminal. Angela tries, but she fails to form a bond with her.
Meanwhile, the return of Angela ignites a certain amount of jealousy in Candy. She plans to have Rocio move in with her and Lalo, something Lalo would rather try to talk about with Rocio’s mother first.
Angela does everything to please her daughter. She somehow ends up becoming the villain at last. She soon figures out a way to win Rocio back by doing what her daughter loves the most.
Angela plans to become a professional wrestler again. Since her father’s death, wrestling is one thing her mother has tried to keep her family away from. Rocio secretly attends these events with her father, Lalo, and Candy.
Angela receives help from her godmother, Refugio, and her colleagues from the wedding dress shop to get in the ring. Angela wears a mask and starts going by the name of ‘Bride in Black’.
She leaves an impression on her daughter at a local wrestling event. At the same time, Bride in Black comes under the radar of cops when they raid the place, suspecting that drug deals are being carried out there.
Bride in Black becomes popular and starts receiving challenges. Detective Claudia tails Angela but eventually becomes convinced that she is innocent. Even Lalo reconciles with her after battling with her for their daughter’s custody.
Angela’s attempts to come close to her daughter create tension between her and Candy, who is a four-time Iztapalapa champion. Bride in Black might face her one day.
Angela is certainly waiting for the same, as she often engages in verbal fights with Candy inside the ring as well as outside in real life.
When Angela fails to come close to her daughter as herself, she opts to use the persona of Bride in Black to communicate with her. Bride in Black helps Rocio with her day-to-day teenage life.
In the meantime, Angela also investigates the bag full of drugs that got her in prison. With the help of Detective Claudia, she finds out that her best friend, Malena, and her boyfriend were working together to sell them back in the day, and they let Angela take the fall.
Angela immediately ends her friendship with Malena right in the middle of a match that earned her a spot to fight Candy.
The date of Bride in Black’s match with Candy approaches. A coach from the WWE Performance Center named Nahual approaches Bride in Black and trains her for the day. Angela ditches him when she finds his methods to be unconventional.
Refugio recognizes Nahual from somewhere and confronts him on the very day Bride in Black will be going up against Candy.
Professional Wrestling Legend and one of the most recognizable luchadors ever, Rey Mysterio, announces that the winner of the match between Bride in Black and Candy will not only walk away with a trophy but also with a direct pass to the WWE school.
On the other hand, the one who faces defeat will lose his mask. Angela will have to do her best as Bride in Black so that she can win the match and come out in front of her daughter as someone she will look up to.
Against the Ropes (2023) ending explained in detail:
Who is Nahual?
Before the main event between Candy and Bride in Black, Refugio confronts Nahual in the locker room. She calls him by Angela’s father’s name, Anibal, who is also known as the Black Mist.
Nahual doesn’t refrain from admitting that he is Angela’s father and that he never died. He reveals that when Angela’s mother, Victoria, found out about his and Refugio’s affair, she asked him to do this.
Victoria would rather have Angela believe that her father died of a heart attack. He had no choice but to agree to it after what they did to her. He continues to express his love for Refugio and his daughter. He came here to be close to Angela.
Angela overhears the conversation from the other side of the door. The revelation mentally affects her confidence as she steps toward the ring.
Does Bride in Black defeat Candy?
The match between Bride in Black and Candy begins. They fight for two out of three takedowns, which means they need to score at least two wins over the other to win the match.
Candy and Bride in Black start an athletic, fast, and competitive match. Candy manages to overpower an emotionally struggling Bride in Black to take her down first through submission.
Before they could go up against each other again, Angela confessed to Refugio that she overheard her talking to Nahual. Refugio explains to Angela that her mother lied and made a mistake, but right now she is also lying to her daughter.
Bride in Black and Candy once again find themselves in a back-and-forth battle. Bride in Black takes Candy down with a submission that nearly injures Candy.
The fight for the final and the winning takedown make the match more dirty and personal. Candy’s coach, Golden Chameleon, has bought the referee. He further opts to pull all the dirty tricks to have Candy win.
In the end, he pulls Bride in Black back by grabbing her hair while she is pinning Candy down. Candy comes out on top and successfully defeats Bride in Black as the referee counts to three.
Does Angela’s mask get removed?
Candy tries to unmask Bride in Black during the match, but her coach asks her to focus on winning. Candy wins the match and the ticket to the WWE, but her own fans turn on her for using cheap tricks.
Bride in Black is forced to reveal who she is. Candy mocks her and takes Bride in Black’s mask off. Victoria and Rocio are shocked to see Angela under the mask of Bride in Black. Rocio grabs her friend’s drum and starts playing it.
Rocio proceeds to chant Bride in Black’s name, and the crowd follows her. Angela lost the match, but she won her daughter back, which was originally her ultimate goal for stepping into the ring.
Also Read: Sky Rojo season 3 review: Retains the aspects of the previous seasons