The new CMLL World Women’s Champion has her first title defense set.
After winning the CMLL title from Zeuxis at Wednesday’s AEW Grand Slam Mexico event, Mercedes Mone will defend the belt for the first time at this Friday’s Fantastica Mania event in Arena Mexico against La Catalina.
An angle for the Fantastica Mania bout was shot and posted on AEW’s social media channels following Wednesday’s Grand Slam Mexico:
New championship won — and a new challenger already found for this Friday Night!
The full lineups have been announced for next month’s AEW & ROH vs. CMLL event and subsequent Fantastica Mania featuring talent from those promotions and NJPW.
CMLL revealed the lineups for the Arena Mexico cards on the latest edition of their CMLL Informa show.
The events take place on Tuesday, June 17 and Friday, June 20, with AEW Grand Slam Mexico sandwiched in between on Wednesday, June 18.
The lineups:
CMLL vs. AEW & ROH, Tuesday, June 17 —
CMLL World Tag Team Champions Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja defend against CRU (Lio Rush & Action Andretti)
Just a few days after she was unable to secure her second straight Owen Hart Foundation tournament win on AEW Dynamite, Willow Nightingale can call herself a champion as she now holds the CMLL Women’s title.
Nightingale defeated Viva Van and Lluvia in a three-way at Saturday’s CMLL x NJPW Fantastica Mania to take the crown by pinning Van. The match was made possible by Stephanie Vaquer’s abrupt signing with WWE this past week which made the title vacant.
It’s Nightingale’s third major title in the last 14 months as she had brief runs with the NJPW Strong Women’s title and the TBS title. She also won the aforementioned 2023 Owen Cup, but lost to Mariah May in this year’s edition.
Nightingale appeared for CMLL on three events this past March in trios matches.
Vaquer’s reign lasted 285 days, following long reigns from Princess Sugehit (1027 days), Marcela (704 days), and Dalys la Caribena (983 days) among many others.
The NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania tour concluded today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
A CMLL-heavy lineup highlighted the tour’s final nights. The last two shows saw a pair of title matches each night, while the first two events in Tokyo saw the traditional CMLL Family Tag Tournament take place. A special Black Cat memorial match headlined Sunday’s show.
Here are full results for the Korakuen Hall shows.
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JANUARY 16 — (Announced attendance: 1,423)
Niebla Roja and Angel de Oro defeated Negro Casas and Tiger in a tournament match (12:55)
Sanson and Cuatrero defeated Euforia and Soberano Jr. in a tournament match (9:30)
Barbaro Cavernario and Ultimo Guerrero defeated Caristico and Satoshi Kojima (13:03)
Forastero and OKUMURA defeated Titan and Stuka Jr. (9:06)
EVIL, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dulce Gardenia and Flyer (11:01)
Audaz and Guerrero Maya Jr. defeated Luciferno and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (10:18)
Fuego and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Namajague and DOUKI (7:22)
JANUARY 17 — (Announced attendance: 1,534, sellout)
Sanson and Cuatrero defeated Niebla Roja and Angel de Oro to win the CMLL Family Tag Tournament (12:21)
Euforia and Soberano Jr. defeated Negro Casas and Tiger to place third in the tournament (8:41)
Satoshi Kojima and Caristico defeated Ultimo Guerrero and Barbaro Cavernario (11:45)
Titan defeated Forastero (13:20)
EVIL, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dulce Gardenia and Audaz (10:44)
OKUMURA, Namajague and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Guerrero Maya Jr., Flyer and Stuka Jr. (9:41)
Ryusuke Taguchi and Fuego defeated Luciferno and DOUKI (7:58)
JANUARY 19 — (Announced attendance: 1,601, sellout)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Caristico and Tiger Mask defeated Negro Casas, Euforia and Barbaro Cavernario in a Black Cat memorial match (11:23)
Ultimo Guerrero defeated Satoshi Kojima to retain the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (13:05)
EVIL, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Dulce Gardenia and Fuego (12:01)
Stuka Jr. defeated OKUMURA to retain the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship (10:25)
Titan, Niebla Roja and Angel de Oro defeated Sanson, Cautrero and Forastero (12:26)
Soberano Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr. and Flyer defeated Tiger, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI (7:29)
Namajague and Luciferno defeated Audaz and Yota Tsuji (7:48)
JANUARY 20 (no attendance announced)
Caristico defeated Barbaro Cavernario to retain the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship (16:06)
Sanson, Cuatrero and Forastero defeated Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja and Titan to retain the Mexican National Trios Championship (14:30)
Ultimo Guerrero, Negro Casas and OKUMURA defeated Satoshi Kojima, Soberano Jr. and Stuka Jr. (10:48)
EVIL, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dulce Gardenia and Yuya Uemura (11:30)
Flyer, Audaz and Guerrero Maya Jr. defeated Euforia, Luciferno and Namajague (8:02)
Tiger Mask defeated Tiger (6:54)
Fuego and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI (7:12)
NJPW has released full cards for their annual joint CMLL tour, Fantastica Mania, which begins Friday.
The tour kicks off in the 8,000-seat Osaka Prefectural Gym on Friday. That show will be broadcast on NJPW World. After spot shows in Ehime, Kyoto and Aichi, the final four nights of the tour will be broadcast live from Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on January 16, 17, 19 and 20.
Night one will be headlined by OKUMURA’s 25th annivrsary match. He will team with Barbaro Cavernario and Ultimo Guerrero against Satoshi Kojima, Stuka Jr. and Caristico.
The first round of the traditional CMLL Family Tag Tournament headlines on January 16 as Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja face Negro Casas and Tiger, and Euforia and Soberano Jr. face Sanson and Cuatrero.
The tournament concludes on January 17 with the third place match in the semi-main event and the final in the main event position.
A Black Cat memorial match headlines on January 19 with Caristico, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tiger Mask teaming against Negro Casas, Euforia and Barbaro Cavernario. A CMLL World Heavyweight Championship match will also take place, with current champion Ultimo Guerrero defending against Satoshi Kojima.
The tour concludes on January 20 with two CMLL title matches headlining. Caristico will defend the NWA World Historic Middleweight title against Barbaro Cavernario in the main event. The semi-final will see Sanson, Cuatrero and Forastero defending their National 6-Man tag titles against Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja and Titan.
Here are the full lineups for the NJPW World cards:
January 10 in Osaka–
OKUMURA, Barbaro Cavernario & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Satoshi Kojima, Stuka Jr. & Caristico.
Fantastica Mania 2019 wrapped up today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
The undercard featured Atlantis Jr. in singles action, as well as a Mexican National Trios Championship match.
The semi-main saw NJPW mainstays Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Togi Makabe, and Ryusuke Taguchi in action, but as their characters from the “My Dad is a Heel Wrestler” film.
The main event featured Volador Jr. taking on Caristico in a crazy stunt show.
Audaz and Templario kicked things off. Audaz hit an enzuigiri and a springboard crossbody. Cavernario and Flyer jumped in. Flyer hit a headscissors. Templario cut off a double dive, hitting a double lariat, sending Audaz and Flyer to the floor.
Templario hit a Sasuke Special, and Cavernario hit a crazy step-up springboard plancha to the floor. Cavernario hit a top rope dropkick, and Audaz flew about six feet in the air taking the bump from it.
Templario and Cavernario hit a tandem dropkick/suplex. Cavernario hit a springboard splash for a two count. Flyer hit a springboard headscissors, followed by a quebrada to the floor. Audaz hit a springboard tope con hilo.
Audaz and Flyer gained momentum. Audaz hit a quebrada on Templario and made a cover, but Cavernario broke up the pin. Audaz and Flyer hit stereo frankensteiners for a near fall. Cavernario and Templario hit powerbombs. They made covers with their feet on the ropes, but Flyer and Audaz kicked out.
Flyer hit a Spanish fly off the top for a near fall. Templario hit a gutwrench powerbomb off the second for a two count. Audaz hit a rana with Templario seated on the top. Cavernario jumped in and cut him off, and used the Cavernaria for the submission.
ATLANTIS JR. DEFEATED OKUMURA
Atlantis Jr. did well for himself until the finish, where he ran into some trouble. He’s going to be really good sooner than later.
Atlantis Jr. came out hot, hitting a pair of suicide dives. The action spilled into the crowd, where Atlantis Jr. continued his assault.
As the match went to the ring, OKUMURA struggled to establish any offense early. Atlantis Jr. used a flying headscissors, and a plancha off the post to the floor. OKUMURA started jawing at the referee, so the ref tried to quick count him off a flying headscissors into a cradle.
OKUMURA hit an OKUMURA Special, but Atlantis Jr. came back with a high cross off the top, and a pair of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. OKUMURA used a powerbomb for a near fall. Atlantis Jr. tried for the Atlantida twice, but he had difficulty locking it on. He got it on his third try, and OKUMURA submitted.
TETSUYA NAITO, SHINGO TAKAGI, BUSHI & TERRIBLE WENT TO A NO CONTEST WITH SHO, YOH, TOA HENARE & SATOSHI KOJIMA WHEN SUZUKI-GUN INTERFERED
The match itself was good, as Naito worked harder than any other night on the tour. The focus here, though, was on the angle at the end of the match, setting up The New Beginning.
SHO and YOH entered as themselves, rather than their Fujin and Raijin alter egos. LIJ took their sweet time getting to the ring.
LIJ got jumped before the bell. Henare went after Naito, and that’s a program that they might go to at some point this year. Hopefully they get some steam behind Henare if that’s the case, because he’s pretty much been a job guy for the last year.
SHO and YOH hit BUSHI and Shingo with dropkicks. Henare and Kojima worked over BUSHI in the ring. Kojima hit BUSHI and Shingo with machine gun chops. Terrible cut Kojima off and slammed him off the top. Shingo and BUSHI went after SHO and YOH on the outside.
Naito and Terrible worked over Kojima, hitting tandem dropkicks. Shingo came in and hit Kojima with a senton. Shingo hit a brainbuster for a two count. Terrible hit a top rope slash for a near fall. Kojima hit a Koji cutter, and tagged SHO.
SHO and Naito had a nice exchange, ending with SHO dropkicking Naito to the floor. SHO hit BUSHI with a spear. YOH jumped in for the double team, but BUSHI took both out with a dropkick. Shingo hit an elbow drop off the ropes onto YOH for a near fall.
Shingo teased the pumping bomber, but YOH countered with a dragon screw. YOH used an enzuigiri and a falcon arrow for a two count. Shingo hit YOH with a huge lariat. Henare and Naito got tags.
Henare hit Naito with lariats and a shoulder tackle. Naito sold big for Henare’s offense. Henare hit a suplex. Kojima ran in and hit a lariat, and Henare hit a Samoan drop. Terrible ran in, and Kojima nailed him with a lariat.
BUSHI jumped in and hit Henare with a sunset flip, allowing Naito to hit him with a dropkick. Shingo hit a pumping bomber, and Naito covered, but Henare kicked out.
Taichi, Kanemaru and Desperado ran in and attacked everyone for the no contest. Taichi hit an Air Raid Crash on Naito and posed over him. Kanemaru spit whiskey on Shingo. Taichi got a visual pinfall on Naito. Desperado unmasked BUSHI.
MEXICAN NATIONAL TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: FORASTERO, CUATRERO & SANSON DEFEATED ATLANTIS, TITAN & ANGEL DE ORO TO RETAIN THE TITLES
Really fun match. All action.
Sanson and Titan traded a series of cradles for one counts. They did some more mat work, and exchanged quick covers again. This was different, but good.
Atlantis and Forastero entered. Atlantis hit a monkey flip, then a series of hip tosses and backbreakers on all three opponents. Angel entered. He hit a series of moves, but as he mugged in the ring, the rudos took control of his teammates. The rudos went three on one against Atlantis.
Atlantis was able to make a tag to Angel, but Angel also got beat down three on one. Titan entered and suffered the same fate. Atlantis came in and made a comeback. Titan hit a tope suicida. Angel hit a Sasuke Special. Atlantis hit a plancha off the post.
Titan and Forastero had a nice sequence that ended with Titan making a crucifix cover, and Sanson breaking up the pin. Atlantis used a schoolboy for a near fall. Angel hit a quebrada.
Angel used a dropkick on Cuatrero for a near fall. They used a stacked up superplex. Titan used a headscissors. Titan used a fireman’s carry in the ring, then hit a dive off the post. Cuatrero hit a spinning sit-out powerbomb on Angel for the pin.
ULTIMO GUERRERO, GRAN GUERRERO & NAMAJAGUE DEFEATED DRAGON LEE, MISTICO & SOBERANO JR.
This was fun. The work was very solid, and the crowd loved it.
Ultimo and Soberano began. They did some crowd work. Ultimo used a Romero Special. Ultimo got a takedown and used an ankle lock. Soberano rolled through and hooked an ankle himself. They rolled to the floor, neither man willing to break the hold.
Gran and Mistico entered. Gran offered a handshake, but it was a ploy. Gran unmasked Mistico, but Mistico had a second mask underneath. Mistico hit an arm drag, sending Gran to the floor. Mistico hit a flying headscissors off the post to the floor.
Dragon and Namajague came in and had a chop battle. Each hit a knee strike. They traded lariats. Namajague hit a left hand, and Dragon countered with a woo dropkick. Dragon hit another dropkick into the corner, and picked up a near fall.
Namajague hit a lariat and cleared the apron, enabling his team to triple up on Dragon, then Mistico, and then Soberano.
The babyfaces made a comeback, and all three hit topes over the top to the floor. Ultimo baited Soberano into a facebuster off the top, then a powerbomb off the second. Soberano hit a tornillo, but Namajague broke up the pin.
Dragon hit a suicide dive. Mistico hit a quebrada. Ultimo hit a Guerrero Special on Soberano, and got the pin.
This was a total cartoon match. I will only answer to SweetGorilla for the rest of the week.
Ginbae was Taguchi, Gokiburi was Tanahashi in a cockroach mask, SweetGorilla was Togi Makabe, and Dragon George was Okada.
Makabe worked like Makabe. Tanahashi worked nothing like Tanahashi, using heel brawling tactics. Gokiburi used bug spray on Dragon George and SweetGorilla. Ginbae used a fly swatter. Ginbae used a toilet brush. Gokiburi used a plunger and a hammer.
Okada hit a dropkick and used a plancha. He teased a top rope elbow. Gokiburi hit a slingblade. Gokiburi jumped into a dropkick. Dragon George went for a Rainmaker, but Gokiburi hit another slingblade. Ginbae hit a back elbow and used a bulldog for a two count.
The match broke down into a four-way. SweetGorilla hit a double lariat. Dragon George hit a dropkick and a tombstone, then hit a Rainmaker for the pin on Ginbae.
VOLADOR JR. DEFEATED MISTICO
These guys could probably have a good match with each other in their sleep. This was a wild stunt show that served as a nice closer for the tour.
They came out fast, both hitting suicide dives. They traded topes, doing long countout teases after. Caristico hit a missile dropkick for a near fall, then hit a springboard crossbody for another. Volador hit a backstabber for a near fall of his own.
Volador hit a handspring into a dropkick from Caristico. Caristico went for a moonsault off the top, but Volador got his feet up, and picked up a two count. Volador got launched outside, and Caristico hit a pescado, then hit a crossbody off the post to the floor. Volador countered with a beautiful Asai moonsault.
Back in the ring, Caristico hit a 619. He went to the top, and jumped into a powerbomb. Volador picked up a two count. They traded chops and forearms. Volador hit a superkick. Caristico hit a double stomp for a near fall.
Caristico hit a handspring back elbow for a near fall. They fought on the ropes, and Volador got crotched. Caristico hit a headscissors from that position for a near fall.
They exchanged strikes. Caristico went up top, but Volador connected with an enzuigiri. Volador hit a beautiful super frankensteiner for a near fall. Insanity.
Caristico went for La Mistica, but Volador hit a Canadian destroyer and earned a two count. Caristico hit a Canadian destroyer and got a two count.
Caristico missed a swanton bomb, and Volador covered for a near fall. Caristico slapped on La Mistica, but Volador was able to roll to the ropes.
Volador hit a top rope Spanish Fly, and got the pinfall win.
The NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2019 tour continued today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
The main event saw the CMLL Family Tag Team Tournament winners Dragon Lee & Mistico face off against the CMLL Brothers Tag Team Tournament victors, Ultimo Guerrero and Gran Guerrero.
The only singles match on the show saw NJPW veteran Satoshi Kojima taking on CMLL’s Terrible.
Full results and match reports can be found below:
A solid opener featuring a mix of decent work and the usual Taguchi comedy.
Flyer and Gedo started out. Ishimori jumped in for an illegal double team, but Flyer sent him to the floor. Flyer hit a tope con hilo. Taguchi went for a pescado, but Ishimori and Gedo moved — and he took out Flyer by mistake.
Gedo and Ishimori worked over Taguchi. Taguchi missed with two hip attacks on Gedo, but then hit a third. Taguchi hit a springboard hip attack on both Gedo and Ishimori, then hit a series of hip attacks on both. Taguchi hit a Kokeshi for a near fall on Gedo.
Taguchi used an ankle lock on Gedo, but Ishimori broke it up and applied an ankle lock of his own.
Flyer hit a frankensteiner. Taguchi hit a pescado. Flyer hit a springboard crossbody, and then used a powerslam. Ishimori made his own comeback, then used an ankle lock on Flyer for the submission.
Ishimori used an ankle lock on Taguchi after the match.
ANGEL DE ORO & TITAN DEFEATED CUATRERO & TEMPLARIO
These guys had a great match, well worth going out of your way to see.
Titan and Templario kicked things off with a really nice sequence, exchanging holds, takedowns, and covers. Angel and Cuatrero followed with an equally great sequence, ending with Angel sending Cuatrero to the floor with a headscissors. Angel teased a dive, but ended with a handspring into a pose in the ring. Really cool stuff.
Titan almost did a Sasuke Special, but Templario moved and powerbombed him on the floor. Cuatrero and Templario doubled up on Titan for a bit, but Titan made a comeback and sent them to the floor. Angel hit a golden triangle, and Titan hit a tope con hilo.
Back inside, Angel hit a quebrada for a near fall, then hit a great dropkick. Titan and Templario had a chop battle. Templario hit a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall. Templario hit a German for a two count.
Templario went for a gutwrench powerbomb off the middle rope, but Titan turned it into a rana, then hit a moonsault to the floor.
Cuatrero got a near fall off a powerbomb. Angel applied La Mecedora and got the submission win.
Everyone was working at half speed here. The match didn’t have a lot of heat, and it was sloppy in places.
Shingo out-powered Fujin early, so Raijin jumped in and exchanged lariats with him. Shingo and SHO is a future Intercontinental title match for sure, right?
Shingo used a brainbuster and a front facelock on Raijin. BUSHI jumped in and went for Raijin’s mask. Naito attacked Henare and Fujin on the floor and sent them into the crowd. Back inside, Naito and BUSHI hit stereo low dropkicks to Raijin. Shingo hit some elbow drops, then hit a senton for a near fall.
Shingo blocked a spear, but Raijin hit a German. Naito and Henare got tags and traded strikes. Henare hit a tackle and a Samoan drop for a near fall. Naito came back with an enzuigiri, and he used a draping neckbreaker.
Henare hit a spear on Naito, then hit a suplex on BUSHI. Fujin got a tag and hit a back elbow on BUSHI. Fujin and Raijin hit stereo dropkicks on Shingo, then stereo knees on BUSHI. Shingo broke up a 3K attempt, and BUSHI hit a backstabber. BUSHI hit the insurrection on Fujin for the pin.
BUSHI and Shingo unmasked SHO and YOH after the match.
Not much here. Atlantis Jr. has potential, but he’s still incredibly green. Liger always looks great, but Atlantis is fairly immobile.
OKUMURA attacked Atlantis Jr. before the bell. Atlantis started off, and Sanson and Forastero ran into him so he could do his offense. They ran into some hip tosses and arm drags. Liger jumped in. OKUMURA’s second, his wife Mima Shimoda, jumped in, and Liger suplexed her.
Sanson and Forastero worked over Atlantis. Liger broke up a pinfall. Forastero and Sanson crotched Atlantis on the post. Liger hit a crossbody off the post to the floor.
Atlantis Jr. and OKUMURA exchanged near falls — until OKUMURA hit a DDT for the pin.
OKUMURA and Sanson removed Atlantis and Atlantis Jr.’s masks after the match.
This wasn’t so much a match as a series of crazy dives. It was awesome in that regard.
They started off hot, with everyone hitting their flashiest offense. Caristico, Cavernario and Namajague got sent outside, and Volador, Soberano, and Audaz hit stereo tope con hilos to the floor.
Back inside, Caristico and Cavernario worked over Volador. Soberano jumped in, but fell victim to a Swanton Bomb from Caristico. Audaz entered, but he also found himself worked over three-on-one.
Audaz broke up a human pyramid spot with a flying rana. Everyone hit big dives to the floor. They did a tower of doom spot. Volador hit a top rope splash. Soberano hit a high cross off the top. Cavernario hit a Canadian Destroyer. Volador hit a Canadian Destroyer. Volador unmasked Caristico, and there was a scramble to get his mask back on.
All six men were in the ring. They did a row boat spot. Volador hit a rana into the middle of the row boat for a near fall. Audaz and Soberano hit dives to the floor. Caristico used La Mistica on Volador for the submission.
TERRIBLE DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA
I have no idea how to review this match. Kojima can still go. Terrible can do some stuff well and has a great look, but he’s not a great worker or anything. The crowd was very forgiving. They worked a slower pace.
They locked up. Terrible broke cleanly against the ropes, but then kicked Kojima low. They traded chops, and Terrible won the exchange. Kojima took a bump off a chop. Kojima hit a shoulder tackle and flexed his pecs.
Terrible hit a dropkick, and Kojima rolled to the floor. They fought on the outside. Terrible posted Kojima. Terrible used an eye rake and bit Kojima. Back inside, Terrible hit a knee drop, then posed on the turnbuckle. Terrible hit a series of strikes to the chest. Kojima countered with machine gun chops.
They fought on the top rope, and Kojima hit a superplex for a two count. Kojima hit a top rope elbow for a near fall. Kojima hit a rolling elbow and clotheslined Terrible to the floor. Kojima hit a plancha. Terrible recovered and posted Kojima’s lariat arm.
Kojima countered a suplex attempt with a DDT and a cutter. Terrible blocked a brainbuster and hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Terrible hit a top rope splash for another two count.
Kojima backdropped out of a suplex attempt, and hit a brainbuster for two. Terrible ducked a lariat, then hit a series of strikes. Terrible hit a Styles Clash for the pin.
LIJ came out to pose with Terrible after his win.
DRAGON LEE & MISTICO DEFEATED ULTIMO GUERRERO & GRAN GUERRERO
A really fun match. After a lot of stalling early, the pace really picked up and they worked hard for the last 15 minutes.
Ultimo whipped Mistico with a piece of his gear before the bell, so Ultimo and Mistico started off the match. Ultimo stalled and worked the crowd. The two shook hands before locking up. Ultimo removed his mask. Mistico removed his mask, revealing another mask underneath.
Ultimo used a Romero Special. Mistico rolled through into an inverted figure four. Ultimo rolled to the ropes, but he sold his knee big. They rolled outside. Mistico hit a flying rana on the floor.
Back inside, Dragon and Gran jumped in. Ultimo pulled Dragon to the floor and sent him into the barricade. The Guerreros took control, doubling up on Mistico. They hit a tandem press slam off the top, sending Mistico to the mat. Dragon jumped in and ate a brainbuster from Gran. The Guerreros raised the roof.
Dragon hit a dropkick on Ultimo, then a suplex on Gran. Mistico ran wild with ranas. Dragon and Mistico hit topes. Mistico and Dragon used tandem offense on both Guerreros. Mistico hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. The Guerreros hit stereo baseball slides. Gran hit a tope, and Ultimo hit a diving leg lariat off the post to the floor.
Gran and Dragon ended up the legal men. Dragon hit a Spanish fly for a near fall. Mistico hit a frankensteiner on Ultimo. Dragon hit a jumping knee to Ultimo, then used a crossface, but Ultimo reached the ropes.
Dragon went for a top rope rana, but Ultimo turned it into a powerbomb off the second. Dragon and Ultimo fought on the top rope. Dragon hit a double stomp, but Gran broke up the pin. Dragon hit a suicide dive. Gran hit a powerbomb on Mistico for a two count.
Mistico hit a top rope frankensteiner on Gran for a near fall. Mistico used La Mistica for the submission win.
Here are quick results from this morning’s Fantastica Mania event at Korakuen Hall. It featured the finals of this year’s family tag tournament, as well as a special singles match between Soberano Jr. and Barbaro Cavernario.
– Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi and Audaz defeated Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Templario
Audaz submitted Templario with the cross arm breaker.
– Titan and Angel de Oro defeated Okumura and Forastero
Titan picked up the win over Forastero with the titanica.
– Satoshi Kojima, Toa Henare, Fujin and Raijin defeated Terrible, Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi
Kojima pinned Terrible following a lariat. This was the annual Black Cat memorial match.
– Ultimo Guerrero and Gran Guerrero defeated Atlantis and Atlantis Jr.
Gran Guerrero defeated Atlantis Jr. after hitting a modified sit down powerbomb.
– Caristico and Namajague defeated Volador Jr. and Flyer
Caristico submitted Flyer with la mistica for the win.
– Barbaro Cavernario defeated Soberano Jr.
In a special singles match, Cavernario scored the win over Soberano following a cavernaria.
– Dragon Lee and Mistico defeated Cuatrero and Sanson in the CMLL 2019 family tag tournament
Dragon Lee pinned Sanson with the desnucadora to win this year’s family tag team tournament.
Ultimo and Gran Guerrero confronted Dragon Lee and Mistico after the match.
The NJPW and CMLL Fantastica Mania tour continued this morning in Chiba.
The traditional family tag team tournament got under way with two first round matches, and Tetsuya Naito, KUSHIDA, and Ultimo Guerrero were among the stars featured on the undercard.
Gedo and KUSHIDA started off. KUSHIDA and Taguchi used a series of quick tags and worked over Gedo’s left arm. Gedo tagged Forastero, and he had his arm worked on as well. Ishimori tagged in, and they did a comedy spot where Taguchi blindly worked over KUSHIDA’s arm by mistake.
Titan hit a tope con hilo. Taguchi and KUSHIDA missed with pescados, and Gedo and Ishimori fought them on the floor. Inside, Forastero went for Titan’s mask, and Ishimori went to work on his arm.
KUSHIDA tagged in, and found himself triple-teamed. Taguchi got a tag and ran wild with hip attacks and ankle locks, before Gedo jumped in and cut him off. KUSHIDA came in for the save, and hit a handspring elbow and a plancha. Taguchi hit a plancha, and Titan hit a springboard crossbody.
Titan used a crossface, but Forastero escaped, hit a tilt-a-whirl slam, and used a head and arm choke for the submission win.
These guys are capable of so much more, it was kind of surreal to see them working a second match on a house show type of pace.
Shingo and SHO started with some power spots. YOH and BUSHI jumped in, and SHO and YOH hit some tandem offense. Shingo outsmarted them, and YOH accidentally knocked SHO from the apron.
They went to the floor, and Shingo posted YOH. BUSHI teased unmasking both SHO and YOH. BUSHI used a neckbreaker for a near fall. BUSHI and Shingo hit their tandem leg drop and senton.
YOH hit a dragon screw, and SHO jumped in and hit a dropkick. There were more power spots with SHO and Shingo, and SHO got the edge this time. He hit a lariat for a two count. He went for a suplex, but Shingo cut him off. SHO finally got the suplex, but Shingo popped right up and hit the pumping bomber into a double down.
BUSHI and YOH got tags. YOH hit a flying forearm, missed a back elbow, then hit a neckbreaker for a two count. SHO and YOH hit stereo knees on BUSHI, and knocked Shingo off the apron. BUSHI hit a double rana.
Shingo came in for a double team. Shingo hit YOH with a lariat, and BUSHI hit a backstabber. SHO also came in and hit BUSHI with a backstabber. Shingo and SHO did a clothesline to the floor spot, and they landed awkwardly.
YOH hit BUSHI with a dropkick to the knee, then followed with a la magistral cradle for the pin.
ANGEL DE ORO, AUDAZ & SOBERANO JR. DEFEATED OKUMURA, NAMAJAGUE & BARBARO CAVERNARIO
Lots of really cool dives in this one.
Angel de Oro and OKUMURA started with some chain wrestling. OKUMURA worked some holds. de Oro hit a dropkick. Audaz and Namajague tagged in for some quick lucha spots. Cavernario and Soberano jumped in and did a really nice sequence, ending in a stalemate.
Cavernario offered a handshake, but it was a trap, and his team tripled up on Soberano. They triple-teamed Audaz next, isolating him in their corner. OKUMURA tried directing traffic, but there was dissension in the ranks.
It was de Oro’s turn to be triple-teamed next. He made a comeback with a dropkick and a Sasuke special. Soberano and Audaz hit dives as well. Cavernario and Soberano had another nice sequence.
de Oro and OKUMURA jumped in. de Oro did some nice flying and picked up a near fall. Namajague broke up the pin. Audaz hit a crazy dive, de Oro hit a crazy dive, and Cavernario hit a crazy dive.
The finish saw Soberano hit his tornillo off the top, then another springboard leg drop on OKUMURA. Soberano pinned OKUMURA.
TETSUYA NAITO & TERRIBLE DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA & TOA HENARE
Not much to this one.
Terrible and Kojima’s gameplan early was to chop the hell out of each other. Kojima missed an elbow drop. Terrible missed a leg drop. Henare and Naito tagged in. Henare has changed his look a little bit and has new gear. Henare hit a standing moonsault for a two count.
Naito hit an inverted atomic drop, and Terrible jumped in for a high kick. The action spilled to the outside. Naito sent Henare into the first several rows of seats. Naito used a chair. Terrible used a headlock on Kojima.
Back inside, Terrible went to work on Henare’s legs. Naito hit the combinacion de cabron for a two count. Naito stomped on Henare’s back, and taunted him with short kicks. Henare hit a Samoan drop. Kojima tagged in and hit machine gun chops on Naito. Kojima hit a top rope elbow for a two count.
Naito and Kojima exchanged strikes, and Kojima hit a DDT. Naito hit a flying forearm, then tagged Terrible. Terrible hit a series of strikes, a slam, and a top rope splash, picking up a near fall.
Kojima made a comeback and hit a Koji cutter, then tagged Henare. Henare hit a tackle, but Naito jumped in and cut him off. Henare sent Naito outside, then hit a Samoan drop for a two count.
Terrible and Henare traded chops. Terrible fired up and hit a left hand. Henare came back with a headbutt. Kojima and Naito jumped in. Naito hit Kojima with a neckbreaker. Naito and Terrible hit stereo dropkicks on Henare, and Terrible used a Styles clash for the pin.
A ton of star power here, but not a ton of action.
They stalled a lot early. The Guerreros took a cheap shot at Caristico before the bell. They did a celebration to psych themselves up, which Tiger, Liger and Caristico then mocked in a comedy spot.
They did some more comedy, with Tiger offering Gran a handshake, then pulling it away. Caristico and Ultimo got in and stalled some more, before finally locking up. They exchanged holds, then stalled again. Caristico was begging the crowd to get into it. Caristico took off Ultimo’s mask and made a big show of it. He’s a few years late on that one. Caristico hit a dive into a flying headscissors on the floor.
Liger and Templarino got in for the first sustained action of the match. Liger sent Templarino to the floor, and the Guerreros jumped in to the ring to triple up on Liger. They did a human pyramid spot, but Caristico broke it up with a thrust kick.
Liger made his own comeback, hitting a senton off the apron. Tiger jumped off the top into a slam from Ultimo for a near fall. Tiger used a victory roll for a near fall. Ultimo rolled to the floor, and Tiger hit a high cross off the post.
Templarino and Caristico jumped in as the legal men, and Caristico used la mistica for the submission.
CUATRERO & SANSON DEFEATED ATLANTIS & ATLANTIS JR. IN A CMLL FAMILY TAG TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH
Atlantis has really slowed down since I saw him last. Atlantis Jr. is going to be good, but he’s still green. Cuatrero and Sanson are a fine team, but they don’t stand out on their work alone.
Atlantis and Cuatrero started off with some mat wrestling. Atlantis Jr. and Sanson came in and traded holds on the mat as well. Sanson got the upper hand with an enzuigiri, then raked the eyes. Atlantis Jr. came back with a headscissors and a suicide dive.
The dive did more harm than good for Jr., as while he was on the floor, Cuatrero and Sanson worked over Atlantis. When Jr. finally got back inside, he ate some tandem offense.
Jr. came back with backbreakers, and Atlantis jumped in. He hit a crossbody off the top, and a series of backbreakers. Jr. hit a dive, and Atlantis hit a crossbody off the post to the floor. Cuatrero hit a plancha on Atlantis.
Jr. and Sanson battled on the top rope, and Sanson hit a Sanson special, then pinned Jr. to win this first round battle.
DRAGON LEE & MISTICO DEFEATED VOLADOR JR. & FLYER IN A CMLL FAMILY TAG TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH
A good match, but it was missing something. They worked hard, they did a lot of moves, but it fell short of a great match to me.
Dragon and Flyer started off. They began trading holds, hip tosses and armdrags. Good, but not as crisp as you would expect from Dragon. Flyer hit an Asai moonsault, and Volador hit a suicide dive.
Back inside, Volador and Flyer took control of the match. Flyer hit a dropkick in the corner on Dragon. Volador took the referee, and Flyer tried to unmask Dragon. Dragon came back with a rolling dropkick on Volador, but Flyer cut him off.
Mistico came in and ran wild. Mistico and Dragon hit stereo topes. Back in the ring, they each hit dropkicks. They were exactly as crisp as you would expect from Dragon.
Dragon and Volador traded kicks, which got a good reaction. They fought on the top rope, and Dragon hit a double stomp. All four guys jumped in, and Volador hit a Canadian destroyer on Mistico. Mistico hit a DDT on Volador.
Dragon and Mistico hit stereo dropkicks on Flyer. Dragon hit a Spanish fly on Volador. They went back to the top, and Dragon teased another stomp, but Flyer cut him off with a Spanish fly off the top.
Volador hit a thrust kick on Mistico. Mistico came back with a springboard rana. Mistico dumped Volador to the floor, then hit a moonsault to the floor. Inside, Flyer hit a Canadian destroyer on Dragon for a two count.
Dragon hit a suplex, and used a powerbomb for a near fall. Dragon hit a knee strike, then hit desnucadora for the pin.
An easy show to watch, but nothing here was must-see.
The final shows of this year’s Fantastica Mania had a distinctly CMLL feel.
The clear thrust of these shows was spotlighting the visiting talent, and the last two nights in Korakuen Hall had less crossover appeal than even the first nights of the tour, which featured Kazuchika Okada working against Hiroshi Tanahashi in tag matches.
The results were a mixed bag. If you don’t get to see much lucha, and I don’t, the shows presented a refreshing alternative to anything that your typical North American or Japanese fans see on a regular basis. In the modern era of endless wrestling of almost any style that you enjoy available at your fingertips, it could easily be understood how these final nights could end up as less than appointment viewing, particularly with the lack of NJPW star power.
The key to the final events of the tour was the CMLL Brothers Tag Team Tournament, featuring pairs of siblings facing off for pride and prestige.
For people who are just hardcore NJPW fans, Tetsuya Naito’s appearance in a multi-person tag match on the final two events would be the only match worth going out of your way to see, if you just need a Naito fix.
January 21st results —
Disturbio & Puma defeated Drone & Star Jr.
Disturbio tried to establish himself as the heel early, with him spitting on and biting Drone. Puma is quite a sight to behold. I would enjoy more men dressed as large cats in wrestling. The psychology here was weird, as the crowd loved Puma but he was partners with the dastardly Disturbio.
Star did a nice Asai moonsault. The finish saw Disturbio do a flip dive off the apron onto Star, while Puma cradled Drone with a La Magistral for the win.
Fuego and Okumura started off. Facially, Okumura looks every bit of his age, and I doubt that orange is his natural hair color, but he moved well. The crowd loved Fuego’s dancing, and Sho served as a surprisingly good base for Soberano, in spite of Soberano being taller.
Yoh did a comedy rope-running spot with Taguchi that worked well. Soberano hit a great looking tornillo on Okumura for the pinfall victory.
You would be forgiven if you thought that this was simply an extended infomercial for Los Ingobernables T-shirts. There was crowd brawling early, and an air horn that blared incessantly throughout the match. The highlight was a vicious chop battle between Kawato and Takahashi, which ended with Kawato’s chest bloodied. Kawato is leaving on excursion, and it seems clear that there is stardom in his future.
Rush hit Kawato with a piledriver to earn the victory for his team. After the match, Rush and Kojima brawled until the young boys pulled them apart.
Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero defeated Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja in a CMLL Brothers Tag Team Tournament match
Angel de Oro turned a surfboard from Ultimo into an STF in a unique spot at the outset. Ultimo has been a great worker for a long time, I know, but he looked blown up almost from the opening bell, despite not doing a whole lot.
The Guerreros worked over Roja, and de Oro sold his leg well. Ultimo did a top rope dive to the outside onto the other three competitors. Gran hit the Gran Special, a lawn dart move, on Roja for the victory.
Dragon Lee & Mistico defeated Cuatrero & Sanson in a CMLL Brothers Tag Team Tournament match
Mistico and Cuatrero had some miscommunication in the early going, and Sanson quickly tagged in. Sanson went for Mistico’s mask, but could not remove it. This was my first opportunity to see Cuatrero and Sanson, and I was not overly impressed with their work, but they did hit nice topes on Dragon Lee and Mistico.
Dragon Lee hit an awesome rana from inside the ring to the floor. Inside the ring, Mistico kicked out of a near fall, and hit La Mistica for the submission victory.
NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion Volador Jr. defeated Barbaro Cavernario to retain his title
The action spilled to the outside early on, as Cavernario was established as a crazed brawler. Back inside, he untied the turnbuckle pad. Volador recovered from the beating he took early, and put on a flying clinic.
They continually teased Cavernario throwing Volador into the exposed buckles, but Volador always managed to slip out at the last moment. While Volador put forth an excellent argument for being named one of the top flyers in the world, Cavernario did his share as well, including a top rope splash to the floor.
Back in the ring, as Volador sold the devastation of that move, Cavernario went for a springboard leg drop, but Volador slid out, popped up, and hit a Canadian Destroyer for the pinfall. A fun main event.
January 22nd results —
Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Disturbio & Puma
I became a massive fan of Fuego watching these shows. The crowd loved the comedy work he did with Disturbio. I also became a massive fan of Puma, who caught Taguchi on an insane dive to the outside. Fuego rolled up Disturbio for the pin out of nowhere.
Roppongi 3K (Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh) & Okumura defeated Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA & Star Jr.
KUSHIDA and Yoh got things off to a hot start. Romero and Liger tagged in, and they did some hug and handshake comedy, before Romero turned on Liger. Star Jr. got his teammates to dance with him.
Sho, Yoh, and Romero ate dives from Liger and Tiger Mask, leaving Okumura and Star Jr. to work together. It was brief. Okumura hit an STO for the victory.
Sanson & Cuatrero defeated Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja
The highlight of this bout was a tope con hilo by Roja onto Sanson. Cuatrero and Sanson appeared to be having their second consecutive off night. Roja slipped coming off the middle ropes and fell a little short off a springboard crossbody, which was his fault, but Sanson could have helped him out if he was having a better day.
Sanson hit a spin-out middle rope powerbomb on Angel de Oro to score the victory for his team.
I don’t know for sure, but I suspect Gedo booked himself against Atlantis here just for kicks. He looked like he was having the time of his life working with him.
All four brawled to the outside and through the crowd early on. The fans really got behind Kawato as he got his right leg worked over. Cavernario used his La Cavernaria submission on Kawato for the win. There wasn’t much to this, and Atlantis’ knees looked like they were hurting him.
Naito and Volador did a hot opening sequence. Soberano tagged in and did some good lucha things, and he and Takahashi chopped the heck out of each other. The CMLL team did stereo tope con hilo’s onto the LIJ team, in an awesome spot.
The finish saw BUSHI hit a bridging backslide on Drone to pick up the victory. After the match, Volador taunted Naito, and tried to goad him into the ring for a confrontation, but Naito backed off.
Rush defeated Satoshi Kojima
The action spilled to the floor right away, and Rush did some great heel work, choking Kojima with a camera cable. He then hit Kojima with an unprotected chair shot to the head. It was not a particularly hard shot, as those things go, but it’s difficult to justify that sort of thing in the modern era. Kojima was busted open on top of his head, possibly from the chair.
Kojima fought back with a DDT on the floor, but continued to sell the damage from the chair shot. Back inside, Kojima fired up and removed his elbow pad. Rush avoided the elbow strike, but ate a lariat.
Kojima went for another lariat, but ate the piledriver, and Rush scored the pinfall. Rush posed with Naito, BUSHI, and Takahashi after the match.
Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero defeated Dragon Lee & Mistico to win the CMLL Brothers Tag Team Tournament
Mistico and Ultimo whipped each other with their entrance gear before the opening bell. After the bell, they shook hands, agreeing that the heat of the competitive moment got to them. They had a solid exchange, before tagging in their partners.
The Guerreros took over, and worked over Mistico. Mistico made the tag to Dragon Lee, who did his awesome rana from the ring to the floor. Lee and Gran had a chop battle that may have lasted five full minutes. Lee followed up with a crazy double foot stomp on Gran, who fell from a braced position on the middle rope to the floor.
While Lee and Gran spilled outside, Ultimo hit the Guerrero Special on Mistico to earn the victory, and win the tournament. A fine match, but not an NJPW-caliber main event.
After Dragon Lee got the upper hand on him the night before, Hiromu Takahashi made it clear he had the momentum going into New Beginning. Mistico showed off what he could do as he defeated Euforia. In the main event, Ultimo Guerrero was bested by Volador Jr. Maximo kissed a lot of people.
Gedo, Jado & Barbaro Cavernario defeated Blue Panther Jr., Henare & Soberano Jr.
Solid opener. Soberano Jr. looked really good, launching off with a great Asai moonsault to the outside. Cavernario’s shoulder was all taped up, and again, didn’t do much aside from a dissension comedy spot early between he, Gedo, and Jado.
He managed to get in there just enough to score the submission win over Euphoria with the la Cavernaria.
This was fun. The match was built around one spot where Raziel and Tiger Mask somehow pulled off each other’s masks and ended up wearing the other’s mask to cover up their faces. Liger then attacked Tiger Mask thinking he was Raziel.
The rest of the match was pretty fun, with Stuka Jr. doing a torpedo that took out Okumura and Mima Shimoda. Tiger Mask picked up the win after a tiger bomb and a tiger suplex.
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Dragon Lee & Titan
Another solid bout. It started off with great stereo suicide dives that took out Takahashi and BUSHI. Titan wiped out BUSHI on the outside with an Asai moonsault. Dragon Lee and Takahashi had another exchange that ended with Takahashi nailing Lee with a superkick.
BUSHI was then able to get a surprise win with a crucifix bridge. Lee jumped Takahashi after the match but Takahashi got the better of it, ripping off Lee’s mask and licked it. They face off at the New Beginning in Osaka on February 11th.
Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay & Ephesto defeated Maximo Sexy, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi
Good match. Okada came out wearing a mask like King’s from the Tekken video game series. The match was built around Maximo wanting to kiss Will Ospreay. He tried to do it early, but kissed Juice Robinson by accident. He eventually achieved his goal. Okada came in and worked a ton with Taguchi before getting the pin with the Rainmaker.
Maximo went on a kissing spree after the match, kissing an announcer and also Okada, who fainted after being kissed.
Tetsuya Naito, Rush, SANADA & EVIL defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Atlantis, KUSHIDA & David Finlay
Good match that was full of action and cool dives. KUSHIDA did a great one, diving off with a crossbody off the turnbuckle to the outside. Rush and Atlantis interacted for a bit, and Rush was really great in just being a total heel. I think he’s one of the best heels in any promotion right now.
LIJ ganged up on Finlay as Naito and EVIL dished out their double team finish, the Out of Control. Rush and the rest of LIJ beat up KUSHIDA and Tanahashi after the match.
Mistico defeated Euforia
This was a good match, and a great highlight reel showing how much Mistico has improved in the last few years. He did his first flip of the night, wiping out Euforia on the outside with an Asai moonsault and also did a great springboard shooting star press to the outside.
This was really a great showcase for Mistico as he did a bunch of cool stuff, including a hurricanrana off the top rope to the floor. He eventually took down Euforia and submitted him with la Mistica.
Volador Jr. defeated Ultimo Guerrero
Good main event. Nothing blowaway, but both men did cool dives and worked a pretty hot crowd. Ultimo Guerrero took advantage early, brawling with Volador throughout the crowd and on the outside. Volador came back with a hurricanrana off the ring and to the floor.
He tried for a big swanton bomb to the outside but Ultimo Guerrero powerbombed him and followed with a crossbody that wiped out the young lions at ringside. Guerrero went for a headstand on the ring post but Volador shoved him off and did another hurricanrana to the floor. Ultimo Guerrero came back, sat Volador down on a chair, and did a running dive through the barricade in a cool spot.
Volador kicked out of the Guerrero special. Volador met Guerrero on the top rope and launched off with the Spanish fly and pinned Guerrero. Volador and Ultimo Guerrero said complimentary things to one another after the match. Everyone on the tour came out to celebrate and take pictures as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
This was another solid card, top to bottom like the other shows. I think out of the three this was the strongest card overall, though last night’s crowd was a bit hotter for top matches.
Regardless, all three shows were fun and did a good job in building the Junior title match for the New Beginning next month, as well as just creating a really fun atmosphere that’s unique from any other tour New Japan does in their calendar year.
Maximo retained his CMLL Heavyweight title against Hechicero. Ultimo Guerrero and Euphoria scored a big win over their respective opponents for the last show of the tour in Volador Jr. and Mistico. In a fierce brawl, Rush managed to defeat Atlantis after the rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon decided to interfere.
Show Recap —
Raziel, Gedo, Jado & Ephesto defeated Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Blue Panther Jr. & Henare
Not a lot to this, but it had some good action. Liger did a dive to the outside that left Ephesto and Panther in the ring. Panther landed a crossbody and two backbreakers. He went in between Ephesto’s legs to sink in a submission but Ephesto instead caught him and packaged him for the win.
Stuka Jr. defeated Okumura
Solid match. Stuka Jr. looked really good and Okumura was fine. Lots of quick near falls early. We got our first Asai moonsault of the night thanks to Stuka Jr., who wiped out Okumura. Mima Shimoda, Okumura’s wife, came in and Stuka Jr. laid her out in the ring, then went to the top rope and wiped out Okumura again with a torpedo. Kind of jarring to see man on woman violence in New Japan.
Stuka laid them both out again and went for the torpedo, but only hit Mima. Okumura tried to lay out Stuka with a senton but only hit Mima. Stuka laid him out again and scored a double pinfall after hitting one more torpedo.
Good match. Everyone looked good, and again, some pretty cool spots in between. Soberano Jr. is becoming someone more people should be watching as he’s looked good both nights thus far. Despite looking like he was injured last night, Cavernario was here, though he didn’t work much.
Soberano and Ospreay started things off and did a hot exchange. Okada worked with Taguchi who did his pharaoh gimmick he does during the Fantastica Mania tour. They did a lot of comedy like Okada ripping off Taguchi’s pharaoh mask with him freaking out. Okada and Soberano also went at it, with Soberano looking pretty good. Cavernario came in and got the submission win with la Cavernaria.
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dragon Lee, Titan, Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Another good match. It was your typical eight-man bout with nothing but good action. Dragon Lee and Hiromu Takahashi did have their back and forth and it was awesome, hitting each other with snap German suplexes and the like.
Finlay made a comeback against Naito, laying him out. Finlay fell into the ropes where EVIL hit him with a steel chair, allowing SANADA to score the submission with the Skull End.
Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia defeated Volador Jr. & Mistico
Really good match. Easily the best of the tour thus far. Volador Jr. looked awesome tonight and Ultimo Guerrero wasn’t too far off. The rudos jumped the technicos early with their masks. Euphoria slingshotted Mistico on the apron early. Volador looked awesome making his comeback. When Mistico came in they took out both rudos with awesome looking dives on the outside.
Volador launched Mistico through the ring post and hurricanrana’d one of the rudos, then took care of the other one himself with a big hurricanrana from the top rope. Ultimo Guerrero made a comeback, catching Volador when he was going for twisting rana and powerbombing him off the top rope.
Mistico went for an Asai moonsault but Euforia caught him and posted him on a nearby table. Guerrero caught Volador, grabbed him, then got the pin after a reverse suplex off the top rope. All four cut promos after their match, leading to matches tomorrow between Mistico/Euphoria and Ultimo Guerrero/Volador.
Rush defeated Atlantis
Good match. The first part was a brawl so intense that Atlantis was bleeding early and played a good part in the match being pretty intense. Rush jumped Atlantis as he was making his entrance and dominated him early. Atlantis came back with a suicide dive that sent Rush into the crowd. Rush responded by throwing a chair at Atlantis, who threw it right back.
After a bit more brawling and back and forth, Atlantis came back with three backbreakers and went for the torture rack when Naito came in to interfere and laid him out. Rush came back and finished Atlantis with the double underhook piledriver for the win.
The rest of LIJ came in after the match and did a beat down, leaving Atlantis a mess.
Maximo Sexy defeated Hechicero to retain the CMLL Heavyweight title
Okay main event. Nothing special, but there were a few cool dives by Maximo. He was caught early with an ankle lock, but managed to escape, grabbing the ropes. He wiped out Hechicero with a ropewalk swanton bomb. Hechicero came back with a muscle buster.
Maximo somehow kissed the referee twice while he was going for Hechicero, which led to a roll-up attempt, but it didn’t work. He went to take Maximo to the top rope, but Maximo made a comeback and pinned Hechicero with a hurricanrana to retain the title.
Maximo thanked the fans and complimented Hechicero, saying he was a great wrestler. Hechicero replied positively as well, with both shaking hands as the show ended.
Final Thoughts —
This was better than last night’s show. The crowd was hot and loved everything, which played well in the matches following intermission. Ultimo Guerrero & Euphoria vs. Volador & Mistico has been the highlight of this tour thus far, so it should be very interesting to see how their singles matches go on tomorrow night’s show.
Dragon Lee retained his CMLL Lightweight title against Barbaro Cavernario, continuing to build momentum for an eventual IWGP Junior title match. Hiromu Takahashi defeated Titan in a match filled with great high flying spots, then confronted Dragon Lee in the main event, though things didn’t go his way.
Okumura and Hechicero made it clear what their intentions were for their matches on tomorrow’s show — Hechicero to become CMLL Heavyweight champion, and for Okumura to score a big win over Stuka Jr.
Blue Panther Jr. & Henare defeated Ephisto & Will Ospreay
Good opener. Ospreay always shines in these type of matches and looked like a million dollars compared to everyone else. Ospreay did a Sasuke special that took out Henare. That allowed Blue Panther Jr. to secure the submission with the nudo lagunero.
Soberano Jr. looked really good. He picked up the win with a moonsault off the middle rope where Raziel was laying.
Hechicero & Okumura defeated Maximo Sexy & Stuka Jr.
This went by pretty quick, but was good while it lasted. Maximo got a cool near fall after Stuka Jr. did his torpedo, wiping out Okumura on the outside and Maximo followed with a ropewalk splash. Stuka missed a dive and Okumura took advantage by ripping off part of his trunks then scored the win with the reverse DDT.
Okumura cut a promo in Spanish, then Hechicero said tomorrow Maximo’s CMLL Heavyweight title was his. Maximo said he’d win it for his friends in Japan. After Stuka Jr. said his piece it turned into a brawl with the rudos standing tall. This builds toward matches between Okumura/Stuka Jr. and Maximo/Hechicero for tomorrow’s show.
Before the next match, they had a short ceremony acknowledging Black Cat’s contributions to both NJPW & CMLL. The technicos and Black Cat’s wife posed for pictures holding a picture with Black Cat.
Rush and Atlantis worked part of the match until Rush tore off the top of Atlantis’ mask, causing him to go to the back. Rush jumped him on his way out, taking them both out of the match.
Good six man from there. It was all action and fast-paced. Taguchi and Tanahashi went for stereo pescados on the outside but fell to the floor, leaving it between Finlay and EVIL, with the latter scoring the win with the STO.
Rush and Atlantis came brawling back into the ring after the match, but this time Atlantis’ mask was ripped off completely. LIJ showed no respect by kicking it around like a soccer ball. They all posed together after the match.
Kazuchika Okada, Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia defeated Mistico, Volador Jr. & Juice Robinson
This was pretty good. There was a lot of comedy centered around Volador, Ultimo, and their masks early on. Okada worked with Euphoria and Ultimo Guerrero and got booed whenever he was in, which was actually pretty funny.
It was really good whenever Volador and Ultimo were in. Volador went for a big hurricanrana from the ring to the floor, but Ultimo grabbed him and powerbombed him on the outside. Euphoria, meanwhile, caught Mistico in the soberana which Mistico quickly tapped out to.
Hiromu Takahashi defeated Titan
Another pretty good match that had a ton of cool spots by both guys, but did have a flat finish for whatever reason even though people were into the match generally. Takahashi worked on a bum leg early. Titan caught him on the apron and hurricanrana’d him to the floor, then launched off with a great Asai moonsault followed by a great flying swanton bomb.
Titan caught Takahashi on the top rope and pushed him off, but Titan came back and launched another hurricanrana to the floor. They started trading some good back and forth near falls, including Takahashi hitting the sunset flip bomb off the top rope. He followed that up with a running Death Valley Driver then hit the time bomb. The finish felt flat as the crowd didn’t buy that was the end of the match.
Dragon Lee defeated Barbaro Cavernario to retain the CMLL Lightweight title
Another good match, but this was the same as the previous one. The crowd was into it, with plenty of great spots throughout by both men, but they weren’t into the finish and as a result it felt pretty flat.
Lee started off hot early with a big suicide dive that sent Cavernario into the crowd. Cavernario soon followed with one of his own, through the turnbuckles. He also did the big splash off the top rope to the floor. Dragon Lee followed that with a double foot stomp off a draped Cavernario on the apron. Lots of great back and forth between the two here including a release suplex by Dragon Lee and a reverse rana by Cavernario. Lee finally caught him with a bridging back suplex, retaining the title.
Cavernario seemed to have injured his shoulder during the match, as he was checked on by staff and was taken out. Hiromu Takahashi came running in after the match to blindside Lee but he wouldn’t have it and made a comeback, laying Takahashi out and cutting a promo on him to end the show.
Final Thoughts —
This was a good show highlighted by a couple of really good matches, but ended up having flat finishes that could have worked better. That plus a lukewarm crowd made this show pretty good, but not great.
There are few weekends on the Japanese wrestling calendar as fun as the one we have upcoming.
The stars of CMLL hit New Japan for what are traditionally some of the most feel-good shows you could find. Fantastica Mania is already underway with smaller events around the New Japan circuit but it’s when they hit Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for three shows in three days that things really heat up. The atmosphere is unlike any other as the Japanese fans really embrace the Lucha Libre culture, and get super into the presentation that CMLL & NJPW put on. It’s truly an authentic lucha experience but transplanted into a country which provides it’s own flavor to the proceedings.
The shows aren’t as stacked as previous years and there were some questionable matchmaking decisions made (e.g. Will Ospreay being kept away from some of the best CMLL guys) but there are so many great talents on show that there is no way they won’t be a blast. The key feud anchoring the shows is IWGP Junior Champion Hiromu Takahashi against Dragon Lee.
Ahead of their title match at New Beginning, they’ll be squaring off in several mouth-watering tags. They will also both see singles competition as Takahashi takes on Titan and Lee takes on El Barbaro Cavernario for the CMLL World Super Lightweight title. Those could well be the best two matches of the whole tour.
CMLL Heavyweight Champion Maximo clashes with the unorthodox stylings of Rey Hechicero in what should be a very interesting main event bout. Hechicero is a favorite of the hardcore lucha fans and he did really well on this tour last year. Maximo is someone who Japanese fans may remember as a purely gimmick wrestler but he’s now taken very seriously in Mexico and has had some great title matches.
It’s always a lot of fun to watch how the NJPW regulars mesh on this tour too. Some will change their entrances or gear (Shinsuke Nakamura was always great for this) to complement their Mexican partners, and some get to show different tools in their arsenal between the bells.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is always a fun one to keep an eye on as it tends to be the one time of the year that he reaches into his old Toryumon playbook from his initial training under Ultimo Dragon and is always awesome. We are set for some fun shows no doubt!
Atlantis & Tanahashi & Kushida & Finlay vs. Rush & Naito & Sanada & Evil
Mistico vs. Euforia
Volador Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero
Traditionally, the main event of the last show is the big-time singles match. It’s also notable that they are not doing Dragon Lee vs. Takahashi after doing the angle for it yesterday, which means they are saving it for a bigger show.
