wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka Reviews NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania Finale & NJPW Road to New Beginning (Night One)
NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania 1.19.15
KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger & Stuka Jr. defeated Gedo Yoshi-Hashi, OKUMURA & Tomohiro Ishii via pin [**½]: This was the basic tag match to open a show on this tour. It was perfectly fine and fun at times, but stayed in low gear and then ended with Stuka pinning OKUMURA. There was nothing wrong with it, it was a solid opener, but I was just hoping for a little more.
Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Captain New Japan & Tritonvia via submission [**]: Naito made Captain New Japan submit to score the victory for his team. We get the usual comedy stylings of Captain New Japan, they worked a very basic style and that was that. It’s pretty much what you’d expect out of the match, nothing was wrong with it, but I am ready to move on.
Mephisto & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Stigma & Angel de Oro via pin [**½]: This match was on par with the opener, with the highlight being Angel de Oro. He stuck out as the star in the match, his shit just looked good, and he even busted out the Sasuke Special, which I always mark out for. There has been nothing wrong with this show so far, but there hasn’t been anything to make it worth my time either. The only thing I came away with was the desire to catch more Angel de Oro, so good on you dude, you’re the only thing that has mattered on this show so far.
Barbaro Cavernario defeated Rey Cometa via submission [****]: And a great thank you to Barbaro Cavernario and Rey Cometa, because they have delivered the best match on the three shows I have watched from this tour. This was a crazy display of highflying lucha action, the crowd responded well and overall this thing was just a wild match from beginning to end. It was easily the most fun I have had watching a match on this tour, and one of the few matches that felt like it had some importance to it. I don’t follow either guy regularly, but they pulled me in and made me care with some wildly great work.
Mistico defeated Polvora via submission [**]: And we come back to Earth with Mistico vs. Polvora. It was fine, but felt like a basic Raw/Impact match. It was far from horrible, but also id nothing to make me interested. Lets move on.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Volador Jr. & Atlantis defeated Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero via pin [***¾]: Ultimo Guerrero was still being a dick and trying to wear his mask. Ibushi unmasked him because he believes in fair play. While the earlier shows saw the major stars really take their night lightly, in this match they stepped it up a bit and the result was a very fun, and way higher quality match. It was nothing amazing, but Okada rolling with Volador and Nakamura’s insane charisma, added in with everyone working well together helped to pick this card up and already make it better than the previous two events. Also, this…
This was really fun and the work clicked well.
La Sombra defeated Mascara Dorada via pin [***¾]: Sombra is noticeably slower and also bigger than he was, which doesn’t bode that well for his work, but it is what it is. Dorada was fantastic here, really working on a high level, and covering up for the hiccups of Sombra. This ended up being one of the better matches from the three Fantasticamania shows I have watched and on the level of the previous match I discussed. I really want to se more of Mascara Dorada, and I will get to do that as he has signed a one year deal with NJPW.
Quick Show Thoughts: This was easily the best show out of the three Fantasticamania shows I have reviewed. Barbaro Cavernario and Rey Cometa had the best match on these joint shows, and the final two matches were almost as good. It was a quality event, and if you only have time to watch one Fantasticamania event this year, there is no question, make it this show. While not nearly on the level of Wrestle Kingdom, this was a lot of fun, easy to watch and also a nice introduction to some of the CMLL talent if you’re not a follower of Lucha.
Score: 7.5
NJPW Road to New Beginning 2015 (Night One) 1.30.15
Alex Shelley defeated Jay White @ 8:30 via pin [**½]: This was a really nice way to kick off the show. White is a Young Lion, and did well for himself. Many times I feel that these matches are so forgettable because many guys just don’t feel ready or that they belong. They had a good, back and forth pro wrestling match and Shelley gave him enough so that it never felt like a complete domination. I was entertained, and came away interested to see White’s next match.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Yohei Komatsu @ 9:30 via pin [***]: This was a nice step up from the opener, and O’Reilly just seems at home working in New Japan. Really good work all the way through, with the crowd really getting into it down the stretch, which added to the vibe of the match. They also had some really good near falls, and O’Reilly picks up the singles win. Fish had travel issues, which is unfortunate for him, but I felt O’Reilly took advantage on the opportunity.
The Young Bucks defeated Mascara Dorada & KUSHIDA @ 6:00 via pin [**½]: Unfortunately this wasn’t your normal Young Bucks match. Not sure if Nick was too dinged up from the reported hamstring injury or what, but they worked a much more conservative match here. It wasn’t bad in any way; just disappointing due to the level of expectations the Bucks have developed. It was enjoyable for the time given, and so far the card has been strong but unspectacular. That’s likely the theme for the night.
Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask, & Captain New Japan @ 9:30 via submission [**]: This was a very basic six-man tag. Some comedy spots, the guys hitting their signature stuff and the crowd seemed to enjoy it overall. The take away from this was that they continue to tease the Liger vs. Tiger Mask match that has to be coming soon. Overall this was nothing to write home about, but it wasn’t bad for what it was.
Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, & Yuji Nagata defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, & Toru Yano @ 13:36 via pin [***¼]: This was really fun coming out of the intermission. Ishii and Makabe beat the hell out of each other, Nagata and Nakamura continued the build to their match, lots of controlled chaos at the end and overall this had more energy than pretty much anything else on the show outside of Komatsu vs. O’Reilly. Nagata scores the win for his team after hitting the backdrop driver on YOSHI-HASHI. I enjoyed that, Nagata gets the win to keep looking strong as he heads into his IC Title match with Nakamura and it worked.
Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gedo @ 11:00 via pin [**]: This was ok, but really nothing special and an overall let down. They are setting the Fale vs. Okada feud, but the finish had nothing to do with either guy. I don’t want Okada and Fale trading finishes every night until they finally have their singles match, but at least have either Fale or Okada win the tag match, since they are the stars that are going to feud.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Katsuyori Shibata, & Hirooki Goto defeated Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Kenny Omega defeated @ 17:00 via pin [***]: In many ways this was the typical Bullet Club, multi-man tag match. They had a bit more flash this time around due to Omega’s addition, which is welcomed. They dominated for more than half of the match; the faces made their comeback and Tanahashi hit the styles clash and high fly flow for the win. With Tanahashi about to defend against Styles, I loved that he used the clash. For those that do not know, Tanahashi had also used the move, but when Styles came to New Japan, he stopped. We’ll call him using the move now “shots fired” and a way to build to the title match without the challenger being there. This was a good match, but not a great main event.
Quick Show Thoughts: This event is a house show that aired on New Japan World, and is essentially like the old Road to WrestleMania tours WWE used to run. These help to build to the New Beginning events, and while not great shows would be a good jumping in point for new fans of New Japan. You’ll get familiar with the main players and can then watch the New Beginning shows and go from there.
Score: 6.3
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