Csonka’s NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania Review 1.21.18

Csonka’s NJPW CMLL FantasticaMania Review 1.21.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Puma & Disturbio defeated Drone & Star Jr. @ 9:25 via pin [**]
– Fuego, Sobernaro Jr., & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Okumura, Sho, & Yoh @ 11:15 via pin [***]
– LIJ defeated Atlantis, Hirai Kawato, Satoshi Kojima, & KUSHIDA @ 11:59 via pin [**¾]
– CMLL Hermanos Semifinal Match: Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero defeated Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja @ 15:28 via pin [***½]
– CMLL Hermanos Semifinal Match: Dragon Lee & Mistico defeated Cuatrero & Sanson @ 10:30 via submission [***]
– NWA Welterweight Title Match: Champion Volador Jr. defeated Barbaro Cavernario @ 22:15 via pin [****]

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– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– My Top 23 EVOLVE Matches of 2017.
– My Top 24 ROH Matches of 2017.
– My Top 8 Matches of December 2017.
– My NJPW WrestleKingdom 12 Takeaways.
– My Top 38 WWE Matches of 2017.
– My Top 25 Matches of 2017.

– You can read my review of the first live show here.

Drone & Star Jr. vs. Puma & Disturbio: Disturbio & Drone in to begin. Disturbio looks to overpower Drone early on, and then starts working the arm. He then transitions to working the leg until Drone escapes. Star and Puma tag in, they pick up the pace and work some back and forth until Puma locks in a surfboard. Star escapes, hits arm drags and they work into a stand off. They shake hands as Star and Disturbio tag back in and Disturbio attacks Star, leading to he and Puma working double teams. Puma hits a delayed suplex, as they send Star to the floor. Star battles back, he and Puma work up top with Puma hitting a superbomb, and Disturbio lays the boots to Star as they take over on Drone. Disturbio tries to rip off his mask, but Drone sends him to the floor and Star returns and runs wild and wipes put Puma with a moonsault to the floor. Disturbio cuts off Drone and gets a messed up pin attempt on Star. Puma takes Star to the floor, cuts off Drone as Disturbio hits a cannonball to the floor. Puma gets a cradle and pins Drone. Puma & Disturbio defeated Drone & Star Jr. @ 9:25 via pin [**] This was an ok little opener, but a bit too disjointed and messy for my liking.

Fuego, Sobernaro Jr., & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Okumura, Sho, & Yoh: Fuego and Okumura to begin, and they work some basic back and forth. Fuego hits a springboard high cross, and then dances around before hitting an arm drag and sends Okumura to the floor. Sobernaro and Sho tag in. Sho works a side headlock, and then a shoulder block. Chops follow, but Sobernaro his an enziguri. Sho cuts off a RANA but eats a superkick. The RANA follows and Sho is sent to the floor. Rocky distracts Sobernaro, so Sobernaro takes him out with a RANA on the floor. Yoh tags in as does Taguchi. They lock up, Taguchi takes it to the ground, but Yoh counters out and makes Taguchi run the ropes until he blows up and collapses. Yoh covers for 2. Yoh follows with rights, but Taguchi hits ass attacks on all three and then Rocky. Mima in and she hits ass attacks until Taguchi motorboats her ass. She cuts off an ass attack with an atomic drop, and that allows Roppongi & Okumura to take over. They take out Fuego, Taguchi and Sobernaro return and run wild as Sobernaro hits a Sasuke special. Taguchi runs wild with ass attacks, but Sho hits the back stabber to stop him. Taguchi fights off Roppongi, Sobernaro joins him and we end up with a five-way tower of doom. Fuego in and he runs wild with back breakers, and he and Taguchi follow with topes. Okumura hits a sunset flip on Sobernaro for 2. Sobernaro hits the enziguri and corkscrew high cross on Okumura for the win. Fuego, Sobernaro Jr., & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Okumura, Sho, & Yoh [***] This was a good and fun little tag match, very lighthearted, and kept the crowd the whole time.

Atlantis, Hirai Kawato, Satoshi Kojima, & KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI, Rush, Hiromu Takahashi, & Tetsuya Naito: The faces turn the table son LIJ, attacking them prior to the bell and taking things to the floor for the big brawl. Takahashi works over Kawato with chops until Atlantis makes the save. It doesn’t last long as Takahashi attacks, leaving Kojima sand Rush in the ring. BUSHI tries to help and he also eats chops. Chops to Rush follow, and then the corner forearm, but Rush cuts off the top rope elbow. Rush takes control as the rest brawl on the floor. Rush now takes Kojima to the floor, and they brawl into the entranceway. Rush eventually takes Kojima back into the ring and chokes him out with his shirt as LIJ work the gang beat down on Kojima and pose. BUSHI hits a missile dropkick, and uses Rush’s shirt to choke out Kojima. Takahashi and Naito follow with double teams, covering for 2. Naito rakes the eyes and follows with an enziguri. Kojima then hits a desperation cutter, and tags in Atlantis. BUSHI attacks him right away, but Atlantis battles back. Rush in and Atlantis battles and sends Takahashi and BUSHI to the floor. BUSHI and KUSHIDA in now, they pick up the pace, and KUSHIDA runs wild until Naito cuts him off. Kawato hits a missile dropkick, allowing KUSHIDA to lock on an arm bar on BUSHI. BUSHI escapes, hitting a rolling kick. Takahashi in and KUSHIDA hits the dropkick and tags in Kawato. He hits a RANA, but Takahashi works him over with chops. Kawato fires up and beats on Takahashi with forearms and kicks. He now lays in chops, but gets decapitated with a lariat. LIJ sends the faces to the floor and works over Kawato with corner attacks. It breaks down, Rush continues to punish Kawato, but Kawato hits the desperation dropkick. He hits the spinning elbow on BUSHI but Rosh cuts him off and hits the Rush driver, covering for the win. LIJ defeated Atlantis, Hirai Kawato, Satoshi Kojima, & KUSHIDA @ 11:59 via pin [**¾] Post match, Rush beat down Kojima on the floor, continuing the build to their match on tomorrow’s show, which was the real goal here. This was an overall pretty good match, with solid heat and some fun stuff.

CMLL Hermanos Semifinal Match: Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero: Oro and Ultimo in to begin. They work some back and forth, Oro grounds the action, but Ultimo counters out and locks on the Romero special. Oro escapes and locks on an STF. Ultimo counters out as Oro sells the leg. They work some back and forth again and into a stand off, shaking hands. Roja & Gran in now. Gran looks to ground things, but Roja quickly escapes and he takes things to the ground. They work into back and forth and both look for a dropkick and miss. Gran finally hits the uranage and Ultimo tags in and they take control with double teams. Oro in, but they quickly cut him off with double teams. They now double team Roja, Oro back in and they make the comeback, including Oro hitting a suicide dive and Rojo hitting a great looking tope. Back in the ring, Roja hits a high cross on Ultimo. They trade clotheslines, and Roja hits the rolling elbow to cut off Ultimo. Oro and Gran in, Oro hits a head scissors and Gran bails to the floor. Roja & Ultimo tag back in, with Ultimo and Gran attacking. They take out Oro, and then dropkick Roja to the floor. Gran then busts out the tope onto both. Ultimo up top and wipes out the pile with a dive. Ultimo back in the ring and Oro joins him. They work up top and Ultimo hits the dump suplex off the ropes, covering for 2. Oro battles back with a superkick, and then a high cross for 2. The dropkick follows, and Oro busts out the Sasuke special. Roja locks on the pendulum lock on Gran, but he escapes and sets him up top. Roja hits the double chicken wing slam off the ropes, covering for 2. Roja takes Gran back up top and the Gran Guerrero special connects for the win. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero defeated Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja @ 15:28 via pin [***½] This was a very good tag match, with an really strong second half, and I feel the right team winning. The Guerreros are so much fun.

CMLL Hermanos Semifinal Match: Dragon Lee & Mistico vs. Cuatrero & Sanson: Mistico & Lee clear the ring and hit stereo topes to kick things off. They roll Sanson in and work double teams. Mistico follows with a series of kicks, and follows with chops in the corner. Sanson cuts him off with a clothesline, and Cuatrero rushes in and takes Lee to the floor. Double teams on Mistico follow, and Sanson starts ripping off Mistico’s mask, because he’s a dick. Sanson follows with chops and rights, tagging in Cuatrero. The spinebuster and basement dropkick follow. Sanson tags back in, and double teams on Mistico follow. Mistico fights back, sets Sanson on the ropes and hits a RANA. Lee tags in and lays in strikes on Sanson. Sanson gets run into Cuatrero and Lee hits a German and Michinoku driver for 2. Mistico flies in with a high cross, and it breaks down into a chop battle with all four. Sanson and Cuatrero follow with stereo suicide dives. Back in and Cuatrero hits a back handspring elbow on Lee and a flatliner gets 2. They trade strikes now, and Lee hits a reverse RANA for 2 as Sanson makes the save. Lee hits the RANA to the floor as Mistico hits a RANA in the ring. Sanson hit the rack bomb, covering for 2. Mistico counters a suplex and locks on la mistica for the win. Dragon Lee & Mistico defeated Cuatrero & Sanson @ 10:30 via submission [***] This was a good match, with the right team winning, setting up a potentially great final tomorrow.

NWA Welterweight Title Match: Champion Volador Jr. vs. Barbaro Cavernario: Here we go with our main event. They lock up, work to the ropes, and Volador slaps Cavernario. They work into some back and forth, but neither man can find an advantage. Volador hits a RANA, but gets sent to the floor. Cavernario gets a chair and jumps off of it to hit a splash on the floor. Cavernario rolls Volador back in and lays the boots to him. He undoes the buckle pad, studying his Yano tapes, does the worm and after picking up the pace. Volador hits a head scissors and follows with a slingshot RANA to the floor. Back in and Cavernario cuts off the back handspring attack, covering for 2. The missile dropkick also connects, again, covering for 2. Volador fires back with a kick, but runs right into a dropkick. Cavernario then follows with a springboard high cross to the floor. Back in and Cavernario lays the boots to Volador. The big buckle bomb follows for 2. Cavernario teases the buckle bomb to the exposed buckle, but Volador counters into a roll up for 2. Cavernario gets in a cheap shot from behind, chares and posts himself. Volador follows with the suicide dive. He then follows with a big tope. Back in and Volador hits a superkick and backstabber. He heads up top, but Cavernario dropkicks him to the floor. Cavernario follows with a suicide dive from the apron, and we get a countout tease on Volador. Volador then springboards back in but eats a dropkick for his troubles. Cavernario follows with a cradled suplex, and springboard splash for 2. Cavernario fires up and heads up top, but misses the swanton, allowing Volador to cover for 2. Volador heads up top, and the moonsault eats boots, allowing Cavernario to cover for 2. Cavernario hits a basement dropkick, heads up top but gets cut off as Volador follows him up and hits the SUPER RANA, but Cavernario somehow kicks out. Cavernario now locks on the Romero special, but Volador makes the ropes. Cavernario slides to the floor and Volador wipes him out with a beautiful asai moonsault to the floor. Back in and Volador hits a superkick, but as he charges, Cavernario backdrops him to the floor. Cavernario hits the apron PK, and hits the cradles suplex onto the floor. Cavernario heads up top and HITS THE CAVEMAN SPLASH TO THE FLOOR!

INSANE!! Cavernario hits a splash to the outside! #njcmll https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/5MS9HPmkFl

— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) January 21, 2018

They make it back into the ring, beating the count. Volador heads up top, gets cut off and Cavernario hits a huge superplex, covering for 2. They work back up top, and Volador scores with the Spanish fly for a great near fall. Champion Volador Jr. defeated Barbaro Cavernario @ 22:15 via pin [****] This was an absolutely great match, and the best of the two live FantasticaMania shows so far. They did a great job of setting the stage early, not going too wild, but keeping the pacing quick and entertaining. From there, Volador looked like he was on his way to a decently easy win, but the intensity picked up as did the desperation of both men, particularly with Cavernario. The crazy caveman gave It everything he had, getting more wild and desperate, and even pulling out the huge caveman splash to the floor. But at the end of the day, he just didn’t have enough to overcome, as Volador went murder death kill, hitting the Spanish fly and running destroyer to finally put away his challenger. This was a great match and a fitting main event.

CARD FOR TOMORROW’S SHOW, ALSO STARTING AT 4:30 AM ET
* Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Puma & Disturbio
* Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, & Star Jr. vs. Okumura, Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero
* CMLL Hermanos 3rd Place Match: Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja vs. Cuatrero & Sanson
* Kawato’s Farewell Match Prior to Excursion: Atlantis & Kawato vs. Gedo & Barbaro Cavernario
* Drone, Sobernaro Jr. Volador Jr. vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & Tetsuya Naito
* Rush vs. Satoshi Kojima
* CMLL Hermanos Finals: Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

While not quite as consistent as night one, the second NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania event was another overall good and fun show, featuring a great main event, and setting things up well for tomorrow’s finale.