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Csonka’s NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania Review 1.22.18

January 23, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
FantasticaMania III
6.2
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania Review 1.22.18  

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Csonka’s NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania Review 1.22.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Puma & Disturbio @ 8:52 via pin [**½]
– Okumura, Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero defeated Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, & Star Jr. @ 10:59 via pin []
CMLL Hermanos 3rd Place Match: Cuatrero & Sanson defeated Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja @ 9:30 via pin [**½]
– Gedo & Barbaro Cavernario defeated Atlantis & Kawato @ 9:14 via submission [**¾]
– LIJ defeated Drone, Sobernaro Jr. Volador Jr. @ 8:40 via pin [***]
– Rush defeated Satoshi Kojima @ 10:11 via pin [**¾]
CMLL Hermanos Finals: Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero defeated Dragon Lee & Mistico @ 18:40 via pin [***½]


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

Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Puma & Disturbio: Fuego and Disturbio to begin. They work some back and forth until Fuego hits arm drags, sending Disturbio to the floor. Puma and Taguchi in now, they work some back and forth and Fuego takes a powder to the floor. Disturbio & Puma double-team Fuego, but he quickly battles back and dances. The arm drag follows but Disturbio & Puma cut of the faces, dump Taguchi and now double team Fuego They now work over Taguchi with double teams. Fuego back in, he heads up top and hits a moonsault to Disturbio on the floor. Taguchi makes Puma run the ropes and blows him up and then hits ass attacks. Disturbio back in and throws an energy ball at Taguchi, ending him to the floor. Fuego back in and rolls up Disturbio for 2. Puma cuts him off, but Taguchi makes the save with an ass attack and big tope. Fuego works over Disturbio and cradles him for the win. Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Puma & Disturbio @ 8:52 via pin [**½] This was a perfectly solid, comedy filled opener that the crowd enjoyed.

Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, & Star Jr. vs. Okumura, Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero: Yoh and KUSHIDA to begin. They work to the ground, trading top position. Yoh escapes a head scissors, but KUSHIDA dropkicks him to the floor. Romero tags in as does Liger. They lock up, work to the ropes and Romero with the clean break. Romero wants a handshake, and he and Liger hug. Romero attacks, but Liger quickly cuts him off and locks on the Romero special. Star and Okumura tag in, Star hits a springboard RANA and teases a dive. The faces all dance, and even get referee Tiger Hatori to dance. Sho in now, he works back and forth with Tiger Mask and then hits a knee strike and follows with kicks. Mima trips up Tiger Mask, allowing Sho to hit a superkick. Mima accidentally hits Sho, and Tiger Mask hits her with a tilt a whirl back breaker, he teases a tiger driver, but Okumura makes the save. The heels then attack Liger, beating him down and then attack KUSHIDA. Romero hits forever clotheslines and Mima slaps him and Okumura and Romero accidentally hit her with corner attacks. KUSHIDA fires up and takes control, working over Romero and Mima. KUSHIDA & Romero trade strikes, Romero then rakes the eyes. KUSHIDA battles back with a dropkick until 3K cut him off and it breaks down. Liger & Tiger Mask take out 3K, Tiger Mask hits a suicide dive an Star it’s a RANA on Okumura for 2. Okumura hits the reverse DDT and puts Star away. Okumura, Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero defeated Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, & Star Jr. @ 10:59 via pin [*½] This never really got going and was filled with too much bullshit, and considering the talent involved, was very disappointing.

CMLL Hermanos 3rd Place Match: Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja vs. Cuatrero & Sanson: Oro and Cuatrero to begin, they trade chops and Oro hits a dropkick. They now trade corner attacks, with Cuatrero sent to the floor. Roja and Sanson in, Sanson hits a superkick and follows with a clothesline. Cuatrero back in, he and Sanson double team Oro, covering for 2. Oro fights back, and then he and Roja follow with dives to the floor. Back in and Sanson cuts off Oro and tags in Cuatrero. Oro fights off the double teams, hits a superkick and follows with a head scissors. Roja in with Sanson, they blow a high cross spot, and Cuatrero in and accidentally hits Sanson. Roja sends Sanson to the floor, and he and Oro look for dives, but get cut off. The double teams on Oro lead to a near fall. Roja back in, he hits a pop up knee strike, but Cuatrero cuts him off. Sanson and Cuatrero look for double teams, and lay the boots to Roja. Double basement dropkicks follow for 2. Oro makes the save and it breaks down, Oro & Roja now work double submissions. Sanson breaks free and saves Cuatrero. Roja set up top now, and hits the double chicken wing slam, but Sanson cuts him off and hits the rack bomb. Oro flies in, makes the save and sets Sanson up top. Sanson then hits the rack bomb off the ropes for the win. Cuatrero & Sanson defeated Angel de Oro & Neibla Roja @ 9:30 via pin [**½] With their win. Cuatrero & Sanson are officially the third best brothers in CMLL. The match had its highlights, but also a lot of rough and sloppy spots, making this average at best.

Kawato’s Farewell Match Prior to Excursion: Atlantis & Kawato vs. Gedo & Barbaro Cavernario: This is Kawato’s final CMLL match before heading off to CMLL on his learning excursion. He’s been an awesome young lion and has a ton of potential when they bring him back. Gedo & Cavernario, the nefarious bastard they are, attack before the bell and try to unmask Atlantis. Kawato makes the save, and he and Atlantis start to battle back, with Cavernario & Kawato pairing off. Atlantis and Gedo also spill to the floor, because Gedo loves southern style brawling. He also loves southern tag wrestling, the Midnights & Rock ‘n Rolls, but can’t book tag wrestling to save his ass. Gedo & Cavernario drag Kawato back to the ring and beat on him, but don’t cover him. Nope, they want to punish this young lad before he leaves for Mexico. They isolate Kawato, working double teams. Cavernario back in and finally makes a cover, but Kawato kicks out at 2. Gedo inand the double teams continue on poor Kawato. Kawato manages to fire up a bit, but Cavernario quickly cuts him off. Gedo back, lays in rights and hits a rough looking backdrop on Kawato. Kawato catches him with a boot, looks for tag and gets it. Atlantis is cut off right away. He tries to fight back, and Kawato flies in with a missile dropkick to save him. Kawato is fired up and hits a tope on Cavernario. Gedo and Atlantis are in the ring and Atlantis hits arm drags. He sends Gedo to the floor, and Cavernario cuts him off. Atlantis gets sent to the floor, and Kawato flies in and starts working over Cavernario. Cavernario does the worm and Cavernario quickly wins with La Cavernaria on Kawato. Gedo & Barbaro Cavernario defeated Atlantis & Kawato @ 9:14 via submission [**¾] This was pretty good, Kawato’s selling and fire were on point as always and his interactions with Cavernario were really good.

Drone, Sobernaro Jr. Volador Jr. vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & Tetsuya Naito: Volador and Naito to begin, Volador hits a RANA, and BUSHI attacks. Drone in and takes him to the floor. Takahashi & Naito attack, and toss him to the floor. Sobernaro back in and Naito attacks his mask, trying to rip it off. Takahashi & Naito work double teams, Volador in and BUSH & Takahashi work double teams and send him to the floor. BUSHI& Naito double team Drone now, Volador back in and BUSHI and Takahashi look for double teams, Volador fires up with chops, but BUSHI cuts him off. Volador makes the comeback, laying in kicks, and Sobernaro flies in with a high cross and dropkicks. He takes Naito to the floor, and trades chops with Takahashi. They light each other up, and Sobernaro follows with a powerslam. Sobernaro goes springboard and hits the moonsault for 2. They both hit the ropes and collide as both go for a running high cross. Wholesale changes to BUSHI & Drone, they trade chops until Drone drops BUSHI with a right. Volador and crew clear the ring and follow with a trio of dives. Back in and BUSHI works over Drone, gets a low blow and backslide and that’s good enough for the win. LIJ defeated Drone, Sobernaro Jr. Volador Jr. @ 8:40 via pin [***] This was good overall, but felt like it took a while to get going. Pick up the pace a bit and give it a hotter ending and it’s a much better match.

Rush vs. Satoshi Kojima: they are fired up and brawl right at the bell, laying in rights and chops. Rush is not impressed, and they trade shoulder blocks and Rush then takes Kojima to the floor. He follows and lays the boots to Kojima, and then slams him off the announcer’s table. Rush chokes him out with a cable now, he then gets a chair and just fucking waffles Kojima with it right on the dome. Not even the cushioned side. Rush continues the assault on the floor, choking out Kojima and then using the chair to choke him out. He then posts Kojima and again slams him off of a table before choking him out again. They finally go back into the ring, and Rush continues to control. He stomps on Kojima in the corner, and then kicks him in the face. Rush follows with machinegun chops, mocking Kojima. Kojima finally fires back and he lays in the machinegun chops. The corner forearm follows, but Rush cuts him off before he can go up top. Kojima is sent to the floor and Rush teases the dive, opting for tranquilo. Rush finally follows to the floor, and Kojima hits the desperation DDT. Back in and Kojima hits another DDT and heads up top. The elbow drop connects, and Kojima covers for 2. Kojima follows with forearm strikes, but runs into a belly to belly for the double down. Rush follows with a northern lights suplex for 2. Kojima fights off the Rush driver, and hits a cutter. The brainbuster follows and Kojima covers for 2. Kojima looks for the lariat, and gets it. Kojima follows with strikes, looks for another lariat, but Rush counters, hits knee strikes and the Rush driver to pick up the win. Rush defeated Satoshi Kojima @ 10:11 via pin [**¾] This ended up being a pretty good match, but they had to fight to get it just to that level. The opening stretch once they hi the floor was just uninspired and took the crowd out of the match. They worked a fun closing stretch, with some god near falls, but it was far from great.

CMLL Hermanos Finals: Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico: We get some stalling to begin, and then Ultimo & Mistico start things off. They work some back and forth, until Ultimo grounds the action. He looks to work the arm, but Mistico escapes. Mistico now looks to work the arm and they work into a stand off. They work into a test of strength; Ultimo grounds the action again, this time targeting the leg. Mistico escapes, which allows Ultimo to raise the roof a bit. They work into some counters, Mistico hits a RANA and Ultimo bails to the floor. Lee tags in. as does Gran. They battle for position, Lee picks up the pace and Gran keeps up as they end in a stand off. Grab just tosses Lee aside, huts the dropkick as Ultimo attacks Mistico. Los Guerreros now lay in chops and start double teaming Lee. They raise the roof and start working over Mistico, setting him up top and hitting a double press slam. Lee back in and they work double teams on him. Mistico flies in with a RANA, and he and lee follow with stereo topes. Back in and Gran lays in chops on Mistico, but Mistico fights back with a RANA and head scissors. To the floor and Ultimo gets posted. Mistico then dives out of the crowd with a RANA on Ultimo. Lee and Gran in now, Gran hits a shoulder block and they trade chops, just lighting each other up. My word these are vicious chops. Lee now hits a German and follows with a diving RANA to the floor. He cuts off Ultimo, and hits a DDT for 2. Mistico tags in, lays in chops on Ultimo and they work up top, Ultimo hits the Guerrero special of the ropes for 2. Mistico hits a RANA into a cradle for 2. Ultimo cuts him off, they work up top and Mistico hits a RANA off the ropes for 2. They work back up top and Ultimo cuts off Mistico and hits a superbomb for 2. Lee & Gran tag in, Gran takes control with a suplex, covering for 2. The chokeslam follows for 2. He lays the boots to Lee, but lee then hits a Spanish fly for 2. lee follows with a suplex to the buckles and lays the boots to Gran in the corner. They trade chops, just destroying each other. Sweet Jesus, these are some sick chops. The crowd loves this. They work up top and battle for position. Lee looks for a double stomp and hits it to the apron! Ultimo now has Mistico and hits the proper Guerrero special for the win. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero defeated Dragon Lee & Mistico @ 18:40 via pin [***½] This was a very good, hard-hitting at times main event. They kept a good pace, worked in some great near falls and kept the crowd the entire time. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero are THE BEST Brothers.

– So CMLL’s best brothers are…
1. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero
2. Dragon Lee & Mistico
3. Cuatrero & Sanson

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.2
The final score: review Average
The 411
While not a bad show, night three of the CMLL FantasticaMania events was the “worst” of the three shows, as it was a pretty average event with a very good main event. Still, I found the three shows a lot of fun and a joy to cover like I do every year.
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