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NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2011, Night 1

ByKevin Ford

Feb 23, 2011

NJPW teams up with CMLL for a weekend of lucharesu action!
January 22, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan
IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Tag Team Champions: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Prince Devitt
IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
Taichi vs. Maximo
Maximo gets the mental age by praying on Taichi’s homophobia. A test of strength goes Taichi’s way, but Maximo out-gays him to stay in control. Taichi starts to feel like he can’t make contact at all. That’s actually a pretty sound strategy. Taichi puts on an armbar but Maximo quickly escapes and puts on a leglock. He hits an armdrag. Taichi puts on a chinlock. Maximo rips Taichi’s pants off, revealing themed underwear. Taichi gives Maximo a wedgie and spanks him. For whatever reason the crowd wants to see that again, so Taichi obliges them. Maximo hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a butt butt for 2. He armdrags Taichi to the floor and hits two suicide dives. He misses a senton atomico back in the ring. He gets a roll up for 2. Taichi goes to the eyes. He hits a kneelift. He hits a high kick for 2. Maximo kisses him and gets a schoolboy for 2. Taichi gets a schoolboy for 2. Maximo hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Taichi hits an ugly hurricanrana for 2. He hits the Black Mephisto for the win at 12:39. This was actually better than expected, with some surprising (if unconventional) psychology.
Rating: **½
Mascara Dorada © vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [CMLL World Welterweight Championship Match]
CMLL Championships are decided in 2/3 falls matches. Dorada is also the CMLL World Super Lightweight Champion and one-third of the CMLL World Trios Champions. They fight over a leglock to start. Taguchi hits an ugly Manhattan drop for 2. They totally lose the crowd when they prove unable to click. Some mirror wrestling gets things back on track a bit. Taguchi bails, seemingly for no reason, so Dorada hits a suicide dive. What is going on here?! Taguchi hits a missile dropkick for 2. Dorada hits a Death Valley bomb to win the first fall at 4:25. Dorada starts the second fall with a dropkick to the knee. Taguchi hits a glancing dropkick for 2. Dorada hits a schoolyard chop. Taguchi catches him midair with a dropkick. He hits a facebuster for 2. He sets up for the Shika Koroshi and Dorada submits at 5:55. Taguchi stays on the leg to start the third fall. He puts on a heel hook but Dorada gets to the ropes. Taguchi puts on the STF. Dorada hits a flapjack. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a head scissor takedown. He hits the Destello Dorada. Taguchi hits an enziguiri and a plancha. He hits rolling snap suplexes for 2. Dorada hits a facebuster. Taguchi gets a roll up for 2. He misses a dropkick and Dorada hits a basement dropkick for 2. Taguchi hits a tiger suplex for 2. He hits the Dodon for the win and the title at 11:20. This was one of the weirdest matches I’ve ever seen. Nothing made sense, neither guy appeared to be comfortable, and they were completely unable to get the crowd engaged. Color me unimpressed.
Rating: *½
Jushin Liger © vs. La Sombra [CMLL World Middleweight Championship Match]
They start shoving each other before the match starts. Liger puts on a surfboard. He hits a shoulder tackle. He clotheslines Sombra to the floor. Sombra comes back with a missile dropkick. He hits a suicide dive. In the ring Sombra hits a slam that was definitely supposed to be a backbreaker. He gets a schoolboy and then rolls back to hit a suplex for 2. He hits an Arabian press. He hits an Arabian legdrop (for lack of a better term) to win the first fall at 3:50. Liger hits a backbreaker. He shoves Sombra to the floor and hits a plancha. In the ring Sombra gets a roll up for 2. Liger hits the palm strike and a powerbomb. He put son an armbar to win the second fall at 5:56. The third fall starts with Liger avoiding a charge. Sombra hits a head scissor takedown. He baits Liger to the apron and hits a dropkick. He hits a moonsault press to the floor. Nutty as hell. Liger hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a topé from the apron. Sombra gets a schoolboy for 2. He gets a victory roll for 2. He puts on a reverse figure 4 leglock. Liger gets to the ropes after a difficult struggle. He gets a roll up for 2. Sombra puts on a half crab. Liger gets to the ropes. Sombra misses a moonsault and a recovery moonsault attempt. He hits a dropkick after blocking a powerbomb and a brainbuster. He hits that amazing reverse quebrada. He hits a split legged 360 senton for 2. He hits a corkscrew crossbody for 2. Liger hits the Air Scissors Drop for 2. He hits a frog splash. He hits a second frog splash for 2. He hits the brainbuster for the win at 16:28. The first two falls were totally useless. The third fall brought me back from insanity, and gave me hope that this show might have some life in it after all with hard work from Liger and fun flying from Sombra.
Rating: ***¼
Giant Bernard © & Karl Anderson © vs. Atlantis & OKUMURA [IWGP Tag Team Championship Match]
OKUMURA and Anderson start. They go at it on the mat. Bernard easily overpowers Atlantis. He hits a shoulder tackle. Atlantis comes back with a missile dropkick for 1. He hits a suicide dive. He hits Anderson with a backbreaker. OKUMURA hits a dive onto everyone. Atlantis hits another dive. He hits another backbreaker on Anderson in the ring. He this a third backbreaker for 2. Anderson chops Bernard by mistake. Bernard mistakenly returns the favor. They get it together and hit a double bicycle kick on OKUMURA. Anderson hits a legdrop on the apron. Bernard hits a big boot. In the ring Anderson hits a kneedrop for 2. Bernard hits an elbowdrop for 2. Anderson hits a lariat in the corner. OKUMURA hits a lariat. Atlantis hits a dropkick for 2. Bernard splashes Anderson by mistake. Atlantis dropkicks him. He and OKUMURA work Anderson’s arm. Bernard cleans house with lariats. Anderson slams both opponents and Bernard splashes them for 2. Bernard hits avalanches on everything that moves. He stacks up his opponents and goes for another splash but Atlantis puts up his knees. He and OKUMURA hit double shoulder tackles and a double vertical suplex for 2. Anderson hits a neckbreaker and Bernard hits another splash. Anderson hits a senton for 2. Atlantis hits Anderson with a crossbody. Bernard comes back with a flapjack. OKUMURA clutches Anderson for 2. He hits a DDT. Anderson hits the Gun Stun for the win at 13:06. They played up the fact that the CMLL guys were probably too small to be challenging for these belts, and it worked pretty well.
Rating: ***¼
Bernard gets on the microphone after the match and complains that the Muscle Orchestra were named by Tokyo Sports Magazine as the number one tag team of 2010. He says they haven’t beaten anyone while Bad Intentions have been tearing through the competition. He says Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man can have a title shot. Nakanishi comes out of the crowd and accepts the opportunity. Bernard and Anderson cut an amazing promo in the back. When did Bernard become gold on the microphone?
Tomohiro Ishii & Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Tiger Mask & La Mascara
Ishii and Rojo attack before the bell. Rojo hits a topé con hilo. Mask kicks the crap out of Ishii. Ishii hits a vertical suplex. Rojo hits a back elbow. He hits a dropkick to the crotch. Ishii goes after the mask but the referee stops him. Mask hits Rojo with a backbreaker. Mascara comes in and hits a head scissor takedown. Rojo hits a dropkick. He goes after Mascara’s mask but the referee stops him. Things get crazy awkward as Mascara makes a comeback. What is this guy’s problem? He badly botches a suicide dive. Mask hits Ishii with a dropkick. He hits a tiger driver for 2. Mascara hits a missile dropkick. Mask hits a standing moonsault for 2. He puts on a cross armbreaker. Mask catches Ishii with a crucifix pin for 2. He hits a tombstone piledriver for 2. Mascara lies on the mat for no reason. Ishii hits Mask with a powerslam for 2. The crowd has now caught on to Mascara’s issues, and it seems like the commentators have too. He falls off the top rope. Rojo puts him in an armbar. This is absurd! Mascara botches another spot (after calling the spot loudly and blatantly) and Rojo mercifully pins him at 10:06. Mascara was moving at half-speed and it looked so strange in a match in which everyone else was working hard. He seriously looked drunk and dragged the entire match down.
Rating: DUD
After the match Ishii and mask try to wash the bad taste of that match out of everyone’s mouths with a brawl. Ishii introduces a chair and rips off Mask’s mask. He puts it on and taunts Tiger Mask.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Mistico vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naito & Averno
They do a memorial ceremony for Black Cat before the match, since the match is dedicated to him. Mistico and Averno start. Mistico takes off one mask (he has another on underneath) and stomps on it. He and Averno go through a very crisp exchange. They trade monkey flips. Mistico hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a satellite head scissor takedown. He hits a suicide dive. Devitt and Naito trade holds. Naito hits a shoulder tackle. He hits a dropkick. Tanahashi comes in and hits a hiptoss. Nakamura tags in and looks for a wristlock. He hits a roundhouse kick. He hits Mistico with a big boot. Mistico hits a head scissor takedown. Averno hits Devitt with a back elbow. Devitt hits a shotgun dropkick for 2. Averno hits a powebomb. Naito hits a powerbomb. Nakamura hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a leg lariat. Naito and Averno hit a double-team powerbomb for 2. They bounce Mistico off the ropes. Averno drags Mistico around the ring by his mask ripping it to shreds. He and Naito accidentally hit Nakamura with a double big boot. Mistico cleans house. He hits Averno with a topé con hilo. Devitt follows suit. Tanahashi hits Nakamura with a dropkick. He hits a leaping elbow. He hits a senton atomico for 2. He puts on a cloverleaf. Naito tries to make the save so Tanahashi hits him with a dragon screw. Nakamura hits a kneelift to the gut. He hits a corkscrew plancha. Mistico hits Averno with a head scissor takedown. He hits Naito with El Pendulo. He hits Averno with a backbreaker and rips his mask up. He gets a sunset flip for 2. Averno blocks La Mistica and hits a low blow. He hits the Devil Wings for the win at 14:33. As bad as La Mascara was, that’s how good Mistico was. Also, the heel team worked incredibly well together. I’m really excited for Mistico vs. Averno on the next show.
Rating: ***¾
After the match both Mistico and Averno promise to win tomorrow night’s singles match. They brawl until Averno yanks off Mistico’s mask. In the back Devitt gives Taguchi props for winning a CMLL title tonight. He’s thankful that he did so because they need momentum going into tomorrow night’s Junior Tag Title match and he’s disappointed in his own performance tonight.

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3 thoughts on “NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2011, Night 1”

wrsisyphus2 says:

February 23, 2011 at 9:10 pm

I heard Dorada looked like crap in all his matches in Japan. CMLL claimed jet lag, but most people who’ve seen the matches seem to think he was drugged out. Considering what I’ve heard about wrestlers in Mexico, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.
wrsisyphus2 says:

February 23, 2011 at 9:12 pm

Oh, and I heard the same about La Mascara as well. Seriously, what IS it with luchadores and coke?!
Colin R says:

February 24, 2011 at 1:44 pm

Yeah I reviewed this show myself a week or so ago and had pretty much the same thoughts everywhere that you did. La Mascara was the worst of all, he seriously botched probably half of his moves in that tag match, holy shit that was bad. Liger-Sombra was fun though, as was the main event.

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