NJPW CMLL (SAT) 01/21/2012 Korakuen Hall
***Fantastic Mania 2012 (Day 1)***
1) Danshoku Dino & Máximo vs Taichi & Taka Michinoku
2) King Fale & Tama Tonga vs Shigeo Okumura & YOSHI-HASHI
3) Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV vs Gedo, Jado, Misterioso Jr.
4) Hirooki Goto & Kushida vs Máscara Dorada & Rush
5) Diamante, Jushin Liger, Tetsuya Naito vs Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi
6) Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr.
Day 1 is primarily setup this year; they don’t seem as concerned with loading up both shows. Also, NJPW’s juniors champions (Devitt & Taguchi) are kept away from the CMLL guys for the most part. These are stand alone shows and shouldn’t be excepted to directly set up anything more CMLL/NJPW related.
NJPW is busy setting up a Tanahashi/Okada match, as you can tell from all these lineups.
The secret CHAOS/Hijos de Averno alliance still seems to be in effect.
Misterioso was supposed to face Tiger Mask in the H1N1 canceled appearance (this was when they were doing Mistico/Tiger Mask a lot), so he finally gets a hold of him here. He should fit in well with Gedo & Jado, he’s got the “‘o” already. Misterioso, Diamante and Mephisto seem mostly here just to make up the numbers (and Diamante looks to be taking direct losses both nights), but hopefully they’ll get a chance to show off a bit.
Taichi and Maximo continue their feud in the opener.
NJPW CMLL (SUN) 01/22/2012 Korakuen Hall
***Fantastic Mania 2012 (Day 2)***
1) Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tama Tonga, Tiger Mask IV vs Gedo, Jado, Shigeo Okumura, YOSHI-HASHI
2) Jushin Liger & Máximo vs Misterioso Jr. & Taichi
3) Máscara Dorada vs Kushida [CMLL WELTER]
4) Hirooki Goto vs Rush
5) Diamante, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura
6) La Sombra vs Volador Jr. [NWA WELTER]
This is the interesting show. Volador and Sombra in a match seemed guaranteed once they were both announced for this show. They’re going to be all out for this one, and the only danger is trying to do too much.
Hirooki Goto versus Rush is an interesting match. Non-title points toward the finish, but Rush has a strong chance to make a name for himself in two nights. After, Goto and Rush can commiserate about failing to win the heavyweight title.
Mascara Dorada lost the CMLL Welterweight Championship to Taguchi last year. I think he’ll hold onto it this year, in what could be a good year for him in Japan.
These shows are broadcast on SamuraiTV rapidly, so they’ll be showing up thru the puroresu videos sites. You should also check out the Mask Mania blog for posts about how it’s like to be there.
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