Tag: CMLL NJPW

Recapped: 2020-01-19

Matches:

Luciferno & Namajague beat El Audaz & Tsuji
(7:47, Namajague german suplex Tsuji, ok)

Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Soberano Jr. beat Douki, Kanemaru, Tiger
(7:30, Soberano Jr. Fire Driver Douki, good)

Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
(12:26, Angel de Oro mecedora Sanson, good)

Stuka Jr. beat Okumura to keep the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
(10:24, Stuka splash Okumura, ok)

Bushi, EVIL, Takagi beat Dulce Gardenia, Fuego, Ryusuke Taguchi
(12:03, Bushi Roll Fuego, ok)

Último Guerrero © beat Kojima to keep the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
(13:18, Guerrero Special, good)

Carístico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask beat Bárbaro Cavernario, Euforia, Negro Casas
(11:31, Tanahashi High Fly Flow Negro Casas, good)

Thoughts:

The main event was the best of what FantasticaMania can be, mixing the NJPW and CMLL stars in an entertaining fashion. Cavernario, Euforia and Negro Casas are a strong rudo team and meshed well with Tanahsahsi & Caristico. They gave us a bit of Euforia vs Tanahashi and Casas vs Tanahashi and that’s just what this match needed. Caristico worked hard leading into the title match, Tanahashi did a bit more than in his previous matches and the ceremony around it was nice. A good main event.

Kojima blocked the super powerbomb and got a headscissors, so there was a lot to like about this match. Ultimo Guerrero fought a bit Kojima’s style, Kojima did some flying, and they meshed well. This had a little bit of Ultimo Guerrero’s checklist-style but they deviated from it. The trip into the crowd didn’t really payoff – I wonder if something went wrong – but it picked up after that. This was a fun match.

Dulce matches remain built around Dulce going for kisses, and not much more. They may have peaked the kiss too soon for this one, or maybe kiss based matches just don’t need to go 12 minutes. It was some good comedy for a while. Dulce is popular even after just three matches.

Stuka carried his title match with Okumura to something watchable, though there were few surprises. Okumura pulling out the Ultimo Guerrero cradle out of the torpedo splash was at least one good near fall. Stuka crashing and burning was one memorable spot. It was otherwise the same match they’ve been doing on these shows forever, done fine, but with no surprises.

Tomorrow’s trios title match looks like it’s going to be pretty strong if the tecnicos build on what they did in Sunday’s match. They kept a fast pace, they switched up a few things from usual and broke up the NGD’s rhythm. Tomorrow’s total match should exceed this easily but it’s a good starting point.

The second match felt the most like a CMLL match, in that the rudos got the advantage and then just triple-teamed for a lot of time. The action kept never dragged. DOUKI matches up well with the CMLL guys, which is a shame we’ll probably not see it much after this

The opener didn’t last long enough to mean a lot but the action was good while it lasted. Audaz’s early run was his best moment of the tour. I don’t know that he’s ready for the Best of Super Junior spot they’ve talked about here; he’s not showing enough variety that nine singles matches seem like a welcoming idea. Tsuji doesn’t seem like he’d automatically fit in with CMLL’s style but maybe someone different is ok. Namajague’s German suplex looked good.

Recapped: 02/3/2019

All matches are from Arena México on 01/06/2019.

Matches: 

Blue Panther Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Stuka Jr. beat Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Shocker
(17:14 [3:04, 3:16, 10:54], 1/3, n/r, 00:05:28)

Titán beat Flyer, Tritón, Esfinge, Rey Cometa, Drone, Black Panther, Audaz, Templario, Virus, Sagrado, Pólvora, Kawato San, Vangellys, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr. in a CMLL’s Reyes del Aire
(29:21, good, 00:28:04)

1. Black Panther dropkick to the head Universo 2000 (07:57)
2. Virus nudo Drone (10:34)
3. Triton climb up legdrop (11:54)
4. Tiger casita Black Panther (13:02)
5. Flyer wristlock Virus (16:19)
6. Super Pólvora Driver on Esfinge (17:28)
7. Rey Cometa rope flip spanish Fly Tiger (18:12)
8. Audaz straight jacket cavernara Pólvora (19:15)
9. Vangellys northern lights suplex Rey Cometa (20:51)
10. Kawato Dragon suplex Audaz (21:12)
11. Titan reverse rolling cradle with bridge Vangellys 541(21:58)
12. Triton & Kawato double pin tapatia (22:49)
13. Templario super powerbomb (24:04)
14. Titan backside cradle (29:02)

Carístico, Dragón Lee, Volador Jr. beat Cuatrero, Sansón, Último Guerrero
(6:29 [2:30, 3:59], 1/2 DQ, ok,01:07:11)

What happened: 

Titan won the Reyes del Aire for the first time.

Hechicero & Stuka set up a title match for next week that we may or may not ever see.

Thoughts: 

The main event was a short quick match to show a little bit of everyone and set up an Último Guerrero versus Carstico match. That match never happened because they were out to Japan by the following Sunday and no one will remember this (as opposed all the other times they feuded), so there’s no real great storyline reason to do a DQ finish. Got them out of there in eight minutes, which might have been all the reason they needed.

The Reyes del Aire didn’t ever really feel like a Reyes del Aire, and more just like a general cibernetico. You had the usual high flyers doing their usual high spots for the most part. Triton & Cometa brought out the trickiest version of their dives, but there wasn’t anything new or different to be found here. It was more just general action from any sort of match, with a couple of more flyers thrown in. Flyer eliminating Virus with a wristlock of all things is not the right choice for this match, though it was still better than a destroyer. I’m not sure the atmosphere helped, it felt like the announcers were more sharing stories than invested in the match, but it wasn’t really any great match they were talking over. Templario and Titan did fine at the end but neither man used their bigger moves and Titan couldn’t get over on his finishing bridge. This is still good action but nothing you need to go out of your way to see.

The opener was not interesting enough to write about.

Recapped: 01/27/2019

This is the 12/30 show, airing on 01/25 on NJPW World.

Matches:

Nitro, Sangre Azteca, Virus beat Black Panther, Drone, Magnus
(12:24 [5:23, 2:18, 4:43], 1/3, ok, 00:05:26)

Titán  beat Felino in a lightning match
(5:59, casita, ok, 00:26:23)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón beat Atlantis, Shocker, Valiente
(11:14 [2:18, 4:28, 4:28], 1/3, ok, 00:46:18)

Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. beat Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero
(12:24 [6:02, 2:11, 4:11], 2/3 DQ, good, 00:57:57)

What happened: 

Último Guerrero unmasked Carístico for main event DQ.

Shocker is a fill-in on the técnico side for Diamante Azul in the semi-main. He fights the NGD but doesn’t get along with his partners. Atlantis actually hiptosses Shocker in the third fall, Shocker attacks Atlantis, and Sansón immediately cradles Atlantis for the win. Valiente gets punched in the face too.

Thoughts: 

The main event was wrestled at Friday level, with Místico breaking out more big spots than expected on a big show. Carístico and Último Guererro feuded – to build up a match that CMLL never got around to happening – and do fine doing it. The other four show more, with Templario & Gran Guerrero doing some of the fun teamwork spots. The crowd is into this the whole way and Templario being in with the top guys and not looking the slightest bit out of place is nice to see.

Titan/Felino is a lot of the stuff seen with them in trios matches for the first four minutes – Felino & Zacarias dance, Zacarias gets blown up by a Titan dropkick. It escalates with a nice sunset flip powerbomb and Felino is trying a lot harder than usual in the last few minutes. That stage isn’t long enough to develop into anything big but it felt more worth your time than it would indicate on name alone.

Someone I don’t know mentioned the tercera here was a good match. I’m not sure if I would go that far, but it was better than usual. The second and third falls finished up strong, with especially a lot going on to end the match. There was a tease of the Black Panther/Virus mat exchanges that have disappeared in the last year, and Drone’s sunset flip set up to the Panther boomerang kick was a good idea that needs slightly better timing. Sangre Azteca & Nitro hold no surprises but this was about as good as match gets with them involved at this point.

This is part 2 of this feature on Sunday CMLL matches deep in the NJPW World archives. Apparently, I have a part 3 coming now! This was all written up around 01/14.

Michael Elgin, Mistico, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
(CMLL @ Arena México on 09/30, 8:31, ok,NJPW)

NGD don’t get to wrestle outside heavyweights that much, so this stuck out as a chance to see how that might work. It doesn’t really work out that way. Elgin is the only one putting in a lot of effort. NGD and Elgin do not smoothly mesh here. This is a standard B-show main event, a few high spots and not much more.

Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente vs Cavernario, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
(CMLL @ Arena México on 10/28, 9:35, ok,NJPW)

This is the start of the Niebla Roja/Rey Bucanero issue. It feels no different than most CMLL B-show insta-feuds, with Bucanero cheapshotting Niebla Roja for no reason and ducking a fair fight most of the match. Bucanero is doing a little more here than usual but there’s no special connection. Vaeitne’s tope on Cavernario at the end is pretty strong.

Flyer vs Dragón Rojo Jr. in a lightning match
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/04, 6:02, ok,NJPW)

Dragon Rojo loses Flyer on a spot early, angrily stomping him with then spot doesn’t work, and this match feels like it’s going sideways quick. It does improve from there, especially with Dragon Rojo nifty pulling thru a roll thru spot, but these two guys have enough individual shakiness that doesn’t get solved by putting them together. Flyer hesitates on the Asai moonsault a lot, to the point where it would definitely be a personal twist on a regular move if it made any sense. They have a decent layout on a match, it just doesn’t come together smoothly. It could’ve been worse, all considering.

Carístico, King Phoenix, Penta 0M vs Ciber, Gilbert el Boricua, The Chris in a relevos increíbles match
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 13:59, good,NJPW)

Maybe the best CL4N/Gilbert match in CMLL in 2018? They all had small moments where things didn’t look great, but they were putting in a lot of effort and going things we didn’t see from the other matches. The Chris looked the best, mixing it up with Fenix will and pulling out a rolling dropkick of all things. Gilbert seems to be in the least of anyone, leaving me wishing they did more with him and Fenix for old times’ sake. This was not Fenix and Penta top performance but they showed enough that first-time viewers – which appeared to be most of the people commentating this match – came away impressed. Easy fun match that would be fondly considered if it was streamed on a Friday and not behind the paywall of another promotion’s subscription site.

Rush & Terrible © vs Diamante Azul & Valiente for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 16:15, ok,NJPW)

They went thru the usual bits of a big match and the effort was there, but there wasn’t enough to this match to overcome my dislike for one of the wrestlers. Diamante Azul had an expensive mask for his big match and not really the performance to match. He missed the very stationary target on his big dive and his backbreakers weren’t any better. I wish I could be so impressed by him Azul being big as the people who promote him because it is not fun to see him as a bad wrestler makes matches worse just because he’s big. This felt like they wanted to give Diamante Azul a world title but don’t have a lot of confidence in him being on his own. They still tried to make it his big moment and he still struggled.

Niebla Roja vs Rey Bucanero, hair vs hair
(CMLL @ Arena México on 11/18, 21:16, ok,NJPW)

So, is the problem here is that this is a match built around Rey Bucanero getting beat up a lot and he can’t really have a good match that way in 2018, or is the problem that they’re doing that style of match in the first place. This would’ve been a very exciting 2004 Rey Bucaneo match that’s a struggle at times and never settles into a story beyond “here are some moves.” Like all recent Rey Bucanero big matches, he’s willing to try and it’s just his inability to execute and their unwillingness to take a different track that limits how interesting it came to be. If you want to see a similar match to what other people have done, just in a less exciting fashion, then this will still work for you. It worked for the fans, who seemed very into the drama of what seemed like an obvious result. Niebla Roja is more popular than it seems or Bucanero has a lot of credibility to them. Myself, I can’t tell you it’s really worth your time to watch this match, though at least it’s not nearly as long as the video file suggested. They give the haircut plenty of time.

Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Tritón vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
(CMLL @ Arena México on 12/02, 12:15, below average, NJPW)

I have no idea why they decided to air this show. There’s nothing much on it. The Super Astro/Espiritu Negro lightning match is not shown but might be the only promising match. This match did remind me there was a point where Sagrado cared and was good. I think that person went away sometime in 2108. A relatable situation. The lowlight of this match is Universo 2000 apparently rolling out the wrong side of the ring, so Esfinge sets up for a corner moonsault to the floor, than just stands there posing when there’s no one in the zipcode. CMLL cameras help out not all by focusing on him, and never showing Triton dive on the other side of the ring. It could not be more awkward. Universo and Esfinge fail at a takedown a moment later. This is a bad night.

Recapped: 1/21/2019

Matches:

Bárbaro Cavernario & Templario beat Audaz & Flyer
(9:34, Barbaro Cavernario cavernaria Audaz, good)

Atlantis Jr. beat Okumura
(7:39, Atlantida on Okumura 7:39, ok)

Bushi, Shingo Takagi, Terrible, Tetsuya Naito beat Sho, Raijin, Satoshi Kojima, Toa Henare  
(12:17, DQ for Suzuki Gun interference, ok)

Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © beat Ángel de Oro, Atlantis, Titán for the Mexican National Trios Championship
(14:27, Cuatrero crucifix powerbomb Angel de Oro, good)

Gran Guerrero, Namajague, Último Guerrero beat Dragón Lee, Místico, Soberano Jr.
(13:25, Último Guerrero Guerrero Special Soberano, good)

Dragón George & Sweet Gorilla Maruyma beat Ginbae Mask & Gokiburi Mask
(13:02, Dragon George Dragon Maker Ginbae? Mask, ok)

Volador Jr. beat Carístico
(17:45, Volador Spanish Fly Carístico, great)

What happened:

NGD kept their trios titles. Carístico gave credit to Volador for being the better man, and both men reacted like normal (Volador making sure to bring that up in his promo, Carístico celebrating forever after the match anyway.)

Thoughts:

Volador/Caristico was Volador’s best singles match in a while. They did a unique thing of just going dive crazy to start the match for about the first eight minutes, and then just staying in the ring for big near falls the rest of the way. Their big moves came across smooth and there was more intensity in the match even when it was just mostly flying. The Mistica tease was well done, a moment we don’t get often in Arena Mexico. If you’re tired of Volador, this isn’t going to change your mind, but it was still a good tour ending match.

I don’t know what to say about the semi-main. It was truly as weird as it set out to be.

All the undercard CMLL matches delivered on the last night, with all action and generally bigger moves than we had seen before. Soberano and Místico both had spectacular moments, looking as good as they in the rest of the tournament. Namajague & Dragon Lee fought well and made it clear they’re going to be doing it again sometime in 2019. Guerreros seemed to get to show off more moves here than they had even in their tag match yesterday, and Último dropped Soberano hard on the finish.

The NGD finally got the monkey flip senton and a lot more. They’ve been fine as individuals but the trios title match made the best impression by far. Their team-work spots were on point the whole way, and they came off as worthy champions. Atlantis was fine, maybe better than fine, in the match which seemed like it was going to be the biggest test for him. Angel de Oro & Titan did good, though this match wasn’t as much about them. This was exciting all the way to the finish, and worth checking out.

A great mystery is most everyone in the LIJ match showing more effort in the match that was ending with a run-in DQ. Sho & Yoh really stood more here than as Fujin & Raijin, but it felt like we got more out of BUSHI & Takagi as well. They made a point of Henare trying and failing again. Even failing, it gives Henare an arc and a storyline carrot, which is a lot better than being in trios matches with no direction.

Atlantis Jr. showed good effort in his match, though the execution didn’t seem to always be there. The finishing sequence, where he had to put on the Atlantida three times for it to work, was not the smoothest thing. He looked good the rest of the match, coming out strong with the dives early on. His quebradoras are better than Diamante Azul, not that’s saying much. Atlantis Jr. needs to be taken a little slow in Mexico because he’s not really on the level of the guys in the opener yet, but more regular work should help. He’s not on the cards yet for next week, but hopefully, he starts as a regular before long.

They just went all out from the start in the opener, both sides just doing everything they could for ten minutes. Templario works well with everyone, so it was more surprising to see a whole bunch of Flyer & Audaz team moves scattered into the highlights. Flyer had his best match in this tour in the process, and the other wrestlers weren’t far behind. Templario and really Audaz have made great impressions; luchadors in their position don’t usually get brought back in the same year, but they seem to have a good chance to come back someday.

Recapped: 01/20/2019

Matches: 

Gedo & Taiji Ishimori beat Flyer & Ryusuke Taguchi
(8:32, Ishimori anklelock Flyer, ok)

Ángel de Oro & Titán beat Cuatrero & Templario
(11:02, Angel de Oro campana Cuatrero, good)

Bushi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito beat Fujin, Raijin, Toa Henare
(11:22, BUSHI frontrcracker FUJIN, ok)

Forastero, Okumura, Sansón beat Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Jushin Liger
(10:13, Okumura reverse DDT Atlantis Jr., ok)

Carístico, Cavernario, Namajague beat Audaz, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. in a relevos increíbles match
(11:11, Carístico Mistica Audaz, good)

Terrible beat Satoshi Kojima
(11:32, Terrible Styles Clash, ok)

Dragón Lee & Místico beat Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero
(17:56, La Mistica on Gran Guerrero, good)

What happened: 

Carístico and Volador had a standoff and a handshake after their match.

Thoughts: 

The main event was fun, though it was just kind of missing a little more energy. I thought the NGD match was a little bit better as far as building excitement, but this was still had some great spots. Dragon Lee & Último Guerrero meshed well and it was weird to see them completely disappear for the finish. They played to the crowd a lot early and the crowd loved it, but the match didn’t kind of stayed at the easy crowd-pleasing level for as long as it went, even though it had so much time.

I can’t believe Terrible won. Match was alright, hard-hitting if slow-paced match it figured to be. Terrible probably could’ve sped it up a little more on his part, but that seemed part of a story of him being overconfident leading to a loss. Only he didn’t lose, so Terrible was exactly the right level of confident. This was exactly as good as you’d think a match between Kojima and Terrible in 2019 would be.

The Volador/Caristico trios match was very good for the most part. There was an incredibly weird sequence where Volador & Carístico might have messed up a Destroyer, then did a mask pull, then everyone seemed to panic, and then Carístico got his mask back on and everyone just went back to their match. They should not do whatever that was again. Everything else should be done again. Audaz continues to have a strong tour, stealing the show in the opening seconds with a great sequence with Namajague and getting the highlight comeback headscissors. Soberano did well and Audaz still totally outshined him. Namajague has been a great part of his matches, I’m going to miss him when he’s not back around. Volador & Carístico were fine but the show here was the other four guys.

Atlantis Jr. struggled a little bit early in this match. He got better in the ending run with Okumura, but I think this was his last complete performance of the ones we’ve seen so far. Forastero had a bad moment he covered for well, but he really hasn’t shined here as he in Mexico. I thought they’d finally do the monkey flip spot here to give him something. Guess they’re saving it for tomorrow. This is an easy skip.

The LIJ match seemed fine. I’m over the LIJ matches. Henare going after Naito to the determent of the match was good storytelling. That’s all I got.

The Titan/Angel de Oro match on this show was even a bit better than their match back on Friday. Titan & Angel de Oro are getting to show a lot more in Tokyo, and they got tons of time here to just to run thru everything in fine fashion. Templario’s power spots get over easily with this crowd, to the point the teasing the gutwrench powerbomb (before it got reversed) got over. He and Cuatrero did well as the improvised team for the night. Including Atlantis in this is going to be a challenge tomorrow, but Titan & Angel de Oro might be able to carry it on their own.

Flyer got in a good dive, got hit by a Taguchi dive, then stood in the corner for about five minutes. Flyer did his usual hesitation for a springboard headscissors, which didn’t land too well. He got the big moment against Ishimori in the end and ran thru a kick that looked like he was supposed to sell and didn’t? It was not the greatest Flyer performance once again. I think the other Taguchi matches on this tour have been better.