{"id":4578,"date":"2014-02-05T03:30:53","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T08:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=4578"},"modified":"2014-02-09T23:09:05","modified_gmt":"2014-02-10T04:09:05","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-new-japan-fantastica-mania-on-11814","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-new-japan-fantastica-mania-on-11814\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: New Japan \u201cFANTASTICA MANIA\u201d on 1\/18\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Date: January 18th, 2014
\n<\/strong>Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
\nAnnounced Attendance: 1,900 (Super No Vacancy)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We are on to another day of the New Japan\/CMLL joint tour. This has pretty much the same wrestlers as the last event I reviewed, but they are paired up differently to give new match-ups. Here is the full card:<\/p>\n

– Jado vs. Maximo vs. Taichi
\n– Stuka Jr. and Rey Cometa vs. Yujiro Takahashi and OKUMURA
\n– Escorpi\u00f3n, YOSHI-HASHI, Niebla Roja, and Vangelis vs. Tiger Mask, Titan, KUSHIDA, and Fuego
\n– M\u00e1scara Dorada and El Desperado vs. Volador Jr. and BUSHIROAD
\n– Rush vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
\n– Tanahashi, Naito, and La Sombra vs. Okada, Ultimo Guerrero, and Ishii
\n– Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship: Mephisto vs. Mistico II<\/strong><\/p>\n

And away we go!<\/p>\n

Jado vs. Maximo vs. Taichi<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>They all circle each other to start, the crowd chants for Maximo so he does a twirl.\u00a0 Maximo goes after Taichi and smacks him on the ass, Jado charges Maximo but Maximo moves out of the way.\u00a0 Maximo rubs Jado\u2019s chest as Jado gets away from him, Taichi tries to get away from Maximo but Jado attacks him from behind and Maximo dropkicks him out of the ring.\u00a0 Jado does Maximo\u2019s little dance with him and then punches him in the stomach, chops by Jado but Maximo takes him down, Maximo goes off the ropes and hits a running headscissors.<\/p>\n

Maximo kisses Jado, and Jado does a Flair Flop before exiting the ring. Maximo gets a running start but Taichi trips him from the floor and drags him out.\u00a0 Taichi hits Maximo in the head with the edge of the chair, gets the ring bell mallet and hits Jado in the head with it.\u00a0 Taichi chokes Jado with the mallet but Maximo has recovered and clubs Taichi in the back.\u00a0 Taichi tries to get away from Maximo and gives Maximo the commentator, who of course Maximo kisses.\u00a0 Taichi attacks Maximo and rolls him back into the ring, he picks up Maximo and gives him a hard slap on the ass. Taichi throws Maximo into the corner and stomps him low, Jado comes back in the ring but Taichi chops him in the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip by Taichi and he hits a lariat before kneeing him low.\u00a0 Cover by Taichi but the referee doesn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n

Maximo returns to the ring, kick by Taichi to Maximo and he rakes him in the eyes.\u00a0 Irish whip by Maximo and Maximo hits an armdrag.\u00a0 Armdrag by Taichi and both men lariat each other.\u00a0 Powerslam by Maximo but Taichi\u00a0catches him with a superkick.\u00a0 Jado comes back into the ring, he covers Taichi but it gets a two count.\u00a0 He then covers Maximo but it gets a two as well.\u00a0 Crossface of JADO to Maximo but Taichi breaks it up.\u00a0 Taichi covers Jado but Maximo breaks it up.\u00a0 Maximo goes off the ropes, kick by Taichi but as he goes for the powerbomb he is hit by a Jado lariat.\u00a0 DDT by Jado, cover, but Taichi breaks it up.<\/p>\n

Taichi goes off the ropes but Jado hits him with a lariat.\u00a0 Jado charges Maximo but Maximo moves and kisses him, Irish whip by Jado, reversed, Jado goes for a sunset flip but Maximo sits on him for a two count.\u00a0Irish whip by Maximo to Jado, reversed, but Maximo hits a rebound hip attack out of the corner.\u00a0 Jado rolls out of the ring but Maximo sails out onto him with a tope suicida.\u00a0 Maximo gets back into the ring as Taichi does as well, Maximo ducks a Taichi lariat and pulls Taichi\u2019s pants down.\u00a0 Maximo tries to kiss Taichi but Taichi re-directs it and he kisses the referee.\u00a0 Finally Maximo is able to kiss Taichi, dropkick to the knee and he applies La Magistral to pick up the three count!\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Maximo<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ok, I just got done watching DDT, I have reached my \u201cmen kissing men\u201d humor for the day.\u00a0 No mas.\u00a0 It is an interesting character, I mean that pretty much is his shtick but the crowd loves him.\u00a0 To me, it gets old really fast\u2026 I\u2019m not personally disgusted, I just don\u2019t understand the humor when it happens five times in one match, it would be funnier if it was just once a match to throw off opponents or something.\u00a0 But the crowd enjoys it so he has that anyway.\u00a0 Solid action otherwise.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stuka Jr. and Rey Cometa vs. Yujiro Takahashi and OKUMURA<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Cometa and OKUMURA start things off.\u00a0 Cometa and OKUMURA circle each other, tie-up, OKUMURA trips Cometa but Cometa hits an armdrag.\u00a0 Single leg takedown by OKUMURA and an armdrag, but Cometa hits an armdrag of his own.\u00a0 Armdrag by Cometa, they trade tripping each other and both men return to their feet.\u00a0 Cometa tags in Stuka Jr. while Takahashi is also tagged in.\u00a0 Takahashi and Stuka Jr. tie-up, side headlock by Takahashi, Stuka Jr. Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result.\u00a0 Takahashi goes off the ropes but Stuka Jr. ducks the lariat and hits a shoulderblock.\u00a0 Stuka Jr. goes off the ropes, Takahashi throws him into the corner but Stuka Jr. flips himself onto the apron.\u00a0 Stuka Jr. grabs Takahashi\u2019s arm and hits an armdrag from the top rope.\u00a0 Stuka Jr. charges Takahashi but Takahashi back bodydrops him out of the ring.<\/p>\n

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Stuka Jr. bails, leading to OKUMURA taking Stuka Jr. out at ringside.\u00a0 Takahashi gloats but Cometa comes off the top turnbuckle with an armdrag to Takahashi.\u00a0 Takahashi falls out of the ring, Cometa goes off the ropes but Takahashi ducks the baseball slide and slams Cometa into the ring apron.\u00a0 Stuka Jr. and OKUMURA get in the ring, Irish whip by OKUMURA, Stuka Jr. flips off the ropes and hits a dropkick.\u00a0 OKUMURA falls out of the ring as Takahashi comes back in it, Stuka Jr. slams Takahashi in front of the corner and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but instead of diving onto Takahashi he dives backwards and drops onto OKUMURA outside the ring.<\/p>\n

Cometa hits a moonsault onto Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Cometa charges Takahashi and hits a hurricanrana followed by a pair of dropkicks.\u00a0 Cometa goes off the ropes but OKUMURA trips him from ringside and pulls Cometa out of the ring.\u00a0 Takahashi goes off the ropes to do a dive but Stuka Jr. grabs Takahashi\u2019s legs from the outside and pulls him out of the ring as well.\u00a0 Cometa gets back in the ring and goes for a springboard tornado plancha onto Takahashi, but Takahashi moves and he hits Stuka Jr. on accident.\u00a0 Takahashi slides Cometa back into the ring, he picks him up and kicks him in the stomach.\u00a0 Chop by Takahashi, he picks up Cometa, Irish whip, Cometa goes for a hurricanrana but Takahashi rolls through.\u00a0 Cover, but Stuka Jr. breaks it up.\u00a0 Takahashi rakes Stuka Jr. in the eyes, then he hits a German suplex hold onto Stuka Jr. while OKUMURA hits one onto Cometa for a two count.<\/p>\n

All four men slowly get up, Cometa and OKUMURA gain the advantage, OKUMURA slides out of the ring but Cometa hits him with a tope suicida.\u00a0 Meanwhile in the ring Takahashi goes off the ropes, drop toehold by Stuka Jr. but Takahashi blocks La Magistral.\u00a0 Stuka Jr. slams Takahashi to the mat, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but OKUMURA hits him with a chair from the floor.\u00a0 HOT WIFE was on the apron to distract the referee but she eats a superkick from Cometa and flops to the floor.\u00a0 OKUMURA attacks Cometa while in the ring Takahashi hits a Fisherman Buster onto Stuka Jr. for a two count.\u00a0 Takahashi picks up Stuka Jr., hits the Tokyo Pimps and picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Yujiro Takahashi and OKUMURA<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 They did a lot with the small amount of time they had and made the most of it.\u00a0 There was literally no down time at all, they were just moving from start to finish.\u00a0 I loved Stuka Jr.\u2019s random dive to the outside, it caught everyone off-guard and was a neat visual.\u00a0 A fun tag match, just wish it was a bit longer.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Escorpi\u00f3n, YOSHI-HASHI, Niebla Roja, and Vangelis vs. Tiger Mask, Titan, KUSHIDA, and Fuego<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Escorpi\u00f3n and KUSHIDA start things off.\u00a0 KUSHIDA asks for a handshake but Escorpi\u00f3n wants no part of it.\u00a0 Tie-up, waistlock by KUSHIDA and he rolls him up, but Escorpi\u00f3n applies a quick submission before KUSHIDA rolls out of it.\u00a0 Back up, hammerlock by Escorpi\u00f3n, reversed by KUSHIDA, side headlock takedown by Escorpi\u00f3n but KUSHIDA reverses it into a headscissors.\u00a0 Back up, single leg takedown by Escorpi\u00f3n and he rolls up KUSHIDA for a quick two count.\u00a0 KUSHIDA tags in Fuego while YOSHI-HASHI is also tagged in.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI and Fuego tie-up, waistlock by YOSHI-HASHI and he throws Fuego to the mat but Fuego gets back to his feet.\u00a0 Back elbow by YOSHI-HASHI and he goes for an Irish whip but Fuego avoids it and does a little dance.<\/p>\n

Fuego flips YOSHI-HASHI out to the floor, he goes off the far ropes and sails out onto YOSHI-HASHI with a tope suicida.\u00a0 He then quickly gets back in the ring and hits a second one before returning and tagging in Titan.\u00a0Vangelis comes in the ring as well, and the two trade chops to the chest.\u00a0 Vangelis goes off the ropes and he slaps Titan hard in the face, Irish whip by Vangelis but Titan flips out of the way and hits a spinning headscissors.\u00a0 Titan goes off the ropes but is tripped from ringside and pulled out of the ring.\u00a0 Vangelis then goes out after him but meanwhile Tiger Mask and Roja get into the ring as the legal men.\u00a0 Kick by Roja but Tiger Mask hits a delayed snapmare, Roja goes off the ropes but Tiger Mask hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.\u00a0 Monkey flip by Tiger Mask from the corner and he dropkicks Roja out of the ring.<\/p>\n

Escorpi\u00f3n comes in the ring in Roja\u2019s place, then Vangelis attacks Tiger Mask from behind.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI comes in as well and all three men hit a big boot onto Tiger Mask.\u00a0 Tiger Mask falls out of the ring, so they get Fuego.\u00a0 Fuego is Irish whipped to the corner and all four of his opponents hit running strikes on him.\u00a0 KUSHIDA comes in to help, but he gets kicked by Roja.\u00a0 Irish whip to KUSHIDA and he is double teamed by Roja and Escorpi\u00f3n.\u00a0 Titan gets in the ring, Irish whip to him but he is able to connect with a rebound handstand kick to Escorpi\u00f3n.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI kicks Titan out of the ring but Tiger Mask comes in the ring and hits a Tiger Drive onto YOSHI-HASHI.\u00a0 Vangelis hits a spinning heel kick onto Tiger Mask, then Fuego knocks Vangelis out of the ring with a swandive missile dropkick.\u00a0 Escorpi\u00f3n comes in the ring and hits a lariat onto Fuego, but KUSHIDA comes in to take his place.\u00a0Escorpi\u00f3n kicks KUSHIDA, Irish whip to the corner but KUSHIDA moves as he charges in and applies a submission hold in the ropes.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Roja comes in the ring to kick Tiger Mask out of it, Vangelis joins him, they give KUSHIDA an Irish whip but he kicks them both back.\u00a0 KUSHIDA hits a standing moonsault onto both of them, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Escorpi\u00f3n comes off the top turnbuckle to try to help but he accidentally lands on Roja and Vangelis.\u00a0 Scoop slam by KUSHIDA to Roja, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but jumps out of the ring onto Escorpi\u00f3n.\u00a0 Tiger Mask gets in the ring, he picks up Roja, Irish whip, reversed, but Tiger Mask avoids Roja\u2019s dropkick.\u00a0 Roja falls out of the ring but Tiger Mask hits a tope suicida onto him.\u00a0 This leaves\u2026. YOSHI-HASHI and Titan in the ring, as Titan comes in with a swandive missile dropkick.\u00a0 Vangelis comes in the ring to take YOSHI-HASHI\u2019s place, Titan avoids a Vangelis dropkick but Vangelis drops him onto the apron.\u00a0 Titan then hits a top rope Asai Moonsault down onto YOSHI-HASHI outside the ring.\u00a0 Fuego hits a swandive crossbody onto Vangelis, he goes off the ropes but Vangelis catches him and it\u2019s a German suplex hold for the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Rey Escorpi\u00f3n, YOSHI-HASHI, Niebla Roja, and Vangelis<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was clearly just a free-for-all exhibition type match, they basically just took turns doing moves to each other, swapping who was in the ring, and repeated that for eight minutes until the match ended.\u00a0 Which isn\u2019t bad per se as it was fun for the crowd and certainly was fast paced, but it didn\u2019t really feel like a match and no one really got a chance to shine since there were so many people in the match.\u00a0 Good for spots, but if you like anything resembling psychology then I wouldn\u2019t recommend it.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

M\u00e1scara Dorada and El Desperado vs. Volador Jr. and BUSHIROAD<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Dorada and Volador Jr. start things off.\u00a0 Tie-up, waistlock by Dorada but Volador Jr. gets out of it, armdrag by Volador Jr., they trade kip-ups and both men return to their feet.\u00a0 BUSHIROAD and Desperado are tagged in, and BUSHIROAD knocks Desperado to the mat.\u00a0 Irish whip by Desperado but BUSHIROAD rolls over him, Desperado hits an armdrag which sends BUSHIROAD out of the ring, but Volador Jr. hits a swandive missile dropkick onto Desperado.\u00a0 Dorada then comes in the ring with a hurricanrana on Volador Jr.. Volador Jr. goes off the ropes, he flips off the ropes but Dorada hits a hurricanrana which sends Volador Jr. out of the ring.\u00a0 Dorada then goes off the ropes and sails out onto Volador Jr. with a corkscrew tope con giro.\u00a0 Desperado and BUSHIROAD return to the ring, and BUSHIROAD avoids a Desperado dropkick.\u00a0 Desperado drops BUSHIROAD on the apron, BUSHIROAD punches Desperado back and goes for an Asai Moonsault, but Dorada grabs his foot.<\/p>\n

Desperado then goes off the ropes and flies out of the ring with a tope con giro.\u00a0 Desperado gets back in the ring, Volador Jr. gets on the apron and he kicks Desperado back.\u00a0 Volador Jr. goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody and dropkicks Desperado in the head.\u00a0 Dorada suddenly comes in the ring with a swandive body press onto Volador Jr., but BUSHIROAD hits a missile dropkick onto Dorada.\u00a0 BUSHIROAD and Desperado face off again, Desperado goes off the ropes and hits a spear.\u00a0 Mounted punches by Desperado and he hits a headscissors onto Volador Jr. while Dorada kicks BUSHIROAD.\u00a0 German suplex hold by Desperado onto BUSHIROAD but Volador Jr. breaks it up.<\/p>\n

Dorada and Desperado stay in the ring with Volador Jr., double Irish whip but Volador Jr. ducks the lariat attempt and kicks them both down.\u00a0 Dorada tosses Volador Jr. over the top rope to the floor, he then goes for a pescado but Volador Jr. moves out of the way.\u00a0 Desperado doesn\u2019t miss his tope con giro though, then BUSHIROAD goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a tornillo onto Desperado.\u00a0 BUSHIROAD goes to get back in the ring but is grabbed by Dorada and Desperado as they all fight to get back in the ring.\u00a0 They decide instead to brawl up into the stands. Volador Jr. gets up on the entrance way and hits a diving crossbody onto Dorada while BUSHIROAD does the same thing to Desperado on the other side of the crowd.\u00a0 They make their way back to ringside, and BUSHIROAD throws Desperado hard into the ring post.\u00a0 Volador Jr. gets back in the ring first, he goes off the ropes but Dorada kicks him from the apron.<\/p>\n

Dorada hits a swandive seated senton, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Codebreaker by BUSHIROAD to Dorada, then Volador Jr. hits a backstabber.\u00a0 Desperado goes up to the top turnbuckle but Volador Jr. kicks him while he is still on top.\u00a0 Volador Jr. joins Desperado and hits a Super Frankensteiner.\u00a0 Cover by Volador Jr., but Dorada barely breaks it up in time.\u00a0 BUSHIROAD charges Dorada but accidentally dropkicks Volador Jr., knee by BUSHIROAD to Dorada, Irish whip to the corner but Dorada avoids BUSHIROAD\u2019s attack and hits a rebound dropkick out of the corner.\u00a0 Desperado then grabs BUSHIROAD and plants him with the Guitarra de Angel.\u00a0 Cover by Desperado and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners: \u00a0M\u00e1scara Dorada and El Desperado<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Certainly the best match on the card so far.\u00a0 It had the high flying and fun spots, but they also had time to go a bit deeper than that as well.\u00a0 The spear\/mounted punches for example was a nice change of pace and made it look like Desperado really did want to hurt his opponent and not just find creative ways to toss him to the mat or the floor.\u00a0 I am really liking Desperado so far, I hope that he doesn\u2019t get his legs cut out from under him in his upcoming title match.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Rush vs. Shinsuke Nakamura<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>They circle each other to start and start trading elbows, knee by Nakamura but Rush catches a kick and pushes him down.\u00a0 Nakamura rolls out of the way of the stomp attempt and returns to his feet, tie-up, Rush pushes Nakamura into the ropes, Nakamura reverses positions with him and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Chop by Rush and he punches Nakamura in the stomach, Irish whip, reversed, Rush blocks the hiptoss but Nakamura pushes him to the mat.\u00a0 Rush moves out of the way of the kneedrop attempt but Nakamura avoids Rush\u2019s kick and both men are back to their feet.\u00a0 Nakamura offers Rush his hand for a handshake but Rush charges him, knees by Nakamura and he goes off the ropes, but Rush catches him with an overhead suplex.\u00a0 Rush kicks Nakamura out of the ring and gets a running start, but Nakamura kicks him in the head before he can dive out.<\/p>\n

Nakamura then positions Rush with his head hanging over the apron and hits a running knee from the floor.\u00a0 Nakamura slides Rush back into the ring, Nakamura picks up Rush, snapmare, and he hits the kneedrop.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 Nakamura kicks Rush lightly in the head and then in the chest, Rush gets back up and manages to catch a kick, powerbombing Nakamura to the mat.\u00a0 Kick by Nakamura and he goes off the ropes but Rush does as well and hits a diving lariat.\u00a0 Rush kicks Nakamura in the ribs, he picks him up and throws Nakamura in the corner.\u00a0 Chops by Rush, Irish whip, and Rush hits a lariat in the other corner.\u00a0 Rush then gets a running start again and delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Cover by Rush but it only gets a two count.<\/p>\n

Rush stomps Nakamura before kneeing him against the ropes, Irish whip, but it\u2019s reversed and Nakamura kicks Rush into the corner.\u00a0 Stomps by Nakamura, he picks up Rush and places him on the ropes in the corner.\u00a0 Running knee to the ribs by Nakamura, cover, but Rush kicks out.\u00a0 Nakamura knees Rush as he tries to get up and applies a sleeper,\u00a0 Rush elbows out of it and goes off the ropes but Nakamura knees him in the midsection.\u00a0 Nakamura charges Rush but Rush hits an overhead belly to belly suplex, sending Nakamura out of the ring.\u00a0 Rush gets a running start in the ring, Nakamura moves, but Rush goes out to the apron and hits a dropkick off the apron to the floor.\u00a0 Rush throws Nakamura back in the ring, cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n

Back up they trade strikes, a chop by Rush sends Nakamura to his knees, Rush picks him up and goes for the Rush Driver but Nakamura back bodydrops out of it.\u00a0 Nakamura goes for a lariat but Rush ducks it and hits an Olympic Slam.\u00a0 Senton by Rush, cover, but Nakamura gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Rush is up first but Nakamura knees him in the midsection.\u00a0 Superkick by Rush, he picks up Nakamura and goes for the Rush Driver again but again Nakamura blocks it.\u00a0 Roll-up by Rush but Nakamura rolls through it and hits a jumping kick to the head.\u00a0 Boma Ye by Nakamura, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Shinsuke Nakamura<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A good match that I would have liked better if it went a little bit longer.\u00a0 This is the most I have seen of Rush but he is fun to watch, he is a bigger guy but has a nice range of high flying moves and power moves.\u00a0 It really felt like if he had just hit the Rush Driver he would have won, but without it he was overmatched by Nakamura\u2019s striking ability.\u00a0 Nakamura really emphasized the knee here but since his finishing move is also a running knee it made sense that would be his main weapon.\u00a0 Nothing really wrong with it at all, it just felt like there was more they could have done.\u00a0 I enjoyed it while it lasted though.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tanahashi, Naito, and La Sombra vs. Okada, Ultimo Guerrero, and Ishii<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Tanahashi and Guerrero start things off.\u00a0 Tie-up, side headlock by Guerrero, Tanahashi reverses it into a front facelock, but Guerrero reverses that into a wristlock.\u00a0 Tanahashi snapmares out of it but Guerrero hits him with a chop.\u00a0 Irish whip by Guerrero to the corner but Tanahashi elbows him as he charges in and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner.\u00a0 Guerrero responds with a lariat and he chops Tanahashi into the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip by Guerrero but Tanahashi moves as he charges in and Guerrero falls out to the floor.\u00a0 Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Guerrero has run too far away for Tanahashi to do a dive.\u00a0 Tanahashi gets back in the ring and tags in La Sombra, and Okada joins him. La Sombra and Okada circle each other, tie-up, Okada pushes La Sombra into the ropes and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Tie-up, La Sombra pushes Okada into the ropes this time and he gives a clean break also.<\/p>\n

Okada goes for a kick but La Sombra catches it, Irish whip by La Sombra and he hits an armdrag.\u00a0 Chop to the chest by Okada and he hits an armdrag after running up the corner.\u00a0 He then poses as he is quite proud of himself.\u00a0 La Sombra goes off the ropes and hits a hurricanrana, which sends Okada out of the ring.\u00a0 La Sombra goes to dive but Okada has moved so he flips himself back into the ring.\u00a0 La Sombra tags in Naito as Ishii comes in the ring, dropkick by Naito to Ishii but Ishii avoids the elbow drop.\u00a0 Ishii ducks the enzigieri but Naito hits a pair of armdrags.\u00a0 Shoulderblock by Ishii and they trade elbow strikes.\u00a0 Naito gets the better of the exchange, he goes off the ropes but Ishii catches him with an elbow.\u00a0 Irish whip by Ishii, reversed, and Naito hits a hiptoss.\u00a0 Naito picks up Ishii and elbows him into the corner before headbutting him down.\u00a0 Naito picks up Ishii, Irish whip, reversed, but Naito kicks Ishii as he charges in.\u00a0 Naito charges Ishii but Ishii catches him with a powerslam.<\/p>\n

Guerrero and Okada come in the ring, and they kick Naito in the arm.\u00a0 Irish whip by Guerrero and Okada and they hit double big boots.\u00a0 Tanahashi comes in the ring but he is outnumbered, double Irish whip from the corner and Okada hits a jumping elbow strike.\u00a0 Guerrero then follows with a handstand seated senton in the corner.\u00a0 La Sombra is thrown in the ring, Guerrero throws him into the corner, reversed, La Sombra gets out to the apron but Guerrero dropkicks him from the apron to the floor.\u00a0 Ishii and Naito brawl up into the crowd while Guerrero slides La Sombra into the ring, Okada gets a running start and kicks La Sombra in the head while he is in a seated position.\u00a0 Guerrero picks up La Sombra and puts him onto the top turnbuckle as he attempts to take off his mask.\u00a0 Okada comes back in the ring as does Ishii, double Irish whip to La Sombra but La Sombra dropkicks Guerrero.<\/p>\n

Okada kicks La Sombra down but Tanahashi dropkicks Okada.\u00a0 Ishii hits a lariat onto Tanahashi, but Naito catches Ishii with an enzigieri.\u00a0 Dropkick by Guerrero to Naito, but La Sombra hits a swandive hurricanrana and is alone in the ring.\u00a0 He gets a running start and jumps out onto Guerrero with a tope con giro.\u00a0 Tanahashi and Okada get back into the ring to square off, Tanahashi goes off the ropes and hits a jumping elbow.\u00a0 Irish whip by Tanahashi, reversed, Okada goes for a big boot but Tanahashi catches it and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Okada catches him with a flapjack.\u00a0 Okada picks up Tanahashi and drops him with a DDT.\u00a0 Back up, scoop slam by Okada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop.\u00a0 Okada grabs Tanahashi, Tanahashi elbows him off but Okada delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Tanahashi ducks it and hits the Sling Blade.\u00a0 Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ishii comes in the ring and joins him.\u00a0 Delayed superplex by Ishii, he picks up Tanahashi and goes for a powerbomb but Naito comes off the top turnbuckle with a dropkick.<\/p>\n

Naito picks up Ishii and elbows him into the corner, Irish whip by Naito and he hits the slingshot dropkick.\u00a0 Naito picks up Ishii, snapmare, he goes off the ropes and hits the rolling senton.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Naito picks up Ishii and applies a waistlock, Ishii elbows out of it and charges Naito, hitting a delayed vertical suplex.\u00a0 Ishii grabs Naito and goes for a powerbomb but Naito punches out of it.\u00a0 Ishii goes off the ropes but Naito catches him with a dropkick.\u00a0 Naito\u00a0 tries to tag out but Ishii stops him and hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Lariat by Ishii, cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Ishii picks up Naito, Irish whip, but Naito hits a jumping elbow strike and tags in La Sombra.\u00a0 Guerrero comes in as well, La Sombra puts Guerrero up on the top turnbuckle and hits the Misteriorana.\u00a0 Cover by La Sombra, but it gets two.\u00a0 La Sombra throws Guerrero into the corner and charges him, but Guerrero catches him and hits a second turnbuckle front suplex.\u00a0 Cover, but La Sombra gets a shoulder up.<\/p>\n

Guerrero picks up La Sombra, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and La Sombra hits a lariat.\u00a0 La Sombra hits a running knee, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 La Sombra picks up Guerrero but Guerrero blocks the suplex attempt and hits a scoop slam.\u00a0 Guerrero goes up to the top turnbuckle but La Sombra hits the ropes to knock him off.\u00a0 La Sombra then goes up top with Guerrero, he goes for the Frankensteiner but Guerrero blocks it and delivers the powerbomb.\u00a0 Cover, but it is broken up.\u00a0 Guerrero is up first and goes for a lariat, but La Sombra ducks it and lariats Guerrero out of the ring.\u00a0 Naito and Ishii get in the ring and they trade elbows.\u00a0 Tanahashi attacks Ishii from behind, double Irish whip to Ishii and they hit a double hiptoss followed by a double dropkick.\u00a0 Okada comes in the ring but he also gets a double dropkick from Tanahashi and Naito.\u00a0 Naito and Tanahashi then sail out of the ring with pescados onto Ishii and Okada.\u00a0 La Sombra and Guerrero are back in the ring, and La Sombra hits an Aztec Suplex Hold onto Guerrero for a two count.\u00a0 La Sombra rolls up Guerrero from behind but Guerrero gets away from him.\u00a0 Guerrero avoids an La Sombra attack in the corner, La Sombra lands on the top turnbuckle facing the wrong way and Guerrero joins him up top.\u00a0 Guerrero grabs La Sombra and nails the Guerrero Special, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Kazuchika Okada, Ultimo Guerrero, and Ishii<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thoroughly entertaining from bell to bell.\u00a0 All the little parts worked well, I thought Ishii would be out of place but he mostly focused on Naito since they are feuding and let everyone else do the Lucha spots.\u00a0 They had enough time to tell a few different stories and while it had big spots it did not come across as a spotfest like some of the previous matches.\u00a0 Really good match, nothing really wrong with it, I\u2019d have preferred this was three singles matches since they are all so good but this was fun non-stop lucha action.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Mephisto vs. Mistico II<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship. They shake hands to start\u00a0 the match, tie-up, front facelock by Mephisto, reversed by Mistico, Mephisto pushes Mistico to the mat but Mistico hits an armdrag.\u00a0 Tie-up, they jockey for position and again Mistico hits an armdrag to win the exchange.\u00a0 Single leg takedown by Mephisto but Mistico armdrags Mephisto to the mat.\u00a0 Mephisto pushes down Mistico but Mistico hit a swinging headscissors, they trade trips and pin attempts but can\u2019t even get a one count.\u00a0 Mistico goes off the ropes, and Mistico hits a hiptoss.\u00a0 Mistico goes off the ropes and hits a hurricanrana, Mephisto falls out of the ring and Mistico hits the tope con giro.\u00a0 Mistico gets back in the ring with Mephisto slowly following, Mistico goes off the ropes and hits a hurricanrana for a two count.<\/p>\n

Mistico gets up on Mephisto\u2019s shoulders and gives him the victory roll for a two count cover.\u00a0 Both wrestlers get up, body scissors takedown by Mistico but Mephisto crawls away.\u00a0 Mephisto grabs Mistico and hits the Demon Driller, cover, but Mistico gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Mephisto picks up Mistico and puts him in the corner before chopping him down to the mat.\u00a0 Mephisto pulls Mistico back to his feet and again chops him down.\u00a0 Irish whip by Mephisto, reversed, Mephisto throws Mistico out to the apron but Mistico hits a swandive hurricanrana.\u00a0 Mephisto falls out of the ring, Mistico gets a running start but he slides out of the ring.\u00a0 Kick by Mistico, he goes up to the apron but Mephisto catches him when he jumps off and throws him into the ring post.<\/p>\n

Mephisto gets back in the ring and waits for Mistico, Mistico gets back on the apron but he shoulder tackles Mephisto when he charges him.\u00a0 Sunset flip by Mistico but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Drop Toehold by Mephisto but Mistico shoves him off and applies La Magistral for a two count.\u00a0 Both wrestlers are slow to get up, Mistico goes off the ropes but Mephisto hits a powerbomb.\u00a0 He tries using the ropes for leverage during the pin, and the referee sees him.\u00a0 School boy by Mistico but it gets two.\u00a0 Mistico charges Mistico and Mistico hits a spinning headscissors, sending Mephisto out of the ring.\u00a0 Mistico then gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving hurricanrana down to the floor.\u00a0 While Mephisto recovers, Mistico gets back in the ring, but Mistico is looking the wrong way and Mephisto attacks him from behind.\u00a0 Mephisto applies a stretch hold to Mistico and he kicks Mistico in the ribs.<\/p>\n

Mephisto picks up Mistico and applies the Gory Special, but Mistico flips him over for a two count cover.\u00a0 Mephisto is up first, he charges Mistico but Mistico puts him on the ropes, then gets on the other side ropes and hits a hurricanrana back into the ring.\u00a0 Cover by Mistico, but Mephisto kicks out. Mephisto picks up Mistico, Irish whip to the corner but Mistico throws Mephisto to the apron and then kicks him down to the floor.\u00a0 Mistico goes to the ropes and sails out onto Mephisto with a springboard Shooting Star Press.\u00a0 He actually over-shot Mephisto a bit and landed right on the hard floor past the mats.\u00a0 Insane.\u00a0\u00a0 Mistico gets up first and slides Mephisto back into the ring, Mistico gets up on the apron and hits the swandive crossbody.\u00a0 Mistico goes off the ropes and\u00a0 hits a spinning armdrag, he charges Mephisto but Mephisto throws him\u00a0 into the corner.\u00a0 Mistico moves when Mephisto charges in and puts Mephisto on the top turnbuckle, Mistico joins him up there but Mephisto punches Mistico and nails the Avalanche-Style Demon Driller.\u00a0 Cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner and still champion:\u00a0 Mephisto<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Any wrestler that will die for me trying to do a springboard shooting star press is a-ok in my book.\u00a0 Actually though, the match was pretty disappointing.\u00a0 It was so oddly structured, I mean the first real move that Mephisto hit on Mistico was his finishing move several minutes into the match.\u00a0 At the end, Mephisto gets back to his feet and is running around like nothing after getting the Shooting Star Press, and in general they really didn\u2019t do any \u201clong term\u201d selling.\u00a0 It was constant sprinting, but they were doing big moves that deserved to be sold for a little bit, not shaken off to get to the next big spot.\u00a0 I mean the spots were good, don\u2019t get me wrong and both wrestlers looked good, but the structure of the match was severely lacking.\u00a0 I was expecting a bit more for the main event title match, the psychology seemed off even for Lucha Libre matches which negatively affected the match.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Best Match:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and La Sombra vs. Kazuchika Okada, Ultimo Guerrero, and Ishii.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I gave this one the nod because it was the longer match and had more different things going for it.\u00a0 Yes, it had the high spots but it also had some hate as well so it didn\u2019t come across as just a glorified exhibition.\u00a0 All six wrestlers brought what they had to the match and it blended together to be a really entertaining match.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MVP:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rush.<\/strong>\u00a0 Being in a singles match helps a wrestler stand out, and I thought he really did a good job of showing that he was on Nakamura\u2019s level.\u00a0 He was always just one big move away from defeating the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and it seemed like a real fight at times.\u00a0 It was also a different style than the other matches on the card which showed Rush\u2019s versatility.\u00a0 Good showing by the CMLL star.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overall:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I enjoyed this event a lot more than the event from a few days before.\u00a0 The matches here got more time, which allowed them to actually tell a story in some of the matches and not just throughout high spots.\u00a0 Many of the matches were really good and there were only a few stinkers.\u00a0 I just wish that the main event was better, I thought it just fell flat.\u00a0 Overall though a fun night of action, I\u2019d recommend grabbing it if you get the chance and want to see some a new style of wrestling if you haven’t watched Lucha Libre before.<\/p>\n

Grade: \u00a0B<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fantastica Mania continues on, with Tanahashi, Naito, and Sombra vs. Okada, Ultimo Guerrero, and Ishii, plus Rush vs. Nakamura, Volador\/BUSHIROAD vs. Doardo\/Desperado, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":2529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[234,233],"class_list":["post-4578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-new-japan","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4578"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4582,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4578\/revisions\/4582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}