Maximo vs Taichi [*1/2]
This was not as good as the tag match the previous night. Maximo's gimmick worked so well with more people involved in the match. Maximo does a great job at putting over his kiss as a move that will make the recipient faint for three seconds. The ending is so epic where Taichi turns the gimmick around on Maximo with great success and ends up winning the match. Apparently Taichi has taken a liking toward men as he chases his partner TAKA to the back. Odd is the only way to sum up this match.
BUSHI, Diamante, Jushin Thunder Liger, Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask & Titan vs CHAOS, Misterioso Jr & OKUMURA - 12 Man Elimination Torneo Cibernetico Match [***]
The heels/rudos have won more than I expected during this weekend. We got a fun Cibernetico with tons of action. The eliminations were super fast and included Liger getting a pin with a Thez Press. Tomohiro Inishi of CHAOS picked up the win in a super fun, super fast match.
Rey Escorpion vs Rush [**1/2]
I wasn't as big a fan of this match as I had hoped I would be. Rush is a wrestler with a dynamite look and a killer finisher but showed very little in between to me. His Rush Driver is boss and another finisher (like Escorpion's
Aguijon Mortal) that can end a match in an instant. In a great show of continuity from the previous night's tag match where Escorpion flattened Rush with the
Aguijon Mortal, this time Rush countered into his Rush Driver for the pin.
Dragon Rojo Jr© vs La Sombra - NWA World Middleweight Title [***]
This was a good title match with both guys working hard and laying in all of their spots. La Sombra is a crowd favorite and gets the win and the title here after the Brillante Driver. This was pure Lucha with the combatants fighting all over the ringside area and dives aplenty. These two are fun to watch.
La Mascara© vs Volador Jr - Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title [**1/4]
I was not a huge fan of this match. They went with a breakneck pace for a couple of minutes and then rest then repeat. A gradual build or a consistent pace would have done this match a lot of good. Their moves were very good, including a moonsault suicida which is a favorite of mine. La Mascara takes the match with La Campana submission.
Euforia, Kazuchika Okada & Mephisto vs Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt [***]
We get a very short main event that provides good action but a finish I hate. Mephisto hits the Demon Driller on Atlantis and only gets two. Atlantis immediately gets up and applies La Atlantida for the submission win. There was no setup for Atlantis's finisher just kick out and apply the hold and its over. Okada and Tanahashi get a very nice exchange near the end with Okada striking out on two Rainmaker attempts and getting High Fly Flowed on the floor. They have such great chemistry together I would love to see another rematch, though I may be in the minority on that front.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Night 3 was very good and might even top Night 2 in quality. I like the Cibernetico match which was all action and the Middleweight Title match was the match of the night. Nothing special here just a good solid night of wrestling.
Showing posts with label CMLL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CMLL. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
NJPW/CMLL Fantasica Mania 2013 - Night 2 (01/19/13)
Maximo & Toma Tonga vs Suzuki-Gun [**1/2]
My first thought in watching this was how do I rate it. We get an awesome comedy match but it is just that a comedy match. Maximo is more than just the star of the match, he is the match. Everything here revolves around his gay gimmick from his offense, the offense of his competitors, Toma Tonga playing the lead in their salsa pair, and even putting an announcer out of action with a kiss to the forehead. Maximo has his gimmick down and goes all over the place with it, which makes the match so much fun to watch. Toma Tonga looked a lot better in this than he did the previous night. He got some good moves in and looked to be having a lot of fun. Maximo got the pin after a kiss on Taichi.
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Titan vs World Class Tag Team & Misterioso Jr [**3/4]
Whatever funk the workers were in last night (jet lag?) they are wrestling at a higher level tonight. Titan is fun to watch and his handstand is an amazing feat. The NJPW wrestlers seem to be there to keep a Japanese structure while the CMLL workers pull off the awesome Lucha spots. Misterioso Jr gets the pin after a crazy La Rosa Driver. Fun match.
Diamante & Mascara Dorada vs Mephisto & OKUMURA [**1/4]
My rating and feelings on this match are very much skewed by my view of Lucha. There is a lot I cannot wrap my head around. Its stuff like Diamante jumping off the second rope straight up in the air, obviously not attempting to hit OKUMURA and is jumping solely to be dropkicked. I understand this form of wrestling takes a lot of skill to pull off (like the stereo sequences) but like I have been bitching these past couple of reviews I don't get it. Mephisto has the coolest finisher, the Demon Driller. It is very simple yet is such an impressive visual especially when he holds his opponent in position before dropping him face fist to the mat. All four wrestlers worked very hard here and the fans appreciated everything, even chanting for Mephisto after the match. Diamante has this amazing ability to pull any areal maneuver out of his rear at any moment. Mephisto and OKUMURA win after the Demon Driller on Dorada.
Apollo 55 & BUSHI vs CHAOS & Dragon Rojo Jr [**3/4]
I like Apollo 55, especially Devitt. These six work hard and have an entertaining match. I love the stereo plancha by Apollo 55 & BUSHI. I hated the ending as it came out of nowhere without any buildup whatsoever. One move and boom Rojo Jr has BUSHI down for the count.
Atlantis vs Euforia [***]
This was a good match with an ending that made a lot of sense. Atlantis worked on the back of Euforia leading up to his La Atlantida submission finisher. These two older heavyweights went all out and had a pretty good match. Amazing that at 50 years old Atlantis will still dive to the outside. Very few his age are still willing or able to pull off that move. Match of the night thus far.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush vs Kazuchika Okada, Rey Escorpion & Volador Jr [***1/4]
Coming into this match I was looking for a big Tanahashi/Okada showdown but it didn't happen. They were in the ring together here and there but nothing of significance happened. What we get is a fantastically worked match between six pros. I have no idea how La Mascara wrestles a long match in his ring attire that literally covers him from head to toe, especially in some of the sweat boxes south of the border. Rey Escorpion gets the win with an awesome package piledriver (Aguijon Mortal?) that gets a massive pop from the crowd. It is such an impressive finisher that looks like a match ender even lacking any setup. Great stuff here.
Shinsuke Nakamura© vs La Sombra - IWGP Intercontinental Title [***3/4]
I am officially a Nakamura mark, as he has had one hell of a start to 2013. These two went back in forth in an incredible title match. There were a couple of rollups where I thought La Sombra could have taken the match but Nakamura got out just in the nick of time. La Sombra broke out some awesome areal maneuvers, anything twisty I am a mark for, as well as an incredible moonsault. Nakamura retained his title with the Bomba Ye. We are getting to the point where I will mark out when I see a Nakamura title defense on the card. Hope he keeps delivering these great matches for the rest of his title reign.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Night 2 was worlds better than Night 1. This is what you expect when two major companies get together for a night of wrestling. Even though I don't completely understand Lucha, I know wrestling and when guys are working hard, as well as when I am entertained. There was plenty of entertainment to be had on this night. This is not required viewing but you will not be wasting your time if you decide to do so.
My first thought in watching this was how do I rate it. We get an awesome comedy match but it is just that a comedy match. Maximo is more than just the star of the match, he is the match. Everything here revolves around his gay gimmick from his offense, the offense of his competitors, Toma Tonga playing the lead in their salsa pair, and even putting an announcer out of action with a kiss to the forehead. Maximo has his gimmick down and goes all over the place with it, which makes the match so much fun to watch. Toma Tonga looked a lot better in this than he did the previous night. He got some good moves in and looked to be having a lot of fun. Maximo got the pin after a kiss on Taichi.
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Titan vs World Class Tag Team & Misterioso Jr [**3/4]
Whatever funk the workers were in last night (jet lag?) they are wrestling at a higher level tonight. Titan is fun to watch and his handstand is an amazing feat. The NJPW wrestlers seem to be there to keep a Japanese structure while the CMLL workers pull off the awesome Lucha spots. Misterioso Jr gets the pin after a crazy La Rosa Driver. Fun match.
Diamante & Mascara Dorada vs Mephisto & OKUMURA [**1/4]
My rating and feelings on this match are very much skewed by my view of Lucha. There is a lot I cannot wrap my head around. Its stuff like Diamante jumping off the second rope straight up in the air, obviously not attempting to hit OKUMURA and is jumping solely to be dropkicked. I understand this form of wrestling takes a lot of skill to pull off (like the stereo sequences) but like I have been bitching these past couple of reviews I don't get it. Mephisto has the coolest finisher, the Demon Driller. It is very simple yet is such an impressive visual especially when he holds his opponent in position before dropping him face fist to the mat. All four wrestlers worked very hard here and the fans appreciated everything, even chanting for Mephisto after the match. Diamante has this amazing ability to pull any areal maneuver out of his rear at any moment. Mephisto and OKUMURA win after the Demon Driller on Dorada.
Apollo 55 & BUSHI vs CHAOS & Dragon Rojo Jr [**3/4]
I like Apollo 55, especially Devitt. These six work hard and have an entertaining match. I love the stereo plancha by Apollo 55 & BUSHI. I hated the ending as it came out of nowhere without any buildup whatsoever. One move and boom Rojo Jr has BUSHI down for the count.
Atlantis vs Euforia [***]
This was a good match with an ending that made a lot of sense. Atlantis worked on the back of Euforia leading up to his La Atlantida submission finisher. These two older heavyweights went all out and had a pretty good match. Amazing that at 50 years old Atlantis will still dive to the outside. Very few his age are still willing or able to pull off that move. Match of the night thus far.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush vs Kazuchika Okada, Rey Escorpion & Volador Jr [***1/4]
Coming into this match I was looking for a big Tanahashi/Okada showdown but it didn't happen. They were in the ring together here and there but nothing of significance happened. What we get is a fantastically worked match between six pros. I have no idea how La Mascara wrestles a long match in his ring attire that literally covers him from head to toe, especially in some of the sweat boxes south of the border. Rey Escorpion gets the win with an awesome package piledriver (Aguijon Mortal?) that gets a massive pop from the crowd. It is such an impressive finisher that looks like a match ender even lacking any setup. Great stuff here.
Shinsuke Nakamura© vs La Sombra - IWGP Intercontinental Title [***3/4]
I am officially a Nakamura mark, as he has had one hell of a start to 2013. These two went back in forth in an incredible title match. There were a couple of rollups where I thought La Sombra could have taken the match but Nakamura got out just in the nick of time. La Sombra broke out some awesome areal maneuvers, anything twisty I am a mark for, as well as an incredible moonsault. Nakamura retained his title with the Bomba Ye. We are getting to the point where I will mark out when I see a Nakamura title defense on the card. Hope he keeps delivering these great matches for the rest of his title reign.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Night 2 was worlds better than Night 1. This is what you expect when two major companies get together for a night of wrestling. Even though I don't completely understand Lucha, I know wrestling and when guys are working hard, as well as when I am entertained. There was plenty of entertainment to be had on this night. This is not required viewing but you will not be wasting your time if you decide to do so.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
NJPW/CMLL Fantasica Mania 2013 - Night 1 (01/18/13)
Euforia & OKUMURA vs Tama Tonga & Titan [*]
Tama Tonga is half of the CMLL Tag Champs and does not impress me here. This was one of those matches which was kinda there. Nothing about it wowed me yet nothing made me throw my hands up in disgust. I guess this was okay for what it was, the curtain jerker. Tama Tonga gets the pin with what I think was the Headshrinker (Hanging DDT).
BUSHI, Diamante & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS & Ray Escorpion [*]
We get nothing here to get me invested into the match, and nothing really sets this apart from the opener. Diamanté has a cool dive a d Escorpion has a sweet finisher Aguijon Mortal.
Rush vs YOSI-HASHI [*1/4]
I haven't been real enthused with this show so far. These matches feel like straight exhibitions lacking emotion. Rush has a great look and some nice moves. He finishes YOSHI-HASHI off with a Rush Driver.
La Mascara, Mascara Dorada & Maximo vs Suzuki-Gun, & Volador Jr
Match not uploaded to Daily Motion
Atlantis, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs World Class Tag Team & Mephisto [**]
We mostly get Liger against Gedo and Jado which consisted of attempting to rip the mask off Liger. Mephisto looks awesome and has an awesome finisher too. He hits Atlantis with the Demon Driller (think Angels Wings from the second rope) for the win.
Dragon Rojo Jr vs Prince Devitt [**1/2]
Prince Devitt using the song from Karate Kid wins a lot of points from me. I have to blame unfamiliarity between the NJPW and CMLL wrestlers because everything on this show is sub par to both companies normal shows. This has been the best match of the night thus far but was still a little disjointed in spots. This is still a decent mat based junior match though both are capable of a lot more.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs Misterioso Jr & Shinsuke Nakamura [**3/4]
This was the most entertaining match of the night. All four work well enough together but once again we get nothing that sticks out as memorable which seems to be the theme for the night. La Sombra messed up his Brillante Driver finisher yet still manages to get the winning pin on Misterioso Jr.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: If this night is any indication on how the next two nights of Fantastica Mania will go then it will be a rough getting through those shows. Matches here feel like wrestling exhibitions and miss hatred, intensity and story that are the heart and soul of pro wrestling. This show is only for hardcores who must see everything, otherwise spend your time elsewhere.
Tama Tonga is half of the CMLL Tag Champs and does not impress me here. This was one of those matches which was kinda there. Nothing about it wowed me yet nothing made me throw my hands up in disgust. I guess this was okay for what it was, the curtain jerker. Tama Tonga gets the pin with what I think was the Headshrinker (Hanging DDT).
BUSHI, Diamante & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS & Ray Escorpion [*]
We get nothing here to get me invested into the match, and nothing really sets this apart from the opener. Diamanté has a cool dive a d Escorpion has a sweet finisher Aguijon Mortal.
Rush vs YOSI-HASHI [*1/4]
I haven't been real enthused with this show so far. These matches feel like straight exhibitions lacking emotion. Rush has a great look and some nice moves. He finishes YOSHI-HASHI off with a Rush Driver.
La Mascara, Mascara Dorada & Maximo vs Suzuki-Gun, & Volador Jr
Match not uploaded to Daily Motion
Atlantis, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs World Class Tag Team & Mephisto [**]
We mostly get Liger against Gedo and Jado which consisted of attempting to rip the mask off Liger. Mephisto looks awesome and has an awesome finisher too. He hits Atlantis with the Demon Driller (think Angels Wings from the second rope) for the win.
Dragon Rojo Jr vs Prince Devitt [**1/2]
Prince Devitt using the song from Karate Kid wins a lot of points from me. I have to blame unfamiliarity between the NJPW and CMLL wrestlers because everything on this show is sub par to both companies normal shows. This has been the best match of the night thus far but was still a little disjointed in spots. This is still a decent mat based junior match though both are capable of a lot more.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs Misterioso Jr & Shinsuke Nakamura [**3/4]
This was the most entertaining match of the night. All four work well enough together but once again we get nothing that sticks out as memorable which seems to be the theme for the night. La Sombra messed up his Brillante Driver finisher yet still manages to get the winning pin on Misterioso Jr.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: If this night is any indication on how the next two nights of Fantastica Mania will go then it will be a rough getting through those shows. Matches here feel like wrestling exhibitions and miss hatred, intensity and story that are the heart and soul of pro wrestling. This show is only for hardcores who must see everything, otherwise spend your time elsewhere.
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