NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania night one results: The tour begins

NJPW and CMLL kicked off the Fantasticamania tour today in Osaka. 

The show clocked in at a tidy two hours, including intermission. Here are results and match recaps:

RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & FUEGO DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & DOUKI

This was a fine little comedy opener.

Taguchi and Fuego entered and did an impressive dance routine. 

Fuego and DOUKI began with some lucha spots. Fuego got the better of the exchange. Taguchi tagged in and was immediately cut off. He did some of his usual comedy spots, missing hip attacks and such. 

Taguchi hit a double DDT and tagged Fuego. Fuego did a matrix back bend and a springboard arm drag before Kanemaru cut him off with a low dropkick. DOUKI tagged in to hit a lariat and get a two count.

The finish saw Fuego use a rolling cradle into a crucifix for the pin on DOUKI. 

Fuego and Taguchi danced again after the win. 

NAMAJAGUE, EUFORIA & LUCIFERNO DEFEATED AUDAZ, YUYA UEMURA & GUERRERO MAYA JR.

This was a fairly standard lucha trios match with a couple of spectacular moves. 

Luciferno and Maya traded holds on the mat. Maya sent Luciferno outside. Namajague and Euforia entered as Maya teased a dive, then both got hit with a tijeras. Audaz tagged in and hit a springboard tornillo and a tornillo arm drag. 

Euforia and Luciferno cut Audaz off. Uemura jumped in and took stomps from all three opponents. Namajague hit an assisted quebrada on Uemura. Maya tagged in and got tied to the tree of woe as the rudos continued their three-man attack. They were admonished by the ref that two needed to exit the ring, but they ignored him. 

Uemura came back with a forearm smash on Namajague. Audaz hit a springboard crossbody and a pop-up kick with an assist from Maya. Maya and Audaz hit tandem topes. 

Uemura hit a dropkick on Namajague for a two count. He went for his double underhook suplex but Namajague blocked it. They traded strikes. Namajague tried a brainbuster but Uemura used three quick cradles for near falls. Namajague then hit a bridging German for the pin. 

SOBERANO JR. & FLYER DEFEATED NEGRO CASAS & TIGER

Casas is in incredible shape for turning 60 today. He knows what he can do and what he can’t and his work here was very good. 

Casas and Soberano started off. They traded a couple of holds. Casas got caught in a cradle for a two count. Casas used a cross armbreaker. Soberano escaped and used a sleeper. Casas escaped that and used a crossface and an abdominal stretch. Soberano slipped out and both made tags. 

Flyer and Tiger tagged in and the pace picked up. They did a series of nifty teases and counters, ending with Flyer hitting an Asai moonsault. Soberano got tossed outside and took a nasty fall on the floor. Casas posted him, then threw him back inside. Tiger worked Soberano over and used a powerbomb for a two count.

Flyer hit Tiger with a destroyer. Tiger sent Flyer outside where Casas hit him with a seated senton off the apron. 

The finish kind of came out of nowhere. Soberano hit a springboard leg slice on Tiger and pinned him. Casas raised Flyer and Soberano’s hands after the match. 

TITAN, NIEBLA ROJA & ANGEL DE ORO DEFEATED FORASTERO, SANSON & CUATRERO

A fun sprint here. Titan is one of my favorite guys to watch. He only did a little bit by his crazy standards, but everything he did was spectacular and crisp. 

Roja and Forastero grappled to a stalemate. Sanson and Titan entered. Sanson used a headscissors on the mat. Titan used a handstand escape. De oro and Titan doubled up on Cuatrero. Titan hit a springboard dropkick. 

Titan teased a dive, but stopped himself on the apron. He was tripped off the apron and stomped on the floor by all three opponents. In the ring, Forastero and Cuatrero hit tandem springboard double sledges to Roja. 

Cuatrero, Forastero and Sanson then tripled up on Angel. Roja made a comeback hitting rolling elbows. Titan and Cuatrero faced off in the ring. They traded strikes. Titan then did some incredible back handsprings, springboarded on the ropes, then hit an Asai moonsault. 

Roja hit a tope. Forastero accidentally took out Sanson with a tope suicida. Cuatrero used a jackhammer for a near fall on Angel. Angel then used La Mecedora on Cuatrero, who verbally submitted. 

TETSUYA NAITO, HIROMU TAKAHASHI & BUSHI DEFEATED HIROSHI TANAHASHI, DULCE GARDENIA & YOTA TSUJI

This was a total house show match that was worked for the people in the building and not those viewing on NJPW World. I’m sure it was fun live. Tanahashi and Naito did virtually nothing, as you might expect. 

Gardenia does an exotico gimmick. He blew some kisses to BUSHI. He offered BUSHI a handshake. BUSHI accepted, then kicked him. Gardenia did some comedy selling. 

He sent BUSHI outside, teased a dive, then got cut off by Naito with stomps. Tana made the save. Gardenia stopped and posed with Tana. 

Tsuji entered and got the 3-on-1 LIJ beatdown. Naito used a crucifix hold, but Tsuji forced a rope break. BUSHI tagged in and hit Tsuji with hard chops. Tsuji hit a slam, then tagged Tanahashi. 

Tana hit a back elbow, sending Naito off the apron. Naito then jumped in and got hit with a dragon screw. Tana then hit a double dragon screw on BUSHI and Hiromu. Gardenia tagged in, hit a dropkick, then a tope con giro, flying about three rows deep. 

Back inside, BUSHI hit Gardenia with a DDT. Hiromu tagged in. Gardenia hit him with a facebuster. Tsuji tagged in and hit a dropkick on Hiromu for a two count, then used a Boston crab. Tanahashi jumped in and used a cloverleaf on Naito. Gardenia used his submission hold on BUSHI. Hiromu reached the ropes, forcing a break. Naito and Tanahashi brawled on the outside, while BUSHI and Gardenia rolled to the floor. 

Tsuji and Hiromu exchanged strikes. LIJ hit a triple dropkick to Tsuji for a near fall. Hiromu teased Time Bomb. Tsuji slipped out. Hiromu hit a superkick for a near fall. Tsuji fired up, hit the ropes, then ran right into a lariat from Hiromu. Hiromu used a crab, and Tsuji tapped out. 

Hiromu and Naito did some comedy after the match. Hiromu placed his title belt and Naito’s belts on the canvas, arranging them so that his belt was the focal point. Naito would rearrange them, then Hiromu would rearrange them. Hiromu then stole Naito’s hat and teased throwing it into the crowd. 

OKUMURA, ULTIMO GUERRERO & BARBARO CAVERNARIO DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA, CARISTICO & STUKA JR. 

This was billed as OKUMURA’s 25th anniversary match. He was presented with a trophy by an NJPW executive before the match. 

Stuka offered OKUMURA a handshake, OKUMURA reluctantly slapped hands. OKUMURA worked as a base as Stuka flipped around him a bit. 

Cavernario and Caristico tagged in. Caristico hit a couple of springboard elbows, a springboard headscissors, then teased a dive before stopping and posing. 

Ultimo and Kojima entered. They traded shoulder blocks. Ultimo missed a charge into the corner and flipped over the buckle to the floor. Kojima teased a dive, but got tripped as he hit the ropes. He was triple-teamed, then rolled outside. 

Cavernario hit a slingshot splash on Caristico. Stuka ate a tandem DDT. Caristico and Stuka came back and hit tope suicidas. Kojima hit machine gun chops on Ultimo, then a diving elbow for a two count. 

Kojima hit a DDT. Ultimo came back with a corner lariat, then a Senton de la Muerte. OKUMURA and Stuka came in. Stuka hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker in the ring, then another on the floor to OKUMURA. Stuka slammed Cavernario and teased a top rope move to him, but hit a high cross off the post to the floor instead. 

Back in the ring, Caristico went 1-on-2 against Cavernario and Ultimo. Kojima hit a plancha to Ultimo. Caristico hit a dive to Cavernario. 

With OKUMURA and Stuka the legal men, Stuka hit a crossbody off the top rope. OKUMURA blocked a charge into the corner, sat Stuka on the top rope, then hit a cutter, dropping Stuka to the mat. OKUMURA covered for the pin.  

The show ended with OKUMURA cutting a promo in Japanese, then posing with his teammates.