By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “CMLL Fantastica Mania 2024”
February 16, 2024 in Aichi, Japan at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary. This is a small arena and the lights were low.
1. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Tiger Mask and Difunto at 7:20. Sho showed off the IWGP Junior title, which he stole from El Desperado. Difunto is slightly heavyset and I saw him for the first time earlier on this tour. He has thick, long hair. Tiger Mask and Kanemaru opened. Sho and Difunto entered at 1:30 and they traded armdrags. Kanemaru tried to untie TM’s mask and was booed. The HoT twisted Difunto’s ankles and worked him over. Difunto hit a huracanrana at 5:30, then a dive through the ropes. Tiger Mask hit a butterfly suplex on Sho and tied him up on the mat, but Sho reached the ropes. Tiger Mask hit a buzzsaw kick to Sho’s head. With the ref out of position, Kanemaru hit a low blow on Tiger Mask and again tugged off the mask! Sho immediately got a rollup to pin Tiger Mask. Sluggish but exactly what I expected here.
2. Tomoaki Honma and Dark Panther defeated Okumura and Francesco Akira at 7:34. Honma is wearing his yellow mask again but everyone knows it’s him. Okumura has the mask over his nose and mouth but his hair is exposed; he opened against Dark Panther and they traded slow-paced mat reversals. Honma and Akira entered at 2:30. Akira hit basement dropkicks on Honma. Honma missed a Kokeshi falling headbutt. Okumura hit an Iconoclasm on Dark Panther at 5:00. Dark Panther hit backbreakers over his knee on each opponent. Panther hit a dive to the floor on Akira. In the ring, Honma hit a leaping headbutt on Okumura for a nearfall at 6:30. Dark Panther hit a second-rope missile dropkick to pin Okumura. Okay match.
3. Kamaitachi and Tetsuya Naito defeated El Desperado and Brillante Jr. at 9:31. Brillante’s mask is silver with red lightning marks. Again, it appears Kamaitachi is Hiromu Takahashi in a red, furry, full body mascot outfit. Naito and Kamaitachi attacked at the bell. Brillante hit a flip dive to the floor on Naito at 1:00. Naito and Kamaitachi began working over Brillante in the ring. Naito tried to untie Desperado’s mask at 3:30. Desperado hit a back suplex on Naito for a nearfall. Naito hit a basement dropkick, then an enzuigiri. Kamaitachi tagged in at 7:00, but Desperado hit a spinebuster on him. Brillante hit a backbreaker over his knee on Kamaitachi, but he missed a split-legged moonsault. Kamaitachi rolled up Brillante, grabbed a handful of tights, and got the pin. OK action. Kamaitachi complained of a low blow.
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yoh, and Atlantis Jr. defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Musashi, and Hechicero at 12:59. Hechicero took a cheap shot at Atlantis before the bell. Taguchi is again wearing a cheap mask that he picked up at a Dollar Store and doesn’t hide who he is. Hechicero immediately tied up Atlantis on the mat. Atlantis hit a superkick at 3:30. Musashi tagged in, so Yoh also tagged in. Musashi hit a huracannrana; Yoh rolled to the floor and jogged up the walkway to avoid a dive. Tanahashi and Taguchi entered and locked up at 6:00, and Hiroshi hit a second-rope twisting crossbody block. Taguchi started hitting armdrags on opponents, then even his teammates and the ref.
Hechicero hit a hard kneestrike in the corner on Tanahashi at 8:30. Taguchi’s team worked over Atlantis Jr. The heels slammed Yoh into Taguchi’s butt at 10:30. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Atlantis hit a top-rope double crossbody block, then a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Hechicero. He hit a powerslam on Taguchi, then a flip dive to the floor on Hechicero. Yoh tied up Taguchi in a Paradise Lock. Tanahashi hit a plancha to the floor. Yoh ripped off Taguchi’s dimestore mask, applied a strait-jacket choke, and Taguchi submitted. Good when Atlantis and Hechicero were in it; the juvenile antics of Taguchi weren’t working for me today. Hechicero yelled at Taguchi after the match, but they shook hands.
5. Mistico, Mascara Dorada, and Templario defeated Rocky Romero, Douki, and Soberano Jr. via DQ at 15:22. Dorada, wearing red, green and white, opened against Douki, and Dorada hit a huracanrana. Soberano entered and hit a hard kick to Dorada’s chest at 2:30. Templario hit a powerslam. Soberano hit a dropkick on Templario, then a Fosbury Flop to the floor. In the ring, Douki began working over Templario. Soberano crotched Templario around a ring post at 6:00, and he bit Templario’s foot! Romero hit his Forever Clotheslines in the corner on Mistico. Dorada hit a top-rope diving armdrag, then a dive to the floor. Soberano hit a top-rope corkscrew press.
Templario hit a top-rope crossbody block, then a pop-up powerbomb. Douki and Dorado traded mid-ring forearm strikes at 9:30. Dorado hit some creative huracanranas. Rocky’s team rolled to the floor at 11:30 and started to head to the exits, but they returned. Back in the ring, the heels attacked Mistico. Mistico hit a handspring-back-double elbow, then more huracanranas. Douki and Rocky hit stereo dives to the floor at 14:30. It left Templario and Soberano in the ring, and Soberano hit some quick kicks, and a kneelift to the chin. Soberano Jr. ripped off Templario’s mask, and Templario fell to the mat to cover his face. The ref immediately disqualified Soberano and called for the bell. Good action and far better than the first four matches of the show.
* We have a mini-tournament! The next two matches are the first-round matches.
6. Magnus and Volador Jr. defeated Pegasso and Stigma in a semifinal match at 12:16 in a Faction Tag Team Tournament first round match. Pegasso and Stigma are both dressed in white with some blue and look fairly identical. Pegasso, in a singlet, opened against Volador Jr. and they traded lucha reversals and had a standoff. There are horns going off like crazy in the background and I find it highly annoying and distracting; I’d turn down the sound but I’m not convinced I know who everyone is. Volador Jr. removed his mask at 3:00, as I typed that prior sentence, so that helps. Stigma went for a top-rope move, but Magnus caught him with a dropkick. Volador Jr. and Magnus hit double basement dorpkicks on Pegasso, and they began working Pegasso over.
Magnus started to untie Pegasso’s mask, and Volador Jr. helped untie it. Magnus hit a 619 for a nearfall at 6:30. Stigma got in but the heels tied up his arms and kept Stigma grounded. Pegasso and Stigma hit stereo dives to the floor at 9:30. Stigma and Magnus fought on the ropes in the corner. Both Pegasso and Stigma hit top-rope huracanranas for double nearfalls, and everyone was down at 11:30. Volador hit a Lungblower for the pin; there seemed to be some confusion if that was the pin or not.
7. Stuka Jr. and Ultimo Guerrero defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Titan and Bushi at 12:21 in a Faction Tag Team Tournament first round match. Guerrero removed his mask before locking up with Titan. Guerrero tied him in a surfboard at 4:00. Stuka and Guerrero began working over Bushi; they both started untying masks of the LIJ team. Guerrero hit a baseball slide dropkick that sent Titan to the floor at 8:00. Titan hit a springboard double dropkick, sending Guerrero and Stuka to the floor. Titan then hit a dive onto them on the floor. In the ring, Guerrero tied up Bushi’s leg, but Titan made the save. Stuka hit a top-rope dive to the floor at 12:00 on Titan. Stuka then immediately hit a top-rope frogsplash to pin Bushi.
Final Thoughts: Like the prior Fantastica Mania show I watched earlier this week, the first few matches didn’t do much for me. The silliness provided by Honma, Taguchi, and Kamaitachi is just a bit too much comedy for my tastes. The second half of the show had three really strong matches. The Mistico six-man tag was easily best of the show and probably should have gone on last. I’ll take the Magnus/Volador Jr. tag match for second best, ahead of the main event.
Kamaitachi was the gimmick that Hiromu used on his Mexico excursion. He lost his mask to Dragon Lee in a feud that is well worth checking out.