Delta/Atlantis vs UG/Dragon (maybe), FantasticMania, Night 1, Zayco

(photo by CMLL)

CMLL (FRI) 01/20/2012 Arena Mexico [CMLL]
1) Bronco & Inquisidor b Camaleón & Höruz
2) Hooligan, Nitro, Skándalo b Pegasso, Rey Cometa, Sensei
Rudos took 2/3, though Hooligan suffered a head injury.
3) Amapola b Estrellita [lightning]
Ampola won via backcraker.
4) Fuego, Sagrado, Sangre Azteca b Cancerbero, Euforia, Virus
Sagrado beat Virus.
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Rey Escorpion, Último Guerrero b Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr.
Guerreros jumped Atlatnida, but lost the first fall due to excessive violence DQ. Atlantida on UG and Delta reinera on Dragon Rojo got them the straight fall win, and those two challenged for a tag title match. Guerrero accepted the match for next week. Dragon Rojo was hurting after the match again.
6) Blue Panther, La Máscara, Marco Corleone b Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
Panther got away with a foul on Negro for the win.

NJPW CMLL (SAT) 01/21/2012 Korakuen Hall [PuroresuSpiritSport NaviStrong Style Spirit]
***Fantastic Mania 2012 (Day 1)***
Attendance: 1950
1) Taichi & Taka Michinoku b Danshoku Dino & Máximo
Taichi inside cradled Dino. Despite the loss, Maximo challenged for him and Dino vs Taguchi & Devitt for the junior tag titles.
2) Shigeo Okumura & YOSHI-HASHI b King Fale & Tama Tonga
Mima Shimoda accompanied Okumura & Yoshihashi to the ring and interfered in the match. Yoshihashi landed the senton con giro on Fale!
3) Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV b Gedo, Jado, Misterioso Jr.
Devitt double stomped Gedo. Ayumi said hi to the crowd in between matches.
4) Hirooki Goto & Kushida b Máscara Dorada & Rush
KUSHIDA beat Dorada with his 9469 to set up tomorrow’s title match. Rush and Goto had issues post match to set up their match. Rush is said to have looked good.
5) Diamante, Jushin Liger, Tetsuya Naito b Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi
Black Cat tribute match. Naito landed the Stardust press on Mephisto. Nakamura tried to stomp Naito’s face in after the match. After the match, Naito told the interviewers he wants to win the heavyweight title before he turns 30 (in June)
6) Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr. b Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra
Volador beat Sombra with the headscissors driver, which is being called “the Volador Spiral”.

CMLL Gaceta talks about the history of Mexico/Japan talent exchange. On SamuraiTV, Volador said it was great to return to Japan as Volador, and it was also great to pull the blindfold off the Japanese fan’s eyes and show them he’s clearly much better than Sombra. Volador is so confused why they keep bringing Sombra to Japan when they could have him, a much better luchador.

AAA says their main Televisa TV show has been moved to Sunday this week.

AAA has it’s first taping of the year today, with Mesias/Jack vs Garza/Perro as the headliner. It’s been a month without taping and with very inconsistent TV, and there doesn’t feel like there’s any particular momentum with this group at the moment. They’ll have to fire it back up tonight.

A couple hours earlier, the second FantasticMania show takes place in Japan. There are two title matches. I expect both Sombra and Dorada to bring home their titles, but Dorada was surprised and beat last year. The other singles match of note is Rush vs Goto, which is more about Rush proving his level than the outcome.

Zayco will be out 3 months due to a eye operation. He was hurt back in November on a Robin hurracarrana, and they’ve got to fix his right eye retina.

Crazy Boy hopes to be back in the ring in six months (July). He hasn’t been in a match since April and was working only a limited schedule then. Crazy Boy had a knee operation, then another knee operation to fix stuff found in the first one.

Angel Astral won the Guerrero (state) lightweight championship via overturned finish DQ.

DTU is holding a three day seminar for aspiring DTU wrestlers in February. You can learn ring psychology from Crazy Boy.

Pasion Kristal is running a fundraising show for local Tabasco luchadors.

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 01/27/2012 Arena Mexico
1) Enrique Vera Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs Artillero & Súper Comando
2) Dark Angel, Estrellita, Marcela vs Amapola, La Comandante, Zeuxis
3) Diamante, Metro, Sagrado vs Ephesto, Misterioso Jr., Vangelis
4) Blue Panther vs Negro Casas [lightning]
5) Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Rey Escorpion, Último Guerrero
6) Marco Corleone, Máximo, Rush vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible,  Volador Jr.

Marco’s trio (and Marco himself) is undefated so far, but they’ve got an all star team this time.

This is twice in a row now when they’ve had the wrestlers agree to a title match the next week, and there’s been no title match next week. Loco Max ought to be really carefully to get Virus in writing if he’s challenging for the lightweight title on Tuesday.

Panther vs Negro in a lightning match? Huh.

great match roundup, week of 01/15/2012

Great/Excellent matches this week
I thought the Guerreros vs Atlantida was close but needed more drama in the ending to make it. Nothing else really got a lot of consideration. It’s a slow period.

Have Watched, nothing to add
CMLL Guerreros del Ring on 52MX: 2012-01-14 – this was extra lousy
CMLL on CadenaTres: 2012-01-14
CMLL on FOX: 2012-01-07
Big Neurosis, Ernesto Chavana, Tun Tun b Rico Rodriguez, Simbolo, the Beast – this wasn’t 100% Monterrey because no one turned, but it was close.

Have Not Watched
CMLL Guadalajara: 2012-01-14 – will watch if the title match airs tonight
Arena Coliseo Monterrey: 2012-01-14 – did not watch, only 2 falls anyway
Perros del Mal on TVCDeportes: 2012-01-12 – has not turned up yet
CMLL Arena Puebla: 2012-01-16 – has not turned up
IWRG 2012-01-15:  only about 2/3rds of the show has turned up, mostly tournament matches.

Late Adds

Nothing here.

Other Stuff

Rather than wait until the end of the year to post the MOTYC list, I’ll just keep a running log based on these posts and your comments. You can find it right here, and I’ll be updating it about the same time as I do these posts.

I’ve already added the two matches from Arena Lopez Mateos from last weekend people have been recommending. If there’s anything else worth sharing from this week, post below.