Recapped: 01/21/2017
What happened: Máximo defeated Hechicero to keep the heavyweight title. Rush beat Atlantis bloody, but needed help from the rest of the Ingobernables to get the win. Último Guerrero defeated Volador before their match tomorrow. Soberano continues to do very well.
What was good: Pretty much everything. Skip the opener and watch the rest of the show.
Where can I watch it: It’s on NJPW World.
Match 1: Blue Panther Jr., Henare, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask vs Ephesto, Gedo, Jado, Raziel
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: rudos (Ephesto Roll on Blue Panther Jr.))
Match Time: 6:51
Review: [below average] This was just the rudos bumbling around comically, working over the young guy, and hurrying to the finish. The best comedy was Blue Panther standing on the apron for most of the match, getting in for three moves, and getting sucked by Ephesto into his cradle. He looked dumb. This match peaked with Tiger Mask armdragged everyone and then sunk with the rudos unable to complete the comedy slap spot on the outside.
Match 2: Stuka Jr. vs Okumura
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: Stuka (torpedo splash)
Match Time: 7:55
Notes: Mima Shimoda tried to help out, which backfired as usual.
Review: [good] Kind of a Standard lightning match between the two – except, they’ve never actually had a lightning match. That doesn’t seem possible but it is CMLL. This was built around Stuka’s big dives, with Okumura getting in every DDT/cutter/Driver he does in between. It was reliable solid, Stuka’s big dives get over well, and they added a little comedy with Mima too. It’s kind of the same thing we get from this pair on every January because it works well.
Match 3: Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Soberano Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Okada, Will Ospreay
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: rudos (Cavernaria on Soberano)
Match Time: 9:42
Review: [good] This was a really fun match (and post match dance celebration.) Soberano’s Tokyo run continues to great, and getting in his flashy offense while meshing well with his opponents. There was enough confidence in him to have Soberano start out opposite Ospreay and to do a segment with Okada later on, and Soberano looked like he belonged the whole way. The Taguchi/Okada comedy was a good change of pace before things got a little more serious later, and Okada seems to be having a good time in all of these matches. Cavernario was obviously limited, holding his arm in as soon as the match ended, and that might have meant we got less of him and Kushida, but it didn’t bring down the match much.
Match 4: David Finlay, Dragón Lee, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Titán vs Bushi, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, Naito, Sanada
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: LIJ (Sanada Skull End Finlay)
Match Time: 8:57
Notes: Naito attacked announcer Milano before the match. Evil snuck in a chair shot on Finlay to set up the feud. Tanahashi and Evil had a staredown post match (as Lee & Takahashi)
Review: [good] A more serious tone than the previous match but still watchable. The run near the end of these ten man tags, with people rushing in after each other and setting up their moves (in a more natural way than we normally get in CMLL matches) has really been fun to watch. This one was helped by being more exciting earlier on, with Dragon Lee & Takahashi having a good sequence early and in the late stages too. Bushi and Titan showed some chemistry too and I’m really interested in seeing what the tag match looks like tomorrow. This was good.
Match 5: Mistico & Volador Jr. vs Euforia & Último Guerrero
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: Guerreros (Ultimo Guerrero Guerrero Special Volador Jr. )
Match Time: 13:39
Review: [good] Another one where it started as a good comedy early, and got crazy later. Mistico’s toss huracanrana over the poster was insane, and surprisingly with problem. That was just an incredible spot. Mistico and Volador were smooth thru the match, looking spectacular when they finally turned things around against the técnicos. The Guerreros still put them down hard, with UG pulling out a new suplex and Euforia standing out by catching Mistico and slamming him on the table. This got me more excited for the singles matches tomorrow than I thought I’d be.
Match 6: Atlantis vs Rush
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: Rush
Match Time: 10:46
Notes: Atlatnnis was bloodied midway in the match, possibly on a Rush chair shot.
Atlantis got Rush up in the Atlantida, but Bushi distracted the referee and Naito attacked Atlantis. Rush won soon after.
Review: [great] a match between these two that we wouldn’t get in Arena Mexico. It wasn’t just the blood, though the blood did make a big difference, but the little bit of chair tossing and wild brawling that may have caused the blood. It was the kind of match Atlantis needed to have to keep with Rush, but Rush was still destroying for a lot of the match and Atlantis had to battle from underneath to get to the Atlantida. Atlantis was the story but Rush showed good intensity and energy thru the match. This was good on it’s own, and useful as a possible September preview.
Match 7: Máximo Sexy © vs Hechicero for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 01/21/2017
Winner: Máximo (off the rope headscissors)
Match Time: 15:59
Review: [great] Delivered the exciting match it needed to be in this spot. It still felt a little odd this was the main event, but they had a main event quality match. Máximo continued to come up big in his title matches, from tricky technical stuff like the backwards rolling backwards cradle to walking the ropes for a big tope con giro. Hechicero is so deep as a luchador that he could avoid using three of his biggest spots (conjuro, rolling half crab/small package, reverse monkey flip) and have another only show up as a miss (running corner knee) and still look plenty impressive in the match. This title being the heavyweight title on the line is probably a hindrance here – this match wasn’t like what people might be expecting for a heavyweight match in Japan – but it would’ve been a standout match in Japan. Both guys did well for themselves.
