Match 1: Danshoku Dino & Máximo vs Taichi & Taka Michinoku
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Taichi & Taka Michinoku
Match Time: 8:07
Rating: eh
Notes: Dino and Máximo walk in thru the crowd, Dino laying out one of the color commentators with a kiss. Later, Taichi would set up the other commentator – Milano Collection AT – for a Máximo kiss. Just like last year, Milano was carried out.
Match was mostly Dino & Maximo's bits, though seemingly more of Dino than Máximo. Dino's testicular claw test of strength and testicular dragon screws were amusing. TAKA & Taichi were there to be victims and to save each other from the worst. Dino held Taichi for the Maximo's kiss, Taichi moved, Máximo kissed Dino (for an extended bit) and Taichi double leg cradled Máximo for the pin.
Técnicos laid out Taichi with a double kiss, then did the same to the referee. Máximo bowed to all four sides of the ring, and generally seemed more reserved than usual, but maybe just Dino makes everyone else seem like a normal person. Both made belt motions to the cameramen after the match. Dino started to leave, ran after a young boy to kiss, then kissed Taichi and chased him away. Both Máximo and Dino make tag title challenges to Taguchi & Devitt in the post match.
Match 2: King Fale & Tama Tonga vs Shigeo Okumura & YOSHI-HASHI
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Shigeo Okumura & YOSHI-HASHI
Match Time: 11:23
Rating: eh
Notes: After all that messing around with it, Yoshihashi dropped the facepaint. Totally new gear. Okumura wears his Occidente Light Heavyweight Championship to the ring! Maybe Gallo could've made it to this show if he had just wont he title back. Mima Shimoda, with the Japan flag, trails behind him. She even gets to hang around in the ring. Referee is Tiger Hattori.
Tama Tonga is very Tongan, what with no shoes and yelling and imperviousness to turnbuckle smashes. He's also very energetic and seems like he might make something of himself. King Fale is a big large man who's an emotional counterpoint. Yoshihashi is the fifth most interesting person in the match. Mima interferes quite a bit, and ends up being kissed by Fale and Tonga at different points. Okumura gets in a couple of dives, including a tope con giro off a media table near the end. Yoshihashi just is there. He's treated as an equal with the larger guys (which is surprising to see), but he and Fale fail on the spinning reverse DDT that sets up his top rope tope con giro finish.
Match 3: Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV vs Gedo, Jado, Misterioso Jr.
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV
Match Time: 13:20
Rating: good
Notes: Misterioso is full viking. I am still totally uncertain why he is a viking, but he is. Referee is Asabi?
Match seemed to vary between lucha tag rules and normal tag rules until it just became 'don’t think about it too hard' tag rules. Misterioso and Taguchi had a nice standard lucha opening to start. He worked mostly with the tag champs. Communication seemed iffy in the early sections of the match but Misterioso was intense and focused the whole way thru. He was focused on as much as the other two, maybe even slightly more, though he was taken out for the end game. Match was going along okay until the final couple of fun minutes. Gedo lost after five straight moves by the técnicos on him, culminating in Devitt's top rope double stomp.
Misterioso and Tiger Mask yelled at each other after the match.
Ayumi, with the women's belt and looking very nervous, came to the ring. She mentioned she was CMLL champ, and then seemed to lose her place in her speech a couple different times.
Misterioso drops Rey de Youghrt in the post match interview. Tiger Mask says “I want your belt” to Devitt, which is also amusing.
Match 4: Hirooki Goto & Kushida vs Máscara Dorada & Rush
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Hirooki Goto & Kushida
Match Time: 10:16
Rating: good
Notes: Rush has a new shirt! Something for the Arena Mexico fans to burn! Both he and Dorada have their titles. Mascara Dorada also appears to have raided Rey Bucanero's closet for a pirate coat to wear. Very red, lot of buttons. I still want to know why Kushida like I94. Referee is Asabi.
Dorada & Kushida start off with a very strong back and forth, playing like they're very familiar with each other. I can't remember if they met in the Super J (they were trios partners in that tournament), but it of that feel. Kushida neatly cartwheels out of a headscissors, but Dorada dropkicks him out anyway and follows with the his running pescado. Rush and Goto step in, Rush makes Rush faces, and then the two just go to own on each other with chops and such. They beat the heck out of each other for their sequence, which becomes the theme. Rush is not booed and doesn't seem to be thrown off by the reaction – there's just one moment where he's chopping Kushida and expecting to hear it – and he and Dorada are basically the rudos in this match. Dorada still gets in his spectacular moves and Rush doesn't have to take anything too tricky, but they're the two on one bullies for the middle section, leading up to dives from Dorada (tornillo) and Rush (a great tope con giro.) After Goto and Rush have another strong battle, Kushida and Dorada finish it. Dorada nearly gets the win with the spinning around the ropes dropkick, and Kushida soon after submits him for the win. Ringside people have to jump in and break up Goto and Rush's face, which again really comes off as intense. Both go for chairs, but they're kept away from each other. Crowd very much seems into Rush here. He loiters at ringside until Dorada's feeling well enough to leave (and Dorada still needs help with that – also, Rush is going the wrong way until Fale corrects him.)
Dorada is grabbing his neck like he's broke it post match, and Rush is paicing around angrily. Dorada tells him to calm down, and Rush barely does so. Dorada will kept his title, Rush will continue respecting no one.
Match 5: Diamante, Jushin Liger, Tetsuya Naito vs Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Diamante, Jushin Liger, Tetsuya Naito
Match Time: 13:34
Rating: ok
Notes: Diamante has a t-shirt! Well, actually, it says “Leyenda de Plata”, which should be Volador's shirt. He and Lyger are in silver. They just wanted to see how many shirts they could sell, I'm sure. Diamante is all silver looks like another Ultraman gimmick, or maybe I’ve just seen too many Starman matches. Black Tiger's son and wife in the ring, and they're presented with flowers and a jacket. Rudos enter to Mephisto's music. Nakamura is weirder than ever. Something is wrong with that boy. Naito's shorts say “Polvo de Estrella”, which is someone completely different.
Early matchups are Lyger/Yujiro, Diamante/Mephisto, Naito/Nakamura. Opening matchups work a little differently here. Diamante gets in everything with Mephisto, Mephisto making them look great and Diamante not screwing himself up. He even goes for the cartwheel dive, but lands on his feet when Mephisto moves. Rudos transition into the beatdown, untying Lyger’s mask among other bits. It turns into some weird combination of the two styles, rudos sort of 3 on Naito, but also preventing him from making the tag. Naito makes his own comeback to clear the ring, then does a diving dropkick on Nakamura rather than make the tag. Diamante comes in, evades with Yujiro a bit, then drills his head on a powerslam. That looked not good and Yujiro falls down hitting the ropes like a man who just suffered a concussion. He gets up enough for Diamante to dropkick him out, which is good for all involved. The other rudos come in, but Mephisto boosts Diamante into a dropkick on Nakamura, and Lyger placnhas him. Diamante uses Mephisto to climb to the top rope and springboard tornillo on everyone. Naito back in, flying headscissors on Mephisto,. Mephisto stops him with loud leg kicks, but Naito knocks him down with a surging leaping forearming. Stardust Press finishes it.
Nakamura steps in to check on Mephisto, Naito goes after him, and Nakamura stomps down Naito. Bad move by Naito. Naito tries to get after him again, and everyone else gets in between in time.
Mephisto screams about Naito, while Nakamura is much more calm and dismissive talking about him. I think Diamante gets to talk more here than he has on CMLL TV in the last six months.
Match 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr.
Korakuen Hall, 01/21/2012
Winner: Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr.
Match Time: 12:45
Rating: eh
Notes: Volador is in an all red (Carnage?) outfit. New t-shirt, of course. Sombra gets second entrance. He has his belt, and rope flips into the ring. Hype man Gedo is with Okada, who also has a tone of gold around his neck. Tanahashi is wearing his Mexico facepaint. Referee is “Zapato Rojo!” Okada's hair looks absurd.
A match very focused on the rivalries, with just enough cross pollination to make it count. After even opening exchanges, Tanahashi was caught in the rudo corner for an extended period, and the match really slowed down. It was much more a NJPW match and a CMLL one. Okada doesn't seem at his level, and there were sections in the match which felt designed to point that out. After Sombra got the hot tag (by stepping in the ring and doing moves just before Tanahashi tagged him, oops), Tanahashi ended up sending Okada via Sling Blade and following a top rope frog plancha. Sombra and Volador finished up, Sombra getting near falls out the consecutive moonsault and Brillante Bomb, but getting caught with the headscissors driver. The Japanese press called it the Volador Spiral, which is as good a name as any.
Okada attacked Tanahashi after the bell, and drops him with a martinete. DQ! They don't DQ. Okada and his hype man leave and Tanahashi is helped to the back, but Volador waits to taunt to Sombra about where that title is going tomorrow.
Volador explains to the camera that he's proven he's the best luchador ONCE AGAIN, and he'll be champ next. Sombra says Volador is very lucky, they'll meet in the center of the ring for the championship, and he'll still be champion.