San Jose, CA – 7.13.2024

Commentary is provided by Miguel Castro & Veda Scott.

Copa Fantastica Four Way Match
Adrian Quest vs. Cucuy vs. The DKC vs. Viento

The winner of this match gets a trophy that will be defended on future Fantasticamania shows. Seems very limiting. Cucuy and Viento are Pro Wrestling Revolution representatives. The fans got behind Cucuy, especially when a man of larger carriage such as he is landed a tope con hilo to the other three competitors in the contest. DKC also impressed when he used Viento as a base to walk-up Cucuy and then come down with a hard karate chop to Viento’s clavicle. DKC also kickflipped off of Cucuy to land a senton splash onto Viento. Cucuy had Viento down with an avalanche one-man Spanish Fly, but was then kicked out of the ring with a flying karate kick from DKC. Cucuy rolled to the ramp, where Quest met him with a springboard 450 splash. Quest gets two on DKC with a seatbelt pin. DKC lays him out with a flying karate kick and then a springboard Rough Ryder for the pin at 8:31. This started out super rough, with mistimed, ugly Lucha. Things got a lot more polished as the match progressed, and the offense flowing from one participant for the next was especially smooth. I’m glad DKC got the nod, as he’s more than earned it over the course of his STRONG tenure. **¾

MLW World Tag Team Championship
CozyMAX (Okumura & Satoshi Kojima) vs. Los Depredadores (Magnus & Rugido)

CozyMAX have been champions since 5.11.2024 and this is their second defense. The champions run roughshod over the challengers to start. It takes Magnus assisting Rugido to the apron and setting him up for a crossbody and pop-up dropkick to turn the match in their favor. Magnus pulls Kojima into a butterfly backbreaker and Rugido takes out Okumura on the floor with a suicide dive. Okumura manages to maneuver Magnus to the top turnbuckle and then brings him down with a Tower of London. Okumura’s nose is bleeding as he tags in Kojima, who lights up Los Depredadores with rapid fire chops in the corner. They take down Kojima and land double dropkicks to the top of his head. Okumura saves Kojima from being pinned after a slam from Rugido. He backdrops Magnus to the floor and follows with a somersault senton off of the apron. In the ring, Kojima kicks out of Rugido’s bridging suplex pin. Kojima’s Koji Cutter only gets two, but a lariat gets him the three at 9:32. This was the opposite of the opener, as the match was fine to start and then got wildly disjointed and sloppy. The CozyMAX duo showed every bit of their age. Not great, Bob. **

CMLL World Women’s Championship
Lluvia vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Viva Van

Originally, Stephanie Vaquer was set to defend the title against Lluvia, but on July 10th it was announced she would be departing both CMLL and NJPW for the WWE and vacating the CMLL World Women’s Title in the process. This match is to determine the new champion. This followed the standard triple threat formula for a while, where two people wrestled as one person was on the outside. When both Willow and Van ended up on the floor, Lluvia followed with a high crossbody. Further offense led to all three of them down on the floor. We almost had a three way countout, but all of them made it back inside just before the twenty count. Van looked to have the match in her hands after taking down Lluvia with an electric chair face drop, and then pinning Willow with a Code Red, but Lluvia recovered in time to break up Van’s pin attempt. Llucia got her own nearfall broken up by Willow after giving Van an Iconoclasm. Lluvia knocks Van down in the corner with a Codebreaker. When she looks to follow up, Willow cuts her off with a Pounce. Willow then muscles Van into the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin and the title at 10:13. This got pretty good in the final minutes but was fairly rote for the most part. There really isn’t much to say about it. **¾

TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito) vs. Hechicero & Virus

This is a rematch from last year’s Resurgence event, but with Hechicero teaming with Virus instead of El Barbaro Cavernario. Hechicero targets Sabre’s legs during their grappling exchange. Sabre twists Hechicero’s ankle thrice before putting him in a bridging leg scissors. Hechicero counters into a stretch muffler and then a pin attempt, leading to a stand off between the two. Virus swivels to the apron when Tito comes charging at him in the corner. Heichero clotheslines Tito down from the apron, putting him in place for a slingshot splash from Virus. Tito emphatically presses Virus off of him and to the floor to break his pin. He then pulls Virus in from the apron, though Virus pulls him into a crucifix pin for two. Hechicero pulls Tito onto the apron in a choke, and Virus dropkicks him in the face while Hechicero holds him upside down. Sabre kicks Hechicero in the back, baiting him into an arm scissors in the ropes. TMDK beat down Hechicero, with Sabre focusing his attack on his wrist and shoulder. Hechicero reverses a whip to the corner and knee strikes Sabre. He and Virus double flapjack Tito, and then Hechicero holds him in a parachute stretch so Virus can give him a bulldog. Hechicero pushes Sabre up by the legs into a DDT from Virus. On the floor, Virus counters a whip attempt into the ring post by walking up the post and arm dragging Sabre onto the mats. In the ring, Hechicero takes down Tito with a headscissors. He then puts Tito in a crucifix stretch until he submits at 13:56. This match turned the show around. The crowd was really engaged in the Sabre and Hechicer rivalry, and both teams had really strong tandem offense and fluidity. Because of this win, Hechicero and Virus will get a title shot against Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste of TMDK in August, and I think them beating the front man of the stable along with Big Teets is a perfect momentum builder. I had a lot of fun with this. ***½

Yota Tsuji vs. El Barbaro Cavernario

Tsuji and Cavernario teamed up on a handful of occasions during Tsuji’s excursion in 2022-2023. Tsuji is unable to keep much sustained offense on Cavernario. Cavernario cracks him in the jaw with a knee strike. When Cavernario charges at him across the ring, Tsuji uses his feet to cut him off and also jam his face into the canvas. Tsuji powers him up into a suplex after taking him down with a big boot for two. Tsuji gives him a gut buster before applying a body scissors to Cavernario’s midsection. When Cavernario gets to the ropes to break it, Tsuji chops him against the ropes. Cavernario upkicks Tsuji when Tsuji ducks down for a backdrop and then rocks Tsuji with a superkick. This leads to an overhand chop dual, which Cavernario ends with a springboard dropkick to send Tsuji outside and then an elbow suicida through the buckles. In the ring, Cavernario flips Tsuji into a facebuster for two. He also gets two with a springboard splash. Tsuji counters a suplex into a Falcon Arrow. Cavernario leapfrogs over the Gene Blaster and takes down Tsuji with a cradle Falcon Arrow for two. Tsuji cuts off Cavernario with a stunner. The Gene Blaster connects for the pin at 14:09. This was a fun slugfest. Cavernario kind of does the same thing every match, but it also usually works, and it definitely did against Tsuji. Tsuji was a week away from the G1 beginning, and as a favorite to win, him getting a hard fought victory over Cavernario was a good way to propel him forward. If he is poised to be the future face of NJPW, Tsuji getting more wins and showings in front of the U.S. crowd is also important. ***½

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship
Gabe Kidd vs. Ultimo Guerrero

Kidd has been champion since 5.11.2024 and this is his first defense. They waste no time getting down to it, blasting each other with chops at the bell. They both get the crowd involved, with Guerrero getting them to chant Lucha Libre before hitting a chop, and Kidd flipping them off before hitting a chop. Kidd bites Guerrero on the head to end the exchange, though Guerrero roars right back at him with a lariat. Their fight spills into the crowd, and when they come back ringside, Kidd sends Guerrero shoulder first into the ring post. Guerrero and Kidd end a clothesline exchange when they run into each other at the same time with clotheslines. Guerrero kicks out of a brainbuster. Guerrero then reverses a superplex attempt from Kidd into a super release Gourdbuster for two. Guerrero follows that up with a reverse superplex for two. Guerrero picks Kidd up off of the mat and Kidd shoves Guerrero into the referee. Kidd low blows Guerrero while the referee is turned around and then gives him a piledriver for the pin at 12:11. Nobody brings chaos to a match like Kidd. Guerrero was the opposite of Kojima and Okumura, matching Kidd’s energy at 52 years of age. This burned hot and fast and the crowd was with them the entire time. While the ending was lame, it at least fit the match structure. Another really fun match. ***¾

Kidd holds up Guerrero’s arm after the match before blindsiding him with an attack. Kidd then says on August 30th at Capital Collision in Washington, D.C., he wants Lio Rush one-on-one so he can end his career once and for all. That match would be confirmed later.

Relevos Increíbles
DOUKI & Mistico vs. Rocky Romero & Volador Jr.

DOUKI comes into this match eight days removed from winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship. There was great wrestling throughout the match, but what it made was the dichotomy of the two teams. Romero and Volador are long-time rivals, and because of that history, they knew each other well enough to work well together right off the rip. They maintained control of the match for a long time because of it. However, Mistico and DOUKI had only wrestled a handful of times in multi-man bouts over the past two years, so they had to learn to work together while also fending off a tandem that was in sync. Volador, in his U.S. flag trunks, saved Romero from DOUKI’s Italian Stretch with a classic leg drop. DOUKI took out Volador with a suicide dive on the floor, leaving Mistico the space to take down and submit Romero to La Mistica at 24:38. This was a great amalgam of classic CMLL tag matches with U.S. wrestling sensibilities. The crowd was super into Mistico, and the charismatic team of Volador and Romero only fueled their appreciation of Mistico and DOUKI further. As someone who was not sold on DOUKI back in the 2019 BOSJ, it’s been awesome watching him improve and grow into one of the best juniors on the roster, and I’d love to see him in the U.S. more often. ****

Lately I’ve been watching 4-5 hour ROH cards and finding myself exhausted by the time they end. This show clocked in at just under two and half hours, and while it started slow, it ended with a stretch of awesome matches that left me satisfied and energized. Wrestling needs more of that! Leave people wanting more, not too tired to even think about the next show. We also leave the show with a couple of Capital Collision matches built up, which is more than I expected given that this was an unconventional U.S. New Japan show. If you’re looking for something a little on the lighter side to watch, I recommend giving this a show a look. Just maybe skip over the MLW tag match.