Despite numerous English speaking fans of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) brushing NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2020 off as a ‘filler’ tour, the final two nights continued the tours tradition of strong attendance — perhaps leading to an extended Fantastica Mania tour in 2021.
The January 19th event drew a Super No Vacancy when 1,601 fans filled the historic Korakuen Hall to see Stuka Jr retain the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship against Okumura, Ultimo Guerrero defeat Satoshi Kojima to retain the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship, and the ‘Black Cat Memorial’ marquee match.
The January 20th event Mexican National Trios Champions, Nueva Generacion Dinamitas were able to retain the championship by defeating Titan, Angel de Oro, and Niebla Rojo in a highly competitive match in the headline. The marquee match saw Caristico submit Barbaro Cavernario to retain the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship to put a cap on this year’s festive tour.
Dulce Gardenia immediately became a fan favorite with the NJPW audience, which could lead to him appearing with the company on a semi-regular basis, in addition to appearing on Fanstatica Mania tours. It hasn’t been since Marty Scurll debuted with NJPW in May 2017 that Korakuen Hall took to a newcomer so well.
The IWGP Conceptions consists of NJPW, CMLL, RevPro, and ROH — with many hoping AEW joins shortly — yet, the strongest bonds exist between NJPW/CMLL and NJPW/RevPro. Fantastica Mania promotes the over decade long partnership between NJPW and CMLL, allowing long-time fans of both companies to experience something a little different.
Next, NJPW will host the dual The New Beginning and The New Beginning USA tours in the upcoming days as their busy and successful January continues. Both tours look to draw heavy gates on key nights to continue NJPW’s momentum since the record-breaking two-night Wrestle Kingdom 14 event earlier in the month.
