Fantastica Mania 2020 Explained

Fantastica Mania 2020
Liveevent:y
Lastevent:2019
Nextevent:2023
Event:Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre event
Lastevent2:Sin Piedad
Nextevent2:Reyes del Aire
Event2:New Japan Pro-Wrestling event
Lastevent3:New Year Dash!!
Nextevent3:The New Beginning USA
The New Beginning in Sapporo

Fantastica Mania 2020 was a professional wrestling show tour, scripted and co-produced by the Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion and the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion. The tour started on January 10 and ran until January 21, 2020, with shows taking place in Osaka, Ehime, Kyoto, Aichi, and four shows in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall.

The 2020 tour was the tenth year in a row that NJPW and CMLL has co-promoted shows in Japan under the Fantastica Mania name. With a total of eight shows, the tour tied the 2018 tour and the 2019 tour as the longest in Fantastica Mania history. Select events were shown on Fighting TV Samurai and TV Asahi, or live on NJPW World with subsequent video-on-demand options.

Background

The 2020 Fantastica Mania tour was the tenth year in a row where Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promoted a series of shows with their Mexican partner promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Due to the co-promotional nature of the shows, they rarely feature any development in ongoing NJPW or CMLL storylines, instead the shows generally focus on inter-promotional matches between CMLL and NJPW.

The 2020 tour included 8 shows, the same as the 2019 tour. Starting on Friday January 11 in Osaka at the Edion Arena Osaka, the show then runs through Ehime (January 12), Kyoto (January 13), Aichi (January 16) and four shows in Tokyo at the Korakuen Hall (January 17, 19, 20 and 21).[1] The shows from Korakuen Hall were streamed live on NJPW World.

Storylines

Each of the 2020 Fantastica Mania shows features a number of professional wrestling matches scripted by CMLL and NJPW with some wrestlers involved in scripted feuds. Wrestlers portray either heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that play the part of the "bad guys") or faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they perform.[2]

The CMLL participants for the 2020 tour were announced on October 16, 2019, and included:[3]

Rank
  1. of tours
Show(s)
3 2019 2018 2015
1 2019
5 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
2 2019 2011
0  
2 2019 2018
0  
Euforia2 2017 2013
1 2019
1 2019
3 2018 2016 2014
1 2016
0  
2 2018 2014
9 2019[4] 2018[5] 2017[6] 2016[7] 2015[8] 2014[9] 2013[10] 2012[11] 2011[12]
Sansón2 2019 2018
3 2019 2018 2017
4 2017 2016 2015 2014
0  
5 2019 2017 2016 2014 2013
6 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

The 2020 tour marked the Fantasticamania debut for CMLL wrestlers Negro Casas, Dulce Gardenia, Lucifierno and Tiger. Casas was originally scheduled for the 2018 tour but had to miss it due to injury. For the first time in six years neither Volador Jr. nor Místico participated in the tour.[3] Okumura is the only wrestler to participate in every Fantastica Mania tour, in part because of his role of liaison and translator for those that only speak Spanish on the CMLL contingent. Okumura and Carístico are the only two 2020 participants who were also on the first tour, at the time Carístico was known as "Místico".[12]

Results

January 10

Retired wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger and NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi joined the regular commentary team for the NJPW World broadcast of the event. Before the main event, Sugabayashi presenented OKUMURA with a plaque, commemorating his 25 professional wrestling anniversary.

January 20

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NJPW schedule . October 18, 2019 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
  2. Book: Madigan, Dan . Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling . HarperCollins Publishers . 2007 . "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?" . 31 . featuring clearly distinguished good guys and bad guys, or técnicos and rudos . 978-0-06-085583-3. New York, New York.
  3. Web site: NJPW / CMLL: Los Participantes para Fantasticamania 2020 . October 16, 2019 . October 19, 2019 . . Dark Angelita . Spanish.
  4. Web site: NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania results: Eight-man tag team action . January 11, 2019 . January 16, 2019 . . Bryan . Rose.
  5. Web site: NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2018 . . Japanese . October 28, 2018 . January 12, 2018 .
  6. Web site: NJPW/CMLL: Resultados "Fantasticamania 2017" – 13/01/2017 – Inicia la gira . Dark Angelita . January 13, 2017 . January 13, 2017 . Super Luchas . Spanish.
  7. Web site: Arrancó Fantasticamanía 2016 . January 17, 2016 . January 17, 2016 . MedioTiempo . Spanish.
  8. Web site: The Lucha Report . Zellner . Kris . January 14, 2015 . January 16, 2015 . Pro Wrestling Insider.
  9. Web site: The Lucha Report . Zellner . Kris . January 15, 2014 . January 16, 2014 . Pro Wrestling Insider.
  10. Web site: CMLL/NJPW: Resultados "Fantasticamanía 2013" – Día 1 . Dark Angelita . January 18, 2013 . January 18, 2013 . Super Luchas. Spanish.
  11. Web site: NJPW-CMLL: Resultados "Fantasticamania 2012" día 1 . Soy Rudo . January 21, 2012 . January 21, 2012 . SuperLuchas . Spanish.
  12. Web site: Resultados "Fantasticamanía" – CMLL/NJPW en Japón – Los mexicanos perdieron todos los duelos por campeonatos . Flores, Manuel . January 22, 2011 . January 31, 2011 . Super Luchas. Spanish.