''Fantastica Mania'' 2016 was a series of six

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

events in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, co-produced by the Japanese

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) and the Mexican promotion

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(CMLL), which took place between January 17 and 24, 2016. The 2016 shows were the sixth time that NJPW and CMLL had co-promoted shows in Japan under the ''

Fantastica Mania ''Fantastica Mania'', sometimes spelled as ''Fantasticamania'', is a series of annual professional wrestling major show co-promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese New Japan Pro-Wre ...

'' name. Much like the previous year, the 2016 tour featured six shows in total. The first five events featured seven matches each with the final event featuring eight matches. Six of the matches were contested for championships owned by CMLL. The 2016 tour was the first time the joint show was held in

Kōchi, Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture located on the island of Shikoku in Japan. With over 40% of the prefectural population, Kōchi is the main commercial and industrial centre and the "primate city" of the prefecture. , the city had an ...

, while it had previously been held in the other three cities;

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Background

The 2016 ''

'' series was the sixth year in a row where Japanese wrestling promotion

(NJPW) had promoted a series of shows in Japan along with their Mexican partner promotion

(CMLL). The 2016 series of shows were show 19 through 24, a total of six shows. The final three shows aired live on

NJPW World , also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi ...

. The opening show in

on January 17 would be the first time ''Fantastica Mania'' had taken place in the city. The tour was announced October 24, 2015, with the CMLL participants announced on November 16. The tour marks the NJPW debuts of

Bobby Z Bobby Z may refer to: People *Bob Dylan (born 1941), American musician, born Robert Zimmerman *Robert Zemeckis (born 1952), American director, occasionally nicknamed "Bobbie Z" * Bobby Z (monster truck driver) (born 1967), monster truck driver *Bo ...

, Dragon Lee,

Guerrero Maya Jr. Guerrero Maya Jr. (Spanish for "Maya Warrior Junior", born August 8, 1985) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ...

Hechicero Hechicero / Rey Hechicero (born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he a former CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. ...

, The Panther and

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

. Returning CMLL participants include

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

Bárbaro Cavernario Leonardo Moreno Ayala (born November 6, 1993), better known by his ring name Bárbaro Cavernario, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), currently working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He po ...

, Fuego,

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

Místico Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...

, Okumura,

Stuka Jr. Omar Alvarado García (born July 17, 1974) better known by his ring name Stuka Jr. is a Mexican second-generation ''Lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler, who works for the M ...

, Titán,

Último Guerrero José Gutiérrez Hernández (born March 1, 1972), better known by his ring name Último Guerrero (Spanish for ''Last Warrior''), is a Mexico, Mexican (or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...

and

Volador Jr. Ramón Ibarra Rivera (born January 26, 1981), better known by his ring name Volador Jr., is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''Face (professional ...

CMLL ring announcer Evan was also announced for the tour.

Máscara Dorada Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he perform ...

, who signed with NJPW during the ''

Fantastica Mania 2015 The ''Fantastica Mania'' 2015 event was a series of six professional wrestling events in Japan, co-produced by the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and took place bet ...

'' tour, would also take part in the 2016 tour. The most notable CMLL wrestlers missing the tour were

Marco Corleone Mark Robert Jindrak (born June 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional wrestler, and actor. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Mark Jindrak and ...

, La Máscara, Rush and

La Sombra La Sombra de Chicago or La Sombra de Tony Guerrero or even the Windy City Boys is a Tejano band founded by Tony Guerrero. Originally from the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois, the group gained national acclaim and success after moving to Corp ...

of ''

Los Ingobernables ''Los Ingobernables'' (Spanish for "The Ungovernables") is a ''lucha libre'' (Mexican professional wrestling) stable, based in the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion. It was formed in April 2014 by La Máscara, Rush and La Sombra, a ...

''. Three days after the CMLL participants were revealed, the reason for La Sombra missing the tour was announced; he had signed with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. For the first time in ''Fantastica Mania'' history, the entire tour not only sold out, but did so a month in advance. The cards for all six events were released on January 6, 2016. It was announced that the events would mark NJPW rookies

Sho Tanaka (born August 27, 1989), known mononymously as Sho (stylized as SHO), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club, and its sub-group House of Torture. He is ...

and

Yohei Komatsu (born June 25, 1988) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he currently performs under the ring name Yoh (stylized in all capital letters), he is a former one-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team ...

's final appearances for the promotion, before leaving on an indefinite learning excursion to CMLL. Meanwhile, the January 24 event would include Máscara Dorada's final match under a NJPW contract. The card for the final event was changed on January 23 with the addition of a title match featuring

Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sick ...

, NJPW's previous rookie sent on a learning excursion. His surprise return on the January 23 event marked his first NJPW appearance since May 2013.

Results

January 17

January 19

January 20

January 22

January 23

January 24

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Fantastica Mania'' 2016 2016 in Tokyo 2016 in professional wrestling

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

January 2016 events in Japan