Review: CMLL/NJPW/AEW Fantastica Mania Mexico (6-20-2025)
Ah, what the “H,” let’s watch this’n, too.
I do think I’ll pop back in time a little to watch the WWE/AAA show, too, sometime this week. Probably. I won’t guarantee it, but probably! I do want to, and if I do watch it, I have a compulsion to talk about it. It’s a sickness, really.
Live from Arena Mexico in Mexico City!
Matches
Kira vs Red Velvet: This is not a good start. :) In fact it’s quite bad. :) Even the majority of the stuff that goes as it’s meant to doesn’t look very good at all, and then there’s all the stuff that doesn’t go as it’s meant to at all, with Kira having a very poor night. But even selling and stuff she constantly looks disconnected mentally. There is one great spot where Velvet gets “buckle bombed” into the guardrail outside, that looked pretty badass. Velvet’s cool finisher is quite cool and she has improved a lot. This one being subpar isn’t on her, and I hope Kira gets more looks from AEW (if she wants them), too, because while she can have nights like this, I have certainly seen her do better than this. *½
La Jarochita vs Thunder Rosa: Not exactly an instant classic but a hell of a lot better than the first match. Also a little less interesting to watch, in a way, because this is just solid, professional wrestling. Not spectacular or special, but good. You can get that about 39 times a week from TV matches across this great world of ours. You don’t get many matches where someone shits the bed a little like the first one. I mean I’m still thinking of how bad Lumis and Gacy were against MCMG on that Smackdown, and I can’t off the top of my head, 100 percent confidently tell you what else was on that show. This is kind of the peak of Rosa at this point, she hasn’t been the same since that injury layoff, and I also wonder if she and Dr. Baker just kinda had something special together for a minute there, as both have fallen off a cliff since for various reasons. And I also wonder if maybe the early AEW women’s division was just so mediocre that they both stood out incredibly by having a personality and Rosa being Pretty Good. But yeah, I liked this one. Rosa looks decently inspired for once and seems to be having fun in Arena Mexico. She gets a lot of the match before Jarochita hits the face wash kick in the corner and wins it. ***
Zandokan Jr, Difunto, Rugido & Magnus vs Lio Rush, Action Andretti, Rocky Romero & Robbie X: Sad for Rock that he’s joined the Don Callis Family yet still has to slum it with “Cru” for this one. In all seriousness Rocky is still so basically good and fun to watch, it’s obvious that he has a low ceiling for what he’s going to accomplish and has for some years now, but he is also a really smart guy, knows and understands and accepts that, and just goes out to do his job when the time comes. Works hard, gets his heat. Robbie X always mildly perplexes me, but really he’s just part of a somewhat dying breed, the guy who does his cool spots and is basically happy enough for that to be the sum total of what he brings to the table. Think my favorite performances here are Difunto, Zandokan, and Rocky. Zandokan pins Rocky for the win. ***½
Mercedes Mone vs La Catalina: Mone defending her newly-won CMLL world women’s title. Sometimes think about Catalina’s WWE “run” and look back at the little she did there, and she sure worked routinely with a lot of other people who just did not work out there — Xia Li, Valentina Feroz, Tay Melo, Santana Garrett, MJ Jenkins, Amari Miller, Indi Hartwell1. And here she is, years later, realizing what would have been a “WWE Dream” surely, except she’s not working Sasha Banks at Quicken Loans Arena, she’s working Mercedes Mone in Arena Mexico. Catalina holds up her end of this match very well, working with real fire that goes with her attitude in promo before this match, furious that Mone jumped the line and got the title shot and ultimately the title, and Mone kinda works like she expected this to be a smidge easier than it is, at least for the first part of the match. When she has to turn it on, she does. Can’t help herself from NXT Faces on every near fall or failed submission attempt or the like. Think in the end this is a lot more about Catalina showing something at a very high level against one of the top names in the world, and she’s the one with a bit to prove at that level. Mone basically outfoxes her with the bad move into her submission to retain. ***¾
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Ultimo Guerrero vs Yota Tsuji: He goes by just “Yota” in Mexico. Yota is still fairly young, only 31, only seven years into his career, but he’s always had the skill set of a veteran wrestler, and that jibes well with Ultimo. The two of them showcase a nice chemistry, good physicality, and they make everything they do count, which usually you say when a match has a “slow” pace, but I wouldn’t say that’s the case for this match. It’s not go-go-go, but it’s not slow. Nice near falls and drama, the big spots matter, and I kinda dig the nutshot DQ finish. Yota earned being kicked in the nuts and the fans were happy Ultimo did it. Politically or whatever, the outcome is understandable. ***¾
Templario, TJP & Francesco Akira vs Titan, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi: United Empire continues trying to find new pep post-Ospreay, and we’ve got LIJ in what will be their final match as a clique, with the group having announced they will disband in May with Tetsuya Naito and Bushi leaving NJPW. A ton of energy in this one, the LIJ boys are bringing it since they’re going out here, and the UE lads are there to meet it. Really loved this, a show-stealer to this point on the … show. Event. Progrum. LIJ get the win on a triple pin for the cornball visual of it all and I ain’t arguing. Post-match, Yota comes out to do a little roll call with the boys and one final fist bump. ***¾
Neon vs Kevin Knight: A lightning match with a 10-minute time limit. I’m still kinda lukewarm on Kevin Knight as someone to care about, but I will say I definitely care more about him mixing it up with everyone in AEW these days, as opposed to being a “junior” in New Japan. Nice, fast-paced singles match as a bit of a break-up on the card, they hit some cool stuff, Knight continues to look good and I think there’s personality in him that’s itching to come out (and will), and Neon gels pretty well with him, a couple of really spectacular moments from both. ***¼
Volador Jr vs Ricochet: Volador’s been stale for about five years, really, but the good news for me is I don’t watch CMLL super regularly, so I’m not as worn out on him as some people. And I do remember when he was truly great so I’ll always have that soft spot. This isn’t exactly a thrill ride but it’s a solid wrestling match. Ricochet wins in cheap fashion. ***¼
Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs Hologram & Bandido: Bandido hadn’t worked Arena Mexico until this week of shows since 2021. He’s dressed in Hologram colors, and Hologram has a hat, so they’re really on the same page. Bandido also beat Dorada on the Tuesday show prior to this event. This might shock you, but this is a great main event. They soak up the crowd’s anticipation and get to work. I mean, the “worst worker” in this match is either Hologram or Mistico, and I like both of them a lot! Everyone in this match is good, basically at their consistent level, and Bandido is really on one. A fair bit of the match is meant to built anticipation for an eventual Bandido vs Mistico match, including the finish, where Bandido turns over La Mistica for a shock pin. AEW stands tall in the home of lucha libre! USA! USA! USA! ****¼
Three Stars of the Show
Bandido: Out here looking like one of the best on the planet again. Really inspired. Obviously fired up still to be back in Arena Mexico.
La Catalina: As said, held up her end against a very high-level opponent — I don’t even mean, like, Mercedes as the worker, but Mercedes as a star. Not only did Catalina hang in there with the match itself, the nuts and bolts of it, but she had a presence that wasn’t overpowered by Mone’s and knew how to use the crowd being behind her to elevate that side of things even more. Some credit for all of it, obviously, also goes to Mercedes, but it was Catalina who had to prove she “belongs” in that sort of match, and I thought she did.
Difunto: Wasn’t too familiar with him at all, really enjoyed watching him.
I know Xia and Hartwell had time on the main roster, but let’s all be serious here.