January 2000

Talk about it here.

I may feel really guilty for saying this but I enjoyed this more than Kawada vs. Kobashi. Far too often, Nitro didn't open with hot cruiser action which goes against the narrative you hear. I think the reason that prevailing opinion exists in when matches like this do happen, they resonate. This didn't have an intricate storyline or deep development surrounding it but was Kidman and Psicosis going out there for 6-7 minutes and having a fun ass match to rile up the crowd. It was really successful and Kidman still has been presented as essentially the ace of the cruisers for almost a year now. For everything that was happening that night involving the radicals, this was a g…

On the other side of the WCW spectrum is this storyline. Kimberly is the special referee and is supposedly having an affair with Buff. They are just friends though. These storylines never seem to work out because who are you supposed to cheer for. I am really interested to see if the Steph/HHH/Angle triangle holds up later this year as it may be the exception to the rule. Anyway, you can see Kimberley's G-string throughout the match and in a hilarious quip Bobby asks if she is wearing a slingshot. I'm shocked that both Heenan and Tony now have iconic calls this late into their WCW tenure. The guys brawl around a bit which is a nice structure for a hate feud but the crowd …

For a 2-3 minute TV match they sure did cram a lot in here. Hardy did some insane stuff (nothing out of the ordinary in terms of what he did but watching him hit a breathtaking Whisper In The Wind after accepting the move for the mess it is most of the time was unusual for one). I liked the way they set up the finish and I'd much rather have them leave me wanting more than owestay their welcome, especially when it comes to workrate matches. **3/4

A really boss vignette to open up with Shocker showing Panther the Guapos lifestyle and the salon and him having nothing to do with it. Well, now we have our third great feud currently within CMLL. This is heated from the get go but reaches another gear when Panther drops Olimpico right on his dome with a hip toss. I can't imagine that was planned but it looked absolutely horrific and did add a wrinkle the rest of the way through with Casas fighting for his buddy. The rudo team was made to look dominant here as dispite Casas best efforts, he falls to them in the second fall. The Guapos team has the charisma and I hope Shocker can bring the goods in the ring to keep this…

One of those "what everyone else is doing" tags but a fan way to see how well the roster was constructed in CMLL at this point and why so far, it is easily my favorite promotion in January 2000. Nothing here was offensive at all and everyone got a chance to shine when needed. In some ways this is the perfect comparison to Kidman vs. Psicosis from a few days earlier of a tv action packed match. **3/4

We really got this to get a look at Matthews and York and they did a good bit for me here as a babyface, sympathetic tag team. They were worked over throughout the match and had to sell and execute good timing to make the match succeed. The match starts with them vs. Devine and Bowman who have this corporate worker gimmick where they were dress pants and turtlenecks. Once they are eliminated the match hits it stride in the final portion vs. Earl the Pearl who did a scathing heel promo pre match. This match also makes Earl the Pearl look like a pretty big star as he gets the big win here. Fun match. **1/2

There is something very sad about Kanyon having to portray this Godfather knockoff gimmick. Kimberly is awful on the mic but has other “assets” that she utilizes here to distract Kanyon for Page to attack. I feel like we missed part of the storyline as Page and Kim are solidly together here when on Nitro there was still uncertainty. The match is not bad, just marred by the weird storyline and what was going on both on screen and behind the scenes with DDP. DDP is able to get the victory on a good looking Diamond Cutter with more Kim influence. *1/2

This match couldn’t reach the levels of the previous trio but it did have some good stuff mixed in it. Villano and Atlantis continue their march to the big match together with Atlantis trying to go after the rudo tandem from the onset and getting beat down. We see Villano grab a drink from the crowd but sadly the camera cuts away before we see what happens. There is some weird clipping in the second fall too where Emilio and Dr. Wagner are in the ring and then we go straight to Villano and Atlantis without any tags. Villano was able to obtain the victory and the build remains strong six weeks out. Charles and Shocker had a go at each other throughout this match and that w…

I don’t see how these guys can amp up the hatred each week but they continue to do it. The rudo team looks so boss in their flame capes and right away they rush the tecnicos. Tarzan Boy is a bloody mess again. They also perform a great spot where they tie TB armband to the ropes and then they just unload on him. They are rudo beatdowns and then there is this which looks like attempted murder. Such a massacre that the ref gives the fall to the tecnicos for excessive violence. Second falls starts out the same way but we get the comeback and the fight is on. It is always good to see Felino and he has an excellent blue suit here. I thought him and Antifaz really added a lot o…

I was happy to see Lance take it to the Tanaka as on paper he looked like someone that might let Masato steamroll him and the match will be awkward overall. This also didn’t overstay it’s welcome making it a welcome addition to a house show if you are attending. There was too much your turn, my turn for it to reach very good levels, but I enjoyed myself. ***

It takes RVD forever to do his entrance. The crowd is really hot at Victory and Corino and Victory calls a fan a fucking rat. He has to be calmed down by Fonzie of all people. We finally get started 8 minutes in and we have some classic shaky ass production from RF. Fonzie gives us some dreadful commentary on the fancam right next to him. Shouldn’t you be managing your guy chief? A Rhino sucks dick chant fires up from the crowd. Victory then hijacks the camera and wants to show us calling that guy a male fucking rat again. What is going on here? Rhino swallows chant follows that. RVD hits a nice looking bulldog on the apron from the ropes. RVD does some of his dive into t…

These two meshed well together and actually had some good stiffness mixed in. I also liked the build to the table spot and Spike is someone that didn’t feel like he should be completely bullied by Sabu which does hurt my perception of Spike in some of his matches. The ending of this again got too back and forth for my tastes but as an overall upper mid card match, this was a pairing I hope to see more of in last days ECW. ***1/4

After a year long few, that was mostly civil, these two let loose with a vicious "Mexican Death" match. Blood, high flying, insane kicks. This one had it all. There is one moment where Crazy is out on his knees and is all wobbly and Tajiri sits down in front of him and does a mocking pose. It's just so great.

I am really starting to really like these meat and potato AJPW tags involving No Fear. They are showing a shift in the style but just be a brutalizing force. This is making Misawa show some aggression that feels different than his mano y mano contests vs. Kobashi and the long term "weve been here before" rivalry vs. Kawada. Honda here is the outlier and the star as he really takes it to both members of No Fear and works the meat of the match. It does seem like No Fear needs some type of better double team finish as they put away Honda here with a series of leg drops and elbows. ***1/4

This feels like the climax of late 90's early 2000 indies before Danielson and Low Ki really perfected the style to a degree. Tighter execution, state of the art moves, and a slither of story mixed in. Even the kind of grainy footage really felt like a staple of the indies prior to ROH. There were multiple moments of inconsistency and back and forth action and I really hated the integration of weapons and ref bump in this but overall this was more successful than the stuff we saw with the Ballard Brothers, Suicide Kid, etc. ***

The Kozina-Dragon match from the previous week, which we see highlights of before this starts, looks far superior by comparison. Weed's gimmick is pretty dissonant in that he's this dreadlocked pothead holding his breath during his promo and then having a coughing fit, only to go in the ring and try to work a fast-paced highspot style. What kind of wrestler with a stoner gimmick doesn't forget he's in a match, or crave Doritos ... SOMETHING that doesn't completely turn off the persona when the bell rings? Anyway, Black Dragon looks fairly impressive in spots, but Weed really doesn't, and not in the way I hoped. I would have sort of admired him for not being very good if h…

This was given some time so I thought it might deliver, but it didn't, really. I think they used up all of their good ideas in their team names, which I will admit were awesome. There was nothing at all inspired or structured about this. They were just doing things to do things. Skippable in every way once you know their cool tag team names.

This was a good showcase for Tony Kozina, who feels like a big fish in a small pond in this environment. He reminds me a bit of Neville in terms of his style, and probably needed to work with guys better than him to keep growing as a wrestler. Still, he looked excellent here. Disco Fury is an okay base, but there's a clear difference in talent level here, and that made the match a little uneven at times. Still, it's obvious Kozina is the star of this promotion. ***

I liked the Awesome vs. Spike section more than the PPV because it really got over the bully aspect of Awesome and didn’t rely on multiple table bumps to keep the match going. Welp, just as I say that Awesome goes flying through a table. Spike then legit just bounces a chair right off his head that surely lead to a concussion. Awesome gets his boot up on a running charge and takes over with a nasty clothesline and huge Awesome bomb. Awesome splash from the top leads to the referee botching the finish as Spike kicks out but he calls for the bell. Everyone is perplexed and this is a complete mess now. Judge Jeff sets up the table in the corner and sends Spike through with a…

Odd pairing here. Match starts out fast and furious with no wasted motion. Sabu gains the early advantage and goes to his table retrieving routine. The match routine really relies on interference on the outside to gain CW the advantage. Sabu’s matches feel so helter skelter pace wise now and so dependent on the weapons that a lot of the success and failure results in if the spots are hit cleanly. CW gets a spinebuster through the table and Sabu is able to kick out of that. Triple jump moonsault is less cleanly but still enough for Sabu to gain the victory. A unique pairing but a fairly scattered sprint. **1/4

These are probably what I think are the two best ECW workers at this point so I was extremely excited to watch this. The opening action was really good. Basic stuff like Guido with a double leg takedown but he does it with such aggression and authority that it really resonates with the viewer. Even when they go outside this leads to a clever spot where Big Sal goes for a splash and ends up over the railing. One thing I appreciate about this match is Tajiri is a heel and hes not really changing his personality just because he is up against Guido but Guido is so much more of a sleazy character that he gets cheered by default. Guido keeps going for the fujiwara armbar and re…

Bradley is worked up outside and a blowjob is proposed to calm him down. Cornette informs us his wrestling license is expired which feels like bad managerial work on his part. Randy Hales comes out and says he only cares about what the people want and the match begins. Ali hits a good plancha onto Bradley on the outside. Bradley continues to look really solid and Ali has good power moves. This gets a good amount of time for Memphis studio wrestling and has the usual tropes paid off for the babyface with Cornette’s interference being negated by Brandon Baxter and Ali picking up the big victory meaning Bradley has to leave the promotion. **3/4

Tracy Smothers is here and he is shooting! He doesn’t like bookers, promoters or human beings period. Smothers claimed he can whip any guy in WWF, WCW, and ECW. Tracy shows his side as being super glued and his ear which had 30 stitches removed. Ouch. They end up cutting Tracy off and we come back from break with Tracy in the middle of the ring. Nick Dinsmore is back and Tracy runs through his THUG routine. Dinsmore charges the ring and we have a match with Tracy in a collared shirt, jean, and snake skin boots. Really fun brawl that breaks down when Tracy hits a low blow and he goes nuts on everyone inside the ring with chairs and his boot. Looking forward to Tracy throug…

Mr. Black is essentially doing a Mr. Hughes gimmick here and using the Reservoir Dogs moniker as a kicker. TPT being from anywhere he pleases because his residence is a mobile trailer is one of the better hometown calls in wrestling history. TPT grabs a chair immediately which I really like since its no DQ. Bull’s punches, power moves and overall timing look better here than in the previous match he was in. Jebediah takes off his boot and whacks Bull as Cornette does his Bearnos Pizza ad read. Really impressive spot where Bull leaps from the mat to the top rope and does a clothesline. Work on Jebediah was good and the hot tag to TPT really works with him coming in as a b…