February 2000

Talk about it here.

This is the finale match of a NJ vs T2000 battle throughout the show. We clip to Chono gaining control and things getting tense on the outside with the surrounding members of each faction lingering around. Chono looks for the STF and then runs through a variety of leg submissions weakening those limbs so he can properly apply the hold. Sasaki is selling the leg damage well hobbling around even when he locks on a quick STF of his own for a second. Sasaki muscles him up for the brainbuster but has to recover a bit. He then locks on the submission and gains the victory ending the series in a tie. We got less than half of this but it looked fun in full and sets up the playoff…

Sasaki can’t get to his feet as both factions are still all in the ring jawing at each other. The match starts and Sasaki goes for broke rushing over with a dropkick. Chono tries to retreat to the outside but Sasaki musters up a suplex back in the ring and then looks for the same submission that put Chono away in the first match. Chono gathers his bearings and cheats his way through to gain more of an advantage. Sasaki again pulls off the one armed powerbomb and goes towards the submission but his legs give out. Chono regains and is able to lock in the STF. Sasaki puts up a fight but Chono syncs in the hold and adjusts putting more torque on the injured leg. The camera pa…

I can always take another dose of these guys dishing out punishment to each other. I did think while watching this that if I see this match iteration around 7-8 times a month like the ECW fancam stuff, it would seem grating. Jumping in around 2-3 times a month is much more agreeable to my palate. I compare these matches to the Seikmoto/Okabayashi tags we see in modern times. Beefy and not enriched with psychology but it can be there at certain points if you go searching for it. I think Tanaka again looks much better and spirited here than in BattlARTS. Kashin kind of brings this match down a bit with some weird low blow spots that seem out of place. Kashin ends up tapping…

This match looks like it is taking place in the old Memphis studio from the 70’s. I still want to know what precinct policeman works at. Much like the minis match from AAA, this was a showcase for these guys. Some of the strikes look looser than normal and the blatant use of the briefcase from Policeman is grating. Other stuff looked good including a Delphin powerbomb. Tsubusa gets a flash pin off of a German. **1/4

No idea how to judge it but just the arena is ridiculous. Kendo Azteca lives up to his name coming out with a kendo stick and that is his main mode of offense. This goes about for a while until Tobita flips out and throws the boards that double as the mat at him and hits a back drop suplex to pick up the win. The fans that are there to witness this spectacle are delighted. **

I couldn't help but be shocked that it was only ten years since their last major feud when they had this match. Yet, it felt like a lifetime ago. If CM Punk vs. Chris Hero had a match next month 15 years after their marquee match, it wouldn't feel as long or dated. Still, they do a good effort here to try to salvage something within the match. They work the Texas Death Match stip well and none of the pinfalls felt too cheap. The piledriver through the table especially looked brutal. It wasn't the ***** classic they had a decade earlier, but on an awful looking show, it was damn good enough. ***1/4

A really weird Hogan promo talking about snapping Liz’s body around. He said he will go to Hollywood and back to defeat Luger. I guess Hulk didn’t get the memo that he can only be called the Total Package now. Match was alright but nothing spectacular. Hogan does live up to his promise of using some underhanded techniques including his cast. Liz and Jimmy Hart both get involved. Hogan wins to no surprise. After the match, Flair attacks and they beat up Hogan until Sting comes out and clears house with a baseball bat. I think this may have been the first time we have seen Sting since Mayhem. Crowd pops for Sting. Madden won’t shut up. **1/4

Where exactly is Slapnuts country? A lot of drama as to who was behind a door. I did have a quick look at the rest of this card and it looks absolutely putrid so even though this main event stuff isn’t that exciting, I guess in retrospect it looks that way. Hall and Jarrett battle each other before Sid even comes out. Buffer is thrown for a loop and has to consult his notes. Sid gets outsmarted by Hall as soon as he enters because of course he does. The match is an absolute mess with Jarrett decking referees until Mark Johnson comes out. Remember last month when we had a classic main event up until the finish? Heat is non existent when Johnson refuses to count Hall’s pinf…

I feel bad seeing this as a final but I don't have too much to say here. Of course, the match is really emphasizing the Hector Garza vs. Octagon feud at the end. The action wasn't awful but it certainly wasn't that inspiring. Such is life in AAA. **

Nostalgia is running wild. Hogan is still really getting a good reaction here and I do like that he isn't even faking being a total babyface by using his cast at will. Flair and Luger is also being used as a nostalgia act but again they are bringing up their past which is about all I can ask for. I liked the action here better than the PPV match and thought this was actually a perfectly decent match. The finish with the heels winning isn't spectacular but I will take it over the NWO nonsense. **3/4

Opening promo sets up tonight, nothing really earth shattering here. The match itself I thought was a ton of fun and only a smidge behind the 2/7/00 tag. X-Pac was bumping everywhere and everyone else was working hard. For a feud that feels like a clear stop gap to get to Mania, Rock and Big Show does have a lot of juice behind it in the lead up to No Way Out and they have a good brawl on the entranceway in the waning moments of this one. HHH is able to sneak out the pin on Cactus but we get a great visually representation of how on Sunday he has NO WAY OUT by him and Steph retreating to the DX Express and Cactus ramming part of the Raw rig through the windshield. Super g…

This was the first Raw I ever went to. I find it amazing how honestly between all of the shows I went to, the WWF tv tapings are the ones I remember the least. The NAO as heels do their spiel which is annoying but at least we get a bit of something interesting where Billy attacks Christian with a microphone. NAO really stuck out here with all of this talent how far behind they are. Hardy is bumping like a loon and takes out a cameraman which Kevin Dunn immediately puts up as a replay. A kind of weird finish with the Dudleys and NAO imploding. E&C and the Hardys also have some words over who got the pinfall. Hebner was not very good at conveying the finish. This was us…

Talk about it here.

BJPW does a good job differentiating their death matches. This felt like a different style of match from the one previous. This has more of the boards and props but also has some semblance of a story throughout. The ladder shots that were used were well done minus a botch from Honma trying to run up one. Honma hits a gnarly blade job and the match culminates in a big dive from the ladder that wins a hard earned victory for Honma. This match shows that Abdullah could hang early on in his career. ***1/2

Good to see lucha back. Panther is such a prick and digs into the eyes of Mendoza. Each fall was again short but this seemed to be building to a Black Warrior and Casas feud which I am all for. The camera keeps panning to a woman in the crowd that looks about as disinterested as you possibly can. ***

Flair has Hogan’s belt and runs down Reno. The fans chant for Hogan like he is there. LOL. I looked it up and he did work 4 Thunders in 2000 which is honestly more than I would have thought. Flair presents an open challenge to anyone from the back. Vampiro answers the challenge and they present it as the biggest match in Vampiro’s career. The match itself is really good. I got the type of vibe as the 1996 Eddy vs. Flair matches where they have a different type of chemistry with each other. Flair does good to pepper Vamp’s leg throughout the match. Vamp goes to the top but here comes the Total Package to throw him off and a figure four gets the win for Flair. Actually enjo…

X-Pac interrupting the worm gets him major heat. This is the DX pairing I like the best as Gunn to me has been the worst of all of the NAO tags. We don’t get Road Dogg’s entrance babyface pandering either which is a bonus. Rikishi is still over as hell even with an injured wheel. Really good action to set up the heat with HHH clipping Rikishi and him being the FIP. I liked that Scotty gets the revenge by doing the worm on X-Pac. HHH is able to get a chairshot on Rikishi’s leg further injuring it. Sexay has his goggle legdrop but X-Pac is able to move Road Dogg out of the way and steal a win with an X-Factor. The legal man went out the window here but as a match this was e…

Really good promo by Show as he has the evidence that Rock’s feet touched first at the Royal Rumble. I like heels that have a legit reason for their actions and this is about as concrete as you can get. Angle comes out to a ton of heat. He sides with Show. Jericho interrupts them and now is a full fledged babyface with chyna by his side. Rock decides to join us and became Jericho’s partner and we have a really cool and fresh looking tag match for tonight. Match isn’t much but quick action all around and sets up the PPV well. Everyone of these four men look like they could have an engaging feud with each other. Finish is especially well done with Show throwing Rock through…

Wagner gets in the face of Perro Aguayo at ringside. This was his first appearance in CMLL since the AAA split. Wagner also hits a clever foul right as the ref was looking away. Atlantis really is a superb tecnico as he takes it to Wagner envoking a lot of hate even though he is entrenched in the big feud with Villano. Really fun finish to the first fall with Wagner and scorpio all tangled up in a crab together. Atlantis gets La Atlantida and wins the second fall. Out comes Villano III and the fight is on. Villano III is ripping at the match and Bestia goes after Perro! Villano takes the match off and parades around with it. Huge chants of Perro rain down from the Arena M…

The greatness of El Satanico, in his 50s carries a mediocre opponent to a very good match with his offense, selling and by adding little touches to the match. ****

Corporal Robinson is Extreme is the first sign you see as Dreamer comes out. ECW is in Milwaukee for the first time. Dreamer is asking for Raven. I find it hilarious that he says lets forget the soap opera bullshit and out comes Francine for soap opera bullshit. She talks and the crowd only chants about her puppies. Impact Players interrupt and challenge Dreamer to a tag title match right here right now. I liked Dawn Marie telling Tommy to put on Francines skirt. Raven comes out in his street clothes and looking huge. Typical garbage brawl results but it has a ton of heat. Dreamer gets a row of chairs and Raven and Dreamer do stereo drop toe holds. Dreamer hits the Holy D…

A guilty pleasure. Hido as Willie Takyama makes no sense to me but the match itself was a fun and featured some brawling and stiff shot with him using the boxing gloves. Ending was unique in that Takayama was going through a flurry when Kuroda is able to hit two lariats and get the knockout. I don’t know if this was any good, but I do know this was memorable. ***1/2

The Haas brothers look huge in there. They are doing a quasi-Briscoe Brothers gimmick with rebel flag bandannas and all. I also had an eureka moment with Dixie seconding them and his name makes sense a lot more now being a part of this group. The match went on WAY too long but had some highlights. At one point, another team interferes and takes out Big Unit. Da Hit Squad are polished here with their brutal offense and overall reckless nature. Johnny D turns on the Haas Bros at the finish and aligns with Da Hit Squad where they win the JAPW tag straps. ***

This was a big ol slice and dice brawl. Chairs, barbed wire, tables, cinder blocks you name it. This again is a guilty pleasure type match for me so I enjoyed it but I can see how some wouldn’t. A weird moment happens in the beginning when Lover and Strange turns on their partner. The lights flicker after the match and I have no idea who comes out there in a pair of underwear. Homicide smacks him with a chair shot right away. This show really put over this unit as a juggernaut. **3/4