April 2000

A freshly shaved Gran Apache is here with his daughter. This was really unique and was intergender wrestling done correctly with the pairings just being interchangeable and all of the female strength spots on me being put to a minimum. The match was fast and breezy and exactly what I was hoping for. Gran Apache is really making a play early on to be a big figure for the decade ahead of us. ***

A good match but one that didn’t particular strive to be much more than that. I am conflicted on that concept as its tough to critique a good match as being a failure but I really enjoy these four wrestlers and that combined with the limited Arsion footage we get in the first place left me wanting more. LCO is unable to bully the biggest bully in the yard in Aja Kong and her and Yoshida take most of the match. I like them as a tag team because the contrast in style is so easy to decipher. Finishing run has things breaking down and LCO picking up the victory which felt like an upset feat for them. ***1/4

Fantastic lucha that harkened me back to January/February glory days. Panther is awesome and twists and stretches everyone in such a dickish way. Casas also really shined here as the tecnico and everything was moving along really smoothly sans a terrible botch by Tarzan Boy. This rudo trio in particular was really meancing. The submission Panther lays on Casas to win the second fall looked like it hurt like hell. ***1/2

In the absence of Satanico lately, Shocker has become the big rudo in the whole promotion. This had the fire and energy of the pre 3/17 stuff. I love Perro but its pretty clear that he is on the downswing of his career and is only really good for brawling around the ring. Him and Bestia in particular have an off sequence inside the ring. Shoker and Niebla in particular have a fun pairing in this one. Niebla is an interesting guy in CMLL at the time that has looked good in all the stuff we have seen but hasn’t been showcased to be the guy in anything either. One day I will learn the name of the mini here that always adds a little interest to the proceedings. Perro gets bus…

A really fun three way match that sets the template for other indy variations we will see throughout the decade. Reil clowns the Sabu entrance giving him extra heat as he and Ki square off. Sabu has some aura on the indy scene and looked to be motivated here. The three way spots are fine and never got too cute for me. Reil is eliminated and we get 5-6 minutes of Ki vs Sabu which felt like an app to a longer form match down the road. Sabu ends up winning but Ki gets the respect reaction from the boys and the crowd for his efforts. ***1/4

A hardcore sprint? This is worked in a different pace as Louie and Ian go after each other quickly and really only use one chair as a weapon. That is kind of refreshing in a way but the action is only about five minutes long. Louie ends up winning off of a botched powder attempt which felt more Memphis than ECW. Afterwards, Ian puts over Louie and gives him a spot in KOTDM. **1/2

All of Liger’s run through the juniors has led to this. Sasaki has been on a role in 2000 but this was probably my least favorite performance of him as I didn’t think he did much of anything to make Liger feel like a threat. The booking on this show overall was really atrocious. Much like Fully Loaded 3 months later, they are trying a 3 match series of the young guys/ juniors going against the established guard. Much like Fully Loaded, the younger group goes 0-3 and it stunts a lot of their momentum. Thinking back to the Chono vs Sasaki interactions, I wish they just would have ran that match here and hey Liger vs Muta isn’t a bad matchup on paper either for the undercard…

I figured I would love this match just based on the pairing and it lived up to the hype. Frye does an excellent job looking like a bad ass but still allowing the junior Kanemoto to look strong and brutal when he is on offense. Kanemoto goes mainly after the legs of Frye and trying to chop down the big tree. This had a really neat dynamic and was really intense with the strikes and submissions. Frye kept working for his leg lock and Kanemoto found unique ways to escape it. Frye’s size eventually is able to wear down Koji enough that he is able to take advantage with strikes and throw on the twisting leg lock for the submission. ****

The title of the match is Restricted Zone which is awesome. Molly Holly escorts Muta out and Chono has his entire posse out there including the N W O 2000 members that just defected. A conflicting match. Everything was going along nicely and I thought these two had somehow pulled off two miracle matches in the dome in 2000. Then the rest holds got a little long and the violence and wandering around the ringside area felt really mundane. The kicker though is the complete bullshit finish that happens and that Muta is able to escape relatively free with 10 people backing Chono up. **1/ 2

Kojima really pissed me off in this match because Otani was fantastic. He attacks the arm and then runs through all of his great closer offense with a combination of intensity and prickish that only he can pull off. Kojima tries with giving Otani a face wash and it fails miserable. Kojima on top throughout this match was completely uninteresting. Add to that his refusal to use anything but the arm that has been worked over and you really only get a very good match that should have been great and had the wrong guy going over. ***1/2

Okay look, I get it. We're supposed to hate these matches because of the atrocious booking. Or because they ruined Hash's aura. I get that. By the general reaction in other threads I'm assuming a lot of people here witnessed this as it was going on and feel more upset about it. That's fine, I'm not gonna commend this as "ballsy" or something because it really is baffling booking for a feud with a guy who made you tons of money, even if MMA is on the rise and you want to seem legit. But I was seven when this happened. And I....just don't care about that aspect of these matches. I viewed Hash's rise and peak after it had long ended and I loved it all. And you know what? …

Murakami is awesome. I can’t help but think of Charles’ description of him being a snot throughout this match. He is able to bring a frantic and insane pace in the match to Ilzuka and the crowd reacts really well. The tension and transitions really made this match for me. I thought Murakami might take the match overall but it is to no avail as he succumbs to a huge pop. ***3/4

I remember Bobby Gaetano from the World of Sport days so he’s getting on a bit for sure. Trenker is wearing the short sleeve lumberjack shirt, while Wagner (who doesn’t look the spriteliest himself) is in the traditional German garb complete with lederhosen. Lots of nonsense before the match commences with Trenker trying to conduct a sing-a-long with the crowd and Wagner being issued with a red card for some reason. A couple of pedestrian arm drags by Rotzek and I’ve a hunch we’re going to be in for a long night. Rotzek with an ankle lock and Gaetano just walks into the ring, no tag, and switches places with his partner, taking over in applying the hold. I’m lost! N…

A grand match that worked as Kobashi giving an homage to World of Sport. This match really gave me pause to whether Kobashi is the GOAT because he is able to work a Johnny Smith style of match that 100% plays to his strengths (that we haven’t seen much of so far mind you) and yet Kobashi looks completely comfortable and competent. The arm wringers and reversal in the first half of the match were amazing and really played into the big bombs and throws in the second half. A fabulous match overall and one I think everyone should seek out to show how versatile Kobashi really is. ****

Mossman will be very interesting to track throughout the decade. I really enjoyed this match. Ogawa/Misawa got overwhelmed in the early going and had to play catchup for most of the match. The arm work done to Ogawa was especially inspiring with frequent tags between Akiyama and Mossman. Eventurally the finishing run occurs and it is also exciting with nearfalls and Ogawa having to result to some of his nefarious tactics out of necessity instead of just for the hell of it. ***1/2

I wish this could have been longer because it's obvious these four have a great tag in them. I do think this is the best TV match Lawler has had so far, and there are moments where he shows that he is still very much the master of psychology, getting the "Jerry!" chant while selling and using a bag of tricks from the 1970s that still gets the job done. Pain and Morton are willing and capable heels. This was billed as the last Lawler-Dundee tag, so I think it should have had a clean finish and been given more time, but this is still a lot of fun.

Regal is just great here, and brought out the best in Reckless Youth as well, in a way that I sort of get his appeal for the first time. Regal excels not only in the detail work and stiffness and mat mastery that we all love him for, but also for the old school heeling and ability to properly pace a match to get everything over. I love that a heel won clean in Memphis just because that never happens. The post-match angle did make RY look like a chump, but it also was great for getting Regal over as a jerk. To me, it's the type of angle you do more with total prelim types than guys who are even at the opening match level, though. Regal looks more on his form than he has si…

This was a really well put together match -- good studio brawl that spills into the back and keeps up the intensity before landing back in the ring. Wolfie is great at bumping for Ali's big power moves and making him look like a killer. I even liked the ref bumps in this context because Power Pro doesn't do them in every single match (are you listening, OVW?), so they carry weight and actually make the match seem like a bigger deal in this case. Wolfie wins the title, but Ali is ripped off and has reason to come back strong. I enjoyed this quite a bit. ***

Punk is really over here even though it appears he is a heel doing his Im better than you pre match routine. The match was a lot more ambitious than Punk’s match vs. Cabana in January. This led to some hits and interesting bits but also a few moments that looked awful execution wise. The finish was also weak with the chair in the opponents hand and you playing dead gag actually working. Eric Priest had a good look to him and I am surprised that I don’t recall his name popping up much of anywhere. **1/4

This was a weird match. First, Pearce has long hair which really throws me off. Second, this was worked in much more of a garbage style brawl than I expected with crowd brawling and tables. Pearce does have some moments of strong execution like a gutwrench powerbomb but overall this left me a bit confused and was lackluster. **

This is the blow off to this feud and besides this and the HBK vs Venom match, this is essentially all we will see of TWA. Dragon has really looked like he has improved a bit just in the first two months as he is running the ropes and going through his progressions in a crisper and confident manner. Air Spanky also still looks great and Spanky/Dragon have formed a great Rockers esque unit in TWA. The match was 90% all Spanky/Dragon as they run through all their offense and look great doing so. Then Spanky is too cocky dancing in front of the referee while Dragon has the pinfall and one finisher from Board of Education is enough for them to steal the win. Dragon unmasks in…

Lenny and Lodi in this rave gimmick as high energy babyfaces is a bust, because teams doing that stuff are a dime a dozen, so everything they do looks second-rate, even when it's technically good -- stuff like them stealing Hardy Boyz offense or doing dance moves, which I guess is supposed to make them a less obnoxious version of 2 Cool or 3 Count. I don't think Lenny Lane was a bad worker at all, but he was just not very seasoned at all, so he struggled with what to do between moves. There were many times you could see him standing there waiting on his opponent to get in position instead of finding a way to make the transition look more natural. And sadly, his short care…

Super underrated Southern-style brawl between two guys who can REALLY do a brawl like this justice. Williams comes tearing down before the bell even sounds and Omori is right on his ass as soon as he tries running the ropes as apart of his regular entrance, nailing him with a flash Axe Bomber to the outside. Williams sells like he's just been shot, falling all over himself to the barricade. Omori takes advantage as soon as possible by throwing him around but Williams powers through with a clothesline. He tries for a Stampede on the floor but Omori escapes and throws him to the corner post, which then sends him flying into a back suplex outside! Vicious stuff. When he trie…

The Doc reclamation project comes to an end as this is probably the last high profile singles match he has here in the semi of the Carnival. This was kept at a really good length and hit a good clip. Omori looked more vicious here than usual. Even the finish with the lariats had some great bumps from Doc where he looks like he just got shot from a cannonball to put over the power of Omori. Thanks for the 2000 memories Doc. ***1/4 (6.4)

Another great showcase, this time for the ladies. Joshi in 2000 has been interesting but overall it has me optimistic for the decade ahead. There is a lot of positioning and multiple promotions going on that seems to be a big restraint from where the 80’s and 90’s had AJW as the center of the joshi scene that someone could parachute into and latch on. Asari in particular between this match and the Apache affair has shown an ability to work an insanely paced match but also mix in some violent and reckless moves that are executed near flawlessly. That is a dangerous clip to keep up with but I am exciting to see if she is able to maintain it as the decade progresses. ***1/2