April 2000

A great final that really was trending towards a MOTYC for me until it stopped. What these two did in twelve minutes were really craft a great story and intense action. CIMA and Liger are the two stars of the tournament so it is refreshing to see them in the final. CIMA using the palm strike which is such a Liger staple against him was an awesome visual and again the young up and comer certainly looks like he belongs and that he is very very close to Liger’s equal. In the end, this was Liger’s tournament to win. This whole tournament makes the Sasaki match even more maddening because how great would this have been for Liger’s momentum if he was coming off a win vs. a top …

Sano goes into this match with the same strategy that worked vs Sasuke and why not. I really like how CIMA is being presented in the 1994 Great Sasuke role for this tournament as the up and comer stepping up on the big stage but he is a rudo so for instance he will break a submission attempt by Sano by raking the eyes. He will go for not necessarily cheating tactics but rough tactics like drilling multiple strikes into the corner. CIMA also sold his leg damage that was conducted in the early going in a wonderful way throughout the match. It wasn’t emphasized enough by Sano that it should have been completely neutralized but it was bothering CIMA’s mobility and he made sur…

Ok this doesn’t look as depressing as the first round of the J Cup at least. Onryo attacks before the bell and really takes it to CIMA. This kind of reminded me of the first round matches and was a fun sprint. CIMA has went from someone that probably was an underdog coming in to now being a favorite in this particular match and having to hang on from being upset. CIMA survives the onslaught and is able to advance with the frog splash. Fun start. **1/2

This was a weird match for me in that I thought I would like it tremendously based on the competitors and the structure and while what they did here was fine for the most part, something didn’t click. Sano is really established strongly utilizing a basic but effective ground game to neutralize Sasuke and his flash. Sasuke is able to get glimpses of that momentum, but they are not sustained. The ending plays into this when he can’t answer the bell at last. A big win for Sano. **3/4

Two grizzled guys going in there and having a tough fought contest where they can see the end of the rainbow. The story here was told perfectly in that there may not be too many more opportunities for these guys when watching this in real time. They were stiff with each other and some of the tricks that Liger had used to gain advantage in earlier rounds certainly didn’t work on Hamada who has seen and done it all too. Liger is able to finally take advantage and advance to the finals. ***1/2

Really strong short match. This match had a lot of hate and I really appreciated Teioh not being punked around by Liger. Aggressive striking and it really felt like Liger was brought to the brink in the seven minutes the match took place. Perfect for a second round match showing Liger that this won’t be an easy process. ***1/4

What a great showcase match for everyone. The Toryumon guys were able to shine particular Mochi and SUWA as they were the ringleaders for a lot of the action and kept things moving along. Tanaka felt more spirited here and was able to bust out his flash submissions in a believable and exciting way. The big standout however was Ricky Marvin who flew around like a crazy person and did state of the art highspots for 2017 standards much less 17 years ago. A wonderful way to show the talent that got eliminated in the first round in the best light. ***3/4

A breathtaking wrestling match. These two are absolute masters and built a brilliant match that worked on layering and having amazing mat work leading to the final caida and the climax of Santo’s insanely great dive and Panther taking the cheap way out to win. Too many amazing moves to call them out but both guys were like glue with each other on the matwork and I was especially impressed with the amount of work that was done with each individual on their head. The finish sets up the rematch perfectly and I can’t wait to watch it. One of the better matwork matches I have ever seen. ****1/2

Here we are at the big reboot. This isn't really a match at all but more Kidman cutting a shoot promo on Hogan and then Hogan coming out and them getting into a big brawl. The way Kidman conveyed his promo felt geunine and there certainly was a good bit of truth mixed into what he was saying. It is an interesting angle to analyze because I can see how someone like Hogan can think Kidman does have the size or stature to really compete with him. Going through the 90's, we witnessed first hand Kidman being a more polished worker than I remembered but even I am not sure in 2017 eyes that Kidman is the right person for this role. However, since the Radicalz had been exiled it …

Jericho really cuts a seething promo beforehand calling Chyna a bitch. The match between these two is good again. Eddy is really finding his side and Chyna did help there. Chyna becomes the x factor allowing him to win again in the same way he did the previous week. I am interested in how this feud that has been fun so far gets transitioned away so quickly because it really feels like we are building to a stipulation PPV match currently. **3/4

A good resume builder for HHH. The match only goes five minutes but HHH does show ass for Taka and sell from his kicks as well as being surprised at the amount of fight he is in. APA is out at ringside and that was effective in getting Shane away from the proceedings and led to the hectic nearfall where the crowd honestly bought Taka of all people pinning HHH. Hebner was maybe a little too assertive in this match shoving Shane to the ground and really going after HHH, but this was clearly a HHH Flair tribute and in regards to his canon approach at that style, this was as successful as I can ever remember him being. ***

Talk about it there.

Good match but one I was expecting more given the talent involved. Holy Demon Army just really don’t have a lot of steam or momentum after the No Fear loss. Everything they did here was fine but the highlight and energy mostly came from Akiyama as he entered in the closing stages of the match. Taue predictable puts Mossman away. Mossman looked good again and hit a floatover DDT that looked smooth. ***

Honma added a ton here as the previous Jado and Gedo match was lifeless as could be. This didn’t blow me away but was really entertaining and had a lot of individual segments that really were intriguing. Jado in particular looked much better here than the match before. Yamakawa gets busted open and Winger takes a ton of damage leading to Honma being the person that has to keep everything together. This match would have been helped by being cut down by about five minutes. ***1/4

Really bizarre match with H getting beat up and having to leave the match, Fuyuki coming in and taking over only for him to be knocked out and then Hayabusa returns for the finale. A lot to unpack and try to decipher in combination with Balls and Tracy Smothers continuing to be this big foreign stable. The action here was good but I do think a lot of the context and significance of the storyline was lost on me. I am still unsure of how I feel about Tanaka for the decade. I am kind of at a loss on how to grade this one given my overall feelings but the action did seem fun and intense and “good”. ***

I really can’t stand WCW hardcore matches. Also, Funk has been dropped down the card to honestly a more appropriate level given his level. This had all the tropes you love. Concession brawling, someone getting dropped “30 feet”, shoddy camera work. Tony on commentary is Jim Cornette level screaming at us how this shows how hungry the talent is to impress Bisch and Russo but it looks pretty lazy to me. Dustin Rhodes runs out and lays out Funk allowing Norman to pin his own partner in the match. Great more cute booking. *1/4

Change is in the air at WCW supposedly. Meanwhile, David Flair is dancing for Paisley and Daphney crowbars his nuts. A fan also throws a beach ball into the ring. Action was pretty fun here but the booking was stupid as shit with the tag partners fighting each other. What a hoot. I really liked the dive train here and Daphney does get the best reaction of the whole match with a rana from the ropes. I was surprised with Candido getting pinned here but have no problem with Crowbar going over. **1/4

A pretty decent five minute match until the awful ending. Bischoff comes out to attack DDP, David Arquette has arrived on the scene to help defend his friend. He gets laid out and all the New Blood members come out and do a 1996 N W O tribute with Bischoff presiding over everything like 1998 Vince. The more things change. *1/2

Corino runs his mouth which brings out Dreamer and in turn brings out Taijiri so the match is on. I hate Tommy doing the Tarantula as that was such a unique looking move for Taijiri to execute that it loses some of it luster that Tommy can perform it without much of any problems. Action is good here but a big ol brawl breaks out with everyone from Rhino to Mikey Whipwreck, Guido and Super Crazy coming down. With everything cleared away, out comes Awesome to You Souled Out chants. Judge Jeff does the call out for anyone in the building. Tazz WWF music fires out and out he comes to a thunderous pop. Not much of a match as Awesome gets choked out in two minutes to head to WC…

Benoit continues his strong claim as the best wrestler in the world. This wasn’t given much time but they really maximized everything and it became a fully formed very good tag match. Benoit’s dropkick and crispness is unparalleled. The Hardy’s also seemed amped to be in there with this sprint and were motivated to provide high energy. Benoit lifts Jeff up and Dean comes off the top rope with a clothesline. Dean/Benoit are working so well here that I want them to be a tag team again in WWF running against all of the big teams at the time. Hot tag was again at rapid pace and a great finish with Jeff hitting a Swantom on Dean who had the cover and Matt getting the pin for t…

The Villano angle that formed out of the mask match is really one of the more unique and in depth one I have ever seen. With losing his identity, Villano is now left to question his moral compass and his entire belief system. This is brought into the forefront right away here as Villano and Atlantis take it to the mat and Villano gets angry at Pierroth and Fuerza coming in to take cheap shots. After the mat work, Villano gives a clap showing his appreciation. Casas and Fuerza come in next and that is a classic pairing so them going after each other is always welcomed by me. Rayo and Pierroth being the final pairing is a little odd because its by far the least intriguing o…

This almost felt like an Undertaker WrestleMania match in a lot of ways. Perro doesn’t have hardly any athletic ability left but he has such presence and charisma that he carries most of the match that way. This stats with another interesting caveat of Scorpio and Shocker walking out on Bestia to start. Bestia wins the first fall handily and has the match in hand until Perro makes the traditional tecnico comeback in the sequnda caida. This brings in Cien Caras who blasts Perro with a milk bottle right over the dome. This gives Perro the second fall but he is a bloody mess. Third fall was really dramatic with both guys walking around like zombies and feeding into the next …

One of the better three way dances I have ever seen. This really carries a unique vibe over from the Crazy vs Taijiri series of things becoming really violent and visceral within the match. All three guys bleed especially Crazy who does a brutal blade job. Touches like the side of the table being used add a violent and dangerous vibe to the proceedings. Guido is the first one out and I did think Sal's involvement in here was unneeded. Guido gets a respectable applause as he heads to the back. Corino and Victory come out at this point and again that adds a little bit of annoyance that derails things ever so slightly in this match although it does retain a strong storyline …

Lucha cage matches are almost never my thing and this was no exception. Some brawling and bumping but mostly climbing to escape as fast as possible. Oscar continues to be in contention of the most pleasant surprise in 2000 and he is the last of the tecnicos in the cage allowing the rudos to destroy him. Tecnicos decide they are going to have to make the save and this allows the rudos to scurry out and win. Blah. **

More good mini action although now that we have seen these guys quite a bit, the matches are kind of running together. This one had Octagoncito looking impressive and really working in harmony with his big to win the match. Rocky is large for a mini and able to provide a good base. The falls were too short for my liking. **1/2