April 2000

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Amazing match and a great example of how underrated Ogawa is as a worker, he gets so much out of the simplest holds, creating struggle over them and always finding new ways to gain advantage, there are also neat details like Ogawa grabbing Misawa's hair to escape a headlock and MIsawa getting desperate after Ogawa dominated with him holds in the beginning and grabbing Ogawa's hair while locked in a Facelock, eventually they do more conventional All Japan action, the brawling here was neat, both Ogawa's punches and Misawa's Elbows looked great and Ogawa sold like he was being decapitated (which was very close to what was going on) and there were a couple of amazing All Jap…

This starts with an angle of Dan Moreland coming out and saying Quack isn't there. After DOn Montoya gets in a few Rock rip offs, here comes Quack to a big pop. He takes care of Moreland and Quack is back forgetting the retirement from the last show. This is when Quack is wearing special gear that he described on his podcast as being impossible to take off. This is announced as lucha style with no piledrivers and no low blows. Quack does a really good job in these maestro matches making stuff look competitive while still displaying the style and art of wrestling. They mix up holds and stuff is intricately worked with only a minor botch on a floatover. Montoya is good on c…

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Regal gives us a typically strong promo up front where he dismisses Youth saying he doesn't belong in the same ring as Regal. A good series between these two with Youth being able to show off his mat work and reversals and Regal leading the way. Regal's valet was heavily involved here and I didn't think the match overall was as strong as the prior week but it was still solid. Lance not being on commentary was a shame. Regal gets the win and Youth offers his respect only to get beat up afterwards. **

No sound on this one but a pretty damn hot match. These guys continue to be the starts of MPPW in 2000 and they delivered about as fast paced and engaging contest as you could in 4 minutes. King's neckbreaker combo is really slick and he warms up the band for the SCM which takes out the referee. Doctor bomb from Wolfie gets a close nearfall which sends him into shock. X Factor for King has the match won when the interference starts up. King gets rid of that and shows his resilience until Brandon Baxter sends him into the steel post and one more big powerbomb gives the win to Wolfie. ***

Always up for another dose of Crazy Max running through some punks. This match essentially has Tiger Mask IV in the Magnum Tokyo role being paired with CIMA. This match has a bit of a unique structure in that it starts really traditional with Dragon Kid being the FIP and then once the hot tag gets made, the match breaks down and the brawling results around the building. I believe we even get Susumu and Kanda at one point coming out to interfere on SUWA. Mochi and CIMA have a hot sequence which gives way to Fuji vs TM which is equally as fun. The match ending with Dragon Kid and SUWA was initially disappointing because DG was as sloppy here as he had been since that awful …

Interesting match for me as I am unsure if I have ever watched it. I remember reading about it in PWI or whatever and being shocked Michaels came back for this. This was a pretty fun garbage brawl. Shawn didn't take any bumps on his back but did a good plunder style gimmick match using ladders for a fist drop, boards, garbage cans, etc. He does get some weapon shots across the back that help build the psychology of the match. Venom isn't a very good worker at all either from bumping or working on top. Match peaks with them going to a upper stage and Venom getting hiptossed onto a table below. The big heat of the match comes after that huge bump which is weird as Shawn get…

Had to do some searching to see Frog is Curtis White who I don't recognize. Jung Dragons are clearly one of the most exciting things happening in WCW right now and I do enjoy the gimmick. Yang and Frog have a pretty good exchange too. JC Ice is the WCW C show MVP and continues to show with each performance he had contributions to make. Him and Frog are only on top here for a couple of minutes, but it is engaging southern style work. JC Ice gets blinded and accidentally boots his own partner. Noble hits a sunset flip powerbomb onto the floor. Wolfie tries the hubcap shot but he hits JC Ice and the Jung Dragons put Ice away with a legdrop/splash combo. Fun match. **1/2

This is the second match between these teams and the chemistry just isn't there. Lenny and Lodi aren't particularly good and the Villanos don't seem too motivated to do a lot besides just be bumpers for them. I think Lane would be better underneath as a seller as when the Villanos do get a bit of offense here, the match improves include a good tope by Villano IV. Also, I guess Lodi has changed his name to Rave which I have no recollection of. On commentary, Tenay calls himself Hollywood Mike Tenay based on his role in Ready to Rumble. Kill me. Hot tag to Rave and the Rave/Lane team win with an unimpressive move. Disappointing. *1/4

Was Candido done with WCW already? Douglas asks for the mic to start things off but doesn't say anything. XPW announcing is truly atrocious. The action starting out Douglas and Candido is actually pretty damn good. Some annoying stuff like blatant low blows but overall some solid action and Tammy is outside in a role of strict cheerleader for Candido. Candido misses the diving headbutt and bounces off the mat onto his feet which is a great spot. Douglas gets headbutted in the nuts on a leap frog attempt in a clear planned spot. The crowd is too dumb to notice and chants you fucked up. Lacy comes out and this is the guy that is going to "save" XPW. With Lacy distracting ev…

This played into the trend of the Arsion tag matches earlier in the month where everything was technically fine here but I didn’t get a sense that it kicked into the next gear. This did tell a simple story of the big vs. small with Chigusa and Dynamite being bullies leaving Amano and Oz to result to resourcefulness to take advantage. Overall, not particular great and it didn’t make me exactly look forward to more from the promotion. ***

Kidman seems really motivated in this role. Him and Vamp have one of the better Vamp matches he has had. Kidman bumps well for Vamp’s offense and Kidman is a better heel than you would assume. Hogan makes his triumphant run in and Tony tells us this is Hogan coming to kick someone’s ass. Hogan does get a good reaction here coming out. They are still trying to change the visual style of the show with the guardrails all covered with black paper. Hogan and Kidman have a good brawl with Hogan throwing some interesting big man offense including a double chokeslam through the table of Kidman. After all of that, Hogan rolls Kidman back in and Vampiro wins. Tony tries to justify …

An up and down match. The opening brawl through the crowd is so trite and I can’t imagine Bischoff/Russo thought they were being edgy by laxing the rules and allowing that but I digress. When the match gets back into the ring, it is fairly solid including a nice powerbomb by Page. Outside is more garbage with Bischoff ominously looking on although I did like Jarrett ripping up pages of Positively Page. Finishing stretch has the crowd rallying behind Page in the figure four and a good nearfall off of a uranagi. Of course, Bischoff interferes and distracts Robinson as Kimberly is on the apron and predictably turns on Page by smashing him with the guitar. The Stroke makes it…

Team Package is in shambles. Flair is wrestling in street clothes because why not. We also get the Harris twins inserted because why not. The action revolves around Flair and Luger having to fend off the four guys. Luger gets a pretty decent babyface reaction but the match itself is a mess. *1/2

Flair is still in his street clothes. Why? Buff comes out and I wonder if he could have had a The Miz type revival if given the chance. Welp, Douglas is back and they have a baseball bat Vince Russo leading them to the ring. The stuff is so contrived that the announcers are left looking like goofs. Everything Russo says about new guys and new opportunities is something Madden has preached but then there is his boy Flair so he is conflicted. Luger cheats to gain the advantage and Tony tries to cover for him but it sounds stupid. Flair gets worked over in his clothes. Shane beats Flair up in the corner and very loudly says FUCK YOU Flair which Tony responds by saying that s…

Not much of a match but Steiner does look like a star. The main component here was was the finish as we get a ref bump, Vampiro emerges from the ring and “drags Sting to hell” and then Steiner puts him in the Recliner to win the US Championship as Madden cheers on. Yippee. *

A spot show for Toryumon with the action being fine but behind almost all of the hot stuff we have seen from the promotion this year. DK looked better here than in the last match but Tiger Mask was fairly sloppy. The main development here was the continued push of Genki Horiguchi who continues to pick up big wins over Crazy Max. **1/2

Jericho is over like crazy and goads HHH into making this a world title match. I have liked the use of the Acolytes as insurance policy for hire for the faces to even up the odds. These two have a weird chemistry with each other with some up and down matches but this was worked in a sprint pace that made it very enjoyable. Match has that frantic vibe to it. It is amusing that WCW has a New Blood faction but Jericho clearly feels like the Newest Blood currently being elevated. Ref bump and the Acolytes scatter Shane. Steph rolls the belt in which Jericho uses for a nearfall when Hebner comes out. Knowing how all of this played out, I took notice in the cadence of Hebner’s …

Fun six man with again a real frantic pace and a good mix of talent with people getting involved with main eventers like Bradshaw which was unusual in 2000. Farooq gets worked over quite a bit and this DX squad has good heel bully psychology. The weakest part of the match was the finish. HHH in 2000 has been near perfect in my eyes but this was the first finish that made me groan. Jericho has been built so well that seeing him just fall prey here to a pedigree felt like a slight step back from all of the momentum he has been gaining. HHH will be under a heavy microscope because it is HHH but this was the first time I felt he was put over too strongly. **3/4

Yu Yu could end up being one of the more fascinating figures of the decade. This match looks like it is taking place in a banquet hall in front of a 100 fans but Yu Yu does a really strong job of getting over the fundamentals of the match and that parlaying into a finishing stretch where things spill outside, more risks are taken, etc. I didn't see much here from Kuragaki but she was competent enough. I know Yu Yu is part of the JWP contingent coming into AJW soon and I really look forward to those matches. ***1/2

Toryumon is back in my good graces. This had a neat set up starting as a trios and then tempers flaring up resulting in the five vs five encounter here. This gave an opportunity for us to look at Yoshiyuki Saito who will become SHISA. Overall, the match was very good but I do miss Mochizuki certainly mixing it up with Fuji and as much of a bad rep as he has, I continue to think the matches take a slight dip when Magnum Tokyo isn't involved because he is a fun foil and pairing for CIMA. Fuji was a star here and really seems to be building a case for a worker that really doesn't historically get talked up enough. This showed with the face side that the depth was growing, a…

Frantic action that was fun while it lasted but didn't leave a lasting impression. Texano does absolutely paste a referee at one point in a highlight and everyone takes turns doing crazy dives. The rudo trio is fun here and I would like to see them in something long form. **1/2

Our first foray into DDT. This looks way different from the DDT I am used to now but Takagi is still in control here and him and Orihara have a good but basic match with tables mixed in on the outside. The lariat Takagi gives is executed well and this felt like a perfectly fine mid card match on a Japanese indy show. I am looking forward to keeping up with Takagi. Orihara ends up winning with some shady business involving the title. ***

Here's your 2000 indy MOTY. No kidding, this was just awesome and shockingly better put together than you'd expect. Really makes me wish there was more footage of the DDT crew doing BattlARTS style matches. I liked the opening matwork between Sasaki and Rider a lot. It felt very raw and unrehearsed, but they still whip out some cool transitions. Watching Sasaki here made me extra sour he spent the rest of his career as a go-through-the-motions bleeder because his stuff was inspired and he hit everything with a lot of snap. He looked like a rich mans Yuji Nagata here, a slick pro style wrestler who can hang doing stiff shootstyle. Ishii was in CAPTURE mode here - basically…