July 2000

This was another good installment in this feud. Reckless continues to get cockier and cockier and I do like his offense on top as a heel. Dragon makes a good comeback with kicks and suplex throws. A rough moment comes when Reckless uses his feet on the ropes that won him the previous match but the timing was off and the referee stared right at him attempting to do that. The referee gets bumped and Youth goes to the trusty foreign object to pick up the victory however after the match, the referee sees the object and reverses his decision. **1/4

Baxter is mad that Bill Dundee has ruined his power hour. A big brawl at the start before things settle down. I liked Binder diving from the apron to on top of Wolfie as they were trying to regroup. Binder ends up getting caught with a double team and he is the FIP. Ali looks like he has had enough and comes in the ring with a chair but he knocks out Spellbinder. Baxter’s army is getting pretty padded in a N W O level and the turns aren’t making a whole lot of sense lately besides a big payoff by Baxter. *

We see what happens after they went off the air last week as Baxter is being held by Spellbinder waiting on Seven to hit him with the kendo stick. Well this is taking a long time and you can imagine what happens next. Seven hits Binder and we have a turn that didn’t make much sense or garner much of a reaction at all. We have a Baxter conspiracy announces Dave. Blade is not very good at all but I enjoy seeing Wolfie in a long form match and he is a ring general with a good general idea of what to do to make a match successful. Blade musters up a comeback but in come the reserves for the Baxter contingent and they end up beating up Binder and Blade until Ali clears house. …

Murahama is really starting to make a serious claim for me of the best rookie year in wrestling history that I have seen. Every match of his is intriguing, carries a breakneck pace and demands that the viewer becomes invested in if he can overcome the odds of the heel faction. Buffalo has been a great heel for Osaka Pro this year and he is excellent here. Once he gains the advantage, he muddles the match up with some brawling, chairs and cheapshots. It is a US heel style on top that doesn’t drift too far into interference ridiculousness to check me out of the match. Even when I think Murahama might botch a spot like off an armdrag it is just him reversing the Buffalo atte…

This was a weird match where we get 1 minute of action before Rico hurts his leg. The spot didn’t look very believable at all that Rico would have been legit hurt. Flash attacks the referee and calls out Nick Dinsmore. Out comes Dinsmore and we get an impromptu match as Cornette swears to us that no one knew this was going to happen. You hear that guys, we have a SHOOT on our hands. Cornette is without a doubt a worst announcer in 2000 that Lawler and I feel completely justified in that opinion. Dinsmore gets thrown from the top rope for the DQ and then Flash dives on him. Flash attacks the referee again. Not much heat for this at all which should show how ineffective it …

Cornette welcomes us to another exciting hour of OVW. Sure. The color commentator was brutal here heeling it up talking shit on TPT. The match itself is around 2.5 minutes and Lee didn’t do a lot to impress. Cornette is alarmed that Benetti is going to be in the corner of the match. TPT starts making his comeback and puts the match away with a running powerbomb. A decent enough way to showcase TPT. ½*

This was a Sabu vs Funk brawl but with less logic and intensity as usual. Pile onto that the typical terrible XPW production and the announcers refusing to not get in the way of the match being presented and overall this was meh. The fireball effects in the end were cool and well done by Sabu even though he botched some of his highspots during the match. The promo Funk gives after the match is excellent and sets up an I Quit match. That was by far the best part of the whole segment and shockingly got me invested to see these two duke it out again. *3/4

Another fun AAA mini’s action entry. You know the drill here. A lot of interesting dives and action with a ferocious pace but nothing that ever raises it above the good level based on the stakes that are involved. Sagrada was amazing with his highspots including the rana in the second fall and the air he gets on the final rana on Marvin to win the match. Octagoncito for his part takes a nutty bump to the outside right before that. Another fun entry for AAA minis and still consistently the best thing inside the promotion. *** (5.9)

Talk about it here.

Punk has started his promo shaming of the audience and it works good here where he shows a good bit of poise. Prazak comes out to Sexy Boy which made me laugh. Sherri’s gear is ahem…. Interesting. This has commentary on it unlike the early MAW matches we have seen. The opening moment with Punk and Dino was fun and then Sherri gives Punk a wedgie and is wanting a piece of Prazak. Match breaks down with all competitors brawling around ringside. The crowd heat isn’t as strong here as I would have imagined. I love Sherri but her offense consists of nut shots and eye rakes throughout this match. Prazak scales a ladder with Sherri following but Dave is able to push her off and …

It is always neat to get this wide view of the whole and get a snapshot at some of these underneath lucha workers from the time frame. That being said, this match overall didn’t do a whole lot for me. It was nice seeing Pimpinela and Olimpico mix it up but certain stuff like the ass biting spot in the third fall and the overall disjointed feeling of the match never got it on track. **1/2

This match is up there with my favorite Monterrey stuff of the year not including Panther and Santo. You had a majestic heel beatdown with Dandy being vicious with his little punches and really going after Antifaz. In addition, the comedy that was mixed in here with the referee doing the dive and the other spots were well done and placed. Nearfalls with Antifaz doing his comeback were well timed and the double knockout headbutt was excellent in the finishing stretch leading to Dandy picking up the win while being knocked out. ***3/4 (7.7)

We have the 2nd match in the trial series of Daioh and I’m still on board fully. Daioh does a ton of heel tactics and we get interference galore which take this down a tiny bit from the great level we have seen. However, Murahama is still wonderful taking a beating and then sprinkling in his wonderful kicks when he sees any openings. It is a simple against the odds story but Murahama is such a force of nature that it works and his flash pin works in the context of keeping the story and trial series moving along. ***1/2 (7.2)

This show displays the depth of Toryumon. This was the type of junior wrestling I really dig with simple but meaningful mat work leading to an exciting climax that still never overstays its welcome and doesn’t involve too many kickouts. Arai sold the back damage well and reeled off some spots that did just enough damage to SUWA’s arm to keep him fighting throughout. SUWA was certainly brimming with confidence and didn’t expect the fight of Arai. This leads to the finish where Arai is able to gain a lot of momentum and win the title in what felt like a big moment for him. Great match. **** (7.8)

M2K vs Crazy Max is just heating up and continues to be an awesome feud. The M2K faction is punks and they portray that really well with Kanda especially in this match flying all over the place and bullying up Stalker. Stalker as a member of Crazy Max probably shouldn’t work but it does. He can mix in his comedy but he also has some surprising moves and ability here. Fuji also shines here getting beat up and then dishing it out. Tons of frantic action and the finish is logical in giving M2K a nice win for the battle with the war being far from over. ***3/4 (7.5)

Triple H vs Chris Jericho - WWF Fully Loaded 2000 Last Man Standing Triple H wants Chris Jericho's ass. How do I know this? He said it on four separate occasions in the video package. This is a battle of probably the best heads of hair in pro wrestling history (Big Sexy Kevin Nash would also be in contention). I miss both these guys with long hair. Jericho's Bon Jovi 2000 look is lame and HHH just is not the same without Pantene Pro-V hair. This is only the SECOND Last Man Standing match in WWF history at the time. Wow! I know this is just a Death Match without the need for covers, but thats pretty crazy and it was so fresh at this point. The angle is Jericho kis…

Angle’s wrench is straight out of a cartoon in how ridiculously big it is. This is a weird match in that the logic of the booking as a stand alone match works as Angle has been semi comedic character that has serious moments up to this point and is going against a legend for the promotion in Taker. Also, you have the established face getting full revenge and kicking ass on the heel. The flip side of that is that Angle was being thrusted hard into the main event of the 2nd biggest show of the year and a marquee angle involving HHH and Stephanie. As a result, him getting jobbed big time in this match feels like a head scratcher. This match had more back and forth than I rem…

Trish is really growing as a personality. This was a good choice for an opener as T&A are good bases for the Hardy’s and can throw them around impressively with power moves. Trish was presented as someone scared of Lita and stuff like the triple suplex that the Hardys and Lita do to Test and Trish get a huge reaction from the crowd. Lita getting offense on test and the crossbody on Albert was done in a way that helped make her credible even if it was at the expense of T&A to a degree. Test does kill her with a gutwrench powerbomb and then Trish gets the tag in for the nearfall. The crowd chants we want puppies which is unfortunate. Even though Lita and Trish certa…

Rock starts off really fast and takes the fight right to Benoit. Shane is running around and being a nuisance but has Benoit slingshotted into him. I liked Rock going for the early crossface too to a big reaction. Benoit takes over and puts the fight to Rock with a large “Shane’s a pussy” chant from the Dallas crowd. Ross and Lawler are still contentious with each other on commentary during this match. Rock is channeling a lot of hate and aggression and it makes the match carry a fever pitch that feels frantic but enjoyable. I liked the back suplex from the top that Rock delivers. Both men are slow to get up and when Shane distracts the referee, Benoit uses the belt for a…

I didn’t really like this match too much. Way too much meandering up until the final moments. They are trying really hard to present Val as this bad ass new attitude character but it isn’t working and I think it was appropriate for them to reboot and go in a different direction for him about a month for now. The cage was utilized well enough as a weapon but I didn’t feel the hatred between the two men. I also think having this match the same night as a LMS match took some of the wind out of the sails for what each man could do. The finish with Lita coming out to whip Trish with the belt as a receipt for earlier in the night is well done. In addition, we get the most memor…

The promo here was strong with Booker coming out and giving his rah rah promo and then Goldberg demanding a title shot. Cat does his best promo we have seen standing up to Goldberg and then saying the fan vote will determine the match tonight. We cut to the match and Sting has wont he fan vote? Huh. Someone definitely not Sting but dressed as him comes out and gets attacked by Goldberg. “Sting” gets stretchered out and now it is Goldberg vs Booker. Goldberg is vicious here and busts Booker open on the outside. He locks in a cross armbreaker which is an excellent hold for him and Stevie Ray comes down and throws in the towel. In a funny move, Goldberg wipes his sweat off w…

Angle wants more of Taker which seems ill advised. Taker comes out and beats Angle up some more. Meanwhile, Shane is running from Big Show. Shane is in the ring and Taker seizes him up for a chokeslam. Big Show asks Taker to let him have him and of course Big Show turns and beats up Taker joining Shane’s new mini unit with Benoit and Angle. Nice to see someone get one over on Taker since he has run roughshod since returning. The beatdown backstage doubles down on this with a cinder block onto Taker’s knee. ½*

Foley’s interactions with E&C continue to be a big comedic highlight for the promotion and work to help raise their profile overall. Dudley’s are back in a prominent position within the tag division after a slow month following the DX feud. Quickie match but a good bit of interaction between the three teams to set up the feud that will lead to the big gimmick match at TLC. The Wassup drop is in full effect for the face Dudleys. It looks like the Hardy’s are going to win the belts after a Swantom but Bubba pulls Jeff out the ring. The Dudleys then get the 3D that is broken up by a Matt Hardy legdrop. Christian sends Matt out of the ring and then covers D-Von to escape…

We get our opening promo. I am still airing on the side of being in favor of these and certainly Foley as a face administrator but this was a 17 minute segment that probably could have been condensed down to 12 with Foley cutting most of the PPV rehash. We get Benoit joining the proceedings with Shane demanding a rematch tonight and claiming he is the rightful champion. Stephanie comes out and says the game proved to Jericho he was the man and proved it to her multiple times last night. Mick admits that for a split second last year, he found Steph attractive but now agrees with Jericho’s assessment of her. Steph slaps Mick and he is all fired up. He makes a tag match for …

I enjoyed the work of this match. Kickboxer attacks the arm of Hyzaya with some nasty looking stuff. Zaya’s selling isn’t the strongest but he responds with going after the leg and the match progresses from there a while. They even shoe horned a schmozz finish pretty well with Zaya tapping out and the ref calling for the bell but Jim Fannin informing him that someone has to say I Quit. This allows Uncle Honkey to do some damage to Kickboxer’s back. Fannin sees that and kicks Honkey out but the damage has been done and Zaya attacks the back with a variety of submissions before locking in a camel clutch and Kickboxer is forced to say I Quit. *** (6.1)