September 2000

Edge and Christian do the generic thing of bringing out their opponents dressed as old men this time. That is getting pretty played out in WWF by this point but this was ok enough I suppose. The six man is made by Foley for later and the Hardys and E&C brawl. The match itself is only four minutes long but I think they have done a good job at building up X Pac’s credibility. He gains the victory here again and looks like he belongs in the match vs Jericho. ¾*

Rock backstage promo with Lillian where he confirms that she likes pie. Another bit that plays well in 2000 with this crowd but doesn’t resonate at all in current day rewatching. The tag match itself is intriguing with the Dudley’s kind of just inserted into the match. I liked the physicality here. I don’t know if Bubba or D Von will rank on my top 100 workers of 2000 but they have been really solid both in tv and gimmick matches and them getting over with the crowd is a testament to their determination after a rocky first few months within WWF. Rock and Taker don’t really work together. Some nice teases of the table with Bubba saving D Von from going through one. D Von …

I was excited to see this based on Acid’s potential and the pre Mens Club preview in BJW. A good solid match that didn’t really excel or go beyond but remained satisfactory. Some matwork led way to a good sequence on the outside with Acid taking some good bumps through the chairs. Acids work on top was rudimentary but effective and Teioh had some good hope spots and tranistions like the armdrag being turned into an abdominal stretch. The finishing run again didn’t do too much and the match ended in a logical way. ***1/4 (6.4)

We only get selected clips from this match but it looked like a solid death match affair for BJW. Shadown and Abdullah are probably some of the best at the genre and I will throw Yamakawa in there as well even though he is someone that doesn't work up to the level of his push as weve seen. The light tube board spots were executed well and the match pace didn't let up. Kamikaze is someone that will have some decent high profile stuff later in the decade in Zero One so this was a nice early glimpse at him. NR

Honma is essentially a miracle worker. Not a great match but between the unique Cactus stipulation and the way Honma paces the spots on the deathmatch, he is able to give the vibe of a main event match that happens to have death weapons of destruction. Zandig for his part turned in one of his more restrained performances of the year and wasn’t completely reckless except for the finish. Overall, really enjoyable. ***1/2 (7)

This was a Trios Championship match. Villano V was injured so Rayo took his place. Judging this was tricky. It was long and given plenty of time on Televisa but it wasn't worked in the traditional title match style. It was worked in more of an all-action style that Los Laguneros, as much as any other trio, were responsible for pioneering. You could see Wagner's fingerprints all over it since he was regularly touring Japan and bringing back all sort of ideas about how to modernize lucha. I wouldn't say it was a full-on juniors match as it still retained elements specific to lucha but it forgoes mat work and submissions and Championship-level wrestling which obviously …

Francine cuts a promo to big heat while Gertner makes sex jokes on commentary. We might as well get a drum cymbal between Joey and Joel. Francine announces that thanks to her network friends, Victory is barred from ringside. Corino informs us that he saw this coming and has Dawn Marie to help manage him. The match itself is an adequate ECW style match with brawling and big moves. The finish plays off of that with run ins, a catfight and Corino seemingly having the match in his grasp before Credible knocks off the That’s Incredible to gain the win. **3/4

We are still in Hammerstein. This is the last semifinal match we haven’t seen. They go straight into the meat of the match which makes sense given its placement. Tajiri has some really good sequences with EZ Money where Money insults him and then Tajiri plays chicken and kicks his face off. Good interference from Hamrick that allows Money to counter the Tarantula to Money in the Bank. Fun finish as Hamrick goes for a dive, gets misted and then takes a flip bump from the apron right to the concrete. Kick to the face of EZ Money with a chair assist and Tajiri/Mikey do their double team brainbuster for the win. Fun. Fun. Fun. *** (6)

Damn, if I still am not all in on these Crush Gals tag matches. Much like the May match, I am consistently amazed at how they are without a doubt a nostalgic act that drew the big house but they don't rest on their laurels and still produce a pretty awesome match. Kansai and Kong are presented as these two monsters that have dominated joshi over the past 10 years. Kansai gives her best performance of the year and Aja held nothing back in her completely boss white gear. Crush Gals getting the pin was a result that was never in doubt but one that did work for me in execution in them having to work together and capitalize on the tiny opening they were afforded. **** (7.8)

A constant paced match that may not always makes sense but does get points from me in just the ferocity of it. The moves were executed well enough and the playing off of Ozaki and Chikayo was impressive. Chikayo does a good job not backing down and Ozaki’s character work always sings to me more than most of her peers. As a third from the top match, it was really effective. ***1/4 (6.5)

Even though I am still probably missing some context, this still was a pretty great coming of age story featuring Satomura. She takes control right away, avoids the weapon shots and usual traps of Devil and then has a big finishing run securing the win. Devil has certainly lost a step from her athletic peak but her character work was really strong here as someone that has realized that her shit that has worked time and time again is suddenly not going to work going up against someone like Meiko. Devil's time has come and gone. ***3/4 (7.5)

Kikuchi starts this off cheapshotting everyone and gaining the early advantage with others giving a WTF reaction. That gets the crowd lit and was an awesome moment. Rikio also has some pep in his step going toe to toe with Takayama and holding his own. Akiyama gets the tag and throws Rikio to the corner begging for Kobashi to tag in. What a prick. Kobashi gets the tag in and him and Jun tee off on each other. Big chop on the outside sends Akiyama over the rail. Back inside, Takayama tries to bully Kikuchi and he again has none of that. Kenta and Taka now fire up and Kenta gets the best of a chop exchange. I love seeing the face team not backing down an inch here. Really i…

A good match but below the Kobashi and Akiyama affair and there is much more heat on that feud right now as the #1 main thing in NOAH. Misawa and Taue felt pretty motivated here and Ogawa added some nice touches but Inoue is a slog and not compelling underneath so that hurt the offense that Misawa/Ogawa threw his way. He also projected much less credibility than even Rikio in the previous six man. Finishing run doesn’t have much drama and Ogawa puts Inoue away. A ho hum tag match much like the January 2nd pair of matches from All Japan that we saw. This confirms that Misawa can still go in the big moments but for 2000 only, Kobashi and Akiyama have passed him on a night t…

Its been rewarding watching Low Ki and Homicide in these humble beginnings but LIWF is the shoddiest of shoddy promotions and the level of competition in this match reflects that. As a result, Ki and Cide do some of their signature stuff but it felt pretty obvious they were taking it light compared to the other stuff weve seen them compete in this year. As a result, this is probably their worst match of the year even including the CZW debacle for Ki because it is less memorable. *1/2

Spanky and Danielson continue to grow as workers and this 5.5 minute match was full of big moves and urgency. Spanky has that aloof demeanor down but he can execute some great moves like the top rope bulldog and fisherman buster. Spanky goes for the frog splash but gets knees from Dragon and he does a standing bearhug to gain the win. The submission looked a little rushed as Dragon was still trying to hook in the hold. Good tv match. **1/4

Reckless continues to have his heel persona down while also cheating, he mixes in some other unique counters to gain the advantage. The drop down and give the hand on the criss cross was especially inventive. I want to see Brookside in a long form match but so far in the MCW stuff I have lumped him in the good look, adequate worker category. I thought Reckless was more effective here at keeping the match on point and getting progressively frustrated with Robbie. Just as it looks like Brookside has control, Reckless gets a cheapshot in and then rolls up Brookside with a foot on the ropes. **

Quick match but Regal has his groove back and in the four minutes the match lasts, he takes Shooter to the mat and stretches him a bit. Shooter is a good barometer for MCW as he is competent with the level of competition but never extraordinary. Regal is looking more and more poised to have another big run in a major league promotion. *1/2

Evening the odds is essentially a Royal Rumble type match with a new wrestler entering every minute. These are always a good chance to get a survey of all the talent in the promotion at the time. Bill Dundee is returning on the Sept 30th and Oct 7th has Lawler back. Corey loves shouting Mr Personality. First pin in the match wins Dave explains to us which does provide a little bit of contrast. It is pretty convenient how this follows a 1 heel enters, 1 face enters structure throughout. Blade is doing double duty and he goes right after Khan. Derrick King has spent most of the time outside the ring which in a one pinfall to the finish match, it doesn’t seem like a sound st…

Baxter leads out Slash. Blade has a good bit of fire today and this turned into a decent to good tv match by Power Pro standards. It still feels like there is zero juice in the tournament except to have a tournament. Ref bump is frustrating and here comes Khan and Big Nast Bill to assist Slash. Slash is able to hit a fork shot and neckbreaker to pick up the win. *1/2

I am excited for Doug Williams stuff throughout the project as I thought he gave a different flavor to a lot of the indie minutia that we will see over the years and that he gave some flashy touches from the WOS motif into a style that gets over with the fans. Wilde is a competent opponent here and Doug already had most of his established repertoire down with the Chaos Theory German and what not. Wilde has a cool rolling headbutt to Doug into the corner. Doug gets his leg worked over a bit and the figure four is used to flesh out the match. I will critique Doug as even though the leg wasn’t worked over for long, it was completely forgotten during the finishing stretch. Th…

Fuchi and Kea come out to Danger Zone giving zero fucks about being in enemy territory. Match starts with a quick pace and Fuchi and Chono brawling on the outside where Fuchi gets crotched on the guardrail. Goto gets a nice bit of offense on Kea and looks to put him away with a lariat but Fuchi breaks up the count. Fuchi then kicks away on Goto as Chono is still recovering. Goto fires off against both until the numbers game becomes too much. Kea hits a kick to Goto and one to Chono on the apron. Kea then hits the Kea Krusher finisher on Goto and gets the quick pin. Wow, 2 minute win for the AJPW invaders. ½*

I was intrigued to see how these two matched up and this was about what I expected. A good big man clunky match. They had some brawling on the outside and Taue looked pretty spry with his kicks. Taue even bangs out the DVD which was nice to see. Ikeda didn’t give a chance to do a ton but he was effective in his strikes when given the chance. Finishing run by Taue was well done and he puts Ikeda away with the Nodowa. *** (5.8)

Kobashi vs Akiyama rivalry is freaking sweet so far. Jun jumps Kenta on the ramp to start things off heavy here and the fight is on as a carryover from the night before. This match was worked with a lot of urgency and overall it was extremely enjoyable even if it didn’t reach the absolute peaks of the six man the night before. With Kikuchi securing the big win the previous night, the come down was bound to happen but he puts forth a valiant effort getting bloodied up in the mouth and dishing it back out at Kobashi and Akiyama. Kobashi and Akiyama in the finishing stretch are again fantastic and they are making a big push for feud of the year from August onward. Both of th…

I just wish NJPW had this much faith in their young lions. I can’t think of the last time they let them bust out this much and this successful of a polished match at this young an age. The work early on looked tight and the reversals were excellent. Then the match goes into a 5-6 minute extended stretch with Marufuji busting out all sorts of great stuff and Kenta kicking out until Marufuji is finally able to put him away. A strong opening match and really easy to see that these two were worthy of being blue chip prospects in the eyes of the promotion. ***1/4 (6.7)

Omori is coming off an upset loss to Izumida so his stock is currently plummeting in the eyes of NOAH brass. This was an important match for him and he gave possibly his best performance of the year besides the Carnival final. His kicks had a lot of purpose and he bumped really well off of the big Misawa elbow in the finishing stretch. They tease some dissension between Asako and Omori in the waning moments of the match and the camera actually misses the finishing move of Misawa doing a running forearm smash to Asako. ***1/4 (6.7)