October 2000

More Murakami vs Ishikawa? Yes, please. The contrast of the opening to this match with everyone being more calculated was neat compared to the Sept match. September was all about proving yourself to each other by just going out there and throwing the hardest strikes you can. Now, the feud is personal and you just want to assert domination. Murakami sees a quick opening and unleashes a flurry. Later, he essentially holds Malenko hostage for Ishikawa to come back in. After another exchange that Ishikawa gets the best of, Yuki gives a wry smile that exudes “yeah motherfucker, I am better than you.” I don’t want to totally ignore the Malenko vs Nagai stuff as it was perfectly…

A very good Bat Bat ground based tag match with a ton of mat work and twisting in different positions. Ken was the underdog throughout and both Sano and Taira took turns cranking out painful looking stuff on him and trying to attack him with strikes. Ken put up a strong effort underneath and made his flurries count. I also dug Usuda here helping his buddy out as it was some of the strongest stuff Usuda has done this year. Taira continues to impress and I also enjoy seeing a long Sano match. ***1/2 (7.1)

This match was set to establish the tone for the evening and get the crowd going. Unfortunately, York and Matthews highspots didn't look as flashy here as in the MCW match from about a week ago and Roadkill and Doring actually excel more working against established heels based on their likability. As a pure spotfest, high octane opener it was fine but It felt beneath Doring/Roadkill in a way and they are getting one of the better natural reactions of anyone in ECW right now. **1/2

This would have worked out much better as an opener. Kash performs the jump dives from ropes to ropes with more grace than anyone I have ever seen. He is able to do it in a way that looks painful for the opponent and with impact without looking out of control. I have also enjoyed everything Money is able to bring to the table too. The Money Clip as a move is excessive but it looks painful and spectacular. Ending has the cavalcade of run ins from Hot Commodity with Sandman making an entrance and helping Kash secure the win. Afterwards, Cyrus gets involved allowing Joel Gertner to come down for their match. Sandman pours beer down Electra's cleavage and then has Gertner sip…

Straight bullshit and ok enough but not on the level of Dangerously vs Cornette or anything. Both are in their business casual clothes until Gertner shreds the jacket. He also attempts to perform the People's Elbow by throwing his neck brace but this allows Cyrus to gain the advantage. Gertner ends up winning with a roll up and hopefully all remains of the Network angle are done now. 1/2*

I had little expectations about this match and for sure didn't expect it to be match of the night but here we are. I got behind the story of this one as Lynn as the hometown guy. Credible also gets some legit good heat here. Some of it is gimmicky like wearing the Favre jersey and getting on the mic mid match but Credible does things here with good timing that he misses in other matches resulting in them feeling like they are wrestled in a vacuum. Cyrus calls this match in a subdued tone on commentary which is a bit odd. Credible's offense on top was more compelling than usual and the sequencing from the table spot to the Cradle Piledriver nearfall was awesome. Once the C…

I can see how some would be down on this match as it wasn't big like the Hammerstein match and actually worked more like a throwaway sprint but the work within the match was really strong and again these four proved why they are some of the strongest workers in the US in 2000. Especially Tajiri, Guido and even Mamaluke. The way Sal is able to position himself for the big spots work and that gives a frantic vibe allowing Tajiri and Mikey opportunity to avoid him and create drama that they can win the big one. FBI has been able to escape with these wins while also looking strong which isn't easy to do. Overall, this was a win for me. ***1/4 (6.5)

We get a hot opening that worked in not falling into the worst RVD traps of him just showing off. Rhino also gets a ton of offense in on RVD and RVD is selling well enough. The ending run of this match was the worst part with some absolutely ridiculous acrobat nonsense from RVD doing his chair spots. Fonzie hilariously does a somersault tumble to place a chair in position. Rhino winning and kicking out of the Five Star does help put him over. One of the better RVD matches of the year and not even good so that shows you the year he is having. **3/4

I did my cursory check around the reviews of this show and saw that this match was pretty panned. That makes sense in the way of what Dave and SK generally look for in a match they enjoy but for my enjoyment and mixing the hardcore elements of ECW with the old school psychology, this was pretty spot on and worked for me. The shoulder work on Corino was really good and him getting cut open always adds drama. I also thought Corino timed his kickouts really well and it was fun to see how in the course of the year he transitioned from heel to face. Corino makes a big comeback and hits the Old School Expulsion for the pin. ***1/4 (6.7)

After Mikey and Psicosis shake hands, the FBI attack and beat down both. Joey hypothesizes that they are trying to take Mikey out before the PPV. Roadkill and Doring run in for the save and we have our tag match starting up. Quick and energetic match between these two. The finish carries the usual stance in FBI matches lately with the faces having the match won before Sal makes his presence known. The way the ring shakes and the camera angle on his backdrop slam make it look awesome. FBI picks up the win heading into the PPV. **

You can tell that these two are in the twilight of their heyday and the big spots like the Psicosis rana don’t hit like they should but overall this was enjoyable as a seven minute junior style match. Sinister gets involved on the outside with a back rake and Mikey picks up the surprising win with the super Whippersnapper. **1/4

This is the semi finals of the big singles Osaka Pro tournament and really exemplified the variety of styles that Osaka Pro can display and make them mold organically throughout. I know it is a promotion that really sings to me, but it hits my sweet spot and the work is top notch. Some good early chain wrestling had Togo on the losing end so he takes out his frustration with an attack on the outside using chairs and tables. Hoshikawa is busted open and Togo works the cut with aggression. Hoshikawa is able to hang on and like in an apuestas lucha match, he mounts a comeback delivering the same attack to Togo that was given to him. Now Togo is bleeding and the fight is on. …

This the Toryumon I have loved in 2000. I was interested in seeing CIMA in there with the two weakest Crazy Max members and sure enough, Stalker nearly gets rolled up right away. The result was that Stalker took a big beating and tried his damndest to hang on. CIMA bullies Stalker around but he is their buddy to bully around so he takes exception to anyone else doing it and goes after M2K with vigor throughout the match. I thought this may have been the best Kanda and Susumu have looked this year as they were given a lot of chances to shine with their beat downs and double team moves. Kanda is in there for the climax and picks up the win continuing the momentum for M2K. *…

A good tag match but nothing extraordinary at all and we missed around 6 minutes. The crowd was also really sparse which made the match not have much of an atmosphere. Between this and the Toryumon we saw at the end of September seems to have the promotion in a bit of a holding pattern until the next big show. The way that Crazy Max used underhanded techniques here when they felt the match slipping away was well done. I also dug Fuji using power moves like the chokeslam. Ending lariat looked brutal. **1/2

Heat is on MTV now with Tazz as cohost. They are doing a weird bit where they are commenting on the match from WWF New York watching it on a big screen Prime Time Wrestling style. This is for the lightweight title which is still a thing. 2.5 minute match which is fine with Taka running through all of his stuff including a nice crossbody where Dean was able to base for him. Dean gains the advantage and then hits a pretty rudimentary suplex for the pin. It appears that Taka legit fucked up his shoulder which is a bummer. 3/4*

Tazz can be grating on commentary here. This is for the IC title. They do a good job of conveying that Eddy is off his game with what is going on with Chyna. Road Dogg dominates most of the match and the finish was clever with Eddy catching a powerslam from Road Dogg and rolling through with his feet between the ropes to gain the pin. Tazz's cackle at the end was awful and forced. 1/2*

A good showcase for Regal in a three minute match as he stretched Holly some and showed off his variety of offense. Regal certainly looks refreshed and revitalized compared to his 1999-early 2000 output. Naked Mideon runs out at the finish and that was a pretty poor main angle to involve Regal in right out of the gate. 1/2*

Vince Russo is in his office backstage along with Jeremy Borash and has a pre-prepared speech for everyone. He says that he’s not an athlete, never claimed to be one and is therefore relinquishing ‘his’ WCW World title, before announcing a match for later in the show to crown a new champion between the top two contenders, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. Russo then turns his attention towards Goldberg and how he proved to everyone last week what a coward he was in the way he took advantage of an innocent, fallen and helpless victim. He talks about how he could have filed charges against him for assault but he’s not that kind of a person. That brings out the man himself…

What a weird match. Jarrett's gold tights with the black look really smooth. The actual in ring of this match is worked well but yet you have so much nonsense. The comedy of the boxes with the Hall picture and blow up doll are so odd and then you have Beetlejuice from Howard Stern fame cost Jarrett the match and the title. I couldn't tell whether the match wanted to be comedic or serious and this didn't have the pacing or chops to play it all off like others in wrestling history. Booker is the champion again but it feels like he was bailed out by Beetlejuice of all people which does no one any favors. Steiner attacks after the match and we honestly get a wrestling show go…

Sanders makes a relevos suicidas match for tonight with Steiner and Jarrett on opposite sides. Steiner gets on the mic and says he is going to kick Jarrett’s ass as well so the plan may not be going as well as they drew it up. The match itself is pretty good and in ring, some pieces of WCW are starting to come together. Steiner is effective as a monster and Booker and him are the marquee pairing against each other. Booker and Sting have some rough moments against each other and I contemplate whether Booker will rank on my top 100 for the year or not. I want him to be better than he has been and I can’t blame the booking entirely. Booker is much more comfortable vs Steiner…

Foley comes out and describes that he is taking over the investigation. Foley is getting more and more consumed with this. Austin comes out and they have not exactly friendly conversation. I like this because I can see both points. Foley says he has cracked the case and out comes Mr. Ass. Mr. Ass explains that he didn't run over Austin but saw the person that did had blonde hair. Austin says he believes him and then gives him a stunner. Tag match starts up and it only goes 90 seconds before the rest of RTC comes in to interfere. Austin comes in and stuns everyone. Richards looks like he is going to escape but Chyna grabs him by the balls and throws him in. Eddy gets in th…

Backstage, HHH says he has a bad feeling. As he is warming up, he pleads with Steph to stay in the back because he doesn’t want anything to happen to her. Steph runs into Benoit who asks how her head is. Steph slaps the shit out of him and he just smiles. HHH jumps Angle at his entrance and this is worked straight as a chaotic brawl. It is really well done and the intensity is up for these two. In fact, it may be better bell to bell than their PPV match. HHH sends Angle through a table with an elbow drop as Steph comes out. Benoit comes out again and HHH attacks him. Angle is now recovered and goes to hit a chair on HHH until Steph stops him. With Steph still on the apron…

Basic action to start but Too Cool acts a little heel with Sexay getting pissed at Jeff's weird ass dance that does get cat calls from the crowd. Edge and Christian try to interfere but it goes awry and Jeff gains the win with the Swantom. During the break, E&C have a chat with Foley and they are really showing off their personality opposite Foley. Foley gives them a shot at the Hardcore Title since he is keeping his word of not offering E&C another shot at the tag titles while the Hardy's have them. *

Rock starts out with a promo. The insults he throws Kurt’s way work even if they are juvenile including the big one of Kurt having monkey piss rolling down his leg during his medal ceremony. Kurt comes out and says Rock is in big trouble buster. He demands a match tonight. Foley makes an appearance and says someone wants a piece at Kurt more than Rock. Here comes HHH and Steph and HHH is getting chants. HHH has jokes and piles on Angles Olympic triumph too mimicking the crying with Foley. HHH pretty much puts to rest any Steph/Kurt relationship saying they aren’t friends and Steph holds up the ring to affirm that notion. This is a weird sudden turn with Steph agreeing. HH…

I stumbled upon this on YouTube and as it was right around the period I was up to in my PWO2K WCW viewing, and it looked interesting, decided to give it a look. The Dragons are on the outside with Leah Meow and none of them really want to get in the ring but Yang gets pressured into it. ‘Sir Pumpalot’ no sells his quick fire punches to the stomach and then takes his head off with a ‘Steinerline’. Huge gorilla press slam where he dumps him over the top rope to the arena floor. Kaz and Jamie attack Steiner from behind, but that has no effect and it’s a double ‘Steinerline’ for them. A suplex for each of the Dragons, before a belly to belly off the middle on Jamie and a…