December 2000

I was hoping to see some tricked out matwork from this but I guess they cut that part out. The match was competitive and had proper heat unlike a lot of luchador's matches in Japan but we only got 7 minutes of a 21 minute bout.

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Well, it all boiled down to this. I suppose the WWF deserves some credit for tying all of its main event storylines into a single match like this. If you enjoy WWF "Over the Edge" style booking then you'll enjoy this as it featured the usual twists and turns. Vince brought a truck to ringside to tear down the cage and managed to rip the door off before Commissioner Foley stopped him. The match sprawled out of the cage and for a while it was Hell on the Cars as they brawled on the PPV set. Eventually, they ended up on the roof of the cage. With Michaels and Foley setting the precedent that someone should fall off the cage or through the cage there was an expectation that s…

Nitro opens and we catch the end of a conversation between Lex Luger and Mike Sanders with the Commissioner telling Lex not to worry as he’ll make the match tonight. DeWayne Bruce arrives at the arena and is looking for Sanders. Disco Inferno sees him and wonders if the Power Plant is closed today, before questioning why has he got his bags with him “have they let midget wrestling back here?” ‘Sarge’ grabs him around the throat, slams him up against a door and starts brow beating him. Please don’t tell me they’re going to push ‘Sarge’? ‘Sarge’ ends up finding Sanders and starts throwing his weight around telling him that he wants Lex Luger. Sanders tells him…

This was a lightweight title match that got decent amount of time. I was looking forward to Virus being given a showcase match at Arena Coliseo and it didn't disappoint. It was worked in more of an up tempo "lightening match" style than classic title match fashion but that fit Marvin's style and produced enough exciting moments to make it worthwhile. They fubbed a few things, most notably the finish to the opening fall, but for the most part, the action was crisp and Virus added some neat touches to the transitions. They kept their eyes on the prize in terms of building to a satisfying conclusion and even though I'm a Virus fan I felt that Marvin going over was the right …

The Natural Born Thrillers are seen leaving DDP’s dressing room and when the camera enters to find out what’s been going on, we see Kevin Nash layed out on the floor. Another match that has been booked by CEO Ric Flair. After spitting chewing gum in each other’s face, a hard open hand slap wobbles Sanders. ‘Cactus clothesline’ as both end up on the outside. Page hurls him into the guard rail and then slams him head first into the announcer’s table. We get a telephone interview from Sid and the match plays second fiddle to what he has to say. Low blow by Sanders before dropping DDP face first into the top turnbuckle. More weak offence out of Sanders but all that doe…

A big test for ‘Big Poppa Pump’ just four days away from defending his World title against Sid Vicious at Starrcade. Ric Flair has become tired of trying to keep Steiner and Vicious apart so has made an open offer for Sid to show up at the arena if he wants to. Steiner tells the Commissioner that his plans are going to waste as Sid is too afraid to, but challenges him to show up at Starrcade, if he’s got the guts, where he’ll kick his ass and take him straight to hell. As Steiner goes on about what he’s going to do to Meng he’s jumped from behind by the big Tongan who unloads with a bevy of punches, dropping ‘the champ’ in the corner. Backbreaker for a two. Steiner s…

Tony Schiavone clarifies the rules for the Starrcade ladder match, explaining how it’s the one person who climbs the ladder and retrieves the envelope that will get the Cruiserweight title shot. So there’s nothing to stop partners fighting one another then? To be honest, I would’ve much preferred them to make this a six-way then instead to cut out nonsense like that. 3 Count sprint to the ring and immediately get it on with Noble & Karagias who are already in there, not even waiting for the Jung Dragons. Combination Samoan drop/neckbreaker on Noble. Oh dear, Schiavone hasn’t been checking his format sheet and was of the impression that this was a tag match; at le…

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This continued the trend of brisker IWRG trios matches, although for a match involving Felino, Pantera and Black Warrior they never really broke loose like you'd expect. Still, the action was steady and they tried to create a beef between Gigolo and Black Warrior to give the match a focus. Not bad, a couple of nice dives in the finish.

Again they worked a short bout that favored intensity over length. The complete opposite of how IWRG matches were worked for the first eleven months of the year. The most notable thing about the bout was an altercation between Villano III and a fan. I'm not sure what happened but Villano was extremely upset and climbed over the guardrail to confront him. Suddenly, he grabbed the guy by the neck and began threatening him. There were a few tense moments until finally the pair were separated. I'm not sure what got into Villano but it was pretty unpleasant. The video ended with Deck the Halls played over the top of nut shots. Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

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We get a quick recap of earlier in the show where Dean Malenko’s distraction cost Lita the WWF Women’s title, allowing Ivory to pick up the victory. A blinkered Malenko thinks Lita knows how fortunate she was when his lips were pressed against hers the other night, and while it might’ve only been for a moment, for her it must’ve felt like a lifetime. If he were to offer his lips to every woman in the arena there would be a line backed up right out of town! He apologises to all the women though as his lips are for one woman only. Chris Jericho interrupts him and says that if he’s looking for something to kiss why doesn’t he pucker up those lips and kiss his ass! Less …

Not much to this one as Jeff rolls up Benoit, pretty unconvincingly I may say, in less than ninety seconds to get a pinfall over the Intercontinental champion. Matt is favouring his shoulder and stays out on the apron the entire match. Not sure how legit of an injury that is and whether this is a case of moving Jeff into the IC title picture to give him a chance to rest up. We shall see. Jeff does take one crazy bump sliding out to the floor and into the announcer’s table, while the crowd pops for the unexpected early finish.

I saw most of the build to this so it's only right that I watch the match. I knew there was a chance that it would be bad. There's no guarantee that Perro vs. Caras would have been good in 1991 let alone 2000. I tried to concentrate on it being Perro Aguayo vs. Cien Caras instead of worrying about the match quality. That worked for a while, but goddamn was this match short. I think it may have been a single fall. The crowd was ecstatic when Perro got a cheap win, but it had to be one of the least earned apuesta victories in Perro's storied career. Afterward, Perro and Aguayo brawled in front of Caras while Cien was getting his head shaved. Then Pierroth showed up in …

This was disappointing. It was difficult to imagine it being much better given how awkward lucha tags are, but still, they could have done a better job structurally by having clear rudo and tecnico falls and adopting more of a tag philosophy. Not necessarily having the rudos work over the tecnico in a FIP segment but incorporating more teamwork and not working the match like a series of individual match-ups. The work could have been better as well. There was none of the cutting edge, state-of-the art work I praised them for in their earlier trios matches. Santo and Rey had an extended mat sequence at the beginning that was strangely flat, and while Ultimo Guerrero and Cas…

Fun match. They kept things simple by having the rudos work like rudos and the tecnicos work like tecnicos, so we got a lot of double teaming from the rudo pair and spectacular highspots from the good guys. If you love lucha libre then that's all you really want from these undercard bouts. Marvin is being pushed as a young sensation but Sombra was equally good here and had a spectacular solo dive along with one stunning tandem effort. Nice work between the ropes with the standard lucha exchanges as well. Solid, all-round performance from both sides. Went out there and delivered the type of match they were asked to and ticked all the boxes for undercard performers. Good, p…

Another match that failed to set the world on fire. It had all the ingredients -- excellent work between Blue Panther and the Villanos, the ultra-charismatic Wagner vs. Villano III and Black Warrior's willingness to bump like a madman -- but for some reason, it didn't come together. The match screeched to a halt in the segunda caida as the rudos engaged in some sluggish mask ripping and some shenanigans played out with Babe Richards, who was decked out like Shiro Abe from those old All Japan Women's matches. That woke the crowd up, though, and they popped for the retaliatory mask ripping and started up a "Vii-lla-nos!" chant during the third fall. The match ended on a hi…

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An independent dream team of sorts, ‘the Natural One’ Michael Modest and ‘the Fallen Angel’ Christopher Daniels, teaming up to take on the current APW tag team champions. There is an aggressiveness being shown by Modest and Thompson, the two powerhouses, and they have to be separated by their own partners in attempt to stop tempers boiling over. Long shine by the champions. Unfortunately fifteen minutes in, and with the footage having frozen numerous times already, combined with a bright light that is shining in your eyes on one of the camera angles, I tapped out and fast forwarded to the end. It was just too much for me to persevere with when there was still over twe…

The tone is set as the entrances are going on, 2 Tuff, Page and Rollin all casually chatting in the ring and then dancing together to Cash’s theme music (‘Pretty Fly For a White Guy’ by The Offspring). There’s no animosity there at all being displayed. It gets better, stealing a page from Edge & Christian’s playbook and “for the benefit of those with flash photography” they all pose together for five seconds to each side of the building. This comes over as a bunch of friends doing stuff to entertain a crowd. It’s a shame because when it got going there were some nasty bumps (2 Tuff took a flapjack into the Christmas tree and also got double hiptossed over the top r…

Blaze is not happy that they’ve stuck a pretty guy like him in a barbed wire match with a maniac like Bull Pain. He’s introduced as being from “anywhere but Charlestown” which made me laugh. An open handed slap to the (covered) chest and Blaze is already taking time out on the floor. The thirty minute timer on the counter does not look appealing at the moment! Blaze is struggling to deal with big Bull and takes three separate trips to the outside within the opening three minutes. Back inside he rakes Pain across the eyes, although can’t maintain any sort of advantage whatever he tries. Bull goes over to collect the barbed wire bat, however Blaze with a low blow befo…

Strong words from Allister Fear, promising the fans that tonight is the last they will ever see of Corporal Robinson in the IWA. Some smug doufus in the crowd is pleased with himself when he changes his fist to a middle finger as Corp goes to bump it. Prick. Jim Fannin reminds everyone that pinfalls don’t count, hopefully that means we won’t be seeing the wrestlers go for covers. Fear’s initial confidence disappears fast as he stalls for all he’s worth outside of the ring and then hides behind the referee. Corp eventually grabs hold of him and launches him through the ropes to the floor, clobbering him with whatever he can get his hands on. A light tube over the head…