March 2001

Y'know, for a guy who we all thought was pretty good back in the day, Brazo de Oro sure has slipped the furthest of all the top-ranked workers. He still has his accumulated knowledge of holds but the speed and the execution aren't there anymore. This was weaker than the previous undercard match despite having some decent talent. I'm not sure what has happened to Zumbido. For a guy who seemed on the rise in 2000, he sure is being under-utilized of late. His shoulder was heavily taped so he may have been dealing with an injury. But he's nowhere to be found in the major feuds.

Solid undercard action. Not as charming as some of the other undercard stuff we've seen but a fun mix of personalities and some decent lucha action.

This was a nice bout while it lasted. Casas is kind of invisible in CMLL at the moment (and wearing white tights, which is off-putting), but any time you get to see him square off with Shocker it's a match-up worth watching. The big story coming out of this, however, was Ringo Mendoza getting pissed at Emilio Charles Jr and demanding a hair vs. hair match. Ringo was pissed. Shit just got real.

These teams will face each other in individual matches at Wrestlemania; we already learned that Benoit would meet Angle on Raw, now it’s been announced that Test is to defend the European title against Eddy. Kurt and Test kick things off, Angle tagging out to his partner the moment he gets Test down. Eddy starts running his mouth as he lays his shots in but Test reverses the Irish whip and launches him high, Eddy coming down chest first to the mat. Powerbomb for a two count. As Test hits the ropes Kurt clubs him from the apron, stopping his onslaught, Eddy then flooring him with a clothesline. Angle low blows his way free when he’s snatched in a full nelson and appli…

They must have a ton of those Wrestlemania X-7 jerseys that they’re looking to shift going by the number of wrestlers who have been wearing them these past couple of weeks. No Lita with the Hardyz tonight, still selling the effects of the Gore she received on Monday. Rhyno is an intense individual for sure. He runs into a big boot and the bump he takes off that is tremendous. Matt is up to the middle, however not quick enough, Rhyno hammering away on him before joining him up there for a superplex. That is blocked and Matt fires away with rights as Rhyno falls to the mat. Flying clothesline. Edge & Christian, who’re seconding Rhyno, are up on the apron but Matt…

This was the pay-per-view match. Y'know, I'm not sure why this isn't talked about more. This was a really good trios match. Easily among the top handful of trios matches that CMLL produced in 2000-01. I can't tell you how happy I am to see Signo and Fuerza showcased this way, especially Fuerza. It's clear from watching this that Fuerza was just as good as he was in the 90s. He'd just been lost in the CMLL wastelands for far too long. That happens to guys especially in a company with a large, revolving roster, and of course, Fuerza was one of the guys who jumped to AAA with Pena so you never know what his relationship with the front office was like. But finally, they …

This was just as good as I remembered. There was as much action on the outside of the ring as there was inside the ring with the poor commissioner trying to deal with Mascara Ano 2000 constantly interfering. But all that noise added to the theatre. The ringwork was simple yet effective. It reminded me of the big theatrical apuesta matches Perro had in the early 90s except Universo did more of the heavy lifting. Above all, it was gripping. Regardless of how many tricks they used to get Perro through the match, the drama never abated. The really interesting thing about the match was the finish. That finish could have ruined everything but somehow they pulled it off. O…

These guys saved the best for last. It wasn't like the bloody brawls that rudos used to have with each other in the good old days, but it was an excellent match. The focus was on getting the win, not maiming each other. Shocker and Back Warrior delivered big-time performances. These were the big guns that Satanico brought in to help him deal with the Infernales and they repaid his confidence in them. But for all the great action, fittingly it came down to Satanico vs Tarzan Boy in a mano a mano standoff, and Satanico proved once again that there's nobody better in a mano a mano contest. After the bout, Shocker gave Satanico his proper due as the number one rudo while the …

IPW appears to be a Pennsylvania indy. Love the top 10 list, which includes the Sandman, Crowbar, Chris Candido, and of course, champion King Kong Bundy. Looks like pretty good sized crowd, though. Guido taunts a young fan in the front row on the way in. Guido was supposed to face someone else, but they're not here, and Mikey is the replacement. This is pretty fun. They mostly keep it in the ring. Of course, there's some meandering brawling, but the IPW set is so weird (potted plants?!?) that it's somewhat amusing. After seeing these guys in a couple of three-ways, it's nice to see them just work their match - sort of an indictment of how messy and pointless most in…

David Jett drops hints that the Kliq aren’t probably long for the world, saying how Shooter Schultz sacrificed Spanky and Jason Sensation to the Haas brothers. He hasn’t fallen out with the American Dragon though, at least yet. Combination drop toe hold/elbow drop to the back and Dragon is in for the save. Cade no sells Dragon’s chops, tells him to “bring it on” and then switches positions to dish out some of his own, forcing Dragon to go to the eyes. He fires off some forearms but runs into a raised boot. Short clothesline. Shooter knees Gas in the back as he hits the ropes and he makes the mistake of turning his back on Dragon, who dropkicks him in the knee, to ta…

Spanky and Jason Sensation are goofing off backstage again, this time having a staring competition. When Shooter Schultz arrives they apologise for screwing up last week, however he tells them not to worry about it as he has a surprise in store and to just head to the ring and he’ll bring it out for them. David Jett is the deliverer of bad news, letting the Kliq know that the surprise Shooter has arranged for them is a Southern tag team title match against the Haas brothers. Rodrageous is providing guest commentary for this bout. Crazily Jason starts out for his team, although it might as well be a fly throwing forearms at Charlie for all the effect they have on h…

A couple of dudes in the front row are rocking out to Last Resort! Victoria is wearing a bandana to match her charge, something I can’t remember her having previously. Abs doesn’t even wait for the introductions going straight for the champion. Rodrageous has stuck around on commentary, reminiscing about the old days when he and Abs were in the Mean Street Posse together. Nice vertical suplex. Bradley holds onto the ropes to avoid the boot, he ducks to the outside but Abs is hot on his tail. Despite getting his head slammed into the ring apron he’s able to get the jump on the challenger when they return to the ring, punting him. It’s not long before he throws him b…

Outside of the Christmas Chaos show we have very little OVW from 2001 compared to practically every other year. Casey and Michaels are a regular tag team although neither wants to initiate things, each gesturing to the other to take the first shot at Leviathan. They decide to rush him together, however he just snatches them around the throat and even though they boot him in the mid-section to break his grip he just runs through the pair with a double clothesline. He catches Michaels as he comes off the top with a crossbody, standing dropkick by Casey, double cover but they can’t keep him down as he presses them both off. Spinebuster to Casey and a powerslam for Michae…

Samoa Joe, Low Ki and now Ken Anderson, all in the space of a month for Essa Rios on Jakked. Tom Prichard and Kevin Kelly spend the opening minutes talking about what’s been happening on Raw, pretty much ignoring the two guys in the ring. To be fair to them, it’s not the most dazzling of starts to a match. Anderson with a float over, he shoots Essa chest first into the corner and then nails him with a rabbit lariat to the back of the head. He takes too long climbing the turnbuckles and Essa dropkicks him in the ass, ‘Kamikaze Ken’ taking a nice spill to the floor. Ah, that’s the set up for the awesome Rios somersault dive over the ring post. Contrived powerslam by R…