Laney

I enjoyed this one a great deal. This is a no-nonsense wrestling match with both guys working snug. This is an interesting match as it is two signed guys working with no restrictions on an independent show. The headbutts stick out more than anything in this match, and they are a little uneasy to watch with the whole Benoit situation. I remember this being heralded as an important match for Regal at the time as people pointed this to be the reason that he was put back on tv. Regal disputes this in his book and says that he had a time frame established before this match took place. Either way, this has to be seen as Regal proving himself as still being a very capable wrestler after going through a time period where he was unreliable due to substance abuse. ****

Pretty good stuff here. A slower paced first fall in this one with some pretty good exchanges. Shocker and Villano III do a particularly good job here in the 1st fall as they don't do much, but they get a lot of mileage with it. The second fall is very short and seems like a bit of a throwaway, but it puts the rudos in control going into the third fall. The third fall here is very good as it gets more heated and there is some very nice work on Villano III's knee. Some good wrestling here, but this seems more like a back-to-basics match compared to some of the very heated encounters that these guys have had earlier in the year. ***3/4

It was fun once in a while for a Nitro, but if they do that all the time now, with PPV no less, I'm not a fan. Yeah, I'm not going to take the time to listen to a podcast commentary over a wrestling show. Podcasts are for when I'm driving. I can sort of understand why they are doing the live commentaries now. It seemed like they tried to originally format this podcast like the WCW version of Prichard's podcast, but people complained too much about Schiavone not remembering anything. The Steve Austin podcast being the prime example with it basically being Conrad reading results. I think this podcast works best when its Schiavone just discussing his personal relationships and stories with the people he worked with.

This was a technically sound match, but damn was the camera work awful in this. This match was at it's best when Shocker was in control because the camera wasn't focused on the reactions of women in the crowd. You completely miss Tarzan's comeback in the third fall because of this. There was also horrible use of replays in this as they would play them during nearfalls so you would completely miss the count. This is still a very solid match with Shocker hitting a big powerbomb to win the first fall and Tarzan Boy fighting from the bottom for most of the 2nd fall before making a comeback. The third fall had more highspots, back and forth action, and drama from outside interference. A very good match, but the distracting editing elements take this down a notch. ****

Danielson has vastly improved from the beginning of this year . Danielson seems much more confident working as a heel without the mask. This is a nicely worked tv match with Dragon bumping well for Cade and doing a good job of targeting the legs to chop the big man down. I thought the finish seemed a little out of nowhere, but it was a very impressive chokeslam with Dragon getting a lot of height. So far, Dragon's best matches have been against Cade this year. ***

This was a great match, but a lot of that came from the finish.. There's a lot of brutality in this one and both women are able to effectively emote their drive to try to pick up the win. The finish of this match is just beautiful as the match breaks down into a battle of the backfist vs the Pele kick as both women just kept trying to hit those moves as they had proved to be the most effective during the match. Beautiful finish, but I thought the prior portions of the match fell victim to a little bit of too much back-and-forth of trading moves. ****1/4

This told a great story of Tajiri getting revenge on the bully Corino in a role reversal that we don't often see with the face getting in a large bit of the offensive while the heel fights from the bottom for the most of it. Even though he takes a beating, they do a great job of making Corino effective here as he keeps fighting through the brutal beatdown. Much like most of 2000, Tajiri is the MVP here and looks like someone that they should build around. This is a highlight in ECW's dying days as two of their best talents at this point put on a very good match. ****

This was a very good PPV opener and quite a surprising performance by Balls here. It's kind of surprising how much punishment Balls takes here and keeps kicking out as I felt that Balls and Tanaka were on completely different levels. I think this has to be one of the best performances of Mahoney's career. ***1/4

I think this is Danielson's best individual performance thus far in 2000. He seems much more confident as a heel and he works an aggressive style, which is where he really excels. The biggest hole in Danielson's work here is that he seems to wrestle in a vacuum and ignore the crowd when he was on the offensive. He still has quite a ways to go before he becomes the great wrestler we all know and love, but I could see some shades of it here with his aggression. Lance Cade was fine in this match, but I think his size was the only factor that could put him into consideration as a prospect. ***

This was a decent enough match that really picked up when Toyota botched a dive and nailed her shoulder on the apron. They were both able to work very smartly and incorporate that spot into the match as this allowed Ran to really get onto the offensive. Toyota did a great job here of fighting through the pain to gain a heroic victory here. Overall I thought this was an above average match that slightly gets elevated from the uniqueness of the botched spot that was incorporated into the fabric of the story here. ***3/4

This was a fun tv main event that looked to have a lot of potential until Patterson came out and dragged the whole thing down with the hokey skid marked underwear gig. There was some great teased finishes on the first fall here with Too Cool and DX all hitting their finishers until Too Cool was finally eliminated. The crowd went absolutely bonkers over the teased stinkface on Stephanie. ***

This was a very good trios match. There was quite a bit of intensity in this one with some good brawling and blood. I very much enjoyed the brawl that broke out at the conclusion of the 2nd fall that led into a climactic third fall. However, everything before that wasn't very noteworthy to me. A great finish here with Shocker pulling off the foul and getting the victory while the remaining Villanos had his partners locked up in submissions. ****

This match had a pretty solid story to it with Tanaka utilizing a lot of kicks so Usuda logically goes after his leg. However, in execution this one seemed to fall a little flat with these guys seeming to go to the same spot multiple times through out the match where Tanaka repeatedly throwing head kicks that are blocked and eventually countered into a leg lock. ***1/2

Very good match. This is a great showcase of the BattleARTS style that I enjoy very much. Otsuka is a very underrated wrestler and this is match is a good example of his skills. There's some very creative counters and transitions into moves and some fantastic selling by Otsuka as well. Taira held up his end very well in this one, but I thought that Otsuka clearly looked like the better talent of the two. The Pele kick spot was top-notch and Otsuka sold it very well for a knockout false finish. ****

Very good shoot style match with Delphin using his grappling skills to dominate on the ground while Murahama utilizes some great strikes. There was some very good stuff here, but I was left wishing it went a little longer. This goes three rounds with Murahama getting a dominant win as he destroys Delphin with strikes to knock him out. This does an excellent job of establishing Murahama as dominant force. ***3/4

This was a fun six-man tag with Dick Togo looking the most impressive in this one. It was a very fun match, but I would put this behind the Toryumon matches that I've seen thus far from this year. A lot of action in this, but nothing that particularly stuck out with me to make it great. ***1/2

This match was a pleasant surprise for me since I've never seen this before. This is very reminiscent of the Backlash match with a bunch of outside bullshit that actually works. A great Attitude Era main event that was very smartly structured. ***3/4

This is a very fun match that leaves you wanting more. The highlight of this match for me was anytime CIMA and Kanemoto faced off against each other. They just seemed to have instant chemistry. Another highlight was Fuji taking a vicious lariat from Takaiwa, it looked like he was really rocked on that one. This match heavily features the Toryumon guys quite a bit and it makes you think like these two should have been in the BOSJ this year. It's kind of funny how little that Kashin did in this match here. I'm not complaining though, he probably would have dragged this one down. ****

There was a point about halfway through this match where I thought it was going to be something great, but then it just kept going and seemed excessive. To give it credit though, this match is ahead of its time and fits in perfectly with what seems to be in vogue today with modern wrestling. The crowd seemed really into it and we get a great visual of Jinsei Shinzaki sitting stoically while the crowd rushes to the guardrail when Hayabusa picks up the win. ***1/2

This is a very fun sprint as this guys make the most of the relatively short amount of time given. There's some really stiff shots in this one and Benoit gets his nose busted open pretty badly here. I think the Earl Hebner standing up for himself act is starting to get old at this point, but it doesn't stand in the way of this very good tv match. ***1/4

I tend to agree with you here. The comedy bits didn't work with me and I thought the transition into current events with the Nazi stuff was very awkwardly done. All that being said, I still enjoy the show and look forward to the next episode.

I think this has to be the best Zandig and Wife Beater matches of their careers up to this point. The BJW guys make them look great in this one. This is a very good brawl with a lot of nice spots without it becoming too much. I was surprised by the athleticism shown by Zandig in this one as he hits a very nice cross body to the outside. ***1/4

I agree with the thoughts that this is the best AAA match of 2000 so far. Sevilla does a great job of taking a beating in this match, and really every match he's been in so far. There's a ton of blood in this one and Oscar does a great job of making a fiery comeback. I loved the end of the second fall with Oscar's second throwing in the towel and then just going in for a low blow since the referee was distracted. Sevilla hits a really nasty looking tope in this one where he lands headfirst into the floor. ****

This was something different, but very entertaining. Saitama Pro certainly looks like it has influenced Kaiju Big Battel. I love watching absurd niche wrestling like this.