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No sound on this one but a pretty damn hot match. These guys continue to be the starts of MPPW in 2000 and they delivered about as fast paced and engaging contest as you could in 4 minutes. King's neckbreaker combo is really slick and he warms up the band for the SCM which takes out the referee. Doctor bomb from Wolfie gets a close nearfall which sends him into shock. X Factor for King has the match won when the interference starts up. King gets rid of that and shows his resilience until Brandon Baxter sends him into the steel post and one more big powerbomb gives the win to Wolfie. ***

Regal gives us a typically strong promo up front where he dismisses Youth saying he doesn't belong in the same ring as Regal. A good series between these two with Youth being able to show off his mat work and reversals and Regal leading the way. Regal's valet was heavily involved here and I didn't think the match overall was as strong as the prior week but it was still solid. Lance not being on commentary was a shame. Regal gets the win and Youth offers his respect only to get beat up afterwards. **

This had some hype surrounding it and was probably the first match where I heard Low Ki's name. It is easy to see why this match was so impressive at the time. It starts out with Mayhem and Ki running through move after move in quick succession but they never do the respect stare off that can be annoying and clever stuff like Mayhem biting Ki to break a submission creates an overall storyline to the matchup. Match opens up with moonsault to the outside. Ki's kicks are absolutely brutal here. I continue to beat the drum of Ki as a rookie here compared to Matt Riddle in 2016 and one area where Ki absolutely has the advantage is in his kicks and the velocity they are thrown at. Ending was fun with Mayhem getting a nice cradle out of a Ki Krusher attempt. I really would like to see Mayhem more in the future as like Billy Reil in the earlier Ki match this year, it isn't a one man Ki show. Mayhem is cocky and picks up the pin attempt to try the Kryptonite Crunch from the top rope. Ki is able to counter that and hits the Ki Krusher from the top rope to get the win in a definitive way. A very good professional wrestling match with unique counters. Ki continues to be awesome in 2000. ***3/4

Had to do some searching to see Frog is Curtis White who I don't recognize. Jung Dragons are clearly one of the most exciting things happening in WCW right now and I do enjoy the gimmick. Yang and Frog have a pretty good exchange too. JC Ice is the WCW C show MVP and continues to show with each performance he had contributions to make. Him and Frog are only on top here for a couple of minutes, but it is engaging southern style work. JC Ice gets blinded and accidentally boots his own partner. Noble hits a sunset flip powerbomb onto the floor. Wolfie tries the hubcap shot but he hits JC Ice and the Jung Dragons put Ice away with a legdrop/splash combo. Fun match. **1/2

This is the second match between these teams and the chemistry just isn't there. Lenny and Lodi aren't particularly good and the Villanos don't seem too motivated to do a lot besides just be bumpers for them. I think Lane would be better underneath as a seller as when the Villanos do get a bit of offense here, the match improves include a good tope by Villano IV. Also, I guess Lodi has changed his name to Rave which I have no recollection of. On commentary, Tenay calls himself Hollywood Mike Tenay based on his role in Ready to Rumble. Kill me. Hot tag to Rave and the Rave/Lane team win with an unimpressive move. Disappointing. *1/4

One of the better three way dances I have ever seen. This really carries a unique vibe over from the Crazy vs Taijiri series of things becoming really violent and visceral within the match. All three guys bleed especially Crazy who does a brutal blade job. Touches like the side of the table being used add a violent and dangerous vibe to the proceedings. Guido is the first one out and I did think Sal's involvement in here was unneeded. Guido gets a respectable applause as he heads to the back. Corino and Victory come out at this point and again that adds a little bit of annoyance that derails things ever so slightly in this match although it does retain a strong storyline arc. Ref gets misted and Crazy gets the visual pin over Taijiri. Rhino comes in and attacks Crazy with a nasty gore and piledriver from the apron through a table on the outside. The mutants go wild. RVD chants are fired up. Another official runs out for the pinfall which is annoying since where was he at when Crazy had the pinfall. With the Network celebrating, out comes Sandman for another 10 minute entrance. We come back from break with Sandman caning Rhino repeatedly. The numbers game catch up to him and Sandman takes a gore through the table. The RVD chants continue. RVD comes out broken leg and all and clears house gingerly leading to the stareoff between him and Rhino as the show fades to black. This is really an encapsulation of the best and worst of ECW as the junior action was great and OVER but the overbooking and reliance on Sandman who feels almost as much of a nostalgia act at this point as Hogan and Flair on WCW isn't sustainable. ***3/4

Always up for another dose of Crazy Max running through some punks. This match essentially has Tiger Mask IV in the Magnum Tokyo role being paired with CIMA. This match has a bit of a unique structure in that it starts really traditional with Dragon Kid being the FIP and then once the hot tag gets made, the match breaks down and the brawling results around the building. I believe we even get Susumu and Kanda at one point coming out to interfere on SUWA. Mochi and CIMA have a hot sequence which gives way to Fuji vs TM which is equally as fun. The match ending with Dragon Kid and SUWA was initially disappointing because DG was as sloppy here as he had been since that awful January match. He does however stick the landing and it is clear that of the face side, he is getting some of the bigger wins so far. ***1/2

This almost felt like an Undertaker WrestleMania match in a lot of ways. Perro doesn’t have hardly any athletic ability left but he has such presence and charisma that he carries most of the match that way. This stats with another interesting caveat of Scorpio and Shocker walking out on Bestia to start. Bestia wins the first fall handily and has the match in hand until Perro makes the traditional tecnico comeback in the sequnda caida. This brings in Cien Caras who blasts Perro with a milk bottle right over the dome. This gives Perro the second fall but he is a bloody mess. Third fall was really dramatic with both guys walking around like zombies and feeding into the next big bump. Perro eventually takes over for good and hits a senton and double stomp from the top rope. Bestia acts like he is having a heart attack and the doctor calls the match off giving Perro the win. They end up having to cut Bestia’s hair on the mat. ***3/4

The Villano angle that formed out of the mask match is really one of the more unique and in depth one I have ever seen. With losing his identity, Villano is now left to question his moral compass and his entire belief system. This is brought into the forefront right away here as Villano and Atlantis take it to the mat and Villano gets angry at Pierroth and Fuerza coming in to take cheap shots. After the mat work, Villano gives a clap showing his appreciation. Casas and Fuerza come in next and that is a classic pairing so them going after each other is always welcomed by me. Rayo and Pierroth being the final pairing is a little odd because its by far the least intriguing of the three but they kept it brief. We then get a snippet of Casas and Villano which has me salivating and starts with a handshake before transitioning into a really quick sequence. Pierroth is mad that Villano is shaking hands. Villano gets put as the proverbial sacrificial lamb as all the tecnicos hit a big move on him to put him away on the first fall. Pierroth and Fuerza contemplate a walk out between falls as the tecnicos are putting Villano over. Pierroth and Fuerza get Atlantis in a vulnerable position and Villano refuses to take the cheapshot. I really can’t get over how engaging this storyline is. Rayo is put in the same position and the same thing happens. Fuerza has had enough of this shit, fouls Rayo to draw the DQ and then beats the piss out of Villano. The rudos then tie Villano up for Pierroth to get his electricity skewers that he shocks Villano with. Villano’s selling here is magnificent. Another match that isn’t about the action per say but like the first Villano and Atlantis match, the storyline and development was some of the most memorable and well done stuff I have seen. ****

Corino runs his mouth which brings out Dreamer and in turn brings out Taijiri so the match is on. I hate Tommy doing the Tarantula as that was such a unique looking move for Taijiri to execute that it loses some of it luster that Tommy can perform it without much of any problems. Action is good here but a big ol brawl breaks out with everyone from Rhino to Mikey Whipwreck, Guido and Super Crazy coming down. With everything cleared away, out comes Awesome to You Souled Out chants. Judge Jeff does the call out for anyone in the building. Tazz WWF music fires out and out he comes to a thunderous pop. Not much of a match as Awesome gets choked out in two minutes to head to WCW. Awesome gets right up and heads straight through the crowd. As a moment of on the fly booking, this wasn’t bad and certainly memorable. Awesome didn’t hold up well at all on rewatch and we may not be seeing him much at all anymore. ***

Pretty much this and the Kobashi vs Takayama match are the last All Japan matches before the split that we will witness. This has a neat dynamic of Omori as the underdog being elevated throughout the Carnival and landing in the final here against the longtime favorite, Kobashi who has never won the Carnival. Opening is really dominated by Kobashi. He is rocking and rolling. Omori is not my favorite and even less so on defense but Kobashi’s offense is so dynamic that it works well enough. Omori finally is able to seize an opening of the legs around ten minutes in and he pounces. Leg work was good here and engaging in building out the match. This does have the hulkiest of the Kobashi hulk ups but I didn’t think anything was that annoying egregious and he didn’t go for the moonsault which was nice. Finishing stretch is brutal and intense and that final Burning Lariat was absolutely brutal. That is three **** matches for Kobashi in a week and all three were really different. ****

Ogawa works over the arm at first frustrating Misawa. Misawa has had a strange 2000 so far. He had the epic with Akiyama but everything else has been off of the ace mentality you are so used to. Mat oriented matches with Hase and Ogawa here, compact versions of the matches vs. Kawada and Kobashi. Overall, it is refreshing and does show some depth from Misawa as a worker even though he isn’t hitting the “great” match level as normally and I am sure the backstage turmoil at least was creeping in somewhat. This had a real natural progression to it where basic work led to strike exchanges and tempers flaring which led to a finale of big moves that weren’t too big. Misawa does two tilt a whirl backbreakers and then a Boston crab at the end which really caught me by surprise. Monkey flip and Tiger Driver continue to emphasize Misawa working over the back. A few more minutes of back and forth with Ogawa fighting back and Misawa puts him a4way with another Tiger Driver. An interesting match that underneath didn’t try to overthink itself and was still successful and entertaining. ***1/2

Had no issues with the matwork whatsoever. It showed Shibata's dominance and him sizing Okada up while not being caught being dictated by Okada. Okada was on the defense for the vast majority of the match and that is an area he excels well in. I thought the WK match really faltered when he took over on Omega and locked him up in mindless submissions. Here, mostly everything was focused on the neck region and the cravate submission was a good time killer. It is Okada's performance here that makes the match legendary as I thought he failed to match Omega at Wrestle Kingdom. Here, he was just a hair under the sublime performance that Shibata laid out. Shibata left it all in the ring as evidenced by his health in the wake of the match. No match from the New Japan revival has grabbed me as much as this one from a cohesive storyline, selling and performance standpoint. This felt like the apex of the style overall. *****

Benoit continues his strong claim as the best wrestler in the world. This wasn’t given much time but they really maximized everything and it became a fully formed very good tag match. Benoit’s dropkick and crispness is unparalleled. The Hardy’s also seemed amped to be in there with this sprint and were motivated to provide high energy. Benoit lifts Jeff up and Dean comes off the top rope with a clothesline. Dean/Benoit are working so well here that I want them to be a tag team again in WWF running against all of the big teams at the time. Hot tag was again at rapid pace and a great finish with Jeff hitting a Swantom on Dean who had the cover and Matt getting the pin for the surprise victory. This was really great for the time. ***1/2

A pretty decent five minute match until the awful ending. Bischoff comes out to attack DDP, David Arquette has arrived on the scene to help defend his friend. He gets laid out and all the New Blood members come out and do a 1996 N W O tribute with Bischoff presiding over everything like 1998 Vince. The more things change. *1/2

I really can’t stand WCW hardcore matches. Also, Funk has been dropped down the card to honestly a more appropriate level given his level. This had all the tropes you love. Concession brawling, someone getting dropped “30 feet”, shoddy camera work. Tony on commentary is Jim Cornette level screaming at us how this shows how hungry the talent is to impress Bisch and Russo but it looks pretty lazy to me. Dustin Rhodes runs out and lays out Funk allowing Norman to pin his own partner in the match. Great more cute booking. *1/4

Change is in the air at WCW supposedly. Meanwhile, David Flair is dancing for Paisley and Daphney crowbars his nuts. A fan also throws a beach ball into the ring. Action was pretty fun here but the booking was stupid as shit with the tag partners fighting each other. What a hoot. I really liked the dive train here and Daphney does get the best reaction of the whole match with a rana from the ropes. I was surprised with Candido getting pinned here but have no problem with Crowbar going over. **1/4

I am an AJPW drum beater but I have been impressed with the variety they are throwing at us. Misawa vs. Kobashi like Misawa vs Kawada has evolved so much that there aren’t many stones to unturn. Instead of going the full bore sprint route that Misawa and Kawada did, these two decided to slow things down and utilize headlocks and control positions that worked into their final moments. A ton of great stuff to name revolved around chinlocks and other traditional rest holds. It culminates in the lariat being superior on this night to the iconic elbow of Misawa. Kobashi and Misawa even in 2000 are world class workers. ****

Good match but one I was expecting more given the talent involved. Holy Demon Army just really don’t have a lot of steam or momentum after the No Fear loss. Everything they did here was fine but the highlight and energy mostly came from Akiyama as he entered in the closing stages of the match. Taue predictable puts Mossman away. Mossman looked good again and hit a floatover DDT that looked smooth. ***

Really bizarre match with H getting beat up and having to leave the match, Fuyuki coming in and taking over only for him to be knocked out and then Hayabusa returns for the finale. A lot to unpack and try to decipher in combination with Balls and Tracy Smothers continuing to be this big foreign stable. The action here was good but I do think a lot of the context and significance of the storyline was lost on me. I am still unsure of how I feel about Tanaka for the decade. I am kind of at a loss on how to grade this one given my overall feelings but the action did seem fun and intense and “good”. ***

Honma added a ton here as the previous Jado and Gedo match was lifeless as could be. This didn’t blow me away but was really entertaining and had a lot of individual segments that really were intriguing. Jado in particular looked much better here than the match before. Yamakawa gets busted open and Winger takes a ton of damage leading to Honma being the person that has to keep everything together. This match would have been helped by being cut down by about five minutes. ***1/4

Here we are at the big reboot. This isn't really a match at all but more Kidman cutting a shoot promo on Hogan and then Hogan coming out and them getting into a big brawl. The way Kidman conveyed his promo felt geunine and there certainly was a good bit of truth mixed into what he was saying. It is an interesting angle to analyze because I can see how someone like Hogan can think Kidman does have the size or stature to really compete with him. Going through the 90's, we witnessed first hand Kidman being a more polished worker than I remembered but even I am not sure in 2017 eyes that Kidman is the right person for this role. However, since the Radicalz had been exiled it is mostly a case of beggars cant be choosers and the reaction this brawl and angle got was really effective for the time. It could have built to something. I do think WCW was too far gone by now to compete but the bones are still there to be sustainable. The ending of this segment shows why that won't be even possible though as Bischoff has to run down, pledge his allegiance to Hogan and then double cross him with a chair shot to the head. This does allow Kidman to score a visual pin so something is acomplished. I am interested in tracking this and Hogan's involvement and attention level leading up to him calling the promotion a pile of shit at Bash at the Beach. NR

Jericho really cuts a seething promo beforehand calling Chyna a bitch. The match between these two is good again. Eddy is really finding his side and Chyna did help there. Chyna becomes the x factor allowing him to win again in the same way he did the previous week. I am interested in how this feud that has been fun so far gets transitioned away so quickly because it really feels like we are building to a stipulation PPV match currently. **3/4

A good resume builder for HHH. The match only goes five minutes but HHH does show ass for Taka and sell from his kicks as well as being surprised at the amount of fight he is in. APA is out at ringside and that was effective in getting Shane away from the proceedings and led to the hectic nearfall where the crowd honestly bought Taka of all people pinning HHH. Hebner was maybe a little too assertive in this match shoving Shane to the ground and really going after HHH, but this was clearly a HHH Flair tribute and in regards to his canon approach at that style, this was as successful as I can ever remember him being. ***

A breathtaking wrestling match. These two are absolute masters and built a brilliant match that worked on layering and having amazing mat work leading to the final caida and the climax of Santo’s insanely great dive and Panther taking the cheap way out to win. Too many amazing moves to call them out but both guys were like glue with each other on the matwork and I was especially impressed with the amount of work that was done with each individual on their head. The finish sets up the rematch perfectly and I can’t wait to watch it. One of the better matwork matches I have ever seen. ****1/2