soup23

So weird seeing Meanies transformation here. Good on him for losing the weight. Regal looks refreshed being post WCW and ready to work some new places and they have a good tv style match here. I don't really know what Meanie could have done to become a WWE mainstay. **1/4

Always enjoy these elimination style matches and this was no exception. The build to Chono vs Sasaki has been fantastic and the crowd gives them an electric reaction when they enter in. This was booked in a way to make Team 2000 look strong but also help the other side between Sasaki having to be double teamed,Nakanishi and Nagata hanging in and Liger being the lone survivor going against the big team. ***1/2

Damn, glad I didn't go ahead and read the thread beforehand. I thought this was tremendous also although not quite at the level of Charles. Still this was all action for 15 minutes and never let up. I did think the little things that prevented me from having it at MOTYC level and with the absolute top tier of shoot style matches was that Murahama was still trying to find himself ever so slightly. Still, I can't wait for his upcoming matches as this adds the wrinkle to Osaka Pro that makes it instantly one of the most exciting promotions we cover. The teased finish from the cross arm breaker in the waning moments of this match is one of the better false shoot style submission finishes I have ever seen. Incredible find here. ****1/4

This did feel more like the classic BattlARTs of the late 90's than anything else we have seen in the new decade. Murakami is a excellent worker so far and interacts well vs both Ishikawa and Sano with a different dynamic for both. Otsuka is his usual great self too. Ishikawa was able to show how proficient he could be at limb work exciting long sequences over both an arm and a leg. This was a 30 minute draw that did feel like it accomplished something and had progression instead of a placeholder. ****

I continue to love this feud. This starts with Tajiri getting hurled four rows deep and doesn't let up from there. We only get about 8 minutes of the match but it continues to be excellent. The table spots continue to be innovative and non annoying which is a feat for 2000. Crazy adds in a good bladejob to add some extra juice. The Network is being presented as the biggest angle in ECW currently and I guess was a way of Paul E to let out his transgressions on TNN but some of the beats of it are wrong. Cyrus is good in the moutpiece role however. ECW is still chugging along. ****

Hype for Chip vs Lee reaching epic levels. Can't wait to watch when it drops on Worldwide.

Wow what a great and totally WCW story. Thanks for sharing.

I liked this a good deal. No Fear is able to show their dominance over Shiga and their equality with Kobashi. Shiga is able to put in a strong performance proving himself to his Burning stablemates. Overall, All Japan continues to feel like a slow march to the split but with No Fear really rolling now, Kobashi still being great and some young talent stepping up, the future does feel sort of optimistic. ***1/2

This continued to keep the feud going but the match was pretty disjointed with constant interference and interaction between all three. I am still looking forward to the Mania match which doesn't have much hype behind it but all three of these guys are in the top handful of US workers at the current time. *3/4

If you ever want to see a 1987 Hulk Hogan main event house show match in 2000, this is it. Dustin has been trash so far but gives his most spirited performance by being compelling on top and playing to Hogan's strengths. Maybe it is the old Hulkster mark in me but in ring I still don't think he has been mostly atrocious in 2000. I get kind of a lesser 1991 vibe in that regard where people were just sick of him so his hard work didn't get the due it may have deserved. A rare treat watching Hogan having a good match on Thunder of all things and a novel matchup as well. ***

This was more lively than I thought it would be going in. Chavo was looking good tonight and Candido seemed to be wanting to make a good impression. The run in was a trainwreck as Charles mentioned and Paisley on commentary didn't do much for me preventing this stand alone good match to hitting the good threshold for me aesthetically. **1/2

Really excellent 3 minutes of action. This match even got Bobby to shut up about whatever and take notice. The backdrop combo moves of 3 Count were especially impressive. Jung Dragons stealing their dance mats at the end at least shows a glimmer of storyline development. Fun stuff. **1/2

This feud really won me over and came out of nowhere that I think the abruptness of this is what some were feeling from the TB vs Satanico blowoff. Still, when thinking about its place in retrospect, this really was just a feud to pad out the mid card and nothing much more substantial than that. Mr. Mexico was really enjoyable as a heel and helped make Rivera look like a threat without justifying his own stature. ***

I was so excited for this as Hogan in there with Jarrett and Steiner felt like two fresh feuds for him that maybe just maybe could have elevated them and made WCW not seem like such a blast from the past. Of course, Sid gets jealous because how dare Hogan clean house on the hot tag. One chokeslam later and we go from a played out Flair vs. Hogan feud that at least gave me some hope for the matches to Sid vs. Hogan which is DOA. Even Sid was starting to get some crowd pops and the crowd was chanting for him in this very match. How much a liability is Jimmy Hart becoming. Gets his arm broke by Luger and now this through a table. This started so well and ended so badly. WCW everybody. **1/2

Maybe Nikita can come in for Thunder so Flair can have all his greatest hits matches tour. Here we get the bite sized version of him vs. Sting in what was probably the 200th time they wrestled each other. Not a lot of juice from Stinger in this match and Flair vs Sting has always portrayed the worst aspects for Ric. The finish was predictable with Luger running down and continuing the attack. The nostalgia act continues. *1/4

Barbie tried but Tank sucked and didn't have stiffness or charisma to do much of anything. I wonder why they didn't make a play for Frye as he excels in every way over Tank so far. *

All of this set up was a ton of fun. Vince's shocked face coming out was A+. The match itself is kind of a backdrop to get to the real main event 13 days away but everythng has been pretty focused since Jan 10 going that way so it doesn't feel like we just sort of through stuff at the wall until we hit our Mania main event. Foley coming back really pissed me off at the time just based on the personifications that Foley was my guy and the overweight hard worker that had made good and made the viewer trust his word. This felt like a strange carny stunt from his persona up to this point. Linda is still so wooden in her delivery. The pop Foley got from coming back was larger than i remembered and as a standalone moment it was a lot of fun that made me look forward to the Mania match. ***1/2

I have always liked the chemistry between these two and this was a good start. The 3 way angle has been built well and is the 2nd most consistent program being built to Mania besides the main event ordeal. Jericho seems to be more precise and focused when working with Benoit which I do think is a tribute to the ring generalship Benoit carries. ***

I'm going to differ from Charles in not being a fan of the Run DMC version of the song. This match wasn't much at all and featured a good bit of slop and uninterested demeanor from Road Dogg in particular but it did show how 1998 NWO Black and White DX were starting to feel around this time. Adding Tori tried to spark some interest but by this point I am ready for the Kane vs X-Pac feud to be settled and everyone to move on with something else. *1/2

Team 2000 is probably the strongest faction we have seen in wresting in 2000 besides the Infernales and Crazy Max. They have gotten me to care about Chono which is no short feat. I think having him in these tags and coming in for big showdowns in quick bursts is a big factor in my tolerance level. I also think him being the protege for TenKoji is an easy story to grasp. Nakanishi is someone I despise now and never remember liking but I was invested here towards the finishing run when he was motioning for support and playing off of Nagata. Overall, this was really good action mixed with a hot crowd that makes it memorable. ****

I really like New Japan at this point which is a pleasant surprise. Even after the dome match, Liger's junor bully run has been effective. Here he meets a bigger bully in the yard and must counteract that with precision and speed. Using that simple match narrative, this really worked for me. Frye has a great way of presenting himself to gain investment from the viewer that counteracts his technical shortcomings. A really fun match. ***1/4

Quite the varying match for me to dive back into. I will be the neutral voice and say that I enjoyed a lot about this match while it struck me as never being great at any one moment. I did really like the beginning with the opening of the back work by Misae. Maybe it is a byproduct of the time period but so many matches in 2000 have started with this brawl around the arena that it was good to see the escalation happen in the traditional way here with focused control work. The finishing stretch was a kick out affair but I did feel the stakes raise and got a good outsider vibe from Misae on the JWP turf. I don't know if Ran will be viewed as an elite worker in my eyes at any point but she is certainly a hall of very good contender for 2000 so far. ***3/4

Another fun entry in this series. I liked this one as the emphasis was on Genki more than any of the other iterations we have seen so far. The other main feuds of Toryumon are still there in Tokyo vs CIMA and Fuji vs Mochi but they picked their spots well and left the lasting impression of Genki being elevated. This was similar to how some of the AJ 90's six mans did that with Misawa and Kawada. Ending paid off everything we saw before with Genki actually getting the sub on Fuji. I love Genki original gimmick with Surfin' USA blaring as he picked up the win. We get about half of this. ***1/2

I enjoyed this as a 7 minute little compact mat worked match. Kanemoto in the legend role is a bit difficult for him to pull off only because his most dynamic reputation is as an ultra athletic ass kicker which time has passed him by as. Thatcher going after the arm was intriguing and I thought Kanemoto fed into that well while also getting in his crowd pleasing spots. Enjoyable first round tournament match. ***

Really solid match here. Hyuga continues to be someone I really look forward to seeing more and more of as the decade progresses. She gets her arm worked over here and does a really strong job of selling the damage in the later stages as she performs any type of power moves. Amano was also strong with her strikes and pin point focus and her having control for most of the match until she gets greedy or over aggressive. JWP is a really unheralded promotion but it usually delivers something satisfying for my personal tastes. Weakest moment of the match was the finish as Hyuga hits a knee from the top but the impact and camera angle aren't that impressive. ***1/4