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Yu Yu and Hyuga start off and as with most of the joshi for this decade, these are two ladies I am not that familiar with especially Hyuga. It is really amazing how much time we have spent in Korakuen to start off the decade. The Masami/Yu team gains the early advantage. It is still a pleasure to see Masami be a bruising bully as she really grinds her elbow into Hyuga. Hyuga is able to tag out and Commando is able to tag in and go to work on Yu Yu. The focus seems to be on the neck. Masami gets frustrated and leg drops Commando but she doesn’t relinquish the attack. I have really liked the momentum shifts in this match so far. The control segments are drawn out enough to feel substantial and the comebacks feel well deserved instead of fluky. Yu Yu tags off as soon as she gets in a burst of offense and now it is Masami’s turn to brutalize Bolshoi. Hyuga saves her partner and they have Masami reeling. This is a great sequence where it really conveys the sense of struggle to the viewer. Masami is able to recover and regain control of the match overall. The match opens up more with Bolshoi and Yu Yu having a 50/50 sequence. Masami is certainly let Yu Yu take the lion’s share of the work in this match. Again, Masami misses a move off the top and feels in danger but she is able to recover. Commando and Hyuga team up and now they are able to pull off some substantial offense on Masami. Masami smartly gives way to Yu Yu and we near the ending stretch. Hyuga has some moments of execution that are less than stellar that started with her dive onto Masami and continue with her pin attempts against Yu Yu and her trying to put her foot on the bottom rope to kick out of a pin attempt but being too far away. Bolshoi is able to keep Masami at bay for Hyuga to deliver two headrops but Masami is able to make the pin save. Another capture pin attempt is made by Hyuga with Masami fended off and that gains the victory. I really loved the first 2/3rds of this match with the framework and the tonal shifts. I didn’t think the last third played off that groundwork as Masami should have been more prominent but I guess it did hold true that getting rid of her as a factor was the only chance that Hyuga and Bolshoi had. It was still really fun to see this tag match and I look forward to more JWP overall. ***1/4

This is the first match where the work is unquestionably good but I don’t have much to say about the match overall. I did like seeing Hamada being aggressive and showing some fire in there. TMIV and Mochi as the youngsters was funny in 2016 eyes. Overall, this flowed at a very good pace and was enjoyable but didn’t leave a lasting impression and never kicked into the next gear for me. ***

I really hate this gym that M-Pro insisted on running. It feels like we are interrupting training camp for a football team or something to have a wrestling match. This match gets off to a hot start and then Fujita takes control by cranking out the arm. Some really good stuff here of him simply but viciously taking apart the arm. Fujita also does a great job of never staying with anything long enough to make the match drag but the work also feels focused. That fine line is what makes for a good control sequence and a bad one. CIMA fires off going after the leg and he does a good job of still selling the residual effects of the arm work done by Fujita. CIMA does an admirable job working over the leg here too. CIMA gets great air on some of his rope squats on top of the leg. A brutal neckbreaker results with Fujita tied in the tree of woe putting more torque on his leg. The match goes into the finishing stretch and they do an effective job of still selling the damage done before. Fujita takes the strategy of using his leg a good bit but always selling the damage afterward. CIMA essentially had his bad arm as completely neutralized. CIMA gets desperate after taking some huge suplexes from Fujita and hits the referee in “accidental” fashion. Nearfalls really get the crowd worked up and I liked how once CIMA gained control that was pretty much it for Fujita as CIMA is able to gain the victory. Really good juniors action. ***3/4

Here is a feud where I have never really enjoyed the output of any of the matches. The execution of this match was better than in any of their previous efforts. They do some insane moves and hit almost all of them cleanly which was shocking. The crowd reacts by being pretty rabid throughout the whole ordeal. Much like the FMW and Blade vs. Low Ki match, these matches of ultimate one upmanship will never be my favorite style of wrestling but I think these two at least had a match here that was worthy of the pre hype their matches would concoct up in the minds of diehard ECW fans. ***

Tajiri is one to track in 2000. I know some guys like Dylan see him as the WOTY for this year so I will be tracking to see where I agree or disagree with that assessment. Heyman still is wearing this leather jacket and tells Corino off to end the pre match ramble and get the tag match started proper. We get a sort of parejas incredibles vibe from the pairings here. Crazy and Lynn have the respect opening wrestling battle. Never my favorite thing in wrestling but it looked crisp and well done here. The Guido vs. Tajiri exchange is great with the crowd going nuts. Lynn and Guido take over and show some slight cohesion with each other. Dive train sequence and some crowd brawling is next. Staples of 2000 but another hot crowd for all of this. 2000 ECW looks to still have more buzz than WCW so far in these limited samples. Crazy does a big moonsault from the rail as Tajiri is stepping on the tree of woe’d Jerry Lynn. This is awesome stuff. The cohesion of Crazy and Tajiri is really nice to see and the crowd is eating it up. Guido and Lynn take over with a double powerbomb out of the turnbuckles and now Guido and Lynn work together to give stereo tornado DDTs. Finishing stretch has some nice nearfalls with Tajiri misting Lynn allowing Styles to debunk Cyrus theory about them being in cohoots. Guido then picks up Lynn and gives him his finish as the partnerships break down with Tajiri kicking Crazy as well. Tajiri picks up the win with the brainbuster on Lynn. Corino and crew come out to beat up on Lynn and Corino calls out Dusty. Dusty comes in from behind Corino to a huge pop and it is Bionic Elbows for all. Rhyno is able to take down Dusty and Corino parades around with Dusty’s hat. I enjoyed all of this as late era ECW mayhem. Not everything made sense but there was a ton of energy here and the match was very pleasing to watch. ***1/2

I love Ian but hate Pondo so I didn’t know what to expect here. We hear from the announcer that Zandig is out and Ian was the replacement so I guess that explains why this match is strangely main eventing a CZW show. Ian is pretty huge here and comes out in his IWA shirt. The lights go out and come back on with Pondo hitting Ian with his stop sign. Things get gory really quick as Pondo slices Ian’s forehead open with scissors and side Russian leg sweeps him onto a barbed wire bat. I cant make out what Pondo uses next to rake against Ian but he is a bloody mess. Next comes the obligatory crowd brawling portion of these matches and Ian is able to take over with a powerbomb onto a chair. Ian gives Pondo a receipt by slicing open his forehead and arm with scissors. I usually don’t get too squeamish with this death match stuff but those scissor shots look brutal. Pondo powerbombs Ian through light tubes and the lights go out again. They come back on with Axl Rotten hitting a chair on Pondo. The crowd is digging this a good bit. Axl and Ian both destroy Pondo until Lobo comes out to help out Pondo. Axl gives quite the rundown to shooting on Lobo, ECW and the rest of wrestling in general. We get some chaotic action and a pull apart to end the night. Overall, this as an actual wrestling match was short but brutal. It certainly was trashy US hardcore action but the angle worked for me and the crowd dug it so I enjoyed it more than I probably really should. **1/2

This was a match I never knew existed until we started researching 2000 dates. It is odd in that it takes place in CZW and it does involve Ric Blade who is a pretty big cult early 2000’s indy guy. Also, this is some of the earliest Low Ki we will have. Ki has his signature entrance music already and there really isn’t a large difference in his appearance from here to the Super 8 2001 tournament. Fast start with both running through some moves and Ki catching himself from slipping to hit a somersault dive to the outside. I guess this show predates Eric Garguilo and John House taking over the CZW commentary but this is also filmed fan cam style. Blade is able to take over with a DVD and then hits a swantom and really nice legdrop in quick order. The road must have owned Blade as he looks way younger here facially than he will in mid 2001. Arabian moonsault is executed to Ki on the outside. So far, we have had a spotty affair but the spots have looked nice and there is a sliver of a story being told. A slight moment of miscommunication was covered well with Blade hitting a big Doctor Bomb. Ki does his corner kick and a German that lands Blade right on top of his head. Blade does a leg drop where he stands on the actual ring post instead of the top rope. He also has some racist mannerisms for Ki as the heel in this match but it is 2000 so this was the norm of the times. Ki gets a nearfall on a 450 and then retrieves a table from the outside. After some back and forth, Ki hits the Ki Krusher from the ropes through the table and the crowd goes ape at that spot. That gets a 2 count and it really should have been the finish. Ki goes for another table on the outside. Ki ends up on the table in a pretty contrived way and Blade does a pretty bad botch where he tries to leg drop Ki on the table by diving over the referee but he falls short and bounces on the concrete. He ends doing a springboard leg drop to send Ki through. Blade then does four moonsaults in a row from a standing position to the top rope to get the win. Finish let the air out of the match a good bit as the crowd was ready to explode on the Ki Krusher spot which looked great but even moreso than the Punk vs. Cabana match earlier, Ki this early on was pretty damn complete as a worker and only needed a few tweaks to become one of the best wrestlers in the world in the next year. **3/4

Thank you Pete, looks like we will probably be in the 12-13 match range as I want to include the Rude and Steamboat stuff since they are #1 and #2 for WOTY for the promotion in our eyes. May leave Josh vs. Anderson on the cutting room floor just because of the time commitment.

This is quite the odd match. The opening is worked in a real classical New Japan sort of way from the 1980's and 1990's. Misawa takes it to the mat at first to prove he can do that, Hase does the same with a strike exchange but those are the only two bits of contested action in the first fifteen minutes. The rest of the time results around Hase working the arm of Misawa. I have to say that I never tired of watching this due to Hase mixing things up. Misawa isn't someone that I think of as a great facial seller but he did well here. I can see this extended sequence testing the patience limits of many but it felt so unique that I remained invested. MIsawa doesn't look as much hurt as frustrated. Hase has a distinct game plan and refuses to betray it up until the last few minutes of the match where he deserts it to start throwing bombs. Misawa using the elbow can be seen as no selling the work that was invested into it and that is a valid criticism but I do usually give Misawa a pass on those things based on the character work he had built up over the ten previous years. Misawa is the sheriff in town and he will rely on what got him in charge in the first place until it betrays him. I also thought that Hase mainly performing stretches and more submission based work on the arm made it plausible that Misawa could still use it to effectiveness in the latter stages of the match. Hase put his all into this game plan and it didn't work out in the end. I didn't think this was a classic by any means, but it felt more refreshing and purposeful than the Hase vs. Kawada match from the 99 Dome show. This also worked better after seeing the spirited war between Akiyama and Takayama. ***

These two are strongholds with NOAH in a lot of ways but I can’t recall that many singles encounters with them over the years. Takayama starts off dismantling Akiyama but Akiyama isn’t going to stand for that. He grabs Takayama’s leg and starts working it over in a huge way on the guardrail. I loved the way Akiyama goes into the ring and runs through a sharpshooter, figure four, and STF in quick succession to really crank on the leg. Takayama isn’t someone that is going down with a fight though as the “Hound” character in All Japan. He starts retailiating and really clobbers Jun including cranking his arm over the top rope in effectively painful fashion. Exceptional resourcefulness shown by Akiyama as with him really reeling, he goes back to the leg well and then throws in an Exploder to get a nearfall. He attempts a second one but then gets two crafty rollups and the second one is enough to put Takayama away. This was a load of fun to watch. ***3/4

This was a good but ho hum match for the first 15 minutes of so. Omori isn't that engaging in me in the matwork portion and even Kobashi seemed to be kind of middling through a bit. That changed once Kobashi locked in a sleeper, choke as the final stretch was excellent here. Omori really showed good fire and Kobashi showed the appropriate restraint in having to exert himself to put Omori away but also leaving some stuff in the reserve which makes perfect sense considering what occurs with the Carnival this year. A ****1/2 finishing stretch combined with a *** opening forces me to split the difference overall. ***1/2

This was quick but a street fight with much more intensity than the hardcore Funk vs. Bret match. Trash is someone that I have a good soft spot for as his brawling style really works for me in a no-nonsense arena like here. Cornette is at ringside but doesn't add a lot to the proceedings. An odd finish where Flash comes out and helps Trash pick up the win and then starts to beat on him. This was good in showing that PPW was still churning out decent tv segments in 2000. **

I suspect we might see these two some more as the decade progresses. I wanted to listen to Started from the Bottom by Drake on repeat when watching this match. This is the opening match for a MAW show that was promoted by Mae Young making an appearance. Cabana is announced as Colton Cabana and the announcer just calls him Scotty Colton throughout the match. Cabana is the heel here and one thing that will be interesting to track is that he does look more polished in this match. As the heel, he was leading. He didn't do anything extraordinary but his fist drop punches looked good and he had some interaction with the fan and gave off the douchey vibe that worked with the crowd. Punk also has the charisma that works and of course he never was the most flub free worker but we see where he could reign in some of his repertoire in this match when he tries to go outside of his comfort zone with roll ups. I actually thought this was a fine, inoffensive match that did show nice glimmers of what they would become. It is easily to look for something now, but it was also these type of matches that caught the eyes of guys like Ian Rotten and Prazak and changed the trajectory of both men and the world of wrestling in regards to Punk. **1/4

I am still unsure of where I stand with these two. We saw a good bit of them in 1999. They both have the look and are good at building a match, but yet missing that one personality spark to make them set off. I think that is easy to say in retrospect knowing where their career landed, but it felt the same way watching this match. We get a perfectly fine 8 minute match that tells a story, has ups and downs, and would be pleasing on the WWF main shows. The end stretch had a nice booking touch where Cornette mentions on commentary that Conway still loads his glove from time to time. A minute later, Dinsmore hits a chain so that was handed to him from Kenny Bolin for a really close nearfall. This goads Conway into loading up the glove to retaliate but he waylays the ref instead. Another big move from DInsmore and a quick count by a second official allows Dinsmore to pick up the victory. A fine match, but I am still hoping for the great one to come out of OVW. **1/2

Nothing really represents the changing of the new decade yet like this match. Whereas with watching 1990, it felt like it took a while for the changes to come, both with the matches I am watching in the first 10 days, the booking choices of new big guys like Sasaki and HHH getting the belt or unfortunate real life circumstances like this being Bret Hart's last true match, the changes have came early that we are going in a different direction. This match really serves as a endpoint for that. Bret isn't able to do much and the plunder affair him and Funk go through here feels really by the numbers for me. It isn't terrible as this is two top 100 workers of all time, but both were pretty spent and didn't see the need to really amp it up for something of this magnitude. This match also mainly works as a backdrop for the ongoing NWO angle as we get some silliness as David Flair locking Anderson in a room and coming out with a referee shirt, the NWO attacking the ring and the camera fading to black with Nash powerbombing Funk through the table. Farewell Hitman. *3/4

First things first, I know Stephanie hasn't been in the heel position for long, but she was absolutely atrocious on commentary. Her sound effects for moves were groan inducing and her commentary quips weren't menacing or intriguing in the slightest. That said, early into 2000, HHH is having himself a nice run. This was the perfect match for the big heel vs. the hot commodity face in the promotion. Rikishi's rise to this much popularity was a shock to many and you certainly don't want to squash that. However, HHH is being built as the main heel focal point so in the end he also needs to be presented as strong in the close. This was achieved in all fronts. Rikishi and HHH have some heated strike exchanges and some nice around ringside brawling for WWF standards. These spots are staples of the attitude era but they felt like a way to present the narrative here instead of just being shoe horned in. We also get a bit of added layering with DX watching backstage but commenting how they aren't going to bail HHH out. The chairshot nearfall is really effective and the crowd goes crazy when Rikishi kicks out. The belt shot DQ was the perfect way to go as the finish here and this was another match where I was satisfied at the output but left wanting more. HHH looks menacing and Rikishi looks like more than a comedy character for the fans to get behind. ***1/4

I was so thankful to see Angle's Memphis run throughout 1999. It gave great context to how he was primed to be a contender from the start when called to the big leagues. Still it is amazing to watch him in this match as the SmackDown audience is a far contrast to the Power Pro Studio of 1999. Rock is mega over, like top 5 all time in wrestling history on tape at this point. Signs and fan fare are everywhere. The fact that Angle strolls down the ring and holds his own as someone that had only been wrestling less than a year is extremely impressive. He has his character down and he is actually made to look competent at points with this big star. The match was short but spirited and really effective for what it set out to accomplish. We are given a tease for things to come and left wanting much more. Steve Blackman interferes allowing Angle to retain his undefeated streak. *1/2

I am really conflicted on this one. We do get a cut at the beginning so I am unsure how much we miss but all we do get is essentially a bomb spot fest. I have no other way of describing it. The moves were brutalizing and impressive but I didn't have any conjecture to what I was watching. This would be a very interesting match for the people that praise Strong BJ in 2016 to watch and see where they align because as a brutalizing spectacle, I enjoyed it more than the Seikmoto and Okabayashi affairs in the current year. Kuroda was presented as the underdog here that was not willing to give up. His eventual victory was treated as a breakthrough moment with the crowd going crazy and pounding the mat. Some of the near falls were insanely close and harrowing having me on the edge of my seat as the outcome was in doubt. Overall, this is one I may have to reflect and rewatch at the month's end as it certainly accomplished as a match what it set out to, but it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing match to me in what I desire out of pro wrestling. There in lies the rub. ***1/2

This match was a garbled mess where they had some solid ideas and spots, but weren't able to execute it well enough to pull any of it off and the end result is a disjointed feeling while watching. The opening exchange was hot and overall this did seem to be a story about Toyota going toe to toe with Hotta and coming out on top, but there was also moments of Hotta dominance with leg work that was immediately forgotten by Toyota. Toyota also is really tough to believe as someone that can match up in a strike exchange with someone like Hotta and I would have liked more of storyline where she utilized her high risks and moves to then gain the advantage with her big moves and strikes. They did that a bit with the ramp dive but they also had her on even ground before then so the momentum shift seemed too easy. The ending stretch was a bomb fest with a ton of kickouts. Toyota winning felt like it should be a big moment but based on the flaws of the match before it, all I felt was hollowness. **1/2

http://placetobenation.com/where-the-big-boys-play-85-starrcade-1992/ Chad and Parv return to 1992 to review that year’s Starrcade. [0:05:59] Wrestling Observer roundup: ratings analysis, which champ drew the most on house shows in 1992?, Rick Rude’s real-life parking lot brawl, Meltzer’s end of year awards for 1992. [1:21:27] Review of Starrcade 92: just how bad was Erik Watts?, Chono: champ or chump?, assessing the Ron Simmons world title reign, ranking Sting / Vader, #Losethemoustacheloseitall [2:27:12] End of Show Awards The PWO-PTBN Podcast Network features great shows you can find right here at Place to Be Nation. By subscribing on iTunes or SoundCloud, you’ll have access to new episodes, bonus content, as well as a complete archive of all shows on the Network! For more on the great family of podcasts at Place to Be Nation, click here.

These were the two lesser ladies in the tag match yesterday so I didn’t have real high hopes for a singles encounter. Miho really takes the fight to Kumiko in the onset. She tries to attack the leg which isn’t a bad strategy at all considering how reliant Kumiko is on her kicks. Kumiko goes along with this but eventually gets pissed off and takes over. Miho shows resilience and really attacks the leg in good fashion. Kumiko is good at targeting the leg of Miho too proving she has more in her arsenal besides the kick. I am glad to see the palpable hate being conveyed better in the singles match between these two than the tag the night before. If this performance would have been in the tag, that would have been a great match. Kumiko starts throwing in her kicks more in the end sequence but they are connecting with more impact and Miho does good countering some of the attempts into believable false finishes given the damage that has been done. Miho’s cradle nearfalls get some real close counts. The first glancing kick is when Kumiko gets ambitious on a spinning kick. Miho dumps her down and gets another nearfall. She has worked a great strategy but can’t put her away. Kumiko is still able to unload a flurry of kicks with varying degrees of execution and wins the match. Lackluster finish but this exceeded my expectations based on their performance in the 1/3/00 tag. ***

I am really looking forward to this one. I feel like I am one of the bigger Delphin fans around still and Togo’s rep needs no explanation. Really strong and crisp opening here with everything executed well and setting the table for the rest of the match. Once things open up we get a nice headscissors on the floor from Delphin which causes Togo to regroup with his cronies and look for the comfort of a chair. With some distraction and help from his buds, Togo takes over using a chair mainly focusing on the leg of Delphin. The way the factions are interacting here is reminiscent of Dragon Gate later in the decade. I never like the oblivious referee trope but stuff here with Togo on top isn’t too egregious where it turns into a ridiculous display. Togo is really good at cranking away on the leg of Delphin and Delphin has been hobbled by the damage that has been done. He begins to make his comeback but Togo makes a crafty kick to the leg and locks on a knee bar lock. Togo misses a charge and Delphin gives him a swift kick with his good leg. He scales to the top but his hobbled by the bad wheel and someone slings a chair that hits him and drops Delphin to the floor. Togo then sets up a table on the outside area. Delphin is able to fight off the attempt of Togo and send Togo face first into the table. He then follows up with a beautiful crossbody and the playing field has leveled out. Togo takes a huge posting into the outside ring area and Delphin rehabs his leg inside the ring. Togo does his beautiful counter out of the tornado DDT attempt and hits a vicious powerbomb for a nearfall. He attempts his fat senton but is caught by Delphin with a dropkick on the way down. Delphin is able to hit the DDT when he reverses Togo. Togo hits a lowblow and running lariat as his frustration level is growing. We then get a pedigree and the big senton which crushes Delphin. That gets a 2.9999 count and an argument could be made that should have been the end to the match. Togo misses the second senton splash when Delphin moves out of the way. I have enjoyed the fatigue that Delphin has displayed. He hasn’t done hardly any running on that bad wheel and the big moments are allowed to breathe after being hit. Delphin has really used the DDT throughout the match as he hits an implant and the full tornado DDT. Togo is able to kick out of the Delphin special pin attempt. Running shotei still isn’t enough to put Togo away. Delphin hits a stunner and another Shotei and that is enough to pick up the victory. I thought the match had too many nearfalls down the stretch and the interference in the beginning portion is one of my least favorite spots in wrestling, but this also had a great sense of working for a comeback and selling the damage of a grueling match. ***1/2

Big shoes to fill for these guys. Tenryu doesn’t mess around with the mat work that we saw in the Black Summit as we start with a huge chop exchange and the big bombs coming out. In a rare no sell spot that I enjoy, Sasaki shrugs off a Tenryu back suplex and locks in a tight headlock. The strike exchange that results from that is great and feels like Dundee and Lawler exchanging shots in 1982 Memphis. Sasaki is made to looks really strong here as Tenryu is throwing everything he has at Kensuke and Sasaki has been able to absorb it. Tenryu ups the ante by hitting a release German with both on the top rope. An elbow drop and powerbomb have Sasaki in real danger for the first time. Both go in for clotheslines but this time Tenryu is stronger. A brainbuster gets another nearfall. He is able to have Sasaki really reaching deep but usually this puts everyone else away. This again builds up Sasaki hugely. Tenryu is forced to take a risk going for a top rope rana that Sasaki is able to reverse into a huge super Powerbomb. I really love Tenryu’s selling as Sasaki runs through his offense. Tenryu looks like a businessman that woke up with the worst headache of his life. Tenryu gets an enzuriuri as a last ditch effort but once more Sasaki is able to reverse into a big Emerald Flowsion type move. A fisherman’s buster gives Sasaki the IWGP title and really establishes him as the big man in the promotion currently. ****

Mutoh’s gear is boss here. The Dome setup looks big time with the puro and big entrances. JJ Dillion is looking on I guess to scout talent. I never know what to expect with these two in the ring. They have had some classics and some snoozers. This starts with a really long mat section. It is possible that it is in the hindsight of what we have seen in 2000 so far, but I enjoyed the opening as a change of pace. I also thought Mutoh put in a strong performance hitting things like his elbow and corner charge elbow to move the action forward. I will also give the crowd credit for sticking through the early portion. Mutoh gets dropped awkwardly on his head and then gives Chono a rana that looked rough to take as well. Chono follows up with a cradle piledriver and starts working over the neck. It is at this point that I notice the match title is Black Summit which is amazing and should be a band name yesterday. Chono takes a big risk hitting a top rope shoulder block with Mutoh on the apron sending them both to the outside. Mutoh is able to hit his basement dropkicks on the outside and starts honing in on the leg. Dragon Screw on the outside as well. Mutoh still has some athletic grace that he displays in his springboard dropkick back inside. Mutoh gets a rana from the top rope and they are really pulling out all the stops for the big showdown. A dropkick and screw whip later, Mutoh locks on the figure four for the first time. Chono is able to fight through and lock on his butterfly lock which has been built as a legit finisher in recent months. I like Mutoh sticking with his game plan of hitting another screw whip and right back to the figure four. Mutoh lands the moonsault for a crackling nearfall. He goes for the figure four again but Chono is able to roll through and go for the butterfly lock in a beautiful sequence. Mutoh then drops Chono with a nasty frankensteiner and goes for the armbreaker which worked but did feel like a betrayal of his strategy so far that he has been so committed to. A moonsault attempt eats knees and Chono says fuck the butterfly lock, I’m returning to the ol standby in the STF. Mutoh is barely able to gain the ropes there as the crowd reacts well. Chono grapevines the legs again and locks on a particular lethal looking STF to pick up the victory. I really dug this match too and this show is turning out to be super overall minus the Liger/Kanemoto blemish. ***3/4

The heat here was nuclear. Iizuka and Murakami start things off with Murakami just going nuts and pushing away the referee. Murakami even has time to talk shit on the mic as Hash checks on his partner. Hash then decides he is going to tee off on Murakami and the fight is on. Amazing stuff with Ogawa getting involved as well. The seconds come in and the bell rings which makes the crowd flip. Trash begins to be pelted into the ring as the guys continue to fight. Fujinami gets in as Hash gets on the microphone and shoos away everyone. Inoki now gets in the ring and he declares the match will continue. Murakami vs. Iizuka round two looks like more of the same until Iizuka locks on an armbar. I can’t put over how amazing the atmosphere is here with the crowd electric. I love these two guys just going nuts on each other and trying to lock on submissions. Hashimoto tags in and Murakami ignores him to inflict more damage on Iizuka. Hash is great just standing there waiting before he goes nuts on kicks and then calls out Ogawa. Here we go with the big guns in the match and guess what this sequence is amazing too. Hashimoto utilizes a headbutt and chops down the Ogawa tree to the delight of the Dome. This is one of the greatest Hashimoto performances of a legendary career and it is kicking my narrative that his matches top out at a level quality wise because this is a damn near perfect match in my eyes. The heat is off the charts, the work is stiff and unique to get over the MMA aspects and the character work is also on point. Things break down at the conclusion with Hash locking an armbar on the floor while Iizuka is able to get a choke on Murakami in the ring for the big win. All of the New Japan faithful has to rush the ring to get Iizuka to break. Ogawa isn’t done as he slams Iizuka and we have a pull apart to end things out. I know Inoki’s MMA vision got way out of whack but I can honestly see him watching this match and seeing this as the future because things worked so wonderfully here. I actually watched this match twice and was really high after the first viewing that I messaged Loss and told him it might be a top 100 match of the 2000’s. After watching a second time, this may be a top 100 match of all time for me. This would not be an embarrassment at all as the MOTY. ****3/4