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This match took forever to get going and when it did, it wasn’t very exciting being way too comedy oriented for my liking. I feel like Hero and Pearce can do some comedy stuff at times and it feels natural but this felt really contrived. Pearce overall hasn’t shown much in 2000 that gives me hope for his overall decade output. Referee is in on choking out Kid two minutes into the match and taking pictures with a fan’s camera. Pearce and Hero act like they are going to work together but of course that falls apart. Pearce has one of the most laughably bad spinning heel kicks you will ever see. Kid is able to hit the Slice Bread #2 and pick up the win. Pearce gives the referee the Pepsi Plunge post match and attacks another jobber until a street cop in uniform comes out. They arrest Pearce and take him to the back Mountie style. Hero and Kid are facing off now and this is better than it was before but still disappointing. Hero keeps going for a powerbomb but Kid blocks it. Hero’s valet slaps Prazak on the outside for some reason that I didn’t understand. Kid makes his comeback and hits a triple jump moonsault and some other flippy legdrops well enough but no referee is there to make the count. Kid has the pin with a 15 year old looking kid getting pulled out of the ring. Hero hits Kid with the purse of the valet and gains the victory. Possibly the worst Hero match of the decade? *

More proof that the three way was a blemish of just the guys probably being tired from competing earlier in the night. This was a real good match with Hero in particular embracing the heel role and getting a great reaction from the crowd. Prazak and the valet whose name I don’t know worked better here interfering and Hy-Zaya is a good sympathetic babyface hitting his flash spots when needed and selling the varied attack from Hero. The match really felt up in the balance in the waning moments before Hero was able to pick up the victory. I don’t know where Hero will rank compared to all the other indie darlings in the year 2000 but this was a strong performance which was a relief given my distaste of the 3 way that I watched out of order earlier. ***1/4 (6.7)

I guess this happened before the previous match as here is Pearce chatting with the fans. I enjoyed this as he got right up in someones face and it got pretty personal between the two. Unfortunately that hate doesn’t carry over to the match as we get more jokes and interaction from Pearce as he gets checked by the referee. Pearce is really becoming grating. I will say the match was a lot better than the three way before. Rudimentary but Pearce did better at canning the comedy and doing a basic heel stuff on top. The clothesline on the chairs outside was a highlight. Punk’s comeback was timed nicely and he was able to get the crowd behind him. Another cheap win for the heel via nefarious means with outside interference. Decent match and I liked seeing full on babyface Punk. **1/2

Norton has slimmed down from his peak mid 90’s WCW build. The work on Chono was really boring with leg locks that didn’t lead to anywhere. Chono is never my favorite but he should be almost strictly a manager and mouth piece by now. Norton shows more energy and him vs Nagata is the most heated pairing. Both Nagata and Ilzuka put their submissions on Norton and tease a submission with them. Norton is busted open on his forehead. Norton is able to battle back and destroys Ilzuka with a nasty powerbomb for the win. I have a feeling this team got way too many points in the league without looking at the results. This was decent but the T 2000 side didn’t bring a whole lot to the table. **1/2

We cut right to the action and Sasaki is getting worked over. The tag is made to Nishimura and the fight is on. This is structured like a combo between Jumbo vs Misawa 6 mans and the sprinty, more hate filled multi man matches of NJPW of yore. The match doesn’t reach the peaks of either of those templates but was pretty fun with T 2000 doing everything to gain the advantage and working well as a cohesive unit. Hot tag is made to Nakanishi and he predictably gets the sub on Saito with his torture rack into a variation. Fun match. *** (6.1)

Tarzan Boy has promoted himself up to captain of the rudos already. Fast opening and then things settle down. Like most other IWRG matches, this is given a good amount of time in the first fall as though it is a squash for the rudos essentially, it lasts around 4 minutes compared to CMLL when it can be less than a minute. Unless im blanking, I am not very familiar with Gigolo and he was fun here in the second fall going against TB as to who is the sexist of them two. Tecnicos gain this one with some stereo moves against the rudos. So far, not an awful match but nothing too exciting. Third fall helps things a bit between Niebla and TB and Parka’s sweet dive onto TB on the outside. This leaves Niebla in the ring to pin Silver King. However, the rudos are able to convince of a foul and the referee gives the win to the rudos. We cut to a replay showing that King gave one to Gigolo earlier. Replacement level lucha. **1/2

Angle gives a pep talk to Kane before the match. We learn this is a no DQ match. Good primer for the two singles matches at Survivor Series and even though I know Survivor Series rep is that it isn’t a good show, I thought as a go home show, this was effective. Jericho and Kane are violent against each other and Angle takes his shots when he is able to. Kane chokeslams Jericho through a table and he bounces off it really violently. Inside, Taker has Angle up for the Last Ride but Kane saves Angle. Taker chokeslams Kane but here is Angle with a chair playing up the no DQ stip. Taker fends him off but the numbers game catches up to him as Kane pops him with a headshot and then Angle gets the sneaky pin to win. **

Rikishi starts out the show with a promo. His anger has now fully transformed to Rock as he is grasping at straws to retain credibility following the reveal of him running over Austin. Rikishi shouts out the Radicalz and they say one down, one to go. Foley rolls out and has some words against Rikishi calling him a gutless coward. Foley says he is leaving the punishment of Rikishi up to Rock. He also states that Rock probably wont be there tonight and if Rock isn’t there tonight, neither is Rikishi. Cops come out and take out Rikishi out of the ring and building. Rock is here but looking rough. We are shown the finish of the Eddie vs Austin match and Eddie stomping backstage and pissed off. Foley barges in and says that Road Dogg and K-Kwick are facing the Radicalz. He also announces The Rock vs Benoit for the main event tonight. Rock promo with Kevin Kelly and this is probably one of my favorites of his from the year. He is more serious and tells Rikishi he is going to get one of the biggest ass kickings of his life on Sunday. The feud between these two is without a doubt the most underrated one in 2000 in the big two. Heated and physical matches that really rely on Rock to show toughness and make Benoit look like a pinpoint technician. This has brawling at the onset before Benoit is able to gain the advantage and he really takes it to Rock. Rock is giving to Benoit and allows him to hit a lot of his signature offense on top. Rock has a DDT and a nearfall but that transitions right into a nice moment for Benoit when he locks in the crossface and Rock narrowly is able to reach the ropes. Rock blocks a punch of Benoit and locks on the crossface of his own. That looked good by Rock mimicking submissions standards. Rock gets the spinebuster and People’s Elbow but is too winded to follow up. Benoit comes back with a snap suplex and a headbutt right to the sternum he has worked over. Rikishi makes his way through the crowd and Rock brawls with him a bit before Benoit comes from behind to continue the attack. Triple Germans and Benoit has the match at hand when Rikishi rolls into the ring and attacks Rock which certainly should cause the DQ since Hebner is pinned in the corner by Benoit but watching it happen. Bonsai drop from Rikishi to Rock and that is our closing image heading into Survivor series. Wonderful match that was a hot finish away from being perhaps the best tv match in WWF of the year. ***3/4 (7.7)

Radicalz are backstage and Eddie insults the waiter saying he delivered the wrong meat. They call the waiter Stone Cold because he is bald. HHH has a special message for us from the WWF studios. Some good narration from HHH showing he was the catalyst for Austin getting in position to be run over by Rikishi. He calls Rikishi one hell of a driver which again kind of puts Rikishi as being a patsy. We then cut to Backlash with Austin ramming a chairshot against HHH leading to Rock winning the title. Some more good narration of all the stuff that has happened the past few weeks. This is a cerebral promo from HHH but is good as a lead in into SmackDown and the feud that has been raging between these two. Eddy is in the ring and has some words for Austin. Eddie continues to talk shit and Austin is in the back and attacks the Radicalz dressing room. Pure carnage from Austin as he beats them all up and then pins the door with a forklift. Lawler is pure babyface announcing this now. Eddie is freaking out now. So this is the last(only) televised match between these two. Austin starts off hot and the crowd is going pretty nuclear with his Thesz Press and beatdown. Referee gets shoved away on the outside and Eddie grabs a chair to gain the advantage going after Austin’s knee. Eddie wraps the knee around the ringpost as Eddie Sucks chants ring out. Austin is back on offense and posts Eddie. Some more kicks and a stunner ends it quickly. Austin is ready for Survivor Series. *

Vader has run roughshod in NOAH. This was used a vehicle to show him as a threat and the interactions with him vs Takayama which predictably was beefy. Everything else was sort of window dressing. I am again thinking about year end stuff and where someone like Vader should fall because he has that huge gap where he has nothing but he was pretty damn good in Jan/Feb and he looked pretty awesome here. Everyone here looked pretty good including Slinger getting beat down and Scorpio showing some flash. I appreciated when the match breaks down in the waning moments, No Fear teams up in a 3 on 1 attack against Vader to beat him down a bit. Scorpio ends up getting the win with a big legdrop on Asaka. **1/2

Big Poppa Pump lets Sting know he is beating his punk ass. Sting takes the fight right to him and I LOL’d at him saying “Hey Stevie” before he slams Steiner into the announce table. Steiner takes over and looks pretty awesome with his throws and bullying. Steiner is really coming into his own in this character and is exuding more aura at each appearance. Finish was weird and perplexing. I get that Sting is a big deal and the announcers present it as an upset. I also like sometimes the sudden big move that can put out anybody but it felt abrupt. Sting gets the title shot the night after Mayhem now. What if Steiner wins at Mayhem? Madaja lures Sting post match and Steiner attacks with a pipe and grabs a straightjacket. This set up the pretty goofy stip at Mayhem well enough. **

Thanks Mick, I continue to think stuff involving the attitude era is viewed as old hat but even In the match discussion archive some of the lowest replied stuff is from 95-99 so I do believe there is value in revisiting. Giant in particular is looking better in retrospect so far.

Still looking for that good Pondo match, probably his stuff with Necro this year come closest.

Married 9.5 years and have two kids. Work as accountant doing auditing of local boards of education.

As of right now, it is Shibata for me as I can't think of another final match I have at *****.

Loudest pop is without a doubt Goldberg beating Hogan in 98. Best crowd connection is more nuanced. A more obscure choice would be Matt RIddle at the 2016 SCI. He was one of the big outsiders of the tournament and left as a favorite of both the travelling from outside the state crowd and the locals with the kids chanting Bro Bro Bro throughout his match.

WWF 88-92:What brought me into being a fan of this hobby WCW/JCP: My bread and butter in real time from 94-00 and what I have kind of stalked to watching the most on in the post closure state AJPW 90-00: Have no problem going right up to the separation with NOAH as even though the back half isn't near as consistent there is still some absolute gems like Misawa/Akiyama from 2/00 and you can see the rise of guys like Takayama. IWA:MS 02-06: A sleazy promotion to be synonymous with but when I was watching indie footage for 90% of the time from this timeframe, IWA-MS was always the promotion I liked the best top to bottom.

1. Mad Men 2. Sopranos 3. Deadwood 4. Justified 5. Rectify 6. Seinfeld 7. Curb 8. Frasier 9. Parks and Recreation 10. Big Brother (US)

What was the context if Storm flipping out here?

What a hoot this match is. Gangrel is so much smoother than Saturn in the Raw main event I just watched. He throws a back suplex and Northern LIghts Suplex here early. Regal shows some craftiness with the elbows to the back of his head and his transition with the drop toe hold at multiple points in the match. Regal stretch was a good false finish and Gangrel was able to show a lot of fortitude before going down. The perfect syndicated match to keep your attention span at 11:00 PM. **1/2

This is the genesis of Uncle Jun. He pulverizes Hashi and bullies him around. These two end up having a pretty fun dynamic throughout the decade and this was a good first snippet into that relationship. Jun is now firmly a veteran that is an asshole to younger talent and his Boston Crab and throwing in the towel at the end were nice touches. **1/2

Another good tag match as they seemed to be trying in this show to make sure that Misawa and Taue aren’t forgotten by putting them in better spots. In a lot of ways, this show being in Korakuen is how NJPW structures their Korakuen shows now. Nothing consequential, but some fun stuff. It was nice seeing Kobashi and Taue duke it out here and Kikuchi is always good for taking a beating. Inoue is weak link and really the only NOAH young gun that hasn’t shown much besides getting some opportunities. His selling when they are attacking is subpar and his offense isn’t dynamic either. Kikuchi is able to pick up a win on him which always makes me smile. Just a solid wrestling match that was probably 5 minutes too long. *** (6.2)

A good trial match. Misawa was generous to Rikio without giving away too much. We didn’t get things like a Tiger Driver kick out or even an Emerald Flowsion tease here. On the other hand, Misawa has such great offense and the elbow that even a kickout of one flurry of elbows is a nice coup for Rikio. Rikio looked like he could hang with the big guns and this felt like the most prominent Misawa match with a purpose in NOAH since the 1st night Departure tag. ***1/4 (6.4)

This really should have been the main event feud in the Fall. Now, Storm has lost some steam and I can’t even keep track of Major Gunns affiliation anymore. Storm gives a good effort here given the opportunity. He keeps peppering in shots to the leg which sets up the Maple Leaf as a false finish. Also, watch the background after the nearfall dropkick with the chair as people start rushing the guardrail as they bite on the finish. That type of genuine emotion is pretty few and far between at this point in WCW. I thought Booker again looked ok to fine here but certainly not “ace” promotion level worthy and he picks up the win with the Bookend. **1/2

A weird Bagwell promo that I think was supposed to come off as a face promo but he just seems like a whiner asking the bookers for the chances the likes of Sting, Jarrett and Luger received. Luger is also backstage ripping up Goldberg’s book. Match is another Goldberg squash and he looks impressive press slamming Buff seconds into the match. Buff gets a bit of offense but goes down to the Jackhammer relatively quickly. Goldberg does raise Buff’s hand afterwards as a show of respect. *