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Osaka Pro has arrived in Korakuen and to say I was geeked for this match would be an understatement. This was worked in a much more traditional junior wrestling style than the shoot style their first two matches were competed under but the strikes they do throw throughout the match here are crisp and accurate. Murahama has refined himself which in one degree makes him slightly less dynamic but he shows the quickness and spark and now has MOSTLY better execution. I say mostly because he completely wipes out on a first tope con hilo attempt before retrying one in reckless manner a minute later. The match works to establish Murahama as someone that is for sure a threat as the opening feels like it may be Delphin working as the dominant, grizzly veteran but the match plays out with Delphin working from underneath a lot. They also don’t make that feel like a fluke but rather an inevitable occurrence. Delphin isn’t going to go quietly and responds by really working over the head of Murahama with high impact brainbusters and DDT’s right towards it. Murahama does a nice counter into a slick cattle mutilation > camel clutch > cross armbreaker combo in 20 seconds. The arm of Delphin is in extreme danger and he throws another quick desperation DDT to gain some breathing room. Knowing this is his opening, he delivers a huge saito suplex and then a palm strike with the good arm and hand after a fake out for a nearfall. Really great stuff now. A tornado DDT has Murahama out of sorts and the German finishes him off. This didn’t reach my lofty ambition of MOTY but that is a victim of expectations and if this was some random pool match in the BOSJ, it would feel more satisfying. Objectively, I still thought it was a very good match and smartly worked minus the bad botch of Murahama’s tope. ***3/4 (7.5)

Holy shit was this convoluted. The booking on this show was poor and what should have been a big moment for Corino felt really underwhelming. I think Corino vs any of the other three opponents in a one on one match would have been more appealing but the double jeopardy portion was too cute and confusing. Dawn Marie turns on Corino at the end and both of the big superkicks against Francine and then for the finish were pretty big whiffs. Bummer because behind Tajiri, Corino is the best thing about ECW in 2000 but this doesn’t feel like his big moment and feels like a promotion trying to do something edgy like the 3 way dance moniker but it just feels hollow and lame in the year 2000. **1/2

After the opening 5-7 minutes, I was wondering why this didn’t get talked up more. Then Mikey gets injured, Super Crazy subs in which is cute but also pretty unfair especially considering that Mikey/Tajiri and FBI have a sort of mutual respect for each other and on top of all of that shit, FBI win again. Tajiri already feels wasted being deep in a tag team feud where he isn’t the champion up to this point, but it is completely ludicrous now. Crazy looked good and had some exciting bumps including the balcony sault but a part of the allure of the match was lost on me with Mikey out of the way. Mamaluke and Guido continue to be pros and two of the most rock solid performers in ECW in 2000. I think if they would have built this as the ultimate blowoff and had Mikey/Tajiri regain the belts and give them a lot of credibility, it would have been fine. Instead, this feels like a major whiff and I’m no longer interested in watching these four (5 if you throw in Super Crazy) compete against each other ***1/4 (6.4)

I have loved watching this series and this felt like a good blowoff with Hamrick inserting himself until Spike comes out and tears off the leg brace indicating he has healed up. Watching a ton of these matches play out, it was nice to see some little wrinkles like Roadkill getting cut off and the Acid Drop variation that ends up being the finish. Roadkill and Doring really deserved better than dying day ECW and Hot Commodity is a better heel tag team than the New Age Outlaws. *** (6.2)

Two of the better ECW workers of the year and a good match on PPV that was impromptu. This did have some sloppy moments that may have had it slightly underperform from my expectations but on most of the big high spots, Kash was money like usual. Anderson is a good base for Kash and the arm work he sprinkled in throughout was engaging enough. Kash getting the win gets the fans fired up and ready for the rest of the show. *** (6.1)

A batshit New Jack promo in the back where he talks about whipping ass and even calls Dawn Marie retarded. He says he wants Marie to stay in the back and Corino backs him up on that. Corino is on his own for the first couple of minutes and that allows Credible and Rhino to open up his cut. New Jack makes his entrance and we veer off. The Credible vs Jack portion is the usual barrage of New Jack weapons and slice and dice action. The Rhino vs Corino portion was a ton of fun with Rhino taking big momentum bumps into the concession tables and arena doors. Corino is a bloody mess. The punches thrown by both Rhino and Corino are impressive and hate filled. Corino really has established himself at no worse than the 2nd best face in the company behind Tajiri. Match loses momentum with a long shot between Jack and Credible with not much at all going on. Everyone makes their way to the ringside area as Francine gets in the ring to deliver a cane shot to Corino. Corino is able to reverse it and Credible ends up taking the shot. Superkick to Rhino and a chair shot from the top rope give Jack and Corino the victory. Credible comes back in with the cane and takes out both regaining his heat. Rhino sends Jack through a table but here comes Sandman and we have a cane battle that Sandman gets the best off. Sandman then canes Rhino before standing tall to end the show. This set up the PPV Double Jeopardy match fairly well but was a Jekyl and Hyde match between the good (Corino/Rhino) and bad (Credible/Jack). **1/4

Hamrick is doing a lot more tv spots in the past few months. Hamrick comes out limping and is seriously hurt. I have seen this before but Hamrick milks it well. Joey isn’t buying it for a second. Spike comes out and when he rolls in, Hamrick is suddenly all better. Hamrick chokes him away but within a minute, Spike is able to hit the Acid Drop and get the surprise pin. Hot Commodity attacks afterwards until Kash, Doring and Roadkill make the save. ¼*

Unholy Alliance clearly most over people in ECW at this point and they really should be the champions. We will see what the PPV match is like. They reign in York and Matthews here and we get an enjoyable tv match. Tajiri like usual does a couple of little things even through stiff strikes or facial expressions that are memorable. Mikey is in better shape and flying around more than he would at most points past this. Kip up and some mist for Matthews lead to a stiff kick and Whipwreck and Tajiri doing their double team flapjack finisher into a brainbuster for the pin. **

The watching on tv gimmick from WWF New York is still really awkward. Good singles showcase from these two and Edge looked more natural here than I seem to recall even a few years later when he was put out there to have 7-14 minute showcase type matches. Christian gets in some cheap shots on the outside. Tazz on commentary is making a late push at being in my bottom three for the year. His “laugh” is putrid and him and Cole spend most of this match talking about everything else but the match that is going on in the ring. Interference with both members have Tim White distracted but the match looks won when Hardy hits the Twist of Fate, Christian is able to pull Matt out and then Christian hits the reverse DDT for a close two count. Jeff hits Edge in a chair right in the face when Edge brings it into the match and Matt gets the win. This was a fun way to integrate the tag partners into the match while giving the two singles competitors some showcase spots as well. RTC interferes to end things and they feel pretty dated by now. **3/4

First fall is brief with some Porky comedy but then the rudos taking over and dominating from that point forward. Porky does a great spot where he is getting chopped on the outside and bounces off a patrons hands because they fear him falling on them. I love this guy. Ano and Casas have a good sequence with each other. They are doing a lot of pandering to the crowd here but it is entertaining stuff garnering a reaction so I don’t mind that. Porky takes second fall in another innovative way where Casas chops his head making him squish Ano. In the third caida, they keep cutting to this fan that has fallen asleep on his girl. After a few nearfalls, we cut back and the patron is back to life. Porky is getting triple teamed inside the ring as Casas and Rivera recover. Nice win for the rudos and this trio is still being booked strong in 2000. *** (5.8)

Another good tag match and match overall for the JWP promotion. I wish we could see all of their spot show stuff or anything besides the big matches instead of the multitude of GAEA we have for the year overall. Hyuga continues to look like a star within the joshi scene and beyond for the 2000’s and has some slick sequences displaying her speed against Bennett and a more peer to peer contact with Haruyama. Inoue has really declined physically and now is going power move for power move with Reggie. Reggie is still not at all the most graceful worker but her effort is never in doubt. A really enjoyable tag match that made me desire to see more Hyuga going forward. ***1/4 (6.6)

Commando continues to be one of my favorite underheralded workers in history. She may not have many MOTYC but her limb work is always logical and solid leading to matches that are enjoyable. Here she alternates between the leg and arm of Miyazaki and varies up the attack a ton before combining both focal points cleverly into some tight submissions at the finish. Miyazaki was strong fighting from mostly underneath and showing fire when needed throughout the matchup. A strong undercard match with a heavy focus on mat work leading to submissions. ***1/2 (6.8)

Worked WarGames style with CIMA and Tokyo starting and one wrestler coming out every few minutes afterwards. You are also eliminated once you get thrown over the top rope which we see when Tokyo is the first person out. Tiger Mask and Sasuke the Great get eliminated next. I would like to know who was portraying Sasuke the Great here. This leaves Pantera in a 3 on 1 situation until Great Sasuke makes his way down. The rudos still have the advantage so they continue the beatdown and that only gets worst when Pentagon enters giving the rudos a 4 on 2 advantage. Pantera gets pinned and things are looking very bleak. Taka comes out to a superstar reaction but gets beat down too. This is quite the heel performance for the quasi Crazy Max unit. CIMA gets too cocky and gets thrown over the top rope followed quickly by Sumo Fuji in a fun sequence evening up the units to now being a 2 on 2 match. Match finishes with Taka vs Pentagon and it is a fun five minutes with all of the other competitors getting involved and doing dives and the finish resulting in Taka hitting the MIcinoku Driver for the win in just over 27 minutes. A fun match seeing a collection of the non NJPW junior talent in Japan in 2000. ***1/4 (6.4)

I wont rehash my thoughts on these two throughout the year but we have seen them a lot and this felt like a blow off with a straight match that was very good and worked in a more classic style. Octagoncito leaned rudo throughout and Rocky had to overcome the odds to gain the victory in the end. The work was solid but something was missing to make it one of the more memorable mini title matches that we have seen throughout the years. It may just be 2000 burnout, but I am hoping for something else going forward after watching this which seems odd given my rating. ***1/2 (7.1)

This was also presented as the blowoff between these two as no one is allowed to interfere or they will be barred from OVW for life. Opening is frantic and good with mixed punches and action. I still don’t think either of these guys look like a potential star but they certainly are solid hands. Bolin runs out to ringside assuring we can’t have a straight clean finish. Chair shot by Conway and Cornette screams Good God Almighty. Hes given him brain damage. Shut the fuck up. Immediately after that, Jim throws us to break. The chair gets involved again and that just cheapens the match overall with Dinsmore making his comeback. The missile dropkick from Dinsmore looks good and he picks up the win and the title in what is the biggest decision on OVW tv this year. The pop is more genuine than we have seen. This still had some shit but some actual feel good moments and as a result, you can excuse most of the excess. **1/4

This is the final confrontation that they hyped the week before. Crowd is loud and probably not bad for this time period in Memphis even if it isn’t exactly a sell out. Action here was the best we have seen of the year between these two and featured a good variety of shots. Tazz pops right up from a piledriver which was really odd and out of place although the way it was worked, you could say he avoided contact. The strap comes down and King makes his comeback before we get the ref bump. Tazz goes to the top rope which is ill advised and King quickly pins him after the missed somersault leg drop. MPPW contingent attack King and beat him down with assistance from Tazz. **

I still can’t put my finger on what it is in FMW where the luster is lost but it is gone currently. Maybe Busa is being booked too strong for my liking. Sure enough in this match he is beat down and beat down for the majority of the proceedings until he makes a big comeback in the final fall and wins it for his team. Afterwards, we get another big promo and he unmasks. It just seems like we have seen this a lot lately and the emotional punch is gone. This was also filmed weirdly in a quasi handcam style that took me out of the match. Overall, pretty pedestrian for a lineup of workers I generally like a lot. **1/2

This was a lot of fun for the amount of time it lasted. Bloody and Toshie blast Chigusa right away and work her over until Meiko comes in all pissed off to even the odds. Meiko has some great transitions involving the arm as she throws Toshie over the top rope with an armbar and also does a double team move hooking on a cross armbreaker from a throw that Chigusa gives. A scary moment with Meiko on the top rope and she delivers a big kick and then falls off face first on the mat. Meiko is one of the better joshi workers just based on her relentless pace and energy. She gets the pin which feels well deserved and then her and Chigusa do a cool hand gesture with each other. Fun ass sprint. ***1/4 (6.3)

A good standard AAA tag that probably would look better if it didn’t come in the wake of a promotion that has been dreadful throughout 2000. If this is just the best match in a given week, that is one thing. However, this is probably one of the top 5-10 matches we have seen from the promotion this year and when it barely qualifies as good, that makes me question just how poor things have been overall than probably rightfully praise the singular action here. Even then, nothing here is extraordinary by any means, it is just competent. Last fall is filled with bullshit and outside interference featuring Jerry Estrada and Octagon. I don’t really know where all of this is leading or what I hope happens, I just hope the promotion improves from a clarity standpoint. **1/2

Big time interview to start things off leading in Rock disputing Rikishi’s claim again. Rikishi comes out and disputes that and then we get Angle and Austin involved. The biggest development happens at the end of the segment when Austin stuns Rock in the middle of the ring. The match is energetic but pretty brief and while it was presented as a long form affair, it is mainly a catalyst for the ending angle. Rikishi interferes again and it feels like he is destined for a feud with Rock. Austin comes down and cleans house of Angle and Rikishi without exactly coming to Rock’s aide and Rock gives him a Rock Bottom as a receipt from the earlier stunner as the show goes off the air. **

These two right now have a good bit of chemistry and are going after each other for the first three minutes with stiff shots on the outside. The main proponent of this match was the reformation of the Radicalz as Eddie comes out with the IC belt and hits HHH with it allowing Benoit to get the pinfall. HHH comes back with a chair shot as the Radicalz retreat. I’m happy to see the Radicalz back for now. *1/4

Rikishi yells at Coach and reiterates that Rock was the one responsible for running over Austin. There was some meatiness to this four minute tv match as RIkishi is busted open and it shows Rikishi being more vicious. In fact, I think I would have preferred a long term feud here between these two instead of Kane vs Jericho. Speaking of the demon, here he comes to interrupt another match but Jericho is prepared this time with a chair. Jericho gives him a direct headshot which is no sold and then Kane chokeslams Jericho. It is subtle and WWF is still not near unwatchable but for the most part of the year, all of the feuds felt like the best case scenario for the wrestlers and this match exemplifies that is no longer the case. *1/2

A huge cage for this match. Lucha cage matches are maligned and this gives a pretty good example of why at first. Opening ten minutes is all punches and kicks. Some good stuff mainly from Super Parka and Blue Panther but a lot of mindless feeling action. Then confetti falls from the sky and everyone works to escape the cage by climbing as rapidly as they can. Mega is able to sneak away. Felino is next which is disappointing since I was hoping he would carry the load later on in the match when the ring cleared out from a workrate perspective. Black Dragon and El Hijo Del Lizamark are the next two out and the match is clearing out. Blue Panther then makes his quick escape and we are left with Super Parka and a lot of lower level guys which is another reason these matches do carry stakes in being an apuestas match but usually result in lower level talent duking it out. Super Parka and Enterrador are next out and we are left with Super Mega, Ultimate Vampiro and Offical inside the ring. Oficial gets two quick punches and runs out and we are left with our final two. I’m hopeful that the action will pick up now. It unfortunately doesn’t and we get some sloppy action. Super Mega accidently loses his mask taking a concession box shot in the corner. Vampiro ducks a punch and then escapes and Mega is forced to unmask proper now. Mega is only a 23 year old guy so extremely young to be maskless and we get his name as a graphic on the screen. This didn’t make me hopeful for upcoming lucha cage matches throughout the decade. **1/4

Two of the most unheralded lucha workers of 2000 go out and have another really good match against each other. Some solid wrestling and progression that leads up to the climax in the final fall. Neither one of these men seem to reinvent the wheel but it remains engaging. The third fall had a foul attempt from Scorpio but I was shocked and delighted that he ends up pinning Villano clean on a sunset flip take over. Scorpio will easily land in my top 50 wrestlers of the year and there will certainly be a spot for Villano IV between the trios matches and his singles showcases. IWRG continues to be neck and neck with CMLL as far as my favorite lucha promotions. ***1/2 (7.1)

Kidman calls out NBT before the match and he is still not a good promo at all. The tag division continues to be the highlight of WCW and this was one of the better examples. A really good match with Alex Wright in particular looking fantastic when the Boogie Knights take over. I was a little bummed that the crowd again seems more subdued than you would expect but it is 2000 WCW so I can give them a pass. The Animals hot tag and run through of offense leading to the finish was great and mixed in a lot of decidedly 2000 spots like the Bronco Buster and legdrop to the stomach and balls for the pinfall. Good match. ***1/4 (6.4)