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I was looking forward to this as it was a long form match for AJ against an opponent where elite AJ could have carried to very good level in Romeo Bliss. Instead, AJ mostly shows in this match he is a great college football QB prospect with a huge arm but makes some dumb decisions. Call him the Sam Dannard of 2000. AJ is a heel and is way too spotty in his arsenal here. He refuses to go after the openings of the leg of Romeo. The announcers provide probably the first of what I assume many great NWA Wildside calls of the decade by saying that AJ was just being too overconfident but AJ didn’t really exude that in how he was acting. Romeo for his part was pretty inconsistent too when he decided to sell and the match was too long where it felt like they ran out of ideas halfway through. Promising to a degree but also a disappointment. **1/2

Ok match between two young guys that do have some potential. Cross has an array of highspots that is every bit as spectacular as AJ Styles including a beautiful corkscrew moonsault he gets huge air on. Beyond that, he doesn’t have a lot of connecting moves and his character here seemed to be spotty as he took shortcuts and was clearly the heel but again did too much flashy offense for that to hit. We hear Noble has only worked for a two years and he was fine with some good looking power moves but also some bad rope running and confusion in a couple of spots. Overall a decent look at some potential big players upcoming in NWA Wildside. **1/4

I figured this would be great and it was. Bailey starts off really hot and then Shuji just puts an end to that with a gigantic giant swing into the chairs. From there, Shuji is completely dominant and a bully just pulverizing Bailey. Bailey is great from underneath and has some excellent flurries. Finish was definitive but certainly helped Bailey overall. Splendid big vs little match. ****

I liked this a good bit although a bit below Bailey vs Ishikawa. I thought it was neat to see Jiro who is the top babyface in W1 do a performance here that felt very underneath and underdog oriented. It felt like a sequence in the mid 2000's when someone big at IWA-MS or JAPW would debut in ROH. Takeshita played his role well as someone that exuded overconfidence and really toed that line into becoming cocky and unlikable on purpose. The flash roll up and pin got a great reaction from the crowd and from me. ***3/4

This was a great way to get you amped for the Grand Prix. I thought Jiro fit it so well with the DDT mainstays as even though the jacket is a gimmick, he can also be serious and have a solid repertoire of wrestling. The finishing run was sick with Bailey and HARASHIMA taking center stage and doing some great precision strikes to each other. Overall, a really enjoyable main event. ***3/4

This was taped for FWA's tv show. Fun garbage brawl. It went the right amount of time and had some blood to intensify things. We get a preshow angle with Da Hit Squad jumping Bad Crew outside the arena. Bad Crew aren't good or technically savvy but damn if they don't get the crowds behind them and they seem to know their role as Tommy Dreamer esque clunky brawlers. They get good color here and the Dog Collar stip was utilized well. I like Bad Crew's 3D inspired finisher of a combo powerbomb and neckbreaker. ***1/4 (6.3)

Harely’s Angels manager is Thug and the team is Easy Rider and Charlie Davidson. Talk about being on the nose. The vignettes are hilarious with the Angels beating up some guys in a bar. Farmer’s daughter is somehow even worse and looks like some Hee Haw outtakes. Bronco Billy is also out. Lee Marshall announcing all of this is also hilarious. The action is some of the more embarrassing action we have seen in 2000 with rope running being a huge challenge. Bronco Billy is the FIP. I don’t know who I would peg as the best worker here, maybe Charlie Davidson. Twice Becky gets the tag but the ref is preoccupied. He also is way too gratuitous picking up Becky to put her back to the her corner. Becky gets the tag and does a series of dropkicks. Announcers are losing their shit and Bronco Billy is right back at it. Thug just rushes in for the DQ. Thug does a series of splashes to both opponents as our first look at WOW ends. ½*

Another Tracy tv match where he is the master of his craft and leads Abs into a really fun match with Abs working mostly from underneath. This didn’t have as much shit talk from Tracy but he does mix up the action and his arsenal throughout. The finish was one I dug too with the young guys in the promotion that Tracy has hated on all running out, this bewildering Tracy and the referee allowing Lance Cade to paste him with a chair allowing Abs to get the win. **1/2

Clips of the house show match and the Power Pro retaliation. The entire crew runs down and beats up the MCW trio. MCW’s crew comes out and runs off the Power Pro guys with some heavy shots being thrown at Brandon Baxter. Through all of this, Tracy gets rolled up allowing Krush to retain the title. We then cut to a Tazz promo as he hypes the final battle between him and Lawler. Good promo by Tazz here. NR

A really solid match playing off what we saw earlier in the night. Reckless gets the hot start but Scoot takes back over on offense. I do think this type of match was a snippet of what the indies could become throughout the decade. These two didn’t go out to have a MOTYC but they are doing more moves than in your typical 1980’s style match. Beyond that though, they understand their roles and the roll up that Youth gets to win the match feels refreshing and well deserved. I am certain Youth will find a spot on my year end top 100. Scoot probably doesn’t have enough to make it but I do think there was a ton of opportunity for him to become a bigger name than he did. *** (6.2)

Me and Tim Evans have completed our task: My match for Tim: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32250-aj-styles-vs-cm-punk-iwa-ms-8th-anniversary-show-10232004/&do=findComment&comment=5826800 Tim's match for me: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40784-josh-alexander-vs-desean-pratt-lucha-in-the-6-012717/

Tim Evans selected this match for me for the Match Swap. This is my first time seeing this promotion or Pratt sans mask. The promotion left a lot to be desired. It is in a gym that is devoid of quality sound and not much heat throughout. The announcers were ok I suppose but certainly indie-rific. They also utilize a Los Luchas Cam that is extremely annoying and reminded me of the Reffer Eye in 1991 WCW. The actual in ring work was good. Alexander uses his size to gain control and Pratt is fun working underneath. Pratt has bulked up a lot so it is tougher for someone like him to garner sympathy than in his Amasis days but he is able to emote to convey the struggle. Pratt's comeback was well done up until he goes for a sloppy 450 that was supposed to eat knees of Alexander but ended up being knee to knee contact. The match from there loses its focus as they go into a reversal of pinfalls with Pratt able to come out on the upper hand. The story was that he survived the onslaught and the monster but I would have liked to have seen him be a bit more resourceful. Overall, I thought there were some good basic themes here but some opportunities lost and the aesthetic of the promotion detracted from my overall enjoyment.

Good end of the show tag that had a blistering pace in the back end and helped set up programs for the next month with EVIL vs Goto, SANADA vs Okada, Hiromu vs Ospreay and then Naito vs Jericho. While these two teams have been paired way too much lately, they still are able to infuse energy into the matches and get a good response from the crowd. ***1/4

That seemed evident given the booking and he has the youth to make it there. Hell, people are already claiming he is one of the greatest of all time so it isn't that far of a stretch to get him to that level in Western hardcores eyes.

Cody vs Ibushi well worth watching. I think in general Kevin Kelly is fine to good compared to wrestling announcing in 2018. I don't know if that is a indictment on where we stand in regards to the announcing but he doesn't strike me as being nearly as offensive as many other announcers. I am weary of critiquing the screaming too much since my favorite current announcer (Brad Stutts) is certainly prone to that as well. Kelly's knowledge and passion for the product has no doubt grown since he started. The biggest barrier to entry is that there is still a vibe with Kelly that your dad is watching the new hip wrestling and commenting on it. I don't know who out there could be a competent announcer to really compliment the NJPW product without being a show off announcer like Mauro but that seems pretty integral to me if they want huge expansion. (EDIT: I actually think Alan4L could fit that role) As much as I hate Joey Styles now, he fit the desires of the expanding ECW fanbase to a tee. Speaking of ECW, going through 2000 hasn't been too kind to Callis and he continues to not impress me here. He seems to think that this throwback heel commentator role is a re imagining of Jesse Ventura of old but I find it inconsistent and grating for the most part. Overall, again the WK announcing was nothing that I am going to present as an achievement in pro wrestling announcing but I never wanted to switch to the Japanese feed while watching.

Oh yeah, I give Naito/Okada the lions share of the credit but I just wanted to reiterate that I don't think Jericho is completely dismissive even from a gate standpoint. Maybe he only attributed to 500 fans but in a 8,000 increase, that is 1/16th of the rise which is a material amount. A really small sample size but just from myself, the traction he has had in the PTBN chats I am in has gained a couple of eyeballs and I had two co workers who are WWE Exclusive fans sign up for NJPW World to watch the match.

I thought the Jericho vs Omega match had good heat throughout. Pinpointing attendance increase is subjective but Jericho does have to be a part of that equation IMO.

Strong opener with the back work and Young Bucks working mostly serious. I may have preferred the Beretta performance from the year before slightly more but this was a strong way to start off the show and was given a ton of time to develop. This also felt like the best crowd reaction the Young Bucks have gotten in front of the Japanese audience. ***1/2

Goto brought the goods here. I was lower on the Shibata match last year because while I thought Goto's strikes were fine, I didn't think he brought any compelling character traits. His selling here was sublime from the choke out hanging spot to the eyes rolling in the back of his head. Kudos for not bailing out on any of those open hand strikes throughout. I'm sure he is sore as hell right now. Suzuki for his part proved that when he gives a shit and with Suzuki Gun interference held at bay, he can still be a majestic worker. His timing was excellent and his strikes were sharp. Overall, a great slugfest and a substantial feeling win for Goto giving the onslaught he had to endure. ****1/4

Agree with the nitpicks and really didn't like the rope break off of the One Winged Angel on a NO DQ match but otherwise this WAY exceeded my expectations as I figured Omega would be in overdrive full on thigh slapping and V-Triggering to make this match a classic and Jericho wouldn't be able to keep up athletically. Omega did give a big performance for sure but felt somewhat restrained in certain areas compared to other matches from 2017 where you would see a multitude of V Triggers. Jericho turned in a fantastic performance that was smart and captivating for the Japanese crowd as well as Western viewers that were catching the show for the first time. I think this should remain a one off and it took a nearly perfect mix of athleticism, character work and attitude era gimmicks to match the match work but they really did it. ****1/4

Watched this twice now and enjoyed it on the second watch through and have it up there as a fitting lineage of the Tokyo Dome main events of the past 5-6 years. IF that is your style, this is for you, if not move along. Okada seemed to be going back to his norm with the dropkick transitions and the flap jack but he debuts a few new tricks in his bag this year besides those atrocious pants. The cobra clutch submission is worked as a transition and point of control for Okada throughout the match. I also thought the running around ringside kick was excellent. Naito working the neck was smart to set up the Destino and even though Okada wasn't clutching at it throughout the match, Naito in general getting the best of the strike exchanges favored the storyline that Okada's neck was weakened. The finish will probably end up being one of those pivotal moments in this era of NJPW as I am unsure if Naito will ever reach the top of the mountain now but it was heavily dramatic and executed perfectly for the grandiose feel they were going for. The Destino attempt > Rainmaker > Wrist Control > Destino was particularly amazing. Once Okada got that look in his eye after the dropkick, I knew it was over until Naito got greedy and goes for a double Destino. Okada capitalizing on those mistakes is the mark of a champion and an ace. ****1/2

The Briscoes have their cheering section again. Goodnite and Maxx were two people I was not familiar with and they didn’t leave a great lasting impression since they were the workhorses here for a first part of the match before going down to a Patch powerslam. Jay having the heat was smart as that got the crowd invested. Fontaine and Valentine didn’t do much on top but energy from crowd was still there. Mark is still really coming into his body physically at the ripe age of 15 here so his strikes on the comeback are weakened. Valentine gives him a Ganso Bomb to regain the advantage. I don’t think Osbourne has tagged in once. A minute after taking the Ganso, Briscoe is back on offense and finally tags Osbourne. Osbourne eliminates Valentine and the big sleazy heels are out. Final two teams isn’t that inspired and Patch is really heeling it up. Osbourne turns on him and hits him with a chair and the Briscoes win. Haas Brothers attack immediately. Someone runs in and goes all Bill Kazmier style on them and they get beat down. Kevin Kelly is on the outside trading shots too. Hopefully someone can clue me in on who this is that is getting the beatdown. Someone else in Briscoe clan comes in and they beat her down. Kevin Kelly of all people almost incites a riot with the Briscoe fans. Match overall was a weird mixture of mundane action but great crowd heat. The angle afterwards was a shit ton of fun and a Briscoe vs Haas blood match should be good coming up. **1/4

Daniels as a straight up babyface is weird to see in retrospect. They have a good back and forth match showing each person as even since it is the last two Super 8 winners. Bradley does a good job of heeling it up on top and I was excited for us to hit the home stretch when the ref bump happens and we get the bullshit finish of Scoot Andrews coming in to beat up Daniels and Reckless making the save. Can we have one clean finish in 2000? **1/2

A weak ending. Both guys looked drained and it is mainly a punch and hit affair with no rhyme or reason to the violence they are inflicting on each other. The finish is weird in that it is a legit casket match where you have to set the casket on fire. This makes the finish really anticlimactic as they don't really tease putting each other into the casket until Corp is put in it and lit on fire. That is a crazy dangerous spot and the smoke fills up the dingy arena but Rollin' Hard has to be the worst KOTDM in history. *

Deadline is today so get those ballots in!