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Sanders makes a relevos suicidas match for tonight with Steiner and Jarrett on opposite sides. Steiner gets on the mic and says he is going to kick Jarrett’s ass as well so the plan may not be going as well as they drew it up. The match itself is pretty good and in ring, some pieces of WCW are starting to come together. Steiner is effective as a monster and Booker and him are the marquee pairing against each other. Booker and Sting have some rough moments against each other and I contemplate whether Booker will rank on my top 100 for the year or not. I want him to be better than he has been and I can’t blame the booking entirely. Booker is much more comfortable vs Steiner and hits a good spinebuster. It is weird to see Jarrett and Booker tagging out but that is the nature of these matches. Jarrett and Steiner have a good sequence with each other too. Steiner makes some mistakes by not going for the cover. Booker and Steiner are left alone in the ring even though they aren’t the legal men. Silverman gets the sidekick and Jarrett goes to slam the guitar on Sting but Booker intervenes. Jarrett then goes to smash Booker with the guitar but he ducks and Sting gets hit with it. Jarrett gets the pin and they move on to the 49er match. One of the better Nitro matches of the year sadly enough. **3/4

After Mikey and Psicosis shake hands, the FBI attack and beat down both. Joey hypothesizes that they are trying to take Mikey out before the PPV. Roadkill and Doring run in for the save and we have our tag match starting up. Quick and energetic match between these two. The finish carries the usual stance in FBI matches lately with the faces having the match won before Sal makes his presence known. The way the ring shakes and the camera angle on his backdrop slam make it look awesome. FBI picks up the win heading into the PPV. **

You can tell that these two are in the twilight of their heyday and the big spots like the Psicosis rana don’t hit like they should but overall this was enjoyable as a seven minute junior style match. Sinister gets involved on the outside with a back rake and Mikey picks up the surprising win with the super Whippersnapper. **1/4

I had little expectations about this match and for sure didn't expect it to be match of the night but here we are. I got behind the story of this one as Lynn as the hometown guy. Credible also gets some legit good heat here. Some of it is gimmicky like wearing the Favre jersey and getting on the mic mid match but Credible does things here with good timing that he misses in other matches resulting in them feeling like they are wrestled in a vacuum. Cyrus calls this match in a subdued tone on commentary which is a bit odd. Credible's offense on top was more compelling than usual and the sequencing from the table spot to the Cradle Piledriver nearfall was awesome. Once the Cradle Piledriver hit, it felt like Credible would escape especially after the That's Incredible but they let Lynn kick out. HC Loc gets taken out and we get some more Danny Daniels bullshit which hasn't really worked at all and is a holdover from the Rhino match where he made a fast count. Francine cane shot and world title belt shot but Lynn kicks out even with the fast count. New Jack running in felt like a good way to even everything up and it leads to the cool moment of Lynn winning with the Cradle Tombstone. Overall, another strong ECW PPV that was enjoyable for me to watch start to finish. ***1/2 (7)

We get a hot opening that worked in not falling into the worst RVD traps of him just showing off. Rhino also gets a ton of offense in on RVD and RVD is selling well enough. The ending run of this match was the worst part with some absolutely ridiculous acrobat nonsense from RVD doing his chair spots. Fonzie hilariously does a somersault tumble to place a chair in position. Rhino winning and kicking out of the Five Star does help put him over. One of the better RVD matches of the year and not even good so that shows you the year he is having. **3/4

I can see how some would be down on this match as it wasn't big like the Hammerstein match and actually worked more like a throwaway sprint but the work within the match was really strong and again these four proved why they are some of the strongest workers in the US in 2000. Especially Tajiri, Guido and even Mamaluke. The way Sal is able to position himself for the big spots work and that gives a frantic vibe allowing Tajiri and Mikey opportunity to avoid him and create drama that they can win the big one. FBI has been able to escape with these wins while also looking strong which isn't easy to do. Overall, this was a win for me. ***1/4 (6.5)

AJW is killing it so far. I was amazed at the level of complexity and hate this match had from Jaguar who was at the young age of 18. They were able to have a hate filled open be sustainable thorughout the entire match and the back and forth aspects of the match flowed wonderfully. Jaguar winning at the end felt like a big moment and her taking a big step towards the future. She earned every inch of this one. ***

I did my cursory check around the reviews of this show and saw that this match was pretty panned. That makes sense in the way of what Dave and SK generally look for in a match they enjoy but for my enjoyment and mixing the hardcore elements of ECW with the old school psychology, this was pretty spot on and worked for me. The shoulder work on Corino was really good and him getting cut open always adds drama. I also thought Corino timed his kickouts really well and it was fun to see how in the course of the year he transitioned from heel to face. Corino makes a big comeback and hits the Old School Expulsion for the pin. ***1/4 (6.7)

Straight bullshit and ok enough but not on the level of Dangerously vs Cornette or anything. Both are in their business casual clothes until Gertner shreds the jacket. He also attempts to perform the People's Elbow by throwing his neck brace but this allows Cyrus to gain the advantage. Gertner ends up winning with a roll up and hopefully all remains of the Network angle are done now. 1/2*

This would have worked out much better as an opener. Kash performs the jump dives from ropes to ropes with more grace than anyone I have ever seen. He is able to do it in a way that looks painful for the opponent and with impact without looking out of control. I have also enjoyed everything Money is able to bring to the table too. The Money Clip as a move is excessive but it looks painful and spectacular. Ending has the cavalcade of run ins from Hot Commodity with Sandman making an entrance and helping Kash secure the win. Afterwards, Cyrus gets involved allowing Joel Gertner to come down for their match. Sandman pours beer down Electra's cleavage and then has Gertner sip it up. ***1/4 (6.3)

This match was set to establish the tone for the evening and get the crowd going. Unfortunately, York and Matthews highspots didn't look as flashy here as in the MCW match from about a week ago and Roadkill and Doring actually excel more working against established heels based on their likability. As a pure spotfest, high octane opener it was fine but It felt beneath Doring/Roadkill in a way and they are getting one of the better natural reactions of anyone in ECW right now. **1/2

A good showcase for Regal in a three minute match as he stretched Holly some and showed off his variety of offense. Regal certainly looks refreshed and revitalized compared to his 1999-early 2000 output. Naked Mideon runs out at the finish and that was a pretty poor main angle to involve Regal in right out of the gate. 1/2*

Tazz can be grating on commentary here. This is for the IC title. They do a good job of conveying that Eddy is off his game with what is going on with Chyna. Road Dogg dominates most of the match and the finish was clever with Eddy catching a powerslam from Road Dogg and rolling through with his feet between the ropes to gain the pin. Tazz's cackle at the end was awful and forced. 1/2*

Heat is on MTV now with Tazz as cohost. They are doing a weird bit where they are commenting on the match from WWF New York watching it on a big screen Prime Time Wrestling style. This is for the lightweight title which is still a thing. 2.5 minute match which is fine with Taka running through all of his stuff including a nice crossbody where Dean was able to base for him. Dean gains the advantage and then hits a pretty rudimentary suplex for the pin. It appears that Taka legit fucked up his shoulder which is a bummer. 3/4*

This is the semi finals of the big singles Osaka Pro tournament and really exemplified the variety of styles that Osaka Pro can display and make them mold organically throughout. I know it is a promotion that really sings to me, but it hits my sweet spot and the work is top notch. Some good early chain wrestling had Togo on the losing end so he takes out his frustration with an attack on the outside using chairs and tables. Hoshikawa is busted open and Togo works the cut with aggression. Hoshikawa is able to hang on and like in an apuestas lucha match, he mounts a comeback delivering the same attack to Togo that was given to him. Now Togo is bleeding and the fight is on. The match shifts into a finishing stretch that blends between big moves off of suplexes and some expert striking from Hoshikawa. Those final kicks he delivered to win in particular were some of the best strike exchanges we have seen in the year. Togo shows his respect to the victor and Osaka keeps on humming along as one of my absolute favorite promotions of the year. **** (8)

This the Toryumon I have loved in 2000. I was interested in seeing CIMA in there with the two weakest Crazy Max members and sure enough, Stalker nearly gets rolled up right away. The result was that Stalker took a big beating and tried his damndest to hang on. CIMA bullies Stalker around but he is their buddy to bully around so he takes exception to anyone else doing it and goes after M2K with vigor throughout the match. I thought this may have been the best Kanda and Susumu have looked this year as they were given a lot of chances to shine with their beat downs and double team moves. Kanda is in there for the climax and picks up the win continuing the momentum for M2K. **** (7.8)

A good tag match but nothing extraordinary at all and we missed around 6 minutes. The crowd was also really sparse which made the match not have much of an atmosphere. Between this and the Toryumon we saw at the end of September seems to have the promotion in a bit of a holding pattern until the next big show. The way that Crazy Max used underhanded techniques here when they felt the match slipping away was well done. I also dug Fuji using power moves like the chokeslam. Ending lariat looked brutal. **1/2

More Murakami vs Ishikawa? Yes, please. The contrast of the opening to this match with everyone being more calculated was neat compared to the Sept match. September was all about proving yourself to each other by just going out there and throwing the hardest strikes you can. Now, the feud is personal and you just want to assert domination. Murakami sees a quick opening and unleashes a flurry. Later, he essentially holds Malenko hostage for Ishikawa to come back in. After another exchange that Ishikawa gets the best of, Yuki gives a wry smile that exudes “yeah motherfucker, I am better than you.” I don’t want to totally ignore the Malenko vs Nagai stuff as it was perfectly good but the real story that is woven throughout the match is about Ishikawa vs Murakami and when they are in the ring together and not in the ring together. They seem destined for a singles showdown and this match was the perfect appetizer. To play off the previous match, Malenko locks in some submissions that could be finishers on Nagai and this time, Murakami does enter the ring to save his partner by kicking Malenko. Nagai mounts a comeback and gets an awesome flying kick on Carl and then a brutal powerbomb. Now it is Ishikawa’s turn to break up a submission attempt. Carl is groggy and Murakami delivers another huge roundhouse to put him on his ass and then yells at him to get up. Once Carl does, the wrath of Kazunari is unleashed as he just goes ape with a flurry until the bell is called. That sets Yuki off and we have another intense pull apart and challenges issued after the match. In a year of great feuds, this is one of the best and I can’t wait for the singles match. ***3/4 (7.6)

A very good Bat Bat ground based tag match with a ton of mat work and twisting in different positions. Ken was the underdog throughout and both Sano and Taira took turns cranking out painful looking stuff on him and trying to attack him with strikes. Ken put up a strong effort underneath and made his flurries count. I also dug Usuda here helping his buddy out as it was some of the strongest stuff Usuda has done this year. Taira continues to impress and I also enjoy seeing a long Sano match. ***1/2 (7.1)

A young Johnny Fairplay is bringing out Chuck and Chad. Moretti looks exactly the same and him and Bluto bring the beef. The action leaves a lot to be desired and featured a Joey Jackson run in at the end. Not much to chew on as Bluto and Moretti dominated the match. *

Joey Jackson's hair has to be seen to be believed. Such sleezy vibes ala Gary Young and John Tatum. Torch will become Adam Firestorm eventually. This was another good and basic tv match for Portland. Chuck Bam Bam Gordy provides some interference and he does legit look just like Terry that I thought it was him for a second. I am intrigued to watch more from these two too. **1/2

This was much better than the hardcore match. Kozina is someone we will see from time to time and he never did much for me. Wayne felt like a really solid old school heel worker here in the same vein as someone like Todd Morton. I am intrigued in seeing more of him as he mixed up that old school vibe with some new school moves making this a perfectly enjoyable juniors tv match. **3/4

Haven't watched Jackie Sato and she left a great impression here. Wonderful match full of psychology. The transition from the leg work to Tomi being able to get a knee up on the diving Sato and it hitting Sato's stomach was perfectly executed. This was a drawn out match but the fever pitch of the crowd made it still feel frantic and that big stakes were involved. The final double KO spot at first bothered me but it does play into the story of the match and the back suplex that it happens on does look brutal and believable that neither woman could continue. Miles ahead of everything else we have seen so far in 1980. **** (7.8)

I thought the first portion with them pounding away was setting up for a pretty fun meat and potatoes brawl but then things grind to a halt with the most lifeless chinlock I have ever seen. Graham just doesn't have compelling offense on top and it takes Rhodes getting cut and selling from underneath for any juice to come out of the match. I already know I am going to have to adjust my expectations on this awful 80's finishes as this was a double count out one that happened right as the match was heating up. **1/4

Agree with most of the earlier comments here. Brody was backing and cowering away for the most part and overall he really personified himself differently than I am accustomed to. Now sure, guzzling up everyone Brody isn't my cup of tea either but this was such a big departure that it was distracting. Mosca had brief glimpses of interest pounding away but overall he didn't do many exciting things throughout the match and it was a pretty big slog getting to the finish. Jumbo does hit a pretty dropkick. Finish was predictably awful. **1/2