soup23

Any shot for Villano III? Akiyama, Kobashi and Kawada have a shot at the #1 slot. All three pay an integral role in the final portion of the year and have marquee matches to help build their case.

One of the weirder matches of the year in that it was really two matches rolled into one. The first 20 minutes are a southern tag with Montoya and Homicide playing the heels and a long FIP on Monsta Mack. The Homicide/Montoya chemistry as a team is good and they really work Monsta over. Mafia gets tagged in and then we get a wild brawl. Again it is good stuff with a lot of mayhem and people flying around but both of these segments feel like they would be better as separate entities instead of one match. The venue also drives me nuts between the lights and overall club atmosphere. The valet that sats on the balcony gets involved and beat up. She ends up slapping Hit Squad leading straight to the Cop Killah for a nearfall. A STF by Homicide earns them the victory and tag titles as they are embarrassed by a conglomerate of people in 27 minutes. A good match and I understand the sentiment of putting all of these things together to keep Da Hit Squad strong, but the disconnect in the two segments was too much for me to overcome. ***1/4 (6.7)

A brutal match full of insane strikes and hard suplexes. Low Ki is wearing his black shorts and no shoes and he really raises Reil’s cred by Reil being able to hang mano y mano with Ki. 90’s US indies were notorious for matches with no flow and constant blown spots. This had some flow problems but the execution was great and the stiffness factor was there. The two ref bumps thing was really gimmicky and the finish is certainly done in a way for Reil to win but to make it look flukey and to help Ki. Ki shakes Reil’s hand after the match. Low Ki is legitimately having one of the best rookie type years I have seen and he isn’t even my pick for Rookie of the Year due to Murahama. ***1/2 (7.2)

Akiyama has better matches with Misawa and Vader than Kobashi in 2000. More variety in shifting to a heel persona in NOAH too. Kobashi may get nod over him just on strength of Takayama match and the Johnny Smith match which I loved but its close between the two.

1980 - Probably Buddy Rose based on what I have seen 1981 - Bob Backlund 1982 - unsure 1983 - Terry Funk 1984 - El Satanico 1985 - RIc Flair 1986 - Ric Flair 1987 - Ric Flair 1988 - Jumbo Tsuruta 1989 - Ric Flair 1990 - El Dandy 1991 - Jumbo Tsuruta 1992 - Jushin Liger 1993 - Kenta Kobashi 1994 - Aja Kong 1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa 1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa 1997 - Kiyoshi Tamura 1998 - Kenta Kobashi 1999 - Kiyoshi Tamura 2000 - Villano III if year ended today 2001 - Low Ki would be my choice for right now 2002 - Bryan Danielson 2003 - Kenta Kobashi 2004 - Jun Akiyama 2005 - Samoa Joe 2006 - Bryan Danielson 2007 - Bryan Danielson 2008 - fuzzy here 2009 - fuzzy here 2010 - fuzzy here 2011 - Dick Togo 2012 - Negro Casas 2013 - Daniel Bryan 2014 - Cesaro 2015 - AJ Styles 2016 - Chris Hero 2017 (so far) - Kazuchika Okada

The final push for Unforgiven with all six main guys involved. It was a little jarring to see HHH tagging with Rock/Taker but they did a good enough job showing that all three of those men don’t like each other. I think they did go a little bit too far here in presenting Angle as the heel as HHH gets some funny crowd popping spots over him during the match and then Angle uses the sledgehammer against HHH in the post match attack. He then gives Stephanie a long kiss and insults HHH on the mic. They really presented them two as a blood feud but there is less intrigue IMO on which side Stephanie will choose on Sunday. A minor mis step but the angle had been so spot on up to this point that it was noticeable. *** (5.9)

Through September my short list includes Villano III, Akiyama, Kobashi, Benoit and...... HHH. Tajiri has been excellent and will be an easy top 10-20 worker for the year but I don't think he has been as varied in his performances as HHH. HHH went from cowardly heel to tough guy in the Foley series, worked a more Ric Flair heel persona vs Rock, has had a great intervweaving feud vs Jericho throughout the year that helped make Jericho credible and then has the Angle stuff that is one of the best angles WWF has done up to Unforgiven. It may not be a popular choice around here but HHH's 2000 absolutely has held up for me as a wonderful year for a performer I at points loathe after this year.

This is the type of match that should have been featured on WCW tv for years and all too often, they got about half this amount of time. Nothing mindblowing but a really strong back and forth match where both guys know their role and still act like partners while also going for the win. Juvy blocks a powerbomb and gets a rollup for the win. Konnan is again good on commentary appreciating the action. *** (6.2)

I don’t get the Jung Dragons Leia Meow deal and Borash is approaching Madden levels of unbearable on commentary. Beyond that, this was a pretty fun tv match with the Jung Dragons bumping and flying around for the NBT when Sanders was on commentary. The NBT do the Juvy throw back into the ring and add the wrinkle of Sanders powerslamming Jaime from midair. Leia takes matters into her own hands and attacks her partners before hitting a senton on Sanders to score the pin. **

Foley says hes been out a while so he will be brief. He calls out George W Bush and Al Gore for not answering the SmackDown challenge. Benoit is out for commentary for the main event. It is weird that Rock and Taker were around for so long and never had that signature match. Even Rock doing his reunion tour in 2011-2013 could have probably squeezed in a match with Taker. A nice spirited brawl with both going after each other and Taker having some motivation with the flying DDT. Ref bump and Taker hits a chokeslam but Rock kicks out. Taker then is able to hit the Last Ride to get the pin on Rock really giving himself a lot of momentum heading into Unforgiven. A strong tease for the PPV and they have built up Unforgiven really well. **

Stephanie comes out for her promo that she does every once in a while and she is still a fresh enough character that it isn’t stale yet. The heat from Chicago is great and she calls out Foley to cancel the Unforgiven match between Angle and HHH. Angle comes out instead and has provided a video package showing HHH being violent to Steph. Angle tells Steph that HHH is the biggest piece of trash human he has ever seen. HHH comes out and then gives a long reasoning on how Kurt has annoyed him. The punchline ends with HHH hypothesizing that Angle is a woman. Foley comes out and says the match is a go for the PPV and he sets up a six person tag for tonight with T&A/Trish vs Angle/HHH/Steph. Backstage, HHH says he is going to have to work with Angle he guesses. Steph is mad that she was never given a rematch for the title. Angle barges in and says he will protect Steph and asks HHH to go a week without hitting his wife. HHH gets a line in to go a week without hitting on him to a big laugh from the Chicago crowd. The match itself is fun for the five minutes it lasted. I think T&A were amped up to be in this position as both display some good double team moves. The dynamic with all being heels is unique and gives the fans a chance to decide who to cheer for. Trish attacking Steph gets a cheer for instance but Steph pinning Test does as well after the pedigree. Angle gives Steph a big congratulatory hug for the victory and HHH responds by beating up Angle. They have built the match up well, now lets see if it delivers. *3/4

We get a clip from Hugh that alerts us that Chyna is in Playboy and he thinks everyone will enjoy the spread. Eddy seems to be coming down with a sickness and can't wrestle his match tonight. We cut to the ring and out comes Eddy blanket and all. Rikishi isn't buying it and gets sprayed in the eyes when he attacks. I don't know if this was intentional but this was a pretty smart move on WWF's part in making Rikishi himself look sort of heelish here using Chyna as someone to attack to try to goad Eddy. NR.

Rock promo to start and he isn’t wasting time by calling out Taker. Taker comes out and basically does a veteran punks out young boy promo. That brings out Benoit and Kane and everyone wants a piece at the title. Nothing new but Foley sets up two singles matches. Back from break, Kane and Benoit brawl down to the ring and JR informs us this is the last Raw broadcast on USA. Kane is working hard around this time and hits things like an enzuiguri and exerts his power. It is nice to see and of course Benoit can push the intensity. The match ends when Benoit uses the bell in a vicious attack but Kane sits right up. **1/4

I was anticipating this and it was a great match. I thought it had an outside shot of being a MOTYC and it wasn’t that but that is more my preconceptions and the reality that Dandy is still really damn good but not at 1990-1996 levels anymore. In reality, this was a better version of Atlantis vs Silver Fox with Antifaz being worse than Atlantis (but not by much) and Dandy still being a good bit better than Fox. The match featured a lot of interference from Zumbido which didn’t bother me as much just in how different it was from other apuestas. If that became a norm, it would get progressively more frustrating. Both workers really bleed buckets and all three falls culminated in a clever finish that made sense. Good prevails as is the case in most of these instances and Dandy gets his head shaved. The best Monterrey stuff we have seen since Santo vs Panther. **** (8.1)

That rudo faction is just amazing and ruthless. You take some of the best members from other units and combine them here in Monterrey for a super prick faction. Perro was the main focal point of there attack with Porky getting his chance to shine as well. I think the only thing holding this back from being great would have been a bit more hate and Safari and Lizmark being more than just warm bodies. Overall, a ton of good spots and work by Satanico and after disappearing for a while, he is back at the Fall of the year to make another claim at being a top 10 worker of 2000. Coming off the heels of Steiner vs Goldberg, no way was this near as athletically impressive as that match, but it made more sense. ***1/2 (7.1)

On one hand this felt rushed and in some ways like a Nitro main event. On the other hand, keeping a 2000 Nash match under 10 minutes is probably a smart move. Nash dominates early and is methodical but effective. He takes off a turnbuckle pad and ends up going into it and blades. Nash didn't blade much so the visual was cool. Why use that instead of the cage provided for him, Ill never know. Nash keeps looking for the jack knife and Booker is able to reverse out of it, hit the Book End and win the title as Tony and Co. quickly sign off the air. Overall, a good show for Russo but the work and effort from the wrestlers were there for a great one. **1/2

As impressive as the clash of the titans power move exchange was beforehand that if tightened up would have been a more athletic version of Brock vs Goldberg from Mania that I rated ****1/2, the final portion of this match was just complete bullshit. The gimmicked bat and lead pipe didn't make either seem more invincible, it had the opposite effect of hokiness. Add to that a heel in Steiner that really didn't need the help of his assistance much less the wimpy pair of Russo and Madaja and he loses his luster as a monster. It is the perfect encapsulation of Russo booking and where he gets in his own way from delivering both a classic in the artistic sense as well as the more logical decisions from a storyline standpoint. A match with that fatal flaw just can't be classified as great. I also have some minor nitpick stuff with the Buffalo crowd. They were decent here but that early exchange and stuff like the Tombstone > Oklahoma Slam spots should have gotten electric reactions. Jarrett vs Awesome was a fun distraction match that needed bullshit, the interference here was just straight bullshit. ***1/2 (7)

WCW has been full of bullshit matches with tons of run ins that infuriate the viewer. This was a horseshit match that actually somehow worked for the most part. It featured Jarrett in full heel mode in a Titans jersey and running down the Bills. The plunder portion of the match was fine and had some good weapon shots. The finish with the Bills circling the ring, Gary Coleman's low blows and then getting popped with the guitar and Awesome eventually winning was satisfying. The most Memphis match in 2000 WCW. *** (5.8)

Paul Orndorff is revealed as the surprise partner of the Animals and Tony and crew do a good job putting over that he trained them. The action in the early portion is a little blah mostly due to Disco and Konnan doing the lion’s share of the Animals work. I will give Konnan credit for being the first elimination on his side in a shocking selfless act on his part. Disco follows soon afterwards and the match picks up. O’Haire and Jindrak looked like monsters hiptossing Juvy back into the ring in the same spot we saw a couple of weeks ago. Orndorff gets the hot tag and it is fun seeing him in the legend role taking it to his former proteges. He hits a piledriver but hurts himself in the process. I had actually forgotten about this and it being the Russo era, thought it was a “shoot” for the first minute or so. That shows how far the boy who cries wolf philosophy has entrenched itself into this time period in regards to injuries. The match gets waved off which is a shame as it was shaping up to be really good. I still enjoyed what we got. *** (6.1)

I don’t understand the Major Gunns against her will angle at all. Anyway, this match is a backdrop for the Duggan turn that was coming. Storm does try but General Rection is just nothing more than a patsy character and the crowd is not extremely responsive to him. When Duggan does turn as Rection was going for the moonsault, the crowd seems genuinely shocked which is a more natural reaction than WCW has been able to garner from the viewers throughout much of 2000. I would have liked to have seen Storm in a feud with a more capable opponent such as Kidman around this time. *3/4

If you ever wondered if The Wall and Lash Leroux had a really good match, here is exhibit A. These six guys went out there motivated and turned in a really strong performance. 3 Count are more polished than earlier in the year and have some nice moments on top that show confidence beyond heavily athletic moves. Wall uses his size to bounce around the members. Chavo steps into the role as the leader of the MIA unit and Leroux is a good FIP. This match featured a good standard six man match in the Southern formula with a hot 3 minute back end with moves and nearfalls galore. Lash took a beating but recovered in an appropriate amount of time to gain the win with the Whiplash which was satisfying to the viewer. I expected perhaps a fun match here but this greatly exceeded my expectations. ***1/2 (6.8)

Ito had a gameplan going in of grinding Toyota. That worked well and good for a while but we know how that goes. Like a train that can only sit at the station for so long, eventually Toyota revs up and starts uncorking all of her big stuff including the dropkick to the outside and the moonsault. Using her strength to muster up Ito into the straightjacket German was impressive. Ito realizes she needs to use her stature to her advantage and she starts clobbering Toyota with big blows and powerbombs. Manami misses a charge and Ito goes for a big risk with a double stomp onto the outside. She misses and then gets suplexed onto the floor for her troubles. Huge dive from the balcony and another onslaught of bombs inside have Ito just trying to hang on. Ito is able to get the knees up and now she attacks. Huge elbow suicida on the outside and she keeps the pressure on back inside culminating in a super brainbuster from the middle rope. The finish gets botched a bit as it looks like Ito is going for a super powerbomb but either Toyota slips or she doesn't throw her far enough where she lands on the ropes. A double stomp gives Ito the title. Ito's mom is clapping in approval in a feel good visual. Another really good match on this show that just had a few things preventing it from reaching the great level. ***1/2 (7.1)

A good inter-promotional match with a lot of hate. I liked how this started out hot, settled down and then tempers flared up again with piledrivers on the table and slinging bodies through chairs. Nakanishi was the highlight here and her and Inoue have a wonderful sequence at the end full of hate and vigor. The heel invaders use their size and wiliness to pick up a big win and keep the feud continuing. This reminded me of a WAR trio during the New Japan feud of 1993. ***1/2 (7.1)

Pretty big day for joshi all around. This is a good example of a classic joshi match that is a good choice to show someone that wants a showcase for the style. It doesn't display the best the style has to offer but also doesn't display the worst even though tendencies like too many back drops and the screaming are there were the viewing can gauge if they want to explore further or not. I liked Nanae's approach in the early going as she systematically took Miho down a notch. Miho sold like she was in agonizing pain and projected an underdog character in the first portion of the match. Things open up in the back half and we get our share of rope running, outside action and suplexes producing near falls. I thought it was fairly obvious that the match was building to a Miho win. The pin appears to be botched as Nanae kicks out on a 2.9 count but the bell rings and they quickly scramble for Miho to hit another ddt to win the title. The victory feels like a big deal for Miho so that was nice to see. ***1/2 (6.9)

With how horrid a lot of clipping for NJPW has been, it was rewarding to get this match in full. A lot of hate was on display as the opening work is uncooperative and then we get a crowd brawling segment before things settle down inside the ring. Ilzuka plays a strong lieutenant to Nagata and Tenzan also looks on as a concerned son for his father when Chono is getting worked over. Even though he looked a little goofy doing it, Nagata really riles the crowd up while Ilzuka has Chono in the crossface by taunting Tenzan and daring him to break the attempt up. Chono was really worked over a lot more in this match than I would have imagined. Nagata does a crossface of his on and Tenzan tries his hand now only to be punked down by Ilzuka. Nagata takes over on his figure four salute and looks to have the match in hand when Tenzan is able to hit the diving headbutt to break that up. Chono Team 2000 is on the prowl now and Chono locks in the STF on Ilzuka for a near finish. Nagata is dispatched and two yakuza kicks and a low blow are enough to pin Ilzuka. Very good tag match. ***1/2 (7)