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Loss keeps blaming DEAN for all the ZIPANG matches but I think he secretly likes me tackling them before me. El Sonsadole is an owl that represents the mascot of a Panama soccer team and the owl lives the gimmick receiving bird seed from the fans at ringside. FM Taro has a pretty Rocking 80’s gimmick himself and he looks like he is ready for a cameo on the Goldbergs. The match is full comedy as you might have imagine and the best spot is when Consadole spot on acts like an owl when he gets caught on the top rope. Even though much like WCW, this isn’t a workrate marvel of a match, but it is something I expect and they play into the audience instead of insulting it. That is why the ratings may be relatively close and neither are going to be high but I would take a 100 ZIPANG matches over 100 New Blood Rising PPV’s. *1/2

This match feels really played out. I guess Jarrett earlier in the night attacked and slam Booker’s leg in a car door Arn and Larry Z style. The brawling here is one of the better interactions these two have had but I would like to see more selling of the leg from Booker. Jarrett works it over but then Booker comes back and is running around. We do get the guitar shot as a counter for an ax kick and a ref bump because this is a WCW main event. Booker wins with the Book End but doesn’t get much of a reaction. This ends a pretty awful PPV on a decent note. **1/2

Goldberg’s music starts but he doesn’t come out. Nash and Steiner start off the match against each other. Goldberg then comes out and they have an ok 3 way match. Then we get the big angle where Nash goes for the powerbomb and Goldberg shoots by leaving. Russo yells at him on the entranceway and this is just complete ass all around. The match continues and you can’t pay attention to it because the announcers keep yammering on about what is in the script or not. Madaja comes out and low blows Nash but that isn’t enough as Nash ends up winning and is the #1 contender. Just an atrocity all around. ¼*

Lance gets a homecoming reaction and cuts a face promo for these fans before announcing Jacques Rougeau as the enforcer. Tony and Hudson are annoyed but they don’t take a knee during the Canadian National Anthem. Madden is annoying on commentary kissing up to Storm. After all of that, the match starts proper with Awesome getting boo’d. Things are going pretty well until Awesome slips on the top rope and gets laughed up uproariously by the fans. Awesome’s pop up powerbomb looks good and then we get a weird ass finish where Storm kicks out but the bell rings and then Slick gives Awesome the match. Rougeau on the outside evokes Canadian rules saying you have to win with a five count to win the match. This match is falling apart at the seams. Awesome then gets a tap out with a dragon sleeper. Of course, Rougeau says that the Canadian rules don’t allow this. What a disaster by Russo where Storm gets pivoted from an annoying but competent heel to someone that is buried and beaten continuously in front of his fans but is able to win with all this bullshit surrounding him. Awesome hits a big splash from the top rope and gets a five count win. Now, Storm has a 10 count to answer the bell. Plunder comes into the ring and the match has just died. Both men do an awkward belly to belly through the table and Rougeau changes the rules to say the first man that stands to his feet is the winner. Rougeau punches Awesome and Storm wins which does get a pop. Tony calls this one of the most disgusting things he has ever witnessed. Touche Tony. Bret Hart emerges and offers a hug to Jacques and Lance. That would have been a great moment if Lance would have won a hard fought match, it feels hollow here. ½*

Judy Bagwell on a forklift, need I say more? I will say that the match in itself is worked the right way with Buff coming out pissed off and looking for a vendetta and Kanyon controlling things with his good offensive arsenal. Finish gets goofy with Buff kicking out of the Kanyon cutter and Arquette coming out and turning heel. Arquettes outfit is hideous and they keep calling him a former world champion. Judy Bagwell yelling down doesn’t help things either. Buff attacks both men and sort of gives a double blockbuster before pinning Kanyon. Again, the actual work wasn’t as bad as you might think but what a ginormous plate of absurdity for all of this. *1/2

Tank leads us in a new 3 Count song which was funny. This match puts the pressure on TLC to deliver as it is a fun spotfest for sure. Tons of neat spots with the ladders and all six men look like a beacon in the doldrums of 2000 WCW. The stuff with Tank on one hand is funny but he is the focal point and that is unfortunate. The rules were also a little wonky as you had to retrieve two items so Noble gains the first but it falls into Tank’s hands. 3 Count is then able to grab the contract and win the match. Tank flees with both. *** (6.1)

I am running out of superlatives to spout out at Murahama matches but he is a bonafide #1 contender as my WOTY and this was another example why. The trial series has shown some growth but setbacks for Murahama. This match exemplified that and much like the match these two had in March, it is all action and carries a tremendous pace. The dramatic submissions in the home stretch were excellent and showed a great sense of struggle with the way the camera films so closely in Osaka Pro. Hoshikawa felt a little winded on his finale kick combo but he does crack Murahama with an excellent final blow that feels believable as a knockout shot. Murahama ends the trial series on an 0-3 skid and still has some development to do. **** (8)

Some good stuff with Buffalo and Sugamoto to start off but then Delphin and Togo enter and the match as expected takes a bump up on pace and intensity. Delphin has some legit swank dolphin gear on tonight. He actually puts Togo down on his ass and beats on him with stomps. Togo goes low to end the onslaught. After that, the match breaks down with the heels in control and brawling on the outside. Back inside, Delphin is our FIP which is not what I expected but it is fun to see as it is different from the norm. Legion of Violence in a heel beatdown role is just smothering as they do frequent tags and a bevy of bruising offense. Once Delphin tags out, we go into our ending run. Sugamoto has good potential from what we see here and I feel like an idiot when I look him up and realize it is Gamma. Buffalo and Delphin is our main pairing down the stretch until Togo breaks up a pin and takes up that role. Sugamoto gets isolated and pounced on by LOV and Togo picks up the win with his senton. ***3/4 (7.3)

I was excited to see how Marvin mixed it up with Crazy Max. Not surprisingly, it’s a pretty big blast. SUWA and Marvin do a pretty great sequence with each other leaving Fuji in amazement and pointing at Marvin asking who the fuck this guy is. After working over Tiger Mask some, CM goes right into the final sequence. Of course, tons of action in this section and a lot of neat stuff involving Marvin and CIMA. CIMA catches a rana attempt with a big powerbomb and puts Marvin away with the powerbomb. ***1/2 (6.9)

This match opened up in a slow methodical way. It wasn’t the most compelling mat work we have seen tonight but for two hoss power guys, the stuff like the test of strength made sense. The chop battle that happens around five minutes in ramps things up a good bit with Nakanishi bringing it down with a chin lock and neck crank. I wish Nakanishi would go after the leg that Nagata worked over so well and Sasaki was still limping on when he entered the ring. Daddy Choshu is watching over his flock from the tunnel. Now Nakanishi goes after the leg after we see Nagata at ringside and I’m delighted as can be. Nakanishi cranks in the crab like submission with the leg wrapped around his head and the crowd picks up on that and responds to Sasaki being in trouble. The next big spot happens when Sasaki goes through a small flurry and hits his bulldog. Those type of power moves worked against Nagata but Nakanishi is stronger and bigger so he shrugs off the bulldog, hits a spear and keeps on rocking Sasaki with a barrage of strikes and clotheslines. Sasaki is forced to reach down deep now and knows that he has to prove he has more bravado than Nakanishi. The clothesline exchanges made a lot of sense in that moment and felt like a seminal turning point of the match. The knee Sasaki hits right to the gut looked great and Nakanishi really sells it well of the wind going out of his sails. I can see some critique here that Nakanishi should have went more after the leg but that is more Nagata’s game and not Nakanishi so I did appreciate that while he gave a nod to a vulnerable position of Sasaki, he was going to win this thing his way through shear brute strength and power. Another clothesline exchange with the sweat flying off of both men and the crowd going nuts. A nice sequence with Nakanishi getting the rack, Sasaki getting a tight choke and Nakanishi using that to hit a good looking backdrop suplex. Sasaki really fights out of the rack using joint manipulation and again Nakanishi is able to counter the counter by dropping Sasaki onto his stomach. Nakanishi seizes up Sasaki and spears him again in the midsection that has been worked over some. Another spear and now Nakanishi is looking for the kill shot. He goes for one final spear and Sasaki does the same knee to gut counter. Nakanishi shakes that off, hits a spear and gets Sasaki up in the rack. This really feels like it should be the end of the match. Sasaki fights through and the exhaustion of wrestling three matches gets to Nakanishi as he collapses. Not the best counter but it does make some sense. Sasaki then runs through his full offensive arsenal with the monster Nakanishi trying to shrug it off before Sasaki hits the brainbuster and then locks in the crab with Nakanishi submitting quickly. Anticlimatic end as the crab by Sasaki hadn’t been used but didn’t make sense and Nakanishi should have passed out again since the narrative was him fighting through everything. Still a great match for this style and I don’t think they did too much at all. Overall, one of the better top to bottom shows of the year. **** (7.8)

Kanemoto/Otani/Takiawa are barely able to co exist before the match and the masked trio take the opportunity to gain a quick start with dives. Overall, the Otani/Kanemoto dynamic is intriguing in that they can come together for these six mans and tags but are such pricks and competitors that they like testing their meddle against each other too. It is a neat dynamic not emphasized as much as it should be. When the Otani trio works together, they were successful in this match but when they tried to do it on their own, they were taken over. Otani is presented as the weaker member which is an interesting caveat. I think all six men being in a prominent position as the bridge match from the G1 semis to the G1 finals were amped up. Liger looked happy to be back with the juniors and was really dishing it out. Samurai in the middle of the match hits a reverse DDT from the second rope and then a Liger assisted tope onto Kanemoto. Samurai follows that up with a rana but misses the diving headbutt and now Takaiwa and company gain the most substantial advantage in the match working over Samurai. Again Otaini is the one where a hope spot is given against him after he does the face wash kicks. Samurai is able to make the hot tag to Kashin. I have saved thoughts for Kashin to last but I think I’m ready to declare him a good worker which I know goes against any conventional thoughts on him. He may get worse and he certainly is in there with all timers but he is able to add some stuff of his own including some nice punches in this match. Finish has Otani in trouble again with a cross armbreaker from Kashin and samurai hitting a missile dropkick followed by a Liger palm strike for the pin. Very good match with some story elements to look for watching these guys throughout the year. ***1/2 (7.2)

Once again, we have a contrast in working style as this match is a straight sprint to the finish with Chono hitting the Yakuza kick right at the bell and looking for the STF 1 minute in. Things settle down a bit in the middle preventing it from being one of the higher end sprint type matches I have seen but there isn’t a feeling out process and Chono is still going for covers after every big move. Chono also looks for the STF. The STO into STF combo works for Chono but Nakanishi is too big to have it be that effective. Chono is not above taking a short cut and gets a low blow and Yakuza kick for a nearfall. Nakanishi comes back from that with a spear and is looking for the rack. He obtains it but Chono goes after the referee to wiggle out the first time. Nakanishi is persistent and gains the rack again for the submission. Cool finish and a good match but the transitions show how Nagata/Sasaki are the superior workers at this point in time. *** (6)

Nagata is a strong worker at mixing up the mat work. This felt varied and different from the opening of the Ilzuka match which is no small feat. Here it felt more like Nagata gaining the dominant advantage and the leg lock he cranks in the early moments looks brutal. Nagata is also good at logical progressions. If Sasaki reaches back with his arm, why not grab that and work it over a bit? Sasaki chops himself out of the submission and it shows Nagata takes the bait by going into a strike exchange. Nagata is a good enough striker to hold his own but now he is in Sasaki’s domain and Sasaki takes over with strikes, bulldog and powerslam combo. Nagata quickly realizes his error and goes back to the leg with a trip and dragon screw. A really neat counter is Nagata spinning out of the Scorpion right into a modified figure four. Sasaki is hurting but still has all the strength left in his arms and is able to maintain position with a lariat and kicks with his good leg. Nagata goes right back to the well and takes the bad limb down again with another submission. What a great honed in attack. They really tease Sasaki almost tapping out here and the crowd is getting frantic. Great struggle showing him inching his way to the ropes. Great show of strength with Sasaki swinging for the fences and hitting a one armed powerbomb. Running clotheslines but Nagata isn’t done yet with an STO and German going right into another leg submission that has another great bit of struggle. When Nagata goes for two spinning back kicks, Sasaki catches him and hits two straight strength powerbombs. A running clothesline gives him a nearfall but Nagata isn’t done yet. Sasaki pounces right on him though with the brainbuster to put him out and advance to the finals. Nagata made one mistake and Sasaki put together the flurry he needed to win. This was a great fucking match. ****1/4 (8.3)

As a contrast to the prior match, this is worked much more in a clash of the titans style. Neither of these guys are my favorite strikers, so this didn’t reach the highs of Nagata/Ilzuka but for what they set out to acompolish, it was successful. Tenzan had a neat chinlock that was locked in tightly and had one of Nakanishi’s arms captured. Nakanishi has the crowd behind him when he does his hulk up. Tenzan counter the ending submission attempt of Nakanishi by going back to that chinlock. It looks like that may evolve into the Anacondia Vice down the road. Nakanishi kicks out of the moonsault at 1 which puts him over strong. Tenzan goes to the top once more but gets caught. Nakanishi blocks the tombstone and hits one of his own which Tenzan kicks out off. Nakanishi follows right up with the torture rack though and gains the submission. Fun match. ***1/2 (7.1)

This match was worked as almost an exclusive grapple battle. The early portions were engaging and Ilzuka opens things up more when he locks in a leg lock on Nagata and starts kicking away. Nagata does the first throw and then moves away from the legs to a cravate. Ilzuka is willing to go for the choke out of course and Nagata quickly realizes this and breaks free. Tempers flare up a bit more now with the first strike exchange of chops. This was a really good flurry with Ilzuka going after the leg but Nagata punching out. Nagata then goes for an enzuiguri but that allows himself to be open for a choke attempt. Nagata reels off a back suplex and quick choke with Ilzuka having to grab the ropes. Ilzuka shows some fighting spirit coming back and the crowd is ripe for the upset when he locks in the crossface and hits the Exploder. He still is not able to lock in his choke. In the final moments, Nagata does a multitude of escapes which are all well performed. Nagata is then able to lock in the crossface and get the tap out. Pretty awesome 11 minute match with a lot of duality and neat reversals. This match progressed wonderfully as well. ***3/4 (7.5)

We will see a bit of Wilde and he had some hype around the lessor known indies of the first half. He looked pretty good here working the leg and doing mat work and then the comedy aspects that were inserted into this match were less successful. Hollow was pardon the pun pretty hollow in the variety of his attack but he was competent enough and did show some viciousness going after the arm. I was surprised to see Hollow pick up the win. I didn't leave this match wondering why Wilde wasn't ROH champion but this did provide a nice palate cleanser for all of the non WWF stuff that occurred on this day in the US. **1/2

I liked seeing Dreamer mixing it up with these guys and it was a fun way he was inserted as the heels were trying to bail in typical Southern style. Hamrick is always going to bump and do neat things to get noticed and Money does a lot as well. That actually kind of makes Matthews/York look a little rough in this one as while they were fine, I did think they were outshined in the basic premise of this match which was all energy and shtick mixed in. I am guessing by the cagematch card for this show that this was the first match back from intermission which was a good placement. *** (5.9)

The tag division is the thing in ECW that feels the most fresh and has the most juice to me right now. This had Whipwreck/Tajiri finding their footing as a team but also told a great story of them not being there all the way just yet. I appreciated the mist going awry and the FBI winning the match helps set up stuff in the future given how the tag title pans out. Guido and Mamaluke can bump, wrestle the mat and provide a good base for the big comebacks. Overall, a tag that won't be remembered at year end but would be remembered for someone attending the show as a positive. ***1/4 (6.6)

Good energetic opener here with Psicosis looking good and Michael Shane wanting to make a name for himself. I know the heel tactics of Shane are pretty shallow and dismissed but he did fine here and helped out the vibe of the match overall. It was refreshing to see Psicosis not go through the motions and work in his reckless highspots that the WCW crowd would remember. **1/2

This was bad. The worst type of RVD match that is super long and gratuitous without much to any structure. I did think we might be going somewhere when Balls hit a good piledriver and he did blade nicely here but RVD shrugged that off and it was business as usual for the home stretch. The crowd was chanting Van Terminator so I can't blame him for doing that. *1/4

Short but entergetic tv match with Mikey having to use his speed to escape the viciousness of Rhino. Rhino does a good job stalking after Mikey and Mikey is always someone that can create sympathy from the crowd. Whippersnapper gives Mikey some hope until Justin Credible canes the Sinister Minister. MIkey hits a pescado on Credible and then canes Rhino repeatedly. Rhino is able to catch Mikey going for a dive and hits the gore for the win. *1/2

Awful booking of this show as we have two big matches that were fun but ended in bad finishes. Instead, we have Pastor Jim and some weird skit that doesn’t land at all and you can’t hear them at all. Then Justice Pain comes out and cuts a promo and you can’t hear a word of that either. Finally Zandig enters and the match is just awful. Zandig is unmotivated and they just go through the corners of weapons with no rhyme or reason. Robbie Mireno on commentary adds nothing. Lobo finally comes out and doesn’t do much of anything before escaping with the win. Zandig calls out Lobo afterwards to set up Cage of Death. Dreadful stuff to end the night. *

Cool beginning with Pondo pretending to be a masked cameraman and retrieving the stop sign from under the ring before demasking. I liked that the crowd immediately knew it was him. The brawl itself is around as good as you are getting from Pondo. It is short and has some neat bumps including the culminating superplex through the light tubes and pane of glass. Pondo brings back the scissors which is nasty to watch. Wifebeater interferes and we get our second shit finish in a row as the match just stops with all three brawling to the back. **3/4

Last month had all the stars aligning when these four did a garbage brawl full of spotfests. This was less successful mainly because Blade was pretty dreadful and botching a ton of stuff. There is a 2-3 minute stretch in the middle of this were the BSB just reel off cool combo after cool combo using the ladder culminating in the Acid Bomb wedging Mondo’s head between the ladder. Matthews/York have looked decent when given a chance but the BSB are clearly more exciting to me and they look like they could be in any big time indie or on a national stage at this point. The double Van Terminator spot is blown by Blade which is a shame. The big culminating spot is nuts as Blade does a swantom from around 20 feet above the entrance. He makes contact but doesn’t smash as much of the tables as he would like and goes crashing hard tailbone first to the ground. Dewey Donovan wrestled earlier in the night but comes out to break up the pin. The finish of this was stupid and confusing as Robbie Mireno (Kashmere’s brother) gets pinned by Mondo and the referee awards Blade/Mondo as the tag champs. This was presented more as a face turn by the BSB compared to them getting their comeuppance. On commentary, they are saying that Blade/Mondo took the easy way out and BSB deservedly get a standing ovation as they make their way to the back. *** (6.1)

God the Animals are so lame doing their wassup thing to a dead crowd. Go ahead and feel the shirt Tygress.....Thats Enough. Unibrow Stryker is someone I had no idea did WCW spots. At least Konnan on commentary is talking about New Blood Rising which is more continuity than I had imagined. This is a pretty fun throwaway match with Inferno matching up well and Rey looking good again in 2000 but completely wasted in this role. The Bronco Buster being called the stocking stuffer by K Dawg on commentary. The Animals pretty much dominate throughout and Rey picks up the win with a legdrop to the balls of Stryker. *1/4