soup23

Agree this was my least favorite Hideki defense so far but I still enjoyed it for what it was. I thought Daichi added a lot to the opening moments with his grappling and kicks but agree with both comments before that once Hideki took over, he didn't really look back. That isn't a bad thing per say considering how strong they are trying to book Hideki but the drama down the stretch wasn't really there even when Daichi reeled off a DDT and got some nearfalls. ***1/2

Another fun AAA mini’s action entry. You know the drill here. A lot of interesting dives and action with a ferocious pace but nothing that ever raises it above the good level based on the stakes that are involved. Sagrada was amazing with his highspots including the rana in the second fall and the air he gets on the final rana on Marvin to win the match. Octagoncito for his part takes a nutty bump to the outside right before that. Another fun entry for AAA minis and still consistently the best thing inside the promotion. *** (5.9)

Rock starts off really fast and takes the fight right to Benoit. Shane is running around and being a nuisance but has Benoit slingshotted into him. I liked Rock going for the early crossface too to a big reaction. Benoit takes over and puts the fight to Rock with a large “Shane’s a pussy” chant from the Dallas crowd. Ross and Lawler are still contentious with each other on commentary during this match. Rock is channeling a lot of hate and aggression and it makes the match carry a fever pitch that feels frantic but enjoyable. I liked the back suplex from the top that Rock delivers. Both men are slow to get up and when Shane distracts the referee, Benoit uses the belt for a close nearfall. Using the DQ stip and Rock losing the title is fun to see all the ways Benoit and Shane are going to cheat. Benoit locks on a Sharpshooter and starts focusing his attack on the leg of The Rock. In another short bit of cheating, Rock runs the ropes but Shane pulls the top rope down and Rock topples out to the floor. With the action spilling to the outside, Shane is able to sneak in some more shots. Rock gets fed up and throws a beer right in Benoit’s face. I would have liked to have seen more admonishment from Hebner and the commentary mentioning that Rock is treading a thin line. With Benoit firmly in control, Shane chokes Rock away again. It is a lot of egregious interference but the character work is so strong by all, I don’t mind it as it feels like Benoit could compete if he wanted to but is willing to take the short cut. Rock does a powerbomb hot shot which is a nuts move I don’t think he has done since. Rock completes his comeback with the People’s Elbow but Shane is on the apron distracting the referee for 10 seconds. Hebner then makes the count and Benoit kicks out. Shane’s celebration is awesome. Benoit comes back showing some good tenacity and forcing Rock to again be physical with a smacking clothesline. Benoit brings a chair in the ring and Shane wipes out Hebner with a chair to the back. Rock goes after Shane with the chair and locks on the crossface. Benoit is tapping but Hebner is still down. Hebner calls for the bell and announces Benoit the winner by DQ to a shocking reaction. Shane comes in an blasts Rock with a chair before celebrating with Benoit and the belt. Rock blades off of that shot. They did a good job of showing Hebner seeing Rock with the chair. Foley comes out and exerts his power to a huge pop from the crowd. Rock is bloody and wanting a piece of Benoit as he fires away with punches. Benoit is able to catch up with the rolling Germans for a close two count. Benoit looks for the crossface and locks it in. Rock struggles and makes it to the ropes. Benoit is fighting away but Rock pulls off a Rock Bottom from no where for the win. This really see-sawed into becoming an overbooked mess but the physicality and character work of everyone involved saved it. Ross really puts over Benoit strong and Benoit actually looks better coming out of the match of both competitors. **** (8)

The build absolutely helped this match for me and elevated it from something I thought was great before to a low level MOTYC. The work on top by HHH really shined for me as he is honed in on the ribs that play into the build. He varies things up enough and utilizes very logical moves that affect the body part and also play into the LMS stipulation. Jericho on the bottom created a good bit of sympathy and had a strong comeback with the low blow and chairshot where HHH opens up a gusher. The finale is dramatic between the double monitor shot and the sledgehammer coming into play. Jericho is able to get a good bit of revenge by having Steph in the walls and hitting HHH with the sledgehammer. The finish worked for me in being a brutal looking back suplex that again was a point of emphasis on the ribs and back of Jericho. It doesn't feel like HHH as much as he just survived. This really raised Jericho even more and he should have been destined to be a main event player from this point forward. ****1/2 (9) We add in the promo from Raw on the last night. This is a neat bit of angle development as Jericho talks about the toll that was taken on his body last night. He wants a piece of HHH now however. HHH is on the big screen and gives Jericho credit while also admitting that he is the game and that he proved he was the better man. This was a great promo to show that this issue was over and would be revisited at some point down the road.

So I wanted to watch this back to back with HHH vs Jericho from Fully Loaded and I finally got just about everything else everyone has seen in this match. My earlier complaints with the Rock, barbed wire, and crowd brawling still have it just short of the greatest WWF match of all time discussion but it is a classic and HHH's best match of 2000 so far. ****3/4 (9.4)

Angle’s wrench is straight out of a cartoon in how ridiculously big it is. This is a weird match in that the logic of the booking as a stand alone match works as Angle has been semi comedic character that has serious moments up to this point and is going against a legend for the promotion in Taker. Also, you have the established face getting full revenge and kicking ass on the heel. The flip side of that is that Angle was being thrusted hard into the main event of the 2nd biggest show of the year and a marquee angle involving HHH and Stephanie. As a result, him getting jobbed big time in this match feels like a head scratcher. This match had more back and forth than I remembered being littered with the likes of Scott Keith’s scathing review. Angle going after the ankle and leg was a sound strategy and it forced Taker to do a neat reversal to regain the advantage. Once Taker does, he gives Angle a chokeslam and Last Ride to end the match. Certainly this was more of a squash than anything else but I do think Angle had some moments sprinkled in. **

I didn’t really like this match too much. Way too much meandering up until the final moments. They are trying really hard to present Val as this bad ass new attitude character but it isn’t working and I think it was appropriate for them to reboot and go in a different direction for him about a month for now. The cage was utilized well enough as a weapon but I didn’t feel the hatred between the two men. I also think having this match the same night as a LMS match took some of the wind out of the sails for what each man could do. The finish with Lita coming out to whip Trish with the belt as a receipt for earlier in the night is well done. In addition, we get the most memorable spot of the match with the big splash from Rikishi from the top of the cage which is a great spot that has the crowd going crazy. Tazz comes in and grabs a camera slamming it into Rikishi’s head allowing Val to get the cop out win. I think this is remembered fondly for the agreeably awesome Rikishi dive, but I thought the match was a slog a lot of the way through otherwise. **1/2

Trish is really growing as a personality. This was a good choice for an opener as T&A are good bases for the Hardy’s and can throw them around impressively with power moves. Trish was presented as someone scared of Lita and stuff like the triple suplex that the Hardys and Lita do to Test and Trish get a huge reaction from the crowd. Lita getting offense on test and the crossbody on Albert was done in a way that helped make her credible even if it was at the expense of T&A to a degree. Test does kill her with a gutwrench powerbomb and then Trish gets the tag in for the nearfall. The crowd chants we want puppies which is unfortunate. Even though Lita and Trish certainly flaunt their sex appeal, the action between them is being presented in a more legit and athletic manner with the superplex from Lita that Test has to break up. With all the men brawling on the outside, LIta wins the match for her team with the moonsault to another huge pop. ***1/4 (6.4)

This show displays the depth of Toryumon. This was the type of junior wrestling I really dig with simple but meaningful mat work leading to an exciting climax that still never overstays its welcome and doesn’t involve too many kickouts. Arai sold the back damage well and reeled off some spots that did just enough damage to SUWA’s arm to keep him fighting throughout. SUWA was certainly brimming with confidence and didn’t expect the fight of Arai. This leads to the finish where Arai is able to gain a lot of momentum and win the title in what felt like a big moment for him. Great match. **** (7.8)

M2K vs Crazy Max is just heating up and continues to be an awesome feud. The M2K faction is punks and they portray that really well with Kanda especially in this match flying all over the place and bullying up Stalker. Stalker as a member of Crazy Max probably shouldn’t work but it does. He can mix in his comedy but he also has some surprising moves and ability here. Fuji also shines here getting beat up and then dishing it out. Tons of frantic action and the finish is logical in giving M2K a nice win for the battle with the war being far from over. ***3/4 (7.5)

We have the 2nd match in the trial series of Daioh and I’m still on board fully. Daioh does a ton of heel tactics and we get interference galore which take this down a tiny bit from the great level we have seen. However, Murahama is still wonderful taking a beating and then sprinkling in his wonderful kicks when he sees any openings. It is a simple against the odds story but Murahama is such a force of nature that it works and his flash pin works in the context of keeping the story and trial series moving along. ***1/2 (7.2)

I agree with the sentiment that this is a very good tag as a standalone that is raised up a level giving the stakes that were raised with All Japan having to show that it could still be sustainable in the wake of the mass exodus. We get a neat snapshot into Kawada being an ace character, Kea stepping up in his first big chance, Tenryu returning after 10 years to the promotion and the ol cowboy riding around Budokan one last time. It was a slugfest but also had a story within that of Kawada getting worked over and Tenryu/Hansen having some excellent interactions with each other in the early going as the old cranky veterans ready to rip each other a part. I don’t know how Kea will hold up throughout the decade but he was strong here and gave a resilient effort taking tons of punishment before eventually eating the loss to Kawada. ****1/4 (8.5)

Baxter is mad that Bill Dundee has ruined his power hour. A big brawl at the start before things settle down. I liked Binder diving from the apron to on top of Wolfie as they were trying to regroup. Binder ends up getting caught with a double team and he is the FIP. Ali looks like he has had enough and comes in the ring with a chair but he knocks out Spellbinder. Baxter’s army is getting pretty padded in a N W O level and the turns aren’t making a whole lot of sense lately besides a big payoff by Baxter. *

We see what happens after they went off the air last week as Baxter is being held by Spellbinder waiting on Seven to hit him with the kendo stick. Well this is taking a long time and you can imagine what happens next. Seven hits Binder and we have a turn that didn’t make much sense or garner much of a reaction at all. We have a Baxter conspiracy announces Dave. Blade is not very good at all but I enjoy seeing Wolfie in a long form match and he is a ring general with a good general idea of what to do to make a match successful. Blade musters up a comeback but in come the reserves for the Baxter contingent and they end up beating up Binder and Blade until Ali clears house. That gets Corey real excited and Dave says he thought Ali was working WCW this weekend. We get the set up for the tag team main event.*1/2

This was another good installment in this feud. Reckless continues to get cockier and cockier and I do like his offense on top as a heel. Dragon makes a good comeback with kicks and suplex throws. A rough moment comes when Reckless uses his feet on the ropes that won him the previous match but the timing was off and the referee stared right at him attempting to do that. The referee gets bumped and Youth goes to the trusty foreign object to pick up the victory however after the match, the referee sees the object and reverses his decision. **1/4

I like house show RVD. He has less time to mug for the camera. UNfortunatly, it is kind of sad to see how much of an after thought Corino is here as he works over RVD well for a bit with RVD selling his back but then RVD starts his comeback and just steamrolls through all of his chair offense that I am not a big fan of and wins with a 5 star frog splash. I get the notion of sending the fans home happy and this was a generic house show but I would have liked to see Corino as more of a threat given how strong an asset he has been for the company overall. *** (5.9)

Perfectly fine but a bit generic tag action. Matthews/York do have some flash that makes them an exciting team in the lineage of the Hardy’s and Mamaluke/Guido are able to ground them and bring some semblance of a story by working them over. The match didn’t get a lot of time to develop with a FIP segment until we go straight into the finish. Mamaluke picks up the win with an interesting looking inverted DDT. **1/2

Agree on Heatwave as a show overall, I didn't expect to watch it all the way through but enjoyed myself when I did. The four way fell just shy of being "thread worthy" for me **3/4 but it was especially good when it became Tajiri and Guido.

I have added a thread here almost solely based on the XPW incident before the match. Who knows if it was a work or shoot but it was fun to watch. Dreamer brings out Gorgeous George along with Jazz as his secret weapons. The match here showed that Credible just doesn't have the chops to be the top guy. As intense as Rhino and Sandman was, Dreamer & Co. were bumbling around and walk fighting to the back. The bump Dreamer took from the set of bleachers was also ugy. The stitpulation here is really pasted on and the match reaches a nadir when George turns on Jazz and aligns up with Francine. Francine gets her top pulled off and is wearing pasties. Dreamer is able to kick out of 1 That's Incredible but succumbs to the second that I think was supposed to be in the barbed wire. **1/4

This was shockingly good. Rhino has been built up the best of the young talent in ECW looking to take the next step and Sandman tells a simple but realistic story of him going for revenge on his wife Lori and the attack given to her. The match didn't overstay its welcome and the use of the guard rail was effective in allowing both men to do some pretty brutal looking spots without it looking like a contrived stunt show full of set ups. Sandman also didn't do any crowd brawling because he was out for revenge. Another schmozz finish but again one I enjoyed especially the gutsy Spike Dudley run in and him getting 3D'd. *** (6.1)

This was a real good ECW style match. Corino is able to hit a gusher off of a tornado DDT on the floor and that creates the narrative of the match. I find it really strong and effective how much Corino can bleed while not coming across as sympathetic. Having Victory out there to constantly run interference helps that narrative. He grounded Lynn here and we didn't get some of the spotty and stand off spots that can plague Lynn matches. Lynn also ups the intensity by writing DIE from Corino's blood. The finish has a lot going on with a ref bump and what not but it was effective in the false finish and leading to Lynn winning off of the Cradle Piledriver and gaining some good momentum for the future. The most lifeless part of this match is Cyrus and Styles on commentary really trying to play up and shoe horn the Network vs ECW angle at every moment. ***3/4 (7.7)

Really fun energetic opener where everyone hit everything cleanly. Kid Kash in particular looks like a freaking star especially with his dive to the outside from off of Roadkill's back. Roadkill also gets a huge pop when he does a dive onto everyone. The heels were functioning well enough to have a decent to good FIP sequence to string the story line of the match along as they work over Doring. Swinger is never someone that excites me and he looks really wooden most of the time with execution but he was a strong base here and did his double team DDT spots with Diamond well. ECW was debuting in LA and the electric crowd breathed new life into what was clearly a fledgling promotion. It is easy to look at this collection of talent and realize none will be superstars on the same level as RVD or Sabu but the effort is clearly there and the execution was spot on. ***1/4 (6.7)

This is the ultimate Onita Pro match. A bunch of grimy, indie scummy dudes going out and fighting for 10 minutes with Onita's charm and charisma carrying the heavy load. This had some memorable stuff including an amazing fire spot with fire engulfing the back. Onita is unable to break a table on three piledriver attempts and of course he ends up picking up the win off of a powerbomb. The match was only 12 minutes long and we got some minor clipping so the action maintained a quick pace for the entire time and had some brutal action to compliment the stakes. Afterwards, we of course get Onita's long ritual of spitting water and engaging the crowd and it is entertaining to watch for 20 minutes while I eat my dinner. ***1/2 (7.1)

There is certainly a structure to these LCO tags and I understand they can get long winded given how long and established the team was overall. However, much like Brock Lesnar in current day where the business side and ramfications can be examined in a negative light, the aesthetic of just what I am watching on my screen make me still really love the way they attack each match and make it feel like a full fledged war. This was their best performance so far this year as they are just vicious vs Takahashi and Nakanishi and give them no respect throughout the entire match. Momoe is a bloody mess and the match has a simple but visceral story of the true underdogs trying to overcome the vicious ring lords. Every near fall was given great gravity and you could see Momoe and Nanae inching closer and closer to an upset until it finally happened in one of the more endearing moments throughout all of 2000 so far. A fantastic match an end to a couple of days of LCO work. ****1/4 (8.7)

This was more of a spotfest too like the Backseat Boyz tag I just watched but I liked it a bit more for how tight it was and Apache punching the shit out of Sevilla right in the face. Everything about this felt part foreign and also part comfortable with the rudos really heeling it up and putting a beat down All of the faces also were able to take a beat down at points and then dish it out at others. You had the young up and comers in Sevilla, Fleisch showing some flash and Horiguchi still rocking the surfer gimmick. TM is a bit more established and he acts appropriately. Overall, a really fun and unique tag. **** (7.8)