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I am a little unsure of the pairings as this is match #3 of Wave vs Burning but having Taue be Burning just feels off. This is also the last Kobashi match in 13 months. I am unsure how I will take his 2002-2006 work but he really had a magnificent run from 1989-2001 and was in the top 3 of my WOTY for at least the past three years and in heavy contention in 1993 as well. Even though he had to be in extreme pain here, he still does a ground pleasing delayed suplex on Misawa holding him up for over 15 seconds. As a match, this was good but never really got out of first gear with 3 of the 40 best wrestlers ever in one match. In some ways, this NOAH Korakuen show felt like modern NJPW inside that building in that they do enough that you don’t feel slighted if you attended but it certainly isn’t like attending the big shows in Budokan or Sumo Hall. Finish opens things up more with Marufuji and Taue getting an extended sequence. Marufuji nearly loses him on a kick and Shiranui but Taue reigns it in and then destroys him with a lariat and nodowa for the win. Sad postmatch as Kobashi needs assistance getting down the stairs. I don’t know if Kobashi should be in my top 100 for 2001 but it is likely he will be my #100 just out of respect at year end. ***1/4 (6.3)

Contrasting to the match that preceded it, this was a ton of fun. Akiyama does a hip swivel to insult Scorpio two minutes in and I howled. After that, we had a fun as shit 10 minutes with Vader really clowning it up. Morishima looked energetic and determined and was able to kick out of an appropriate amount of Vader’s offense before being put away. ***1/4 (6.7)

I like both of these guys especially Ogawa but I found this to be pretty boring to get through. The limb work dueling premise had me hoping for something that was slow but meaningful but it felt like it was blown off and the second half of the match didn’t match the first. It is possible that I missed something and others will find some deep, meaningful psychology here but it just labored to me and the 15 minutes felt more like 25. **1/2

3 Count is heeling it up and dancing until Suicidal Tendencies clears the ring of them. Moore lets the crowd know they are from WCW and not putting up with this. They tease a countout before heeling it up with the crowd some more. The match I am of two minds of. It was cool seeing 3 Count work as the veterans as they take 80% of the match and slow things way down, but on the other hand it didn’t kind of feel like they were a bit on autopilot being in the barn in Cornelia. It struck me watching this that Helms in particular has a wild ride in the next year as he is wrestling in front of probably a hundred fans here and will be in a prominent comedy spot in a packed house in the Royal Rumble one year later. This is also a single cam. Hot tag is made and Tendencies run through their double team moves on Moore. Phoenix is thrown into the post and Helms is able to recover and hit the assisted neckbreaker giving 3 Count the win. This wins the tag titles for 3 Count so perhaps they will be around a bit. **3/4

First fall is 9 minutes and all mat work. It is fantastic and really something different from what we have seen throughout the year so far. Lucha in general has been fine but nothing has really knocked my socks off. This did. Intricate, glue-based work with Cerebro being a great rudo within the maestro work by being more vicious digging his heel into the head of Felino on the submissions and surf boards. Felino gets the first fall with the splash mountain. Second fall has the pace get picked up and Cerebro is more aggressive out of necessity. Felino regroups with an injury to his hurt back but Cerebro has a flurry capped off with a beautiful tope that on slow motion shows his neck curve backward on impact. Quick submission afterwards evens things up. Third fall is brief but they are pulling out all the stops and Felino is in desperation mode knowing his midsection is heavily damaged. Finish playing into that with Cerebro getting the definitive win was deeply satisfying. A wonderful match overall. ****1/4 (8.5)

HHH & Steph arrive. HHH says its going to be a great night however they see a big dressing room for Trish with a gold star below it. That sends Steph into a rage but HHH tells her not to worry about it. Trish arrives in a limo and Steph is enraged at that. Again, HHH has to calm her down and be the voice of reason. After the next match, Trish invades the dressing room and Steph and her have a back and forth argument. Steph points out all the new nice things Trish has. Trish says she does like that but not being spanked on television. Steph then spills the ranch sauce she was eating onto Trish as Vince barges in. Vince tells Steph to act her age and why can’t we be one big happy family. Undertaker interview with Lillian. She asks if him and Kane are on a reconciliation. Taker says that if that was the case, he wouldn’t be advertising it. Taker says if the 29 other men in the Rumble try him, they will make him famous. Trish has taken off her shirt to clean off and Vince comes in with a towel. He offers his jacket. What a gentleman. Trish says she doesn’t want to come between himself and his family. Trish has appreciated everything that Vince has done from her and she has learned so much. Trish hugs Vince and then squeezes his ass as he talks about Trish’s bright future. Vince gets interrupted and gets mad. Steph was watching all of that and throws the tray of food into the tv and stomps out. Vince goes to the mystery limo parked outside and says he only has a moment but he gets in asking if the mystery guest is ready for the Rumble. Stephanie interview. She gives an analogy to garbage and calls Trish the biggest piece of trash she has ever laid her eyes on. Trish comes out and says she has this all wrong. Her and Vince are just friends. He is more like a mentor to Trish. Steph and Trish are the same. Trish loves this business as much as she does and she would bend over backwards for this company. Steph says that knowing her, she just bends over. HHH runs down and says the two of them aren’t getting into a catfight no matter how much these jerks want it. HHH says that Steph is above this and the crowd is showering a chant of asshole down onto HHH. Angle interrupts when HHH starts addressing Trish. Angle says that Trish has an ass and HHH is an ass. Angle says he has been invited to attend the inauguration of W. Angle asks HHH where his gold medals and inauguration invite at. He also wont have the WWF Championship after this Sunday. HHH attacks Angle and Stephanie attacks Trish. King is unbearable making audible cat sounds as Trish/Steph fight. HHH/Steph get the best of the encounter and Angle/Trish retreat. Neither Angle or Trish can believe what happened back in the dressing room. Vince comes in and excuses Angle. Vince tells Trish that she is going to take the night off. He puts the fur coat on and says he is taking the night off with her. Rikishi interview with Kevin Kelly. Kelly talks about him being #30 and the odds on favorite to win. Rikishi says he shocked the world when he ran over Austin and will do it again when he wins the Rumble. Short and sweet from Rikishi but I’m not holding my breath on his Rumble chances. Coach is with Kane. Coach says Kane is one of the favorites in the match. Kane says it will be him vs. the world in the Rumble. Even quicker than Rikishi’s promo. Austin is with Kevin Kelly. Austin says he wont do anything that he regrets. However, there is no stipulation that he can’t whip Kevin’s ass. Kevin understands and Austin walks away. HHH interview in his ref shirt saying he is going to be the WWF champion in a few days time and he has no reason to provoke Austin. He does this with a big smirk on his face. Finally a Rock interview as he is walking to ring. Rock says there is a time for questions, a time for answers and a time for whipping ass. Match happens now and it is a star-studded affair. All entrances are conducted which takes around 10 minutes. Rock getting final billing was an interesting choice. HHH pats Austin down looking for foreign objects but mainly trying to provoke him. Austin and Angle pick right back up where they stopped on Monday and this is really turning into a delightful pairing. HHH slow counts Austin and he gives him a stern glare. Taker is in now and he bullies Angle doing the Old School walk. Chicago crowd is ramped up for this match overall. I continue to have problems with how dismissive Taker is with Angle as it takes help from Rikishi before the heels gain the advantage. Taker purposely tags Austin and then exchanges words with Rock. Austin tags Rock in and the crowd is electric. Good to see him and Angle mix it up and Angle is able to get heat on Rock by raking the eyes. Angle charges in and gets hit with a powerslam but then hits a beautiful belly to belly suplex to take over. Kane gets tagged for the first time and hits a good sidewalk slam. Taker is tagged in but instead of Kane and Taker going after each other, Rikishi gets tagged in. They are doing a good job playing this up. Rikishi hits a belly to belly and this is the most heat I can recall him getting on Taker in any match. Angle gets a brief bit on offense but of course Taker is able to hit a neckbreaker and make the tag to Austin. Austin stomps a mudhole in Kurt’s ass but HHH drags him away from the turnbuckle when he doesn’t break. Angle shoves HHH into Austin. HHH responds by delivering a pedigree to Angle. Austin then punches HHH because since HHH rammed into Austin, he is fair game. Rock gets the blind tag and it is him and Kane firing away. This is a real pro Rock crowd. Rock Bottom for Kane and Angle and Angle is pinned on both shows this week. Angle did get two finishers delivered to him so I am not that bothered by that at all. Afterwards, Austin hits a stunner as him and Rock stare down leading into the Rumble. Kane and Taker both give them stereo chokeslams and then acknowledgely look at each other with Kane setting off his fire. Great final build with huge star power on display. ***1/4 (6.4)

A poor promo from Edge and Christian before hand. I continue to think they aren’t as natural or funny as history presents itself. They certainly feel like more complimentary features than Angle. Decent match and I thought the Dudley’s did a good job selling their injuries. Finish comes when a bit of miscommunication for E&C allowing Bubba to get the win. E&C get their heat back after the match with a big powerbomb through a table for Bubba. This has been projected as a violent feud leading into the match at the Rumble. I am interested to see if that plays out in that match. *3/4

First time seeing Buddy Boy Stan Lee and he was a fun goofball. Heel tactics with saying Morton is hitting him illegally in the corner and he has Buns of Steel plastered on the back of his tights. Basic tv match centered around a headlock but I am interested in watching some of these southern indies as a nice contrast to the bigger known indie stuff we will be getting throughout the decade. **

Maybe I am being too generous, but between FMW and now AAA, two of my least favorite 2000 promotions are starting the new year off on the right foot. This had a chaotic brawl to start that was a little tough to follow with the 3 out of the 4 competitors wearing black trunks and long black hair. Things settle down nicely into a solid match and then we get the finish. I initially thought this was a straight botch by Metal and I am still not totally sure but the way they worked other storylines into Metal’s injury makes me believe it may be storyline. Either way, it worked in getting me engaged and searching out Metal on cagematch and other sources to see if this was legit or not. Aguayo looks strong and he really should be someone cracking my top 100 workers list at year end. Overall, a very fun start to the year in AAA. ***1/4 (6.6)

I cant imagine being the type of person that buys a Choke on This SlapNuts shirt. Jarrett and DDP have a quick promo exchange before the match starts. DDP continues to have a good start to the year showing a lot of energy and conveying the same type of traits that he exuded vs N W O in late 96/early 97. He hits a quick sit out powerbomb that looked good before getting nailed with a low blow from Jarrett. Jarrett on top wasn’t totally bad here and Page has the fans invested in him as Jarrett works a sleeper. DDP makes a good comeback and is looking for the Diamond Cutter when the cavalry comes in. We get the same schmozz finish from Monday with Kronik, Rick Steiner, Nash etc. all making the save for the faces and a big brawl ends the show. **3/4

Awesome’s haircut looks good. I am probably lower on Awesome than some as I do think he has moments of clumsiness and that was exuded in this match. It is a shame as Kidman was great selling the rib damage and being an amazing underdog. Awesome’s big dive from the top was the highlight and did look impressive with Kidman moving at the last split second. Awesome gets the win but the Animals get the better end of the post match brawl and even tease cutting Major Gunn’s hair. **1/2

Weird match that sets up the rest of the year essentially but I was conflicted on while watching. I actually slept after watching this match to see if it would add more clarity and it didn’t. Kuroda and his stable really interfere at will here. It is some of the most egregious interference in a big time main event this side of Monster Ripper in the Jaguar Yokota vs Lat Galatica matches. The brawl that Kuroda and Fuyuki had was well done and really showcased the hatred of both but it was such an odd contrast of a match. It was really about advancing the storyline. Fuyuki gets a fluke pin but then is attacked more post match and is a bloody mess and wrapped up in a sheet. GOEMON & Onryo have to come out to make the save. A strong PPV effort for FMW overall and I am looking forward to their shows upcoming. *** (6.1)

This was a BAHU FMW Top 100 selection and I can see why. It had some great chaotic moments that showed some great pairings, Gedo had a really nice FIP sequence and then the finish was full of nearfalls and teases that had me on the edge of my seat not knowing who was going to win. Teioh was the standout for me being graceful and athletic when needed and devious and underhanded when needed. Great versatility within a match. Overall, FMW is a shitload of fun in 2001 and the roster is full of great workers. Jado and Yamakawa do hold this back slightly with some sloppy spots in the early going but a full on 16 minutes of heavy action wrestling that also told a story. **** (8.1)

I am already getting those serious 2000 ECW vibes where I really enjoy the match quality even though the promotion is floundering with 2001 FMW. Here we see Candido fresh off of his WCW stint and he looks motivated to have a good performance. It must have worked as this tour of FMW led to him being picked up by NJPW. He delivers a great dropkick and helped hold the glue of this tag together. I especially thought him playing off of GOEMON was a fun pairing. GOEMON/Onryo are mostly about the atmosphere still but they delivered enough in ring that overall this was a fun enjoyable tag. Good to see late era Pat Tanaka too. ***1/4 (6.6)

Rock gives a promo with Kevin Kelly. Rock isn’t excited about teaming with Taker. Rock says it is a special day of him and brings up Dr. Martin Luther King. He states that he has a dream of winning the Rumble and becoming the WWF Champion. Pretty awesome promo from Rock weaving in the holiday into the landscape of WWF at the time. HHH calls Vince talking about Drew Carey wanting to be in the Rumble. Steph says Rock wasn’t happy to team with Taker. Vince switches the match to Rock/Kane vs Taker/Rikishi. This is a good setup for the Rumble and shows how loaded the field is. It is unlikely that Taker or Kane will win but they did a good job building them up. Rikishi is the typical heavy that they put in at #30 to be a gatekeeper. Rock has huge support from the crowd and is shaky about his tag partner, Kane. Rock and Rikishi start off and have a good little showdown. Kane comes in and gets Samoan Dropped by Rikishi. Kane fights back and slams Rikishi and then heads to the top rope for a clothesline. Curiously, Kane and Taker aren’t interacting here. Taker punches Rikishi to tag in and him and Kane finally staredown but before they do, Rock tags in. Rock and Taker really go after it and that is a unique pairing that still feels electric together considering how much they had matched up in the past two years. Taker actually has some fans in the interactions when he gives Rock the big boot. Usually they don’t have this good of chemistry and a double clothesline resets the match. Rock gains the advantage and is looking for the Rock Bottom when Kane chokeslams them and then leaves. Taker has trouble getting Rock up for the Last Ride but eventually does to gain the win. Kane and Taker stare at each other and seem to be creating an alliance heading into the Rumble. Fun little match. **3/4

HHH promo. He says that people keep coming up to him on the street telling him to kick Stone Cold’s ass. He promises that unless he is provoked, he will leave him alone. Stephanie starts talking and has insane heat. Vince looking like he is on the set of Friday Night Lights with an XFL football, banner and leather jacket joins us via satellite. Vince says things will be interesting tonight. He says if Austin and HHH clash in any way, there will be serious consequences. HHH loses his #1 contender ship and Austin loses his spot in the Rumble. He sets up the six man match with Austin teaming with the Dudley Boyz vs Edge, Christian & Kurt Angle. Vince says he can’t watch tonight because he has a “meeting”. HHH turns his attention to Angle. He talks about Kurt’s tactics he has used to retain the title thus far such as using his brother. HHH says he can bring all of his Olympic friends, it wont mean a damn. Angle is out now. Angle says he is very disappointed in Steph. He loves her but she blew it babe. Angle says there is no way that HHH is winning the match Sunday and Donkey Kong himself has a better shot. Angle says that Donkey Kong is the big smelly ape that people actually like. Angle hopes Steph can respect his wishes to have Trish in his corner. Angle says it is someone that the McMahon/Helmsley family knows quite well. Trish gets introduced and is wearing a nice fur coat and diamond earrings. Trish says no hard feelings but it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up when Kurt asked her. She says whether its Angle or Mr. McMahon himself, she loves a man on top. Steph says that no isn’t in Trish’s vocabulary. She makes a match involving Trish against Jacqueline in a spanking match. Backstage, HHH is on the couch with Steph saying that he doesn’t think Vince will like the match involving Trish that Steph booked. HHH says he will keep cool but if Austin provokes him, it will be on. Cole catches up with the Dudley Boyz. This is clever in that I had forgotten that Austin had smacked them with the chair on Thursday so everything is weaving together. Bubba says they understand that a man has to do what a man has to do. They state that after they demolish all their opponents they will have a Dudley Ville discussion. Dudley’s are walking to the ring and get attacked by Edge and Christian. Some heavy chairshots from E&C and they give D-Von a conchairto saying they have the night off. HHH is with Stephanie and says that is impressive. He says that he will do that to Austin if he tries to provoke him. Stephanie wants to call dad. Steph does that after the next match. Vince doesn’t sound too enthused. Vince says that Austin can scrounge up some partners if he can but in the interest of fairness, he will have to go on his own. He also asks how the roster is doing including Essa Rios and Trish. Steph gets mad and says he is sorry that he isn’t there because she is wearing a brand spanking new outfit. Angle saves Trish from her spanking match but not before Jackie pulls her pants down and whips her with King squealing like a 12 year old. Angle in the back gives Trish the rest of the night off. Austin doesn’t look like he can find a partner and Steph has an idea she whispers into HHH’s ear. Great pillow talk. Match starts and we find out the APA is going to tag up with Austin. Hot action to start and overall this is a sprint to the finish. E&C try a conchairto but Austin ducks and then the APA clear them from ringside as they brawl to the back. That leaves Austin and Angle and they are clicking so well right now. Angle is getting a ton of offense on Austin due to the finish and is suplexing him all over the place. Finish was a bit contrived but Austin gets the pinfall following a stunner. HHH had been on the ramp and now he makes his move. HHH says lets do this thing now and he gets in the ring and removes is jacket. HHH is nice enough to give Austin the first shot. HHH calls him a punk and insults his manhood. Hebner tries to intervene but he gets shoved away. Austin refuses to take the bait and this is a fun interaction between these two. This is a vehicle they use throughout their feud in the first two months of the year. Tons of tension between the two. Austin gets a chair and really ponders smacking HHH. Austin throws the chair down, gives HHH the bird and walks away. That was awesome and the crowd responds well. Austin is nearly backstage when HHH calls Austin a great, big pussy. Austin rushes back in but Angle has recovered and gives HHH the Olympic Slam. Austin gives Angle another stunner and is riding momentum heading into the Rumble. Another good Raw. ***1/4 (6.3)

Shockingly decent match that shows the effort was really raised with the news of WCW being sold. Kronik in particular pulls out all sorts of stuff they don’t do elsewhere like the flipping senton dive Clarke does from the apron to the floor and even the nearly botched super plex that leads to the finish. Energy of the crowd was feeding off of that and overall this was a strong power man match. **1/2

I think this was the best AJ match we have seen so far. He still feels miscast as a heel but plays it up better here by having his athleticism lead to his demise and the cavalcade of characters around ringside including Onyx and Jeff G Bailey helped stack the deck against Air Paris. The work here was crisp and they told the story they sat out to without a hitch. It isn’t one of the top 100 matches of AJ career but it does feel like a historical point watching a match like this. ***1/2 (6.9)

This match was a good showcase of some wrestlers we are currently unfamiliar with but were making their mark in promotions on the rise such as DDT and Toryumon in Magnum’s case. I did think this was the weakest Magnum has looked in a while as he has a couple of botches and lost moments throughout. The heel team seems to be led by Poison and they are an interesting character in blending some comedy in the early going and then transitioning into an attack on Sasuke. I thought Sasuke being FIP was an interesting choice given he had the most credibility and stature of anyone in the match. His leg selling was iffy and that presented the match overall from rising above very good. The heel trio also was focused and did things good enough but not spectacularly. I look forward to seeing more of them in the future. Overall, this was a nice blend of comedy, heel trio work, high spots and exciting nearfalls leading to the climax. ***1/2 (7.1)

According to Cagematch, this is CIMA’s first appearance in M-Pro since his finals run at the J Cup. Only 9 minutes so It was sprinty, but everything done was executed really well. CIMA’s overall placement at the end of the year will be interesting. For some reason, it doesn’t appear that he has as much appearances on tape as in 2000 but maybe he has more than Cagematch is presenting. Still, looking over his listings, he is with traditionaly lower rated workers for the most part so he is having to overcome that detriment as well. In this match, his timing was excellent and the force he hits things like a dropkick really elevate him above most other workers in 2001. Yuasa becomes GAINA and has a long run in wrestling (still going today) but not much of a footprint. I thought he was good here dishing out punishment when on top and taking a beating when needed to. Overall, a fun match that I wish had lasted longer. ***1/4 (6.4)

This was another great comedy match for the month. Gimmick was that both had to eat a huge rice cake. Each kept trying to isolate themselves to eat the cake and had to frequently ask for water. A stoic Jinsei Shinzaki looks on in an official capacity due to the dangers of the match. Some laugh out loud moments including a table getting involved and it smacking Stalker as he is trying to eat. Finish comes as the water bottle runs out and both wrestlers are choking forcing the referee to intervene and get Shinzaki to call the match off. January 2001 is a good month for comedy between this and the Osaka Pro match and it is hitting my sweet spot given the current state of modern day world events. ***3/4 (7.3)

ECW proper ends with a whimper. They still have a hot crowd and a pretty decent lighting rig at this show but it such a weird antidote that PIne Bluff Arkansas is the final resting place. These two in general can't have a bad match per say but we are a long way removed from their outstanding matches they had at the beginning of 2000. Here, they go through the motions with a ton of crowd pleasing spots. It is good but very inconsequential and that sums up the waning days of ECW in a nutshell. *** (5.8)

Chaos in Corinth is being pushed heavily. We also learn that Brian Christopher is back in MPPW for first time in over a year. All action here and Abs is actually FIP which is probably a good idea of where they had Cade in their standing currently. They are really pushing the show tonight in Mississippi more than any show I can remember on MPPW in a while. Abs gets the hot tag and it seems like the crowd this week is for sure more behind Abs than Cade. Shooter Shultz runs out when the match breaks down and attacks Abs outside allowing the Dupps to hit the double wheelbarrow slam for the win. *1/4

King and Dundee do an interview to start. Swank Titans jacket on by Bill. King’s ensemble looks good too. They have the never to call their show tonight a Royal Rumble. Kat has words for Ivory and they are bringing over the RTC angle to MPPW. Steven Richards has a pretape promo for tonights match. Good clip where Richards says he is willing to die for his cause. Good rebuttal from King. That leads to the tag match as its Bradley and Slash vs. the legends. Good little studio match here as Slash and Bradley know how to condense a tv match into five mintues and make the heat interesting. Superstar gets the hot tag in and Victoria is at ringside and attacks Kat. Slash gets tripped up for a two count by Scott Vick but that is supposed to be evening the odds. I am unsure if that was supposed to be the finish, but Dundee puts the match away a moment later. **

Dave and Corey’s outfit before the match is classic. Match was nothing and Dragon didn’t interact much at all. Shooter had the biggest workload for the TWA team. After 2/3 minutes, we get a run in filled finish involving Joey Abs. Light week for Dragon and Spanky’s progression. ½*