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My favorite minis action so far. Everyone was bumping all over the place and doing interesting sequences. This was also one of the rare instances in 2000 where interference worked with the ending fouls being effective and brutal. AAA is being saved by the minis in a lot of ways and this is one of the better matches in the promotion so far this year. ***1/2

AAA continues to be better but not great. This was building along slowly but nicely in the first two caidas. but El Texano took over the second fall and the issue became more about him and Garza than the match proper. Add to that some more ref bumps and referees coming and there being that cloud looming over what Tirantes will do and this match lost its way. Garza wins the title in a nice moment. ***

This is Rock’s version of Over the Edge 1998. The deck is stacked against him. The video package really sets the stage with Rock getting bloodied up in the cage. The blood was really flowing in 2000 and it makes me miss it in a circumstantial place in 2017. I thought the wrestlers did a good job putting the heat back on themselves for the match when it was obvious Austin wouldn’t be out right away. The match hums along and does have a strong WWF main event heavyweight style with a focal point on brawling, facial reactions and big moves. The finishing stretch kicks off with an amazing Rock Bottom applied to both HHH and Shane through a table. Rock then gets attacked by Vince and HHH and we have Pat and Briscoe running down. JR gets off his classic line of the parade being over. Rock kicks out and they apply the boots to Rock. Just then the glass shatters and you get the mother of all pops. Austin gives a chair shot to everyone and all are laid out. As Austin heads to the back, he passes Linda McMahon and Earl Hebner. Linda shoves down Stephanie to another pop. People’s Elbow and Hebner makes a fair count to make Rock the champion to another massive pop. Austin comes out to celebrate and shares a beer with the Rock. An awesome moment. ****

Really classic style match. It starts with some nice chain wrestling but breaks down into some brutal chops really quickly. I liked the action on the outside and Benoit takes a brutal bump going for a tope and hitting it face first. He is able to regain the advantage though by kicking the steps into Jericho’s midsection. This becomes the focal point for Benoit and he utilizes a great variety of moves to go after the midsection culminating in an abdominal stretch. The crowd comes alive for the submission attempts. The finish is probably the weakest part of this match but continues the feud. Benoit introduces the IC belt and hits Jericho but the referee is out of position. Benoit goes for the diving headbutt and Jericho uses the belt to smash him. A dangerous bump that makes you cringe giving Benoit’s future but effective as a visual for the moment with Benoit bleeding. ***3/4

If you look up the definition of a fun match, it is this one. Chyna and Eddy come rolling in from prom and Eddy wrestles in his tux pants and bow tie. Essa was really trying to make the most of the situation by flying around and bumping all over the place. That makes the match a little sloppy and reckless at points but Eddy is able to reign it in just enough to keep it together. The monkey flip of Eddy and the asai moonsault from Essa were awesome. Eddy finishes him off with a whirley bird neckbreaker as a new finisher. After the match, Lita strips Chyna and she shows a more feminine side for the first time to the delight of the crowd and latino heat. ***

T&A vs Dudley has been a good fully formed angle and this match serves as a satisfying conclusion for all parties. T&A have some juice behind them finally with Trish coming into her role goading Bubba. The match itself features some really good heavyweight tag action that plays a nice contrast to the multitude of athletic tag teams in WWF currently. I don’t know how safe Test was but he absolutely demolished both Dudleys at different points in the match. The finish seems to be a continuation with T&A picking up the cheap win with Bubba being mesmerized by Trish. Post match, Bubba comes to his senses and pounces on Trish anyway sending her through the table to a mammoth pop. This overachieved for me. ***1/4

Showster never fails to make me laugh. The match is nothing and I can see an argument that jobbing Kurt out in this way isn’t the best move but as a bridge from his IC/European feud stuff to the summer where he will be in the top feud in the company, this was entertaining stuff and a great impersonation by Show. A perfect comedy style match for what it was trying to accomplish. *

The perfect amount of guys and mix of chaos and comedy to make the hardcore style work. They utilized the set which is always a plus and had a good mix of brutal moves and fluid action that never made the match boring. The dynamic of the Hardy’s feuding made more sense here within these confines than their singles match on SmackDown. Crash continues to be entertaining in his underdog role as someone just able to escape. Even Tazz and Saturn showed some glimpses being down here in mid card territory. **3/4

On a PPV where nothing is ordinary, a garden variety hoss battle like this sticks out even a little more. In a vacuum, it wasn’t that bad. Bull showed some athleticism landing on his feet off of a monkey flip and Bradshaw had some impressive looking offense. Overall though, this was treated like a mid card tag and they delivered that which is perfectly fine but the lowest point on this classic PPV. **

One of those matches that is tough for me to judge. I do think it is really good and a hell of a surprise, but it is also one of those matches that really gets talked up most of the time and is even on WWE.COM’s list of 100 matches to watch before you die. In that respect, it is kind of become overrated to me over the years. Watching in the confines of this month as a whole though, they did a really great job crafting a wonderful match here. Malenko is relentless going after the knee and Scotty is a really strong FIP mixing in his crowd pleasing spots at the right time like the worm. The finish is also sudden and brutal as you get an implant DDT form the ropes that elicits a gasp from the crowd that is rare to achieve. I have Liger vs Pillman from Superbrawl II at ***3/4 and I can’t in good conscious rank this match ahead of that but it is right there and as close to brink of what I would call a great match as you can get. ***3/4

Fun opener with X-Pac starting to get the annoying heat but it isn’t there yet. Debra is the ring announcer and does one of the worst jobs I have ever heard introducing the teams. It is Rico in IWA levels bad. Edge and Christian are starting to display their new attitude but do play most of this match as the faces. That takes a sudden turn in the final moments where Christian hits X-Pac with the ring bell allowing them to retain the titles. The finish was well done for a distraction type finish with a lot of things going on. X-Pac bleeds an absolute gusher too off of the bell shot. ***

Another match I would like to see in full as what we saw here was a lot of fun with the young boy Yoshie getting beat down and Nakanishi and Nagata riling up the crowd. Team 2000 really gels well as a team as Kojima and Tenzan can push the pace with moves and Chono has the charisma down. They also are taking a lot of falls in these multimans but are able to retain the heat and make things seem important. NR.

A sick tease of a match. Come on New Japan World, put these in full. We get around two minutes of great action and it culminates in Otani pinning Liger. Tracking the 90's that is about as rare as seeing Hailey's Comet. NR.

This is in the same building as the night before. Really fun match where Honma and Yamakawa work well with the restraints of the CZW crew by bumping around like crazy. They also are able to send them through the chairs. This made no bones about being anything but a straight garbage style death match but I appreciated that and the spots were unique and brutal enough to keep me engaged. That is about the peak for Zandig. ***1/4

Another good AJ match although I am still waiting on that 20 minute affair where he really stretches things out. Styles does one botch here jumping up on the top rope but recovers nicely by Taylor taking over immediately. Chris Cruise is on commentary doing a heel commentator gimmick which is unique to hear from him. Overall, a solid tv match that had a weird finish of Jeff G Bailey helping AJ win without him knowing. **1/4

The key to these matches is 1. how absurd is it and 2. if I laugh. This pass both of those tests in droves. The can attracting the metal spot in the middle of this was legit funny as shit and had me marking out just as much as the crowd. The trash can shots were brutal and we even get the "ring" disrupted into the finish. I didn't get the first Tobita match we watched but I was all in on this one as a great break from the serious nature of wrestling. ***

Suddenly, BJW throws it hat into the ring to become the most annoying clipped company along with ARSION. This is a neat small spot show arena that they utilize with the weapon shots we see. There certainly was a house show vibe to what we saw here but that was endearing to a degree. NR.

A frighteningly frustrating match that followed the same lines of the GAEA stuff from January. Way too much interference rendering anything that happens in the back half of the match to be meaningless to me. Bloody has potential and I would like to see her mix it up with some of the JWP and AJW ladies. Asuka seems content to just have her thing be the focal point of Jd' which doesn't excite me at all. *3/4

This was the buffet of wrestling matches. You had stalling from Wagner, chain wrestling, comedy from Porky and brawling and mask ripping. I was ready to have it go really high star rating wise when Felino interferes and the match just halts. The segment that follows is REALLLY long and drawn out and doesn’t really resonate with me at all. There are some cool visuals like Santo coming back with a flurry or people pelting Wagner with garbage but this lost its way big time for me and that is a big shame. ***

We get a vignette to start to cement Villano’s tecnico turn. He comes out in big poncho and cowboy hat and the fight is on. We get some neat pairings and brawling throughout all of this. I even enjoy Pierroth in this setting as he is the garbage brawl guy of CMLL. Shocker continues to grow IMO and you are seeing with each match how he could become the guy for the promotion. His sequences vs. Atlantis were easily the best technical wise in this match. First two falls are DQ’s on opposite side and the expression Shocker gives to the crowd after he sees a bloody Pierroth is awesome. How can you cheer someone that does this to my friend? The third fall is more of the same with everyone ramped up and Villano maybe being a tecnico but still not being adverse to taking a shortcut by getting a pin with his feet on the ropes. CMLL is definitely back. ****

I really like seeing these guys go out there and having a balls to the wall 10 minute match. Zumbido fits in really well with Scorpio and Bestia and he does his huge dive through the rops and post in the first fall which was a rudo beatdown. Tarzan Boy works much better in this setting too coming in quick spurts when needed. Niebla and Antifaz are also strong bringing the highspots when they make their comeback and everything is hit cleanly. Second fall is rapid fire action and the finish is really definitive. Third fall is quick and dirty with the tecnicos continuing their dominance and Bestia getting tied up for the pinfall. ***1/2

It is Puerto Rico wrestling so you know what that means, violence and blood. I am sure some context would help things here so maybe Boricua or Tim Evans can assist but for a parachute into the country after a couple of months, this was interesting to see. I am unsure who the official is here but he mists a team in the waning moments and then counts the fall. Honestly too tough to rank without knowing the context. NR

Talk about milking something for all that it is worth, it is 25 minutes into this segment that the match proper begins. Ox Harley and Blaze are two guys I have seen before but were long gone from IWA when I became a regular viewer. Much like the previous month, the action is tough to follow and chaotic but there is no shortage of crazy bumps. I do think this suffered a bit with Harley and Blaze in there even though they both tried including Harley busting out a moonsault. This also was a match used more as a set up for the War Games the following week as a crew of baddies that I am unfamilar with come in and Rollin' Hard and Deliah Star have to come out to help Ian and crew. **3/4

Here come the Back Door Boyz starts the commentary track. I love the Backseat Boyz entrance as they just ooze charisma coming out. BSB cut a promo and the heat is to be expected against them. The match has a basic, non hardcore structure that is pretty fun. Bad Crew is just there but the BSB have enough overly dramatic double team moves to keep things interesting and the heat segment sustainable. Finish was annoying with Danny Rose coming out and turning on Bad Crew along with their manager. BSB are the clear stars within EWF and they should be emphasized more overall. ***

Brother vs brother for the hardcore title in a bit of dissent I didn’t remember these two having. They start right away with the plunder including trash can shots. In a fun spot, Jeff puts the broom between his legs delivering a top rope leg drop. Matt gives a brutal looking moonsault with the trashcan around Jeff. Dual ladders are introduced as Saturn and Hardcore Holly get a closer look. Slingshot legdrop over the ladder by Jeff as Tazz joins us too. Matt does a dive onto pretty much no one on the outside as everyone brawls. Matt Hardy has the pin when Crash runs in and steals the pin becoming the new Hardcore champion. This set up the six way on the PPV well enough. *1/4