GSR

Some nice stuff from Styles like the calf crusher and springboard 450 but overall I found that dull. At least Orton didn't kick out of the Phenomenal Forearm like I was expecting. Hopefullly that's the last we've heard from the cheerleading King tonight too.

And now Randall...

As someone who watches next to nothing of the current product not sure how I'm going to stick five hours of this commentary. Don't know what to make of that opener, but it really didn't do much for me.

Haha, there’s a dog casually walking amongst the fans which I wouldn’t have thought would be allowed, then again this is Puerto Rico and maybe different rules apply there. Banderas has got the size of advantage and when he blocks a Tajiri hip toss ‘the Japanese Buzzsaw’ kicks him around the side of the head. Tajiri accepts the ‘test of strength’ which may not be the smartest move, but he’s got a plan and there are some nice wrestling exchanges ending with a ‘stand off’. The two exchange open hand slaps to the face before a Tajiri spinning wheel kick takes Banderas off his feet. Tajiri does the mocking of his opponent which gets some laughter and then kicks him around the head again. He backdrops him over the top rope, however Banderas lands on the apron and heads up top, only to fall off the top turnbuckle and back onto the apron. In a truly bizarre moment he then struggles to enter the ring between the ropes, like his brain has gone to sleep or something. A sloppy belly to back suplex that Tajiri kicks out of and ‘the buzzsaw’ returns to kicking the snot out of his opponent. Banderas escapes the brain buster and some weird rolling cradle that he has do twice sees him pick up the win, hooking Tajiri’s pants in the process. The start of this wasn’t bad at all but the match fell apart when Banderas lost his balance on the top turnbuckle (what is it with those turnbuckles in Puerto Rico?). I don’t know if that shook him up or whether he was legit shook up from an errant kick (I didn’t see one), although the latter would certainly explain why the final few minutes were such a mess. Tajiri was much better than Miguel Perez, but just as with Crazy this feels like a waste of him in what hasn’t been much of a tournament so far.

Shane clearly wasn’t doing any scouting of Super Crazy last night as, just like Rastaman, he gets dropkicked from behind when he turns his back on him at the opening bell. GBS ducks a clothesline and fires back, every one of those shots getting a strong reaction from the crowd. Spinebuster for a two. After a huge running lariat in the corner he again whips him to the turnbuckles, however Crazy slides under the bottom rope to the floor and when Shane chases after him he ends up getting caught with a spinning wheel kick on returning to the ring. Big running lariat, this time by Crazy, who gets a near fall following a double jump moonsault. He telegraphs the backdrop and Shane with a powerbomb, only just managing to keep hold of his opponent. The Glamour Boy can’t capitalize though as Crazy spikes him on his head with a Michinoku Driver. Consecutive moonsaults off every turnbuckle and, for the first time I can remember, Crazy slips off the top one and takes a very nasty looking landing on his head. I think Shane got his knees up anyway but couldn’t clearly tell. As he heads upstairs himself Crazy cuts him off and hits a top rope rana. He goes for a second regulation one, this time Shane keeps hold and rolls through catching him with a sunset flip for the win. A good match for what it was, but it felt like it was over before it had a chance to get going.

Travis Browne and Harry Smith too.

I thought Dream had damn near broke his neck on that German suplex off the middle rope. Funny that you should mention the near falls and kick outs in the main event because I was thinking that about this, also wish Dream would've sold his ankle(s) after that double ankle lock spot, although that shows that he's still got some way to go despite the off the charts charisma. Marked like a motherfucker when he 'Hulked up' mind. Third best match of the night for me (not that I rate it that far behind WALTER/Dunne and the opener) and I was hoping Riddle was going to snap after the loss, he's tailor made for being a heel.

One of the more progressive crowds we’ve seen on the independent scene who seem quite pro the Christopher Street Connection, although I could’ve done without that one chap pulling his shirt up so that Buff E. could lick his nipple. Buff E. thanks all his male fans for coming tonight and then informs the Backseat Boyz that this isn’t J-A-P but Gay-A-P. There’s a terrible looking moment early as the Backseats do a double leapfrog, drop down, dropkick spot, only Buff E. stutters before he jumps over Trent, screwing up Johnny’s timing and the dropkick, which he sells as if his face has been kicked off, misses connecting by a good two feet. The CSC have had enough already, grab Foo Foo and head the dressing room. They actually make it through the curtain but the Backseats have no interest in a count out victory, chase after them and drag them back to the ring. A Mace T-Bone is just about caught on camera before the CSC take it in turns to chop Johnny. He brushes those chops off, pokes the two of them in the eyes and goes for a double noggin knocker, only for the CSC to block it and start making out with each other in the middle of the ring. That does the trick mind, distracting Kashmere as the tide starts to turn in the match. It’s not the hardest hitting of offense and includes a Mace drop toe hold on his own partner that results in Buff E. headbutting Johnny in the crotch. Buff E. asks “where’s my homos at?” and the front row of one side of the ring puts their hands up, you wouldn’t be getting that in the EWF that’s for sure! Kashmere reverses an Irish whip sending him crashing into Mace and we get the ‘comedy’ spot of them falling to the mat with Mace behind his partner in a doggy style position. Trent gets caught when he goes up top but counters the Mace superplex with a sit out front suplex. Double jumping DDT which looked like something they called on the fly. Buff E. breaks up the Kashmere cover and that leads to the finish which is exactly the same as how the BBP tag against Rick Blade & Nicky Benz that I watched earlier ended, only minus the ladder. The Backseat Boyz don’t stick around and Trent actually looks pretty pissed as he leaves. When we watched Mace Mendoza in that FWA ‘tables & ladders’ match he, pardon the pun, played it straight, his gimmick was never part of the match, here, partnering Buff E., it’s hammered home with the two of them kissing in the ring, in their offense and in the ‘comedy’ doggy style spot. Buff E. himself is pretty bad as a wrestler and I hold him fully to blame for that terrible blown dropkick. The crowd here were great mind, unlike the majority of promotions who would’ve turned on the Christopher Street Connection in a heartbeat. I get the impression that the Backseats knew this wasn’t a good one, and they were right.

As the Hardy Boyz make their way through the arena, Matt tells Lita that he wants her to stay in the back tonight as ‘the Radicalz’ have put their hands on her before and he doesn’t want them doing it again. Lita says that she respects them looking out for her, but they need to respect the fact that she wants to be out there by their side, Matt’s request ultimately falling on deaf ears. Matt makes a beeline straight for Malenko, however Benoit gets to him before he can do so. After ‘the Crippler’ is whipped into the ropes, Malenko grabs his partner’s ankle from the floor and pulls him to the outside. There’s no safe haven for them tonight though as Jeff springs off his brother’s back with an awesome looking ‘Poetry in Motion’ over the top rope out onto them. Headscissors takedown on Benoit but Jeff then makes the mistake of disregarding his opponent to nail Malenko on the apron and when he turns back around he walks into a dragon screw. The Radicalz meticulously go about targeting the left leg, Malenko even managing to get a cheap shot of his own in on Matt in the process. Jeff reverses the Irish whip, keeps hold of the arm and transitions to a Peterson roll for a two (that’s the move he pinned Benoit with on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago). He flips over on the double belly to back and lands a double dropkick. Hot tag to Matt who spears Malenko and just unloads with punches. Benoit saves his partner and very soon all four men are in the ring. Malenko blocks the ‘Twist of Fate’ and then sits Matt on the top turnbuckle. With the referee in the opposite corner dealing with Benoit and Jeff, Lita hops in the ring and low blows the Light Heavyweight champion who falls to the mat. Top rope legdrop by Matt and that’s another in the win column for the Hardyz. Post-match Malenko puts Matt in the ‘Texas cloverleaf’ and when Lita tries to pull him off, she’s attacked by Benoit who puts her in the crossface, Jeff having already been laid out by ‘the Crippler’ at this point. After a commercial break we see Lita being tended to by the paramedics back stage as Matt says how he told her that she shouldn’t have been out there. Benoit shows up to rub it in which leads to Matt charging at him, the pair having to be separated by a bunch of WWF referees and officials.

Tazz thinks that Matt Hardy is jealous of Dean Malenko because he sees him as a good looking guy and competition for Lita. The Light-Heavyweight champion blows kisses towards her which only pisses off Matt who slaps him across the face before dropping him with a clothesline and unloading with punches. After whipping him hard into the turnbuckle Matt collects Dean’s title belt from the outside which he brings back into the ring with him. As referee Tim White tries to snatch it away, the two end up playing tug of war and Malenko clubs Matt from behind. Tazz’s commentary is beyond atrocious and he’s clearly his own biggest fan, finding himself far more amusing than anyone who has the misfortune of having to listen to him does! Malenko slaps on a rear chinlock as Jeff and Lita bang the mat to provide some encourage him from ringside. The whip to the corner is reversed, Malenko with a tip up, but Matt has it scouted and dumps him with a belly to back. Hardy runs into a back elbow, however as Dean heads upstairs Matt swipes out a leg and crotches him on the top turnbuckle. Suicideplex for a two, Matt forgoing the three and lifting his opponent up at the count of two in favour of administering more punishment. It’s the same story after the middle rope legdrop as well. Malenko counters the ‘Twist of Fate’ with a backslide but Matt escapes and looks for a ‘Texas cloverleaf’. Just as he turns him over, Perry Saturn and Terri are up on the apron. Matt nails Saturn and Lita trips Terri, although in the confusion Malenko schoolboys Hardy and gets the pinfall, using the ropes for a bit of additional leverage. There was great crowd heat for all of this, way more than you would normally find on a match from Heat.

‘Old Stoneface’ needs everyone’s undivided attention. Lance says that on Monday night they had a slight lapse in team work which resulted in a rather embarrassing defeat. He has been assured that this won’t happen again and tonight Team Canada will function as a unit to once again dominate the United States wrestling scene. Jim Duggan isn’t showing much respect to the Canadian national anthem, walking around the ring, and I don’t think he’s long for the group. Yang counters the Skipper huracanrana with a powerbomb into a double leg cradle for an early two count. These two are actually working really well together, although considering they’re both out of the Power Plant that shouldn’t really be much of a surprise. Great arm drag take down and Kaz with a springboard kick to the back of the head. When Lance tries to involve himself he takes care of him with a spinning kick and the Dragons then mock Team Canada which sadly doesn’t get any love. Skipper backdrops Kaz over the top rope, and even though he lands on the apron gets caught by a Storm enziguiri that sends him back into the ring. He kicks out of the cover as Duggan tries to get a half-hearted “Ca-na-da” chant going from the floor. Elix crotches Kaz on the top rope and then takes him down with a rope walk rana, that was quality but this crowd are dead. Hayashi escapes the running Ligerbomb and wipes out Skipper with a kick to the side of the head. Hot tag to Yang who flattens Elix with a high crossbody. ‘Matrix move’ to avoid the clothesline however he’s a bit too pleased with himself, loses his concentration and Yang dropkicks him in the back. All four men end up in the ring and the Dragons reverse the Irish whip sending Team Canada colliding into one another. Storm crotches Kaz upstairs and hits a lovely butterfly superplex, Yang saving his partner just in time. Lance throws him to the outside where Major Gunns jabs him with the flagpole. Leah Meow goes after Gunns and that gets more of a reaction than anything we have seen so far. As Storm tries to separate the two of them, Kaz with a brainbuster on Skipper. Combination top rope splash/senton and The Cat is out to prevent any Duggan interference as Team Canada get upset again. Good match played before a dead crowd who only came to life when the two women started going at it. I thought Elix Skipper looked fantastic here although Team Canada are a dying act, one that Jim Duggan never worked in.

Apparently everybody likes Weed, snigger, snigger. The two are wrestling this clean, which doesn’t sit well with one of the commentators who not only wants to see a bit more intensity between the combatants but also wants to see them taking advantage of the openings that are there. Weed makes the first cover of the match, although only picks up a one count following a backdrop. He runs into a Kozina big boot as ‘the Tornado’ then goes about working over his opponent’s left leg. The momentum in the match switches back to Weed and he lands a Lionsault for a two. Kozina eats a clubbing clothesline which sends him rolling under the bottom rope to the outside where Weed nails him with a plancha from the top turnbuckle to the floor. He suplexes ‘the Tornado’ back inside and then comes off the top again with high crossbody for another near fall. As he heads up top for the third time, Kozina is up and sweeps one of his legs away before superplexing him to the mat. Kozina returns to targeting that left leg and even though Weed kicks him off on the attempted Figure Four, it doesn’t stop the attack. Nice double underhook suplex. Weed floats over on the vertical suplex and hits inverted DDT. He throws some kicks, which don’t really have much behind them, and when he misses a swinging right, Kozina lifts him up by the leg and drops him across his own knee. Dragon screw leg whip, he locks in the Figure Four when out runs Rockstar 2000 who puts the boots to him. Not content he then turns his attention to Weed, taking his frustrations out on both men in annoyance at being overlooked for the upcoming Pacific Cup, something that the two of them are both a part of.

William Regal makes an open challenge to any WWF superstar to come wrestle, nay grapple, him for his European championship. That challenge is accepted in the unlikely form of Gangrel. The inaugural season of the XFL is still over three months away and they’re hawking season tickets already. Really looking forward to having that shoved down our throats! Kevin Kelly says how you won’t see any closed fists out of William Regal, he will only strike with the forearm because that’s within the rules, although that doesn’t mean that he will always fight within those rules! Regal kicks out of the Northern Lights suplex and a nifty little leg trip takes Gangrel down before firing away with some forearms to the back of his head. Gangrel tries to fight back but Regal just grabs him by the hair, pulls his head down and repeatedly knees him in the face. An uppercut floors the challenger and as Regal makes the cover he drives his forearm into Gangrel’s jaw as he does so. Another leg trip and this time he transitions to the ‘Regal stretch’ forcing Gangrel to go to the ropes. Gangrel briefly gets back into the match, holding onto the arm after reversing an Irish whip and hitting a Russian legsweep. He’s only delaying the inevitable though, Regal ducking a swinging arm and picking up the win after that sweet Hangman’s noose neckbreaker. Regal was fantastic here; everything he did looked like it hurt, everything was solid and everything had purpose. I only watched this because of Chad’s review and while I didn’t like it as much as he did (this wasn’t a standout performance from Gangrel and even things which easily pop me like Northern Lights’ he didn’t execute crisply) I didn’t regret it and it was absolutely worth it to see Regal do his thing.

Divine, the WPW TV champion, has got a bit of a different look going on from when we saw him teaming with Christopher Carmichael in MCW. He’s a bit reluctant to put that dog collar around his neck, stalling it out and then turning towards the dressing room acting as if he wants no part of this. As the referee starts to count him out he has a change of heart but is still in no great hurry to put that dog collar on. The atmosphere is so flat, not helped by the wresters who stick to playing tug of war with the chain and then taking it in turns to choke the other with it. The Barbarian gets a two count after a DDT, Divine getting a shoulder up. Dino heads off to the back again but seemingly forgets that he’s attached to the Barbarian who follows after him and slams him into the wooden bleachers. They continue around the arena although this is very reminiscent of one of those ECW ‘walk & brawls’. Divine finds himself a 2x4 which he chokes the Barbarian with as the commentator gets in a line about him “having wood”. How old are these people? Not only a dog collar match but also falls count anywhere rules as Divine slaps on a sleeper hold on the floor. The Barbarian’s arm drops twice and as it looks like it will for the third time, Divine lets go thinking he’s won. Of course it doesn’t drop and the match continues. The action returns to the ring where Barbarian gently whips Divine with the chain, no intensity or aggression whatsoever. Divine avoids the ‘Stinger splash’ in the corner and then collects a chair from under the ring. He’s swinging that as softly as the Barbarian did the chain. As he goes to blast, actually tap is probably a better choice of words, him over the head, the Barbarian moves and he connects with the top rope. The chair rebounds off the rope and he hits himself instead. That spot rarely looks good and it never here. Barbarian DDT’s him onto the chair and we have ourselves a new WPW TV champion. Poor match, zero heat and what’s the point in even having this as a stipulation if you don’t look like you want to actually hurt your opponent? They did nothing to engage the crowd and it showed with their reaction. The commentary was terrible so in that regard it fitted the match to a tee!

The opening moments of this match are spent working around a wristlock. HIROKI tries to spin his way out of the front chancery but Urano rolls with him, eventually managing to do so at the third attempt. We get the exact same sequence from last night starting with the side headlock, leading to HIROKI taking a powder on the floor, and the two then exchanging hard open hand slaps. No running headbutts though as HIROKI takes Urano down with a great looking spinning leg lariat before dropkicking his seated opponent in the back of the head. Urano floats over on the attempted suplex and a backslide for a two. Middle rope missile dropkick. As he charges, HIROKI gets his feet up and Urano runs into them. Jawbreaker followed by a German suplex as Urano barely gets a shoulder up. There’s no-one home on the moonsault though and Urano with a schoolboy to pick up his second win on the trot. A similar situation, and at times match, to last night’s show opener in Manati.

Although these two matches didn't air consecutively on the show, I'm grouping them together. TNT vs Heriberto Lopez’s Bodyguards Heriberto Lopez is a moustached silver fox and I can tell already that my lack of Spanish is going to hurt this big time. He says something to TNT, which antagonises the crowd, and Savio gets out of the ring to confront him. After he slaps Heriberto across the chops, Lopez’s two bodyguards jump him from behind. From spending far too long watching wresting I can only assume that Heriberto said something along the lines that if he wants him, he has to get past his bodyguards first. I don’t recognise either bodyguard but they’re two bald chaps in Adidas sportswear. Despite the referee’s best efforts to get one of them out onto the apron he has no luck, and this remains a handicap match with all three men in the ring together. As one of the bodyguards distracts the official Heriberto gets in some cheap shots from the floor, winding the crowd up even more. Savio ducks the double clothesline and fells them both with one of his own. This isn’t good but the heat is there. He does some flashy looking martial arts stuff clearing the ring of one of them after a heel kick and then blowing the green mist in the face of the other. One superkick later that’s the three. He has some more words for Lopez post-match, although as they’re in Spanish I’m at a loss at what they are. TNT vs Heriberto Lopez Heriberto looks rather confident, a stark change from how he was earlier, even proficiently running the ropes. Well that confidence was misplaced as he does his everything he can to avoid contact with TNT darting in and out the ring and running around it. The shape these two are in I wonder who is going to blow up first. When Savio finally gets a hold of him and throws him inside Lopez is immediately back on his bike. Considering they have done nothing this is at least funny. After cornering him we get one punch, two knife edge chops and TNT then slaps on a ‘Cobra clutch’ submission. Just as Lopez is about to go out the heel dressing room empties, quickly followed by the faces and an almighty brawl, involving what looks like everyone on the card, takes place. We get the random bell ringing again that has no effect whatsoever in restoring order. In amongst all this the heels retreat, eventually returning as TNT and Lopez go back and forth on the mic. No idea what the official result was, whether Lopez was put to sleep or it was a disqualification due to the run in, either way TNT got the ‘W’. After Lopez and his posse leave for the last time the faces take it in turns to dance in the ring, Zarrux the mummy even throwing a shape or two.

Suzuki comes from the school of exaggerating the stomp when you deliver clubbing blows! This picks up from that dodgy opening as the wrestling and exchanges are real slick. Suzuki counters the sleeper with a jawbreaker and cranks on a side headlock. Urano shoots him off, catches him with a hip toss and then levels him with a pair of dropkicks that send Suzuki under the bottom rope to the outside where he looks to regroup. The two stiff each other with hard open hand slaps to the chest before Suzuki changes tact with a couple of running headbutts. He picks up a near fall following a falling headbutt as Urano is clearly still feeling the effect of those slaps. After Suzuki misses the running forearm smash in the corner, Urano with a missile dropkick for a two. Thrust kick to the chest, but as he charges at his opponent he runs into a spear. Urano avoids the Benoitesque diving headbutt and rolls Suzuki up with a Magistral cradle for the win. Enjoyable five minute opener between two young Japanese wresters who’re down in Puerto Rico to gain a bit of experience. They didn’t do a lot, but what they did do they did well; very reminiscent of the kind of match you’d find opening a show in Japan in that aspect, where the rookies look to get the basics down pat first before expanding their arsenal. I thought Urano had the more potential of the two, however that’s not a slight on Suzuki at all.

Chase Tatum is seconded by Nathan Jones for this, both men being members of Rick Bassman’s ‘Ultimate Power’ group. The ring announcer makes a right howler as he’s doing the introductions, calling Jones “the new Prototype” when he should have in fact said that about Tatum. I’m sure someone was in his ear as moments later he corrected himself, although not before the commentators had a laugh at his expense. I was thinking how jacked Chase looks and then Cena walks through the curtain and you immediately forget about him! Whoa, a T-Bone suplex out of Tatum. He gets a two count following a big powerslam and then levels the Prototype with a short clothesline as he’s not giving his opponent an inch. Prototype runs under an attempted clothesline and comes back with a flying shoulderblock. DDT and now both men are down, Cena taking the chance to get his breath back after that early onslaught he faced. Nice standing vertical dropkick before planting Chase with a delayed side slam, holding him there and making him think about what’s coming next. Tatum ducks the swinging arm and lands a great release German suplex, dumping Cena on his head. He whips Prototype into the corner, however he avoids the charge, Tatum crashing into the turnbuckles, and then hits his ‘Protobomb’ for the three. As he celebrates his win he’s attacked from behind by Smelly. Nathan Jones involves himself too and the pair of them leave the Prototype laying after Smelly’s full nelson slam, the commentators speculating that the ‘Ultimate Power’ group has just got itself a new member. An improvement over Prototype’s match with Bad Boy Basil and that’s all you can hope for at this stage of his career, even though there was an over reliance on Irish whips and clotheslines. Tatum impressed me way more that I expected with his array of different suplexes and that release German was quality.

The Tag Team tournament continues and I have a feeling this is either going to be a pleasant surprise or real bad, there tends to be no middle ground with WOW. The ‘Weapon’s Master’ Danger does Triple H’s shtick of drinking a bottle of water as she makes her entrance and then spits it out. Lee Marshall is at it again with the hyperbole, saying how that in their years following professional wrestling he and David McCain have seen some pretty formidable tag teams, but Riot and Danger are just plain scary. Beckie does the same reverse crossbody spot that she did against Thug, although this time doesn’t look anywhere near as impressive as she fails to run up all the turnbuckles and has to come off the middle one instead. Danger almost loses her on the side slam, just about holding on, before Beckie again takes that great 360 degree flip bump off a clothesline. There’s a real bad looking spot that shows that these girls are not really wrestlers when Danger rams Beckie’s head into the turnbuckle, only problem is she goes to Beckie’s own corner to do it. Billie could easily make the tag, but as it wasn’t the ‘right time’ she just stands there on the apron right next to her partner who was getting pounded on. When the time comes she makes that tag and we go for a commercial break right as Riot misses an elbow. Bronco Billie with a bulldog for a two count. Tensions are being teased between Danger and Riot as Danger delays on tagging her partner when she wants in, preferring to carry on dishing out the beating herself. When she finally does, Bronco scoots between Riot’s legs and makes the hot tag to Beckie. A dropkick for Riot followed by a double hip toss and I feared for her having to take that from these two. Double dropkick, however they dropkick Riot backwards into her own corner. Danger with a uranage (called the ‘Danger Drop’) on Billie and then one for Beckie. Riot tags herself back in, against her partner’s wishes, makes the cover, but then picks Beckie up at the count of two to continue the punishment. She has Beckie set for a powerbomb but the Farmer’s Girl counters with a sunset flip as she and Billie move on to the next round, Riot’s cockiness having cost her and Danger the match. Well it didn’t fall into the pleasant surprise category and dragged, even though the match itself, including introductions, went less than ten minutes. The three tag matches we’ve watched have been far worse than the singles encounters. Even though the girls have probably been trained move for move, you can see the holes and things like ramming your opponents head into the turnbuckle in their own corner would NEVER happen anywhere else. The dissension is an interesting storyline, although I thought Riot looked tons better in the single’s match from next year’s PPV that I’ve already watched. Elsewhere I doubt Bronco Billie will ever get it, Danger didn’t show much, while Beckie at least does come across as an athlete (again evidenced in her singles match with Thug).

The ring announcer introduces Steve Corino but there is no sign of the ‘King of Old School’. A minute must pass as we wait for him to make his way through the curtain, however he fails to materialise. Shane, who made his entrance first, says something in Spanish that gets a rise from the crowd and we’re back looking at the entrance. Still nothing. Now the referee says something before starting a count, presumably Corino has until the count of ten to get out here otherwise he forfeits the match. As he reaches ten, the bell rings and I assume that’s one in the win column for Shane. He starts to make his way back to the dressing room and I’m kinda wondering why we’ve got this to watch. Oh, as he’s slapping hands with the fans Corino finally appears, jumping him. They head into the ring with the bell ringing constantly trying to get them to stop fighting. Like that ever works! Shane misses a big splash and Corino with a superkick followed by the ‘Old School Expulsion’. The bilingual Corino then says something in Spanish himself as the crowd chant “E-C-W”. He grabs a chair from ringside but a bunch more officials are out to get between the two wrestlers and put a stop to things. Non-match, all angle, because generally in the year 2000 Steve Corino doesn’t bust a gut on independent shows!

The Backseat Boyz have had different entrance themes depending on what Indy promotion they’ve been in, tonight we get the live version of “I Want It That Way” which I whole heartedly approve of. They have got candy with them to hand out to the kids in attendance, although there is one grown man who is far too eager to get his hands on the sweets. All four men are in each other’s faces, the commentators thinking that they’re trying to psyche each other out, but we actually get some handshakes and embraces from them. A great opening sequence here, ending with stereo exploders from Trent and Johnny who then clothesline Blade and Benz over the top rope to the outside. That didn’t look anywhere near as business exposing and co-operative as those earlier CZW matches involving Blade and the Backseats. Johnny teases backdropping Trent out on their opponents but he fakes them out, hopping onto the apron and then slingshotting Kashmere out into them instead. Big moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the floor by Trent. They drag Benz back into the ring and even though he avoids the double clothesline, they block his attempt, lift him up and drive him hard into the canvas. Blade is waiting on the opposite side of the ring but fares no better, the Backseats catching him with a double hip toss into a combination sit out powerbomb/neckbreaker as he comes off the ropes. Trent collects a small ladder from under the ring however, as he shows it to the fans, inside Benz reverses the Irish whip, sidesteps Kashmere and gives him a helping hand over the top and out onto his partner. Benz with a flip dive, launching himself off the back of Blade, and then Blade with a top rope corkscrew quebrada. Whippersnapper on Kashmere. As Trent goes for a tornado bulldog on Benz, Blade snatches him, flips him over and dumps him to the mat. After a Michinoku Driver, Ric lays the ladder over a prone Johnny and Benz then pancakes his partner on top of it. The commentator is not sure if Kashmere will be able to get up from that, although looking at the state Blade is in, I’m not sure he will either. Trent ducks the clothesline and plants Benz with a Blue Thunder Bomb. He rests the ladder upright against the middle turnbuckles but Benz blocks the attempted suplex, reverses things and then suplexes Trent onto it. Blade is still down and it looks like he’s rubbing his collar bone. A ‘Texas lariat’ lays Acid out on that ladder and Benz with a Lionsault, Johnny making the save in the nick of time. Vertical suplex into a stunner by Kashmere on Blade and this time Benz is the one doing the saving with some help from that ladder, which he then eats courtesy of a Trent missile dropkick. More ladder assisted stunts as Johnny with a tumbleweed onto the ladder which he had placed over Benz. Double springboard dropkick by Blade, the action having been non-stop. As Trent rallies the crowd to get behind them, he’s caught upstairs and falls victim to a double team assault driver. Benz with the frog splash but for the second time Johnny saves his partner. Uranage by Blade on Kashmere who then does his moonsault sequence, starting with a standing version and then working his way up all the turnbuckles, finally finishing with a corkscrew variety. Benz and Blade think they’ve got this won and as Blade heads up top, Kashmere counters the Benz ‘Saito suplex’ and falls on top of him. Trent leaps off his partner’s back and forearms Blade in the mush then decks Benz with a superkick. ‘Acid Bomb’ from the top into the ladder, wedging Blade’s head between two of the rungs. That looked tremendous, although no doubt hurt like hell to take. Needless to say that gets the job done, the Backseat Boyz coming out victorious. The four get a standing ovation and Donnie B is even out to congratulate them. It turns out Blade got busted open hardway on that finish and has a pretty nasty cut across the bridge of his nose. If you liked the CZW spotfests from earlier in the year involving the Backseats, Blade and ‘Sick’ Nick Mondo you’ll like this. In fact I think it was a much better match than any of them, a cleaner version if you will. Nothing looked as choreographed or rehearsed as some of the stuff in those matches whilst this was also one of Ric Blade’s best performances of the year. Bar one slight by Berk when he had to catch Blade for the quesadora pancake onto the ladder, that Ric still managed to hurt himself on, he didn’t botch a thing, even his kicks didn’t look anywhere near as bad as they have tended to. The Backseat Boyz were fantastic and as we say goodbye to them in the year 2000 I’ll say again that it’s a crying shame how Trent Acid’s life end up. Highly recommended.

I always enjoy checking out the old clips on the intro to these WWC matches, of course this was joined in progress but you didn’t need me to tell you that. Only the last few minutes are shown and this is less appealing than Hennig’s match with Carly Colon as at least Carly can get the crowd behind him and into what they’re seeing, they were deathly silent for all of this. Gonzalez works over the leg, pretty basically, but when he looks for the Figure Four Curt kicks him off and he goes flying through the ropes to the outside. Bar shaking that leg out in what feels like an after thought, Curt doesn’t even bother to sell it. There is no atmosphere whatsoever to any of this. Gonzalez telegraphs a backdrop and as Hennig hits the ‘Perfect-plex’ he’s attacked by Horace Boulder who has run out from the back for the DQ. The two then put the boots to him until the footage ends. Not worth your time and if you have an interest in seeing Curt Hennig in Puerto Rico, watch the Carly Colon match not this (not that that one is any good or anything!).

Of course with this being Puerto Rico the action is joined in progress. The Cuban Assassin/Fidel Sierra is seconding Hennig and he gets in some cheap shots as Curt distracts the referee. Hennig with an STF which I can’t ever remember seeing out of him before, although he’s not exactly exerting himself from what we’ve seen so far. He goes to slam Colon’s head into the mat, but Carly blocks it and slams Curt’s into it instead. As he fires up the official tries to get him to let Hennig out from the corner. After being shoved away twice he grabs Carly to pull him away, Curt then throws a dropkick and as Carly falls to the canvas the ref gets squashed underneath him. A second referee runs out to replace the original one and Colon gets a near fall following an ‘X-Factor’. That was super close as the crowd clearly thought he’d got the three judging by their reactions. They make a mess of a victory roll and Curt then avoids the reverse crossbody off the top. Carly kicks out of the ‘Perfect-plex’ and sensing that nothing he does will be able to put his opponent away, Sierra throws him some brass knux. That does the trick, Hennig KO’ing him with the knux to defeat Colon for whatever title it is he is currently holding. I smell a Dusty finish. As the second referee hands Curt the belt, the original comes to and explains what happened. The replacement tries to snatch the belt back but it looks like Hennig and Sierra are home and dry when they’re cut off on their way to the dressing room by Carlos Colon and Thunder & Lightning. Carlos throws Curt back into the ring to his son and the two are going at it again as the footage ends.

The only bit of TCW I could find at the time was this three-way match featuring ‘the Dream’, Luther ‘Burning Love’ Biggs and Liberty McCall. The on screen graphics are very rudimentary, while you can see a young Cody working the merchandise tables. From the run time I thought this was going to be a short match, it is in fact highlights set to music. Biggs’ ‘Burning Love’ gimmick is a knock off Elvis, and I don’t know if that’s better or worse than the overweight college student gimmick he was doing during his cup of coffee with WCW. McCall does the wobbly legs after a Dusty bionic elbow, ‘the Dream’s’ offense limited to that and kicking his opponents between the legs. The two of them work together against him, even busting Dust open, until the inevitable disagreements and they start arguing amongst themselves, eventually getting back on the same page. Biggs accidentally connects with McCall on the running crossbody after Dusty moves out the way, sending him sprawling through the ropes to the floor, and ‘the Dream’ then drops the elbow on ‘Burning Love’ for the predictable win. I imagine only having the highlights was for the better. Still, Dusty did get colour and the crowd were more into this than that Street Fight from Beau James’ promotion.

I had to a double take as I thought Jade might be a very young Gail Kim, however Wikipedia confirmed that her real name is in fact Jennifer Lee Chan, so not Gail Kim at all. Part of the fun of seeing anyone new on WOW is what their vignettes look like and in theirs Jade and Lotus are shown practising their martial arts, although Jade looks far more proficient than the ‘Exotic Flower’. According to Lee Marshall it is very easy to be captivated by their beauty and swayed by their charms, but these are two competent world class athletes who are competing here in the most prestigious tag team tournament in the history of Women’s wrestling. He said all of that with a straight face! So first round of the WOW tag team tournament it is and their opponents, all the way from the Nevada State Correctional Facility ,are Caged Heat, Delta Lotta Pain (brilliant name!) and Loca. They wear orange boiler suits, similar to Nailz and Marshall has seemingly already written off the Asian Invasion, despite their competence, thinking that Caged Heat are potential winners of the whole thing. Delta shows why they are considered favourites by the way that she rag dolls Jade around. A dodgy looking powerslam, but Delta then picks Jade up at the count of two in order to dish out some more punishment. Jade with a tip up after being whipped to the corner and she then takes Delta down with a headscissors (called Samurai scissors) that looked every bit as bad as that powerslam. Both tag out to their partners although Caged Heat are quickly back in control as Loca boots Lotus in the mid-section and drops an elbow across her throat. Delta fails to connect on the somersault senton and Jade with a cradle. She ends up getting distracted by Loca though and Delta trips her from behind. Jade counters the tilt-a-whirl with a headscissors, but when she goes for another cradle Loca pancakes her to the mat. Lotus is cleared from the ring and Caged Heat with their double team ‘Hard Time’ finisher (one member of the team lifts the opponent up while as the other then comes off the top with a flying clothesline) on Jade as they advance to the next round of the tournament. Post-match they give a 3-D to Lotus and are about to give the ref one too but he manages to flee the ring in time. These attacks on the officials are being overdone as that’s three in the four matches so far. The cops are waiting for Caged Heat as they make their exit and bundle them off out of there. Caged Heat have got some presence and personality but this was terrible. So much for Lee Marshall’s claim about the Asian Invasion being ‘competent’ because that’s the last thing they were. A giant backwards step after the previous two WOW matches which I had surprisingly enjoyed.