GSR

Thug has got her ‘gang’ in the shape of Charlie Davidson and E.Z. Rider accompanying her down to ringside so expect a fair bit of shenanigans from them. Whoa, a great start as Thug reverses the whip to the turnbuckles, only for Beckie to run up them and come off with a reverse crossbody for a two count. A dropkick sends Thug tumbling through the ropes to the outside, however Beckie gets carried away in the excitement, running into a kick and getting her neck snapped across the top rope when Thug climbs back up onto the apron. Beckie takes a 360 degree flip bump off a clothesline, but then ducks under a second and dumps Thug on her backside with a full nelson bomb which she transitions into a farmer’s roll for a near fall. Thug recklessly tosses Beckie to the floor so her gang can put the boots in, although the camera would rather focus on some chap in the crowd than the action at ringside. After blocking having her head slammed into the top turnbuckle, she does exactly that to Thug before coming off the top with another crossbody just as they go to a commercial break. We return to see Thug talking tactics on the outside with Charlie and E.Z. when Beckie wipes all three of them out with a plancha from the apron. Beckie flips Thug back into the ring, whips her into the turnbuckles but runs into an elbow. Russian leg sweep followed by a chokeslam and the ref is standing too close to the action as he checks on Beckie. Yup, he gets taken out by a Thug flying clothesline. With the official down, Charlie goes to hit Beckie with her pool cue, however ends up accidentally hitting Thug instead. One big top rope splash later, the second match in a row that has been used as the finish, sees Beckie pick up a rather popular victory. Harley’s Angels attack her post-match and again the referee takes another outrageous bump to the concrete when Thug tosses him from the ring. Selina Majors runs out for the save, clocking each of the Angel’s over the head with a chair as the show goes off the air...or so I thought. We’ve cut from that to watch some skit of David McCain, overacting to high heaven, as he apparently receives a phone call from Kathy Lee wanting to be his co-host for WOW. Huh? The expectations were low going in after last month’s tag, but I enjoyed this more than the Jungle Grrrl match and probably all down to Beckie. The opening reverse crossbody caught me off guard and she then takes this quality bump off the clothesline. Considering Thug is the veteran, and by a good fifteen years, she didn’t show anything to make her stand out over her opponent. Not sure what that ridiculous skit involving McClain was all about and why it took precedence over Majors’ run in and save.

It’s not Jungle Girl, but Jungle Grrrl! If you imagine what Tarzan’s girlfriend Jane to look like then you can picture Jungle Grrrl, right down the leopard print ring gear. Like the previous match we watched, again vignettes are played as the wrestlers make their entrances to introduce them to any newcomers, and while Billie’s is the same, Jungle Grrrl is shown in a desert, running through bushes and climbing trees. Jungle Grrrl is perched on the top turnbuckle, almost like an eagle awaiting her prey, and as the referee gives Billie final instructions, she leaps off and nails her with a double axe handle. Backdrop followed by a falling headbutt but Billie kicks out of the cover. Billie slingshots Jungle Grrrl into the corner and hits a bulldog, however that doesn’t even get a one count. Rewind to last month and remember how after she hit it on E.Z. Rider both Thug and Charlie Davidson interfered to save her from being pinned? There’s either zero thinking going on or Jungle Grrrl is in for a monster push. Billie goes for a couple more pin attempts, firstly with a crucifix and then after a monkey flip, but again the kick out comes before the first slap of the mat. Monster push it must be. Lee Marshall claims that we’re seeing more wrestling in ninety seconds from these two than we have in a long time! Jungle Grrrl has had enough of messing around, slams the rodeo queen to the canvas and then comes off the top with a superfly splash for the win. I actually thought this was a marked improvement over last month. Running the ropes is still something that the women find difficult, but it was kept short, there were no obvious botches and they eliminated throwing punches, which was another aspect they struggled with last time. Jungle Grrrl also looks to have some potential in there, the first of the WOW girls that we’ve seen who I think that about.

After getting a pinfall over the Intercontinental champion on Smackdown, Jeff has earned himself a title shot. Matt gives his brother a pep talk in the dressing room, telling him to think about all the things the Radicalz have done to them, to Lita, and how by beating Chris Benoit he will not only take his IC title, but will also take his pride. Commissioner Foley has ordered that no members of the Radicalz or the Hardy Boyz are to be at ringside for this match up. Benoit doesn’t wait for the bell and gets the jump on his opponent. After whipping Jeff into the ropes, he slides out under them to the floor. ‘The Crippler’ follows him out, however Jeff quickly ducks back inside and nails him with a pescado. It’s not long before Benoit is back in control though, taking advantage as Hardy plays to the crowd. He destroys his chest with some hard knife edge chops and a trio of rolling German suplexes followed by a diving headbutt. Jeff manages to get a shoulder up on the cover and the crowd are with him even though he’s not really getting much of the match. Benoit with another belly to back, only this time Jeff fires away on him and lands on top. ‘Whisper in the Wind’ for a near fall. A great block of the neckbreaker by Benoit who then flips Jeff over, single arm take down into the crossface and Jeff is forced to tap. Not sure how much this really benefited Jeff after getting that pinfall on Smackdown. A shame it wasn’t given longer because he clearly had the crowd behind him, both as the sympathetic babyface when Benoit was on top and also on his own near fall attempts. The finish was really cool but this felt more like a ‘filler’ match for the TV show.

We’ve seen some thinly attended shows this year but this might be the thinnest of the lot, there can’t be any more than two dozen people here, just rows of empty tables in what looks like some sort of dining hall. He may call himself ‘Hollywood’ Vince Bono however there is absolutely nothing Hollywood looking about him! Trent takes an exaggerated bump from a Berk upper cut as the two of them go at it on a nearby stage. Back in the ring the comedy continues as first a drop toe hold sees him end up on top of Johnny in a 69 position, and then after a double noggin knocker he ends up headbutting the prone Kashmere in the crotch when falling to the mat. Double axe handle off the apron to the floor by Bono. Robbie Moreno, who is managing the Backseats tonight, takes a bump as everyone again ends up fighting it out at ringside. Kashmere piledrives Berk on the wooden stage and then goes to help his partner, hitting the ‘Acid Bomb’ on Bono for the win. A random motley crew including the Rockin’ Rebel, Little Guido and Van Hammer join Trent and Johnny in laying a beating on Bono and Berk until three unimpressive dudes from the back run out and clear the ring. We get a bit of mic work that isn’t the clearest and a tag match between some of those involved in the run in is set up for later in the show. The comedy and antics of the Backseat Boyz kept this interesting, but I imagine when they saw that crowd that made up their minds of how this one was going to go. Even stranger than Little Guido showing up is Van Hammer, and the trio of them and the Rockin’ Rebel is straight out of 1990’s WAR. Bono may also have some of the most blatant kayfabe killing punches you’re likely to see the way he stamps the floor whenever he throws one.

The second Bret/Magee match that folk know about took place at the LaCrosse Challenge tapings on 5/16/89. I don't know if anyone else saw the tweet, but Sean Waltman wrote about seeing a dark match between Magee and Dibiase in Tampa that is probably tucked away in the vault somewhere. There were Tampa tapings the night after the Magee/Anderson match so every likelihood that this took place on those.

ODD is accompanied by two guys who look like they were Dudley brother rejects. Wait a minute, ODD is Jeff Bradley who was Dudley Dudley in ECW. I wonder if ODD stands for Original Dudley Dudley then, and it’s one of those deals where he can’t use the Dudley name because it’s trademarked by the WWF. This was supposed to be a tag team match with ODD and Horowitz taking on Mike Sullivan and Buck Quartermaine, however ‘the Iceman’ is a no show and ‘Marvellous’ Mike doesn’t know where he is. Sullivan says that he signed a contract for a tag team match, not a singles match and not a handicap match, and as no-one in the back wants to tag with him thinks they should call it a day and he’ll go home. The referee informs Sullivan that for the past five months he’s been saving his ass and tonight they’re going to give the people what they want, a ‘three way dance’ for the IPW World title. Horowitz jumps Sullivan and he and ODD start out working together against the Heavyweight champion. Another IPW show and, in what has been the story of this promotion’s year, another with dodgy camera work. Already Horowitz is losing his patience with ODD who’s not in position for the double team as he has Sullivan draped across the middle rope. Combination reverse DDT/double axe handle. Sullivan ducks out the way of the double clothesline as the challengers accidentally clothesline each other. That hasn’t quite done for them just yet but it won’t be much longer. As soon as I had finished typing that ODD breaks up a Horowitz quarter nelson pin attempt and now they’re going at it. ODD throws him to the outside and then reverses a whip to the corner sending Sullivan crashing into a plastic sled that had made its way into the ring somehow (missed by the cameraman). Horowitz is back in time to break up the cover and wallops ODD with that sled before throwing it to the floor saying how he doesn’t need hardcore to beat him. A couple of lovely suplexes from ‘the Stretcher’ in the form of Northern Lights and butterfly variations. ODD drags Horowitz out to ringside where he whips him into the ring post as the fans start chanting for tables. Not really going out on much of a limb here but I don’t fancy their chances of seeing tables in a match involving Barry Horowitz! As he returns to the ring Sullivan catches him with a dropkick which sends ODD backwards into the ropes where he does the old Andre spot of getting tied up in them. Boston crab, Texas Cloverleaf and Figure Four submission attempts are all broken up by the third man in what is becoming the story of this match. Abdominal stretch into a cradle, deep powerslam, it’s more of the same as that story continues. The camerawork has deteriorated the longer that this has gone on. ODD steals the cover after a Horowitz gutwrench but Sullivan still manages to kick out. WTF! Just as it looks like Sullivan is starting his comeback the cameraman stops filming what is happening in the ring and focuses on Electra, Sullivan’s valet, at ringside! Sullivan sits Horowitz on the top turnbuckle for a superplex when ODD gets under him and puts him on his shoulders in an electric chair position. As Horowitz climbs to the top, patting himself on the back but also looking very unsteady as he does, Electra shakes the ropes causing him to lose his balance. Sullivan quickly schoolboys ODD to retain his title as the two challenges come to blows post-match. Not the first IPW that suffers due to the quality of the camera work!

The Funks and the Von Erichs both were inducted in 2009 but that's the only time its previously happened.

I hope Rastaman doesn’t blow himself up again by the time he’s finished his entrance like last night. Dang, that’s some fine looking valet he’s got accompanying him. Yup, he must’ve learnt as there’s no dancing around tonight, he just removes his waistcoat and bandana, slides into the ring and goes straight for Perez. Miguel gets the jump on him after ducking to the outside and unloads with hard knife edge chops. Christ, 1970’s stereotypes are alive and kicking in Puerto Rico as Rasta no sells having his head rammed into the turnbuckles. Perez slaps on a rear chinlock however, unlike Chicky Starr, Rasta doesn’t work the crowd. With Doug Gentry making sure we get plenty of close ups of his attractive valet cheering her man on, Rasta fights his way out of both that and the subsequent sleeperhold. Miguel telegraphs the back drop and Rasta with an uppercut followed by a big powerbomb. He fails to connect on the somersault senton and Perez then collects the Kendo stick he’d bought out with him from the corner. Before he gets the chance to use it the ref grabs hold of it and in the confusion Rasta snatches it away from them both. The official tries to prevent him from using it, but he just brushes him aside and lays into Perez for the DQ finish. Rasta canes the referee post-match, much to the crowd’s approval and then dances away with the hotty. I didn’t recognise Perez at first without his customary Puerto Rican singlet and it was as though he’s now styling himself after Tommy Dreamer. Another nothing performance out of Rastaman, Perez really wasn’t much better and a forgettable match (lovely lady aside) with a weak conclusion.

Chicky Starr vs Vyzago (IWA-PR Yabucoa, PR 10/27/00) Vyzago waits for Starr on the concrete, not even bothering to get in the ring. This kicks off pretty much the moment Chicky walks through the curtain and he gets some early payback for last night, slamming Vyz’s head into the ring steps. Not for the first time this tour Doug Gentry (I assume he’s filming) is too close to the wrestlers and you hear Starr say “shoulder” just as he whips his opponent into the ring post, Vyz hitting shoulder first as called. Chicky throws him back inside and a big haymaker drops Vyz. This has been all one way traffic so far. El Lobo must’ve thought the same because as Vyzago backs off he runs out and attacks Starr from behind. The referee calls for the bell and this one is over already. The two of them put the boots to him until Victor the Bodyguard makes the save, clearing the ring of them both. Chicky isn’t satisfied with a DQ win and says something Spanish leading to an impromptu tag match between the four. (I'll amend this and add the tag match when I've watched it. Not sure what's gone on but the edited match from Chicky & Victor vs Vyz & Lobothat is dated 10/27 definitely isn't. I have a feeling it's a clipped version of their match from 10/28 but will confirm when watched)

Things are a bit slow getting going here, when they do there’s a great spot by Starr who just pops Vyzago in the jaw when it looks like he was going for a shoulder tackle. It’s worth mentioning that Chicky is the face and after Vyzago escapes a side headlock Starr has words with the referee claiming that Vyz had pulled his hair to do so. Vyz refutes that immediately saying “I didn’t pull his God damn hair!” but Chicky is insistent that he did. He never, although the seeds have already been planted in the official’s mind, so when Starr goes back to that side headlock again and Vyz’s hands come up towards his hair, the ref is waiting and pushes them straight back down. As Chicky hits the ropes, El Lobo, Vyzago’s second, grabs his ankle and pulls him out under the bottom one to the floor. The official has had enough already and orders Lobo back to the dressing room, but while he is dealing with him Vyz takes advantage of the situation, choking Starr and slamming his head into the wooden ring steps. The action finally returns to the ring and Vyz’s kicks to the stomach only seem to fire Chicky up. He cuts off any potential comeback though with a rake to the eyes and gets a two count after a leg drop. Vyz sits in a rear chinlock and while that could easily deaden a crowd, Chicky gestures to them for support and to get behind him, which they do in force. Starr ducks a clothesline and comes back with one of his own as Vyz is now calling for a time out. Dude should know that this isn’t the NFL! Chicky hammers away on Vyzago as the crowd join in with every one of his shots. Vyz sidesteps a charging Starr and gives him a shove through the ropes to the outside. Sunset flip back into the ring, however Vyz grabs hold of the ropes and sits down on Starr for the three. The fans again do their best to help Starr and tell the referee what went on, but he’s forced to raise Vyzago’s hand who doesn’t bother to wait around just in case he does change his mind. I liked Starr in this as he’s one of those guys who does little things to keep the match interesting so you have to keep your concentration and can’t afford to switch off in case you miss something. Even that rear chinock, which in reality is just a rest hold and which could be an easy momentum killer, Starr is working and getting the crowd into it. Vyzago was fine, but in reality you could’ve have put anybody in his position. It does appear from the match listings of this three night Puerto Rican tour that this is the start of a story between the two.

I saw Rastaman have an enjoyable contest against Barry Horowitz for IPW when I took an early dive into 2001 so let’s see how he does here. Oh dear, the footage starts with Feinstein flexing his puny biceps at the camera while sat next to Tajiri in the bleachers. Rasta turns his back to remove his waistcoat and Crazy is straight on him with a dropkick sending him careering into the turnbuckles. Irish whip is reversed and Rasta with a ‘Cactus clothesline’ taking both men over and out to the floor. It looks like Rasta blew himself up dancing on his entrance as he’s sucking up air already. A bit of audible spot calling now as you hear Crazy call for the reversal on another whip to the corner. A dropkick to the knees takes the legs out of Rasta, although Crazy barely reaches him on the follow up missile dropkick as Rasta is standing too far away. The most minimum of contact on it sends him tumbling through the ropes to the outside where Crazy nails him with a springboard plancha. Lionsault for a two count. Rasta is gassed badly! After catching Crazy with a back elbow Rasta misses on the twisting senton from the top. Nice sunset flip out of the corner by Crazy for a near fall before Rasta hits a spinning cutter followed by a ‘block buster’ for the unexpected, at least to me, win. Crazy was his usual good self although he didn’t have much to work with tonight, not helped by Rastaman blowing himself up before the bell. It’s been a while since I saw it but I don’t remember Rasta being as bad against Barry Horowitz as he was here so I will take that one over this.

Thanks to one of the Puerto Rican uploaders on YouTube we now have all of the RF filmed fancams of IWA-PR from when Feinstein would follow Super Crazy and Tajiri on their tours to the island; the added bonus this time around is that Juventud Guerrera was on the same tour. Juvi and Paparazzi work a fast opening and after dropping him with a spinning heel kick Paparazzi shuffles on his knees over to his corner and puts his arms around Super Crazy looking for some sympathy. From the reactions I take it Paparazzi does some sort of implied ‘gay’ gimmick as that doesn’t sit too well with Crazy. A nice rolling kneebar by Crazy and Juvi is in to make the save. The intrigue here is clearly Juvi against Crazy and they’re doing the smart job of making us wait for that. Of course just as I type that we get it! Crazy backdrops Juvi over the top rope, however he lands on the apron and then catches him with a plancha. Three lightning fast arm drags followed by a tilt-a-whirl slam and Paparazzi is rubbing his partner’s back tying to ease the pain. Crazy does not like the ‘gays’ or at least being touched by them anyway it would seem! Sunset flip spot with Paparazzi’s pants being pulled down. Hill counters the Crazy front suplex with an inside cradle but Paparazzi is keeping the official busy and he doesn’t see the cover. In a call back to earlier when Crazy went flying into the turnbuckles when Hill avoided the charge, this time it is Hill who crashes into them when Crazy steps out of the way. Lionsault for a near fall. Paparazzi does his best Muhammad Ali impression as he jabs away at Hill before a right to the chest drops him. A big running kick by Paparazzi who then does himself no favours by pulling Hill’s trunks down and smacking him on the backside. Hill rolls out the way of the Crazy top rope Quebrada and hot tags Juvi. ‘The Juice’ is indeed loose and all four men are soon in the ring going at it. Crazy clotheslines Hill to the outside while Juvi and Paparazzi exchange hard open hand slaps. A pescado by Crazy is the start of a series of dives, ending with a Juvi plancha out onto everyone. He and Crazy recover quickest, although we do get a slight miscommunication between the pair before a satellite headscissors. After a dropkick sends Crazy through the ropes to the floor Juvi is attacked from behind by Paparazzi. Not that it matters as Juvi floats over on the suplex and hits the ‘Juvi Driver’ for the win. I initially thought that this was one of those deals where Juvi had taken bookings without the office’s knowledge (like the Luchadores often did in WCW when they’d work Mexico), as surely there was no way they would let him work an IWA-PR show against an ECW wrestler. On further digging the last match I had for him in WCW was on 10/3 so it looks like he is already finished with the company now. Enjoyable match and Juvi certainly didn’t coast like I thought he might on a random house show. If he is done with WCW maybe he’s got those working boots on to try and secure a gig elsewhere? Then again if you’ve got a great vocal crowd like they have here that will motivate you plenty. The Paparazzi gimmick is tedious, but neither he nor Shan Hill let the side down both holding their own with the more established stars.

WOW isn’t your regular independent promotion and judging by the production values has clearly got plenty of financial backing behind it. Even though the names of the wrestlers pretty much gives away what their character is, everyone is given a vignette to flesh that out some more, for example Harley’s Angels are shown beating up guys in a pub while Bronco Billie is riding a horse at a rodeo. Again, the production on these is first rate. Harley’s Angels are accompanied to the ring by The Thug (Peggy Lee Leather) with this billed as a ‘revenge match’, Becky & Billie looking to gain revenge for their friend Selina Majors who was put out of commission by the Angels. The work here leaves a lot to be desired with even simple things like throwing a punch or running the ropes looking bad. A basic structure to the match though with the heels getting the heat on Bronco Billie. Twice the referee misses seeing her make the tag, distracted by the Angels, and both times as he’s trying to get Beckie back out of the ring they double team Billie behind his back. Third time is the charm as Billie crawls between Rider’s legs and makes the hot tag to her partner. The crowd, which may be hired plants, does pop for that. Beckie with a dropkick for each of the Angels, followed by one for the Thug who had climbed up onto the apron. Billie avoids the Rider double axe handle, hits a bulldog and as she makes the cover Davidson and Thug are in for the save. The Angels are disqualified due to Thug’s interference and they then take it in turns to stretch out Beckie and Billie as Thug repeatedly splashes them. As the ref tries to get them to stop, Thug launches him over the top rope and he takes a crazy bump to the floor. I was expecting Majors to run out for the save but it is in fact the current WOW champion who does (I didn’t catch her name) just as the show finishes.

Not much to this one as Jeff rolls up Benoit, pretty unconvincingly I may say, in less than ninety seconds to get a pinfall over the Intercontinental champion. Matt is favouring his shoulder and stays out on the apron the entire match. Not sure how legit of an injury that is and whether this is a case of moving Jeff into the IC title picture to give him a chance to rest up. We shall see. Jeff does take one crazy bump sliding out to the floor and into the announcer’s table, while the crowd pops for the unexpected early finish.

To fill time while the official clears the ring of all the glass and debris from the ‘Cage of Death’ we get some nonsense with Robbie Moreno and a guy in a Hawaiian shirt. ‘Vice President’ Moreno announces Zandig vs Ryuji Yamakawa in a ‘pinfalls count anywhere in New Jersey’ match for tonight before going on to say how he would screw the Backseat Boyz again if he had to, just like he did last month. That brings the former champions and Dewey Donovan out, Johnny Kashmere asking his brother to give them the opportunity of winning the titles back fair and square. Moreno tells him that in CZW you have to earn your title shots they’re not just given to you and sets up Kashmere vs Ric Blade and Trent Acid vs Nick Mondo for later in the show, with the added stipulation that should the Backseat Boyz win both of those matches then they can have their title shot. Blade, Mondo and Shorty join the party and Mondo is quite happy to face Trent and find out who the better man is, saying the only reason he didn’t neat him last time is because Nick Berk interfered. That match gets going and the two run through a bunch of early near fall sequences although the execution is pretty sloppy. I don’t know what Mondo tries next, maybe some sort of monkey flip, maybe a rana, but he slips and gets tied up in the ropes as the messy start to this match continues. Quebrada to the floor, however Trent is stood too far back and Mondo’s legs kick him in the head while ‘Sick’ Nick lands face first in the gravel. Jeez, Mondo now botches a simple front suplex where he was supposed to dump Trent across the top rope. What is up with these guys today? Acid is holding his head as it looks like he was shaken up a fair bit by that awry Asai moonsault. He counters the leaping rana with a powerbomb and Mondo rolls to the outside. Trent sits him on a chair at ringside only to then fuck up the suicide dive, getting his legs caught in the ropes and only just reaching ‘Sick’ Nick. The fans are going to lose their voices here with the amount of times they’re chanting “you fucked up!” Moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the floor soon followed by a draping DDT onto a chair. Trent places that chair over Mondo’s head and comes down on it with a twisting somersault legdrop. Mondo counters the tornado DDT into a sit out powerbomb and then with Blade’s help retrieves a table from under the ring. Fucking hell, Mondo was supposed to do a shotgun dropkick/back flip but lands on his head. That looked awful the way he landed. Fortunately he’s not hurt and lays Acid on that table they’d set up at ringside moments earlier. Springboard 450 splash to the floor, however his trajectory changes while he’s rotating and Mondo ends up landing on Trent’s face which is positioned right over the table leg, so the table itself doesn’t end up breaking. After a slingshot legdrop does put Acid through the table, ‘Sick’ Nick carries him back inside only for Kashmere to disrupt the count. As Mondo heads up top Trent falls into the ropes causing him to lose his balance. Kashmere is now in the ring and hits an ‘Acid Bomb’ onto a chair before Blade, who obviously had his thumb up his ass missing all this, finally decides to help his partner out and the bell just rings. The four go at it until order is restored, Robbie Moreno then announcing that if Mondo, Shorty, Trent or Dewey appear at ringside for the Kashmere/Blade match later there will be no tag team title match next month. Surely as there was no winner to this match there won’t be one anyway? Bloody hell, Trent was in the wars here! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many blown or botched spots in a match as I did in this and probably the worst I’ve ever seen Nick Mondo look. It’s like these guys are now trying to live up to, if not exceed, what they did at the ‘No Rules, No Limits’ show but on this night failed badly. This was the last match I watched from this card and it hasn’t been one of CZW’s better offerings that’s for sure.

The returning Terry Funk is the new WCW Hardcore champion after defeating Crowbar last night at Starrcade. After Meng makes his way down to the ring, accompanied by Paisley and Kwee Wee, ‘the Funker’ appears on the video screen and challenges Meng “and his banana nose” to come and meet the hardcore legend inside a cage if he’s got the guts. Meng takes off backstage to find him, the camera in pursuit. Eventually he does and the match primarily consists of them hitting each other over the head with a garbage can. Funk pulls out some handcuffs at one point but Meng ends up getting hold of them and cuffs ‘the Funker’s’ hands together. The chain on them is so long though that it makes no difference and he can still operate as if he wasn’t wearing them! There is one funny moment when Funk is backing off and he’s pleading with Meng to take it easy on him, saying how he’s seeing double, is a grandfather, only to then start insulting him! They make their way from the backstage area to the ring and it’s more of the same, Funk also getting busted open hard way somewhere in there. ‘The Funker’ avoids the frog splash as Meng crashes through the table he’d just lay him but can’t take advantage of the situation. ‘Tongan Death Grip’ when out runs Crowbar who wallops him in the back with a wrench and Funk falls on top to retain the title. ‘The Manic Mechanic’ then informs the champion not to mistake what he did for loyalty or compassion, it was just his way of insuring that he’s 100% come Sin.

Mean Gene thinks that most people are thoroughly sick to their stomachs after what Team Canada did to General Rection and the M.I.A. on Monday night. Lance Storm says that as, once more, the Canadian National champion he is deserving of a World title shot and if Booker T is half the champion he claims to be he will give him that shot tonight. Gene gets in a funny aside at Major Gunns after Team Canada leave, calling her a “self-serving bitch” and he can’t believe that he once had the hots for her! We hear from Booker and he’s sick and tired of being left laying by Scott Steiner. He says how he’s the WCW World champion but gets no respect and is fed up of people treating Steiner like he’s the best thing since sliced bread. Lance Storm can have his title shot and goes on to welcome him to hell! Serious Lance needs everyone’s undivided attention as tonight he plans to bring dignity back to the WCW World Heavyweight championship just like he did the Canadian Heavyweight title, for as good as Booker T is, he’s not as good as the man from Calgary, Alberta, Canada! Booker is over big with the crowd here. He ducks under the Storm clothesline, flying forearm and a clothesline of his own sends Lance over the top rope and to the outside. Stupidly he gets distracted by Major Gunns though after following him to the floor and Storm hot shots him across the guard rail. Back inside Lance’s knife edge chops only fire Booker up, but after whipping him into the corner he then runs into a big boot. Jawbreaker followed by a springboard missile dropkick for a two. Booker ducks another Lance clothesline and lands an axe kick after a boot to the mid-section. This crowd is super hot and really behind him. He misses the Harlem sidekick and Storm with a basement dropkick as he looks to soften him up for the Canadian Maple Leaf. Lance rolls through on a sunset flip and locks in the single leg crab right in the middle of the ring. As Stevie Ray plays cheerleader from the commentary desk the champ fights his way to the ropes for the break. Booker takes to the floor to grab a few additional seconds of recovery but, in a change of fortunes from earlier, when Storm follows him out he’s the one who gets dropped onto the metal railing. Major Gunns slides a chair into the ring for her man to use, however Booker comes off the top with a dropkick sending it crashing into his own face for the closest of all near falls. Lance DDTs him onto the chair as Tony Schiavone goes off on referee Mickey Jay for not getting it out of there sooner. Booker kicks out of the cover and while Schiavone was already to announce a new champion Stevie had no worries, saying how his brother has never been known for having a soft head! As he comes off the top with a flying lariat, Booker snatches and then plants him with the ‘Book End’ for the win. He singlehandedly takes care of the rest of Team Canada when they try to jump him post-match, including giving a ‘Book End’ to Major Gunns after she had hit with the Canadian flag, the commentators talking about this being a new Booker T who has been pushed too far. Booker is finding his groove as World champion and another good TV match from him on the back of the one against Mike Awesome last week. I also like this new aggressive side to him, something that will need to channel and harness if he is to hang with ‘Big Poppa Pump’. The ‘Book End’ on Major Gunns showing that he is done taking shit from people and being walked over. Brilliant crowd here too!

The previous match pretty much segues into this one with the H8 Club putting the boots in on Lobo before leaving Justice to it. He clubs Lobo across the jaw with a clothesline, climbs the cage but then completely overshoots the moonsault. It was supposed to be that Lobo rolled out the way and he ‘missed’, only you clearly see Justice turn around to see where Lobo was (checking he had moved) before jumping and it frankly just looked bad. Lobo shows some fire with his punches and gets a two count following a ‘Death Valley Driver’. A series of hip tosses are blocked and countered as they slowly edge closer to a bunch of light tubes, Lobo eventually taking the bump into them courtesy of a Pain superkick. Justice places a garbage can over his head and then wallops it with the lid. He again climbs the cage, this time with Lobo in pursuit, and something is coming as the cameraman moves back in order to get everything in shot. The problem being that he ends up moving too far back to the point you can’t see what happens (as an educated guess I’m going for another ‘Death Valley Driver’ from the top of the cage)! Lobo powerbombs Pain into the exploding cage and that visually looked great. Check out Justice’s forearms aswell now, they’re shredded from the barbed wire. Both start climbing up opposite sides of the cage and up onto the scaffold in one of those moments that makes no kayfabe sense. The security guys are having to provide additional support to the cage from the floor because that thing is buckling noticeably with the two wrestlers fighting on the scaffold that bridges across it. Justice throws Lobo off the scaffold and through a barbed wire board on the outside as the fans chant “C-Z-Dub”, bleeding ‘Hat Guy’ front and centre as usual! That really should’ve been used for the finish but Lobo is up and making his way back inside the cage less than ten seconds later. He counters the top rope Frankensteiner by superbombing Justice through a table, Pain barely getting a shoulder up as I was convinced Lobo was going to escape with the title yet again. After Yamakawa slams the cage door into Lobo’s head Justice positions a pane of glass in the corner, ‘Olympic slam’ through the glass and Lobo’s luck finally runs out as we have ourselves a new CZW World Heavyweight champion. I did like the brief bit of wrestling that we got after the missed moonsault, but this very quickly descended into a series of bumps and spots. I also have problems with things such as how bad the moonsault ended up looking with Pain checking Lobo had moved, the double climbing of the scaffold and that there was no way Lobo should’ve been up so quickly after that fall (something that you could probably say about Justice to after that ‘DVD’ from the top of the cage). The title change was a surprise as I was expecting Lobo to fluke another win somehow. In regards to Lobo he tends to remind me of a hardcore Mikey Whipwreck circa 93/4, in the sense that somehow he would keep lucking into, fluking a win after taking a pounding most of the match.

What is up with the picture quality on this? It’s black & white and reminds me of one of those videos from the tape trading era that has been dubbed so many times that all the colour has washed away. Is it so dark there now that this is the only way you can see what’s happening? No is the answer to that, as eventually the picture does turn to colour before returning to b&w and alternating between the two for the rest of the match. Some handheld lights are being used to try and illuminate proceedings (it is night time), however not only do these dazzle your eyes because they’re so bright but even with them it’s a real struggle to follow the action when the wrestlers leave the confines of the ring due to how dark it is. Finally there is no commentary track either so you clearly pick up all the casual racism aimed at Yamakawa. A combination of all of these things made this one giant slog to sit through. I was zoning out after ten minutes and we weren’t even half way through at that point. The finish is a mess as Zandig and Yamakawa end up on the roof of a ring truck where Zandig is supposed to press slam him from the roof and through two flaming tables stacked on top of each other below. Robbie Moreno was in charge of lighting the tables but doesn’t use enough liquid as twice the fire goes out, Zandig and Yamakawa left to just stand and watch from the roof. He finally manages it at the third attempt and Zandig then slams Ryuji through them as planned. Not even that highlight reel finish made up for sitting through this one!

Zandig puts to bed this internet rumour that “some fucking Jap” was coming over, saying that he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone but while they give the fans what they say they’ll give them, they never said they’d give them a Jap! If he does show up though he promises to beat the hell out of him, just like he did in Japan. The match is a squash as Zandig kills Lobo with a clothesline, slices his forehead with a broken light tube and whips him into a pane of glass. He signals for the ‘Mutha F’N’ bomb’ when ‘that Jap’ comes to ringside carrying a barbed wire baseball bat. Yamakawa opens the cage door waiting for his opportunity and when Zandig presses Lobo, cracks him in the ribs with the bat, sending him backwards into the exploding cage. Double underhook piledriver by Yamakawa and Lobo escapes with his title yet again. Yamakawa raises Lobo’s hand only to then double cross him and spike him with that same piledriver. Justice Pain and the H8 Club are out as it looks like Yamakawa is now part of the group or is at least working with them for one night only.

The ‘three time World Karate champion’ throws out a tentative kick, although that doesn’t phase the WCW champion who bullies him around and handles him with ease. After the Steinerline/elbow drop/push up sequence he’s over to Ms Jones to see whether she wants some of a real man. This continues to be all Steiner until he runs into a nasty barefoot. ‘The Cat’ with a bit of ground and pound before a side kick sends ‘Big Poppa Pump’ through the ropes to the floor. I must’ve said this before but for a supposed striker/Karate practitioner Cat’s kicks look so shit. On the outside he throws Steiner into the ring steps and that leads to a catfight between the women, the camera concentrating more on them than the men. Cat and Steiner return to the ring where the champ, sorry WCW champ to avoid any confusion, lands a belly to belly suplex. A mysterious masked man, who will be part of the multi-man World title match at Sin, then appears on the entrance stage and distracts Steiner. ‘Feliner kick’ but the champ kicks out of the cover. A jawbreaker counters whatever ‘the Cat’ had planned next, over the top fallaway slam and he then slaps on ‘the recliner’ for the submission. Steiner doesn’t bother to hang around, taking off after that mystery man. Adios WCW, see you in 2001!

The Natural Born Thrillers are seen leaving DDP’s dressing room and when the camera enters to find out what’s been going on, we see Kevin Nash layed out on the floor. Another match that has been booked by CEO Ric Flair. After spitting chewing gum in each other’s face, a hard open hand slap wobbles Sanders. ‘Cactus clothesline’ as both end up on the outside. Page hurls him into the guard rail and then slams him head first into the announcer’s table. We get a telephone interview from Sid and the match plays second fiddle to what he has to say. Low blow by Sanders before dropping DDP face first into the top turnbuckle. More weak offence out of Sanders but all that does is fire Page up. That awesome gut wrench into a piledriver, Diamond Cutter, when out runs Jindrak and O’Haire for the DQ. DDP holds his own against the three of them until Chuck Palumbo arrives and the numbers are just too much for him. After a ‘Seanton bomb’, Palumbo puts Sanders on top of Page and instructs referee Billy Silverman to count. When he won’t because the match is already over, Palumbo counts himself.

Chavo earned this title shot after defeating Kwee Wee on Monday night and to keep things all fair and square, CEO Ric Flair has banned the Natural Born Thrillers from ringside. A great European uppercut by Chavo that lifts Sanders up off his feet. Belly to back suplex and Chavo is displaying a much more aggressive attitude here, something that the commentators have picked up on. Sanders keeps hold of the arm and slides through Chavo’s legs before launching him with a big overhead pump handle. Stomps, rake of the eyes, choking Chavo over the ropes, it’s all pretty rudimentary from the champion. Chavo fights his way out of a seated cobra clutch and levels Sanders with a flying clothesline. He sends him over the top rope to the outside and lands a pescado. After whipping Sanders into the guard rail Chavo runs into a big boot and is then floored by a stiff lariat. Before returning to the ring Sanders picks up his title belt but drops it on being dropkicked in the back. He looks to use Chavo’s own move against him, however the tornado DDT gets countered with a Northern Lights suplex. As he repeatedly puts the boots in referee Scott Armstrong is forced to intervene and has to drag him off. Sanders pushes him aside and in that split second with his view averted, he misses seeing Chavo waffle the champ with the belt that he had moments earlier brought into the ring. Chavo briefly pays possum not to arouse suspicion before hitting the brain buster to become the new WCW Cruiserweight champion. I’m liking this new attitude from Chavo, the aggressiveness, the snugness in his offense, but Sanders is a real ball and chain around your ankle when you work with him.

Some guy called ‘Honest’ Jim, who is dressed like a minister, is holding court in the ring, only you can’t make out a single word that he’s saying. No idea what was going on here, although Jon Dahmer shows up carrying a barbed wire covered cross several minutes into ‘Honest’ Jim’s speech. When they’re finally finished the barbed wire boards are brought out and Eric Gargiulo says how this match is different to last month as Zandig knows that Lobo is here “he’s not pulling any of that crap about going to ECW, about going to WCW” Like ECW, let alone WCW would be interested in Lobo? Zandig must be pretty gullible he fell for that line! Justice Pain is the first of the three to make his entrance and has got something to say himself, only the same situation as previous in that you can’t hear any of it. Cool military press dropped into a ‘Diamond Cutter’ by Zandig which they call a ‘Zandig Cutter’. Justice teases taking the first bump into the barbed wire board, putting the brakes on just in time, but it is Zandig who ends up doing so courtesy of a Pain savate kick. It looks like he breaks Zandig’s nose with that kick as he’s leaking blood from it. From that opening spill it is literally one bump after another into the barbed wire, nothing builds, none of them mean anything. There is one unintentionally funny moment where Zandig gives up on a suplex as his leg starts shaking uncontrollably when he lifts Pain up and has to put him back down. Our ‘fighting champion’ Lobo shows up eight minutes in and sets up a further board between some chairs out at ringside. Justice hip tosses the referee into the barbed wire and this idiot is trying to untangle himself in the way of the wrestlers. Lobo physically has to move him out the way as Zandig and Pain are stood waiting to do the next spot. Justice hits his finisher on Zandig but as he makes the cover Lobo folds one of the boards over and on top of him, covering them both to retain the title as the fans chant “bullshit”. Afterward Zandig and Lobo set up the ‘Cage of Death’ match with thankfully House and Gargiulo explaining to everyone watching at home what’s happening because the audio is still unintelligible.