Random Network Reviews: Spring Stampede 2000

Spring Stampede 2000
April 16th, 2000 | United Center in Chicago, Illinois | Attendance: 12,556

The venue that hosts this show, the United Center, is rather large. I always wondered why WWE doesn’t run there, but I’m sure they could have sold it out in 2000. WCW…not so much. Things were going so badly, that Vince Russo, head of creative, decided to hit the reset button. That’s right, every single champion was stripped of their titles and this show featured tournaments to determine new champions. It is a bold move for sure and showed just how desperate the company was getting. Obviously it didn’t really pay off, but let’s see if the show it at least entertaining.

The opening video package shows when Vince Russo announced the reboot. He went off on Ric Flair, calling him a piece of shit. I think the New Blood plan was good on paper, but having them as the heels came off in a bad way. Eric Bischoff turning on Hulk Hogan is also shown, as Bischoff drove a white hummer into a limo that Hogan was in. 

Then, Bischoff is pacing backstage because he’s worried since Hogan checked himself out of the hospital. For some reason, that sends us to a second video package, showing basically the same stuff we saw in the first. I don’t get it. Commentary includes Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson and Mark Madden. They run down the card, which I always hated because it kind of gives the show a slow start instead of going right into a match.

World Tag Team Championship Semi-Final
The Mamalukes w/ Disco Inferno vs. Team Package w/ Elizabeth vs. The Harris Brothers
Team Package is a strange damn name. They consist of Lex Luger and Ric Flair, the latter in street clothes. By street clothes, I mean a dress shirt and slacks. This is supposed to be a straight up tag match but Vince Russo shows up to add the Harris Brothers. He calls the Mamalukes rookies, which is odd since Vito had been working for nearly a decade by this point. Team Package takes a beating, and it’s odd to see the other two teams working together, since I reviewed a show from January where they were feuding. Team Package rallies a bit, but the numbers game hurts them. The two heel teams target Flair and give him a kicking. Flair climbs up top, as Skull hilariously looks at him like “really dude? That never works.” It doesn’t here either. They do the false hot tag spot, but Luger is probably happy he doesn’t have to work just yet. Disco gets in a cheap shot before two random large men take him away. The heel teams turn on each other, allowing the hot tag to Luger. 8-Ball climbs up and takes FOREVER. It’s so long that Luger even shrugs as he stands there, waiting to complete the spot. Luger wins this for his team with a Torture Rack.

Winners: Team Package in 6:16
This was a giant clusterfuck. I get the idea of Team Package being in trouble, but it was kind of a mess, so it actually fits in to WCW in this era. ½*

Mike Awesome gets interviews backstage and is beyond jacked up. It’s kind of irritating. Bam Bam Bigelow interrupts, leading to Awesome attacking him.

Jimmy Hart w/ Hail vs. Mancow w/ His Entourage
Who the hell thought this belonged in wrestling, let alone on a damn Pay-Per-View? The gist of this feud seems to be that Jimmy Hart says Mancow is a knockoff Howard Stern. Both guys talk before the match, but Mancow looks so uncomfortable doing so. He just repeats himself and says Chicago a few times. He attacks from behind, leading to a catfight of sorts. Hart hits a low blow as Mark Madden calls this “utter nonsense”. If Madden is embarrassed by a match, you know it’s dire. Hart actually comes off the top, but Mancow pulls the referee in the way. Hail enters the ring and he’s a big dude. He press slams him into the Entourage. Their names are Terd, Al Roker Jr. and the Brian the Wimpy Boy. Hart sends Hail away like an idiot, allowing Mancow to hit him with a chair and win.

Winner: Mancow in 2:46
The only good thing I can say about this, is that it was short. The fact that it was kept at under three minutes keeps it from being a dud, but just barely. ¼*

Billy Kidman comes out after the match to his awesome theme music. He attacks Jimmy Hart because of his feud with Hulk Hogan. So let me get this straight. Face Hulk Hogan is feuding with heel Billy Kidman, so he attacks heel Jimmy Hart, who is face Hogan’s manager. My head hurts.

WCW United States Championship Tournament Quarter Final
Scott Steiner vs. The Wall
For some reason, Scott Steiner comes out to the awful STEINERLINE theme song. That’s a worse decision than putting Mancow vs. Jimmy Hart on Pay-Per-View. Both guys are members of the New Blood, because seven of the eight guys in this Tournament are from that group. Steiner manhandles him, but Wall gets in some shots. Steiner hits a low blow that doesn’t cause a DQ. At least commentary addressed that earlier, saying that referees were told to be lenient with the rules. It’s not like usual WCW from this era where things happened with no explanation. The battle goes outside, where Wall gets a table. Steiner rakes Wall in the eyes, and puts the referee in front of him. Wall, temporarily blinded, chokeslams the ref through the table. A second ref appears to call for the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Scott Steiner in 3:37
I get that the disqualification protected your big monster like character, but at this point, I believe Wall had suffered a fair amount of losses. Scott Steiner, who was set to be a World Champion later in the year, should have gone over him cleanly. The match itself was short and didn’t completely suck. *

Mean Gene interviews The Cat, who calls WCW the biggest redneck company in the world. Bigelow appears again to beat him down and take him out.

WCW United States Championship Tournament Quarter Final
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Mike Awesome
Mike Awesome debuted the previous Monday by taking out Kevin Nash, while he was still the ECW World Champion. This is his first official match for WCW. Bigelow runs in to replace Cat, which is somehow official. I guess they figured the impromptu nature would make Awesome feel more comfortable in his transition from ECW. The action starts outside where Awesome nails a pescado. He then gets whipped into the guardrail, and you can hear him tell the fans to move before he backdrops Bigelow into the audience. He then leaps over the guardrail to take him out. They’re doing a fine job showcasing how impressive Awesome really is. Bigelow gets in offense as the Cat appears and kicks him. He grabs a microphone to dance for the fans. This went from a decent match to completely absurd. Awesome stops the dancing with a clothesline. He hits the Awesome Splash to advance.

Winner: Mike Awesome in 3:20
What? So did the Bigelow near falls not really count? Was the Cat legal the whole time? Does anyone in WCW know any of this? Too much extra nonsense. Mike Awesome should have run through Bigelow to showcase how good he was. There was a lot of potential in that guy. *¼

After more worrying from Eric Bischoff in the back, Mean Gene interviews Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas. They put over the New Blood, though I seriously question how Shane Douglas is considered new blood.

World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas vs. Harlem Heat 2K w/ J. Biggs
J. Biggs is apparently Clarence Mason. I had no idea he went to WCW, though I loved him in WWE. Like pretty much every other match on this card, it starts with a brawl. Harlem Heat has the early advantage. Fat Ahmed Johnson hits a spinebuster on Buff and he yells in an extremely high pitched voice. He really needs a shirt. Buff gets two on a Vader Bomb. People need to not use the Mastodon’s move dammit. They do this double hot tag, but it’s been like two minutes only so there’s no build for it. Douglas gets the win for his team.

Winners: Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas in 2:47
These matches are seemingly getting shorter and shorter. Like I’ve been saying, these matches have been too short to get the dud rating, but they still aren’t any good. ½*

Mean Gene, earning checks, conducts another interview. He talks to Booker T, who says that he’s with the New Blood on the hope for opportunity, but he’s not really down with them. In other words, he’s like the only “young” face in the company.

WCW United States Championship Quarter Final
Booker T vs. Sting
With no shenanigans, this has potential to be match of the night. I don’t think either guy should be out in the first round, but it makes sense from the New Blood standpoint of wanting their guys in the finals. Booker shows his power early with a shoulder block but Sting hip tosses him. Sting hits a flurry that sends Booker outside. A cameraman gets taken out from an Irish whip outside. When they go back inside, Booker is in control with a knee drop. He moves to a chinlock to slow things down. Sting gets the fans behind him to rally but Booker stops that with a knee. He hits the Axe Kick but only gets two. The flapjack is followed by the SPINAROONIE. He tries another kick but Sting ducks and goes into a rally. He nails the Stinger Splash but goes to the well too much as the second attempt fails. Sting is able to counter a suplex into the Scorpion Death Drop to advance.

Winner: Sting in 6:35
Easily the match of the night, but I was still slightly disappointed. Both guys could go, but it was kept rather short. I wish they got a bit more time so this could go into the next gear. **¾

Post-match, Sting goes to leave but Booker T pulls him back in the ring to give him a fist bump. Mean Gene interviews Billy Kidman and Eric Bischoff. Bischoff is still worried about Hogan.

WCW United States Championship Quarter Final
Billy Kidman w/ Torrie Wilson vs. Vampiro
Looking at the bracket for the Tournament, the finals should be Sting vs. Billy Kidman with Kidman going over. Instead, it looks like the winner of this faces Sting in the next round. Early on, Vampire tries to powerbomb Kidman so he obviously doesn’t have this man scouted. Kidman counters with a hurricanrana. Kidman goes for ten punches in the corner but Vampiro counters into a powerbomb toss. Well, he shut me up. He tries again, but Kidman counters into the facebuster. Kidman goes into an offensive flurry. The problem is that the fans don’t know what to do because these guys are heels. Vampiro busts out a one handed chokeslam like he’s the Big Show or something for two. In the middle of the match, we see a car pull into the arena and out comes HULK HOGAN! He runs into the match, no selling for Kidman. He throws him outside of the ring and continues to pound on him. Hogan pretty much tries to murder Kidman with steel steps before using them as a platform to chokeslam him onto the announce table. I get that there are relaxed rules, but how is this not a DQ? Madden again states the obvious by asking, “what has this promotion become?” He rolls him inside for Vampiro to pin Kidman.

Winner: Vampiro in 8:24
This was going well until the Hulk Hogan appearance. I think this should have happened in the finals. There was no reason for Vampiro to go over Kidman. Plus the lack of a DQ call was a bit much. **¼

Eric Bischoff is scared as Hulk Hogan searches for him. Vince Russo leaves Bischoff alone to do something about this. Hogan easily finds Eric, but before he can do anything, security or cops come in to stop this. They pull their guns on Hogan to stop him.

WCW Hardcore Championship
Norman Smiley (c) vs. Terry Funk
Terry Taylor tells Terry Funk backstage that Norman Smiley is afraid to face him. Funk goes to catering to find Norman, where everyone stooges him out as being in the bathroom. When Funk finds him, he screams. “Screaming” Norman Smiley is one of the best things WCW ever did. Funk throws him around the catering area, but Smiley uses a trash ca to come back. They use some fun weapons like a Diet Coke and laptop as they fight backstage. Schiavone calls it a “slaptop” because he’s so funny. Smiley hilariously hangs like a bat from the pipes by the ceiling. The fight makes it to the arena. In the ring, Smiley does the Big Wiggle, but Funk whacks him with a chair. Dustin Rhodes appears to take out Funk with a piledriver. He goes to fly from the top but Funk gets the feet up to block it. Funk throws the ladder on top of Smiley and pins him.

Winner and New WCW Hardcore Champion: Terry Funk in 8:40
The hardcore division in WCW never really took off, but anything with “Screaming” Norman Smiley is entertaining. It was just two guys wailing on each other with ridiculous weapons and at the very least, this was fun. **

WCW United States Championship Semi-Final
Mike Awesome vs. Scott Steiner
There goes that damn STEINERLINE theme again. This should be a good battle of two powerhouses. Steiner dominates the early goings and does some push-ups. Awesome comes back in the ring with the slingshot shoulder block that pops the crowd. He was really athletic. A top rope flying clothesline gets two but Steiner turns the tide with a low blow. Steiner lays in some chops, but Awesome fires up and hits a springboard back elbow. The fans go nuts as Kevin Nash limps out and strikes Awesome in the back with a crutch. Steiner Recliner is applied and Awesome submits.

Winner: Scott Steiner in 3:13
That was way too short to be good. The stuff we got was actually pretty good and I think that with more time, it could have been something interesting. Instead, we get a short match with another pretty cheap finish. **

Backstage, Vince Russo is pissed as Dustin Rhodes for allowing Terry Funk to win the Hardcore Title. Russo fires him and says he was only worth anything as Goldust because it was Russo who created that character. SEE HOW BADASS WE ARE? WE TALK ABOUT THE OTHER COMPANIES! WE SHOOT!

WCW United States Championship Semi-Final
Sting vs. Vampiro
When it comes to WCW 2000, these two are kind of synonymous with each other. Sting charges the ring only to eat an ugly spinning heel kick. Sting no sells some shots and fires up. They brawl outside for a bit before Sting climbs to the top. He hits a pretty impressive splash for two. Sting misses a Stinger Splash into the guardrail. Mark Madden sees a basic kick to the back from Vampiro and calls it like Sweet Chin Music. Vampiro is now in the driver’s seat but Sting is resilient. I think they were going for a spot where Vampiro leaps from the top and Sting catches him in the Scorpion Death Lock but they mess it up and Sting just kind of swats him down. He then hits the Death Drop and makes Vampiro quit in the Death Lock.

Winner: Sting in 5:54
Two guys that would fight a ton in 2000 didn’t seem to have much chemistry. Both guys seemed to kind of mail it in. IT wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t very good either. *¾

DDP cuts a promo on Jeff Jarrett backstage because Mean Gene needed to keep earning that paycheck. Could you imagine if he got paid by the interview?

Shane Helms and Shannon Moore appear to perform 3 Count’s theme. There is a girl in the crowd who reacts like they are a real boy band. They perform the ENTIRE song and go to do it again before their opponents come out.

WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
Suicide Six Man Match
Chris Candido vs. Crowbar w/ Daffney vs. Lash LeRoux vs. Juventud Guerra vs. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea w/ Paisley vs. Shannon Moore w/ Shane Helms
Right off the bat, this seems like a big clusterfuck. They never specify, but I think the title is vacant. Crowbar gets two on a surprisingly nice Northern lights suplex. LeRoux gets to do offense, before Juvi hits the Juvi Driver. Basically, each guy is getting a chance to show off while someone else breaks up the pins. Daffney climbs up top for the Frankenscreamer, but catches Crowbar by mistake. LeRoux takes them out with an ugly dive outside. The Artist does the same, before Juvi does the same. In the coolest spot so far, Shane Helms launches Moore onto everyone. A wild David Flair appears to take out Helms. The Artist goes up top with Candido, who knocks him off and misses a headbutt. Paisley throws in a steel chair, but Tammy Sytch appears to knock the Artist off onto the chair, allowing Candido to win.

Winner and New WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Candido in 5:10
That match gave me a headache. It was just nonstop nonsense. There was no structure or plan as it was just guys getting in offense. Even the dives outside weren’t really that good. Disappointing. *

Mean Gene interviews Jeff Jarrett, complete with Slapnuts guitar. Jarrett threatens to slap Gene’s liver spots off his face, making him my favorite in the main event.

World Tag Team Championship Finals
Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas vs. Team Package w/ Elizabeth
Throughout his entire career, Lex Luger was always miscast as a face, but this gimmick and theme make it EXTRA hard to cheer for him. Buff Bagwell gets worked over early by Luger’s basic offense. Shane Douglas made a career out of throwing verbal jabs at Ric Flair. Even to this day, they dislike each other. Flair gets in some short punches outside, but ends up as the face in peril. When Madden runs down Flair, Tony Schiavone straight up responds “BULLSHIT”. They’re cursing like this is an ECW show. They do the hot tag and Team Package looks like they may be rallying. Russo gets up from commentary to interfere, but Buff turns the tide. He mistakenly hits the Blockbuster on Douglas, leading Russo to pull Nick Patrick out of the ring. They get into a shoving match that just looks so awkward. Kronik runs in through the crowd, making their return, to take out Luger. Russo lays out Patrick, steals the ref shirt and counts the three.

Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas in 8:36
A lackluster effort all around. This is like, the definition of four guys seemingly mailing it in. Of course, it had to end with interference involved too. ¾*

WCW United States Championship Finals
Scott Steiner vs. Sting
Seriously, who thought he should use the STEINERLINE theme? Both guys receive pre-match backstage interviews by Mean Gene, but neither is really anything of note. Sting surprises me out of the gate with a dive outside but his top rope splash looks bad before Steiner gets the knees up. Steiner jaws with a lady at ringside after a gorilla press slam. Is she a freak? Steiner busts out a T-Bone like suplex but wastes time with another fan. Sting blocks a top rope belly-to-belly suplex, going into the comeback. He nails a Stinger Splash but his second sees the referee pulled in the way. He hits a third but when trying the fourth, Vampire comes up through the ring and pulls him down. Did Russo watch Undertaker do this to Diesel before booking this match? Vampiro brings Sting back up and he has blood on his mouth. Steiner applies the Steiner Recliner and the referee calls for the bell since Sting is passed out.

Winner and New WCW United States Champion: Scott Steiner in 5:38
Here’s another match tonight that had a lot of potential but wasn’t any good. Scott Steiner seemed to just want to kill time with the fans until the interference finish. Another match, another disappointment, another shoddy ending. *¾

WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Diamond Dallas Page w/ Kimberly vs. Jeff Jarrett
The “Chosen One” gimmick was actually really good. Both guys get overly long entrances from their locker rooms. Trying to sell how personal this match is, DDP is aggressive from the start. The action spills into the crowd, which is good. This isn’t just about the title, DDP wants revenge for what happened to Kimberly. When they finally make it back to the ring, Jarrett hits a second rope suplex. He gets a steel chair, laying into DDP’s midsection. DDP did have the worst case of injured ribs I’d ever seen. DDP brings out a sitout powerbomb for two as Eric Bischoff walks out. In a super heel move, Jarrett steals DDP’s book from a fan and rips it up. That’s cold. Kimberly gets involved, pulls Jeff by the hair but he shrugs it off. It does allow DDP the breathing room to turn things around. It doesn’t last long though as Jarrett puts him in the Figure Four. Kimberly grabs the guitar, but doesn’t do anything with it. DDP refuses to quit, so Jarrett lets go only to get rolled up a few times. Jarrett leaps from the second rope into a jawbreaker for two. Things slow for a moment when Jarrett applies a sleeper but DDP fights out and goes to a sleeper slam. Bischoff grabs the official as DDP hits the Diamond Cutter. Like a complete moron, he doesn’t pin and instead wants Kimberly to hit her with the guitar. Kimberly waffles DDP with the guitar and the Stroke finishes this.

Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Jarrett in 14:58
Both of these guys are capable workers and this was a perfectly acceptable match. It wasn’t great and of course, it was another “swerve”. Tony Schiavone is terrible at giving those away by saying the exact opposite. “BISCHOFF MUST BE HELPING DDP!” Well he wasn’t. Anyway, not a bad match. **½ 

Overall: 3.5/10; Not Good. Surprisingly, this is the highest score I’ve given WCW in 2000. Nothing on this show is must see at all, but I managed to see a near three star effort. With the exception of the Mancow/Hart match, everything is at the very least watchable. The fact that there are fourteen matches means that things move by rather quickly, which helps. There was potential here, but everything is so overdone by shenanigans that is ends up ruining it. My randomizer has chosen my next “Random Network Review” as Saturday Night’s Main Event from 11/2/85!

Top Ten Thursday: NJPW Performers

Taking a break from my look at WrestleMania topics, I'm looking at my picks for the top performers currently in New Japan Pro Wrestling. I first got into NJPW at the start of 2015 and spent the last year learning as much as I possibly could, watching every show and watching a ton of stuff from the past. Now, had I compiled this list a few months back it would have looked very different. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kota Ibushi would have all been in the top five, while Karl Anderson would have probably made the list as well. All of those guys are gone, opening the door for lots of other guys to get chances. I've already done the top ten WWE females, NXT and Lucha Underground performers. Expect a WWE, ROH and maybe even an Evolve or NOAH top ten down the line.

10. Tomoaki Honma

If you don’t watch New Japan Pro Wrestling and you just looked at the results, you’d question this selection. Tomoaki Honma has a horrible win/loss record. Why does he make the cut you ask? It all started in 2014. He entered the G1 Climax as a replacement for the injured Kota Ibushi. He proceeded to lose every single one of his matches, finishing in dead last. However, the G1 style worked to his strengths and he became the perfect underdog. He kept losing and losing but the crowd reactions got louder and louder. Honma got a pinfall win in a tag at Wrestle Kingdom 9 to the crowd’s joy before having several match of the year candidates with Tomohiro Ishii. Honma finally beat Ishii to win his first G1 match later in the year and the reaction was insane. Honma has developed into the best underdog in all of wrestling. Not many guys can constantly lose, over and over, and be among the most popular guys on the roster. There’s something about Tomoaki Honma that is just infectious. Earlier this year he finally got to win some gold with partner Togi Makabe and remains a vital part of the NJPW roster. I wonder if he’ll get more than one G1 win this time around.

9. Kenny Omega

Over and over, I’ve mentioned that I’m not a fan of Kenny Omega. For the most part, that remains true. His runs as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion were pretty lackluster in several ways. He’s also far too much of an over actor. However, 2016 has been a pretty great year for him so far. As part of one of the best angles all year, Omega turned on AJ Styles and became the leader of the Bullet Club shortly after pinning Shinsuke Nakamura. He topped that by besting Hiroshi Tanahashi in a really good match to win the vacant Intercontinental Title. Adding on, he and the Young Bucks, who are my least favorite act in wrestling, won the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles. The man has not only managed to find tons of success in 2016 but it looks like he’s headed for even more. I expected a spirited run in the G1 Climax this year. While I still dislike his tendency to overact and put on strange facial expressions, his in ring work so far this year has been pretty strong. Last year, he wouldn’t have even smelled this list. Now though, he makes it on.

8. Michael Elgin

When Michael Elgin was announced as a participant in the G1 Climax 25, the wrestling world mostly groaned. He had more than worn out his welcome in the United States across most independent promotions. The thing is, Elgin loves Japan and working there had been his lifelong dream. Well, he certainly made the best of it. Elgin won over the Japan crowd with his incredible array of power based offense and brought something different to the table from the rest of the G1 field. It also helped that the G1 style plays to his strength. Instead of having to try and work 30 minute “classics”, he was able to stick to what he’s good at in the compact 10-15 minute window. Since then, he’s entered a fun tag team with Hiroshi Tanahashi and earned himself a multi-year deal with NJPW. It’s literally a dream come true. With several high profile gaijins gone, the door is now open for Elgin to move into the top gaijin spot. I expect to see him get a great showing in the G1 this year and hell, he and Tanahashi could even get a short Tag Team Title run. The fans love him, Gedo loves him and Elgin loves it in Japan. That’s a combination for success.

7. Hirooki Goto 

Hirooki Goto’s booking has been a sore point for plenty of New Japan fans over the past few years. For a very long time, Goto has consistently been one of the best wrestlers and most popular talents in NJPW. Truthfully, he’s done a fair amount. He’s won the G1 Climax in the past, held the Tag Team Titles, the Intercontinental Title and won several New Japan Cup Tournaments. The issue is that Goto has never been given the big one. Goto currently stands at 0-8 in shots at the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Hell, even when he was the Intercontinental Champion last year, they cut him off at the legs. He beat Shinsuke Nakamura twice and even pinned Kazuchika Okada cleanly in the G1. All of that was wasted when he dropped the belt back to Nakamura in September and ended up in the only Wrestle Kingdom match not to be contested for a championship. Despite the lame booking, Goto has indeed remained very popular. He consistently puts on good to great matches with a variety of opponents. There is still some hope that he can win the big one but even if he doesn’t, there aren’t many better in NJPW.

6. Kazuchika Okada 

Here’s where I could see some controversy with this placement. Kazuchika Okada is not only the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but he’s been handpicked to be the “ace” of New Japan Pro Wrestling going forward. He has put on several fantastic matches, including one at King of Pro Wrestling 2013 that might be the best I’ve ever watched. So why does he only rank sixth? Well for one thing, I personally enjoy the five guys ahead of him more. Also, I have some issues with Okada matches. For example, if he’s leading the way, his matches leave something to be desired. While he’ll have classics with Shinsuke Nakamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles, it’s usually those guys setting the tone. Take Wrestle Kingdom 10. Some people gave his match with Tanahashi five stars. I found it to be their worst match ever. You could cut the first 15 minutes and not miss anything. His title defense against Goto in February also left a lot to be desired. There are too many times when he sleepwalks through the first half of a match before picking it up in a big way down the stretch. That out of the way, Okada is a prodigy. He’s still very good despite being just 28 years old. Even if I have some issues with him, he’s as good a choice as any to be the top star, seems to be loyal to the company and has a very long future ahead of him.

5. KUSHIDA 

Yes, I put the Jr. Heavyweight Champion above the Heavyweight Champion. Maybe Kazuchika Okada is a better wrestler than KUSHIDA but man, I love me some KUSHIDA. For too long the New Japan Junior divisions have been stale and stagnant. Everyone is kind of similar and since Prince Devitt left and Kota Ibushi became a heavyweight, the title hasn’t seemed very important. Ryusuke Taguchi was a lame choice for champion and Kenny Omega was highly disappointing in the role. KUSHIDA changes all of that. He breaks up the monotony of the division and can have great matches with just about anyone. If he’s wrestling in ROH, he can have awesome matches. If he’s working with heavyweights, he’s great. If he’s in tag matches, he rules. Whatever you give KUSHIDA, he’ll kill it. In my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” last year, KUSHIDA appeared in every junior heavyweight match to make the list along with some others. He’s versatile, consistent and is someone that I truly look forward to seeing each time I watch New Japan. KUSHIDA needs to be the guy they build and fix the division around.

4. Tomohiro Ishii 

The first NJPW, it was for Wrestle Kingdom 9. Tomohiro Ishii had a really good match with Togi Makabe but for some reason, something about him didn’t click for me. For the next few months, I was disinterested in a lot of what he did. That all eventually changed. From watching him in the G1 Climax 25 as well as going back and reviewing the G1 Climax 24, I began to have a fond appreciation for Ishii. It’s actually more than that because his style of wrestling is something I’ve grown to love. Ishii is awesome and, with Nakamura gone, is my favorite member of the Chaos stable. I know that Makabe had a fair amount of success with the NEVER Title, but for me, it was Ishii that kind of put it on the map and really got going with it. Going back and watching things, Ishii has grown from underdog into a very valuable asset for the company even though he’s already in the later stage of his career. Now the reigning ROH Television Champion, Ishii should have more dates in the States, which will only help raise his profile. Some of my favorite matches (namely the G1 Climax 23 bout with Shibata) have involved Ishii. Honestly, there aren’t many better wrestlers in the world right now.

3. Katsuyori Shibata 

I love Katsuyori Shibata. I really, really do. His style isn’t for everyone as, similar to Tomohiro Ishii, I’ve heard complaints about the stiff work and things like the headbutts done in his matches. I understand that, I truly do. It works for me though. I like all kinds of wrestling and lately, the style that speaks to me the most is Shibata’s. Sometimes I just want to watch two guys enter a ring and beat the shit out of each other. When Shibata enters a ring, you truly feel like you’re watching a fight. I don’t want an entire card of those matches, but seeing Shibata is such a nice change from the rest of the NJPW roster, outside of a select few. Shibata has also grown to become one of the more popular guys on the roster and has had big moments at the last two Wrestle Kingdoms (Tag Title win at 9 and NEVER Title win at 10). There is always the worry that he won’t move up any higher due to him walking out of the company back when they needed him, but I could see that changing due to how damn good he’s been. In recent G1 Climaxes and recent shows in general, Shibata has delivered nearly every single time out there. Shibata is the baddest dude in New Japan and it’s glorious.

2. Tetsuya Naito 

Outside of the New Day, I can’t remember a recent heel turn that worked to fix somebody’s career so well. When I first watched New Japan Pro Wrestling, Tetsuya Naito didn’t stand out. He was the whitest of white meat babyfaces. Sure he could do some athletic stuff and have good matches but he felt so hollow and bland. Fast forward a few months, after a tour with CMLL, and heel Tetsuya Naito was born. He teamed with La Sombra while in CMLL and joined the Los Ingobernables stable. Now he had some personality. Naito began to show a severe lack of care towards anything. Even while in the G1 Climax, he just had an attitude that showed nothing mattered to him. He’s managed to take that character and continue to put on good to great matches. There aren’t many characters in wrestling that I enjoy more than Naito. He’s added EVIL and BUSHI to Los Ingobernables de Japon, forming a little stable that has found some success. Naito is currently set to face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and, in my opinion, should absolutely win it. He’d be the first man not named Tanahashi, Okada or Styles to hold it since 2010. In terms of pure character work, Naito has no peer in NJPW.

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi 

The years continue to pass, but one thing remains the same. Hiroshi Tanahashi is the best in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He may have finally officially passed the proverbial torch to Kazuchika Okada at this year’s Wrestle Kingdom, but make no mistake; Tanahashi is still the man. There is so much he can do for the company in so many different ways. He’s been IWGP Heavyweight Champion time after time after time and now, he’s moved into a different faze of his illustrious career. When Shinsuke Nakamura left and the company needed someone to put over Kenny Omega and solidify him as a heavyweight star, they turned to Tanahashi, who did a great job. As noted earlier, he and Michael Elgin could give it a run in the tag division and win those titles. With Tanahashi involved, the Tag Titles could rise in prominence and even headline some events. There is nobody better at telling a story in the ring right now than Tanahashi. He almost always has great matches, the fans absolutely adore him and he can do just about anything they’ll need him to do. Until he retires, I can’t see anyone overtaking Tanahashi in this spot. 

Lucha Underground "Aztec Warfare II" Review

Last season, the inaugural Aztec Warfare was one of the best matches of the year and crowned the first ever Lucha Underground Champion, Prince Puma. Tonight, 20 luchadors go at it again.

Things open with Fenix and Pentagon Jr. backstage as Pentagon says tonight is his night. Catrina interrupts saying Vampiro may teach him the dark arts, but he knows nothing of the darkness. She says that Pentagon isn't in Aztec Warfare because he put his hands on her. Pentagon isn't scared of her or Mil, saying he only listens to his master.

This will be a more detailed version of my normal Lucha Underground reviews. Not play-by-play exactly though.

Aztec Warfare for the Lucha Underground Championship
As noted last week, Fenix, the brand new Lucha Underground Champion, entered at number one. Making his official debut, Rey Mysterio drew number two and got a MASSIVE pop. I actually feel like it rivaled, if not bettered AJ's reveal at the Rumble. Fenix and Rey had a great, quick paced exchange. Rey seemed motivated and it was kind of like he was looking into his past. Famous B was at ringside. At number 3, the man who has had a great feud with Fenix this season, King Cuerno entered. Argenis, formerly of the Disciples of Death, came in at 4 but didn't last long. Rey got rid of him at 3:54. Johnny Mundo showed up at 5, and had a bit of a staredown with Rey. After a break, they got to relive some of their old WWE IC Title matches for a bit. Joey Ryan, who won a four way match exclusive to YouTube, entered at six but handcuffed himself to the guardrail outside, avoiding getting eliminated. Famous B gave him his card. I love Famous B. The Temple exploded when Prince Puma drew number 7. Puma killed it, taking out everyone with a dive and even punching Ryan. At 8, the "Dragon Slayer" Jack Evans came in. Mysterio eliminated Cuerno at 8:17 with an armbar. Everybody ganged up on Evans until Mundo saved him since they're both gringos. RACE WAR! Taya showed up at 9 to even the odds of gringos/gringas vs. luchadors. The non-masked group grabbed the advantage until #10, Cage, showed up.

Mundo got scared and Cage ran over him, Taya and Evans. He really looked to be having fun out there. There was another break before things turned bad for Cage. Mundo tossed him through the office window like his name was Alberto El Patron. At 11, Mascarita Sagrada made his season two debut. Unlike El Patron, Cage emerged from the window and murdered Mundo with a clothesline. Cage kicked his ass, allowing Puma to pin Mundo with a shooting star press at 13:03. Marty Martinez drew number 12. Commentary questioned who was creepier, him or Ryan. Marty showed off some cool offense for a bit. Drago, in some sweet attire, came in at 13, which forced Jack Evans to soil himself basically. Commercial break time. Evans tried to attack Evans but it backfired. Drago tried to spit mist at him but he also missed and caught Joey Ryan with it instead. Mascarita and Rey double teamed Marty inside, and a double pin eliminated him at 15:43. Famous B was impressed. The Mack entered at #14. Before Marty exited, Mack laid him out with a stunner. As Cage and Mack had a staredown, reigniting their feud from season one, Evans seemed to get thrown down the stairs. Drago powerbombed Evans in the audience as Chavo came out at 15. He put Mascarita in the camel clutch, eliminating at 18:07. Mundo returned and destroyed Cage with a cinder block. Taya pinned him at 18:37, before Fenix got rid of her with a German at 18:49. PJ Black showed up at 16 and went after Drago. At number 17 was Aerostar in his season two debut. His attire was pretty rad. In the ring, it was basically Black and Evans against Drago and Aerostar. Aerostar killed Evans with a top rope flipping piledriver at 20:55. At the same time, Black eliminated Drago. Number 18 arrived and it's the debut of Dragon Azteca Jr. He got some time to shine and showed off his quickness. At 19, Texano showed up and things went to a commercial. Texano dove out onto a group of guys, highlighting his time in the ring. At the 23:09 mark, Texano eliminated Black with a powerbomb. Mil Muertes got the last spot at 20, which we found out at last week. BUT WAIT! Pentagon came in through the crowd and attacked Mil with a chair! The crowd reaction for Pentagon was insane. Rey splashed Mil and he and Puma pinned him almost instantly at 24:31.Catrina yelled at ampiro and kicked him out of the Temple. The clock still went at she slapped Vamp and DARIO FUCKING CUETO WAS ATOP THE STAIRS! He said this is his Temple and he's El Jefe. He introduces entrant number 21...OHMYFUCKINGGOD IT'S MATANZA CUETO! The guys in the match had no idea what to do about this. Matanza was still wearing the blood stained clothes from last week.

Everyone attacked him but he threw them all off. He caught Fenix with a reverse powerslam at 27:11 and got rid of the new champion, giving Fenix a one week reign. Mack hit him with a stunner, but then took a German and is gone at 27:31. Another German took care of Aerostar at 27:49. Texano attacked with the bullrope but Matanza killed him with a powerbomb at 28:13. Matanza found handcuffed Joey Ryan and attacked, ropping the cuffs off the railing. He got rid of Joey with a series of gutwrench suplexes at 29:17. Outside, Chavo, Rey, Puma and Azteca were left with Matanta. Chavo quickly turned on them. Azteca used his quickness for an upper hand but Matanza caught him with a massive chokeslam at 30:30 to send him packing. Chavo tried making an alliance with Dario but when Chavo turned his back, Dario gave Matanza the signal to end him, which he did with a fucking standing shooting star press at 31:11. it came down to Matanza, Puma and Rey. They worked together against him. It still wasn't enough as he just showed off impressive power move after impressive power move. Matanza killed Puma with a sick German at 32:20. A nervous Rey timidly entered the ring. Even the referee looked scared. Rey fought him off as best as he could, using his speed upper hand. Matanza caught the 619 but Rey still slipped out and hit the 619 on the second attempt. He jumped off the top but Matanza blocked a rana and caught him with the same reverse slam that eliminated Fenix to win.

Winner and New Lucha Underground Champion: Matanza in 34:53
Like last year's match, that was so much fucking fun. Non-stop action and multiple feuds being focused on throughout. I loved the little things like Famous B at ringside and Joey Ryan being sleazy. Pentagon and Mil continued their story, Rey's debut was tremendous and Matanza's was even better. So many new directions to go after a fantastic match. ****1/2

Dario announced his brother as the new champion and posed with him to end the show.

Overall: 10/10. Aztec Warfare is two for two in producing great matches. I liked this one more than last year's, which I loved. I noted most of the positives about this in the match review it self. Everything about this episode was great, from the surprises to the action to the character work and everything in between. Lucha Underground continues to deliver.

If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground here at Fubo.tv!

Raw Review 3/21/16

In a totally unsurprising move, Raw opened up with Stephanie McMahon coming to the ring. She announced that Triple H wasn't in the building due to work and not due to Roman Reigns. This brought out Reigns, giving us a very familiar scene to start Raw. At least they kept it short as Reigns blocked a slap from Stephanie and said that he was the authority now. I didn't know that's all it took to get a position of power in the WWE. Nothing was really accomplished in the segment either and the crowd was 50/50 at best for Reigns. The opening match was much better as AJ Styles took on Kevin Owens. They allowed them to work through two commercial breaks, giving them nearly twenty minutes to do their thing. It could have been up there with New Day/Y2AJ for best Raw match in 2016 but they rehashed the same finish from Smackdown and it took away from it for me. Owens won via Chris Jericho distraction. Owens got on the mic and said that nobody deserved a shot at his title at KOMania. Out came Dolph Ziggler, the Miz and Sami Zayn to stake their claim. There would be a Triple Threat match later on to determine the top contender.

Last week, Mick Foley gave Dean Ambrose his barbed wire bat, "Barbie". This week, Dean was in a Philadelphia bar with Terry fucking Funk. He gave Dean his chainsaw, which Dean used to saw a table in half. This was so much fun. The League of Nations were in the ring next and ran down New Day. New Day came out and responded, ripping LON to shreds by dissing Barrett for having no crown and Del Rio for losing everything cool about himself. Big E then beat Rusev, which was curious. If the New Day keeps beating LON, why should I care about Mania? Also, couldn't Barrett, who is leaving soon, do the job instead? It was right around here that the show took a tumble and fell off of a cliff.

Big Show came out to talk and promote the yearly Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The Social Outcasts interrupted and ended up fighting with Show until Kane came out. The two old behemoths cleared the ring and then Kane hit a hideous chokeslam off the top rope on Kane. Moving on, they did a WrestleMania 29 rematch with Chris Jericho and Fandango. AJ Styles showed up to distract Jericho, but looked like an idiot because it backfired and Jericho just beat Fandango. Jericho ran from AJ, who challenged him to a match at the one place he's never wrestled before, WrestleMania. Jericho walked away before responding. It's here that things just got plain stupid. Owens had the Triple Threat contender's match made but not with Zayn, Ziggler and Miz. Instead, it was Sin Cara, Stardust and Zack Ryder. He did it as a joke. The other three showed up and somehow there was a DQ in a Triple Threat match. All six guys beat up Owens, who complained to Stephanie in the back. Stephanie announced a seven man ladder match for Mania. Why? You literally just told us that three of the guys are jokes. Why was there a DQ? Why are Owens and Zayn tossed into a multi-man match that makes no sense when Kalisto and Ryback get the singles match at Mania? What fucking sense does any of this make? Just so unbelievably stupid. I love Stardust but on what planet does he, Ryder and Cara belong here?

Triple H arrived to pick up Stephanie. They go to leave but Roman Reigns is revealed to be behind the gate. Nobody chooses to lock their fucking doors, so Reigns gets in and attacks Hunter. It came off as an unprovoked attack but at least he looked badass. The problem was, again, that the crowd didn't give a shit. In a rematch from Roadblock, Charlotte took on Natalya. It was a lesser version of that match and Charlotte won again. The issue was commentary. I love Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch but there were two problems with them in the booth. One, Becky seems comfortable on the mic but not on commentary. It's always awkward. Two, they were just catty with each other because of WWE's trademark "all women are bitches" attitude. It sucked. Next, they promoted the Rock being at WrestleMania, but we still have no idea what he's doing there. Creative probably doesn't either. Moving on, Bubba Ray Dudley beat R-Truth via distraction/interference, and then the Usos showed up after Goldust failed to make the save. They almost put the Dudleys through the table but the old school team escaped.

All night, they hyped a "special Hell in a Cell announcement" from Mr. McMahon himself. He came out and said that Undertaker is his bitch and if he loses at WrestleMania, it will be his last. It's kind of a dumb, anti-climactic stipulation since if Shane wins, he could just reverse that ruling. Super lame segment. Dean Ambrose came out and passed Vince on his way out, for a dull main event. He took on the incredibly boring Braun Strowman and their match got a "this is boring" chant. It really was. Dean ended up going for the chair and getting himself DQed. It was done to show that he can take out a bigger opponent, as Paul Heyman nervously watched on commentary. However, it was a shit way to close the show. This was a very lackluster Raw. It's like the WWE's road to WrestleMania has been bad for the past few years. Most of the first hour was great but everything else was shit and a vast majority of the show fell very flat. 4/10.

Fave Five 3/14/16-3/20/16

1) Fenix: There have been some truly great matches so far this year. None, for me at least, have been better than this week's Lucha Underground main event. The tremendous rivalry between Fenix and Mil Muertes came back to the forefront as Fenix cashed in his Gift of the God's Championship for a shot at Mil's Lucha Underground Championship. When these two get into the ring, you can just feel the hatred and it's glorious. Like their Grave Consequences match last year, they had a phenomenal war that just hooked me from the start. Considering their history and the story behind their rivalry, it made for beautiful TV. Fenix was able to dethrone the "Man of 1000 Deaths" to become Lucha Underground Champion.

2) The New Day: The only WWE performers to make the list this week are the New Day, who continue to kill it. After a successful defense of the Tag Team Titles at Roadblock, New Day was back at it just two nights later on Raw. They defended the belts against the other two (and better) League of Nation members, Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. Much like the Roadblock defense, they put on a good match and kept the titles, moving past the 200 day mark of their reign. On Smackdown, Kofi Kingston defeated King Barrett, keeping their hot streak alive. On top of all of that, Kofi himself became the longest reigning Tag Team Champion in the new lineage of the belts, dating back to 2002.

3) Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc: Man, what a great episode of Lucha Underground this week. I feel like I say that every week but this one was special. Besides Fenix winning the Lucha Underground Title, the show opened with a Trios Title match. My favorite team throughout the first season was the unlikely trio of Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc. While they were an uneasy group in season one, you could see their growth in their match this week as they worked as a unit. Gotta love character development. The trio was able to defeat the Disciples of Death and win the belts for the second time. Hopefully, they hold them until the end of the season.

            4) Killer Elite Squad: Gaijins in Japanese wrestling have been pretty successful, especially in recent years. When it comes to Pro Wrestling NOAH, the Killer Elite Squad are pretty much the most successful. They are part of the Suzuki-Gun stable that mostly dominates Pro Wrestling NOAH and this week, they retained their GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles against Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi. It wasn't just a typical win either, as it moved them into second place for the longest reigning GHC Tag Team Champions in history. They now stand just about seventy days shy of breaking that record.

5) Zack Sabre Jr.: This past weekend, Evolve held their 56th and 57th shows. Zack Sabre Jr. has asked to complete a series against some of the best that Evolve has to offer. He went out and succeeded in his two matches this weekend. First, he took on one of Evolve's top stars in Johnny Gargano in a match that some are calling a match of the year contender. Then, at Evolve 57, Sabre defeated Drew Gulak in another match that has gotten some rave reviews. Sabre continues to find winning ways nearly everywhere that he goes. I'm interested in where the rest of this series goes.