2000 Discussion

Discuss

Disco Inferno vs. Steve Armstrong (02/26/00)
This was as basic as 13-channel cable, and so was the storyline of this match. For some reason, Armstrong's the heel here and gets an extended period on offense. Nothing I'm saving for posterity, but this was your basic "good" ** Disco match, straight outta Techwood Drive with a sprinkling of the Showboat Sports Casino Arena thrown in.

Barry Horowitz vs. Fidel Sierra (02/26/00)
Dream Match on WCWSN! Fidel Sierra VS Barry Horowitz! Two vets giving it their all! You can tell they aren't ever going to be pushed, because they wrestle like they mean it, and like moves lead into other moves and so on. Great transitions in this match, excellent tendency by Horowitz to take every opportunity to go for the pin. Back and forth action here. A rare match in 2000 that doesn't seem like its goal is to expose the business. Sierra goes over with a Fameasser -- give him the TV belt! Sierra V Regal next week = Ratings! I'm marking out like Sean Shannon at the Fritos warehouse!

Allan Fuck, Rick Cornell vs. Sonny Siaki, Chuck Palumbo (02/26/00)
Allan Funk and Rick Cornell take on Siaki and Palumbo, and it's all very athletic and basic. A lot of crisp moves here from all four, and once they learn to work the crowd they might have something real here. Funk especially showed flashes here of being something like a Dangerous Alliance era Steve Austin, with a preternatural sense that moves should mean something and that wrestlers should look like they're, y'know, fighting. Palumbo seems a bit clueless in terms of how to work a match, but even he showed flashes of real athleticism. Siaki of course will be the star of this group; presence and an ability to bump emotively will at least put him on Nitro. I'd take all of these except for the Renegadesque Palumbo and put them over Prince IkoIko clean in twelve seconds immediately for the croozer strap.

Shark Boy vs. Jeremy Lopez (02/26/00)
Jeremy Lopez and Shark Boy show enough chain wrestling early on to get up here despite the addled lucha comedy bullshit that we saw in lieu of transitions. Still, not really a complete match and nothing I'd kill to see again. Especially when the Undertaker does better planchas than SB. Props to Jeremy for a smooth running Lygerbomb late in the match.

Billy Kidman vs. Elix Skipper (02/26/00)
Kidman takes some time out from his busy flea market tour to give Elix Skipper the rub here on WCWSN. If WCW were smart, they'd move Elix up to Nitro and team him with Booker, giving them the New Harlem Heat label and letting them carry the tag division into the realm of *** matches. Props to Kidman for giving Elix a lot of offense here, and letting Skipper show that he can go with a more seasoned worker.

Steven Regal vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (02/26/00)
I love Steven Regal, even in his more problematic recent guises. His match with Goldberg was my favorite Goldberg match of all time, as Regal made Bill look like the limited worker he certainly was at that point. Props to Regal for bumping for Hacksaw's alleged offense, but this match basically sucked as you would expect as Duggan usually fails to bump, sell, or move convincingly. Regal jobbing to the Old Glory on his way out actually made me feel a bit ill.

Bobby Eaton vs. Dustin Rhodes (02/26/00)
Seven Rhodes and Bobby Eaton, in a desperate attempt to mask their eroded skills, take their tepid brawl outside the ring to no effect. Passionless wrestling, as both men show their affinities for picking up a paycheck for subpar work.

Tank Abbott vs. Villiano IV (02/26/00)
Villano IV gets fed to Tank 'Hands of Stone' Abbott. We know of course, that if Tank can go over an international worker, then he should have no problem with grizzled veteran and promotional savior Sid Eudy.

The Barbarian vs. Villiano V (02/26/00)
Villano V gets fed to Meng. Er, the Barbarian. We know of course that the Villanos are of no use to a tag division loaded with indie jetsam, so it's far better to squash them here. V gets offense, which Barbarian doesn't really sell, so it's meaningless as far as it goes. Barbarian tries some offense invented after 1955, but of course blows it like Wrestleline's WCWSN recapper's chippie does to get 'cab fare'.

PG 13 vs. The Mamalukes (02/26/00)
PG13 and the Paisans bring the magic and the realism of 1995 WWF Superstars episodes to the next millenium. If someone cares about either of these teams, please email me.

Elix Skipper vs. Kid Romeo (03/04/00)
Kid Romeo brings it, even with the glowstick demo by way of entrance. Elix Skipper is one of the best fifty wrestlers in the US RIGHT NOW. I dug the smooth drop toe hold from Romeo, the nice matwork on both ends, Romeo getting the frog action from the leap off the top turnbuckle to a standing Elix outside the ring. Smooth use of rest segment in the middle of the match, then nice move into transition into Elix's double-underhook release belly-to-belly. Very luchaesque, but didn't look overly choreographed. These kids work well together, and prove their ability with the constant near-falls to work 30 minute wrestling matches if the need be. Skipper brings so many variations of the Mysterio, Guerrero, and Asai movesets already that it's a treat to watch him. And the only thing Romeo shares with Flex Kavana is a dodgy haircut, as his inverted DVD, breathtaking frog splash, and concentration on nuance indicate. **1/2, about all I can give for a 7 minute match unless it's Benoit breaking Sterling Golden's leg.

Shark Boy vs. Silver King (03/04/00)
Oh, it's Shark Boy. You know Silver King's not going over this putz, just like you knew that Regal was jobbing to Hacksaw. Silver King is quite good, but the Shark will never get props here until he starts wrestling like wrestlers wrestle unstead of coming off like the lucha George Steele. But this had enough SK offense to work, especially with the standing figure-4 and the surfboard variation, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Shark Boy goes over with a rollup, because he has NO SKILLS. He'll probably take IkoIko's belt very soon though.

The Jung Dragons vs. Jeremy Lopez, Villiano IV, Villiano V (03/04/00)
Jung Dragons. Give WCW props for not trying to get Yung Yang over as a singles wrestler, and for putting two new kids in a team with Kaz, who knows all too well how to hold things together. I came in fairly high on Lopez, with his blend of workrate, Zbyszko heel mannerisms, and Malenko pedigree. Mat work between Howard and Lopez nice early on, and WCW rightly used Howard and Jung to sell for the Villanos to get the heels over. Kaz and Yung hit a swank Midnight Express dubbateam on a Villano, then the Villanos work some magic in return, then a double team from Jung, then the Villanos, and so on. JD feuding with 3 Count could br promising, though I'm not sure how well Kaz's boys can compensate for some of 3 Count's weaknesses. A legit three-star match, with Kaz looking -- yet again -- like a superstar.

Lash LeRoux vs. Rick Fuller (03/04/00)
Cornell and Laroux had interesting psychology, with LaRoux playing the cocky superstar type wrestling someone beneath his station. This allowed Cornell to get his very basic offense in, but at least it made sense and featured decent, if boring, rasslin. Still, too flat and directionless to get the nod.

Hail vs. Chad Hart (03/04/00)
Haleberg and Chad Hart didn't work for me, though I understand why it's on the show. Still, Hale could've been put in this position a year ago (the position being that of Nikita2K).

Sonny Siaki, Chuck Palumbo vs. The Mamalukes (03/04/00)
Siaki and Palumbo Versus the Mamalukes was a bit torpid for me, with no real psychology besides Beat The Face Up. Siaki was in full Rock mode after his hot tag, and then my tape cut off.

3 Count vs. El Dandy, Silver King, Jeremy Lopez (03/11/00)
Three Count get the song off before defending the Hardcore Title against Dandy, SK, and Jeremy Lopez -- who I'm fairly high on. WCW, if they weren't who they are, could introduce a Trios belt, but they won't. That said, 3 Count bump like freaks for the de factos tecnicos, which is cool. Less cool is Evan's estrogenic offense. Helms and Lopez work a nice series, and Lopez tags to SK. Then The Future Shane Helms hits a swank enzigooori. Later on, 'THE FUTURE' gets Major altitude on a sunset flippe from the top rope; Shane could be where
Kidman is now in a year if used right (ha.). Moore is not afraid to die either, with a hands-free somersault plancha on two tecnicos outside the ring that Rey Rey would give a working limb for. Helms finishes the match with a frog splash the equal of any I've seen this year, and this match worked since they kept Evan out of the ring as much as possible. This was a showcase for Helms and Moore, who deserve it as much as anyone.

Barry Horowitz vs. Allan Funk (03/11/00)
Barry Horowitz wrestles, which to me is enough to watch a program. I guess Al Funk didn't know the ledge, because he shore is jooced. The usual Horowitz fare here; good chain wrestling to start off. Funk kicks a bit like the Rock, and his offense after the initial transition sure is bidness exxxposing. But we get the Northern Lights, the Euro uppercuts, and it's enough, I guess, on this night. Especially when Horowitz cups his hands to hear the roar of the crowd, and when he works a bunch of old-school rollups for two counts, and when Funk pulls the tights to go over Bad Barry. I love controversial finishes, at least in solidly worked matches.

Tommy Rodgers vs. Todd Perri (03/04/00)
Tommy Rogers. Oh, departed Latino Jesus. Tommy Rogers in a jobber match. Nice mat stuff here, and Hudson with a classic line, describing Flair whipping Hogan in the Cutiepie slap match, saying 'This is for 1985, This is for 1986'. Then Zbyszko gets off an anecdote about Rogers, Fulton, and a strap-on that's too blue to repeat here. Then Hudson recounts Rogers' resume, though he fails to mention the Fantastics classic work with the Midnights (and I'd dig seeing Rogers/Eaton just for kicks). Rogers looked good enough here, selling well and moving fluidly.

The Mamalukes vs. PG 13 vs. Steve Armstrong, Scott Armstrong (03/11/00)
A 3 Way dance. Mamalukes. PG 13. Armstrongs. Basic and southern style enough to
work, especially with the 80s style cooperation between the two challenging
teams. Armstrongs do a nice job of taunting Vito, who was outside the ring as
Johnny the Bull acted Face in Peril. The finish was a contrived mess, riddled
with poor timing by the Mamalukes, and the canned boos made no sense in context
of the story of the match, but it was all redeemed by sterling mike work by
the Harrii at the end.

Billy Kidman vs. TAFKA Prince Iaukea (03/11/00)
Kidman. Iko Iko. A lot of fake-looking punches and somnambulant stalling here. Iaukea carries most of the offense here, which only serves to devalue the belt's legacy further. Boring, torpid, slow, fake-looking crap, up until they went into the Hot Sequence. Nice reversal of a sunset flip into a Northern Lights Suplex by Iaukea, but a good two minutes really doesn't redeem the stuff I FFwd'd over.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Frankie Lancaster (TV Title, 03/11/00)
I think we all know where Jim Duggan and Frankie Lancaster go. This is wrestling as booked by Louis-Ferdinand Celine`. HOW To SAVE WcW Tip 1a: Duggan as heel, working the Tiger Ali Singh gimmick with a bit of Tiger Chung Lee thrown in. He wears a tee-shirt out saying 'i BrokE Steve Austin's Leg'; massive heat. Calls Austin out, but Austin doesn't respond. Then! Then!! At a PPV Duggan issues an open challenge for the TV Title. Oliver Humperdink throws a baseball at Duggan's head, knocking him out. THEn! THEN!!! They drag Brian Pillman's corpse in, and place it on Hacksaw's body for the three count. Posthumous title reigns equal ratings, daddy, and Pillman won't bitch about putting people over either.

Jeff Jarrett vs. The Demon (US Title, 03/11/00)
The Demon exposes the business in every possible way, and Jeff Jarrett is only a man. Fake bumps, unconvincing selling from the Gimmick. How To Save WCW tip 1: Bring back Randy Mulkey. But wait, that's not all! Bring back Mulkey as the Mulk, complete with a ripoff of the R--k's music, complete with a 500 dollar shirt and liposucted tiddy-widdies. The Mulk says! The Mulk says take that tennis racket, Jim Cornette, and stick up your.... There we go!