Canon Magazine Review: Pro Wrestling Illustrated, August 2000

Here is a review of a magazine I, or somebody else, purchased for my reading enjoyment some 10 years ago, the August 2000 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. This issue is apparently a Special Collector's Issue, whatever that means, and covers 'Y2K's Greatest Cards'. Those cards being Wrestlemania 2000, WCW Uncensored 2000, and ECW Living Dangerously 2000. If those were 2000's greatest cards, then 2000 must have been a lot worse than I remembered. Anyway, here's the cover of the issue, courtesy of the PWI website:

The magazine starts with publisher Stu Saks offering his opinion about the return of Eric Bischoff to a power position of WCW, just two months after Bischoff told a reporter that it would take 'more than an act of congress and less than an act of God' for WCW to reinstall him as head booker. In hindsight, they either should have just given Bischoff full power or find somebody else instead of going with the failed Bischoff-Russo regime. Up next is the letters section, and a common theme in the letters is how much WCW sucks. Other letters praised Jerry Lawler for his commentary, Balls Mahoney for his hardcore wrestling skills, and another letter called for the NWA Title to be recognized as an official world title. At the time, the NWA Title was held by Naoya Ogawa, not exactly a household name today. Although he did beat Gary Goodridge at Pride 6, so at least he had shoot fighting credibility.  Following the letters, we get more columns, including ringside with Will Welsh, in which he writes about Bischoff, the surprising track record of ECW's Judge Jeff Jones, and Chris Jericho's call for Hulk Hogan to retire on his website. Dave Lenker follows with his column, where he implores Bret Hart to retire for good (which he would) and talks about Jake Roberts's 'performance' in Beyond the Mat. It's been a while since I've seen that film, but Jake the Snake doesn't come off too well,




More columns follow, as Brandi Mankiewicz berates readers and slams Hulk Hogan just like everyone else was around this time for not stepping back and letting the young stars shine. Meanwhile, Frank Krewda gets all nostalgic and wishes wrestling would turn back the clock some, bringing back such concepts as monthly title defenses, a clear line between good vs. evil where pimps are not celebrated, and referees who actually withold the rules instead of looking like clueless putzes, much like the referees in ECW.

The magazine's cover story is next, about the greatest cards of 2000 or something like that. Up first is a recap of WCW Uncensored 2000, which the article damns with faint praise by saying it was at least better than Uncensored 1995. I'd disagree with that, but then that would probably mean that I'd have to go back and watch both shows to compare them, and I'd rather not. The main event of Uncensored 2000 was the same as Uncensored 1999, a mess of a match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, this one being a strap match. Even the recaper seemed bored by this show, and it's their job over at PWI to overhype everything. According to the article, the best moment was a move similar to one seen in ECW years before, in which the Wall chokeslammed Crowbar off a scaffold.



Up next is Wrestlemania 2000, which only cost $34.95 on PPV. Now a days, it cost 40 dollars to buy WWE Coal Miner's Glove or whatever gimmick match they push there PPVs around these days, but I digress. Wrestlemania 2000 was built around the main event in which a McMahon was in every corner, with Vince McMahon representing The Rock, Stephanie in Triple-H's corner, Shane with the Big Show, and Linda in Mick Foley's corner. The match ended in a shocking development when Linda McMahon somehow landed on top of Triple-H and the ref counted to three, making her the first female WWE World Champion. Actually, Vince turned on The Rock, then after the match The Rock destroyed everybody and gave Stephanie a People's Elbow. Also on the card, Kurt Angle lost two titles without being pinned (the Intercontental and European to Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, respectively), Pete Rose took a stinkface from Rikishi, and the three way ladder match between the Hardys, the Dudleys, and Edge and Christian stole the show. Here are highlights from that match, set to Chris Benoit's WCW theme for some reason:



The last of the big three supercards to be profiled was ECW's Living Dangerously 2000, which I remember for two reasons. One was the Dusty Rhodes vs. Steve Corino match that was an entertaining brawl full of blood, and the other was New Jack and Grimes' fall off a scaffold in which Grimes nearly killed New Jack by landing on his head. Other than that, the main event was Super Crazy vs. Rhino for the television title, which drew high praise from the magazine despite the lack of star power in the match, and a three team tag match was featured in which the Impact Players won the tag titles from Mike Awesome and Raven and Masato Tanaka and Tommy Dreamer. Plus, Joey Styles and Cyrus played some Hardcore Revolution on the air, which I'm sure sucked.



After a color section featuring pictures from the three previously mentioned supercards, there's a quick article about the 2000 Super 8 Tournament hosted by ECWA. Christopher Daniels won the eight man tournament by defeating the 'Black Nature Boy' Scoot Andrews in the finals. I always thought Andrews would make it further in wrestling, but he just never got his big break and retired in 2005. An interview with Rob Van Dam follows, and Van Dam talks at length about his injury suffered before his feud with Mike Awesome over the ECW Title, as well as his experiences in WCW and the WWF and he discusses what ECW must do in order to take the next step. It seems hard to believe now, but around this time ECW was being talked about as a company that could one day challenge the WWF and surpass WCW by the end of 2000. Of course, ECW ran out of money and closed up shop in 2001, but at the time the future looked bright. Anyway, Van Dam also talks about training with The Sheik and his endorsement of marijuana. Unlike most PWI interviews, this one actually seems legit and is still an interesting read today, as RVD is quite outspoken on a variety of topics.

The last major article is a list of the top 12 Supercard matches in Wrestling history according to PWI. Want to know the list? Well here it is:

1. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wrestlemania 3
2. Bruno Sammartino vs. Pedro Morales, Shea Stadium, 9/30/72
3. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 10
4. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania 3
5. Ric Flair vs. Harley Race, Starrcade 83
6. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn, Living Dangerously 99
7. Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair, David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, 05/06/84
8. Antonio Inoki vs. Ric Flair, Collision in Korea, 4/29/95
9. Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko, Showdown at Shea, 8/9/80
10. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Summerslam 1994
11. Undertaker vs. Mankind, King of the Ring 1998
12. Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, Chi-Town Rumble 1989

I've seen every match on this list except for number 2, and of those 12, only numbers 1, 3, 10, and 12 would probably make my list, while 5, 6, 7, and 11 were decent matches and the rest weren't very good. Anyway, this seems like a topic that I might revisit in the near future. The magazine finishes with a few columns. Media watch reveals that the WWF will soon be moving Monday Night Raw to TNN and also discusses Beyond the Mat. Meanwhile, Dave Rosenbaum wonders just what WCW can do to dig themselves out of their hole and also wonders if WCW is going the way of exctinction. As it turns out, Rosenbaum was right on that point. Harry Burkett writes about the Impact Players and wonders why they must antagonize everybody they come across. Well, it's because Lance Storm is a jerk, I guess. The Japan and Mexico reports follow. In Japan, the Super J Cup 2000 is about to take place while in All-Japan, Jun Akiyama finally pinned Mitsuharu Misawa in a singles match. Meanwhile in Mexico, Abismo Negro won the fourth annual AAA Rey de Reyes tournament by disqualification, and Perro Aguayo is in the midst of wrapping up his career, although like any good wrestler, Aguayo would eventually come back to the ring. Finally, the monthly rankings follow, with The Rock ranked at number one this month while the Dudleys top the tag ranks, and there's an advertisement for ECW Hardcore Revolution on the back cover, which just serves to remind me how bad that game is.

Overall, this wasn't too bad of an issue, thanks in large part to the RVD interview. I do have to question the decision to cover WCW Uncensored at such length, but then again I don't think they had any other choice, as Super Brawl was even worse that year. Overall, I'd give it a 5.85 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading a review of me reading, and if you have any thoughts about this or other posts, or ideas for future reviews, than share them either by leaving a comment or by e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.

Wrestlemania One Match Wonders (Part 2)

Continuing where we left off yesterday

Match 4: ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Sabu) vs. The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von), Wrestlemania 23

Of the eight men in this match, this would be the only Wrestlemania match for seven of them (although Striker's now a commentator and technically, has been on another Wrestlemania broadcast). The ECW Originals come out through the crowd to the original ECW music, while the New Breed have a more traditional entrance. The match starts with Sabu delivering a couple of springboard dropkicks on Striker, then setting up Striker for a guillotine legdrop by the Sandman. Burke and Dreamer come in, but Dreamer is distracted by Thorn's manager Ariel, allowing Burke to get the advantage. For the next few minutes, Burke, Cor Von, and Thorn take turns beating on Dreamer, before Dreamer finally comes back with a Nova-like DDT neckbreaker combo move on Burke and Cor Von. Dreamer gets the hot tag to RVD, who whoops up on Matt Striker, including a monkey flip with Striker flying through the air. RVD hits the Rolling Thunder on Striker, but Cor Von busts that up and goes to the outside, only to get dived on by Sabu. Dreamer comes in and DDT's Striker head first. Say what you want about him, but Striker's a heck of a bumper. All hell breaks loose as everyone but Striker ends up on the outside. RVD comes back in to frog splash a still downed Striker for the three count, giving the Originals a win over their foes. The Originals celebrates and Joey Styles is pleased. Match was just there, and you would think an eight man tag would be given more than six minutes, but what can you do? I'll give it a 2.4 out of 5.

Match 5: Big Show vs. Kane vs. Raven (c), Hardcore Title Match, Wrestlemania 17

This would be Raven's only Wrestlemania match, while the other two men have become mainstays of Wrestlemania, for better or worse, depending on how you feel about them. Raven comes out with a shopping cart full of weapons, including a potted plant for some reason. Kane comes out, and he and Raven start trading blows before the Big Show comes out. Now here comes the Big Show, in no particular hurry. This match is kind of nuts, as the three quickly find themselves in the backstage area. Raven gets thrown into a wall, while Kane gets slammed on wooden pallets by the Big Show. The two big men continue to fight each other to a standstill, while poor Raven gets beaten on constantly. Kane throws Raven through a window, but is caught by the Big Show, who tries to chokeslam Kane on the floor. That is thwarted, and eventually the two monsters end up going through a wall. Raven gets on a golf cart, but Show jumps on as well. Raven eventually crashes the cart and the two go brawling down the hallway. Meanwhile, Kane and a referee hop on another golf cart, following his opponents down the way. Eventually, the three end up on the entrance ramp, and Raven continues to get beaten on. The end comes when the Big Show overhead presses Raven, but eats a boot from Kane, causing both Show and Raven to fall through part of the stage. Kane than leaps off the ramp onto the Big Show with a legdrop, and gets the three count. This match was akin to Godzilla battling Mothra, with Raven playing the part of Tokyo. There were a few fun spots, so I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

Match 6: Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules (Full nelson Challenge), Wrestlemania 3

This is Billy Jack's only Wrestlemania match, in front of the largest crowd to ever see an American wrestling show. These two behemoths have been battling over who has the best full nelson, which is as good as any other reason to fight a guy, I suppose. Not surprisingly, this match is full of power moves. Haynes uses a gorilla press on Hercules, which was an impressive bump for Hercules to take considering his size. Hercules comes back though, using a back drop and a vertical suplex to ground his opponent. Hercules goes for the cover, but lifts up Haynes after two, because he want to put the Full Nelson on his foe. Hercules then uses his own gorilla press before putting on the Full Nelson. However, he doesn't have the fingers locked, so Haynes is able to escape. Double clothesline and both men are down. Haynes is up first, and uses a series of strikes and clotheslines to wound his opponent. Haynes does a second rope fist drop, and now is ready to sink in that Full Nelson. He tries, but Hercules gets to the ropes and both men go flying to the outside. Haynes then fully applies the Full Nelson on Hercules on the outside, but both men get counted out, making it a no contest. Haynes chases Herc's manager Bobby Heenan around, which allows Hercules to sneak up on Haynes and blast him with his chain wrapped fence. Herc continues the assault, drawing blood, before putting the Full Nelson on a downed Haynes, much to the disapproval of the fans.  I guess this match was ok, but it was pretty boring. I'll give it a 1.7 out of 5.

Well, thanks for reading. I hope that you have enjoyed this review of Wrestlemania one match wonders. If you have any ideas for future reviews, or feedback on this blog, than either leave a comment or send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.

Wrestlemania One Match Wonders (Part 1)

First of all, I once again apologize for my lack of activity yesterday, as frankly I was too tired and had a hard time coming up with something to post about. However, I'm going to try and make it up to you over the next couple of days. How, I don't know, but I'll think of something, by God.

Anyway, tomorrow is the 26th Wrestlemania, the WWE's biggest card of the year, where legends are made and all of that crap. Normally, I usually don't watch Wrestlemania, and this year will be no exception, as I don't have 55 dollars to pay for it and besides, The Amazing Race is on. However, I did want to write about something relating to the big show (not that Big Show) and my first plan was to review each Wrestlemania main event 1-25. I changed my mind once I realized that I would have to see that horrid Sid Undertaker match from Wrestlemania 13 again, and frankly, I just did not want to subject myself to that again. So I came up with another idea, to watch and review a few Wrestlemania matches in which one of the participants made their only Wrestlemania appearance. So today, that's what I'll be doing. Let's get this party started.

Match 1: Christian vs. Diamond Dallas Page (c), European Title Match, Wrestlemania 18

This would be Page's first and only appearance at Wrestlemania, as he left the WWE a month after this match. Christian is announced as being from Tampa, FL, in spite of the fact that the match is taking place in his hometown of Toronto. Guess we know who the heel is. Page comes out to a decent response. This takes place during DDP's motivational speaker gimmick, which by this point was starting to get over a little bit. These guys did not have a lot of time, so most of the match is power moves and a quick foray to the outside for some brawling action. At one point, Christian was on the top rope, when Page climbed to the second rope and performed a diving overhead throw, with DDP flopping face first on the mat. Don't see that too often. Page used a discus clothesline, which Jim Ross called a "almost a discus like ...punch ... clothesline". Page hit a nice looking sitdown powerbomb on Christian that nearly got a three count. At the end, both men tried for their finishers, but Page won out in the end, hitting the Diamond Cutter for the three count. Afterwards, Page praised Christian for not throwing a temper tantrum in spite of losing in front of 67,000 people. Predictably, Christian threw a tantrum. Match was decent, even though it was only six minutes. I'll give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Match 2: The Orient Express (Sato & Tanaka) vs. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty), Wrestlemania 6

This would be one of these teams' only Wrestlemania match, try to guess which one. This is the inferior version of the Orient Express, as the second team with Paul Diamond and Tanaka was much better. Then again, Sato is actually orient, so it makes more sense than putting a Canadian under a mask and present him as Japanese. This match is rather average, as the Rockers didn't seem terribly interested in the proceedings amd the Orient Express were just an average team at best. Tanaka hit a crazy looking move where he started with his back towards Michaels as he was coming off the ropes, than did a twisting jump and used his palms to knock Michaels down. Michaels and Tanaka were in for most of the match, with Jannetty getting the hot tag towards the end. The Rockers hit a terrible looking double dropkick (mainly Jannetty's fault) and also messed up their double superkick spot early in the match. The end came after Mr. Fuji distracted Jannetty. Jannetty gave chase, only to get salt in the eye from Sato. Jannetty then stumbles around and even trips over the guardrail. The match ends in a countout, with the win going to the Orient Express. Decent match, but these two teams had better matches than this, whether with Sato or Diamond. I'll give this a 2.1 out of 5.

Match 3: Adam Bomb vs. Earthquake, Wrestlemania 10

The match starts with Harvey Wippleman (Adam Bomb's manager) arguing with ring announcer Howard Finkel, who for reasons I won't get into, is wearing a toupee. Wippleman insults him, until Finkel finally has enough and shoves his antagonist to the ground. This brings out the Bomb, who threatens Finkel until Earthquake comes out to start the match. Earthquake hits a belly to belly suplex and a powerslam, before finishing off Adam Bomb with his finisher "the big one". Earthquake gets the win, and poor Adam Bomb's one Wrestlemania appearance lasted 30 seconds. Tough break.

I'm getting tired, so I think I will finish this tomorrow. So stay tuned for part 2 of The Canon Review's tribute to Wrestlemania's One Match Wonders. Thanks for reading, and if you have a match fitting this category that you would like to see me review, than leave a comment before Sunday afternoon at about 1 o'clock. Or if you have any ideas for future reviews, than let me know by leaving a comment or by e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com. Here's a video of one of the reviewed matches right here.