Wrestling Omakase

The Most Active Podcast in History™ is back for our third episode of 2024! John is joined by returning guest Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa) from Sport of Pro Wrestling/VOW and, somehow, first time guest J. Michael (@ryugu_go) from Voices of Wrestling for the most thorough and complete wrap-up of the 34th edition of the Grade One Climax you're going to find anywhere! John, Chris and J. Michael break down the tournaments of all twenty wrestlers, talk about where they ranked by match quality, their strengths & weaknesses throughout the tournament, and where they might be heading from here as NJPW transitions into the fall season and Wrestle Kingdom. Along the way a very wide range of topics are covered, with a lot of focus on how the new generation of NJPW is shaping up. Plus, an extensive discussion on the controversial booking decision to have Zack Sabre Jr. take his IWGP World Heavyweight Title challenge at King of Pro Wrestling in October instead of Wrestle Kingdom, and where things might be going for the Dome!Follow us on Twitter (I will never call it the other thing): @wrestleomakaseSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is back for another new episode! John is joined by returning guest Joel of the Super J-Cast (@thesuperjcast) for a bit of a state of New Japan Pro Wrestling update. Where does NJPW stand after losing Okada & Ospreay to AEW? What does fan reaction look like after the controversial New Beginning in Sapporo shows? What strengths do NJPW still have, and what are their big threats heading into the future? Then John & Joel bring back a former annual Omakase tradition: the New Japan Cup Pick "Ems! They each give their (sometimes very different!) picks for each and every 2024 New Japan Cup match, right down to who they ultimately think will lift the trophy this time around! All this plus a (well deserved) burial of a popular wrestling website, wow!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're back once again for another Very Special Episode of Wrestling Omakase! John is LIVE ON LOCATION from the Conrad and also a random AirBNB in Tokyo, as they're joined by returning guest Paul and THE BEBBLER to discuss all things Wrestle Kingdom 18! All three of them go over everything you could ever want to know about attending WK live, including various seat sections and what you might get when you choose them, beer girls (and their fanboys), fan calls, food options and much more! They also of course review the show in some detail and give their thoughts on the various matches. Once that's out of the way, it's time to go BACK IN TIME to earlier recorded audio with John & Paul from their AirBNB (which is why the sound is slightly different- it had a very high ceiling!) following the AJPW 12/31 show from Yoyogi National Gymnasium #2. John & Paul discuss the incredible Miyahara vs. Nakajima main event, Nakajima's Inoki tribute trolling, a big junior title change, and just talk about how much better it is to attend shows in Japan than in the West in general.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is back for another very special episode! Tetsuya Naito has won the G1 Climax for the first time in six years, so you know John has some thoughts about it. John is joined by Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa) to break down the entire G1 Climax 33, as the two of them start with a detailed review of the last two nights from Sumo Hall. They discuss of course the semi finals & finals but also all the other programs that were started for the upcoming Destruction tour, the young wrestlers who got to take a big step forward, what the fuck is going on with Kaito Kiyomiya, and much more. Then they go block-by-block and give some thoughts on each individual wrestler's tournaments (ranking them by John's average star rating), and give their overall top 10 matches of the tournament if you're looking for stuff you may have missed to go back and watch as well. Finally, they wrap up the episode with a quick check-in to the world of All Elite Wrestling, as they look ahead to the major upcoming PPVs, All In and All Out, with previews of both confirmed & rumored matches.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're back for a very special episode! John is joined by returning guest Mongo (@mongo_ebooks), and only one thing can get them out of podcast semi-retirement: Tetsuya Naito is a 2022 Wrestling Observer Hall of Famer! John & Mongo talk a little about all of the new inductees but the most focus is on Naito, Kota Ibushi, and some of the other people who didn't get in (one CM Punk perhaps?). They discuss why Naito was such a slam dunk candidate even if you didn't necessarily love him or his fans, using some cold hard facts and business metrics to make their case. Plus, a look ahead to next year's nominees and more!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase it's our fifth annual year end awards spectacular, as we break down the best and worst of 2021 in all of professional wrestling!John is joined by an all-star panel of 2021 guests: VOW contributors Sean Sedor (@SASedor2994), Suit Williams (@SuitWilliams), Gerard di Trolio (@GerarddiTrolio) and Paul Volsch (@Darth_Dragon), plus Devin (@MoreThanMeatJoy), Mongo (@mongo_ebooks) and Liam McCann (@liam_d_mccann). They all talk a little about what they liked and didn't like about 2021, and what they thought of wrestling as a whole, before getting into their individual award picks. John also gives the overall winners of the voting, with all Omakase guests from the year being invited to send in their picks. Here's the awards in the order covered on the show:-Worst Weekly TV-Worst Major Show-The WWE Memorial Award for Worst Promotion-Worst Feud-Worst Match of the Year-Best Weekly TV-Best Major Show-Best Promotion-Best Feud-Most Outstanding Wrestler-Tag Team of the Year-Match of the Year-Wrestler of the YearThanks for joining us at the end of another truly wild and somewhat awful year on this planet! Here's to 2022 being a whole lot better, both for wrestling and just the world in general!Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up- @wrestleomakase!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take our third completely randomized look back at shows that took place inside the Big Egg, the Tokyo Dome!John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Jeri Evagood (@TheJerriest_Jer) for her record TENTH appearance of the year! Wow! John crowns her MVP (Most Valuable Podcaster) before they get into what they've both been up to, including Christmas, worrying about Omicron cancelling their plans, and a whole lot more. Plus there's some discussion of Jeri's semi-recent Atlantic City trip, and John's pre-emptive year end thoughts ahead of next week's 2021 Year End Awards episode. Once that's out of the way they get into their topic, which is six randomly selected matches from six randomly selected Tokyo Dome shows (all Dome shows were eligible, not just 1/4 and not just NJPW). As always, stop reading here if you want to be surprised, but if you'd like to know beforehand here they are below:1. Great Muta vs. Masahiro Chono, NJPW 1/4/93 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00114_1_7)2. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Kengo Kimura & Tatsutoshi Goto, NJPW 1/4/95 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00132_1_9)3. Randy Savage vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJPW 4/29/96 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYbamFhKl-g)4. Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NJPW 5/2/02 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00160_1_2 or https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00160_2_2)5. Heat vs. Tiger Mask, NJPW 1/4/05 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00165_1_3)6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Go Shiozaki, NJPW 1/4/10 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00174_1_8)Topics that come up along the way include: since we did get all NJPW this time John gives some background on the promotion's very turbulent history as we go through the years here, Chono's bizarre clean-cut years, Muta nearly commits a random murder, a little background on both Heisei Ishingun and Yatsu's very strange career journey to this point, a boring match with not much to talk about, how the hell did we get Savage vs. Tenzan again, Savage at least puts in some effort this time, Takayama on the verge of breaking out as a megastar, Yuji Nagata FUCKING OWNS, Minoru Tanaka's bizarre videogame gimmick, EVIL HEAT, Love & Energy forever, a damn great match to close things out, and much more!Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up- @wrestleomakase!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take a completely randomized look back at the "granddaddy of them all", WCW Starrcade!John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Matt Francis (@archivingmatt) for his third WCW Retro Roulette episode of the year! Before they get into the episode topic John discusses attending AEW's Dynamite/Rampage taping at UBS Arena on Long Island this past Wednesday, including a little bit about how people apparently don't understand what crowd numbers in certain buildings actually mean. Once that's all out of the way they get into this episode's randomly selected six matches from six randomly selected years of WCW Starrcade- if you want to be surprised you should stop reading now and go ahead and listen, but otherwise here they are below (all can be found on Peacock in the US and WWE Network in the rest of the world):1994: Johnny B. Badd vs. Arn Anderson (World TV Title)1995: Randy Savage vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (World Cup of Wrestling)1996: Hollywood Hogan vs. Roddy Piper1997: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Cruiserweight Title)1998: Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash (World Heavyweight Title)2000: Mike Awesome vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (Ambulance Match)Topics that come up along the way include: Honky Tonk Man is mad about his lack of a contract, Arn Anderson is a more than suitable replacement, Johnny B. Badd was more popular than you probably remember, the WORLD CUP OF WRESTLING draws a bad buy rate, WCW can't spell Tenzan, Savage was pretty bad at this point, a match that looks awesome on paper just doesn't live up to it at all, how fitting that was for one of the biggest letdown PPVs of all time, nobody remembers how over Kevin Nash was at the time (and WCW flushed it down the toilet!), when backstage politics attack, THE WRATH OF THE CATTLE PROD, very unconvincing disguises, WCW's "unique" booking for Mike Awesome, camera shots that give away gimmicked ambulance roofs, and a whole lot more.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up- @wrestleomakase!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take a completely randomized look back at WWE's late November/Thanksgiving tradition, Survivor Series!John is joined by first time guest & VOW contributor Liam Byrne (@tvtimelimit), who as we discuss probably sets some kind of record for "most Omakase guests with the same first name". Liam goes into his history as a fan and why he maybe hasn't appeared on an episode until now, and John makes a quick little detour to talk about their trip to the new UBS Arena this past Wednesday at Belmont (an arena that will soon host two wrestling shows over the next couple weeks!). Once that's all out of the way they get into this episode's randomly selected six matches from six randomly selected years of Survivor Series- if you want to be surprised you should stop reading now and go ahead and listen, but otherwise here they are below (all can be found on Peacock in the US and WWE Network in the rest of the world):1987: Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan & Brutus Beefcake vs. The Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, King Harley Race, Ron Bass & Danny Davis1990: Hulk Hogan, The Big Bossman, Jim Duggan & Tugboat vs. Earthquake, Haku, The Barbarian & Dino Bravo1998: Steve Austin vs. Big Bossman2000: The Rock vs. Rikishi2003: Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Doug & Danny Basham2016: Brock Lesnar vs. GoldbergTopics that come up along the way include: how weird is it that we got randomly assigned the very first match in Survivor Series history, Randy Savage's first face turn, a couple wrestlers who usually get ragged on manage to look pretty good here, Hulk Hogan is still extremely over, the future Natural Disasters collide (but not really), the history of the Deadly Game tournament, is this the best thing Vince Russo ever did, inconsistent heel authority figure logic, Rikishi's disaster of a heel turn, Rock does everything in his power to make his cousin look like a monster, the very strange Bashams/Shaniqua gimmick, incredible creepy spots in hindsight, the start of the second brand split, the strange build up for Brock vs. Goldberg, and finally: WWE booking critiques that look kinda pointless in hindsight.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review two big shows from the past weekend- AEW's Full Gear and NJPW's Battle in the Valley!John is joined by returning guest Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa) as they start out with some quick updates on their lives and then talk for quite a bit on the dual possibilities of reopening borders and crowd cheering in Japan. They then get into a full review of AEW's Full Gear PPV from Minneapolis, talking about the good, the bad and the ugly from the latest show. The good: an awesome main event, a match with some real emotion in Punk/Kingston (plus some chat about how Punk maybe needs that kind of emotion to hit anything close to his peak) and an amazing opener from MJF & Darby Allin. The bad: A very weirdly and unevenly paced show with two walk-n-brawls, and just a general feeling of doing way too much that makes the show kind of drag. The ugly: Jay Lethal signing with the company, and what it says about them.Then they turn their attention to NJPW's Battle in the Valley, as they discuss some of the issues that New Japan's US brand continues to have. They break down a pretty fun show though with plenty of good matches, and then rant (and debate a little) about the rather convoluted set up for the upcoming Tokyo Dome nights of Wrestle Kingdom.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take our second completely randomized look back at WCW's annual spooktacular, Halloween Havoc!John is joined by returning guest Matt Francis (@archivingmatt), as they start out with a bit of a longer off-topic discussion than usual. John & Matt discuss weird trick or treat times before John gets into the recent announcement that the Wrestling Omakase Patreon will be going on hiatus (although you can still check out the rather extensive archives at any time for only $5, as John goes over on the episode- http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase), and that then evolves into a discussion on why the current state of wrestling and wrestling discussion isn't doing a lot for either of them. Once that's out of the way they get into the actual topic, which is six randomly selected matches from six randomly selected years of WCW's annual Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. If you'd like to be surprised you can of course stop reading here, but if you'd like to know ahead of time what matches we got, please see below (all can be found on Peacock in the US and WWE Network elsewhere):1990: Rick & Scott Steiner vs. The Nasty Boys1991: Oz vs. Bill Kazmaier1992: Big Van Vader vs. Nikita Koloff1994: Arn Anderson vs. Dustin Rhodes1995: Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant1999: Sting vs. GoldbergTopics that come up along the way include: a strangely fun Nasty Boys match, why wouldn't you have these guys under contract before you start this big feud, the no longer Great or Powerful Oz, the weird and short career of Bill Kazmaier that took him from Stampede to RINGS to WCW, WCW announcers spending more time about New Japan's next Tokyo Dome show than the match they're supposed to be calling, Dustin Rhodes not listening to Arn Anderson when he's talking, a weirdly non-grudge feeling grudge match, the start of crash TV era 90s wrestling is right here, Hulk Hogan's weird "darkside" gimmick, the SUMO MONSTER TRUCK MATCH, the Giant dies and then rises from the grave in the span of about 15 minutes, Vince Russo takes over WCW and immediately does away with all their existing storylines, the "pin me may me" Hogan angle that no one even remembers, Sting really never said this was for the WCW title did he, and finally: Madusa kicking ass.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review the penultimate nights of the NJPW G1 Climax for each block, plus give our top 10 G1 matches so far and more!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. The vast majority of our coverage of the G1 Climax lives exclusively on the Patreon- every previous night of both tournaments that wasn't covered on a free episode, and all three nights that remain, are covered exclusively on the Patreon! Don't miss out on our coverage of the final shows of the G1! Plus, you can listen to every single piece of audio we've done since the start- including our Tokyo Dome series covering every single Dome main event of the 1990s! Feeling nostalgic about Okada/Tanahashi after their recent G1 match? Then check out our series covering the entire Okada/Tanahashi match series as well! And finally, don't forget that you get more full episodes too- every week there isn't a new show on the free feed, there's a full length episode exclusive to the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Jon Hernandez (@OldJonHernandez) as they start out by discussing all sorts of random stuff: how both of them have been attending all sorts of wrestling shows lately, how they're both attending the NJPW Strong tapings in Philadelphia this coming weekend as well, HOT TUBS, the return of the NHL, the NHL's weird recent history on national television, Charles Barkley, more Revolutionary Girl Utena and a little Neon Genesis Evangelion, and frankly some other random crap John's probably forgetting about now.Once that's all out of the way they get into the main topic, as they break down Nights 15 & 16 of the G1 Climax- the penultimate night of each block. They start with a great Night 15, including a third straight awesome Great-O-Khan main event. They then break down the many confusing different tiebreaker scenarios heading into the final night for A block. Then they turn their attentions to the unfortunately quite bad Night 16. John gives another EVIL rant right after promising they weren't going to do another EVIL rant, and they discuss how Kazuchika Okada apparently will explode if he wrestles a match under 20 minutes. They wrap things up by breaking down the much, much simpler scenario to decide who wins B block, and then giving each of their top 10 matches in the G1 so far.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we break down Night 9 of the NJPW G1 Climax from Nagoya and the finals of NOAH's N-1 Victory from Korakuen Hall!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. The vast majority of our coverage of both the G1 Climax & NOAH N-1 Victory lives exclusively on the Patreon- every previous night of both tournaments that wasn't covered on a free episode, and every single night of the G1 going forward until the next one, is covered exclusively on the Patreon! Don't miss out on our daily coverage of both tournaments! Plus, you can listen to every single piece of audio we've done since the start- including our Tokyo Dome series covering every single Dome main event of the 1990s! Feeling nostalgic about Okada/Tanahashi after their recent G1 match? Then check out our series covering the entire Okada/Tanahashi match series as well! And finally, don't forget that you get more full episodes too- every week there isn't a new show on the free feed, there's a full length episode exclusive to the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Liam McCann (@liam_d_mccann) as they start off with a discussion of sports heartbreak and fandom. This has been brought on by the fact that John is a Toronto Blue Jays fan and they were eliminated from the MLB postseason earlier on Sunday in about the worst way possible, but they touch on other sports too (mainly NHL hockey and Premier League soccer), and the whole discussion is probably pretty universal to the sports fan experience (they even compare it to some of what it's like to be a fan of a specific wrestler as well!). The conclusion: don't be a sports fan, do drugs instead, it's better for you.Once that's out of the way the two of them turn to the ongoing NJPW G1 Climax, specifically Night 9 (10/3) from Nagoya. John opens up with a bit of a rant on how different clap crowds can actually make a huge difference, no matter what anyone else has told you, before they get into a very good show with two strong matches at the end as the highlight. Liam disagrees a bit on Ibushi/Shingo and on Kota Ibushi's current arc in general, so there's quite a lot on that, but they go into every match in some detail. Then they give a standings update for the A block and look ahead to the next two nights of the G1.Then it's on to Pro Wrestling NOAH, as they discuss the final night of their own N-1 Victory tournament, also on 10/3 from Korakuen Hall. John & Liam review the entire show in detail including two great semifinal matches and an absolutely outstanding finals. Plus: confusing talk about age in the old fuck offer six-man! NOSAWA continues to book the juniors like an absolute mad man! And a look ahead to possible matches for January's big Budokan show, as John somehow forgets that Go Shiozaki exists and should be coming back soon! Look, they had a rough day.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we kick off the NJPW G1 Climax with the opening two nights, along with some bonus coverage of the NOAH N-1 Victory!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. The vast majority of our coverage of both the G1 Climax & NOAH N-1 Victory will live exclusively on the Patreon- every single night of both tournaments from now until our next free episode in two weeks will be covered on the Patreon in detail! Don't miss out on our daily coverage of both tournaments! Plus, you can listen to every single piece of audio we've done since the start- including an extensive G1 preview that can help you pick which nights to watch and which to skip (if you're looking to do that sort of thing), plus our Tokyo Dome series covering every single Dome main event of the 1990s! Feeling nostalgic about Okada/Tanahashi after their match this past weekend? Then check out our series covering every single Okada/Tanahashi match in history as well! And finally, don't forget that you get more full episodes too- every week there isn't a new show on the free feed, there's a full length episode exclusive to the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Harley Duncan. Harley's under lockdown still in Australia while John recounts their recent trip to western New York to see Niagara Falls and a bunch of other stuff- kind of mean on their part, really! Once that's out of the way John & Harley review both the opening nights of NJPW's G1 Climax 31! They talk a little about some of the dumb New Japan takes that have been out there lately (including some folks telling on themselves when it comes to how little they've been watching....), while breaking down each and every match so far in detail. It was a great start to the tournament, and they go over all of it, including the "big three" matches of Naito/ZSJ, Ishii/Shingo and Okada/Tanahashi!Then the two of them turn their attentions to NOAH's N-1 Victory tournament, specifically Night 2 from the empty arena. John & Harley discuss how difficult it was going from even a clap crowd New Japan show to the fully empty arena of NOAH, and then break down two subpar matches along with two better ones (one that was much better).Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review the greatest pay-per-view in AEW history, discuss two good shows from NJPW, and talk about a LOT of very stupid takes!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Our series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order is about to finish the 1990s, and you can listen to all of the past episodes right now covering it all! We discuss the main events of each show in detail but also talk about everything else going on in Japanese wrestling around that time, so you can relive the nWo Japan split, Inoki's ill-fated UFO promotion, the shocking death of Giant Baba and all the related fallout, and a lot more as you follow along with us. Plus, coming up this month will be daily audio coverage of the G1 Climax and NOAH N-1 Victory tournaments, which you'll only find on the Patreon. And finally, don't forget that you get more full episodes on there too- every week there isn't a new show on the free feed, there's a full length episode exclusive to the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa) from VOW & Sport of Pro Wrestling. They start off with some quick thoughts on both their live adventures- John being in attendance for the Toronto Blue Jays CRUSHING the New York Yankees and Chris being in attendance for one of the greatest North American PPVs of all time. One is a little more relevant than the other for sure. They then get into a very long (nearly 2 hours!) and very detailed review of AEW All Out, as they discuss all the matches and big debuts, what stood out for them and what didn't work quite as well, and much more. Chris also gives us the live perspective throughout the show of course, which is very nice to have.Once that's out of the way they turn their attention to good 'ol New Japan Pro Wrestling. John has read some very, very stupid and repetitive takes on Twitter lately and sounds off a little about them before the two of them get into full reviews of two Wrestle Grand Slam in Metlife Dome events, two shows that were 2021 NJPW in a nutshell: no atmosphere whatsoever but a lot of great wrestling. There was some bad stuff too though for sure, and they discuss that as well. They also quickly go through the G1 blocks and what stands out to them, if anything. Finally, they wrap things up with your mailbag questions on the end of DAMNATION in DDT, who we'd want to redeem our nutz, what we think the Power Struggle main event will be and more.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we reviewed the alleged and the actual biggest party of the summer- WWE Summerslam and DDT Wrestle Peter Pan!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Our series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order is pulling up on the end of the 1990s, and we've just recently put up all sorts of great episodes- Misawa vs. Kawada! Antonio Inoki's retirement! Riki Choshu's retirement! And much more! We discuss the main events of each show in detail but also talk about everything else going on in Japanese wrestling around that time, so you can relive the nWo Japan split, Inoki's ill-fated UFO promotion and a lot more as you follow along with us. Plus, coming up in September will be daily audio coverage of the G1 Climax and NOAH N-1 Victory tournaments, which you'll only find on the Patreon. And finally, don't forget that you get more full episodes on there too- every week there isn't a new show on the free feed, there's a full length episode exclusive to the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Jamie (@JamieOD), who of course runs the English language DDT resource Dramatic DDT (http://dramaticddt.wordpress.com). John & Jamie start out by discussing CM Punk's return to wrestling for AEW from this past Friday, as John touches on what it was like to see him come back after following along with his early career in Ring of Honor (most of which they attended live). Then the two of them turn their attention to the first main topic of the episode, as they review WWE Summerslam from Las Vegas in detail. They go over each and every match on the show, discussing the good (a couple strong matches), the bad (yet another crappy WWE live crowd) and the ugly (the complete destruction of Bianca Belair and the total debacle that was Goldberg/Lashley). Also as John types up this episode description they just remembered they forgot to talk about the Miz & Morrison/Xavier Woods segment, so they just wanted to note here that it absolutely sucked.Once WWE's out of the way they head over to the land of DDT for a much more enjoyable overall show, Wrestle Peter Pan from Kawasaki. They again review every match in detail including the electric current bat match with Onita, the teenage wrestlers, a trio of fantastic matches, and the Saki Akai/Yuji Hino storyline that was better "storytelling" than anything the storytellers of WWE pull off nowadays. Finally, they wrap things up by taking some of your mailbag questions on both promotions, as Jamie explains why DDT's comedy is superior to WWE's and much more.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take a completely randomized look back at the biggest party of the summer, SummerSlam!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, most notably two full length exclusive episodes per month. Right now we're in the middle of our series looking back at every Tokyo Dome main event in order- we just got through 1997, as we discussed the very memorable circumstances behind the start of the famous Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa feud. We break down each of these main events in detail but also go into lots of other notes and memorable moments from each and every Tokyo Dome show! Plus, our most recent Patreon exclusive full episode reviewed the NJPW WRESTLE GRAND SLAM in Tokyo Dome show in detail, along with all the major matches from the Summer Struggle shows from Osaka & Nagoya! You can also listen to all of our previous audio, including our various rivalry series (Okada/Tanahashi, Naito/Ishii, Naito/Tanahashi), our series reviewing matches submitted by Omakase patrons, ANIME OMAKASE, and much more, with access only costing $5 right now at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase!John is joined by returning guests Jeri Evagood (@The_JerriestJer) & Neil David (@chubby_cthulhu) for our SummerSlam Retro Roulette episode! As always for a Retro Roulette episode, we chose six random years and then chose a random match (all done through an RNG) from each one. You can see below for what we ended up with, or skip this and go right to the episode if you'd rather be surprised. All matches can of course be found on either Peacock or WWE Network, depending on where you live/are pretending to live.1991: The British Bulldog, The Dragon & The Texas Tornado vs. Power And Glory (Hercules & Paul Roma) & The Warlord1999: D-Lo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett2000: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho2005: The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton2008: CM Punk vs. John Bradshaw Layfield2013: CM Punk vs. Brock LesnarTopics that come up along the way include: who does and doesn't have nostalgia for early 90s WWF, The Dragon is maybe every Vince-ism combined, who cares about two titles when you have two large fake breasts to talk about, a very stereotypical Vince Russo finish, doing a 2 out of 3 falls match for literally no reason, THIS FEUD MUST CONTINUE (except it oddly didn't really!), a Taker vs. Orton match that nobody seems to remember (maybe for good reason), Bob Orton's fake wig makes Undertaker very mad, we swear we didn't fix the results to give us two CM Punk matches while his name is in the news lately (honest!), Punk's flaccid 2008 title run, Punk and Brock tear the house down, and finally: forgetting how much Paul Heyman was involved.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we once again take a completely randomized look at events from the Tokyo Dome!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, most notably two full length exclusive episodes per month. Right now we're in the middle of our series looking back at every Tokyo Dome main event in order- we're in 1995, in the midst of the memorable NJPW vs. UWFi trilogy. We break down the main events in detail but also go into lots of other notes and memorable moments on each and every Tokyo Dome show! Plus, our most recent Patreon exclusive full episode recapped both NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo shows in detail, plus previewed the upcoming WRESTLE GRAND SLAM in Tokyo Dome event and more! You can also listen to all of our previous audio, including our various rivalry series (Okada/Tanahashi, Naito/Ishii, Naito/Tanahashi), our series reviewing matches submitted by Omakase patrons, ANIME OMAKASE, and much more. You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase!John is joined once again by returning guest and longtime friend Bryan Quinlan (@IM_NOT_QUINLAN). They start by apologizing for the fan in the background, which is quite loud, but it felt like 100 degrees in New York City when they recorded this and they didn't wanna die of heatstroke. They then get into the reason why they're here, breaking down six different randomly selected matches from six different randomly selected Tokyo Dome shows, in our second episode talking random Dome matches! They have six entirely different Dome shows from the last time around, so here's the full list of matches covered on the episode in order:SWS Wrestlefest: Mr. Perfect vs. The Texas Tornado, 3/30/91- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7rmbLEMMBcNJPW Wrestling World: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto, 1/4/99- https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00153_1_4NJPW Wrestling World: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, 1/4/01- https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00157_1_6NOAH Departure: Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Keiji Mutoh & Taiyo Kea, 7/10/04- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJWD1MCNcaENJPW Wrestle Kingdom 5: Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada, 1/4/11- https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00175_1_9NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki, 1/4/13- https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00203_1_7Topics that come up along the way include: boy did we not expect to watch a WWF match on this, three people involved in this match are dead (and one of them is a pedophile), the iron claw is over at least, Kanemoto is a jerk, Liger doesn't sell the leg, why did they bother with this IWGP title tournament, Kawada and Tenzan just beat the absolute piss out of each other, everyone wanted to see Misawa vs. Mutoh but this is the best we got, some history on Taiyo Kea, this man looks nothing like Kazuchika Okada, how did Okada tear himself away from that TNA excursion to do this match, what in god's name is wrong with Low Ki, and finally: three ways are still bad.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we wrap up our King of DDT coverage with a full review of the finals from Korakuen Hall, and take a look at new promotion GLEAT's official launch show from Tokyo Dome City Hall!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We just completed our series watching all ten of the Naito/Tanahashi singles matches that were available online, and you can relive their entire decade-spanning rivalry with us right now! With that now behind us we'll be resuming our series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order (we left off in 1995, so we're about to hit all the NJPW vs. UWFi stuff!) leading up to New Japan's rescheduled WRESTLE GRAND SLAM event at the end of July. You get access to all of this plus everything else we've ever done- our 1st Round coverage of the 2021 King of DDT, exclusive full episodes, matches requested by patrons, all the major tournaments of the past year covered, ANIME OMAKASE, and much more! Next week we'll have exclusive coverage of the NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo shows, only on the Patreon! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by first time guest Devin (@MoreThanMeatJoy) as they start by doing what they always do with first time guests- ask them to get into their background with wrestling in general and puro specifically. Once that's out of the way they talk about what else has been going on- John is very excited about their new soundbar and Dolby Atmos, Devin watched the original Dragonball and saw Goku's little wee-wee, John was thrilled to welcome Bakarina And Her Fabulous Bisexual Harem back to the airwaves with the return of Hamefura, and who knows what other random stuff they talked about.But then they do turn their attention to some actual Japanese wrestling shows, starting with the King of DDT finals from July 4th at Korakuen Hall. John and Devin discuss the semi final matches, the Danshoku Akai Adventures, and the finals in detail. Plus, some breaking news on a big upcoming tag team match for their outdoor Kawasaki Peter Pan show in August and the start of the next D-Ou.After the DDT talk is over, John and Devin head over to GLEAT to discuss their official launch show (after months of "soft launch" shows), GLEAT Ver. 1. This is a great primer for you if you don't know who any of these wrestlers or this promotion are, as they introduce the various wrestlers in each match and where they came from, plus go over the rules for the UWF style matches (and how they differ from the old UWF rules) in detail. They also of course review all the matches as well. Finally, they wrap things up by going over the upcoming GLEAT dates for late July/early August.This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://www.manscaped.comFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review two shows from Korakuen Hall: the 2nd Round of the King of DDT tournament and Tokyo Joshi's 6/17 show, Additional Attack.The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We've hit the home stretch of our series covering every Naito vs. Tanahashi match in order, as we're right in the middle of their legendary 2017 trilogy! Listen now as we go over their epic match from Wrestle Kingdom 10, and coming this week we'll discuss the rematches from Dominion & the G1 Climax! Plus: our annual Mid-Year Awards, held every year at the end of June, will be this coming week and exclusively on the Omakase Patreon! And once the Naito/Tanahashi series wraps up, we'll be resuming our series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order (we left off in 1995, so we're about to hit all the NJPW vs. UWFi stuff!) leading up to New Japan's rescheduled WRESTLE GRAND SLAM event at the end of July. You get access to all of this plus everything else we've ever done- our 1st Round coverage of the 2021 King of DDT, exclusive free episodes, matches requested by patrons, all the major tournaments of the past year covered, ANIME OMAKASE, and much more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest Hayley (@choerrycoloured) as they start out with the ever-popular anime discussion, going over shows they've been watching lately, more thoughts on the return of cons and more. Once that's out of the way they turn to the King of DDT 2nd Round show, held on June 20th at Korakuen Hall, breaking it all down match-by-match. They get into a disappointing main event, another Sasaki Screwjob™, Takeshita and MAO having a friendly bro battle, Endo and Higuchi tearing the house down, a rant on how good Tetsuya Endo is (and a prominent British flippy wrestler he's better than), some upcoming DDT announcements, a fun 3-way tag, UTAMI'S DAD GETS SOME, and the saga of the Paulie clan. Plus, somehow a digression about AEW stables is in there somewhere. I don't know how that happened either.Once that's finally done they head over to the magical world of Tokyo Joshi to break down their June 17th Additional Attack show, also from Korakuen Hall. They start with a long review of the NEO Biishiki-gun vs. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh main event, a truly awesome match that they break down from all angles, which includes another rant on why Sakisama is so great. Then they break down the rest of the show, including long explanations on Japanese Gal/Gyaru culture (due to "Gal Wrestler" Marika Kobashi challenging for the International Princess Title in the semi-main) and the 48/46 groups (because SKE48 idol and new wrestler Yuki Arai has her first ever singles match here), and this has to be the only wrestling podcast you can come to for that kind of information. If there's another one, I'd love to meet them.This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://www.manscaped.comFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review two of the biggest shows from Japan in quite a while: NJPW Dominion and the CyberFight Festival!The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We're in the middle of our series covering every Tanahashi vs. Naito match in order, but we'll be taking a pause this week to bring you exclusive tournament coverage of the 1st Round of the 2021 King of DDT! Plus: our latest Retro Roulette episode, NJPW Dominion Retro Roulette, coming next week exclusively to the Patreon! You get access to all of this plus everything else we've ever done- matches requested by patrons, every Tokyo Dome main event through 1995 (with more to come), all the major tournaments of the past year covered, ANIME OMAKASE, and much more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakaseJohn is joined by returning guest, VOW contributor and ex-Wednesday Wargames co-host Liam (@TheGLEATMuta), as they start out by discussing how bad American wrestling is for some reason. Also, John gives Liam some lessons on hockey (this happens at the start AND the end of the show) while cursing the damn Islanders. Once that's out of the way they get into the first of two major shows, NJPW Dominion, and Shingo Takagi's huge IWGP World Heavyweight Title victory. The two of them break it down from every possible angle, going quite a while on both Shingo's win, what it could mean about NJPW's future booking plans (and what the original plans may have been before Will Ospreay lost his smile or whatever), and of course give a full review of the match. They then break down the rest of the card, including Kota Ibushi vs. Jeff Cobb, the junior title match and more.Then they turn their attention to the stacked CyberFight Festival, the big interpromotional NOAH/DDT/Tokyo Joshi/Ganbare show from Saitama Super Arena. They review all FIFTEEN (!) matches, obviously some in a little more detail than others, starting at the top with a great triple main event and heading into some awesome NOAH vs. DDT matches, a not-quite-as-awesome undercard, some thoughts on the English commentary, and a whole lot more. Finally, they give a brief preview of the upcoming King of DDT 1st Round & Tokyo Joshi's next Korakuen, plus a couple notes on upcoming NOAH events.This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://www.manscaped.comFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase!Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes!Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase it's our first 5 Matches episode on the free feed in a very long time, as John & Jon discuss the ROH vs. CZW feud, Goto vs. Tanahashi from 2009, IRON HEAD FUJITA vs. Shibata from 2004 and more! If you haven't listened to a 5 Matches episode yet, each episode John and the guest each choose 2 matches to watch and talk about. Then we each choose a third match, which is put up to a vote right here on the Patreon, letting the patrons choose our fifth and final match to discuss. It's a fun retro format featuring all sorts of different wrestling! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Right now on the Patreon we're currently reliving the Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi rivalry, watching every singles match between the two of them that made tape. We're still right at the start but doing 2 per week, so it's a great time to jump onboard and follow along with this legendary feud (with plenty of historical notes and talk about the periods as well!). Coming up in a couple weeks, before the end of May, we'll be doing our Best of the Super Juniors Final Retro Roulette, as we discuss five randomly selected finals of NJPW's late spring classic! On top of all of this recent and upcoming stuff, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, early Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes (if you enjoy this format there's MANY more on the Patreon!), ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Jon Hernandez (@OldJonHernandez), and they start things off with 26 minutes (!) of completely off topic banter. So if that's your sort of thing, feel free to indulge as we talk indoor dining awkwardness, Atlantic City (and gambling in general), the start of the NHL playoffs and the end of the NHL on NBC era, and much more. Or, you can just skip ahead to get to this week's five matches, which are as follows: 1. Daisuke Masaoka v. Violento Jack, FREEDOMS 11/13/17 (IWTV: https://independentwrestling.tv/player/Jdv1RkP4bN/1542, match starts around 1:41:25) 2. Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Katsuyori Shibata, NJPW 7/19/04 (https://dailymotion.com/video/x3dd3v) 3. Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon vs. Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer, ROH 4/22/06 (https://bilibili.com/s/video/BV1XE411r74G) 4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW 5/3/09 (NJPW World: https://njpwworld.com/p/s_archive_65_1_08) 5. Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre LaFitte, WWF 9/24/95 (Peacock: https://peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000378101_01/75be8263-fe0a-33b9-bfec-abf00b88e948, match starts around 1:09:45) Topics that come up along the way include: two deathmatch guys you should know if you don't already, HEEL DON'T PLAY, matches just on wood look weird but also awesome, Shibata's departure from NJPW (and then soon after from wrestling in general), Iron Head Fujita's IWGP title reigns and their inauspicious endings, an awesome match between two bad-asses, ROH vs. CZW, That Super Dragon vs. John Story Again, shoot monkey-flips, having to look at yourself from fifteen years ago, a brief history of Hirooki Goto IWGP Heavyweight Title challenges, how Goto & Tanahashi work differently (and how they work the same) now vs. twelve years ago, PCO the Pirate, Bret Hart's wonderful 1995 feuds (and promo lines), and a match that was probably too good for the WWF in 1995. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Missed any of the 5 Matches episodes or just want to revisit one of the matches discussed previously but aren't sure what episode it took place on? Here's a handy Google Doc with links to every single match we've discussed on this series so far, which will continue to be updated every time: https://bit.ly/3dv3BjF Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take a completely randomized look at events from the Tokyo Dome! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, most notably two full length exclusive episodes per month. Most recently we covered the finals of the AJPW Champion Carnival and both nights of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, exclusively on the Patreon. Throughout the rest of May we'll also be presenting a new 1 Match series on a famous NJPW rivalry (likely Naito vs. Tanahashi, but the poll to select which one is still open!), so come follow along with us on each and every match in a legendary feud! Plus, you get all of our past content, including full tournament coverage of the Champion Carnival, tons of past exclusive episodes and much more. You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest and longtime friend Quinlan (@IM_NOT_QUINLAN) for his first episode on the free feed in quite a while. They talk a little bit about John's birthday party last week and the topic of vomit makes a surprise appearance (??), but then it's right down to business: six randomly selected matches from six different Tokyo Domes! Of course there's no main events here since we're covering every single Tokyo Dome main event in order back on the Patreon, but that didn't stop us from putting every single Dome show in history into the randomizer and getting six random shows, then selecting any match from each show other than the main event! You can see what we got below, unless you'd rather be surprised as you listen (in which case you should stop reading right now!): AJPW King's Road New Century: Masanobu Fuchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, 1/28/01 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKlHPJj9bcE) NJPW Indicate of Next: Bob Backlund & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk, 10/8/01 (https://www.bilibili.com/video/av65604079/) NJPW The Spiral: Bob Sapp vs. Manabu Nakanishi, 10/14/02 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00161_1_1 or https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00161_2_01) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom I: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata, 1/4/07 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00168_1_7) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata, 1/4/16 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00361_2_07 or https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00360_2_07) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13: Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito, 1/4/19 (NJPW World: https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00498_5_08 or https://front.njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00498_6_08) Topics that come up along the way include: heading into the DANGER ZONE, lots of boring holds (but it gets better), MISTER Backlund, Dory Funk Jr. stopped aging at some point, the prototype for all those late Brock WWE matches, Bob Sapp is the greatest and the worst wrestler of all time simultaneously, Suzuki and Nagata get bloody, why would you pull someone up when the Triple Crown is on the line, boy do we miss Shibata, going out on your sword, Let Us Take You Back To A Time When Chris Jericho Was Still Great, both these guys just bump like crazy, and white belt acceptance. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review a big show from NOAH in Nagoya and talk about the hot topic of New Japan Pro Wrestling malaise (while also discussing some of their recent bigger matches). The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We covered each and every Champion Carnival tournament match in detail throughout the month of April, so if you want to listen back to the coverage of AJPW's flagship tournament (their equivalent of the G1) that's all available for you right now. Coming up on Tuesday 5/4, we'll review the Carnival finals along with both nights of NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku with guest Gerard Di Trolio from VOW, exclusively on the Patreon. You can also listen to a new 5 Matches episode from last week which got rave reviews, as John was joined by VOW's Kevin Chiat for a super informative crash course on Australian wrestling! During the month of May we'll be resuming our series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order (we left off last time in 1995, so we're just getting to the meat of the NJPW vs. UWFi feud!). On top of all of this recent and upcoming stuff, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, early Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest Jeri (@TheJerriest_Jer) as they start out by discussing some of their recent antics (birthday parties and second vaccine shots, mostly). They then get into a full and detailed review of NOAH's big 4/29 show from Nagoya, NOAH the GLORY. John & Jeri discuss the English commentary, a main event they disagreed on quite a bit, a semi-main event they did not, and what if anything might be worth watching on the undercard. Plus, we get late breaking developments in the world's #1 soap opera, the NOAH junior division! Then they turn their attention to New Japan, first on the fashionable topic of NJPW western fan malaise (and how annoying some of the takes are for a very specific reason) and some of the factors that are resulting in a similar lack of interest for both of the hosts. Once that's out of the way they break down the major matches from NJPW's recent shows- Naito vs. O-Khan and SANADA vs. Henare from 4/26 in Hiroshima, and the top matches from the 4/28 & 4/29 Satsuma no Kuni shows in Kagoshima. Which match was maybe THE WORST MATCH IN NEW JAPAN HISTORY?? You'll have to listen to find out, although frankly if you look at the cards you can probably guess! Finally, they wrap things up with a quick preview of the upcoming Wrestling Dontaku shows from Fukuoka. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review the latest Korakuen shows from NOAH & Tokyo Joshi, plus we TALK SOME TITAN and a lot more on a real tangent-heavy episode! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. April is Champion Carnival month on the Patreon, as we're providing daily audio coverage of each and every event in All Japan's signature G1-style tournament! Our coverage of Nights 1, 2, 4 and 5, as well as every remaining night of the tournament, are exclusively hosted on the Patreon! As a bonus, we also had a full length Retro Roulette Omakase, covering five different randomly selected finals from Carnivals of the past! And you'll also get to hear a brand new 5 Matches episode next week with first time guest & VOW contributor Kevin Chiat! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest Kevin Brown from the Bad Wrestling Podcast (@badwrespodcast). John & Kevin discuss the current pace of vaccine rollout, Round 1 arcade rankings and more, before getting into this week's first topic of discussion: Pro Wrestling NOAH's Neo Breeze Korakuen from April 18th. Well, actually just the top three matches of it for reasons out of their control (damn you Abema geoblocking!). They go into great detail on these matches to make up for it though, talking the controversial Keiji Mutoh GHC title reign and his hype match to set up his upcoming second defense with Masa Kitamiya, a junior heavyweight title match with Atsushi Kotoge and Nioh (with a bonus deep dive into Kotoge lore, discussing one of the weirdest wrestling careers in modern times!), and finally another hype tag for the upcoming Fujita/Sugiura National Title match, with a lot of praise for 'ol Ironhead. Once that's out of the way they turn to Tokyo Joshi, our first trip back to that promotion in a while, to break down April 17th's Still Incomplete show, also from Korakuen Hall. The two of them discuss being two of the true TJP Oldheads who can remember when these wrestlers were mostly horrible and no one watched it, and then break down a fun show full of good to great matches. They also talk a surprise retirement, upcoming title matches on next month's Korakuen, RAKU'S TRAIN OF THE DAY, and more! Finally, they wrap up the show with the main event, TALKIN' TITAN, as John & Kevin discuss the horrible ending to the Attack on Titan manga. There are major spoilers here for people watching the TV series, but not to be worried if you're trying to avoid them- we give plenty of fair warning when we discuss them and it comes after all of the wrestling talk. But it's been a recurring bit for all of Kevin's Omakase appearances, so we had to wrap things up here with a fittingly terrible end of a truly terrible series. This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://www.manscaped.com Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review Night 3 of AJPW's Champion Carnival and a very entertaining Korakuen show from DDT, April Fool! Plus, some quick Wrestlemania thoughts as well! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. April is Champion Carnival month on the Patreon, as we're providing daily audio coverage of each and every event in All Japan's signature G1-style tournament! Our coverage of Nights 1 & 2, as well as every remaining night of the tournament, are exclusively hosted on the Patreon! As a bonus, we also had a full length Retro Roulette Omakase this past week, covering five different randomly selected finals from Carnivals of the past! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Paul Volsch (@Darth_Dragon), and they start out with a very brief (read: under 10 minutes) Wrestlemania review. Believe it or not John actually had TWO matches from WWE's annual extravaganza at four stars or better, which is actually a lot for them, and you'll have to listen to find out which ones. There's lots of laughing about the latest chapter of the Fiend saga too though, of course. Once that's out of the way they get into a full review of Night 3 of All Japan's Champion Carnival tournament, 4/11 from Niigata. John and Paul discuss a fun show full of good, solid matches, breaking down all the action in detail. They wrap up the AJPW segment by ranking their top 5 matches from the entire tournament so far, going over the standings, and discussing next Saturday's Night 4 card. Then they turn their attention to DDT with a long review of the 4/11 April Fool Korakuen. John and Paul discuss the unexpectedly amazing Jun Akiyama vs. Danshoku Dieno main event in great detail, discuss Konosuke Takeshita's recent appearance in AEW (and why it doesn't make a lot of sense), talk about upcoming DDT plans including a major match for the 6/6 Cyberfight Festival and a confirmed date for the start of 2021's King of DDT, go over some very fun comedy on the undercard, discuss the debut of a new rookie and more. If you've come for DDT talk this is the week for you, as it gets nearly a full hour to wrap up the show. This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://www.manscaped.com Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we break down Sakura Genesis from NJPW and Judgement from DDT in detail, and talk a little bit about being burned out on clap crowd era wrestling. The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. April is Champion Carnival month on the Patreon, as we'll be providing daily audio coverage of each and every event in All Japan's signature G1-style tournament! As a bonus, we'll also be producing an exclusive full length Retro Roulette Omakase this week (before the start of the tournament), covering five different randomly selected finals from Carnivals of the past! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by first time guest & VOW contributor Neil David (@chubby_cthulhu), who introduces himself by discussing how he first got into wrestling in general and puro in particular. Then John and Neil discuss being burned out on 2021 wrestling- especially facing down more clap crowds in Japan for god knows how long- and what it's been like for each of them during this difficult period of wrestling viewing. Once that's out of the way they get into NJPW Sakura Genesis, a decent show with some major flaws. They disagree quite a bit on the main event in particular, and both of them do their best to make their case on its quality. John of course isn't thrilled about Ospreay winning the shiny new belt either, and they explain why it just felt like a poor move (especially when it comes to Kota Ibushi's character at the moment). Then they turn their attention to DDT's Judgement anniversary show from Korakuen Hall, starting at the top and working their way down through a better show. John defends the Akiyama-Higuchi main event from the haters, explains a Danshoku Dieno angle in probably way too much detail, and both of them rave about a short but sweet HARASHIMA-Sakaguchi encounter. Finally, they wrap things up by running down the card for DDT's next Korakuen that's only a week away (and will be covered on next week's show!), April Fool. This week's edition of Wrestling Omakase is sponsored by Manscaped. Get 20% off + free shipping with promo code OMAKASE at http://manscaped.com Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we discuss a difficult topic and a whole lot of very average wrestling, save a couple bright spots here or there. The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We just concluded our daily coverage of the New Japan Cup and it's still all there for you to listen to, if you'd like to go back and re-live each and every night of the tournament. Coming up next for our daily tournament coverage will be the AJPW Champion Carnival in April! And next week, tune in to an exclusive full-length episode, as John and Quinlan play WRESTLEMANIA RETRO ROULETTE! Which six random matches will they get from six random Wrestlemanias?! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest Jeri Evans (@TheJerriest_Jer) as they discuss happy anniversaries and first hockey games in a long time, among other things. Then they unfortunately have to get into the New Japan Cup finals, including most obviously the very controversial angle that closed the show with Will Ospreay and Bea Priestley. John and Jeri do their best to explain just why that angle left such a bad taste in their mouths and why it just didn't work for them at all. Stop making such shitty decisions New Japan! The two of them also discuss the Ospreay vs. Shingo NJC finals that was completely overshadowed by the boneheaded angle, as well as the rest of an otherwise very sleepy card from Sendai. Then they turn their attention to NOAH and their 3/21 NOAH the INFINITY Korakuen Hall show. They discuss an awesome main event as Iron Head Fujita delivers yet again, a good junior tag title match, and another mostly sleepy undercard. They also look ahead to upcoming shows in April from Korakuen and Nagoya. Finally, John & Jeri wrap things up with a review of AJPW's 3/21 Dream Power Series show from Kyoto KBS Hall. After a few quick thoughts about the famous building and its giant mural, the two of them break down a lackluster Suwama vs. Yoshitatsu Triple Crown title match and yet another sleepy undercard. They wrap things up with a look at next Sunday's tour-ender from Saitama, as well as the opening night of the upcoming Champion Carnival. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk a trio of shows from New Japan, All Japan and DDT! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Going on right now is our exclusive daily coverage of the New Japan Cup, as John is up on the Patreon each and every day breaking down all the tournament matches! Follow along with our in-depth match breakdowns and reviews, pick 'em updates on what people predicted beforehand versus what actually happened, plus notes from the undercards that you're probably skipping! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest TJ (@aspir_) from the One Wrestling Podcast as they start off by discussing Night 9 of the New Japan Cup. They break down the Tanahashi vs. Jay White main event (and why White kind of feels stuck in neutral at the moment), YOSHI-HASHI vs. David Finlay in the other tournament match, give an update on the current Omakase NJC pick 'ems, and talk a little bit about everything going on in NJPW in general at the moment. Then the two of them head over to All Japan to discuss an eventful time for the company, breaking down their March 14th Dream Power Series Korakuen with a lot of talk about the new heel unit Total Eclipse. John and TJ discuss whether or not the Jake Lee/Shotaro Ashino double turn is working so far and what they think of the big new unit. Plus, they review an awesome tag team title main event and talk about Yuma Aoyagi's continued ascent. Finally, they wrap things up with DDT's Day Dream Believer Korakuen from the same day, March 14th. They offer effusive praise for Yuki Ueno vs. Yusuke Okada (and Ueno in general), discuss two title changes, and look ahead to DDT's second Korakuen of the month in a few weeks. (NOTE: We are aware of a slight audio sync issue that has happened on the last few episodes, including this one. I tried to make a slight adjustment before recording and it actually seemed to cost us a couple bits of TJ's audio, which is why there's a couple awkward transitions early on, but unfortunately it didn't quite solve the problem. We'll be moving to a new recording method next week that should hopefully solve it, and we apologize again for the recent issues. It's definitely still listenable but it makes it sound like I'm talking over the end of everything my guest is saying, which isn't ideal and why I hope to have it fixed next week!) Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase it's one promotion we discuss a lot and one promotion we haven't talked about in a long time, as we cover NJPW and AEW's recent big shows! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Going on right now is our exclusive daily coverage of the New Japan Cup, as John is up on the Patreon each and every day breaking down all the tournament matches! Follow along with our in-depth match breakdowns and reviews, pick 'em updates on what people predicted beforehand versus what actually happened, plus notes from the undercards that you're probably skipping! Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase John is joined by returning guest Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa) from Sport of Pro Wrestling for a packed show. They start out discussing adventures in vaccinations and more before getting into some macro thoughts on AEW, discourse, differences between wrestling promotions and how they're covered and a lot more. They then head over to New Japan for full reviews of the March 4th Anniversary Show headlined by Kota Ibushi vs. El Desperado (including lots of thoughts on the very controversial topic of title unification) and the March 7th New Japan Cup show, along with some brief thoughts on other Cup matches so far (head to the Patreon for full reviews!). Once they're done with New Japan they head back to AEW for a full review of the Revolution PPV, breaking down every match from the main show in detail. They discuss spots that worked and didn't work, hilarious misfires (and not just the one at the end of the main event!), way too much interference, why AEW works better as a TV product than a supercard one in general, and a whole lot more. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we break down two very different New Japan shows and dive into AJPW's most recent and upcoming tours! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Coming up in March will be extensive, exclusive coverage of the annual New Japan Cup, starting right away on March 3rd with our annual New Japan Cup Pick 'Em show! Patrons will also get to enjoy daily audio coverage of each and every New Japan Cup show & tournament match throughout the month. Plus, you always get instant access to all of our archived content, including our many 1 Match episodes covering everything from Omakase patron requests, Tokyo Dome main events and famous rivalries, our exclusive Retro Roulette & 5 Matches episodes, ANIME OMAKASE, and more! You can get all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Paul Volsch (@Darth_Dragon) as they dive right into two very different New Japan Pro Wrestling shows. They start out discussing some of the issues they've been having with NJPW on a macro level lately and whether or not they're worried about them both short- and long-term (very different outlooks!), before getting into both nights of Castle Attack. Night 1: horrible! Night 2: awesome! They break down all the matches from both nights, including Money Clip Okada coming up small yet again, EVIL's very strange booking, overdosing on BULLET CLUB crap, Naito and Ibushi having yet another match of the year contender, a junior title match that way overdelivered (and John admits that ELP is growing on them a bit), a NEVER title match that proved Great-O-Khan can have awesome matches, and much more. Once they're done with NJPW they move over to the world of All Japan Pro Wrestling, covering the Excite Series tour. They go over some of the major matches before the final Korakuen, including very good All Asia & Jr. Heavyweight title matches from Nagoya, before then getting into the Korakuen Hall show from 2/23 in detail. They discuss a disappointing main event, Paul buries Suwama, a tag title match that wasn't very good either, an undercard that was just there, but also an incredible double turn angle with Jake Lee & Shotaro Ashino. They then preview the upcoming Dream Power Series, as well as run down the Champion Carnival participants. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk four huge shows from NOAH, NJPW and DDT in an absolutely packed episode! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, most notably including two full length Omakase episodes per month. Already in February we had our 5 Matches episode with WH Park from POST Wrestling, and coming up next week will be our first ever NJPW Retro Roulette episode covering past Anniversary Shows! Plus, our shorter and yet still jampacked 1 Match episodes that each cover a certain theme (we just finished up the first part of our series watching every Tokyo Dome main event in order, covering through 1995, and then started another series covering patron-submitted matches with everything from BattlArts, DDT and NJPW covered so far), ANIME OMAKASE, daily coverage of all the major Japanese tournaments, and so much more! You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Gerard di Trolio (@GerardDiTrolio) as they start out with a tiny bit of AEW/forbidden door talk, but very quickly transition right into this week's topic- a ton of big puro shows to cover! They start out with NOAH's much-anticipated return to the Nippon Budokan from 2/12, Destination 2021, and get right into their thoughts on the controversial Keiji Mutoh vs. Go Shiozaki main event (and specifically the result). They eventually review every match on the card of this eventful show, talk about how NOAH is trying to present themselves as the "anti-NJPW" in many different ways, and discuss where things might be going during the rest of 2021. Then they turn their attentions to NJPW's two New Beginning in Hiroshima shows, and John has some complaints here. What the hell is this EVIL/Okada feud? Does this booking for Naito to challenge Kota only for the Intercontinental title make sense with what they've done previously? These weren't great shows, and John runs down some of their big problems. Plus, they look ahead to two very different looking CASTLE ATTACK shows at the end of the month. Finally the two of them wrap things up with a full review of the DDT Kawasaki Strong show from 2/14, including the huge Jun Akiyama vs. Tetsuya Endo main event as well as the rest of the card. They then look ahead to what DDT has coming up for the rest of the month and get excited about a future KO-D title match, as things look strong for DDT coming out of this show (well, Universe performance aside!). Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we take a completely randomized look back at WCW's annual February extravaganza, SuperBrawl, on our second ever Retro Roulette episode! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, most notably two full length exclusive episodes per month. Our next episode will feature our 5 Matches format with debuting guest WH Park from Post Wrestling, as he and I will cover some awesome stuff from Japan spanning 4 different decades. Plus, you get shorter and yet still jampacked 1 Match episodes, currently covering matches submitted by Omakase patrons (spanning a wide range already in week 1- a BattlArts classic shoot-style match from 2000 and a DDT cinematic match featuring Yoshihiko from 2020!), ANIME OMAKASE, daily coverage of all the major Japanese tournaments (soon to include the New Japan Cup!), and so much more! You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by first time guest & VOW contributor Matt Francist (@archivingmatt), an old school WCW fan dating back to the early 90s which makes him the perfect guest for this episode! If you missed our prior Retro Roulette episode from October (that time covering Halloween Havoc), it's sort of a different spin on the 5 Matches format- instead of just picking five old matches ourselves, in this case we've come up with a theme (WCW SuperBrawl PPVs) and then let the randomizer gods choose six random shows, and then one random match on each of those shows. Here's what we ended up with. All can of course be found on the WWE Network, along with many other illicit places I'm sure: 1991- Dan Spivey vs. Ricky Morton 1992- Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs. The Taylor Made Man 1996- Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (WCW World Title Steel Cage) 1997- Jeff Jarrett vs. Mongo McMichael 1998- Rick Martel vs. Booker T (WCW World TV Title) 2001- Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire vs. Mark Jindrak & Shawn Stasiak (WCW World Tag Team Titles) Topics that come up along the way include: boy did the randomizer job us out on some of these shows, brief thoughts of SuperBrawl and some of the weirdness involved with WCW's schedule (and which one was bigger, SuperBrawl vs. Starrcade), Spivey does some movez, Morton months away from turning on his partner for a computer, why couldn't we get Pillman vs. Liger instead of this, did Jesse Ventura just make a joke about Bagwell's apparently legitimate mommy issues, Bobby Heenan has some thoughts on the opposite sex, THE DEADLY EFFECTS OF SHOE VIOLENCE, John and Matt disagree sharply on this 97 match, Debra was completely insane during this match, Rick Martel's sadly aborted major league comeback, the best match we discussed on this show by far, the WCW Heat Machine, a good little tag match to wrap us up, and a whole lot more. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk an awesome Tanahashi vs. Shingo match in New Japan, the build to NOAH's long-awaited return to the Nippon Budokan and more! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, including two extra full length Omakase episodes per month, our shorter and yet still jampacked 1 Match episodes that each cover a certain theme (we just finished up the first part of our series watching every Tokyo Dome main event in order with an infamous disaster of a Hashimoto vs. Chono match that headlined the Weekly Pro Wrestling 13-promotion Bridge of Dreams show in 1995), ANIME OMAKASE, daily coverage of all the major Japanese tournaments, and so much more! You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest Paul Volsch (@darth_dragon) as they start out with some rare current US wrestling coverage here on Omakase- namely some thoughts on what little they watched from the GCW Fight Forever 24-hour stream, and some last minute thoughts before the WWE Royal Rumble (and thoughts on some Rumble events from recent years past). They quickly shift gears to NJPW's New Beginning in Nagoya event from this past Saturday, and spend a great deal of time breaking down the Shingo Takagi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi NEVER title match main event in detail. They also discuss wildly diverging opinions on Ospreay-Kojima, Tenzan vs. O-Khan, O-Khan's big night in general, compare Naito and Okada's quiet tours, and look ahead to the rest of the New Beginning shows, including four more (!) Korakuens and the two New Beginning in Hiroshima events. Then they turn their attention to Pro Wrestling NOAH with a full review of their 1/31 Higher Ground show from Korakuen Hall, the last big hype event for their upcoming return to the Nippon Budokan on 2/12. They break down all six matches, starting from the top with two strong main events and eventually working their way down to the rest of the undercard, and thoughts on how the company is using different guys right now (especially the "shooters", but also some thoughts on the recent Inamura turn). They also preview all nine matches on NOAH's big Budokan card and get into the rather confusing way the two halves of the card are split between pay-per-view and free streaming (not at all how you would expect!). Finally, they wrap things up with a pair of questions on DDT and the ShuPro awards and NAITO'S SPITTING. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we review two shows from All Japan and New Japan, and break down what could be next for both companies! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, including two extra full length Omakase episodes per month (like a brand new 5 Matches Omakase that just dropped this past Monday!), our shorter and yet still jampacked 1 Match episodes that each cover a certain theme (right now talking all of the Tokyo Dome main events in order, with our last episode covering the famous BIG EGG WRESTLING UNIVERSE joshi show from 1994!), ANIME OMAKASE, daily coverage of all the major Japanese tournaments, and so much more! Plus, patrons can submit matches for John to cover in February! If there's a match you always wanted to hear John talk about, come get your submission in now! You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest Joey Bay (@joey_bay) as they start with some banter on what they've been up to lately (not much, of course) and reminisce on their trip to Japan together back in 2016, as well as subsequent trips as well. They then turn their attention to All Japan Pro Wrestling, as the episode's main topic is a detailed review of AJPW's 1/23 Korakuen show. John and Joey start at the top as they break down an awesome Suwama vs. Shotaro Ashino Triple Crown title match, discuss the somewhat-controversial decision for Suwama to retain, and give a great deal of thought on where both guys (and the company) might go from here. They also review the rest of the card including two more title matches, and go over some of the big names that came out to challenge the winners, as well as look ahead to upcoming matches that have already been booked for February. Then they turn their attention to New Japan with a full review of their disappointing 1/23 Ota Ward Gym Show. John goes on Another ELP Rant™ but also breaks down an extremely odd New Beginning tour in general, and how some of the main feuds aren't really working, leaving the lower feuds to feel like they're carrying the company. They also touch on the other Korakuen shows (and which are worth your time and which aren't) before previewing the upcoming New Beginning shows in Nagoya & Hiroshima, and speculate on some possible big matches for Castle Attack and beyond. Finally, they wrap things up with a quick mailbag featuring some questions on AJPW & NJPW alike. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we head back to the world of drafting for our first ever 00s Puro Fantasy Draft! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Patrons get so much bonus audio that never hits the free feed, including two extra full length Omakase episodes per month (like a brand new 5 Matches Omakase dropping on Monday January 18th!), our shorter and yet still jampacked 1 Match episodes that each cover a certain theme (right now talking all of the Tokyo Dome main events in order, with our last episode featuring Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu from 1/4/93!), ANIME OMAKASE, daily coverage of all the major Japanese tournaments, and so much more! Plus, patrons starting this coming week will be able to submit matches for John to cover in February! If there's a match you always wanted to hear John talk about, come get your submission in now! You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guests & VOW contributors JoJo (@jojo_runs) & Gerard (@GerardDiTrolio) and first time guest THE INFAMOUS Smoldoink (@smoldoink) for our 00s Puro Draft! The four of them take twenty-five different men's wrestlers who met the criteria of wrestling at least ten times in Japan from 2000 through 2009, and it's one of the fastest actual drafts ever if you're not as into the "picking names" part of these episodes. But all four go into detail on why they're picking these guys and why they're happy with their rosters (with some very different philosophies in some cases!), and then the real meat of the show is going through four very different supercards! Everyone discusses why they put these matches together and even who's going over as they go into great detail on four different cards- and then it will be up to you to vote on who had the best show! Just go to @wrestleomakase and make your voice heard! Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase it's a compilation of our two live reaction shows after each night of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15, previously available exclusively for Patreon subscribers but now here on the free feed as well! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Again, patrons were able to listen to our Wrestle Kingdom 15 coverage LIVE after the end of each show, and they got to hear the audio back on demand a full 5 and 6 days before this hit the free feed. You can also check out our now-completed 2020 Year in Review series, with Patreon-exclusive episodes covering DDT and Joshi. Plus, check out our ongoing series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order, continuing throughout the month of January, and you can submit matches for our second round of patron-picked 1 Match episodes, coming in February! You also get instant access to everything else we recorded during 2020 too- tournament coverage, shows covering every Okada-Tanahashi and Naito-Ishii matches in order, ANIME OMAKASE, and a whole lot more. You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by not one, not two, not three, but FOUR guests to break down two fantastic nights of Wrestle Kingdom! VOW contributors Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa, also of course from Sport of Pro Wrestling), Jeff Andrews (@Jeff_andrews21) & Jon Hernandez (@FatmansAlright) and also Liam McCann (@liam_d_mccann) from the Super J-Cast discord are all on the line for both nights. They break down every single match and moment from two huge nights of Wrestle Kingdom, again each recorded just minutes after each show went off the air. Some major arguments about El Phantasmo, EVIL and the nature of heel heat break down toward the end of Night 1, and in both cases you can actually hear the energy escaping from our bodies in real time at like 8 am on the east coast (without any sleep). A patron referred to them as "the Monster's Ball matches of audio: five competitors unable to sleep for 24 hours and then released", which is.....probably a compliment! It was definitely some unique audio, that is for sure! Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we bring you our annual Year End Awards episode, as John and five guests break down the best and worst of wrestling from the cursed year that was 2020! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. We'll be bringing you LIVE COVERAGE via Youtube the moment that each night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 ends, exclusively for patrons! Even if you didn't see this in time to sign up for the live audio, you can still get access to it days ahead before the free feed does! You can also check out our now-completed 2020 Year in Review series, with Patreon-exclusive episodes covering DDT and Joshi. Plus, check out our ongoing series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order, as we recently talked the second and final SWS Dome show with a divisive Hulk Hogan vs. Genichiro Tenryu main event, with more to come throughout the month of January. You also get instant access to everything else we recorded during 2020 too- tournament coverage, shows covering every Okada-Tanahashi and Naito-Ishii matches in order, ANIME OMAKASE, and a whole lot more. You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! It's our annual Year End Awards episode, and John is joined by a great panel: VOW's Suit Williams (@SuitWilliams), Gerard Di Trolio (@GerardDiTrolio) and Harley Duncan, plus Monumental Pod's Mongo Ebooks (@mongo_ebooks) and One Wrestling Podcast's TJ (@aspir_). The year 2020 sucked real bad of course, but that doesn't mean we can't honor the best and bury the worst of what was still an eventful year in wrestling! Here's all the awards we covered on the show, in order: -Worst Weekly TV Show -Worst Major Show -Worst Promotion -Worst Feud -Worst Match of the Year -Best Weekly TV Show -Best Major Show -Most Outstanding Wrestler -Best Promotion -Best Feud -Tag Team of the Year -Match of the Year -Wrestler of the Year Each of the guests gives their picks before we give the overall winners of the Omakase Awards, voted on by the vast majority of the guests who appeared on the podcast during the calendar year 2020. New for this year, we also have separate award winners voted on by the Omakase patrons, so it was fun to compare and contrast the results between what the guests picked and the patrons picked (often similar, but not always!). Join us in a look back at how wrestling helped us all get through this incredibly crappy pandemic year. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon)- @wrestleomakase! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we bring together the hosts of three different network podcasts, as John is joined by Rich & Joe from the VOW Flagship ( https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/podcast/voices-of-wrestling-podcast/ ) and Joel & Damon from the Super J-Cast ( https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/podcast/super-j-cast/ ) for our 2020 NJPW Year in Review episode! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon ( http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. Our 2020 Year in Review series will continue exclusively on the Patreon this coming week, as John will be joined by Jamie from DramaticDDT & JoJo for our DDT episode, and Taylor from Jumping Bomb Audio and Luke from the Apricot Pod for our Joshi episode! Plus, check out our ongoing series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order, as we recently talked Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami from the first NJPW/WCW show and Genichiro Tenryu & Hulk Hogan vs. The Road Warriors from the SWS/WWF event, both in 1991, with still much more to come. You also get instant access to everything else we recorded during 2020 too- tournament coverage, shows covering every Okada-Tanahashi and Naito-Ishii matches in order, ANIME OMAKASE, and a whole lot more. Finally, patrons can vote in our Omakase year end awards until January 1st! You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ( http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) ! New Japan had a controversial year- was it the beginning of the end for the peak era, a bump in the road, or was it #actuallygood? Opinions often diverged even here on the VOW Podcast Network, which is why people asked for this specifically- get all of the podcasters on this network who talk NJPW in one (virtual) room, and let's talk this out. John is thus joined by Joe & Rich from the VOW Flagship ( https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/podcast/voices-of-wrestling-podcast/ ) ( @voiceswrestling ( http://twitter.com/voiceswrestling ) ), and Damon & Joel from the Super J Cast ( https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/podcast/super-j-cast/ ) ( @thesuperjcast ( http://twitter.com/thesuperjcast ) ), for a slightly different format of Year in Review show; rather than going in chronological order and going through the shows, John sets some of the most discussed topics from New Japan's 2020 for the panel to go through together and try to reach some sort of consensus (or at least grudging disagreement!). Topics covered include: EVIL's championship victory, run-ins and interference in NJPW in general (and how much more is there really now vs. the past), is the overall in ring quality still the best in the world, the downswing in Western interest and how much of it can be blamed on the clap crowds/COVID in general, the FORBIDDEN DOOR with AEW, returning faces Great-O-Khan and Master Wato, and a whole lot more. Then the panel each give their picks for NJPW's award winners in 2020 across your usual major Observer-style categories (WOTY, Most Outstanding, etc.) and finally try to tackle as many of your mailbag questions as they can- should they REPLACE GEDO?! Has Will Ospreay regressed? Is New Japan leaving money on the table if Shingo Takagi never gets past the NEVER level? And more! It's a packed episode you won't want to miss! Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter to submit questions for future episodes and get alerts every time new episodes go up (both free feed & Patreon ( http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) )- @wrestleomakase ( http://twitter.com/wrestleomakase ) ! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! ( http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 ) All donations are split with that week's guests. We really appreciate it! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord ( https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 ) VOW Network Discord ( https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd ) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we kick off an abbreviated Year in Review series as we cover all the men's promotions in Japan other than NJPW or DDT- NOAH, AJPW, BJW, and more! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. You can sign up right now and listen to everything from daily audio coverage of EIGHT different tournaments this year across a wide variety of promotions (NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, DDT and TJPW), our 1 Match series looking back at every Tanahashi vs. Okada and Naito vs. Ishii match in order, our 5 Matches series featuring John and a ton of different guests from both VOW and places like the PWTorch as well breaking down some of their all time favorite matches, and a lot more! Plus, check out our new series covering every Tokyo Dome main event (not just 1/4 or NJPW!) in order, which is four episodes in and counting- most recently covering an interesting old vs. new tag team match from NJPW in 1990 and the Stan Hansen vs. Hulk Hogan main event of the infamous AJPW/NJPW/WWF Wrestling Summit show! And as a Patron you can vote in our Omakase Year End Awards! You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guests and VOW contributors Gerard (@GerardDiTrolio), Paul (@Darth_Dragon) and Jon (@FatmansAlbright) for our first Year in Review episode! It was a crappy year in many ways of course, but there was still some damn good wrestling to talk about, and this time around we're covering a ton of different promotions. We start out talking about NOAH's awesome 2020, especially in the main event scene, but discuss some of the flaws as well (junior booking, mostly). Then it's over to AJPW, who of course had a much worse year. The team discusses the major issues with the booking and a putrid Champion Carnival, but also the somewhat forgotten positives, mostly from the first half of the year. After that we take a look at BJW, which had an under-the-radar good year, and finally wrap up with some talk about ZERO1, Wrestle-1's last days, some other random tiny indies and more! We then turn to handing out awards, starting with full top 10 MOTY list for these promotions (plus DG as well), picking their favorite matches of the year. There's bound to be more than a few that you missed! After the MOTY lists we hand out other Observer-style awards for Wrestler of the Year, Most Outstanding, Tag Team of the Year, Best Feud, Best Promotion and Best Major Show. Finally, we wrap things up by answering a few of your questions- how to fix AJPW in 2021, what NOAH can do in the coming year to keep growing, is Daichi Hashimoto underrated (or overrated or fairly rated!), and more! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we wrap up our 2020 tournament coverage with the combined finals of the NJPW World Tag League & Best of the Super Juniors from Budokan Hall, and the last round robin night of the DDT D-Ou GP! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. You can sign up right now and listen to everything from daily audio coverage of EIGHT different tournaments this year across a wide variety of promotions (NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, DDT and TJPW), our 1 Match series looking back at every Tanahashi vs. Okada and Naito vs. Ishii match in order, our 5 Matches series featuring John and a ton of different guests from both VOW and places like the PWTorch as well breaking down some of their all time favorite matches, and a lot more! Plus, check out our brand new series covering every Tokyo Dome main event (not just 1/4 or NJPW!) in order, which kicked off this past week with two episodes: the very first Dome show from NJPW featuring Inoki taking on a giant judoka from the Soviet Union in 1989, and the only Dome show from the shoot-style UWF, just before its epic three-way implosion (which we discuss in detail!). And as a Patron you can vote in our Omakase Year End Awards! You can get access to all of this right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest JoJo Remy (@jojo_runs) as they start with some updates on their lives lately (not much to speak of there of course) and bury, uh, one of the two counties they're currently residing in. Once that's out of the way they discuss NJPW's big Budokan Hall show from 12/11 in detail, the joint finals of the World Tag League 2020 & Best of the Super Juniors 27. They go through the whole card in detail, talking all of the big angles building up to Wrestle Kingdom 15, and then of course spend extra time on the two tournament finals, especially Hiromu vs. Desperado (a bonafide Match of the Year contender). Then they turn their attention to DDT's final block night of the D-Ou GP 2021, from December 12th. They talk all six tournament matches in detail, breaking down one of the best nights of the entire league: Takeshita's surprising victory, Akiyama's far less surprising but still great win, one match that John absolutely hated and ranted about a lot, and more! John then wraps it up with their full top 10 D-Ou GP matches from the entire tournament, in case you'd like to go back and pick and choose only the best matches, and then ranks all the wrestlers in each block by average star rating as well. Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we look back at a great final night of tournament action in both the Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League, recap both tournaments overall, and review Night 6 from the DDT D-Ou Grand Prix! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your best source for coverage of Japanese wrestling, from yesterday and today. You can sign up right now and listen to everything from daily audio coverage of EIGHT different tournaments this year across a wide variety of promotions (NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, DDT and TJPW), our 1 Match series looking back at every Tanahashi vs. Okada and Naito vs. Ishii match in order, our 5 Matches series featuring John and a ton of different guests from both VOW and places like the PWTorch as well breaking down some of their all time favorite matches, and a lot more! Plus, coming up in December will be our new 1 Match series covering every Tokyo Dome main event in order, and some of our annual Year in Review coverage will move to the Patreon as well. And you can vote in our first ever Wrestling Omakase Patron awards! You can get access to all of it right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by first time guest and VOW contributor Jeri Evans (@TheJerriest_Jer) as they review the combined Night 9 of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League. They review all ten matches in detail, discuss how we ended up with our two finals, and then also rank all ten wrestlers and ten teams by John's average star rating across each tournament, with Jeri throwing in her thoughts on all of them as well. They don't spare any harsh words for those who deserve it (Wato! Chase! Fale!) but of course there's tons of praise for those who deserve that too (Hiromu! SHO! Tekkers! Many others!). Once that's out of the way John goes solo for the rest of the show, and before they get into their DDT review John brings the breaking news of the final card for the upcoming BOSJ/WTL finals at the Nippon Budokan on Friday. They speculate a little on some potential Wrestle Kingdom matches too. Then they turn their attention to the DDT D-Ou Night 6, a very solid night of action from a tournament that's been more miss than hit so far. John breaks down an excellent Takeshita-Sakaguchi match and a very good Endo-Takao match, plus all the other matches on the card as well. Finally, John looks ahead to next Saturday's Night 7, the last round robin night, and what the scenarios look like for all the remaining contenders to advance to the finals. Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk an excellent show in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors and a pretty good one from the DDT D-Ou GP, plus we take a dive through the recent history of the IWGP Tag Team Championship and more! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is covering three big tournaments well into December: NJPW's World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors, and DDT's D-Ou! We're in the home stretch now but all of the shows this upcoming week will be covered on the Patreon, so don't miss a second of the action! Plus you can get access to all of our previous coverage including daily audio from the recent G1 Climax, complete series covering every Okada-Tanahashi & Naito-Ishii match in chronological order, random match reviews submitted by patrons covering everything from late 80s UWF, early 90s WAR, early 00s AJPW and more, exclusive full 5 Matches episodes you can't get on the free feed, ANIME OMAKASE and a whole lot more! You can get access to all it right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest TJ (@aspir_) from the One Wrestling Podcast (@onewrestlingpod) as they start with what's new lately (not much, obviously) and then move quickly into these two shows, starting with the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 6. The two of them break down a great show, easily the best of the tournament so far, including an excellent Hiromu-Eagles main event and a whole lot more. Plus they discuss some of their favorite and least favorite performers in the tournament so far in general. Then they head over to DDT to break down Night 4 of their annual D-Ou Grand Prix, which thankfully is quite a bit better than nights 2 or 3, thanks mostly to an excellent Endo-Ueno match. They break down all the matches on the card including some funny comedy stuff and also discuss why Konosuke Takeshita's tournament isn't really working for them right now. Finally, they wrap things up with a brief mailbag, including a great question- "Dangerous Tekkers are the best tag champions in NJPW since (blank)". This question sends them on a long trip back through NJPW's quite inglorious heavyweight tag team champion history to find the answer! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk two shows of very divergent quality: a not-so-great night in the NJPW World Tag League and an awesome opening night in the DDT D-Ou Grand Prix. The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is covering three big tournaments in November & December: NJPW's World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors, and DDT's D-ou! It kicked off this past week with three shows exclusive for patrons, and it really goes into overdrive this coming week with SIX more shows covered exclusively on the Patreon! Plus you can get access to all of our previous coverage including daily audio from the recent G1 Climax, complete series covering every Okada-Tanahashi & Naito-Ishii match in chronological order, random match reviews submitted by patrons covering everything from late 80s UWF, early 90s WAR, early 00s AJPW and more, exclusive full 5 Matches episodes you can't get on the free feed, ANIME OMAKASE and a whole lot more! You can get access to all it right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest and VOW contributor Jeff (@Jeff_andrews21). They start out by talking a little bit about AEW and what they do and don't like in the promotion, before quickly moving over to the fourth night of the NJPW World Tag League. Unfortunately this was just not a very good show; John's been raving about the first three nights of the Tag League back over on the Patreon, but this was easily the worst night of the tournament so far. They break down all the tournament matches in detail, talking the few highlights of the night (SANADA & Shingo! Fale actually tries! FinJuice are good! Cobb & O-Khan are a cool new team!) and the lowlights (everything else). Plus, a look at where the Saku City General Gymnasium is in Japan and what shows NJPW has run there over the years, and it's an eclectic mix. Then they turn their attention to DDT for the opening night of the D-Ou Grand Prix, a great show that flew by. John and Jeff break down all the tournament matches, almost all of which were extremely enjoyable sprints. How the hell does Jun Akiyama still do this? How great are Yuki Ueno and Kazusada Higuchi? And a whole lot more. They also look ahead to the next night of the D-Ou and where the tournament might be going from here. And what's with all the aces in every company having depression now?? Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXdA Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we break down the unique combined opening night of Best of the Super Juniors 27 and the 2020 World Tag League! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon will be covering three big tournaments in November & December: NJPW's World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors, and DDT's D-ou Grand Prix! It all kicks off starting Monday 11/16, and you'll get four Patreon-exclusive show reviews this coming week alone! Plus you can get access to all of our previous coverage including daily audio from the recent G1 Climax, complete series covering every Okada-Tanahashi & Naito-Ishii match in chronological order, random match reviews submitted by patrons covering everything from late 80s UWF, early 90s WAR, early 00s AJPW and more, exclusive full 5 Matches episodes you can't get on the free feed, ANIME OMAKASE and a whole lot more! You can get access to all it right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest and longtime friend Quinlan (@IM_NOT_QUINLAN) as they start with the dour note of the second wave meaning they can't get together to watch this show like they planned, but thanks to the miracle of technology they can still do a podcast together on it at least! John and Quinlan do a bit of reminiscing about mid-to-late 00s WWE of all things and some of the shows they attended (with a lot of discussion about No Mercy 2004 for some reason!), and also react a little bit to the VOW flagship's big "New Japan sucks now" segment from this past week (they agree a little but also disagree!). They then turn to the main topic of the evening, breaking down all ten matches from the dual opening night of BOSJ 27/World Tag League 2020 in detail. It was for the most part a real good show (outside of maybe one match) featuring a ton of solid to good wrestling with an awesome main event at the end, and they break it all down for you. Plus, they look ahead to the upcoming second nights of both tournaments, making predictions on all the upcoming matches. It's a great way to kick off two brand new tournaments! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk three big shows from this past week: NJPW Power Struggle, DDT Ultimate Party and Tokyo Joshi Wrestle Princess! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon ( http://www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) will be covering three big tournaments in November & December: NJPW's World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors, and DDT's D-ou! Plus get access to all of our previous coverage including daily audio from the recent G1 Climax, complete series covering every Okada-Tanahashi & Naito-Ishii match in chronological order, random match reviews submitted by patrons covering everything from late 80s UWF, early 90s WAR, early 00s AJPW and more, exclusive full 5 Matches episodes you can't get on the free feed, ANIME OMAKASE and a whole lot more! You can get access to all it right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ( http://www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) ! John is joined by returning guest Hayley ( @choerrycoloured ( http://twitter.com/choerrycoloured ) ) for three big show reviews! Before that they talk a little about the US election, so if you're really sick of election talk (understandable) just skip ahead about 10 minutes to start out. Once that's out of the way they begin their three big show reviews with NJPW Power Struggle, a show John really liked that also featured a major booking decision they weren't a huge fan of. Hayley, as the resident Kota Ibushi superfan, discusses her feelings on Ibushi being the first person to lose the Tokyo Dome briefcase. The two of them break down all six matches in detail, discuss Will Ospreay's (ahem) interesting presentation, and a whole lot more. They also break down the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors schedule and the Super J Cup tournament bracket. Then they turn their attention to DDT Ultimate Party, again reviewing all ten matches on the card. They talk about the emotional DAMNATION civil war, an awesome AJPW/NOAH throwback in Akiyama-Takeshita, losing a match because you tried to hit on a girl on Instagram, and a whole lot more! Finally, they wrap things up with a full review of TJPW Wrestle Princess, an outstanding show that might just be the show of the year. They talk about a truly amazing main event along with the rest of the show, with a lot of praise for the amazing Saki-Misao match as well. Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! ( http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 ) All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord ( https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 ) VOW Network Discord ( https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd ) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we introduce a brand new retro concept for us as we take a completely randomized look back at WCW Halloween Havoc through the years! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon ( http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) brought you coverage of all three major tournaments this fall: the G1 Climax, the AJPW Champion Carnival and the NOAH N-1 Victory. We'll be right back at it again in November & December with three MORE tournaments: the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors & World Tag League, and the DDT D-ou. The only way to hear all of our daily coverage will be to subscribe! Plus, you'll get to hear our exclusive full length episodes like a great 5 Matches episode we did last week with Mike Spears ( https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2020/10/24/wrestling-omakase-176-5-matches-with-mike-spears-ee-otvg/ ) (EE/OTVG), all of our 1 Match episodes covering everything from major NJPW feuds to 90s joshi to deathmatches to WAR and much more, ANIME OMAKASE, etc. You can get access to all of this and more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ( http://patreon.com/wrestlingomakase ) ! John is joined by returning guest & VOW contributor Gerard Di Trolio ( @GerardDiTrolio ( http://twitter.com/@GerardDiTrolio ) ) for the start of a new episode format: Retro Roulette! Instead of just picking five old matches ourselves like we do on the 5 Matches episodes, in this case we've come up with a theme (WCW Halloween Havoc PPVs, for obvious reasons) and then let the randomizer gods choose six random shows, and then one random match from each of those shows. Here's what we ended up with. All can of course be found on the WWE Network, along with many other illicit places I'm sure: 1993- Texas Death (Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal): Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader 1994- Vader vs. The Guardian Angel 1995- Meng vs. Lex Luger 1996- Jeff Jarrett vs. The Giant 1998- US Title: Bret Hart vs. Sting 1999- Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn Topics that come up along the way include: DID WCW EVER BOOK A SINGLE CLEAN FINISH IN ITS HITSORY, Tony Schiavone eats some kids, sometimes old stuff doesn't really hold up, adventures in ripping off the Big Bossman while trying not to get sued, THE MONSTER MENG just gets his ass kicked, why were these WCW 1995 storylines so convoluted and confusing, the awesome nWo set-up at Halloween Havoc '96 and how it really made that storyline work right off the bat, Jarrett sticks and moves against Giant, our only big disagreement on match quality, don't watch Bret Hart vs. Sting based on those two names and expect it to be good, Bret won't wear the nWo shirt (and also won't try), Sting knocks himself unconscious, WCW crowds in 1999 sure hated mat wrestling, Eddie and Saturn were both pretty great, and a whole lot more. Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! ( http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 ) All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it! Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord ( https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 ) VOW Network Discord ( https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd ) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we break down the last two nights of the G1 including the controversial B block finals and the divisive overall final, then give a full review of everyone's tournaments, breaking them down wrestler-by-wrestler! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon brought you coverage of all three major tournaments this fall: the G1 Climax, the AJPW Champion Carnival and the NOAH N-1 Victory. If you haven't been following along it's all archived up there for you right now if you sign up, including our A block final audio with a special guest! Plus we'll be getting back to great retro coverage coming up soon, and next week it will be the only place to hear an Omakase episode at all since we're taking the week off here on the free feed. Finally, we'll be covering three MORE tournaments in November & December: NJPW's World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors, and DDT's D-ou! You can get access to all of this and much more right now for only $5 at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest Todd Martin (@ToddMartinMMA), making his debut here on the free feed after an earlier Patreon episode. John and Todd start by talking about interesting ads during election season before getting right into the G1 action. They review the B block finals from Saturday and the final night from Sunday, covering all the matches on both shows with a lot of thoughts on SANADA and EVIL in particular. They also discuss some of the many matches being teased for the upcoming Power Struggle tour. Finally, the show ends with our full G1 Climax 30 wrap-up, as John and Todd each list their ten favorite matches of the tournament and John ranks all 20 wrestlers by their average star rating (yes, real nerd shit here) with Todd giving his thoughts on each of their tournaments as well. A fun end to a fun G1! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we discuss two great nights of the G1 (including the best night so far) and an incredible final in the NOAH N-1 Victory! The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your only place to get our full coverage of all three tournaments from New Japan, All Japan and NOAH. Weekend shows will be covered here on the free feed, but John will bring even more daily coverage of the weekday shows exclusive to the Patreon, including with guests too! We'll be breaking down the stretch run all week on the Omakase Patreon, and it will be the only place to hear our coverage of Nights 15, 16, and 17 (the A block finals from Ryogoku!). Plus, you can hear all the other tournament shows we've covered there so far dating back to September (including the AJPW Champion Carnival finals from this past week!) and the rest of our great audio content as well. It's all up there right now for just $5 per month at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest JoJo Remy (@jojo_runs) as they start by talking about the state of COVID in Japan (where JoJo is joining us from!) and the announcement of a tourism opening date. Then they quickly head into their show reviews, starting with Nights 13 & 14 of the G1 Climax! They break down some incredible matches, discuss MONEY CLIP GATE in great detail, break down what EVIL is and isn't good at, and a whole lot more. After the G1 they head back to the land of NOAH for the final night of the 2020 N-1 Victory, a great show featuring an absolutely incredible final with Kaito Kiyomiya and Katsuhiko Nakajima. They discuss whether both or either are legit Most Outstanding Wrestler contenders, plus break down the whole show match-by-match including a great junior title match (and touch on some of the controversy surrounding Kaz Fujita). A packed show of tournament action! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase a couple of G1 Climax B Block Defenders™ report for duty, and we wrap up a great NOAH N-1 Victory as well. The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your only place to get our full coverage of all three tournaments from New Japan, All Japan and NOAH. Weekend shows will be covered here on the free feed, but John will bring even more daily coverage of the weekday shows exclusive to the Patreon, including with guests too! We'll have four more straight days of coverage on the Patreon, including a doubleheader tomorrow (Monday 10/5) with returning guest Paul Volsch on G1 Night 9 & the Champion Carnival finals, and then three more days of exclusive G1 reviews. Plus, if you sign up now you can listen to all our coverage from September as well as the rest of the coverage in October! It's all up there right now for just $5 per month at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by returning guest Skylar (@Twwitterdotcom) for a whole lot of interesting takes on a whole lot of topics, including, uh, what's in the news lately. John also re-tells a memorable story based on a recent topic: their infamous run-in with Harold Meij. Then they discuss Night 8 of the G1 Climax from this past Thursday in Niigata, a B block show headlined by Tetsuya Naito and SANADA. John and Skylar are both major B block apologists so they try to defend a block that's been maligned in some corners of the Western puro internet and try to describe why they actually prefer it to A block at this point. Plus, they review all the matches from the night, John gives their top 10 matches of the G1 so far and their top (and bottom) performers, and we look ahead to Night 9's A block show. Then they turn their attention to the final block night from Pro Wrestling NOAH's N-1 Victory, again breaking down all the tournament matches as well as the junior battle royale. The battle royale also leads us to talking the NOAH junior division and its many, many turns, but they spend plenty of time on the heavyweights and their matches as well. They wrap things up with John giving their top 10 matches of the tournament and again top and bottom performers, and both of them looking ahead to the NOAH N-1 Victory finals from next weekend, which look awesome. They also do a brief look at the upcoming AJPW Champion Carnival finals as well. Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk a couple of Night 5s from two different tournaments- from a G1 Climax that's still in the early stages and a Champion Carnival that's going out with a whimper. The Wrestling Omakase Patreon is your only place to get our full coverage of all three tournaments from New Japan, All Japan and NOAH. Weekend shows will be covered here on the free feed, but John will bring even more daily coverage of the weekday shows exclusive to the Patreon, including with returning guests too! We dropped FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS of coverage on the Patreon earlier this week, including Champion Carnival Night 4 on Monday, N-1 Victory on Tuesday, a huge tripleheader (with a longtime returning guest Thomas Fischbeck!) with a G1 show and the day/night N-1 shows on Wednesday, and another G1 show on Thursday. And we've got even more to come this week- N-1 on Monday, G1 on Tuesday & Wednesday, and the Champion Carnival finals on the following Monday, plus much more. Don't miss out on a single minute of our great coverage- sign up for just $5 per month at www.patreon.com/wrestlingomakase! John is joined by VOW contributor and first-time guest Jon Hernandez (@FatmansAlright). John and Jon start by talking Night 5 of the G1 Climax from Kobe World Hall, a show they both liked but both are a little lower on than a lot of other people seem to be. They discuss whether or not a ****1/4 match can be a disappointment, some issues they had with Ospreay-Shingo that took it down a few notches, another underwhelming Okada main event (and yes we know it's a storyline, thanks), and more. They then go over the standings in the A Block so far, each give their top ten matches in the tournament through the first five nights, and look ahead to the next show on Tuesday from Korakuen. Then John & Jon turn their attention to the final block night of the AJPW Champion Carnival, Night 5 from Kanagawa, which like most of this tournament so far was pretty bad! They break down all of their problems with this tournament, from the match quality to the booking, and ask a very simple question- is Shuji Ishikawa the worst booker in Japan today? They then review all eight matches on this quite crappy card, including one of the worst finishes of all time (yes, really). Finally, they wrap things up by going over each of their top 5 matches in the tournament (such as they are) and discussing the individual performances of each wrestler, with John giving their average star ratings for everyone. Spoiler alert: they're pretty bad! Support Wrestling Omakase with a donation through Red Circle! All donations are split with that week's guest. We really appreciate it: http://bit.ly/2o42FP6 Wrestling Omakase has dedicated channels on TWO Discords! Come join either one where you can chat with John and show guests and submit questions for future episodes! Super J-Cast Discord: https://discord.gg/zWEgNK5 VOW Network Discord: https://discord.gg/rGTXwXd Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands