Wrestling Omakase

It's another John & John episode! John Bivins is back as the two of them break down an outstanding end to the New Japan Cup, talking the final two quarterfinal matches from night 10, both semifinals from night 11, and then the entire final night including of course the tournament final itself. Lots of talk about NJPW's young generation really stepping up, Shota Umino maybe forcing people to take some Ls (including at least one John!) and more, plus a look ahead to what the rest of the year might look like. Then it's over to DDT to talk an equally outstanding Judgement show from Korakuen Hall, a very deep card that showed off their huge bounty of young talent. We also discuss the very sad news of Kazusada Higuchi's sudden retirement.Afterward we break down AJPW's Hachioji show from 3/20, a weird card featuring a Triple Crown title match and not a whole lot else. Finally, we wrap things up with some of the highlights from all four TJPW shows down in Texas, and then a full preview of next weekend's big Grand Princess show!John Bivins' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/punkrock.darkroast/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

John and returning guest Velkej Bracha start with their usual banter/assorted nonsense, before then discussing the recent announcement of Shinjuku FACE's impending closure and the enormous hole it will be leaving in the Japanese wrestling scene. Then they discuss the last two nights of the STARDOM Cinderella Tournament in great detail, beginning with the 3/11 Korakuen and then the finals on 3/15 from Yokohama. They also look ahead to the enormous Saya Kamitani vs. Sayaka Kurara red belt vs. unit disbands match, and discuss where the promotion could possibly be going from here in general. Then it's over to NJPW to discuss five (!) nights of the New Japan Cup, spanning most of the 2nd round and then also the first two quarterfinal matches- a real rollercoaster experience featuring some of the very best AND very worst matches of the entire year so far! Velkej's last topic of the show is a pretty deep dive on Marigold, as they break down some of their business, discuss their trainees, and review their 3/14 Korakuen show.John then goes it alone to review two more shows, a decent AJPW Korakuen from 3/15 and a truly horrible GLEAT show from Shinjuku FACE on 3/12. Again, who else is even covering GLEAT? Well, maybe the answer will be no one soon enough because John is *this close* to dropping them.....Follow Velkej on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Velkej_BrachaFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's another absurdly jampacked show covering all of the biggest promotions in Japan and some of the smallest too, men's and women's! John is joined by returning guest John DK for their first solo episode together (he had previously appeared during the WK preview) and they DEFINITELY DON'T WEEB OUT IN EMBARRASSING FASHION FOR 20+ MINUTES. Nosiree. Once they get into the actual wrestling topics for this episode, it's, uh, not a short list:-Nights 1-3 of the 2026 STARDOM Cinderella Tournament covered in great detail! Already a great tournament and it's not even over yet!-Nights 1-4 of the New Japan Cup, which includes the Anniversary Show. Uh, this kinda fucking sucked!-NOAH's 3/8 Yokohama Budokan show featuring a great main event and a very confusing end of show segment!-DG's 3/3 Korakuen show that continued their uninspiring run of late!-Tokyo Joshi's 3/7 show from Shin Kiba 1st Ring continuing their build to Ryogoku at the end of the month! How does Yuki Arai keep doing this??-Ice Ribbon's 3/8 show from Itabashi, because this is officially an Ice Ribbon podcast now!-And finally, the special Universe Magic show from (the sadly closing!!!) Shinjuku FACE!Yeah, that's a lot of stuff huh? No wonder this went so long!Check out John DK's website here: https://dk1105.neocities.org/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by returning guest (and A+ drinking buddy) Paul Volsch from the Emerald FlowShow, their first time talking since they were just in Japan together for Wrestle Kingdom season! They reminisce a little of course, John tries to convince Paul to go again in December, and then John reveals that they'll be making their Wrestlemania weekend debut this year! Then it's on to the actual shows we're here to talk about, starting with another one John saw live in person: NJPW's New Beginning in US show from beautiful (??) Trenton, New Jersey! Lots of notes about how the crowd reacted in person, some praise for a change for NJPW booking, and a lot more!After that it's back to shows that actually took place in Japan, starting with STARDOM's 2/28 Korakuen. John & Paul discuss a typically good effort from the hottest promotion in the country (they drew 1601 for a white belt match and no Saya to be found!). Then it's over to NOAH for their own Korakuen show from 3/1, nothing blowaway but a much better effort than their last couple attempts at least. Finally, they head back to DG for a pair of house shows in Osaka on 2/28 & 3/1, as they discuss the follow-up to the almost universally panned Fukuoka show from last week.Emerald FlowShow: https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshowFollow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social"Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is back with another packed episode, and unfortunately a lot of these shows were #bad. But hey, our returning guest Eric aka Snazzy from the Joshi-ing Around podcast and the Social Suplex newsletter is never bad! John & Eric discuss an absolutely wretched Dragongate Uno Dos Tres show from Fukuoka, as they unfortunately turned in a supremely poor effort for one of their biggest shows of the year. Then it's over to AJPW for their 2/23 Ota Ward Gym show, which cleared the DG show but was still fairly middling, before they wrap up the men's portion of the episode with (thankfully!) a show that was actually good in DDT's 2/23 Korakuen, featuring a bonafide MOTYC!Then it's over to the world of joshi starting with two STARDOM shows from 2/20 (Saori's homecoming show) & 2/21 (from Osaka EDION 2)- mostly standard house show fare, but with a few unique touches. They also speculate on who might win the upcoming Cinderella Tournament, and Snazzy has quite the idea on what the Yokohama Arena main event could end up being. After that they review Marigold's 2/23 Korakeun show, which unfortunately took us back to the land of sucking. They wrap things up with two more smaller joshi promotions' recent shows, Sendai Girls' 2/15 Sendai Pit show and a very rare Ice Ribbon show review (their 2/23 Yokohama show). A real mixed bag of an episode here, but hey, if you wanna hear effusive praise for some stuff and absolute burials at the same time, this is sure the one for you!Joshi-ing Around podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/1309343e-3781-4750-9209-4efbc9976ab6Social Suplex newsletter: https://www.socialsuplex.com/newsletter/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The John & John: Both Took At Least One Bump Connection™ are back once again, as John is joined by John Bivins for another long path through a whole lot of Japanese wrestling! First up: a full review of NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, featuring some weird vibes but also some great wrestling. Also was Jake Lee really that bad? The answer may surprise you! Then John & John give a full preview of the New Japan Cup as they both pick who will advance in each match, who will end up being the winner who goes on to Sakura Genesis and more. Plus a brief preview of the New Beginning in USA show and the two junior title matches announced for the Anniversary Show!Then they bounce around the rest of Japan via five Korakuen shows from five different companies: STARDOM from 2/13 (feat. good vibes and shining wizard bumps), Tokyo Joshi from 2/14 (feat. an Ober Eats burial but also a lot of stuff we really liked!), NOAH from 2/11 (feat. oh god please make it stop and by "it" we mean Team 2000X), AJPW from 2/15 (feat. some stuff and also what the fuck is up with that Champion Carnival lineup), and finally GLEAT also from 2/11 (feat. The End of the Anti-GLE Monsters, RIP I guess).John Bivins' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/punkrock.darkroast/Sport of Pro Wrestling's New Japan Cup 2026 Pick 'em Contest: https://sportofprowrestling.com/njpw/njc-26-challengeFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"We're back to our regular format for another episode of Omakase, as John is once again joined by returning guest Arametha to break down a ton of Japanese wrestling. But first: alpine skiing, for some reason. Then it's off to STARDOM to talk their 1/31 Korakuen and their VERY newsworthy 2/7 Osaka show, with some thoughts on Is There Too Much HATE, which seems to be the big debate of the day. Over in NJPW, they discuss two strong Road to shows and then preview the big New Beginning in Osaka event, as well as talk yet another major departure in Hiromu Takahashi. Then they head to the world of Dragongate to review their 2/5 Korakuen, which seems to have gotten a very mixed reaction online- it definitely had its share of both good and bad. Finally, they wrap things up with a quick review of the opening night of NOAH's Jr. Tag League, also from Korakuen, and discuss how NOAH feels a bit like it's stuck in place at the moment.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social"Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

With Japanese wrestling having an uncharacteristically quiet week, it's the perfect opportunity for us to take a look back at the best of 2025! Voices of Wrestling just rolled out its 2025 Match of the Year poll (always one of the coolest things the site does every year), and John is joined by four fellow voters: Joshi-ing Around's Tim Hunter, Social Suplex's Chris Whitehead, VOW's Sean Sedor and Brady from, uh, an organic cooking company? Anyway! All five of them go over their own personal ten favorite matches from 2025 in great detail, as it's basically 4+ hours of them raving about what they loved most in wrestling last year (and also throwing some shade about what they didn't love so much- ok, mostly just John does that). Then, as if that wasn't enough 2025 award audio for you, John also recorded 45 minutes of solo audio that's tacked onto the end where they go over their Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards ballot in detail, explaining who they voted and why for Flair/Thesz, Most Outstanding Wrestler, Best Promotion and a whole lot more!Voices of Wrestling 2025 MOTY: https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2025motyJoshi-ing Around podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/1309343e-3781-4750-9209-4efbc9976ab6Social Suplex newsletter: https://www.socialsuplex.com/newsletter/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is finally back to its regularly scheduled programming, as we're once again going weekly from here on out following our part-time schedule earlier in January (due to a combo of Japan trip, post-Japan trip blues/jet lag and then work stuff). John is joined by returning guest Velkej Bracha to discuss NJPW's 1/19 & 1/20 Road to New Beginning Korakuens (feat. the end of EVIL, a classic tag match, and a hot unit feud), STARDOM's 1/21 Korakuen (feat. the Tokyo HATE Squad Showdown and more blissful Maki/Saori interactions) and Marigold's 1/24 Korakuen (feat. Mayu Iwatani's 15th anniversary, now without STARDOM IP). People needing to take Ls is a big overriding theme as you'll find out. Then John goes solo to discuss two more shows, DDT's 1/25 Korakuen (feat. unit movement and A Second Suzuki Incident Has Struck The Building) and GLEAT's 1/20 Shinjuku FACE show. Yes, this is a GLEAT podcast now, apparently. Who knew?Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Well folks, it's finally here. After we couldn't tear ourselves away from the karaoke rooms, Club MOGRA, or.....other activities long enough to get you an Omakase live from Japan this time, returning guest Arametha and I are here to recap 16 days and 22 shows of absolute insanity. We talk about attending everything from Wrestle Kingdom & Dream Queendom to Just Tap Out and Sportiva, plus answer YOUR questions about food, who the best karaoke performer was, what the gayest thing Arametha ever saw in his life was (hint: John did it), and much much more! I could never possibly do this one justice with a longer description, so just enjoy 4 hours and 47 minutes of utter depravity.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is back already after going 9 and a half hours for our two part Wrestle Kingdom Week preview, but thankfully this time we kept it under 3.5 hours. Yes, somehow! John and returning guest Arametha are just a few days away from leaving from Japan and somehow manage to keep the off topic/trip chatter to a minimum (well, at the start at least- later on there's a Gundam tangent among other things), and that's a good thing because they have a whole bunch of final wrestling shows to talk about leading up to all the upcoming big ones! They open up with (what else?) STARDOM with a trio of shows: the special 12/18 PPV from Shin Kiba featuring the "first and last" Natsu & Saori vs. Team 200KG match, 12/21 from Osaka in front of another super hot crowd, and finally the 12/24 Korakuen. They discuss a very long title reign coming to an end, how John is feeling about Saori Anou's red belt chances in the final days before Dream Queendom, and a whole lot more!Then it's over to NJPW to discuss the Road to Tokyo Dome shows: first, the continued road to Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement as he took on Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado, then the full 12/22 Korakuen featuring his main event with Kosei Fujita, a baffling TV Title match, a lot of angles of varying quality heading into Wrestle Kingdom, and much more! DDT is next up with their own last Korakuen of the year on 12/21, as they break down an excellent KO-D title match, ass paint, and more, then discuss the upcoming D-Generations tournament.In NOAH, they review the 12/23 Korakuen featuring an excellent tag match from the juniors and a bunch of other stuff that also existed. Finally, they wrap things up with some Dragongate talk as they review their 12/16 Korakuen, and Arametha gives some interesting thoughts in particular as a longtime puro fan who never really watched DG before this year. Another fun show, and up next we'll be coming live from Japan!Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the biggest episode of Wrestling Omakase ever- so big in fact that we had to split it in two, and here's the second part! John is back with an absolutely enormous lineup of 13 (!) guests for a two-part preview of Wrestle Kingdom Week, as we break down a simply absurd number of different promotions- 20 in total. All of our guests start by giving their opinions on each promotion's 2025 by giving them a letter grade, with thoughts on what went well and what could have gone better, as well as a look ahead at what 2026 could be for each one in general. Then we break down the Wrestle Kingdom Week schedule for every promotion: everything from the big ones (Wrestle Kingdom, Dream Queendom, Marigold at Ota Ward, TJPW's annual 1/4 Korakuen and more!) to the many other Korakuens and tiny shows being held all over the rest of Tokyo. No stone is left unturned in this one- it's a total breakdown of all of Japanese wrestling!Part 2 focuses on all of the women's (joshi) promotions. Please see below for the exact list of promotions covered in the order they appear on the show:-Marigold-Tokyo Joshi-Actwres girl'Z-STARDOM-OZ Academy-Ice Ribbon-Marvelous-SEAdLINNNG-ChocoPro-Diana-Pure-J-WAVEIn addition to covering all these different promotions, reviewing and recapping their years and looking ahead to their WK Week shows, we also get the breaking news of Saya Kamitani becoming the first ever women's wrestler to win the Tokyo Sports MVP while we were recording the AWG segment of this episode, so we all react to that live on the air!The guests who appear in Part 2, in their order of appearance, are below:-Dylan (Eastern Lariat: https://easternlariat.libsyn.com/)-Arametha-John DK (Check out his website here: https://dk1105.neocities.org/)-Jamie (DramaticDDT: https://dramaticddt.wordpress.com/)-Tim (Joshi-ing around podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5vEhF921sFtprCxTsWhqt6?si=d1da6785766042cd)-Snazzy (Also Joshi-ing around!)-Velkej Bracha (ActWres Stage podcast)-Rodrigo-Xyon (Derailments of Thought blog: https://derailmentsofthought.com/)Don't forget to check out Part 1 (Episode 276) if you missed it, which featured all of the men's promotions (NJPW, NOAH, AJPW, DDT & more!).Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the biggest episode of Wrestling Omakase ever- so big in fact that this is only part 1! John is back with an absolutely enormous lineup of 13 (!) guests for a two-part preview of Wrestle Kingdom Week, as we break down a simply absurd number of different promotions- 20 in total. All of our guests start by giving their opinions on each promotion's 2025 by giving them a letter grade, with thoughts on what went well and what could have gone better, as well as a look ahead at what 2026 could be for each one in general. Then we break down the Wrestle Kingdom Week schedule for every promotion: everything from the big ones (Wrestle Kingdom, Dream Queendom, NOAH at the Budokan, AJPW at Yoyogi) to the many Korakuens and tiny shows being held all over the rest of Tokyo. No stone is left unturned in this one- it's a total breakdown of all of Japanese wrestling!Part 1 focuses on all of the men's promotions. Please see below for the exact list of promotions covered in the order they appear on the show:-NOAH-AJPW-NJPW-DDT-BASARA-Ganbare-BJW-GLEATHere's the full list of guests that appeared on Part 1, in order of their appearances:-Paul (Emerald FlowShow: https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshow)-Yuri (A Brazilian Pro Wrestler! Check out his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yurionerd/)-John Bivins (An American indie wrestler! https://www.facebook.com/john.bivins.372)-Jamie (DramaticDDT: https://dramaticddt.wordpress.com/)-Arametha-Dylan (Eastern Lariat: https://easternlariat.libsyn.com/)-QuinlanIn Part 2 we'll cover twelve more promotions from the world of joshi, so look out for that episode soon!Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase, John is joined by returning guest Snazzy from Social Suplex & the Joshi-ing Around podcast, as they start out with- you guessed it- Japan travel talk! Whoa, what a shock! There's like 30 minutes of it I think if you'd like to fast forward to the actual wrestling- there's your damn timestamp for ya. Then they discuss the last four nights of the Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League- nights 10 (11/26), 11 (11/28), 12 (11/29) & the finals (11/30). They break down all the remaining tournament matches, discuss who the best & worst teams in the field ended up being, talk about the rather heartwarming little story they ran with Bozilla & Akira Kurogane, break down Saori Anou's recent losing streak and what it may (or may not) mean for the Dream Queendom main event, discuss the return of Maika, and finally of course talk about the crowning of Sakurara as this year's champions!Up next they discuss DDT's 11/30 Korakuen show, which featured Super Sasadango Machine in the main event title challenger position, a great match with Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki, The Greatest Weapon In Wrestling History, problem gambling, and a whole lot more! They also look ahead to what's coming next across not just DDT but also Tokyo Joshi and Ganbare as well. Finally, they wrap things up with Sendai Girls' 11/22 show from Fukuoka, which just so happened to be Mika Iwata's 10th Anniversary Show! They discuss another unfortunate performance from YUNA, FWC finally appearing as themselves instead of fake Mexicans, Mika celebrating her tenth anniversary by NOT having to job for once (!!!), some definitely real sexual tension with her and a certain wrestler, and a whole lot more!Here's the link to the newest Social Suplex newsletter that Snazzy plugged on the air: https://www.socialsuplex.com/frontpage-11/Joshi-ing around podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5vEhF921sFtprCxTsWhqt6?si=d1da6785766042cdFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by returning guest Velkej Bracha as they start out by discussing bad booking (AEW, because John went to Full Gear for god knows what reason) and good booking (STARDOM, despite what you may have heard!). And, uh, vaccines I guess? Then they move into their planned topics for the episode, which start out with NOAH's 11/21 Cross Over show from Sendai. John discusses NOAH absolutely bombing at the gate, Kaito Kiyomiya's continued very bad year, Team 2000X being like the House without any of the charm, and the NOAH juniors saving the day. Then they get into the actual House, as they do a full review of the special PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE event produced by everyone's favorite unit from last week at Korakuen! Yeah! Topics include: SANADA thankfully not being a Nazi, double duty Dick Togo, NJPW clearly wants to get their hands on Kaisei Takechi, Saya Kamitani slaps the shit out of a pimp, and KYUUUSHOOOO!Then it's back to STARDOM for two more nights of their ongoing Goddesses tag league, one of which was one of the best tag league shows so far and one of which, uh, was not. Saori & Poi are finally back (thank god), so really the day is saved no matter what. John then tries to get into all the remaining block scenarios for the last two nights but probably fucks it up, because it's complicated and they're kind of stupid. Sorry! They stick with joshi as they head to Sendai Girls next to review their 11/18 show from....wow....Sendai? Is that right?! They discuss Spike Nishimura having a hell of a performance, Mika Iwata actually winning a match (!) and a disappointing main. Finally, they wrap things up with OZ Academy's 11/23 Korakuen show, which might be the first time they've ever been reviewed on this podcast. It's a hell of a retirement show for former GAEA wrestler Sonoko Kato, and they go into it all in detail.Fill out this form if you're interested in appearing on our Wrestle Kingdom Week preview show (deadline for submissions is 11/30!): https://forms.gle/PoTPsfetRribc4Av9Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social"Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase the double John connection is back at it again, as John is once again joined by John Bivins! First, some complaints about a much too tiny anime convention John just went to, plus John B. also went to a renaissance faire (can you believe both these people have girlfriends??) where he ran into a Randy Savage impersonator, for some reason. Hear all about it! Once the assorted wackiness is out of the way the two of them start off with a pair of Korakuen shows from joshi promotions: first, Sendai Girls' 11/16 show that just so happens to have been Chihiro Hashimoto's 10th anniversary event. They discuss a Chihiro vs. Sareee match that's getting MOTYC buzz, Mika Iwata making an extremely appropriate tribute, the finals of the Jaja Uma tournament for young wrestlers and more!The second Korakuen show comes to us from Dream Star Fighting Marigold, as they talk about a match that both of them really loved, some stuff they were more meh on, another very strange Rossy booking decision and where things look to be going heading into their 1/3 PPV show from Ota Ward.Next, they head back to STARDOM for four more nights of the Goddesses tag league, two of which were quite good and two of which, well, weren't really. Plus: the We Hate STARDOM crew is at it again with maybe their dumbest complaint yet (and that's REALLY saying something), and the standings look to be taking shape, for better or worse.And for the sake of diversity they finally talk some men's wrestling, as they break down NOAH's 11/15 show from Osaka that featured two second round matches in their junior tournament, a very strange GHC Tag #1 contenders match, and a preview tag for next week's Mr. Smack Daddy vs. The Dang Joker showdown. Things are weird in NOAH these days!Fill out this form if you're interested in appearing on our Wrestle Kingdom Week preview show (deadline for submissions is 11/30!): https://forms.gle/PoTPsfetRribc4Av9Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialCheck out John Bivins on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.bivins.372And on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/punkrock.darkroast/And here's a random clip of John B. provoking an old lady: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1piF6ngT9lv-gX-1LZggZLc4bSvnQKMnr/view?usp=sharingAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by returning guest Paul Volsch of VOW's own Emerald FlowShow (https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshow) as they start things out with a bit of discussion about the recent announcement of Kazuchika Okada as Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement opponent. Once that unfortunate topic is out of the way, they break down NOAH's 11/8 Korakuen show which featured two title changes, one welcome and one not-so-welcome. Plus, they discuss where NOAH might be going for the big 1/1 Nippon Budokan show and look ahead to the rest of their November.Next up, John & Paul break down the opening three nights of the Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League- 11/7 from Korakuen Hall, 11/8 from Gunma and 11/9 from Nagano. They talk the surprising reveal of HANAKO's mystery opponent, fake luchadoras, Mean Bozilla, a whole lot of solid tag matches and more, before looking ahead to an even more packed four tournament nights for next week.Then they give a full review of Tokyo Joshi's 11/9 Korakuen show, which happened to be one they both very much enjoyed. They discuss an outstanding main event, some issues with the tag title match, a bunch of other enjoyable undercard matches and TJPW announcing a match for their 1/4 show that has them both psyched. Finally, they wrap things up by heading back to Dragongate for the first time in a while, with John giving some short-form thoughts on the top matches from their two Osaka shows last week before getting in to a full review of the King of Gate opener from Korakuen on 11/6!Fill out this form if you're interested in appearing on our Wrestle Kingdom Week preview show: https://forms.gle/PoTPsfetRribc4Av9Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk a trio of big shows from big companies! But first, John REALLY doesn't want to talk about what just happened to the Toronto Blue Jays, but for some reason returning guest Arametha insisted, so there's that. Also there's a little bit of talk about everyone's favorite subject, AMERICAN POLITICS! Yeah! And some other stuff too, who even knows at this point. Probably the Japan trip I'm guessing.The first real topic of the show though is STARDOM (as usual), as they talk about the Crimson Nightmare show that took place on Monday 11/3 from Ota Ward Gym. John & Arametha do things a little backward here as they first discuss what's coming up in STARDOM next, mainly with the two Saya Kamitani title matches announced for Dream Queendom and Wrestle Kingdom. John gives their case for why Saya might actually lose to Saori Anou, despite what current conventional wisdom would seem to have you believe. Then they get into a full review of the show featuring a very controversial Saya vs. Momo Watanabe main event, the end of Starlight Kid's epic white belt reign, yet another High Speed title defense for Mei Seira and more. Finally, they wrap up the STARDOM portion with a look ahead to the upcoming Goddesses of STARDOM Tag League that kicks off in just a couple days, giving some early picks for who might make it out of each block and even win the entire thing.Next up they head over to New Japan and again do things kind of backwards, first looking ahead to the upcoming World Tag League and giving the thoughts on the (kind of hilarious!) field of competitors. Then they review the top matches from the Hiroshi Tanahashi Homecoming show on 11/2 from Gifu, discussing the finals of the world's most pointless tournament that apparently made everyone except John really mad, Tanahashi having one more great match against Yota Tsuji in his hometown, how we somehow STILL don't know who Tana's retirement opponent will be, and a Takeshita main event that John almost skipped right over.The last but certainly not least slot goes to DDT for their annual Ultimate Party show, also from 11/3 at Ryogoku. John & Arametha break down the entire ten match card in detail, discussing some truly funny comedy, a lot of fun matches, and the good vibes around this promotion right now in general. They also speculate a little on what might be coming next with the tease of Takeshita vs. Takechi, and look ahead to some future cards in general. Yet another packed show!Fill out this form if you're interested in appearing on our Wrestle Kingdom Week preview show: https://forms.gle/PoTPsfetRribc4Av9Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Wrestling Omakase we've got another packed trip around most of the Japanese wrestling world! John is joined by returning guest Snazzy from Joshi ing Around & Social Suplex as they start things out with Marigold's enormous Shine Forever show from Ryogoku, which they both agree was the fledgling promotion's very best show of all time so far! They discuss a stacked top of the lineup featuring the first Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani match in well over seven years, a very divisive red belt match with a shocking finish, a white belt match they both have lots of praise for and a whole lot more. Plus some thoughts on the attendance and a lot of hot takes about recent joshi discourse and a lot more!Then they head over to STARDOM to talk about two more shows from the World Wonder Ring- Starlight Kid's 10th anniversary show from Shinjuku FACE on 10/20 and the 10/27 Korakuen. They discuss the insubstantial but amusing SLK anniversary show and then a Korakuen show that was pretty average all things considered. They also discuss where things could be headed with Saya & Momo and again make fun of some very, very dumb takes. The joshi portion of the podcast wraps up with Tokyo Joshi's own 10/18 Korakuen as they talk a great Princess of Princess title match, QUIZ SHOWS, new foreigners and more!The men's wrestling portion kicks off with DDT's 10/19 Korakuen show featuring both the regular and six-man tag titles on the line, as they also give a brief preview of next Monday's Ultimate Party show (also from Ryogoku). Finally, they end the show with AJPW's 10/22 Korakuen, as John again is less than enthused with the current state of Zen Nihon.Joshi ing around podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5vEhF921sFtprCxTsWhqt6?si=d1da6785766042cdFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wrestling Omakase is back for a very special episode! John is joined by returning guests Paul Wedding (@PaulEWedding on Twitter) and Jeff Andrews, as well as first time guest Adam Berger, to break down all the candidates in the Japan region of the 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame voting in detail! Here's everybody covered on this week's episode in order:-Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan-Yoshiaki Fujiwara-Hayabusa-Masaaki Mochizuki-Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi-Zack Sabre Jr.-Meiko Satomura-Io Shirai/Iyo Sky-Tiger Jeet Singh-Yoshihiro Takayama-Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada-Bobby Bruns-Joe Higuchi-Rossy Ogawa-Koichi YoshizawaAs you can probably imagine, this leads to a wide-ranging discussion on both Japanese wrestling history and even some stuff on current wrestling as well- a very fun three-ish hours! John, Paul and Adam are all Observer Hall of Fame voters and reveal their ballots (or at least where they're leaning), as well as break down how the entire process works for those who might be unfamiliar. Plus, they briefly discuss how they're leaning in the Modern US category at the end as well. A very fun trip through wrestling history!Adam's Hayabusa HoF article he mentioned on the show: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2022/11/14/hayabusa-is-a-wrestling-observer-newsletter-hall-of-famer/Adam's archive on VOW: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/author/adambomb87/Check out Paul's wrestling substack here: http://pwfg.substack.comCheck out Paul's wrestling interviews for his radio station here: http://WFAA.comFollow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy