Wrestling Omakase

No exploding tooth or sudden new job could keep these two Johns off the air! Your humble host is having a slightly harder time talking than usual, but they gut through it for YOU, THE LISTENER, as they break down a surprisingly strong opening night of AJPW's 2026 Champion Carnival! Plus, full reviews of two STARDOM Korakuens back to back as the road to Yokohama Arena (finally) heats up, an enormous Sendai Girls Korakuen with a crazy woman almost breaking her face, THE FINAL GLEAT REVIEW IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PODCAST (maybe), and finally, two perfectly fine little Tokyo Joshi shows from Vancouver.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

Arametha is back with John and (for maybe the first time ever??) we're actually leading off with Tokyo Joshi! Wow! It's a long, detailed review of TJPW's biggest show of the year, Grand Princess from Ryogoku Kokugikan, featuring a legitimate match of the year contender, three big title changes, Super Sentai fights, idol singers with swords and a whole lot more! Then it's over to NJPW for a full and detailed preview of this weekend's Sakura Genesis show, with lots of baseless speculation on where the return of Will Ospreay might be going from here. Afterward we go right back to joshi with a full review of the 3/22 Sareee-ism X show from Yokohama Budokan, breaking down a ton of interesting names from all over the joshi world. Finally, they wrap things up with STARDOM's New Blood 30 show from Shin Kiba 1st Ring, a great show that may have gone under the radar for you but definitely shouldn't have!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

"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

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

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

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

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

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 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 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

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