Wrestling Omakase #276: Wrestle Kingdom Week 2025-26 Preview Part 1 (NJPW, NOAH, AJPW, DDT, BASARA, Ganbare, BJW & GLEAT)

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.socialSupport 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, 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.socialSupport 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 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"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 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=sharingSupport 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 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.socialSupport 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 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.socialSupport 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'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.socialSupport 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 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

After a brief one week absence Wrestling Omakase is back on the air with another packed show talking four shows from all around the Japanese wrestling world! 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 some chat about the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom trip they'll both be on together, plus John celebrates the Blue Jays beating the Yankees in the ALDS! Yeah! Once that's all out of the way it's time for NJPW talk, as they break down three matches from their recent 10/6 Korakuen (including a truly baffling junior title change) and then the entire King of Pro Wrestling show from Monday 10/13. Lots of thoughts of course on the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, where things might be going now for the Tokyo Dome, and a ton of praise for a truly amazing tag team title match. Plus, thoughts on the surprising IWGP Women's Title change in the opener and much more, including the show kind of bombing at the gate.Then it's over to the green ring of NOAH for another Ryogoku show from two days earlier, Wrestle Odyssey, which also kind of bombed! They discuss a pretty underwhelming overall show, a big return from the US, a great junior tag title match and a lot more, before looking ahead to what's coming up next for NOAH on their two upcoming Korakuen Hall shows. Following that they break down STARDOM's 10/11 Korakuen Hall show, another kind of underwhelming show that still featured some interesting matches and moments but in the midst of a bit of a sleepy period for the promotion. Finally, they review Dragongate's 10/8 Korakuen which featured an amazing top two matches, discuss their favorites and least favorites among DG's interesting crop of young wrestlers, and give a brief look ahead at the King of Gate tournament.Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialSupport 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 absolutely jam packed episode as John & returning guest Arametha have major shows from SIX different Japanese promotions to break down! But first, John celebrates the first AL East title from the Toronto Blue Jays in a decade! Sad, but also hell yeah! Then the two of them start out- where else- but with the World Wonder Ring STARDOM, as they cover their 9/23 Osaka & 9/27 Korakuen shows that both set new all-time company attendance records in their respective buildings! They discuss a hot promotion staying hotter, yet more mainstream attention in Japan, Natsupoi slapping the shit out of some old comedian, an absolutely incredible Saya Kamitani vs. AZM double title match (that you can watch for free on Youtube!), and finally react to the news of Momo Watanabe challenging Saya in November and what that might mean for the Dream Queendom main event.Then they head over to the land of the Shin Nihon freaks (?) starting out with two great junior title matches from Sapporo on 9/24 that you may have missed. Then it's a full review of the entire Destruction in Kobe show, as they discuss yet another show where the NJPW roster put on plenty of great matches but were let down by substandard booking.Then it's over to NOAH for the N-1 finals, featuring a surprise turn that was foreshadowed by last week's guest on this very podcast, the thankful end to a quite bad tournament, a lot of angles to set things up for their big Sumo Hall show on 10/11 and more!Next up it's DDT, as they break down yet another awesome Korakuen Hall show from the woefully under covered promotion! They discuss the sad end to Kazuki Hirata's epic title reign, an actually incredible match between a man and an inanimate object, Minoru Suzuki's unlikely late career revival and a whole lot more.Then it's back over to All Japan to discuss their big Giant Dream show from 9/23. Man, Japan had a busy week in wrestling this last week! They break down Kento Miyahara's long awaited Triple Crown win against Jun Saito, a tag match that gave reason for some hope, the usual wacky AJPW undercard comedy and more.Finally, they wrap things up with Sendai Girls' 9/23 Big Show in Sendai, discussing yet another awesome Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Mika Iwata match (with a sadly predictable result), Sareee kicking ass yet again, and, well.....not much else. They also break down their upcoming young wrestler tournament that features wrestlers from both STARDOM & Marigold!Follow Wrestling Omakase's Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy