Wrestling Omakase #285: NJPW New Beginning in US Live Report, STARDOM 2/28 & NOAH 3/1 Korakuens, DG 2/28 & 3/1 Osaka w/ Paul

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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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.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 (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"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 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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"Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising 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.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 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.socialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wrestling-omakase/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy