Episode 323: Tournament Edition

After a Best of the Super Juniors final that left STRIGGA & Dylan with plenty to say, the two review the tournament's conclusion that left a lot to be desired for their liking. They rate all the participants, discuss noteworthy matches and moments and from there on discuss the upcoming Dominion card that – much like the BOSJ – leaves a lot to be desired.More interesting than the in-ring itself is the biggest business story of the year as Bushiroad sold its shares to TV Asahi and CyberAgent. What does this mean for New Japan's future? What does that mean for its relationship with other companies, and the balance of power within the industry?The second promotion discussed is DRAGONGATE and the latest developments over there causing headaches and worries about the future, including Shun Skywalker's exit. What does it mean for DRAGONGATE's identity going forward, and is the company entering a period of major transition?

STRIGGA & Dylan return for episode 323 of The Eastern Lariat to discuss the conclusion of AJPW's Champion Carnival, where Hideki Suzuki emerged victorious while Go Shiozaki suffered a heartbreaking defeat after coming so far. The show also covers the two opening nights of NJPW's Best of the Super Junior, as well as the latest developments in DDT and GLEAT and their King of DDT and G-CLASS tournaments set up the semi finals.

STRIGGA & Dylan celebrate Dylan's 10th Anniversary show the only way they know and could: With a jam-packed episode covering current and upcoming events, stories and matches from seven japanese promotions. They kick things off with the joshi block on the show with Sendai Girls in Korakuen from 4/12, Stardom's All Star Grand Queendom card for 4/26, and Marvelous heading to Yokohama Buntai on May 5. Turning to the men's side, Pro Wrestling NOAH enters the conversation with Apex Conquest 2026 in Nagoya, a card that brought its own share of intrigue with the return of Shane Haste, while Dragon Gate's Golden Colosseum lineup continues to build momentum leading to a big Six Way Cage Match. Finally, New Japan's big matches on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku and on Dontaku itself are part of the discussion as well as Callum Newman as IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the upcoming Best of the Super Junior.

Returning from a hiatus, The Eastern Lariat jumps right back into the mix of japanese pro wrestling starting with TJPW's Texas Tour and Grand Princess, where Yuki Arai stood tall above all. Then they shift to Sendai Girls with Chihiro Hashimoto continuing to be the measuring stick of joshi wrestling. Since the world of professional wrestling is ever evolving, STRIGGA & Dylan also discuss the departures of Chi Chi & ZONES from Evolution and Dragon Dia aka. DIA from DRAGONGATE. This leads right away to NJPW and the preview of Sakura Genesis plus the roster for the Best of the Super Junior 33 (so far). The final topic of the show is another preview with All Japan's Champion Carnival coming up in mid April.

Halfway through the show STRIGGA had an unexpected and unfortunate situation where is X (formerly known as Twitter) account @STRIGGA was hacked. Therefore Dylan went solo for the last half or so after the 42 minute mark. We apologize for the inconvenience and will make it up one day!   On the return effort with Strig back from WxW we talk a bit about the state of the scene as well as an unexpected foray into the US and even Australian indies, but it leads us to Dylan's pick for a promotion to watch: Osaka Pro! We talked about the recent Tag Festival and the great storyline with VerteX and Rogue Nation, with great vibes of the promotion in particular. We then talk about the significance of Shinjuku FACE and how it will effect multiple companies going forward when it closes, along with the history of the building itself and Strig's past visits there.   After Dylan takes over solo he does a mini-run through of multiple big stories right now including:   - NJPW New Japan Cup - Stardom Cinderella Tournament - AJPW Champion Carnival Blocks - NOAH's 3.8 show featuring 2 great matches and a lot of rookies! - DG in Disarray and KAI vs. Kikuta being the next Dream Gate match   For more coverage of Japanese wrestling, and wrestling past and present please check out our Patreon for literally 1000s of hours of audio and written content as well, including the brand new EL Weekly Newsletter: https://www.patreon.com/easternlariat    Follow us on Twitter/X:     https://www.twitter.com/easternlariat    https://www.twitter.com/strigga       https://www.twitter.com/viva_zero   Follow us on BlueSky: @easternlariat.bsky.social @vivazero.bsky.social @strigga.bksy.social   Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/easternlariat   If you would like more info check out Ruth (@ruthisanotter) and her great coverage of the company and it's Units, check her out on Twitter/X as well as their fantastic article on the subject: https://sixtyminutedraw.com/guide-to-osaka-pro-factions

This week, the Eastern Lariat dives into a possibly defining show for New Japan Pro Wrestling on 2/11: Tsuji remains champ, Jake Lee looked goofy and Tsuji called out Bushiroad – a lot to unwind for STRIGGA & Dylan! They also discuss the big question: where exactly do you go with Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf from here? Who's stepping up after Finlay and Hiromu being added to the list of departures? Maybe Callum Newman? The New Japan Cup may provide some answers. Dylan also plugs his obituary for Tadao Yasuda and STRIGGA is hyped for Katsuya Murashima moving to Europe. After 90 minutes of NJPW, the Lariat goes rapid fire with the Champion Carnival line up, NOAH's latest Korakuen, GLEAT, TJPW and of course Saya Kamitanis's tremendous performance on February 7!  

Welcome to the 2026 edition of the New Year Potpourri! After Wrestle Kingdom and the Year End Awards, this show looks back how the first month of the year went for some of the top companies in Japan. Of course STRIGGA & Dylan start off by breaking down EVIL leaving NJPW and reflecting his legacy with the company. Was he a true top guy? From there on, the Eastern Lariat talks about the identity of Hayabusa and his match on Monday Magic including some more developments in the new season of the show. Then, the show takes a closer look at DDT's busy January including the D GENERATIONS Cup and weird WCW vibes. The show adds in a stop for All Japan Pro Wrestling in Chiba, featuring Kento Miyahara vs. Talos and Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Seigo Tachibana before wrapping up with DRAGONGATE, spotlighting BIGBOSS Shimizu vs. Natural Vibes and possible directions for Yuki Yoshioka and Ryoya Tanaka heading towards Kobe World in the summer.

It's this time of the year again! This episode is all about celebrating the very best of the year 2025 in japanese Pro-Wrestling as STRIGGA & Dylan unveil the Eastern Lariat Year End Awards that you, the listeners, voted for! Across 12 categories, both hosts break down the winners, debate cases and tight races, spotlight moments, matches, and performers that defined the year. From MVP, Best Wrestler, Best Jr. Heavyweight over Best Bout, Most Improved and Best Foreigner, this show offers a synoptic look at a crucial year for puroresu!   Intro song: 「ANTI-FORMALISM」 by OBSESS HEDERA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIC0uRHmms0

The beginning of the new year is the endpoint of a career at the same time. It's not the endpoint of a regular career, but the endpoint of Hiroshi Tanahashi's career that shaped japanese pro wrestling over the past 26 years and helped change the balance of power in the business. So it's no exaggeration to say that fans witnessed the closing of the book of one of the most important careers not just in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but in modern professional wrestling as a whole. Besides the Tanahashi festivities and his tremendous final match against longtime rival Kazuchika Okada, STRIGGA & Dylan review the full card, talk about what worked, what didn't, and how New Japan presented its biggest show of the year. Above all though, the Eastern Lariat reflects on Tanahashi's legacy as the Ace, what his farewell meant in the context of the event, and where NJPW goes from here without the man who carried the company on his back and broke his own body doing so.

It's the yearly tradition back again. 2025 is in the books and now we go over the predictions from the fans. We got a ton and Dylan goes through every single one, determining if things are more likely or unlikely to happen and my thoughts on the possibility of them happening. Finally he throws out a few predictions of his own that he foresees for 2026. It's a new year! What will the future hold for us? The Eastern Lariat Family comes together to try to determine one aspect!   For more coverage of Japanese wrestling, and wrestling past and present please check out our Patreon for literally 1000s of hours of audio and written content as well: https://www.patreon.com/easternlariat    Follow us on Twitter/X:     https://www.twitter.com/easternlariat    https://www.twitter.com/strigga       https://www.twitter.com/viva_zero   Follow us on BlueSky: @easternlariat.bsky.social @vivazero.bsky.social @strigga.bksy.social   Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/easternlariat