Wrestling Omakase

We're back for another episode of Wrestling Omakase as John is joined by a first time guest, another John, US indie wrestler John Bivins! John tells John all about working as an indie wrestler in the southeast US, how he got started and what it was like starting at the height of the pandemic in 2020, how the wrestling he does himself is very different from all the Japanese wrestling he enjoys watching as a fan and a whole...

We're back for another week of Wrestling Omakase as John is once again joined by returning guest Snazzy from the Social Suplex newsletter (and the new Joshi ing Around podcast!) to discuss four very different wrestling promotions. They start things out by heading back to the world of Marigold for the first time in quite a while, as they discuss the 9/14 Marigold Dream Star GP finals. John is just parachuting in for this a...

We're back on Wrestling Omakase to discuss four very different Japanese wrestling promotions in another jampacked episode! John is joined by Milo (@primasteras on Twitter), someone they used to host Open the Voice Gate with right on this very network many, many years ago by now, making it a bit of a reunion for the two of them! Unfortunately the tragic passing of AJPW's Taishin Nagao absolutely had to be our first top...

"This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by a first time guest, Snazzy from the Social Suplex Newsletter (making a very last minute appearance that John is very grateful for!), for a tour through a whole bunch of very different wrestling. But first, John complains about their baseball team, tries to explain their very weird and complicated sports fandom alignment, and the two of them make fun of Manchester United for some...

Wrestling Omakase is back to wrap up a super eventful, super awesome STARDOM 5 Star GP! John is joined by longtime viewer and jubilant Momo Watanabe fan Velkej Bracha (@Velkej_Bracha) as he celebrates the #Momo5Star prophecy finally coming to pass. They give a full, lengthy and detailed review of both the last two nights which covered the entire playoffs, with all four first round matches, all four quarterfinals, both semis a...

We're back for another new episode of Wrestling Omakase, and thankfully back to a normal format episode (recorded all at once in a single location!). John is joined by returning guest Arametha as they start with a bunch of nonsense about stuffed animals, rhythm games, anime cons and who knows what else. Then they get into the end of the NJPW G1 Climax 35 with reviews of the last four nights of the tournament, starting wit...

This week on Wrestling Omakase we're still on the road, so it's another live-to-tape/running audio blog edition as we keep you up to date with all of the tournament action across two promotions! This time around we go in chronological order through both promotions, alternating between NJPW G1 Climax & STARDOM 5 Star GP shows. John is once again joined by their good friend Quinlan to break down the G1 shows and goe...

This week on Wrestling Omakase we continue our ongoing coverage of two major tournaments! John introduces the unusual format we'll be using for the next two weeks (it was the only way they could bring you these episodes due to some travel they'll be doing), as they start out going solo to talk about the first five days of the STARDOM 5 Star GP. They break down each and every tournament match so far, from the enormous ...

Wrestling Omakase is back for our most absolute jam packed and indeed longest episode ever! John is joined by returning guest Arametha as they start with 2 hours and 40 minutes just on the hottest promotion in Japan at the moment, the World Wonder Ring STARDOM! It starts with full reviews of their 7/21 & 7/24 shows from Sapporo & Korakuen respectively, as they go over yet more outstanding matches from STARDOM's in...

John is joined by returning guest Devin (@MoreThanMeatJoy on Twitter) for yet another show packed full of a busy week's worth of Japanese wrestling action! They open things up with a quick preview of STARDOM's major 7/21 Sapporo event as well as their 7/24 Korakuen later in the week, before staying in the Bushiroad Extended Universe as they break down the opening two nights of the NJPW G1 Climax in detail (also from S...

This week Wrestling Omakase is back for another packed show! John is joined by returning guest Chris Samsa (@TheChrisSamsa on Twitter) from the Sport of Pro Wrestling website for a long, thorough preview of this year's G1 Climax! John and Chris go wrestler-by-wrestler through all twenty competitors across both blocks breaking down everyone's most notable matches, who they think are favorites and dark horses to move on...

Wrestling Omakase returns for a special episode! John is joined by returning guest and longtime friend Bryan Quinlan (@Not_Quinlan on Bsky) for our podcast all about traveling to Japan to watch pro wrestling! After taking some quick little sideswipes at NJPW for their latest attendance bomb, we give a comprehensive look at all the elements involved in planning for a trip to Japan! John & Quinlan (who have 8 trips between ...

We're back for another episode of Wrestling Omakase, and this time around John is joined by three recent guests for the return of an old favorite: the Mid-Year Awards! We present our picks for the best & worst of Japanese wrestling so far in 2025 in a ton of Wrestling Observer-style year end awards, along with some analysis on how likely these winners are to stand as full year award contenders by the time 2025 comes t...

John is back yet again for another long dive through the world of Japanese professional wrestling, and boy do they have a mixed bag to discuss this week! Returning guest Velkej Bracha (@Velkej_Bracha on X), host of the ActWres Stage podcast (here's their most recent episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqIHVjqO6_8) joins them and starts by breaking down their recent trip to Japan, as he gives the live persp...

John is back for another new episode of Wrestling Omakase (I know, already??) as we do a deep dive into VOW's annual 30 Under 30 list, which just came out a few days ago! They're joined by two voters for the 2025 list: host of VOW podcast The Good, The Bad & The Hungee Fred Morlan (can also check out Fred's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/flagrantwrestling) and Paul Wedding (@PaulEWedding on Twitter), wh...

You waited a month for another new Omakase (if you cared at all) but don't worry, because here's one that's over four hours long!! Wow! John is joined by first time guest and longtime listener Arametha as they spend the first half hour of this show embarrassingly weebing out together. Anime! Tokusatsu! Anime cons! Iowa city names, for some reason! Once that is mercifully out of the way, the two of them head to the...

Wrestling Omakase is back with another new episode! John is joined by returning guest Paul Volsch from the Emerald FlowShow (@EmeraldFlowShow on Twitter & Bsky) and first time guest Will Young from VOW and his Creative Control PW blog (@CreativeControlPW on Bsky) to break down three big shows from Japan! But first, John gives an update on the current podcast schedule (as you may have noticed, we're doing these things ...

Wow, TWO new episodes of The Most Active Podcast in History™ in one month?! Aren't you lucky?? Yes, John is back again this time with a special double-sized episode of Omakase that's essentially two episodes in one!

For the first half, John is joined by Beth (@lovesongwriter on X) as the two longtime Tetsuya Naito superfans talk about the shocking news of his & BUSHI's departure from New Japan ...

We're back for our first new episode of Wrestling Omakase in quite a while, as John is once again coming to you live from Japan! First, they're joined by Joel from the Super J-Cast for a full review of the NJPW Sakura Genesis 2025 show, with John giving you the live perspective from the front row of Sumo Hall. Lots of talk about NJPW's current booking direction, where things may be going from here, and of course f...