Omakase means, literally, &#34;I&#39;ll leave it up to you&#34;. It&#39;s a term primarily used in modern Japanese in sushi restaurants, where you allow the chef to prepare their own personal favorites, leaving your meal completely in their hands. Wrestling Omakase, therefore, is a show where we place each episode into the hands of one or two passionate fans, from all across the wrestling spectrum. Our regular host John Carroll has over 20 years of diverse wrestling fandom to draw upon, and they will be joined by a revolving door of guests who will share their knowledge and passion for particular promotions or time periods. While our primary focus will be on modern Japanese wrestling, we will also at least touch on wrestling from all over the world, in addition to the occasional episode covering historical periods of various promotions. This is a journey with wrestling fans around the world, bringing you the promotions they know and love the best, and we hope you will join us!<h2>This podcast is a member of the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network. </h2>Learn more about the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network at <a href="http://www.voicesofwrestling.com" rel="nofollow">voicesofwrestling.com</a>.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/11/11/13/00e2d12f-c17e-4141-91b0-62a2a9726c67_omakase_episode_321.mp3

John is back on the air with indie wrestler John Bivins to break down another big week in Japanese wrestling, starting out with TJPW&#39;s latest event from Korakuen Hall! John &amp; John talk about a major title change (that neither of them seemed to expect), two new debuts and a lot more as the world of Tokyo Joshi just keeps on rolling, before getting into a bunch of upcoming shows in what&#39;s shaping up to be a busy end of the year from them. Then they head over to Dragongate to discuss their own latest Korakuen show, which also featured a couple of new champions being crowned. They discuss some of their ongoing frustrations with DG&#39;s booking this year as well, though, which also leads into a discussion on what they consider the worst promotion of the year in Japan to be as 2026 starts to head to a close (and that also dovetails into a brief review of the recent Naito/Kenoh GHC title match from NOAH!).After that it&#39;s back over to the joshi world for a review of Sendai Girls&#39; 11/6 event from Sendai PIT, which featured the semi finals of their young wrestler tournament and some matches being set up for their own next Korakuen show on 11/22. Finally, they wrap things up with another show from Ice Ribbon, this time their 11/8 show from Itabashi, as they discuss another excellent main event, a surprising title vacancy, two literal children doing great things together and a whole lot more! A little shorter than usual for us but no less fun!Omakase 2026 Year in Review/WK Preview Extravaganza Sign-Up Form (Deadline 11/15!): https://forms.gle/iJgWpPpmjGEJCRzm6Follow Wrestling Omakase&#39;s Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #321: TJPW 11/8 & DG 11/5 Korakuens, Sendai Girls 11/6 & Ice Ribbon 11/8 w/ John Bivins

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/11/5/16/1c389720-fe1d-4b8e-b536-ed74ead546c6_omakase_episode_320.mp3

Omakase is back on the air as John is joined by returning guest Arametha, and fair warning: this starts with about 55 minutes of general jovial celebration about the US election results from this year. If this is not something that interests you, please feel free to skip it, but you&#39;ve been warned! Once that&#39;s out of the way they get into some major wrestling shows from the past week or so in Japan, starting out with NJPW Power Struggle from Hiroshima. They discuss another strong recent number at the gate for New Japan, the state of Shota Umino discourse, Kenny Omega back in the saddle, and whether the build to Wrestle Kingdom was a little too predictable. Then they look ahead to some other upcoming shows, including Lucha Kingdom from Mexico and two unique Korakuen events.Afterward they head back over to STARDOM and briefly discuss a Korakuen show from 10/27 before then going into a full review of 10/29&#39;s Crimson Nightmare PPV from Ota Ward Gym, breaking down some very dumb attendance takes, a solid undercard, an apparently accidental Halloween costume match, the big STARS vs. HATE elimination showdown, marital comedy, and an awesome main event red belt match. They also talk a little about the start of the Goddesses tag league and more. Things stay in joshi as they head back over to Ice Ribbon to discuss their 10/25 show from SKIP City, featuring an outstanding tag team match and also some other matches that definitely happened. They then preview a big PPV from Itabashi with two title matches.Finally, they head back to the land of DDT for a review of their Ultimate Party show from Sumo Hall, featuring a very unique main event, an outstanding technical wrestling match, some other great wrestling up and down the card, some really funny comedy as well (one of which leads us down a para para rabbit hole), and a whole lot more. The episode then wraps up with a brief preview of the upcoming Korakuen show from DDT&#39;s sister promotion Tokyo Joshi!Omakase 2026 Year in Review/WK Preview Extravaganza Sign-Up Form (Deadline 11/15!): https://forms.gle/iJgWpPpmjGEJCRzm6Follow Wrestling Omakase&#39;s Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: <a href="http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #320: NJPW Power Struggle, STARDOM Crimson Nightmare, Ice Ribbon 10/25 & DDT Ultimate Party w/ Arametha

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John is once again joined by Paul from the Emerald FlowShow as they start things out with quite a lot of Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame talk for this year! They strictly cover the only two regions John votes in which are Modern US &amp; Japan, breaking down who they voted for, who they consider real contenders and which names on the ballot really don&#39;t have much of a case at all in a detailed discussion.Once that&#39;s out of the way they then turn to a loaded lineup of shows, beginning with a pair from Ryogoku. First, it&#39;s Marigold&#39;s 10/24 event which featured not a lot of fans, some very talented young wrestlers showing out as always, and some truly, truly horrendous booking. Then it&#39;s over to NOAH for their own event the next day, a much better effort than they put on in the same building back in the spring, but with a bit of a controversial main event!Afterward they head back to All Japan for their latest Korakuen show, which also set in motion some major directions to their own biggest show of the year on 12/31! Speaking of biggest shows of the year, they make a rare touchdown in the very wild world of OZ Academy to talk about a truly insane show from Yokohama Budokan, featuring a 10 woman tag iron man match with VERY SIMPLE rules, Suwama on the three person side of a 3 on 2 match, Evil!Saori Anou does some things to Natsupoi that it seems like she possibly could have charged her for, and more! Finally, they wrap things up with a staid little show from Sendai Girls at ShinKiba 1st Ring, because why not I guess!Omakase 2026 Year in Review/WK Preview Extravaganza Sign-Up Form: https://forms.gle/iJgWpPpmjGEJCRzm6Check out the Emerald FlowShow: https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshowFollow Wrestling Omakase&#39;s Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #319: WON HOF 2026, Marigold 10/24 & NOAH 10/25 Sumo Hall, AJPW 10/22 Korakuen, OZ 10/25 Yokohama Budokan & Sendai Girls 10/24 w/ Paul

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John and Velkej are back for another episode of Omakase which starts out with SPARROW DRAMA. Yes. Then they get into a wide-ranging discussion on the World Wonder Ring, as they discuss how everyone seems pretty down on STARDOM right now (and how this seems to happen this time of year every year now), discuss some of the reasons why and which ones they do and don&#39;t agree with, before heading into reviews of two recent shows. First it&#39;s Path of Thunder from Utsunomiya featuring a divisive main event, a great semi-main, and a pretty good undercard. Then they break down the 10/20 Korakuen that finally saw the return of Sayaka Kurara (thank god), and some strange new announced teams for the upcoming tag league.Next up is the first Pro Wrestling NOAH talk on Omakase in a very long time, as John &amp; Velkej review a surprisingly-not-that-bad 10/15 Korakuen. They also preview the upcoming Wrestle Odyssey II show from Ryogoku next week. Finally, they wrap things up with a very underwhelming DDT Korakuen from 10/18 as they discuss a not particularly great show that did at least have some newsworthy aspects to it, before previewing their own upcoming big show from Ryogoku, 11/3&#39;s Ultimate Party.Omakase 2026 Year in Review/WK Preview Extravaganza Sign-Up Form: https://forms.gle/iJgWpPpmjGEJCRzm6Velkej&#39;s Uncultured &amp; Illiterate podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UnculturedandIlliterateFollow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #318: STARDOM Path of Thunder & 10/20 Korakuen, NOAH 10/15 & DDT 10/18 Korakuens w/ Velkej

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Arametha is back with John for the second straight week as they discuss an enormous week in Japanese wrestling! After touching on a notable and highly recommended match from Dragongate (for a change lately!), they dive right into the biggest story: NJPW King of Pro Wrestling from Ryogoku, and the apparent decision to go with an NJPW vs. AEW theme for the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom. Both give their takes on the pluses and minuses of that vision, whether or not they&#39;re excited for the specific choices, and of course review what ended up being a quite great show with another incredible main event. This takes up a huge portion of our overall runtime this week, so if you&#39;re looking for some King of Sports discussion you&#39;ve definitely come to the right place! Then it&#39;s back to the world of joshi as they first discuss STARDOM&#39;s most recent Korakuen Hall show, talking about a pretty good show that also left them with some questions about the overall booking direction of the promotion (as usual lately). After that they check in with the turbulent world of Marigold as they review their own latest Korakuen and discuss a frankly baffling main event choice of a very poorly booked and promoted upcoming Sumo Hall show. Finally, they discuss another Sendai Girls Big Show in Sendai where both of them disagreed quite a bit on the overall quality. After that it&#39;s time to go back to men&#39;s wrestling, as they break down AJPW&#39;s latest event, also from Sendai this past weekend. They discuss two very long tag title matches, one of which hit for them and one of which very much didn&#39;t, as well as look ahead to what&#39;s coming up next in the world of Zen Nihon. Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #317: NJPW King of Pro Wrestling, STARDOM 10/11 & Marigold 10/10 Korakuens, Sendai Girls 10/10 & AJPW 10/11 Sendai w/ Arametha

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/10/6/15/cd9c51e3-6925-4206-ac33-a4defcdb3fe8_omakase_episode_316.mp3

John is back on the air on their own podcast feed, joined by returning guest Arametha! They start things out with a wide-ranging first hour that covered a ton of random wrestling and non-wrestling topics alike (honestly more than I can even remember trying to write this at the end now....) before getting to the actual show reviews of the episode, beginning with TJPW Wrestle Princess VII from Ota! They discuss a bit of a mixed bag of an attendance number, another fantastic show from TJPW in a long series of them this year, and a lot of discussion on just why their wrestling style stands out so much in the current landscape.Then it&#39;s over to Dragongate to discuss their very newsworthy 10/2 Korakuen show, which featured an enormous title change and the first actually funny Jiro Shinbashi match in ages. Still in Korakuen, they also discuss a bit of a meh event from STARDOM from last week, with a lot of talk about the big unit movement that caused all sorts of controversy on social media.After that it&#39;s time to discuss the final show that will ever be held at (the original at least) Shinjuku FACE, an interpromotional affair from 9/30 that was emotional and hilarious. Finally, they wrap things up with another check in on Ice Ribbon as they review their 10/3 show from Kamata.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #316: TJPW Wrestle Princess VII, DG 10/2 & STARDOM 9/29 Korakuens, Shinjuku FACE Final & Ice Ribbon 10/3 Kamata w/ Arametha

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John &amp; John reunite for the first time in months, and unfortunately the first topic they have to discuss is something no one wanted to be talking about: the incredibly tragic and sudden news of PAC passing away. That&#39;s right at the start so wanted to make sure I noted it for anyone listening who isn&#39;t ready to hear that sort of thing- it does come up a few more times in the episode as well. RIP to an incredible professional wrestler and, by all accounts, an even more incredible man.They then have to make an awkward transition over to discussing the imminent closing of an iconic Japanese wrestling venue, Shinjuku FACE, as John takes you through some of their own personal history with the venue and talks about how much they&#39;re going to miss banging their head on the bathroom ceiling, ahead of discussing a bunch of final FACE shows later in the episode. But first they head over to the thankfully not closing Korakuen Hall to discuss the finals of an eventful AJPW Oudou Tournament, discussing the first of two bonafide MOTYCs, a homegrown wrestler finally winning the big one, and more. They also look ahead to an upcoming AJPW tour that really spreads the wealth around a bunch of different shows, so to speak.Then it&#39;s over to the King of Sports to discuss a somewhat underwhelming Destruction in Kobe show, at least until a fantastic main event saved it somewhat. There&#39;s lots of speculation about where things might be headed into Wrestle Kingdom season too, as they look ahead first to the upcoming King of Pro Wrestling show (and two Korakuen title matches as well).And then they finally get to the whole load of final shows for each promotion at iconic venues, starting with DDT (maybe the promotion most synonymous with the venue of all!). They discuss a final title challenge, Daisuke Sasaki&#39;s incredibly high memorabilia valuation, and more! Afterward it&#39;s time to finally leave the men&#39;s wrestling behind and shift into joshi, first with Sareee-ism Chapter XII, a fantastic show with another bonafide MOTYC in the main event. Then they discuss the final Sendai Girls show from FACE which featured a big debut and John Bivins describing how much he loves Spike Nishimura.John (Original) then goes it alone for two more show reviews, first the final TJPW show from FACE that also serves as their go home show for the big Wrestle Princess VII event next week (which they also dutifully preview). Finally, they wrap things up with another Ice Ribbon review, this time the second half of a doubleheader from Yokohama. A packed episode!!<a href="https://www.instagram.com/punkrock.darkroast/" rel="nofollow">John Bivins&#39; Instagram</a><a href="http://twitter.com/wrestleomakase" rel="nofollow">Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter</a><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">Follow John on Bluesky</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #315: AJPW Oudou Finals, NJPW Destruction in Kobe, DDT 9/27, Sareee-ism Chapter XII, Sendai Girls 9/23 & TJPW 9/27 Shinjuku FACE, Ice Ribbon 9/22 Yokohama w/ John Bivins

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Wrestling Omakase is back on the airwaves and thankfully for John they&#39;re not solo this time, as Eric from Joshi&#39;ing Around once again joins them! And boy do they joshi around to start this episode, with around 90 minutes (!) of Marigold talk! They break down a very exciting final two nights from Korakuen Hall for the Dream Star GP in detail, reviewing all the tournament matches, talking about who really stepped up from their younger generation, and a whole lot more. Plus, rankings of every block by their performances and favorite matches from each block!Then it&#39;s over to Ice Ribbon to discuss a pair of shows from a little while back now, their 8/30 show from Yokohama and their 9/6 from SKIP City. There was a match that may have been one of the most surprising bangers of the year, so be sure to listen to find out which one!Once the women&#39;s coverage is finally over it&#39;s time to talk some men&#39;s wrestling, beginning with All Japan, as our ongoing coverage of the Oudou Tournament continues! They discuss four second round/quarterfinal matches, all from Shin Kiba. Finally, they wrap things up by reviewing a DDT Korakuen for the first time in eons, as they break down a MAO title defense, some surprising cash-ins, and a very underrated wrestler getting some flowers!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.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #314: Marigold Dream Star GP Night 8 & Finals, Ice Ribbon 8/30 & 9/6, AJPW Oudou Tournament Nights 3 & 4, DDT 9/21 Korakuen w/ Eric

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/9/16/13/738e9cea-0bf9-4dab-80c5-23b05848f4aa_omakase_episode_313.mp3

John is flying solo this week on Wrestling Omakase due to being at another anime convention, although this one came with an indoor waterpark! Wow! In theory they were doing this episode on the road, although in practice most of it ended up being recorded at home anyway. They start things out with STARDOM&#39;s latest PPV event from Yokohama Arena from this past Saturday (9/12), discussing a couple really good matches, some kinda meh booking, and an, uh, interesting debut for a new English announcer! Then it&#39;s over to Dragongate for their own major show from 9/12, which had all the meh booking of the STARDOM show but none of the high end match quality to make up for it. Of course the big booking decision everyone&#39;s talking about came in the Brave Gate match, and John breaks down both sides of that debate in detail!Then it&#39;s back to the tournaments, starting out with the entire first round of AJPW&#39;s Oudou Tournament broken down over three nights! John discusses some really awesome stuff as AJPW continues having a big year. Then they head over to Marigold to discuss the middle nights of their own tournament (nights 5-8), a real mixed bag that had a bunch they could recommend and a bunch more they weren&#39;t that into.Follow Wrestling Omakase&#39;s Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #313: STARDOM to the World, DG 9/12 Ota, AJPW Oudou Tournament Nights 1-3 & Marigold Dream Star GP Nights 4-7

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/9/8/19/4f337e40-775d-485b-8811-41aa2c791a57_omakase_episode_312.mp3

Omakase is back for another episode, as John is joined by returning guest Paul Volsch, co-host of the Emerald Flow Show on this very network! They start out a week of talking about mostly smaller shows building to bigger ones with STARDOM&#39;s 9/6 Korakuen Hall event, a show that featured some good build to their upcoming Yokohama Budokan show and also a truly horrendous High Speed Title match. They then give a full preview of said Yokohama Budokan show on 9/12 including how likely they think all the major titles are to change hands. Then it&#39;s back to the world of Tokyo Joshi to cover their 9/5 Yokohama Radiant Hall event, featuring a great three-way tag match to determine the Princess Tag challengers on their major Ota show early next month. They also give a quick look ahead at what&#39;s coming up for TJPW, including an early look at said Ota card and how tickets are moving for it so far. They then continue their ongoing coverage of Marigold&#39;s Dream Star GP with a look at the day/night doubleheader from Osaka, including some stuff that really worked for them and a couple things that really, really didn&#39;t. (NOTE: This was recorded before Nao Ishikawa withdrew from the rest of her Dream Star GP matches- just noting this since at one point we speculate about whether or not she&#39;s out for the rest of the tournament, and now we obviously know she is!) Finally, they wrap things up with a quite passionate review of Dragongate&#39;s 9/3 Korakuen show, a truly baffling event on multiple levels. Allegedly this was to build their own major show, also on 9/12 from Ota, but unless you count Jiro Shimbashi it&#39;s hard to figure out how exactly this show was supposed to even do that. They rant quite a bit about DG booking in 2026 in general as they also preview said Ota show with an absolutely absurd name (seriously, what was wrong with Dangerous Gate guys??). Also some other odds &amp; ends including Paul attending All In in London, the Wrestle Kingdom 21 ticket prices &amp; on sale dates finally being revealed, and more! Check out the Emerald FlowShow: https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshow Follow Wrestling Omakase&#39;s Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on Bluesky: http://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #312: STARDOM 9/6 Korakuen Review & 9/12 Yokohama Preview, TJPW 9/5 Yokohama, Marigold Dream Star GP Night 3 & DG 9/3 Korakuen w/ Paul

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Omakase is back for another fun filled week, as John is once again joined by Czechia&#39;s hardest working farmer Velkej Bracha! They&#39;re checking in on a whole bunch of promotions they haven&#39;t talked about in a while (due to the combined trio of the G1, 5 Star &amp; Princess Cup eating up a great deal of our time of course!), and it begins with All Japan&#39;s big show from EBARA WAVE Arena Ota! They talk about an unexpected result in the Triple Crown title match, where things might be headed with the Oudou tournament approaching, and a whole lot more. Then it&#39;s over to Sendai Girls for their own big show from Yoyogi Gym #2, another edition of &#34;lol Chihiro wins&#34;. But also we get to talk about yet another amazing joshi rookie, of which there is apparently just an endless supply.Then it&#39;s over to Marigold for the opening two nights of the Dream Star GP tournament, which was actually a bit better than expected! John is very, very happy to have Victoria Yuzuki back at least! Finally, things wrap up with SEAdLINNNG&#39;s 11th anniversary show from Korakuen, featuring some really good action and also a pair of fake Mexicans winning their tag titles, for some reason. Yeah.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #311: AJPW 8/29 Ota, Sendai Girls 8/28 Yoyogi, Marigold Dream Star GP Nights 1 & 2, SEAdLINNNG 8/25 Korakuen w/ Velkej

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/8/26/4/8f90f133-db46-42c4-be96-488bf2499a99_omakase_episode_310.mp3

It&#39;s a jam packed episode of Wrestling Omakase this week that features not one, not two, but THREE guests! Wow! Arametha is onboard for the entire thing, but meanwhile we&#39;re also joined again by Suit Williams to review the final night of the STARDOM 5 Star GP and then go over every wrestler in the tournament and how we thought they performed! The trio discusses the entire finals card from Ryogoku in great detail (along with some history of STARDOM in the venue and how their attendance here compares), including the semis and finals, the big Natsupoi vs. Saori Anou match as Poi&#39;s retirement road continues, and also discuss all the upcoming matches and possible directions heading into the fall! Plus, a review of every wrestler&#39;s overall tournament! Then Suit says goodbye but John &amp; Arametha are joined by first time guest Ed Kody! Ed is a big Tokyo Joshi fan so they were the perfect person to have on to help break down another awesome show out of this promotion from Korakuen Hall, on a great run of them! But first John discusses being inspired by Jeff Hawkins&#39; goodbye podcast from this past week and how it made them think of &#39;ol TJPW (seriously!). Also I think there was some stuff in here about anime con raves getting shut down. I don&#39;t know, this segment was a little all over the place. But most importantly, it&#39;s PARTY TIME because Suzume won the Princess Cup, as they review the final night of the tournament and look ahead to what&#39;s coming next! Finally, John &amp; Arametha review the Sareee-ism Chapter XI show from Shinjuku FACE, breaking down what was another excellent show out of the sun god. It features another big Poi retirement road match, plus Chi Chi vs. Senka in a battle of young demons and a whole lot more! Somehow this episode went nearly four and a half hours despite ostensibly only being three individual show reviews. Who could possibly be surprised by now really. Williams Watches Wrestling blog: https://suitwilliams.com/ Name a Dirtsheet podcast: https://youtu.be/pqtLG3f3KkQ?si=F0s0Ya4nRkVKOi2e Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #310: STARDOM 5 Star GP Finals & Wrap-Up, TJPW Princess Cup Finals & Sareee-ism Chapter XI w/ Arametha, Suit & Ed

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Wrestling Omakase is back on the air with everyone&#39;s favorite Czech farmer Velkej Bracha joining us as the summer tournaments continue (and end, in one case!). They start things off with some of the usual topics (mostly- you&#39;ll never believe this- Japan travel) before heading over to NJPW for the final 4 nights of the G1 Climax! There is a TON to talk about here, including the, uh, very *interesting* reactions to the big Oiwa/Uemura final, but they don&#39;t shy away from any of it- full reviews of all four shows, plus thoughts on the individual performances of each and every wrestler and John gives their top 10 matches of the entire tournament! Then it&#39;s over to STARDOM for the most recent 4 nights of the 5 Star GP, which is also very close to wrapping up but not quite over yet! John &amp; Velkej talk yet more Julia Hart, Starlight Kid taking down the talls, who we want to see back next year (and who we don&#39;t), and a whole lot more! Finally, John goes solo to wrap up the episode with Night 5 of TJPW&#39;s Princess Cup, featuring the semifinals! Bee vs. Hair! Hip vs. Lariat! Pom Harajuku pretends to be the creepy ghost girl from the Ring for some reason! This show really had it all! Follow Velkej on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Velkej_Bracha Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #309: NJPW G1 Climax Nights 16-18 & Finals, STARDOM 5 Star GP Nights 12-15 & TJPW Princess Cup Night 5 w/ Velkej

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/8/12/15/2c7412f1-537e-4c14-b97f-c35718b2a103_omakase_episode_308.mp3

John is back home from a very crappy anime con and ready to talk a WHOLE lot of wrestling! Their good pal Arametha is back to hear them complain about how much Otakon sucked (again), how much their latest flight to Japan cost, and- especially- how bad The Zoomers™ are at taking turns at arcade games, but eventually they get around to talking some wrestling too! First, it&#39;s three nights of the STARDOM 5 Star GP (Nights 9-11- 8/3, 8/8 &amp; 8/9), a mixed bag of shows from Korakuen and Sapporo, as the picture starts to get a lot clearer on who&#39;s moving on (especially in the Red Blocks!). Then it&#39;s the NJPW G1 Climax (Nights 12-15- 8/6, 8/8, 8/9 &amp; 8/11) as they talk a legitimate MOTYC *and* a couple Worst Match of the Year contenders! Wow! And no, one of them wasn&#39;t *that* match.The third and final ongoing tournament they check in on is the Tokyo Joshi Princess Cup, as they cover the quarterfinals from 8/8 at Ryogoku KFC Hall- featuring an amazing match between Suzume and Shoko Nakajima! They also speculate on who among the final four will ultimately take home the crown. Then it&#39;s over to NOAH for the first time in a while as John watched two (2) whole matches, but Arametha thankfully watched way more than that. One of the matches John did watch though was, swear to god, a ****1/2 Tetsuya Naito match. In 2026. Truly wild. They also discuss the revealed blocks for the 2026 N-1 Victory tournament.Up next it&#39;s Marvelous&#39; 8/8 Korakuen Hall show featuring two matches that John happens to think are a bit overhyped, and also a very funny wrestler-joining-a-unit angle. And then finally the episode wraps up with a check in on Marigold (another one we haven&#39;t talked about much in forever) to see how things are going over there for their big 8/9 Ota Ward Gym show. Spoiler: Not particularly well! And then they talk about the Dream Star GP blocks, aka Why The Fuck Is Megaton In This.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #308: STARDOM 5 STAR GP Nights 9-11, NJPW G1 Climax Nights 12-15, TJPW Princess Cup Night 4, NOAH 8/9 & 8/10, Marvelous 8/8 & Marigold 8/9 Ota w/ Arametha

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/8/3/11/3700f9b4-5db9-45fc-a222-9eb7496317c9_omakase_episode_307.mp3

It&#39;s another tournament season edition of Wrestling Omakase, and it&#39;s also time once again to take Omakase on the road to DC! John is recording this chronologically while attending two Blue Jays games and a VERY underwhelming Otakon convention in the capital of one of the shittiest nations on god&#39;s green Earth, but unlike last year they decided to arrange it by promotion still, so this one is REALLY all over the place. But there&#39;s some great stuff here too, as first John goes solo to discuss three more nights of the 5 Star GP in STARDOM including the long-awaited first tournament matches of TV&#39;s Julia Hart™! Oh, and also some much better matches featuring the likes of Saya Kamitani, Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe and many more, but really mostly TV&#39;s Julia Hart™. Can you believe she had three matches and the *Ruaka match* was the best one by far? Me neither, but it happened!Then John is joined by their good friend Quinlan for four more nights of the NJPW G1 Climax, and boy do they have some TAKES for you on this one! They cover Yota Tsuji&#39;s incredible tournament, a very divisive match with Yuto-Ice, whether some people are actually just too stupid to be watching Japanese professional wrestling, and a whole lot more!Finally, the episode wraps up with John going solo again to break down night 3 of the Tokyo Joshi Princess Cup, featuring an outstanding power battle between Yuki Aino and Miu Watanabe, a couple shocking eliminations, and Pom Harajuku trying to catch Suzume in a bug net like she&#39;s a goddamn Bug Catcher from Pokemon. Screw those guys.<a href="http://twitter.com/wrestleomakase" rel="nofollow">Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter</a><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">Follow John on BlueSky</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #307: STARDOM 5 Star GP Nights 6-8, NJPW G1 Climax Nights 8-11 & TJPW Princess Cup Night 3 w/ Quinlan

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It&#39;s time already for another super packed episode of Wrestling Omakase, as tournament season waits for no man, woman or enby! John is joined once again by Eric (FORMERLY KNOWN AS SNAZZY!) from the Joshi-ing Around podcast and Social Suplex newsletter, as they start out by discussing all sorts of topics, both wrestling and non-wrestling related. Then comes the first big topic of the episode: the announcement from last week (of course, the morning after the last episode of this podcast was recorded....) that Natsupoi will retire on January 3rd, 2027. John and Eric discuss the announcement, her career, her legacy, speculate on whether or not she might decide to come back one day (and how she gave a bit of conflicting answers on that subject during her press conference!) and a whole lot more!Then we stick in STARDOM to discuss the next two nights of the 5 Star GP, nights 4 (7/25) and 5 (7/26), both all red block shows. They discuss what worked and didn&#39;t work, Azusa Inaba going a bit &#34;red Azusa&#34; on us in STARDOM (which leads to an interesting discussion on whether or not you should want wrestlers from smaller promotions to leave for bigger ones full time), and a whole lot more. After that it&#39;s over to NJPW for nights 6 (7/25) &amp; 7 (7/26), one show each from the very different A &amp; B blocks. They break down a match that sucked and three really awesome ones from the first night, a mixed bag on the second night, whether this Gabe Kidd character is working and a whole lot more.Afterward it&#39;s over to Tokyo Joshi to review the first two nights of the Tokyo Princess Cup, featuring again a very mixed bag of some great stuff and a few things that didn&#39;t work nearly as well for the two of us. Then they give a brief preview of the big DDT Wrestle Peter Pan show from next month in Ryogoku now that we have the full card, before finally wrapping up with AJPW&#39;s 7/25 show from Kobe. Another packed show covering a ton of Japanese wrestling from all over the scene!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.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #306: Natsupoi's Retirement, STARDOM 5 Star GP Nights 4 & 5, NJPW G1 Climax Nights 6 & 7, TJPW Princess Cup Nights 1 & 2, AJPW 7/25 Kobe & DDT Wrestle Peter Pan Preview w/ Eric

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/7/23/15/d72132de-1002-46aa-90a1-1c7857214c1e_omakase_episode_305.mp3

Wrestling Omakase is back on the air after a little time off, and boy do we dive right back into it with the start of tournament season in Japan! John&#39;s originally planned guest unfortunately had to miss the show due to circumstances out of their control, but thankfully their buddies Suit Williams &amp; Quinlan (who, in a very weird coincidence, are both celebrating a birthday this coming Saturday!) came in to pinch hit and do a very able job.First, Suit gives an interesting perspective of a relative STARDOM newcomer who decided to jump in for the 5 Star GP this year, as John &amp; Suit break down a great opening three nights of the tournament (and an incredible MOTYC that had nothing to do with it at all, oddly enough). Then Quinlan joins John to talk about a very promising first four shows from Japan in the G1 Climax. Finally, John then goes solo for the rest of the episode as they discuss Dragongate&#39;s biggest show of the year, another great Tokyo Joshi Korakuen, Sendai Girls&#39; not 20th anniversary show (also from Korakuen) and finally NOAH Summer Epic. Well, some of it anyway.Williams Watches Wrestling blog: https://suitwilliams.com/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #305: STARDOM 5 STAR GP Nights 1-3, NJPW G1 Climax Nights 2-5, DG Kobe World 7/20, TJPW Summer Sun Princess, Senjo 7/20 Korakuen & NOAH Summer Epic w/ Suit & Quinlan

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/7/12/10/422ba92e-ac30-4214-ac79-4afe2654e783_omakase_episode_304.mp3

It&#39;s another LIVE ON LOCATION episode of Wrestling Omakase, this time from BEAUTIFUL Hoffman Estates, Illinois! John is joined by three frequent Omakase guests all live in the hotel room, as Arametha, Quinlan &amp; John Bivins help them break down an incredible first night of the New Japan Grade One Climax! All nine matches get reviewed, vibes get talked, and a whole lot more.John Bivins&#39; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/punkrock.darkroast/Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #304: NJPW G1 Climax Night 1 Live from Hoffman Estates w/ Arametha, Quinlan & John Bivins

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Episode 2 of the three-episode Arametha takeover is a bonafide Korakuen-palooza, as the two of them discuss new Korakuen shows from NJPW (a big Road to G1 show featuring a major title change and then Tiger Mask&#39;s retirement), STARDOM (featuring an awesome red belt match), Dragongate (yet another middling show) and NOAH (which the two hosts strenuously disagreed on about almost everything!). They also preview a busy upcoming summer in Japanese wrestling with breakdowns of NJPW&#39;s G1 Climax and STARDOM&#39;s 5STAR GP tournaments, including predictions and full rundowns of both opening nights. And then they preview Dragongate&#39;s biggest show of the year, Kobe World, as well as NOAH&#39;s big upcoming show in Osaka. There&#39;s a lot going on right now. Also as a warning, this episode might have a lot of random/off topic banter even by our standards....<a href="http://twitter.com/wrestleomakase" rel="nofollow">Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter</a><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">Follow John on BlueSky</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #303: Korakuen-palooza (NJPW 7/6 & 7/7, STARDOM 6/30, DG 7/2 & NOAH 7/5), G1 Climax & 5STAR GP Previews w/ Arametha

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/6/30/7/63e22ca3-95f7-4b60-8db2-28f7e366166d_omakase_episode_302.mp3

It&#39;s an annual tradition here on Wrestling Omakase, and John isn&#39;t going to get the fact that they are very, very jet lagged put a stop to it! They&#39;re joined by an all star panel of frequent Omakase guests for our 2026 Mid-Year Awards, as all five choose the best &amp; worst of the first half of a busy year in Japanese wrestling! See below for the full list of awards that were covered on the episode, in order. Best Tag TeamBest FeudMost ImprovedMost Overrated/OverpushedMost Underrated/UnderpushedBest UnitWorst UnitBest Major ShowWorst Major ShowMost Outstanding Wrestler (in ring only)Best PromotionWorst PromotionMatch of the (Half) YearWorst Match of the (Half) YearFlair/Thesz Award (in ring + drawing, basically MVP) Apologies for Zencastr repeatedly fucking with us, as well as John falling asleep at the end. Jet lag is real!! It&#39;s a menace!! Joshi-ing Around podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/1309343e-3781-4750-9209-4efbc9976ab6 Check out the Emerald FlowShow: https://redcircle.com/shows/the-emerald-flowshow Social 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.social Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Wrestling Omakase #302: 2026 Mid-Year Awards w/ Arametha, Paul, Eric & Velkej

Omakase means, literally, "I'll leave it up to you". It's a term primarily used in modern Japanese in sushi restaurants, where you allow the chef to prepare their own personal favorites, leaving your meal completely in their hands. Wrestling Omakase, therefore, is a show where we place each episode into the hands of one or two passionate fans, from all across the wrestling spectrum. Our regular host John Carroll has over 20 years of diverse wrestling fandom to draw upon, and they will be joined by a revolving door of guests who will share their knowledge and passion for particular promotions or time periods. While our primary focus will be on modern Japanese wrestling, we will also at least touch on wrestling from all over the world, in addition to the occasional episode covering historical periods of various promotions. This is a journey with wrestling fans around the world, bringing you the promotions they know and love the best, and we hope you will join us!