Wrestling Omakase
Wrestling Omakase

Wrestling Omakase

Wrestling Omakase

Overview
Episodes

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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!This podcast is a member of the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network. Learn more about the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network at voicesofwrestling.com.

Recent Episodes

Wrestling Omakase #276: Wrestle Kingdom Week 2025-26 Preview Part 1 (NJPW, NOAH, AJPW, DDT, BASARA, Ganbare, BJW & GLEAT)
DEC 14, 2025
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
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211 MIN
Wrestling Omakase #275: STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 10-13 & Wrap-Up, DDT 11/30 Korakuen & Sendai Girls 11/22 w/ Snazzy
DEC 2, 2025
Wrestling Omakase #275: STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 10-13 & Wrap-Up, DDT 11/30 Korakuen & Sendai Girls 11/22 w/ Snazzy
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
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201 MIN
Wrestling Omakase #274: NOAH 11/21 Sendai, PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE, STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 8 & 9 (11/23 & 11/24), Sendai Girls 11/18 & OZ Academy 11/23 w/ Velkej
NOV 26, 2025
Wrestling Omakase #274: NOAH 11/21 Sendai, PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE, STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 8 & 9 (11/23 & 11/24), Sendai Girls 11/18 & OZ Academy 11/23 w/ Velkej
"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
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201 MIN
Wrestling Omakase #273: Sendai Girls 11/16 & Marigold 11/17 Korakuens, STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 4-7 & NOAH 11/15 Osaka w/ John Bivins
NOV 18, 2025
Wrestling Omakase #273: Sendai Girls 11/16 & Marigold 11/17 Korakuens, STARDOM Goddesses Tag League Nights 4-7 & NOAH 11/15 Osaka w/ John Bivins
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
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164 MIN
Wrestling Omakase #272: Tanahashi/Okada Announcement, NOAH 11/8, Goddesses of STARDOM League Nights 1-3, TJPW 11/9 & DG 11/6 w/ Paul Volsch
NOV 11, 2025
Wrestling Omakase #272: Tanahashi/Okada Announcement, NOAH 11/8, Goddesses of STARDOM League Nights 1-3, TJPW 11/9 & DG 11/6 w/ Paul Volsch
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
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178 MIN