On this episode STRIGGA & Dylan take a deep dive into most recent events in All Japan Pro Wrestling, first and foremost the Oudou Tournament, by analyzing standout matches, the booking of the tournament and its impact on AJPW's future. The discussion then shifts to a spotlight on the best wrestlers in Japan under 30 in Japan and which company has the edge in this category. Lastly, Eastern Lariat crew covers Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Princes V and also offers a look at Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix and where the company stands four months into its existence.

After a very poorly received final of Pro Wrestling NOAH's N-1 Victory The Eastern Lariat looks at what went wrong during the tournament and what bright spots are visible on the horizon for NOAH's Ark. More well received, but not in any way spectacular was All Japan's Summer Action Wars event from Fukuoka. That doesn't stop STRIGGA & Dylan from being excited for the immediate future of the entire roster and its unique characters as well as for the upcoming Oudou tournament. A former Triple Crown Champion was called out by the new KO-D Openweight Champion Shinya Aoki and the Lariat crew wonders if Katsuhiko Nakajima is really gonna wind up in DDT. Another former Triple Crown Champion wound up in NJPW in Jake Lee, which is the final talking point of a show that looks across the scene to find positives during a down time in japanese pro-wrestling,

The second episode of the Sakura Potourri features an extensive look at the joshi scene in Japan as STRIGGA & Dylan not only discuss the Marigold press conference and its future outlook, but they also take a ride through almost the entire scene with a focus on Ice Ribbon, WAVE, Sendai Girls & TJPW before turning to NOAH's most recent Korakuen Hall show and DRAGONGATE's Rey de Parejas Final & Dead or Alive card. Final topic of the show is New Japan with their Windy City Riot featuring Jon Moxley's title win and many more matches to discuss as well as the upcoming cards for Wrestling Dontaku.

After a huge weekend of professional wrestling in Japan the Eastern Lariat returns with a wide range of topics and promotions! STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the current situation in the G1 Climax and shed a light of the good, the bad and stuff in between. From there they take it to Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom, two promotions that ran big shows on the second weekend of October. What's there to say about the title picture in TJPW? What's the outlook for Stardom's main event scene? The title picture is the main focus for Pro Wrestling NOAH as well after Katsuhiko Nakajima won the GHC Heavyweight Championship and declared himself "NOAH" - what's next for the company and its new champion?

Tournaments all over the place! STRIGGA & Dylan look back at the beginning of this year's G1 Climax where we saw highlights, but also lowlights and repetitive & tired tropes. The N-1 Victory and Stardom's 5 Star GP come across like fresher and more diverting tournaments – just because of their concepts? Besides these 3 tournaments The Eastern Lariat crew also looks at the most recent All Japan Korakuen Hall show, discusses Jake Lee as Champion and breaks down the Real World Tag League Line Up.

With Wrestle Grand Slam in the rear view mirror and the G1 Climax right around the corner STRIGGA & Dylan got back on track to discuss the two nights of New Japan Pro Wrestling in the MetLife Dome including big title matches, turns and a horrendous match between Yano and Owens. The Eastern Lariat crew gives their take on the G1 Climax line up and has a clear winner in mind. Other topics besides NJPW include the STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix, GLEAT & ZERO1 in dispute over Hayato Tamura, Suwama challenging for the Triple Crown & DAMNATION disbanding.

With the resurgence of New Japan Pro Wrestling of America The Eastern Lariat for the first time in months presents an extensive look at the matches, stories and future events in NJPW. While this part of the show is mostly focused on the US side of things, STRIGGA & Dylan also discuss participants in this year's G1 Climax and whats up with White, Finlay & Robinson. The voyage over the big pond then leads the Eastern Lariat team to Pro Wrestling NOAH, their most recent Kawasaki Go event and the upcoming N-1 Victory. The show is then topped off by the "rapid fire tournament corner" as STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the Tokyo Princess Cup, Stardom's 5 Star Grand Prix being on hold and AJPW's Oudou Tournament 2021.

This episode of the Eastern Lariat revolves around Dragon Gate and their two day spectacle known as the Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2021 that saw Masato Yoshino's final two matches and his emotional retirement while the question whether it was Kzy time was answered with a crushing no. Titles, masks and toilet wipes changed hands while the action was wild and unpredictable. Join us in our look back at some fond memories of Yoshino and the Dragon System itself while also looking into the future of Dragon Gate. Other topics on this show include TJPW's Princess Cup and the send-offs of Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji in NJPW.

A lot has happened in late July in the world of japanese pro-wrestling so the Eastern Lariat duo got back together to discuss a wide range of topics led by New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome and its aftermath. The show though starts with a look back at All Japan's Summer Action Series and then moves to GLEAT's recent events (including the highly praised Takuya Nomura vs. Yu Iizuka bout) before STRIGGA & Dylan discuss current and future events in a trifecta of Joshi promotions in Stardom, Ice Ribbon and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.

The Eastern Lariat once again proudly presents the Half Year Awards! In staggering 14 categories Dylan Fox and STRIGGA welcome POST Wrestling's WH Park back to the show to discuss all their choices as well as the choices that YOU, the listeners made! It's an incredible ride from New Japan Pro Wrestling over Dramatic Dream Team to Marvelous, from FREEDOMS over Sendai Girls to Ganbare Pro to Keita in the House! Almost none of the bigger japanese wrestling promotion, men's or women's, gets forgotten. This is your guide through the first 6 months of 2021!

After a month long hiatus the Eastern Lariat returns with one of its classic formats: The Big Summer Potpourri! A lot has happened since STRIGGA & Dylan too a look at the Japanese landscape for the last time and now it's time to gain an overview again of what's going on in places like All Japan, NOAH, GLEAT, DDT and Stardom. Join in on a fun ride as The Eastern Lariat discusses the Triple Crown Tomoe Battle, NOAH's Cage War, GLEAT's official launch, Takeshita, Higuchi, Hino and the Stardom 5*Star Grand Prix Line Up!

It's a special episode of the Lariat! STRIGGA is out winning at life this week so Dylan is joined by friend of the show, Happy Wrestling Land's Rob McCauley. They're here talking two huge shows in wrestling. First it's all about CyberFight Festival and they go through every match on the event featuring stars from NOAH, DDT, TJPW, & Ganbare Pro, and of course the discussion of Naomichi Marufuji's title win. After that they run down a full preview of the King of DDT tournament coming up and talk about all the matches. Finally to close the show they talk about the biggest company in Japan, NJPW. It was time for Dominion and we saw what ended up being the biggest upset of the year in the main event with a new IWGP champion crowned! We talk about Shingo Takagi's new run as champion and have a time doing it. It's a big one, there's lot to talk about, lots to say, hopefully you enjoy!

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And subscribe to our Patreon for 100s of hours of Japanese wrestling content both past and present, along with Dylan & Rob's upcoming coverage of the King of DDT tournament, and big shows from Stardom, AJPW, NOAH, US Promotions and more just this month! patreon.com/easternlariat 

This week the Eastern Lariat offers a very tasty tournament heavy main menu composed of All Japan Pro Wrestling's Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY and Dragongate's King of Gate with both tournaments making a new star in Akira Francesco and Kota Minoura. On the side there's discussions about the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Corona in Japan and in BJW specifically as well as Dylan's rundown of the Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial show from Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Join STRIGGA & Dylan for another episode as they dive into the ever evolving world of japanese pro wrestling! In another potpourri episode the Eastern Lariat covers a lot of ground covering no less than 8 different promotions. The discussion begins with DDT, TJPW & DRAGONGATE on WrestleMania weekend and quickly moves to a more general discussion about the DG roster and the missing game changing high flyer for all of japanese pro wrestling. This also brings the Eastern Lariat crew to NJPW and the line up for the Best of the Super Junior as well as a discussion about a very mediocre Sakura Genesis show including that Gabe Kidd promo, Tetsuya Naito vs. Yota Tsuji and the possibilities for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at Windy City Riot. Following that, they take a deep dive into the latest events in AJPW, including some harsh words on Anzai vs. Nakajima, speculations about Nakajima's exit and a the post-title change ramifications for the Champion Carnival.

The newest episode of The Eastern Lariat has a package of four very different topics to offer – be it from a storyline, an in ring or an emotional standpoint or even in regards of the overall state of the companies in discussion. First off STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the dysfunctional state of New Japan Pro Wrestling at the moment and discuss how to escape from this seemingly abysmal situation. Then they discuss the very promising GLEAT show from 5/26 as well as the highly emotional Memorial show for Hana Kimura from 5/23 that got the wrestling world together in a very wholesome way. Finally you get a big preview of the upcoming DDT/NOAH/TJP/Ganbare CyberFight Festibal on June 6 in Saitama Super Arena!

With Golden Week in the rear view mirror The Eastern Lariat crew got together to discuss major developments, matches and stories in some of the big japanes pro-wrestling companies. Following up Dylan's great Patreon series about the Champion Carnival he did with Rob (@BeMcCooley on Twitter) we once again got Rob onto the show to discuss the Carnival as well as other developments in NJPW, Kyushu Pro, TJPW, DDT and Dragon Gate in one of the busiest weeks of the year in Japan!

In this two parted episode the Eastern Lariat crew first looks at a bunch of different topics from last week including Samoa Joe being let go by WWE, TTT's new Indepenendent Championship, the 5/26 GLEAT card, DDT vs. NOAH and CyberFight, TJPW's amazing Still Incomplete show, Stardom's Cinderella Tournament and 2AW before STRIGGA & Dylan turn their attention to the first half of AJPW's Champion Carnival and put everything into perspective as they name their top five performers, top five matches and rate every performer's tournament so far.

This episode of the Eastern Lariat starts out with an hour long synopsis of the current state of New Japan Pro Wrestling after Sakura Genesis. This includes the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Kota Ibushi's fall from grace, Will Ospreay's rise to such as well as Okada, Tanahashi and much, much more. After that STRIGGA & Dylan make their picks for the 2021 Champion Carnival of All Japan Pro Wrestling thus mapping out their ideas for storylines within the tournament. Join in for a fun ride!

After a brief hiatus The Eastern Lariat returns with a mixed bag of topics starting out with our very own March Madness and shouting out the Bracketology podcasts. From there STRIGGA & Dylan first take it to the New Japan Cup before going into the championship situations in NJPW, DDT, NOAH and AJPW. The final topic of the show begins with Ryuichi Kawakami signing with GLEAT and ends with fantasy booking a whole GLEAT roster and championships. Join us for our discussion about a lot of gold!

Both Aaron & Taylor from Jumping Bomb Audio join Dylan! We run through the entire Bracket of the best of women's wrestling in Japan! Every performer and matchup is spotlighted until we all come down to our winners, as well as the predictions of the polls. It was a lot of fun and a lot of great discussion throughout. Please enjoy and support both the Eastern Lariat and Jumping Bomb Audio, as well as Joshi Puroresu and all women's wrestling in general!

Dylan is joined by WH Park of POST Wrestling to discuss the Heavyweight Bracket of March Madness as in a whirlwind of a show where WH drifts into fantasy booking overdrive taking things to levels Dylan, and perhaps nobody could have predicted. A lesson is learned for all of us though: Theae things, and wrestling in general...are just for fun.

5 years have passed since the untimely death of one of pro-wrestling's most beloved performers of all time: Hayabusa. On this show, originally released one day after Hayabusa's death on March 4, 2016, STRIGGA was joined by FMW expert Bret (@BAHUFMW on Twitter) to talk about the life and career of the man that started his career under his real name Eiji Ezaki and would rise to unparalleled heights until his accident in 2001 as Hayabusa.

This episode of the Eastern Lariat starts off with rather difficult topics as STRIGGA & Dylan discuss Marty Scurll potentially coming into New Japan, Hiromo Takahashi being out for a long time and Kota Ibushi's weird body language. But fear not! The guys have a lot of fun discussing All Japan's recent and upcoming events as well as the Champion Carnival line up plus CyberFight's announcement of a big joint show of all companies under their umbrella.

Welcome back to the Eastern Lariat! STRIGGA & Dylan dive right back into the hottest topics in the world of japanese pro wrestling! As Stardom sees the departure of five wrestlers who are very likely heading to Rossy Ogawa's new project, STRIGGA & Dylan explore the implications for both sides and what impact it could have on the scene as a whole. In NJPW, Yota Tsuji's New Japan Cup victory is the talk of the town right now, while at the same time the quality of the tournament and of the roster as a whole raises questions and concerns about the future. Towards the end of the show, AJPW's Champion Carnival lineup and Katsuhiko Nakajima's Triple Crown run take center stage.

The Eastern Lariat once again delivers one of their Puroresu Potpourris with a look back at two companies and their most recent big shows in Tokyo Joshi Pro's Positive Chain and DDT's Kawasaki Strong 2021 that saw Jun Akiyama win the KO-D Openweight Title. STRIGGA & Dylan also look at Stardom's Budokan Hall card for March 3rd and discuss winners and losers.

How do you like your steak? Medium? Medium rare? With out without mashed potatoes? Did you maybe not even ask for the mashed potatoes? Answering these questions is important of course, but even more important are the topics on this edition of the Eastern Lariat! STRIGGA & Dylan once again look at New Japn Pro Wrestling and their New Beginning in Hiroshima events as well as at their business stateside. The second big topic of the show is Pro Wrestling NOAH's return to Budokan that saw Keiji Muto capture the GHC Heavyweight Title. Join us in our discussion of NOAH Destination 2021, the company's new logo, English commentary and much more!

...there was a lot to talk about. This is why the Eastern Lariat is already back with a new MAXIMUM sized edition of the acquainted Puroresu Potpourri! This episode heavily revolves around New Japan's business including Harold Meij, Roku TV and AEW, but of course also around the wrestling side of things itself. Tanahashi won the NEVER Title, Jay White returned, there's big shows coming up. This New Japan package is complemented by DDT's big card for 2/12, Dragon Gate's Truth Gate kicking off, THE BODYGAAAH's Colega Pro Wrestling and Dylan's MARCHMADNESS!

On this very special edition of the Eastern Lariat STRIGGA & Dylan welcome Mark Pickering, one half of the English commentary team, to the show to discuss Mark's background in judo & pro-wrestling as well as his travels that have led him to the dojos of legendary figures of the sport. The main topic of course is Pro Wrestling NOAH's return to Budokan after over a decade so Mark adds his perspective to every match on the card as the Eastern Lariat sets sail towards NOAH Destination ~ Back to Budokan!

This New Year's Potpourri of the Eastern Lariat comes to you with a variety of topics. First STRIGGA & Dylan talk about the state of emergency in Japan due to COVID-19 and what it means for pro-wrestling. Under the impression of the looming state of emergency New Japan, All Japan, DDT and TJP all ran shows in the first week of 2021. The Eastern Lariat looks back at all those events and shout out great matches, stories and developments in each promotion.

After two nights full of highlights, great matches, questionable decisions and also some underwhelming performances The Eastern Lariat presents Wrestle Kingdom 15 In Review! STRIGGA & Dylan tackle all the important matches, stories and developments surrounding New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest and most important show of the year in a 2 hour show that praises where praise is due and that doesn't hold back when criticism is appropriate.

For the final show of the year The Eastern Lariat first offers you a wide range of news from all over Japan: rookies in AJPW, Iwasaki & SUGI leaving ZERO1, Murakami in NOAH, Dragon Gate & Ryukyu Dragon Pro and of course Yoshiko & Nanae Takahashi returning to Stardom. Then STRIGGA & Dylan focus on Dragon Gate's Final Gate and DDT's D-King Grand Prix Final and finally there's still plenty of room left for the 2021 PREDICTIONS~~! Another jam-packed show to end a crazy year – maybe with some crazy predictions?

The Eastern Lariat proudly presents the Year End Awards 2020! In this episode STRIGGA, Dylan and their guest WH Park present their picks for a long list of categories that produce a wide rage of winners from all kinds of promotions throughout the japanese pro-wrestling scene which include MVP, best promotion, best show, most underrated, best moment and more! Join us in diving into the unprecedented and challenging year 2020 in japanese pro-wrestling!

The Eastern Lariat returns with a close look at All Japan, DDT and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The focal point of AJPW right now is the change of the book and the departure of promising talent Yusuke Okada. Besides that STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the Real World Tag League, Yuma Aoyagi's upcoming challenge for the Triple Crown and the highlights of the D-King Grand Prix. NOAH once again is the main topic of the show with their return to Budokan in February, Shiozaki vs. Sugiura, the junior division and much more!

This time the Eastern Lariat focuses on two promotions: Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. BJW recently ran EDION Arena Osaka with a loaded show coming off a 14 show tour in November so there's a lot to unpack. NOAH also had a big show to offer that was headlined by Shiozaki vs. Nakajima that got rave reviews. Was it THAT good? When looking towards the future for NOAH STRIGGA & Dylan also drop the name Yuji Hino who announced his departure from ZERO1.

Another Eastern Lariat awaits you with almost two hours full of news, discussions and opinionated takes on the world of japanese pro wrestling. After a brief talk about Jun Akiyama vs. Bryan Danielson,  STRIGGA & Dylan present Wrestle Universe's latest upgrades and price modeling before they go to the much-anticipated and very well received debut of Kasei Takechi. Following some quick notes on Pro Wrestling NOAH & REALZERO1 the next big talking point is All Japan and the Excite series with some questions looming above the promotion and it's direction towards the Champion Carnival. Last and maybe least(?) STRIGGA & Dylan take about an hour to break down the atrocious week in Sapporo with some head scratching title changes and decisions that washed away lots of excitement they had built just two weeks before. While doing so, the Eastern Lariat crew also breaks down the roster in an attempt to figure out who could be trusted with the World Title right now.

In a new Eastern Lariat episode STRIGGA & Dylan first tackle the absolutely disappointing Power Struggle show an the baffling booking behind New Japan Pro Wrestling in recent months where multiple panic buttons seem to be pushed since the peak of popularity has not only been reached for the company as a whole, but also for their top stars. In brighter news Tokyo Joshi Pro had a very good show on the same day as Power Struggle so STRIGGA & Dylan also talk about that and discuss some of the leading as well as up and coming characters before turning their attention to Pro Wrestling NOAH and their upcoming big event in Yokohama Budokan headlined by Shiozaki vs. Nakajima.

Among the dozens of shows that were promoted all over the country on Bunka no Hi (Culture Day) on November 3rd, two clearly stuck out: Dramatic Dream Team's Ultimate Party in Ota Ward Gymnasium and The Gate of Destiny 2020 by Dragon Gate. So STRIGGA & Dylan got together to take a deep dive into DDT & DG to discuss all the matches, storylines, developments, characters and what's on the horizon for both companies. But behold! The show begins with STRIGGA's review of VKF Halloween Havoc 2020!

This week the Eastern Lariat has a potpourri of different topics to offer as STRIGGA & Dylan discuss a wide range of promotions from VKF over VAMOSTAR to ZERO1, Tenryu Project and the debut of GLEAT. Of course the fantastic NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title match is a topic of interest just like BJW with their Saikyou Tag Tournament, title changes and upcoming cards as well as All Japan's events in Osaka & Tokyo as part of their anniversary tour. One main talking point for AJPW is the discussion about possible scenarios of Suwama losing the Triple Crown that don't involve Kento Miyahara.

It's all said, it's all done, Ibushi is on top again! The 30th G1 Climax is in the books and just like every year the Eastern Lariat looks back at the grand scheme of things on the Monday after the tournament ended. Joined by Rob, who did the Patreon reviews with Dylan, the trio rates each performer's tournament, mentions some of the best matches and goes in depth on the key storylines throughout the tournament and those that were set up for the upcoming months. Just a comprehensive look at the entire G1 Climax 30!

The Eastern Lariat once again revolves around all the tournaments in Japan and two of those have already come to a close which allows both a look back at the finals and a look forward to the immediate future of All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Still ongoing is the ZERO1 Fire Festival, but since none of it has made air yet STRIGGA & Dylan make quick work of that and focus on the main topic of the show: The G1 Climax and its final scenarios. With 4 days of block action left there are some possible finals left that would then create different roads to Wrestle Kingdom. Are they going with SANADA? Is it Okada's year? What about Jay White, EVIL and the BULLET CLUB? That and much more on a new Eastern Lariat episode!

In this episode the Eastern Lariat podcast opens up the tournament headquarters as STRIGGA & Dylan talk about all four ongoing heavyweight tournaments in japanese wrestling at the moment: ZERO1's Fire Festival, All Japan's Champion Carnival, NOAH's N-1 Victory and of course the 30th G1 Climax of New Japan Pro Wrestling. For AJPW & NOAH STRIGGA & Dylan shout out the best shows and best matches while they cover the G1 Climax in a comprehensive overview by debating every participant's performance and best matches so far.

With the 30th anniversary of the biggest tournament in japanese professional wrestling right around the corner New Japan Pro Wrestling finally announced the full line up of the G1 Climax 30 stat's starting on September 19 in Osaka. Like every year STRIGGA & Dylan got together to discuss potential winners, dark horses, alternative candidates and of course who gets to beat the champion. This time the field of 20 also raises the question why there are no new entrants for the first time in the tournement's history and what that says about NJPW as a whole.

The Eastern Lariat returns with a huge episode covering all the events that occured last weekend in New Japan, Big Japan and All Japan. From New Japan's first outdoor show since 1999 over the last Yokohama Bunka show ever STRIGGA & Dylan go to All Japan's Korakuen Hall show. Other talking points are the AXIS split in Pro Wrestling NOAH, the new Joshi „Assemble" as well as the first GLEAT card.

The tournament season continues on the Eastern Lariat podcast! This week STRIGGA & Dylam take a deeper dive into All Japan's Champion Carnival as well as Pro Wrestling NOAH's N-1 Victory. They rate the blocks, go over every wrestler and their chances and lay out some potential scenarios as well as dark horses in each tournament. Another big talking point this week is the formation of GLEAT, the new promotion under the banner of LIDET, the former owners of NOAH. What does Kiyoshi Tamura have in store for the wrestling world?

In a new edition of the Eastern Lariat STRIGGA & Dylan first discuss corona numbers in Japan rising and a possible correlation to crowds at wrestling shows. Dylan then goes over his reccomendations for the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix so far while STRIGGA jumps in as the two debate Tokyo Joshi Pro's Tokyo Princess Cup and Dramatic Dream Team's King of DDT tournament. Another huge talking point is Pro Wrestling NOAH with their 3 big shows in early August to celebrate their 20th Anniversary. In the end the two go rapid fire on the Aoki Memorial and the N-1 & Champion Carnival line ups.

The Eastern Lariat returns with an analysis of the most recent developments across various promotions in Japan. From El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.'s GHC Heavyweight Championship win in Pro Wrestling NOAH to Rei Saito's unfortunate injury keeping him out of the Triple Crown match with Nakajima, we discuss championship changing hands, the reasoning behind Kenoh losing YET AGAIN and also look at upcoming All Japan cards.
Additionally, we address Bushiroad firing Stardom founder and long time booker Rossy Ogawa amidst accusations of poaching and allegedly being far advanced in setting up a new promotion. This sent shock waves through the wrestling world much like the highly acclaimed Danielson vs. Zack Sabre match and the Dog Pound Cage Match from Osaka. We provide in-depth analysis of the the New Beginning in Osaka including Kazuchika Okada's weird retirement road, so join us for a 2 hour discussion the major stories in japanese pro-wrestling!

After an eventful weekend in the realm of japanese pro-wrestling and an unexpected eventful Monday with the announcement of CyberFight The Eastern Lariat returns yet again to discuss a bunch of different topics starting with smaller companies such as Ganbare Pro, ZERO1, DOVE, BASARA and from there going to Stardom, their recent shows and the upcoming 5 Star Grand Prix. STRIGG A & Dylan also talk about the big title matches in All Japan (Suwama vs. Ishikawa, Yokosuka vs. Iwamoto) and New Japan (EVIL vs. Hiromu, Takagi vs. Desperado) that happened over the weekend and also discuss about the directions both companies are going in.

In another super sized edition The Eastern Lariat looks back at possibly the most challenging and unusual six months in wrestling history from a japanese stand point. Like most other countries, Japan was affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 and still though wrestling found a way – mostly through empty arena shows. That's why this year for the first (and only?) time the Half Year Awards saw the awards for best empty arena wrestler and show besides the regular categories like MVP, most outstanding, best promotion, most underrated and so on and so forth. Join the Eastern Lariat for a fun ride through the entire japanese wrestling scene!

Calling the New Japan double shot eventful would probably be the understatement of the year. We saw turns, title changes, returns, ref bumps and shenanigans en masse. The Eastern Lariat tries to make sense of it all as STRIGGA & Dylan dicuss all of the important matches, EVIL joining the BULLET CLUB, the debut of his new "pareja" Dick Togo, Dangerous Tekkers and much, much more in a HUGE episode of the Eastern Lariat.