With the smoke clearing on the 2025 WON Hall of Fame ballots, we have a whopping 8 new inductees to discuss. With all 7 voted in being candidates voted on by returning guest from the Emerald Flowshow, Gerard di Trolio. We go over the inductees, near misses, surprising totals and the future of the ballots with new and returning candidates being announced, finally with picks suggested by us to big Dave himself that we feel should be on the ballot, belong and deserve a look in the future. It was a fun ride covering it once again in 2025 and for the first time we wrap it up with the results!

If you wanna hear more of Gerard and talking about modern NOAH, AJPW, occasionally GLEAT & BJW, check out the Emerald Flowshow!

twitter.com/emeraldflowshow

https://open.spotify.com/show/1sjbd84fZN0VC46hCnyc3V

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For the firs time in a long time STRIGGA & Dylan invest a lot of time into DRAGONGATE and analyze the current stable landscape of the promotion guiding you through the different camps and what their aspirations and goals are. In doing so, they also discuss the most recent Gate of Destiny and King of Gate events. From there, they take it to New Japan Pro Wrestling in November and on their road to the Tokyo Dome. This episode was taped before Tanahashi's opponent was announces, so part of this speculation is redundant – it's fun nonetheless! Finally, the Eastern Lariat reviews DDT's Ultimate Party from November 3rd – a very long, yet fun show.

STRIGGA & Dylan return with their coverage the final days of NJPW's G1 Climax 35 – the biggest tournament of the Summer. With the final and the road leading to it being pretty controversial, did the tournament hold up the high G1 standards? What does the crowd reactions during Konosuke Takeshita vs. EVIL tell us about the individual performers and the state of the company? From booking choices and patterns to match quality and overall presentation, The Eastern Lariat breaks down what worked, what didn't, and where New Japan Pro Wrestling stands after the conclusion of the tournament.

On a special edition of the Eastern Lariat podcast, Dylan welcomes Japanese wrestling translator & historian Cameren Lee on to discuss the life and career of Antonio Inoki. From an unbelievably harsh childhood and improbable upbringing in the wrestling industry we discuss his early days as Rikidozan's trainee and his ascent and attempts to ascend to leading the company which turns into the formation of New Japan Pro Wrestling. From there we go into the deep political waters Inoki was forced to wade through with other wrestlers and especially TV Networks, his rivalry with his former tag team partner Giant Baba as they engage in constant attempts to one up each other as AJPW & NJPW owners. We talk about some of his biggest triumphs and matches in the ring and how he was even more than his reputation hails him as, which leads to scandals as time goes along with questionable decisions being made personally and professionally. We also discuss the underrated hand Inoki's wife at the time, the actress Mitsuko Baisho played in keeping NJPW afloat and all the mayhem surrounding Inoki through the decade. Finally we (relatively) briefly cover his political career which involved more scandal, his 4 year long retirement tour and his post-in-ring career including some talk about the Inoki-ism era of NJPW and his fade into IGF, closing into our thoughts in the overall legacy of this one of a kind complex & influential figure in life, letalone wrestling.

Rest in Peace Antonio Inoki. February 20th, 1943 - October 1st, 2022.

Follow the Eastern Lariat on Twitter: @EasternLariat

Follow Cameren @KinchStalker & check out his blog centered around classic Japanese wrestling translation: frommilotomisawa.wordpress.com

Also very soon STRIGGA will return and join Dylan for a more in-ring focused look at Inoki and his career when we do a Week of: Antonio Inoki. The first episode will be free for all on this feed and the later matches will be on patreon.com/easternlariat so subscribe to hear that along with much great pro wrestling content. Also feel free to follow @STRIGGA for more into him and make sure to subscribe to the Eastern Lariat wherever podcasts are heard and any 5 star reviews are truly appreciated.

Most of all, thank you so much for listening! Thank you Antonio Inoki!

The Eastern Lariat returns with Big Match Sunday … on a Monday! This past weekend saw many big title matches including Higuchi vs. Takeshita and Kenoh vs. Kiyomiya so STRIGGA & Dylan's primary focus was on those matches as well as on some more bullet points from each promotion including the future of the GHC Heavyweight Title, GLEAT's identity, Naruki Doi's status as well as the upcoming D-King Grand Prix. The show however starts with an extensive look at All Japan Pro Wrestling's big 50th Anniversary from Budokan the weekend before plus their Korakuen Hall event the day thereafter.

Next weekend is loaded with shows in Japan, because September 19 brings another public holiday with Keiro no Hi (Respect for the Aged Day) so STRIGGA & Dylan got together to discuss Jun Akiyama's 30th anniversary, All Japan's business ideas going into their 50th anniversary show in Nippon Budokan as well as the card itself and possible outcomes for the future. Who's leaving with the Triple Crown? Who's challenging one day later in Korakuen? Will Chris Daniels be there? While AJPW is full of questions, DRAGONGATE delivers some answers with the pushes of Mochizuki Jr., Ishin Iihashi and D'courage so their upcoming Dangerous Gate gets a preview as well. Other topics are Keiji Muto's retirement show in Tokyo Dome plus an update on Stardom's 5 Star Grand Prix!

Tournament season and no end! On this episode STRIGGA & Dylan discuss NOAH's N-1 Victory in depth in its entirety: Kaito Kiyomiya winning and possibly reclaiming his spot as the ace, Hideki MVP, Great Muta's business for NOAH, Nakajima/Okada and of course all performers and best matches. On top of that the Eastern Lariat crew compares the N-1 with New Japan's G1 Climax. Stardom's tournament however is still going on so STRIGGA & Dylan make predictions on who's going to advance, name best matches and their top performers.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has crossed the finish line and after a little over one month the 32nd G1 Climax is over! Kazuchika Okada scored back to back tournament wins and called his shot, Will Ospreay rose to new hights and left Tetsuya Naito behind, which caught many fans by surprise. Tama Tonga got revenge on Jay White and much, much more happened in these 4 weeks. STRIGGA & Dylan put it all into perspective while bringing up both, the positive and negative aspects of the tournament itself and the surroundings of it. Some of the talking points include their lack of making new stars, their rigid booking patterns and the lack of fan interest, but also the great individual performances and the overall enjoyable tournament. There was a lot to get into, so hop on and enjoy the ride!

After being rather negative on the last episode, STRIGGA & Dylan bounce back with an episode covering two topics that let them enjoy japanese pro-wrestling more than last time while also pointing out what went wrong in their opinions. Part of that is Yuka Sakazaki winning the Princess Cup 2022 over Miu Watanabe about which The Eastern Lariat Crew has a clear opinion and also discusses the general possibility of upward movement within the Cyberfight groups. After that it's G1 time once again with days 16 & 17 of the tournament that delivered one match in particular that STRIGGA & Dylan had totally different takes on. To close out the show they go over the tournament standings and predict the semi finals for Wednesday. A fun time to be had!

This episode of the Eastern Lariat is a mixed bag in many ways. One, because of the usual range of topics from ZERO1 over NOAH to New Japan. Then, there's a lot of mixed feelings towards many of the matches that occurred in the Fire Festival, the N-1 Victory and especially the G1 Climax. STRIGGA & Dylan shout out some of the most outstanding tournamens matches in Tanahashi vs. Goto and Okada vs. Lawlor, while at the same time 2022 feels like a down period in japanese pro-wrestling across the board.

The Eastern Lariat rolls on through the summer with another look at a trifecta of G1 Climax shows form Ehime and Osaka that saw one of the most universally praised matches of the entire tournament with Ospreay vs. Takagi – but was it really that outstanding? Was the first day in Osaka a show of the year contender? Who's beating Jay? Where's the road taking Ishii? Those are some of the talking points being brought up during G1 talk. Besides that STRIGGA & Dylan also discuss All Japan's Oudou tournament and the general direction of the company bewildered once more. This episode though starts with the recent changes in NOAH's N-1 Victory due to Timothy Thatchers absence.

This time the Eastern Lariat has an appealing Sandwich of topics to offer. The show starts out with the first slice of topics as STRIGGA & Dylan discuss three tournaments with ZERO1's Fire Festival, TJPW's Princess Cup and Stardom's 5 Star Grand Prix. Then, the Kobe World double shot of DRAGONGATE is the center piece of attention and the base of an honest discussion about the current and future direction of the company, while the weekend also produced one of the best matches of the year. To complete the Sandwich, the half way point of another tournament is up for discussion, so STRIGGA & Dylan name their top performers in the G1 Climax so far and go over days 8 & 9 of the tournament that left some good and some bad tastes.

Two more down, a lot more to go! That's the motto for the G1 Climax after 7 days of block matches. The Eastern Lariat takes a look at the double shot from Korakuen Hall on July 26 & 27 that delivered an incredible grudge match between Juice Robinson and David Finlay, another strong performance by Henare, a hard hitting main event between Tama Tonga and Tomohiro Ishii and of course a continuation of the Yujiro/Pieter saga! Besides that STRIGGA & Dylan talk about Kaito Ishida leaving DRAGONGATE as well as the Kobe World Cards, GREAT's G-INFINITY tournament, TJPW's Princess Cup, the ZERO1 Fire Festival and Yuya Aoki returning!

In the spirit of the season, The Eastern Lariat returns with deep dive into the big summer gatherings of pro wrestling in japan – the major tournaments. The show starts out with Dylan's rundown of Stardom's 5Star Grand Prix up until Day 4 and then turns to New Japan Pro Wrestling's G1 Climax 35 that crossed the half way point this past weekend. The big question here is: What's in the cards for which performer? The show of course also offers a series of recommended matches, highlights performers and performances and also questions unwritten rules of pro wrestling in Japan. Deservedly so so, All Japan Pro Wrestling is in the main event spot of this show for their excellent, dramatic and energizing Summer Action Wars from Ota Ward that saw two high-class matches in the World Tag Team Title Match and the Final of the Zennichi Junior Festival and that could steer AJPW in the right direction.

With five G1 Climax shows down, The Eastern Lariat returns to look back at this trifecta of events from Sendai as well as the double shot from Ota Ward this past weekend. Dylan & STRIGGA have some clear favorites that stood out and some clear criticisms on some of the performers jumping to Takaaki Kidani's side as he criticized that NJPW matches often follow the same pattern. At the end of the show Dylan and STRIGGA briefly talk about Higuchi & Yoshimura winning the KO-D Tag Team Title and Dylan gives a run down of the Stardom double shot from the weekend.

Every year Umi no Hi, or the Day of the Ocean, marks the start of one of the busiest and most exciting weeks of the year for japanese pro-wrestling. Not only did the 32nd G1 Climax start with a big double header in Hokkaido, but Pro Wrestling NOAH also ran one of their biggest and most well received shows in recent history in Nippon Budokan. Besides a discussion about these shows, matches and developments, STRIGGA & Dylan also analyse All Japan's booking around Suwama winning the Triple Crown, the newest advent of the Voodoo Murders and Budokan on the horizon.

For the 4th consecutive year The Eastern Lariat once again proudly presents the Half Year Awards! On this show Dylan Fox and STRIGGA crown the very best in japanese pro-wrestling in the first six months of 2022 – in 14 categories! This also means the companies represented range from New Japan Pro Wrestling over Ice Ribbon to GLEAT and Ganbare Pro and include men's and women's wrestlers. On top of that Dylan & STRIGGA also discuss the choices that YOU, the listeners, made! This is your guide through the first 6 months of 2021!

This episode of the Eastern Lariat is all about inspiriting stories as STRIGGA & Dylan first talk and rave about the in-ring return of Fujita „Jr" Hayato, who overcame spinal cord cancer to do what he loves again. Another inspiring, yet totally different story is the King of DDT victory and thus KO-D Title win for Kazusada Higuchi in an amazing tournament final. This topped of a great weekend for wrestling in Tokyo that started with GLEAT's Ver. 3 show in Tokyo Dome City Hall that once again looked amazing. Final topic of the show are Stardom's most recent Cage Matches as well as a brief preview of the upcoming 5 Star Grand Prix!

With this huge episode The Eastern Lariat first catches up with NJPW Dominion, the G1 line up, the card for Forbidden Door and the question what could've been and what we're getting now. Then STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the big Cyberfight Festival and from there on focus on the two big topics coming out of that show: Keji Muto announcing his retirement and Tetsuya Endo suffering a concussion which led to him having for forfeit the KO-D Openweigth Championship. From there the two transition to King of DDT, TJPW's Additional Attack plus the card for Summer Sun Princess as well as GLEAT's big card for July 1st. The final topic of the show is the most recent All Japan show from Ota Ward that saw Kento Miyahara vs. Jake Lee for the Triple Crown.

With the two biggest junior heavyweight tournaments in Japan each year being on the closing stretch, the Eastern Lariat reflects on both DRAGONGATE's King of Gate and NJPW's Best of the Super Junior. STRIGGA & Dylan especially go in depth on the BOSJ ranking each performer and naming each wrestler's best matches. The show though starts with a heartfelt look back at the Hana Kimura Memorial show and a roundup on All Japan's current stable swap as well as their Ota Ward card. At the end of the show there's a brief preview of the Cyberfight Fes and the Eastern Lariat's take on the Kota Ibushi situation.

Golden Week 2022 is over and once again it was one of the busiest weeks in japanese pro-wrestling. This goes to show as this is the second episode dedicated to events, matches and stories going on in this particular week. This time STRIGGA & Dylan focus on the important shows Big Japan, DRAGONGATE, All Japan and New Japan ran between 4/29 and 5/5 with some additional topics at the beginning, among them the electric announcement of Fujita "Jr" Hayato's return.

This is part one of the Eastern Lariat's ride through Golden Week 2022! STRIGGA and Dylan start with a look at some of the bigger indies in Japan with Osaka Pro, HEAT UP, Kyushu Pro & Ganbare before turning their attention to a round up of Joshi companies running in Golden week such as Diana, SEAdLINNNG, Marvelous, Ice Ribbon, TJPW & Stardom. The two remaining topics on this episode are NOAH's Sumo Hall double shot including discussions about Nakajma and NOSAWA plus DDT's Mega Max Bump in Yokohama. What was the best match? What's next for Endo, MAO and Higuchi? Is Endo Burning?

Following the episode on the history of Sumo Palace earlier this week, The Eastern Lariat has a quick turnaround and stays on the topic at first with a preview of Pro Wrestling NOAH's double shot in that exact building. What's to be expected from these two shows? Who is X? What's with all the foreign talent coming in? From there, STRIGGA and Dylan take it to GLEAT and their three shows in April that saw Lindaman's first defense of the G-REX Championship. His stablemate T-Hawk is still in the running for the Champion Carnival, which is the 3rd topic on the show. Last, but not least, the Eastern Lariat team looks at New Japan Pro Wrestling following the announcement of the big AEW/NJPW supershow in June. Also Zeus. Zeus is always important.

Dylan hosts a very special historical episode of the Eastern Lariat, joined by his good friend Dr. Jonathan Foye, the author of Ganbaru, the story of how AJPW survived the 2000 NOAH split & his new friend, who happens to be a legendary journalist, who has experience in writing, podcasting, commentating, & working behind the scenes in Japanese wrestling for over 3 decades, Fumi Saito. We discuss many topics on this show centered around Sumo Palace (aka Sumo Hall). We start all the way from the original incarnation of the building nearly 200 years ago to the incarnations of the Kokugikan that followed, then the many big matches and events that took place there over the years and it's recent resurgence over the last month with STARDOM, Zero1, NJPW & NOAH all have or are about to run shows there in the span of a month. Historical content we touch on is too much to list but include:

Rikidozan's start in Sumo Palace and incident with Masahiko Kimura.

NJPW's success in the 80's and Inoki's ways & matches.

The IWGP Title inaugural tournaments.

Tiger Mask(s)!

The famous riots in 1984 & 1987 at the venue.

WWF running in Japan and their interactions with AJPW & NJPW in the early 90's.

Super J Cup and it's legacy among English speaking fans as well as Japanese.

The dark ages of wrestling in Japan in the 2000s and the many companies that ran it over the years.

Thank you for listening to our show and please follow Fumi @fumihikodayo , Dylan @Viva_Zero , Jonathan @JonthanFoye and of course the show @EasternLariat for updates on all things Japanese wrestling, and a new episode with Dylan re-joined by STRIGGA very soon!

Thank you!

On this episode of the Eastern Lariat podcast, STRIGGA & Dylan dive into a packed puroresu lineup. They kick things off with Pro Wrestling NOAH, where KENTA has taken center stage in a major way for the first time since 2014. Then it's over to All Japan Pro Wrestling for a deep look at the Zennichi Junior Tournament and what it means for the promotion's junior division – is this the best its ever been? From there, STRIGGA & Dylan turn their attention to NJPW's G1 Climax 35. They give a synopsis of the first 7 days of the tournament analyzing each competitor's performance so far, comment on booking decisions, and who might make it to the playoffs with Block B being in complete disarray after Gabe Kidd's injury. Finally, things are wrapped up with high speed review of Stardom's 5STAR Grand Prix opening night. Join in for a full tour of the Japanese wrestling landscape!

The Eastern Lariat is back with another MEGA episode as STRIGGA & Dylan once again cover NINE promotions. At the beginning, they address the horrible injury Shinjiro Otani suffered on ZERO1's anniversary show. From there the Eastern Lariat takes it to all major groups in japanese pro-wrestling as the main focus this time are shows from this past weekend and upcoming cards of which many take place in Yokohama so get on board with the Yokohama Lariat!

After one month Dylan and STRIGGA got back together to discuss the latest in japanese pro-wrestling and as luck would have it, the recording took place on the first day of spring, which is a public holiday in Japan. In celebration of this, The Eastern Lariat crew once more included as many topics as they could to provide a colorful mix of different flavors of Puroresu from Joshi over NOAH and NJPW to DDT and TJPW. Winter is over, the hot season in Puroresu is about to start!

Dylan has a guest! With STRIGGA out doing his thing at wXw's 16 Carat, Dylan is left all alone and he's recruited a friend, and he's a doctor! Dr. Jonathan Foye has risen to prominence in wrestling through writing his book, Ganbaru: How All Japan Pro Wrestling Survived the Year 2000 Roster Split which just so happens to cover the AJPW Year 2000 roster split! And coincidentally we start with AJPW in Year 2022 as we offer speculation on the Champion Carnival and much like Captain Planet, our powers unite to come up with perhaps the worst Japanese wrestling idea ever. From there we go to NJPW and discuss both the 50th Anniversary Show and the New Japan Cup, talking about the day 1 matches and then predict a winner and discuss many things. Finally we briefly touch on Kazuyuki Fujita's GHC Title win to end the show. It's a different style of The Lariat and wherever STRIGGA is, WE DID IT ALL FOR YOU, BUDDY.

Follow the Eastern Lariat on Twitter @EasternLariat and vote on our March Madness polls to determine who had the best year in Japanese wrestling while playing off the more famous College basketball tournament!

Follow @JonathanFoye and let him know how nice him and his work was, tell him Dylan sent ya. And while you're at it, why don't you check out his book, which Dylan reviewed on Patreon and approves of wholeheartedly: https://www.amazon.com/Ganbaru-Japan-Wrestling-Survived-Roster-ebook/dp/B09PRN4NMG

Just for giggles, follow STRIGGA as well and check out his adventures doing cool stuff, occasionally making tasty and oddly healthy food in comparison to his Memphian tag partner, and his experiences at 16 Karat: @STRIGGA

Thank you for listening and supporting The Eastern Lariat and all of Japanese pro wrestling!

NINE PROMOTIONS are in the focus of this episode of the Eastern Lariat! The Eastern Lariat looks at matches, upcoming cards, stories and overall developments in Stardom, NJPW, NOAH, DDT, TJPW, DRAGONGATE, AJPW, BJW and GLEAT. On top of that for each promotion STRIGGA & Dylan give their excitement level. Join in on a comprehensive tour through japanese pro-wrestling!

STRIGGA & Dylan revive the great tradition of drafts on the Eastern Lariat with a special New Year Draft creating to new companies of 25 wrestlers in a very unique setting which in the end led to picks from 11 different companies from all over Japan. While discussing their draft picks, the combatants also talk about some recent shows and matches their picks have been featured in so you'll get both: A fantasy draft and a d look at current events placed in reality!  

With Wrestle Kingdom 16 in the books the Eastern Lariat looks back at all the important developments on the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom in terms of New Japan Pro Wrestling. STRIGGA & Dylan discuss the meaning of Wrestle Kingdom with multiple shows, the excitement level going in, the work on both shows as well as title programs and projections for the future. Another talking point in this context is the question if the first week of January already is too loaded with wrestling shows, because before talking about Wrestle Kingdom, STRIGGA & Dylan also look at TJPW, DDT and Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The beginning of the new year traditionally is one of the busiest times for japanese pro-wrestling, not only because of NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom, but because seemingly every promotion – from small indies to nationwide companies – are running on or around "Ittenyon" as well. This show is about the promotions beyond NJPW. While the second half of the show is completely dedicated to NOAH's new New Year's tradition of running Nippon Budokan, the first half of the show contains discussions about Toshikoshi (New Year's Eve) Pro-Wrestling, Big Japan, ZERO1, STARDOM, Ice Ribbon, All Japan and Kyushu Pro's first ever show in the japanese capital. Join is for this massive New Year Lariat!

Another year is in the books and while 2021 once again was a year of huge challenges, sacrifices, grief and for a lot of us searching a foothold and support, it also was a year that brought us joy, fun, excitement and hope. Pro-Wrestling as an art form is what brings us together and so The Eastern Lariat once more proudly presents the Year End Award 2021. In 14 categories Dylan, STRIGGA and their guest for this episode, Rob, look back at the year in japanese pro-wrestling and highlight their top performers, matches, moments and so much more. From MVP over Show of the Year to Most Underrated and Most Improved, the Eastern Lariat hopes to offer a digest of the best in Puroresu in 2021!

Join in with the Eastern Lariat celebrating their 200th episode! After reflecting on the history of the podcast with Dylan & STRIGGA telling the story of how they became a team, the dymanic duo focuses on their bread and butter: Japanese Pro-Wrestling! The anniversary episode sets the stage to discuss the incredible 60 minute time limit draw between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kenou in Pro Wrestling NOAH. Of course, STRIGGA & Dylan also look at NOAH's Budokan card and make some predictions for various wrestlers in 2022. Other topics on this show include All Japan, their Real World Tag League, Jake Lee as champion and Naoya Nomura leaving. DDT is also featured once again with the D-Ou GP final between Konosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno that could've started a new main event rivalry. Last, but not least the turmoil in the Joshi scene with retirements and wrestlers leaving their promotions gets talked about. Another show that embodies the full Eastern Lariat spirit of covering as much ground as possible!

New Japan vs. NOAH – the announcement caught the pro-wrestling world by storm, which of course means the news of the interpromotional show in Yokohama on January 8 takes center stage on this Eastern Lariat episode. Is it a one time thing? What matches are to expect and will get politics get in the way of these? From there STRIGGA & Dylan take it to Dramatic Dream Team. After some interesting notes from an Jun Akiyama/Sanshiro Takagi interview about DDT's goals and scouting the focus is on the D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 and its top matches and top performers. Other topics include All Japan's Real World Tag League and NJPW recommendations from the World Tag League and the Best of the Super Junior.

The Eastern Lariat is back with the much-anticipated Half Year Awards show for 2025! Join in as STRIGGA & Dylan break down YOUR votes and THEIR picks across 12 categories, celebrating the very best of Japanese pro-wrestling in the first six months. From clear-cut winners in some categories, the discussions intensifies on who truly deserves other trophies such like wrestler of the half year, best foreigner, most improved or tag team. STRIGGA & Dylan comment on the obvious choices and also name hidden gems from NJPW to ChocoPro while always keeping business impact in mind. This episode is packed with insight, passion, and plenty of spirited debate. Guided by the listener ballots, the show once again paints a rich picture of an ever-evolving pro wrestling scene in Japan.

A new Puroresu Potpourri has arrived and its ingredients are tasty, spicy, sweet and balanced! The Eastern Lariat crew goes back to last weekend and talks about Pro Wrestling NOAH & All Japan at the end of October before turning over the sheet. November 3rd saw big shows from DDT and DRAGONGATE with a tournament and title matches and of course New Japan's Power Struggle from Osaka is on the menu as well. Join us for a wholefood meal of five of the top promotions in Japan plus some other notes on the independents in Japan!

In this two parter The Eastern Lariat first covers the untimely passing of BADBOY Hido before turning the attention to some brighter topics with Osaka Pro Wrestling & All Japan's Champion Night 2. The second part of the episode is completely dedicated to New Japan Pro Wrestling's G1 Climax 31 that ended with a show that was a roller coaster of emotions with the big return of Katsuyori Shibata to pro-wrestling and Kota Ibushi being seriously injured. Amidst the shock about Ibushi arose the confusion about Okada's claim to be the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and thus unseating Shingo Takagi in his vision. STRIGGA & Dylan try to make sense of this all and after that name their top G1 matches & performers.

In this special episode STRIGGA is joined by Izzac of Puro in the Rough to discuss former Triple Crown Champion and Osaka Pro trainee Zeus buying Osaka Pro Wrestling. Izzac and STRIGGA talk about Osaka Pro's history, the current Osaka scene as well as other companies and the future of Osaka Pro Wrestling.

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!

STRIGGA & Dylan return with a deep dive into New Japan Pro Wrestling's Dominion, breaking down the key moments from NJPW's annual big summer event in Osaka. The main focus in this show is on questionable booking decisions, but also on character development and how very little of this development ever matters. With the results of the show and the actual good match quality in mind, they analyze what it says about New Japan's current direction. The conversation heats up with a look at the growing influence of the House of Torture and ongoing shifts in faction dynamics. How are these developments shaping the landscape heading into the summer? This leads straight to an early speculation about who might be the favorites going into the G1 Climax and how this could shape the second half of 2025 and the road to the Tokyo Dome.

Disclaimer: The final 15 minutes of the show see Dylan mourn the death of his grandpa Ken.

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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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.