The new generation of the Eastern Lariat is here! She did such a fabulous job stepping in as a guest, it didn't take long for me to give her a starring role. So please give a hand to the new permanent co-host of the Eastern Lariat... @amyhay___ *Final Fantasy VI Victory Music Plays* I was absolutely ecstatic with recording her first official episode as co-host, since 90% of it was just us making each other laugh. We talked about all sorts of things in the world of Japanese wrestling and there's gonna be a lot more to come from us. Not just DG, but NJPW, NOAH, AJPW, Joshi, everything will be in play good and bad. The honesty of the show hasn't changed at all as we proved by the end of this episode. 🤣 But our show is available everywhere, and can be heard below. And I am so excited for the future, this show is only scratching the surface of what it can and will be. 🩵⬇️💛

In my opinion Wrestle Odyssey 2 was better than expected despite the number. The main event is polarizing and I am definitely on the "this was bad" side but at least it was bad in an entertaining way. It almost seems like that's what they were going for, and the big BUSHI interference got a huge pop. Even though it doesn't fit my vision of what NOAH should be these guys at least used to be draws with this kind of stuff so I get it. I thought Kenoh/Kouga vs. Kaito/Inamura was the best match of the show, with the Jr. Title match a close second and the Jr. Tag Titles 3rd. And all 3 matches I would rate as legitimately great/4 ☆s or better/8 or better. The Kouga stuff is the most intriguing stuff storyline wise and he and Odashima are the only two characters I can get behind currently in the company. While I have to admit Fujimura stepped up really big and did everything he could to step up to Bane's amazing level. I still don't like him in this heel gimmick but he is a really fine choice as champion and a potentially great roadblock for Odashima to finally get his big title win. Everything besides the World/National title match which I thought was even worse than the main event, everything else was at least good fun. This wasn't a bad show at all, it could have been a great show with a great main event but I just personally didn't see it that way.

NOAH WRESTLE ODYSSEY 2 main evented by Tetsuya Naito vs. OZAWA drew a reported attendance of 4,253 fans at Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan, up 636 fans from WRESTLE ODYSSEY last year main evented by KENTA vs. Masa Kitamiya. #noah_ghc

I think the easiest route that could accomplish the most while being something they would do would be Suwama and Go winning but I'll of course support my boys Sekimoto & Kengo and Hideki & Thatcher!

AJPW's Real World Tag League Participants have been announced: A BLOCK HAVOC (Xyon & Oddyssey) Kento Miyahara & Hyo Ogawa MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka Ryuki Honda & Masayuki Kono Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) Suwama & Go Shiozaki B BLOCK Dan Tamura & Seigo Tachibana Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo Hideki Suzuki & Timothy Thatcher HAVOC (Cal Bloom & Shotaro Ashino) Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos) Yuma Anzai & Yuma Aoyagi #ajpw

With the Godesses Tag League blocks announcement I do have some thoughts. If it were just built on what I personally want as a fan, my favorite matchup would be Hai Hai Mate vs. FWC. But for where they are story-wise I think the Kamitani/Watanabe team need to do something, and we know they won't give FWC this. 🥲 Blue has a number of good options. If I had to pick it I think Iida & Utami are the favorites, but Suzu/Yamashita and especially Konami/Rina have real shots at it, and all 3 have great story paths for Saya/Momo to go through. It's not a bad little tournament on paper if they play their cards right.

The original title of this episode was gonna be "The Ballad of SHO DICK"

The two sisters sold the building out and had a strong match where they brought a ton of intensity, and really bringing the match home after a somewhat flat start. I've long believed Hina is the best of the Judo Sisters so I of course wanted her to win, but I've accepted that Hanan is who the company wants to make at all costs. So I was just happy to see the match turn out as well as it did. I hope now that she's got this challenge Hina doesn't get forgotten about by Okada and Stardom's booking team.

The Ayako Hamada vs. VENY match from VENY's produce show was not just a great match but one with a ton of heart. Thank you VENY for having the guts to make this match happen. After 8 years away from Japan, I've seen Hamada in the independents in her native country of México a few times over the past few years but to see her against one of the top women's talents in VENY who clearly loves and respects Hamada so much was beautiful. Beautiful in the way hitting each other hard and doing Moonsaults can bring us! It was a really great match without any of the real life backstory, but just as a match it was really great work. And anyone can see that Hamada has plenty left in the tank, and most already know how good VENY is. This match only emphasized it more. Hopefully more opportunities can arise in the future, particularly bigger stages for future Hamada matches, including her idea for a Gran Hamada tribute show in Japan, another well deserving legend is her father as well. I'm glad this match got to happen in 2026.

AEW has a strong negative reputation among the Japanese fanbase and has for some time now. I think it's a smart decision not to run from it but reach out, run a show or two in Japan as true AEW shows and possibly integrate some freelance legends on terms beyond the NJPW relationship, we know there are a ton of people in AEW with great respect for Japanese wrestling history. Ariake wouldn't be my choice as a venue but if they have hopes in the country running a true AEW show there is a great choice.

King of Pro Wrestling was a statement making show from NJPW. That statement being: "It was fun for the young guys to have their moment since the G1 Final, now the REAL stars are here for when it's important and it's time for them to go back to the bench." Considering how successful KOPW was almost certainly due to how hot Oiwa vs. Tsuji was, I don't know if this is the right direction to go.

I am not nearly as down on the decision to put all the belts on the line. I'm a sucker for "for all the gold" type of matches. The problem for me is the timing and it being a triple threat for a couple of reasons. First and foremost Yuzuki should have received the World Title shot by winning the tournament, which was also in a fantastic final and a tournament that overdelivered to a lot of people. You had the main event built up right there and you could have had a separate Mayu match to help the whole card! Secondly, it makes Aono look bad because clearly she is not someone people want to win compared to the other two. All the comments are saying Mayu or Victoria and that's fine, they're both great. But you've invested so much in Aono it shows you how laterally she's moved as champion at best, and she waters down what could be a legitimate drawing match. - I would have just done the title vs. title match with Yuzuki vs. Aono and let it be Yuzuki's grand crowning. Give Yuzuki a few months. See what happens. Build to the anniversary show in May to an Iwatani vs. Yuzuki singles for the Triple Crown. I honestly don't think building an epic superstar champion with all the belts is a bad idea at all for Marigold with where they're at but this feels like a desperation play perhaps for not having your "big" name from WWE to come in and help the show.