I don’t post very often these days…but Peter Rosenberg telling IO SHIRAI how to work…officially goes on my personal Mount Rushmore of *most idiotic things people “in” the business have ever said*

The plan is to record a *Dome/Dash/other major shows in Japan* edition of the Big Audio Nightmare with @sempervive.bsky.social this Thursday! Famous last words, but I’m going to *try* to start engaging in more Japanese wrestling discourse on here again as well in ‘26.

Speedball vs Fletcher immediately enters the pantheon of all-time great TV matches. Absolutely incredible performance by both guys.

I want to live in a timeline where Lawton Randolph is the commissioner of a promotion and his main antagonist is Col. Robert Parker.

Did anyone else order Full Gear through PPV .com and get screwed out of the replay? Apparently they are telling people that the replay isn’t included with the PPV, which is INSANE and different from how they have done it in the past.

RIHO

If I wasn’t being paid to do a podcast that covers the promotion, I’m pretty sure I would be skipping the G1 Final tomorrow. House of Torture stuff is just Russo-level bad, and it NEVER ENDS. And it’s so intelligence-insulting that it kills my interest in the rest of the product absolutely dead.

Recording a quick solo Big Audio Nightmare G1 Climax / 5 Star GP check-in show later today, for Observer subscribers. If you have any questions or thoughts about either tournament, post them here and I’ll try to get to them on the show.

When someone (or a company) is telling you (multiple fucking times) who they are, it’s on you if you continually don’t believe them.

Continued. These are the pages that most heavily focus on Lesnar. The full 101-page complaint can be read here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Here's what Janel Grant's lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon alleges about Brock Lesnar. (These pages contain detailed descriptions of alleged sexual abuse by McMahon and what Grant says was his attempt to traffic her to Lesnar during a contract negotiation.)

It has never been easier than it is today to be a fan of professional wrestling without giving ANY of your time, money, or attention to WWE.

Incredible world title match.

Made a last-minute call to COLLIDE

Holy shit FTR vs JetSpeed was AMAZING

Shibata vs Rush was so good. Just dudes being dudes, beating the hell out of each other.

Status: Colliding. W/ @diemerchicago.bsky.social @wrestleatrandom.bsky.social

Ready to spend A LOT of time here for the next 3 weeks.

BRODY KING.

I was a Punk guy going back to like 2003, but this is 100 percent the final nail the coffin (that had already basically been closed in the past few years) for me. He can fuck right off.

The worst shows sometimes make the best podcasts. Fun episode!!

Update: fighting off a bit of a cold, so as of now the plan is to record a new Big Audio Nightmare podcast *tomorrow night* with @sempervive.bsky.social for @wrestlingobserver.bsky.social subscribers

So, IF circumstances end up dictating that it’s necessary, would you be interested in a Patreon-hosted podcast that is: - very similar to what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years - at least four shows/month: a mix of solo shows and shows with a very familiar co-host - starting at $4.99/month

As of now, it looks like @sempervive.bsky.social and I will be recording a new Big Audio Nightmare podcast on Monday. Looking forward to it!

Hi. I won't be rejoining WOL in June as this other new thing I'm doing is THANGIN and it sure seems like it will continue to. @bryanalvarez.bsky.social has been outstanding during this & has given me the light to come on WOL at anytime. When Dave moved on Bryan could have picked anyone... (1/2)

Looks like I’ll be doing July 16, 17, 23, and 30 for the AEW Aragon residency. Anyone else get tickets?

Also, I lost my goddamn fucking mind for the Gabe Kidd reveal. That whole ending angle was one of my favorite things AEW has done, excited to go back and watch the broadcast to see if it matched the energy I felt in the building.

A delightful 5+ hours of professional wrestling in suburban Chicago this evening. #AEWdynamite

Hot take: If New Japan was an openweight promotion, we wouldn’t even be worrying about if Umino, Tsuji, Uemura, etc. will ever be ready to be top guys. We’d be too busy recognizing that Kosei Fujita is the best of the bunch, by a considerable margin.

AZM in (suburban) Chicago, HYPED!

OH MY GOD

No idea how burnt the bridges are at this point, but Karl Fredericks returning to New Japan makes all the sense in the world if everyone can put their egos aside.

Does MLW ever drop last minute tickets for previously sold out shows? Super bummed that I’ll be missing out on seeing Shoko Nakajima live in (suburban) Chicago next weekend 😔

Mayu Iwatani leaving Stardom is disappointing, but is also pretty much the least surprising thing ever. We’ve known this was coming for more than a year, and I’m sure Stardom did too. They had her in her own IWGP Women’s Title *Cody-verse*, basically walled off from any other stories.

EVERYTHING about Tam Nakano vs Saya Kamitani was PERFECT. The entrances. The match. The finish. The post-match. The final walk up the ramp. Tam and Saya looking out to the crowd from the entranceway as arena cuts to pitch black darkness. All of it. Can’t believe Tam is gone, but what a way to go.

today I wrote about WWE buying Lucha Libre AAA, a story I assume I will be writing about for the rest of the time I am writing thecubsfan.com/cmll/u74u

At this point, cheering for WWE is like cheering for a private equity fund that buys businesses to strip them parts and then shut them down.

Not surprising at this point, but still…the absolute shamelessness of BUYING AAA during the same week that you, a MASSIVE corporation and industry leader, go to the media to proclaim yourself the UNDERDOG. WWE’s only goal, as it has been for 40 years, is for no other wrestling but them to exist.

NJPW has only their hubris to blame for where they are. It was obvious Okada was leaving. It became obvious Naito was leaving. It was obvious that Tana’s injuries meant his time as a top guy was over. Yet they did NOTHING with any of those guys to set up the next generation before it was too late.

Takeshita vs Tana was INCREDIBLE live. Not sure how it came across on TV, but man that was PERFECT sitting there in the front row. #njriot

Shota just doesn’t have it.

Goto!!! #njriot

Front row , let’s go!

AZM vs Mina!!!!!!

We’re ready for Windy City Riot! @diemerchicago.bsky.social

I’m actually pretty high on the Windy City Riot card overall, but it seems insane to not have Tsuji, Uemura, or Oiwa on what will be their biggest U.S. show and crowd of the year.

To put my thoughts into simpler terms: We’re at the point with these PPV main events where it feels like EVIL is the AEW World Champion.

When PPV numbers have been the one thing that has held up extraordinarily well for AEW across their 5+ year existence, doing these type of finishes for Moxley main events every single month feels like something that could backfire in a serious and lasting way.

Really is something how Shota Umino continues to fall flat, no matter how he is presented. Adopts a harder edge, the fans don’t care. Beats Tana, declares himself leader of Hontai. Crickets. Comes out after Goto beats Finlay, crowd groans and lightly boos. Challenges Goto, crowd is largely silent.