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Showing posts from January, 2025

Read The Shirt

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From an interview with ELP on the New Japan website: https://www.njpw.co.jp/552207 PROTECT TRANS LIVES!

Potential Protege?

Had class with the lower grades today. One of the kids is very taken with the word “No.” Ask “How are you?” The answer is “No.” “What’s this?” “No.” “Are you ok?” “No.” Well, that last one actually works, but we were doing an activity where they were then supposed to reply with “My (body part of choice) hurts!” and that was just another “No.” from this kid. As I was leaving the class room after the lesson, the kid walks with me and just says “No.” I reply with “No what? Why say no?” Kid responds in, with a big smile (of course), Japanese with “全てNo!” which translates to “Everything is no!” So can somebody get me in contact with Evil? I think I know someone who can carry on his legacy when the time comes...

Yo, YOH!

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Posting my best Taiji Ishimori pic yesterday resulted in me scrolling through my thousands (and thousands, and thousands) of other pics from live events I have attended. Today my offering is YOH. I couldn't decide which one I liked better. The first is also from the first BOSJ event I ever attended, BOSJ 25 at Korakuen Hall on 5/18/2018. The second is from the BOSJ 29 finals at the Nippon Budokan on 6/3/2022. Two very different points in YOH's career (and two times when the Tag Team Partner and I got damn good seats). Dear reader, which is your preferred picture of our jorts-loving pretty boy? Which will it be, fingers or tongue? ...Wait, that did NOT come out right...

I Thought We Were Learning English...

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One of the textbook units I teach is about saying where you want to go and what you want to do when you get there ("I want to see/eat/buy/visit yada yada yada."). With Fantastica Mania coming up in February, inspiration for this topic was easy.   To be honest, I want to write "I want to watch a Mexican Death Match," but we have to keep it PG. If anyone has a recommendation of a spectacular clip from CMLL with moves that would make kids' jaws drop, share the YouTube link with me!

Captain Holt Is Still Shouting

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I had a busy weekend, so I am trying to post twice a day to compensate for skipping Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Since today's first post was about Taiji Ishimori, I figured I would stick with the theme and share one of the best pictures I have ever taken at a New Japan Show: BONE (Soldier)! I snapped this picture on 5/18/2018 at Korakuen Hall. It was the first show of the Best of the Super Juniors 25 tournament and also my very first BOSJ show. This was an A Block match, with Ishimori defeating Will Osprey (that would be Will's head he's stepping on in the picture). Ishimori would end up making the finals of that year's tournament and would face Hiromu Takahashi, one of the best matches I have ever seen and one I was also fortunate to see live. So here's to you, Superhuman Taiji Ishimori (and your super tight pants. And your amazing abs)! Hard to believe this was 7 whole years ago. Let's have at least 7 more years of being ridiculous and looking fantastic whil...

Blood And Darkness And Bone (Soldiers)

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Today's post is brought to you by Captain Holt. No, Dear Reader, this post is not revealing the title of my in-progress dark fantasy YA novel. Sorry to disappoint. Also, spoilers ahead for a 7-ish year old video game. As a Christmas treat for myself, I bought the game "Hades" for my Switch. It had been on my wish list for a while and was on sale for a pretty good discount. I am currently still playing through it (I've beaten Hades three times so far) and loving it.  What made me think about pro-wrestling when playing it was the boss of the Asphodel section of the Underworld, the Bone Hydra. Of course, Bone as the first part of a title directly takes my mind to Bone Soldier, aka Taiji Ishimori. So, every time I fight this creature, especially with the Twin Fists and especially in the early stages when it was still kicking my ass, I think about Taiji Ishimori and wish the Bone Soldier could help me take on the Bone Hydra. Or be fighting against me with the Bone Hydra. W...

She Works Hard For The Money

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My dream job is to work from home, being paid to read, play games, write, and sleep. Unfortunately society has yet to see what a major contribution this would be from me and I have not found someone willing to pay me for these valuable skills. Thus I am daily forced to leave the comfort of my bed to do a “real job”. Fortunately, I quite like my real job.* That job, if you were wondering dear reader, is teacher. English teacher, to be specific. One of the things I like about my job is that we are allowed, and encouraged, to show our personality when teaching. Liking pro-wrestling is a significant part of who I am, so mentions of it pop up during lessons from time to time. Take, for example, when I had to teach about the past tense. One unit addresses usage of the past tense in relation to changes in states of being (e.g. "In spring it was X, now it is Y.")  This was being taught in October and King of Pro-Wrestling happened during the lessons in the unit, so I used the results...

Yota Tsuji And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Nickname*

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Pictured: Yota Tsuji's nickname on full display as he makes his entrance at Wrestle Dynasty.  Not pictured: The author-photographer once again shaking her head and wondering who in the hell thought this was a good idea. “Gene Blast.” Ugh. Every time I hear it, or even just see it, I cringe HARD. It is SUCH a BAD nickname. How did it ever get past quality control (I assume New Japan has some level of quality control)?! Did no one workshop this nickname among other wrestlers/staff (Chris Charlton is RIGHT THERE!)? Among a sample selection of fans? I really like Tsuji and his 1,000 watt smile. But “Gene Blast” makes me want to bang my head against the wall until I forget I heard it. There is no way a native English speaker was asked about this moniker before it was approved, unless it was a completely pure soul who has never had a dirty thought in their life or someone who heard “Gene Blast” and thought “Oh, they can’t be serious. This is going to be HILARIOUS.” If it’s the latter cas...

It's Not A Want, It's A NEED!

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I was scrolling through Instagram while trying to fully wake up this morning and saw that someone posted about a Kosei Fujita pyonsuke coming soon. Of course I needed more info immediately, so I went to the Tokon Shop site and... oh hell yes! Writing on a touchscreen with your finger is not easy... LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! They are all so cute! My family is getting bigger soon! The family. Yes, I might have a problem, but it's safer than drugs, though not necessarily cheaper P.S. Do yourself a favor and go look at ZSJ's series of pics with his pyonsuke. A beautiful tale of a man going from "WTF is this thing?" to "This is my son and if anything bad happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and myself."

Seiya Sanada And The Case Of The Shrinking Shirt

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Another piece of fashion commentary gold from New Year Dash was TJP (again, put this man on red carpet commentary!) noting that the bottom of Sanada's shirt has been getting shorter and shorter since he joined the Bullet Club War Dogs. This kicked my curiosity into overdrive and, when that happens, there is only one solution: RESEARCH! Here's the results of rewatching multiple NJPW events dating back to Power Struggle - Super Junior Tag League 2024, terribly edited screencaps and all. Heel Turns and Hemlines: The Evolution of Fashion in Pro-Wrestling, a Case Study of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Sanada* So is TJP correct? Is Sanada's shirt getting shorter and shorter as time passes? If so, what does this mean? Let's look at the evidence. Exhibit 1 Power Struggle - Super Junior Tag League (11/4/2024): The sad day when Sanada betrayed Taichi, but what really matters is the fit. The shadows threw me off at first, but the red line marks where the hemline of Sanada's s...

Anyone Else Miss The Pipe?

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Another trip down memory lane today. Back to a BOSJ 30 show at Korakuen Hall. I'm pretty sure it was after this show that I started searching the internet to see if there was any info on Douki's hair care routine because damn is it soooooooo pretty up close. And yeah, I do miss the pipe. Notice baby Young Lion Boltin Oleg in the background. They grow up so fast. I wanna touch it so bad... and maybe pull it, just a little (ya know, if he's cool with that sort of thing)...

Crafty Little Devil

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Two posts today because I spent 9/10ths of yesterday sleeping and the remaining 1/10th doing nothing! I love when pro-wrestlers get cute and creative. Like the book on his opponents Hiromu makes for BOSJ every year. Fantastic stuff. I saw a picture on Instagram the other day of Yota Tsuji with an "A Gedo a Day" calendar that he made for David Finlay. Fabulous. I sent it to my Tag Team Partner and, in response, he sent me the following screenshot:  "Speaking of homemade merch..." My mind is showing me such a clear image of Sanada, sitting in his home on the floor with one of those short ironing boards before him, carefully ironing the letters and numbers onto this shirt, chuckling evilly to himself. Thinking "This will show Taichi and those other bastards." Can you hear the "Hehehe?" I can. I love it. That image is going to be popping in and out of my head all week. Also, thank you to the shirt for distracting me from those creepy-ass... sunglasse...

By God, That Man's A Philosopher!

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Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, 1753. New philosophical debate: Which is worse, having your book burned or your head curb stomped? Rousseau may one day have an answer for that! A much more wrestling-adjacent than pure wrestling content post today. I spend a fair amount of time on the train for my commute, and I like to pass the time by reading. There's a great app called Hoopla that lets me access my home library in the US and borrow stuff from their online catalog. It's fantastic and I love it. Yeah libraries! Anyway, I am currently reading "Emile," aka "On Education," by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It's a treatise on education (obviously) and has had a major influence on the way students are taught even to this day. It is divided into five sections, and the first three are pretty solid (with some weird, understandable because it's ye olden times, stuff thrown in). The fourth section would be fine if not for the inclusion...

Definitely Not Planning To Do This To Any Kids I Know...

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I went to visit one of my favorite families today for a rousing (and surprisingly peaceful) game of Monopoly. One of the niblings won a copy of the game in a dance off and wants to play it as much as possible. Who am I to say no to the whims of a child? This made me think about children and whims, eventually bringing me to a consideration of the opposite scenario: Children doing things (or having things done to them) because the whims of their parents. And this led to "Damn, I really miss seeing babies dressed up as Kushida!" I feel like, before Kushida left for his stint in WWE, seeing babies dressed up like him was a somewhat regular occurrence at NJPW shows. It at least happened enough that I have a solid memory of it. However, once he came back, I have not really seen it. I've seen a fair number of people who dress up as Hiromu, and there is one girl often at shows who dresses as The Great-O-Khan (and her costume is AMAZING), but I don't see people dressing up the...

NJPW In My Lap

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Still tired. It's been a long week. So here's Despy and Titan giving me my money's worth, also at the BOSJ 30 Semi-Final on 5/26/2023. 

"Robbie, Robbie, Robbie!" "Ow, Ow, Ow!"

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I'm too tired today to write anything with much thought behind it, so here is Robbie Eagles giving me my money's worth at the BOSJ 30 Semi-Finals on 5/26/2023. And this instance was also thanks to Clark Connors. Does he like throwing people into chairs? Or does he get a bonus every time he does? I'm not sure which thought I like more, so I'll go with both.

"Where In The World Is Yota Tsuji?"

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Watched New Year Dash. TJP should be on commentary more often. He should also be on the red carpet at major awards shows criticizing the fashion of attendees because his analysis is spot on. When Yota Tsuji came out, TJP gleefully exclaimed: "I just found Carmen Sandiego!" And by God, he was right!        This is the same person! NJPW, find a way to capitalize this with some weird new YouTube series! In the meantime, my inner child is going to give me giggle fits for at least the next week every time I think of this.

Getting My Money's Worth: Junior Heaveyweight Edition

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I'm organizing the 11,000+ photos stored on my phone and was reminded of the following: I once said to my Tag Team Partner that if we get the good seats at any Best of the Super Juniors event and at least one wrestler doesn't end up in my lap, we should demand a refund. I was mostly joking, but not entirely as it happens more often than not, what with all the flipping, jumping, and high flying that goes on in a typical BOSJ match.  We got good seats for the Hachioji show on 5/18/2024, and Kosei Fujita and Clark Connors made sure I got my money's worth. Thanks boys!

How many more times?

I am not a fan of this whole getting older thing, for me or for anyone else I know. Mainly because I am not fond of change, and, the more time passes, the more things change that you can't control. This realization is taking its toll on me in many ways. A major instance is, though I'm not sure when it started, a question has been echoing in the back of my mind for many years: "How many more times?" I heard it this past summer when I was home in the States. When I visit home, it's the whole three things are inevitable saying: Death, taxes, and I make the trip from where my family lives now to where we used to live so I can visit my best friends and my aunt. It's been that way for 20+ years now. But for the past couple of visits, that voice has been there constantly when I am at home, particularly when I am visiting people. "How many more times will I see you?" and "How many more times will I make this drive?" pokes and pries at my consciousn...

GLORIOUS

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Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. But do you know what tomorrow also is? A public holiday. No work. GLORIOUS! YouTube, hit Bobby's music!

Time Is A Lie, A Flat Circle, A Fictional Construct, Etc.: YOH Edition

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An allegedy 36 year old man (if you're one of those sheeple who believes time is real). Photo from Super Junior Tag League at Korakuen Hall on 10/27/2024, by me. I was chatting with one of my dear friends about her kids (for whom I have wholeheartedly accepted the role of Wine Aunt) and was once again reminded that time, as both a fact and a concept, is just a bunch of nonsense. Me: So your oldest is in 1st grade this year, right? Friend: ... Sweetie, no. He's in 4th grade. He's turning 10 soon. Me: *Brain blue screens for a solid minute* After arguing about whether or not the Covid years should actually count, I was forced to accept my new reality regarding the supposed  passage of time.  Incidentally, I had a similar conversation about YOH around the same time (after his return at KOPW in 2024) with my Tag Team Partner.* This happened over a chat: TTP: YOH’s 36!? Me: ??? No?! Me: *Checks one of my many NJPW live event pamphlets* Me: Oh my God, he is. Born in 1988! Reader,...

Not What I Was Expecting (And Ready To Die Like Flynn Rider)

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                                     Actual photo of the author posting this entry. So Kenny Omega debuted a new entrance song at Wrestle Dynasty... I grew up in America and, thanks to moving around some and America just being so damn big, I have spent a fair amount of my life traveling to and fro as a passenger in a car. These trips always involved listening to the radio to help pass the time, and by time I am talking anywhere between 2 to 12 hours depending on the destination. When you were near any decently-sized city, finding something to listen to was never an issue. You would probably at least have an oldies station, a classic rock station, and a station claiming to play “today’s hottest music hits” to choose from. However, there are long stretches of the American highway system and countless back roads where no FM signal can reach*. If I close my eyes and let my mind drif...

"I know you probably hear this every day, but I'm your biggest fan"

Been thinking lately about why I like the wrestlers I do. One great thing about New Japan is that I can say I’m a fan of pretty much everyone on the roster. But, as we all know, there is a difference between being a fan and being a stan. In a match with two wrestlers I like, I light my penlights for the one I stan more than the other. But what makes me stan someone? Having given some thought to this topic, I think it boils down to the following four points: 1) Ability/Style Wrestlers can do so many amazing moves, but I definitely have a style preference. When I was a child, I was deep in the trenches of the Monday Night Wars. One of the things that initially kept me tuned in to WCW was the cruiserweight division. The speed, power, and athleticism that comes with being in the lighter weight class has always fascinated me more than the heavyweight division. I’ve been to more New Japan Best of the Super Junior shows than any other type for that very reason. As I once told a friend who ask...