Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

As the title says, today was Fantastica Mania Friday for me, and it certainly was fantastic! It was the last day of the 2025 series of shows with visiting luchadors from CMLL and the Tag Team Partner managed to get us second row seats. Lots of amazing wrestling, a good dose of silliness, and a fair amount of people ending up in my lap. It was a great night. I also love that NJPW finally cracked a little and basically said "This lucha stuff is too awesome. Audience, clip that (but only 60 seconds or less)." This is one of my favorite pics of the night as it very much captures the personality of my favorite golden retriever soul in a black cat body. Also, it's rare to see these two matched up, and that's a shame because they had some amazing moments together tonight. I'll post more from the show this weekend, but it's bedtime for now. Hope you also had a fantastic Friday Dear Reader!

Looked at the NJPW website today for info on the Fantastica Mania show tomorrow and saw this: They released another one! And so soon after the last bunch! My wallet is weeping because I can only set aside so much money for merch every month. It's so precious though (as is Uemura. Looks-wise, he's definitely the baby of his Young Lion batch). The eyes and the smile! Uemura and Tsuji need to have a smile-off. On a side note, how are we feeling about the facial hair Dear Reader? My initial thought was "Nah" because it's rather sparse, but the more I look at it (and picture what it may become), the more I am starting to like it. It will be interesting to see how this develops.  

If you were unaware, LIJ’s Bushi has a karaage * shop in the north-east section of Tokyo** called Marubu Shouten. Now that you know that, hold that thought. A Tumblr post I have come across multiple times on various platforms discusses a drink called “The Flavor.” The original poster, heedra, describes how they have mixed the cranberry flavor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade with Lime Cucumber Gatorade to create a drink that has a taste. What that taste is, however, is unknown. The taste buds recognize a flavor, but you experience a mental 404 error when you try to piece together what exactly that flavor is. As someone who loves to try new and... unique flavors, I have longed to drink “The Flavor” ever since I first read about it. Unfortunately, the ingredients are hard, if not impossible, to come by in Japan. That’s where Bushi and his shop come in. Dear reader, let me introduce you to “クロピス.” Read as kuropisu in the Latin alphabet, it would probably be written as Curopis for a brand name. T...

Finished season one of "Lucha Underground," and I am left with one burning question: Seriously, what IS that?  Who remembers Gak? Part of me really wants to know, but, deep down, I think there are some mysteries better left unsolved. So onward to season two!

I never got into Pinterest, but, if I had, I know who my inspo board would have been dedicated to. My favorite ring announcer and, as far as I am concerned, the queen of The Temple on "Lucha Underground," Melissa Santos. That was HER ring and everyone else was just lucky to be able to enter it. Of course I always tuned in to see the amazing wrestling, but, very quickly, seeing what fabulous look Melissa would be wearing on the latest episode also became an additional major motivation for watching "Lucha Underground." She could pull off anything. The woman's outfits never missed. She. Never. Missed! Of course, nice outfits alone don't make an amazing announcer. Melissa Santos always set the tone for each match with the passion in her voice, her gestures, and her facial expressions. And she was willing to get involved in storylines (I'm inching closer and closer to that on my rewatch and I'm super excited) to enhance the experience. Her relationship wi...

This is a Cold Skull: We can all agree on this, yes? Now, dear reader, tell me what this is: Would you not, immediately upon seeing this, think "That is a cold skull."? But "Dragon Quest Treasure" insists on claiming that object is a "Cool Head." The DQ series loves its puns, I've played enough of the main series entries and spin-offs to know that, but sometimes it is best to just be straightforward. The original Japanese name is no better though. It's " いてついた化石," which translates to Icy Fossil. More accurate, but still not correct. As it turns out, though, this is the only thing about DQT that irks me. Otherwise, I am really enjoying the game. I finished the main story of "Hades" and took a break (will definitely go back to finish some post-game stuff and make good friends with the Olympians) and still wanted to fight physically, so "Ace Attorney Investigations" is also on hold at the moment. I'm getting through ...

I am highly partial to cutesy merch, even more so if the merch becomes some level of ridiculous in its cutesiness. Thus, when I saw the NJPW 2025 desk calendar for sale at the Tokon shop last year, I had to buy it.  These ‘lil guys really make me want a pro-wrestling version of “Animal Crossing.” Calendars, unfortunately, have to be designed and laid out in advance before they go on sale and, in the time between when this calendar was conceived and released to the public, a few... changes occurred. Take, for example, the page for May: Awkward... and they even put them in May because 5. “The best laid plans of wrestlers and creative...”, or something to that effect. All is not lost though, thanks to my super amazing image editing skills. In what took me a whole 10 minutes, I fixed the calendar to make a J4G version (but didn’t switch the month as United Empire already has April and they don’t need to be brought into this feud).  And, just for the heck of it, I made a pro-Sanaya...

Yeah! Some DOUKI news! Per NJPW's official website , DOUKI has a new diary post you can access via their premium smartphone site. Unfortunately, I can only put so much of my budget towards pro-wrestling, so the announcement of the uploading of the diary entry is the most I can see. However, I follow DOUKI on Instagram and he's been quiet there ever since the injury at Wrestle Kingdom, so I was wondering if/when we were going to hear from him again, or if he would just stay silent until making his return. Glad to see he is willing/able to make some content to share. Hope he's experiencing a smooth recovery and we see him again soon (at least in time for BOSJ!).  

Kota Ibushi is my favorite pro-wrestler. Hands down, no contest, no one else comes close. One of the reasons is that, every time I see him wrestle, it feels like a religious experience. The way he performs, he moves, he acts, all of it is a glorious spectacle to behold. Ritualistic dances are par for the course when he is in the ring, as the following pictures show.    I should get these images made into a triptych... Notice Okada in the middle picture, kneeling in reverence, mouth hanging open in awe (as he should be). I would be in this same posture every time I watched a Kota Ibushi match if there was not someone in front of me to block my view. What inspired me to ruminate about my pro-wrestling god today was having another religious experience, though this one was food-based. I tried a croiffle, a croissant waffle, for the first time today. From now on, any time I read about manna from the heavens, I will be imagining this. Dear reader, my soul transcended to a higher pla...

Dear Reader, have you ever heard a word or phrase that you instantly knew would become a part of your lifelong vocabulary? Pro-wrestling has provided many such words and phrases over the years for fans to chant and incorporate into their daily lexicon. From "'Cause Stone Cold Said So" to "If you smell what the Rock is cooking," and John Cena's "You can't see me" to Daniel Bryan's (as he was known at the time) optimization of both "Yes!" and "No!", we wear these sayings on shirts and engrave them on our souls.  I write about this because I had an incident on Friday where I heard something that I immediately knew would become a regular quote I share. One of the students asked to use the restroom and was given permission to go. He was gone for quite a while, so long that the other teacher I was working with went to check and see that things were ok. Finally, after the bell rang and all of the other students had gone back to...

Dear Reader, did you watch Sony's "State of Play" that dropped today? Specifically, did you see Paul Heyman introduce the newest feature of "WWE 2k25"?  My name is Paul Heyman, and I could sell water to the ocean. It's called The Island. I don't know about the rest of you, but those two words immediately triggered some MAJOR flashbacks for me. Can you see the title floating towards you on a black background, or are you normal? This was my show in college. Obsessive theory crafting, watch parties with my fellow Lost Girls, roomie finding ways to pirate episodes so we could keep up with the latest twists and turns when we were studying abroad, I did it all. So, I am going to be VERY disappointed if "WWE 2k25" does not include the following: 1) Opening segment with a deadly plane crash (Who would you like to see get sucked into a turbine and turned into fleshy mulch?). 2) A specific sequence of numbers you keep seeing throughout the game that you...

One of my greatest assets (or greatest flaws depending on who you ask) is my willingness to try new foods. I do have my limits,* but I'll give pretty much anything a go as long as it seems edible. And sometimes even if it does not seem edible, if it arouses my curiosity enough.** Hence, when I went to the Tokon Shop this past weekend I decided to buy this: I'm also weak to things that come with free trading cards. I honestly did not have high hopes. I've only ever had protein bars in the States before, and none that impressed me much. The closest thing I have had to a protein bar in Japan is Calorie Mate, and that stuff was NASTY.*** However, I had previously tried the NJPW protein powder and it was ok, so I threw caution to the wind. Regret wrapped in a shiny package? The verdict? Edible. And the chocolate flavor was strong enough to satisfy my craving for sweets at the time. It was a little too hard, but I was drinking tea and that helped. The only bad thing was the packa...

  Aren't they precious? <3

Second post today as this just popped up. I'm still playing "Ace Attorney Investigations." Made it to the third case, "Turnabout Legacy," and the name of the accused murderer threw me for a loop. This is Samson Tangaroa, a confectioner accused of killing a sculptor.  Check that last name again. Seem familiar? Yeah, the spelling has changed slightly now that he's wrestling for WWE, but Tanga Roa is one of the variations he has used over the years. I highly doubt this is a direct reference, but who knows. Whatever the case, I'm never going to be able to look at Tonga Loa again without imagining him singing, dancing, and extolling the virtues of making sweet. Thanks, "Ace Attorney!" (And, oddly enough, a comment was just made on the episode of "Lucha Underground" that I have playing about confusing "Aztec Pride" for "Aztec Pie." I think the universe just decided to be silly today. Or is craving sweets).

Had a realization today. The minimal amount of Spanish I know comes from 3 sources: 1) Pro-wrestling 2) Dora the Explorer 3) Ricky Ricardo I took French in high school. My bad. Fortunately, rewatching "Lucha Underground" is a nice refresher course for the Fantastica Mania show I'll be attending at the end of the month.  Also, even though my Spanish is minimal at best, I am pretty sure at this point that Chavo Guerrero translates to "traitorous whore" in English. Such a weaselly little bastard. Great villain. Not as punchable as Eustace Winner, but close.

I wrote in a previous post about how I am playing "Hades." I still am, and am happy to say I have beaten Hades himself more times (but not enough to complete the story yet), but I am also playing another game when I need a break from slaughtering countless hoards of the dead. My current other game is the "Ace Attorney Investigations Collection." I've made it to game two in the collection, "Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit," and am in the midst of the second episode, "The Captive Turnabout." In this chapter, you meet a new character, Eustace Winner (Yumihiko Ichiyanagi in the original Japanese version), and damn is this boy an annoying dumbass. This is one of the most punchable faces I have ever  seen. As much as Eustace is currently irritating me, mentally griping about him gave me pause because it reminded me of a very similar situation. When I played "Pokemon Violet," there was also a boy who popped up early ...

Isn’t the title a great word? Say it out loud to yourself and see if it doesn’t make you smile. I came across “chuckability” in a post on IG rating potential wizard animal familiars. FYI, the American Water Shrew gets a 3/3 stars on chuckability. Creatures getting tossed around makes me think of Jeff Cobb, as throwing full grown men around like they are rag dolls is one of his greatest talents. So now, I have a new dream. I want to interview Jeff Cobb. The entire interview will consist of me asking him to rate every member of the New Japan roster (and a few bonus wrestlers from other promotions) on their chuckability. The followup YouTube series will then feature Cobb putting his rankings to the test. Call me New Japan. I have so many amazing ideas. CHUCKABILITY! And as for who I think who has the best chuckability (because of course I thought of this as well. Not that I could chuck anyone on the NJPW roster,but it's still an amusing thought.), that's a tough call. By virtue of...

Hiromu and Naito have a new towel for sale. Looking at them in the promo images, I was struck by a thought that I have had about these two before. You know the whole golden retriever/black cat personality thing? Naito is the golden retriever physically and Hiromu the cat, but, personality-wise, Hiromu is the golden retriever and Naito is the black cat. Maybe this only makes sense to me, but to me it makes perfect sense and these pictures really show it off. To the left is a cat-dog and to the right is a dog-cat.* Do you see it? Hiromu's a cat that's had waaaaay too much of the nip and has the ultra-zoomies while Naito is the older dog whose disdain for everything is always apparent. Watch "Fievel Goes West" or read "Pixie and Brutus" and I think you'll get it. Anyway, long story short, I love their friendship and I may be buying this towel. P.S. Is it me, or does Hiromu look like a fresh-faced tween in his picture? I need to do a post on NJPW boys aging...

More fallout from the Royal Rumble.  Not for anyone on any of the WWE rosters, but for me personally. I'm not sure if I believe in Joe Hendry, but I do believe the song is catchy. And I like the guitar solo. So I caved and bought the damn thing on iTunes. Are Joe Hendry and Drew McIntyre the two ends of the Scottish Spectrum? At least I already had a playlist ready to insert it into: Yes, it's really called that, and yes, it's true.

It's missing "Lucha Underground" hours in my household. Deep in my heart, it is always missing "Lucha Underground" hours because, damn, I loved that show. With Penta's WWE debut though, the feeling is stronger than usual as it's bringing back a lot of memories (and a lot of clips to Instagram). "Lucha Underground" was the last TV show I truly cared about, that made me feel excited for the next episode and that I would actually tune in to watch as soon as I could. It wasn't perfect, of course, but it was so very, very good. My favorite style of wrestling from an unbelievable roster in terms of talent and star power; I was destined to love "Lucha Underground." It's unfortunate how it ended, but I'm glad we got as much as we did. And thank God for the internet so I can re-watch it again and again. In fact, I think it's time for a marathon... To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, I miss "Lucha Underground" like an idiot mis...

“Never do that again Cole, there’s people listening.” - Wade Barrett during the Women’s Royal Rumble The above quote made me laugh and inspired today's post.  The quality of commentary can have such a major impact on pro-wrestling. It’s not necessary for enjoyment, as attending a live event makes clear, but it can greatly enhance or detract from the experience when watching on TV or streaming. Good commentary can elevate an average match to good and great to legendary. Conversely, bad commentary belittles, if not ruins, a match; it can distract from talent and even harm careers. There have been many times over the years where poor commentary has made me reach for (or want to reach for in instances when it was not me in control of the remote) the mute button. Every time Jerry Lawler so much as mentioned women during the Attitude Era filled me with disgust and my brain tried to transform his voice to sound like a teacher from the “Peanuts” cartoons. Michael Cole’s tenure at attemptin...