Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

-Congrats to Hiromu Takahashi for having the dubious distinction of being involved in the only pro-wrestling match I have ever seen that made me feel physically ill just from watching it. -Hiromu has a thing for people who spit water, huh? Or just spit. -Were the rain jackets provided to attendees or were they asked to bring them? -I'm pretty sure at least one person involved in the planning of this event is part of a fetish community and their goal was to make sure all of their friends kinks were seen in some form during this show. -I never thought I could hate mayonnaise more than I already do. I was so very,  very  wrong. -The fan who took a bite of that bread... I'm not sure if Hiromu thought he was a real one or was horrified that someone actually did it. Probably both. Either way, said fan should probably see a doctor for a tetanus booster or something. -I love that Honma's socks are the same color as his boots.    -John Cena's in GLEAT?! -The audience had to s...

I love art in all its mediums. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, anything that captures and conveys emotion and beauty. One of the things I miss most about being a student in Tokyo is that my student ID got me into many museums either free or at a great discount. I don't get to go to as many exhibits as I used to since I am no longer a student and I miss it (and believe me, I have reconsidered going back to school in part to get that access again). Perhaps that is why it is one of my dreams, if I ever get obscenely wealthy, is to have two galleries. One would be in my home for me to enjoy and one would be a room or building I donate so that everyone can enjoy some art. For my own gallery, I already know at least one piece I would want adorning the walls. I fell in love with this image the moment I saw it. It's a Renaissance painting transported to the social media era. There is so much going on here to dissect. The location, the perspective, the positioning. Was thi...

Someone was very excited to be playing with his friends from Mexico last night. So much so that he got a case of the zoomies. Hiro- Kamaitachi burst out from the entrance curtain, ran around the ring, up into the north section stands, came back down to finish circling the ring, ran up into the south stands, then finally made it to the ring apron, where he clapped in exhaustion. Anyone who has owned a cat and been awakened by a crash or other loud noise in the early morning hours has probably seen a similar scene.   After wearing himself out, he did what my cats typically do, lie down for a nap and ignore everyone else. However, during this brief respite, the inner golden retriever made an appearance. Sleepy kicks * My cocker spaniel used to move her legs like that when she was having a particularly intense dream or getting really good belly rubs. I can't express enough how much I adore this absolutely lovely weirdo of a human being. It would be a far better world if we could all li...

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!

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...

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...

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...

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...