Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

So Sanada debuted another homemade shirt in his losing effort against Yuya Uemura in the first round of this year's New Japan Cup.  That red font is giving major Disney vibes. Cold Skull better watch it or the Mouse might Skull End him in court. Can't Paradise Lock your way out of a copyright lawsuit. At this point I think we can safely assume what Sanada's favorite English swear word is. And speaking of Japanese pro-wrestlers who definitely have a favorite English swear word, Okada recently released a new shirt via Pro Wrestling Tees. Now, as I like to say to my students, It's quiz time! Who remembers the analogies section of the SAT? If you have no idea what I am talking about, congratulations on not having to go through high school in America or for taking the SAT in 2005 or after (and, if it's the latter, get the hell off my lawn you young whippersnapper). The analogies section gave you a pair of words that were somehow related and you had to pick a correspondin...

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...

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...

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...

A second post today because I watched the Royal Rumble and was inspired.  We need a wrestling database akin to Letterboxd. I have my first category ready: Wrestlers who betrayed their friends because they felt they were being screwed over and/or held back and then made their own merch at home to mock their former friends. But only one of them looks like an extra in a Lady Gaga music video. Now I kinda want to see them as a tag team. And, let's be honest, having them become a tag team because of this makes more sense than a lot of other tag teams WWE has thrown together over the years.* *One of my pet conspiracy theories is that a lot of the seemingly random WWE teams we've seen over the years is the result of shenanigans at company parties, consisting of drunk people putting on blindfolds and throwing darts at a roster list taped to a wall.

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...

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...