[SPEAKER_00]: Hello flagship listeners and a moment you are going to hear a free preview of this week's subscriber exclusive flagship podcast available exclusively at patreon.com slash voices of wrestling on our $5 tier some of the topics covered on this week's flagship.
[SPEAKER_00]: a preview of the two nights summer slam coming up this weekend from Minnesota a little bit of advice for AEW and Tony Khan what could be next for new day and so much more including our look at the midpoint of G1 Climax 36 that is the segment
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[SPEAKER_00]: This Sunday, Rich Creation Eye, Go Live, immediately following the second night of SummerSlam to recap both nights as only weekend on the best review show in the business instant reaction live.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, how are you doing?
[SPEAKER_00]: It is I, Joe, and this is the greatest professional wrestling podcast in the world of flagship podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: No rich, crates this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it is me, all alone on this special subscriber, exclusive flagship podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: Got a lot to get to later on in the show.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two nights summer slam, Saturday and Sunday, there will be an instant reaction live.
[SPEAKER_00]: On Sunday night, wrapping up, both nights of summer slam, you can hear that exclusively and the only place you'll hear Rich and I review, summer slam, the summer slam, if you will, both nights is on that instant reaction live on the $10 tier.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, if you're listening to this show
[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to need to upgrade before this weekend to get access to SummerSlam Instant Reaction Live.
[SPEAKER_00]: As most of you know, it is without question.
[SPEAKER_00]: The best review show in the game.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Nobody attacks these shows from as many angles as we do our reviews are nearly as long as the shows themselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: in the case of these, AEW pay-per-views lately, speaking of which, later on in the show, I will have some advice for all elite wrestling, with an assist from my good close personal friend, Lance Storm, no Lance will not be on the show, and no we've never actually met,
[SPEAKER_00]: and I am going to bounce off of those comments and offer some sage advice and you know my advice is always great.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am going to offer some sage advice to Tony Khan and all lead wrestling based on those comments that Lance Storm made earlier this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: That
[SPEAKER_00]: Nobody calls at that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know why I just said that.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just tumbled out of my mouth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've never heard anyone call this show the ship nor should they by the way.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't start that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not a fan of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to start here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, G1.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, G1 catch up slash recap slash.
[SPEAKER_00]: How about we call this the halfway through the G1 catch-up slash recap segment?
[SPEAKER_00]: Very wordy, very clunky, very bad description for the segment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Didn't really think that one through.
[SPEAKER_00]: But by the time, some of you listen to this, you're all going to listen to this at different times.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you are going to just devour this show as soon as it drops.
[SPEAKER_00]: on the Patreon feed sometime on Friday, late morning, early afternoon, whatever the case may be.
[SPEAKER_00]: Others aren't going to listen to this until Saturday, Sunday, some of you break up the flagship over the length of your commute.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not going to talk about standings, sort of in the micro, maybe in the macro, based on where I think things are heading.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it won't
[SPEAKER_00]: sort of recap of the G1 to this point.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to review matches or shows because again, we're kind of in the middle of this thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And who knows when you individual listener will be hearing this?
[SPEAKER_00]: And as you guys know, if you want detailed reviews of each G1 show, we're doing that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right behind this very paywall.
[SPEAKER_00]: Daily G1 coverage as we've been doing for however many years it is at this point.
[SPEAKER_00]: So each show has been reviewed behind the paywall, and you get your match reviews, you get your standings, you get your attendance update, you get everything on those shows, so we're not gonna waste people's time doing that here either.
[SPEAKER_00]: But what I wanna talk about is some what I feel are some of the more interesting bullet points as we are about halfway through the tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: No matter when you listen to this thing,
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to be about halfway through the tournament when you do.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that was a good time at the midpoint of this to discuss what have been some of the more interesting bullet points to this point in the tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number one's an easy one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Show to Umino.
[SPEAKER_00]: Show to Umino wrestled one match in this thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: got injured in Chicago against Zach Saber Jr. concussion and they yanked them.
[SPEAKER_00]: They pulled them out and why that's a big deal is because he was one of the favorites in the B-block.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was one of the favorites to win the tournament and he ends up wrestling one match and he's out of the thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe one day we'll find out whether they have the rip-up all their plans and rebuked this baby, we don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: What we do know, what we could surmise, what we could reasonably conclude, is that show to Umino was going to be a big factor in the block, at minimum, whether he won the block or not, whether he went on the win the tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: So show to Umino being eliminated from this thing before the tour even began in Japan is
[SPEAKER_00]: one of the biggest, if not the biggest story of the tournament here at the halfway point.
[SPEAKER_00]: It has to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: This could have been an injury situation that has changed the rest of New Japan's year up to an including whatever the plans were at Russell Kingdom.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's how impactful this injury could have been.
[SPEAKER_00]: At minimum though, this is a guy who undoubtedly would have been
[SPEAKER_00]: And to some degree, the entire B-block had to be rebuked.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whether that means a new winner of the block, whether that means a new winner of the tournament, maybe we'll find out someday, maybe we won't.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that has to be big time bullet point, number one of the midpoint of this tour.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number two, I'm gonna go with Uto Ice and Oscar.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have not been a big fan of that tag team
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm almost always the low man on every single one of their tag team matches.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am not sold on Utah ice, the way that nearly everybody else seems to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't say I'm on lands on island with that one.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen a few other people, mostly very smart people, if I might add.
[SPEAKER_00]: That are kind of maybe not as critical of him as I am,
[SPEAKER_00]: It's definitely lessen to him or a little more skeptical of his upside than the consensus and certainly your gen pop, New Japan crowds, where due to his charisma, he's over like a motherfucker.
[SPEAKER_00]: No one's ever going to deny that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Skies over like crazy.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has undeniable charisma, he already has an undeniable crowd connection.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's, you know, he's fought half the battle and won.
[SPEAKER_00]: All of that is very good.
[SPEAKER_00]: All of that is nothing I've ever denied.
[SPEAKER_00]: could he ever emerge as the type of worker necessary to traditionally be on top in New Japan?
[SPEAKER_00]: I have a lot of questions regarding that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have a lot of questions regarding his gimmick, which is good for now.
[SPEAKER_00]: as getting them over for now.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do not think the, let's get high, bleach blond hair kind of, what does he a rapper, a street guy, you know, whatever you want to call him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think long term, that's a top guy gimmick in New Japan.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's okay, he can evolve from that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wrestlers are in a constant state of evolution.
[SPEAKER_00]: But,
[SPEAKER_00]: There's some questions there, and I said at the start of this tour that I was going to quote, ride you to ice like a show pony and quote, and really laser focus on him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And what he could do as a singles wrestler against nine, very varied and different kinds of opponents.
[SPEAKER_00]: And let's see what he's got.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the G1.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the G1 climax.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't hide.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't run and hide.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna wrestle a couple of shitters.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna wrestle some of the best workers in the company.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna wrestle guys that have a long history and lineage of great singles matches in the G1.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, look at his block.
[SPEAKER_00]: You've certainly got the shitters covered.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jake Lee, Sonata, someone say the Great O'Con, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: You've certainly got some of the best wrestlers in the promotion covered.
[SPEAKER_00]: You've got the guys with long lineage of great G1 matches, where the standard is pretty high, with Haroki Goto and Shingo in this block.
[SPEAKER_00]: And you've got contemporaries, other young New Japan wrestlers on the rise, sort of on the same level as you to ice, all waiting for the breakout, all waiting for the shove that Yota Suji has already received,
[SPEAKER_00]: when you're talking about people like Rohe Owiwa, Bolton Oleg.
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, you wrestle all kinds.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then of course, the world champ is in this block.
[SPEAKER_00]: You'll have to sue G's here.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you tell ICE certainly in front of him with these nine matches had not been to need a wrestle.
[SPEAKER_00]: All kinds, all styles, wrestlers of various levels of overness.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna have different match structures.
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's put up her shut up.
[SPEAKER_00]: You cannot hide in the G1.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't.
[SPEAKER_00]: And no, this isn't 2017 anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: This isn't, you know, vintage golden era, bushy road, okada era, nitro era, new Japan, where the blocks are stacked and you almost accidentally have great matches.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just by showing up, it's not that era anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a different kind of era, but you still cannot hide in this tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: if you stink, it's going to show.
[SPEAKER_00]: So as I said, it started this thing, I'm going to laser focus on Utah ice, and I was going to ride him like the proverbial show pony.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what I've done, and I've been pleasantly surprised.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do I think he has the makings of a,
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think he has the makings of a varsity athlete.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, do I think he has the makings of a super worker based on what I've seen at about the halfway point where the handful of matches here?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm still leaning no on that.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think he's at a very interesting tour in a very interesting tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think New Japan.
[SPEAKER_00]: is telling one of the more compelling narratives with him as we move along through this thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: His story is basically that he's not ready to be a great singles wrestler.
[SPEAKER_00]: His story is that this is a tag team guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And at least on the English commentary, they've talked about how stamina might be an issue.
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't have a scar to tag out to.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's got limited singles match experience.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's sort of been a troll in a lot of his matches to his opponent.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's had a strategy of trying to get under the opponent's skin in a lot of the matches, which has been a lot of fun to watch.
[SPEAKER_00]: And obviously something he's very good at.
[SPEAKER_00]: He certainly gets under my skin.
[SPEAKER_00]: I find the guy deeply annoying.
[SPEAKER_00]: But more than that, even the overall arc so far for you to ice is that he's been overmatched.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he is this gutsy, fiery underdog who takes a beating, doesn't give up, has that undeniable crowd connection where he's got the crowd rallying behind them?
[SPEAKER_00]: And generally comes up short.
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, he's lost multiple matches to this point by knockout.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because you can't keep this guy down.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to sugey hits him with,
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, whatever he calls his spear, Jean Blast, one count kick out.
[SPEAKER_00]: This after he basically beat the guy down with chops for 20 minutes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hit him with the Jean Blast, you think this is a rudimentary one, two, three, one count kick out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Guy comes back, needed a face boot to the face, nearly comes back and wins the match.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then loses moments later via knockout.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lost via knockouts of Bolton, Oleg, he had the power bomb them three times.
[SPEAKER_00]: and knocked the dude out to keep him down, lost the Takeshida because he just wasn't ready for that yet, but the story they're telling here is a clear one.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not ready now, but he's got more guts than brains and one day he's going to be ready.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this toward him, we're going to look back on is the one that got him ready.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has been one of the most compelling stories in this G1 through the halfway point if not the most compelling story of the tour.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I do want to mention his partner Oscar because I have been pleasantly surprised by Oscars, a single's wrestler's well.
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, you know, Utah is who I haven't been a big fan of, but I had a feeling he'd do okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what I was expecting out of Oscar, probably nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he has been delivering, he, one of my big complaints with Oscar is that for such a big guy, there's, you know, I want more monster as a wise man once said to Lance Archer in this very company, give me more monster.
[SPEAKER_00]: I, you know, I want more monster out of Oscar and we've gotten it.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's fucking choking guys out and, you know, he's showing more monster and a guy with that size.
[SPEAKER_00]: The last thing you wanna be,
[SPEAKER_00]: is a big dude like this who's like the biggest dude in the promotion and you work baby tissue soft but you work passive basically you're reneyabe and all the criticisms that I've levied at him over recent years you know how he did in all Japan even though yeah he had a very nice triple crown match last week against uh...
[SPEAKER_00]: can't tell me a horror where he kind of got away from that a little bit, but you don't want to come across as the worst thing you can be as a big guy or a tall guy and your work come across passive.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that has not been the case with Oscar and his tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: So to a lesser degree, I think he has stepped up as a singles wrestler.
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, one of my talking points coming
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was going to be watching this to you one very closely to see if that was in fact the case and you know what I've changed my mind not only do I think they don't need the tag team I think both of these guys are more interesting outside of the tag team I have been more locked into and interested in their work in this tour that I have ever been in their dopey tag team I don't like the tag team
[SPEAKER_00]: I have tried so hard to get into that tag team and I just cannot.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think both of them to varying degrees have been very compelling in this tournament and I now am far more optimistic of both of their futures based on what I've seen halfway through this tour than I've ever seen in that tag team.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number three is Drillam Maloney.
[SPEAKER_00]: My God, is this guy being great?
[SPEAKER_00]: He might be my favorite worker so far to watch in this tournament.
[SPEAKER_00]: That doesn't mean I think his matches have the highest average star ratings or anything like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even star rate matches anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: But match for match?
[SPEAKER_00]: All things be an equal?
[SPEAKER_00]: I have had more fun watching the rise of drill a maloney maybe than watching anybody else in this tournament.