[UNKNOWN]: This podcast is a member of the Voices of Wrestling Podcasting Network.
[UNKNOWN]: Visit VoicesOfRecselling.com to hear the rest of our great podcast as well as show reviews, columns, opinions, and updates across the world of wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: Hello everybody, and welcome to the SuperJonecast.
[UNKNOWN]: My name is Joel, and I'm joined by my wonderful cohost david.
[UNKNOWN]: It is the first day, the 30th of July, 2026.
[UNKNOWN]: This is episode 419 of the show.
[UNKNOWN]: Right, Damon, how's it going?
[UNKNOWN]: We're good.
[UNKNOWN]: We are in them.
[UNKNOWN]: in the muck, the muck, if you will, of G1, and it's fine.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, obviously we'll be talking about it.
[UNKNOWN]: But as the kids would say, the stalks, I'm high on the stalks.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm having a great time.
[UNKNOWN]: This has been a real fun, G1 so far.
[UNKNOWN]: And we're in what would be considered the grind of it.
[UNKNOWN]: and yet I find myself looking forward to shows each and every night that they are available.
[UNKNOWN]: I think we're good.
[UNKNOWN]: Do I have audio tomorrow?
[UNKNOWN]: I'm doing a Patreon audio tomorrow if I'm not mistaken.
[UNKNOWN]: And then, yes, and then Joel will be taking the weekend as I have BTS obligations, and then I have to, I have to take care of for the misses.
[UNKNOWN]: She's a massive fan of very excited, Joel, very excited.
[UNKNOWN]: She made me a playlist.
[UNKNOWN]: So I can familiarize myself with that.
[UNKNOWN]: No, no, no, no, no, no, um, I just confident I think about all the K-pop fans we could do for our fans or you don't want that.
[UNKNOWN]: We don't want that at all.
[UNKNOWN]: We really don't.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll just leave it at the, it's not for me.
[UNKNOWN]: The music's not for me, but I know it's going to put a smile on their face and chicken, shaker booty and do all those things and I will be staring at my
[UNKNOWN]: Sounds like it's going to be a magical evening, Damon and I know what your three favorite songs were.
[UNKNOWN]: No, my three favorite songs were good night and fireworks and let's get to the car.
[UNKNOWN]: There's my three favorite song.
[UNKNOWN]: Yep, that will be it.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, she liked singing that she sang along to them when she drove well.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, she so she knows like every English word at least and then she knows some Korean words and then the other one she just kind of minds along to what she think she here is like, yes, I don't know But it's very base heavy uh I don't even I don't it's kpop.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: No, um at least I had the uh with black pink
[UNKNOWN]: The female group, they were something I look at, that's for sure.
[UNKNOWN]: But with this, I don't know, well, say, I mean, let me see, look, here's what I will say.
[UNKNOWN]: I guarantee you it will be a visual spectacle.
[UNKNOWN]: Like the stage looks massive, it's the entire field.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, I'm doing this, she's been waiting fucking years for this.
[UNKNOWN]: She's into it, you know, I'm not, I'm out here to fucking shit on her parade, but yeah, between me, you and the people on YouTube right now, boy, I'm sorry, I'm a person when you are a person.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, now, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Well, anyone else that might be listening after the fact,
[UNKNOWN]: It's not for me that is for for I couldn't even make it through the playlist.
[UNKNOWN]: I couldn't even make it through the playlist Just now for me.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not for me.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh But I'm a good husband And that's what good husband's dojo.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, the fact that you're going is in and of itself
[UNKNOWN]: you know, the gesture of, yes, support.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm going three times, show.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going back to back days, the weekend, and then next Monday, I'm going to Baltimore.
[UNKNOWN]: And oh, please keep in mind, you'll, that not only is it the concert, it would be one thing if we were just like, I show off for the concert, go and blah, blah, blah, blah.
[UNKNOWN]: No, so apparently, the merch you can pre-order, and that is at the American Dream Mall, which is this massive mall right next door.
[UNKNOWN]: So we had to pick that up at one PM and then the gates open at three and then we're going to do a little tailgating Because she has friends that are going to the show that will meet meeting us there in the parking lot and then Then it's the show and then it's go home and then it's wake up and do the same fucking thing again then I say about Like an hour and a half two hour drive just throwing that out there as well each way So
[UNKNOWN]: What up, but don't let me get myself into it.
[UNKNOWN]: Fuck me.
[UNKNOWN]: Alright, I'll stop complaining.
[UNKNOWN]: No, I wish I could offer some similar, relatable grumbles and complaints, but I'm doing great here, Damon.
[UNKNOWN]: I've refreshed and I'd lovely two days away with a family and son in UK, down in Cornwall.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, talking about food.
[UNKNOWN]: Food.
[UNKNOWN]: Wow.
[UNKNOWN]: So the highlight of the trip was this tiny little, you could barely call it restaurant really.
[UNKNOWN]: only had about three tables in there.
[UNKNOWN]: It's called mull and co.
[UNKNOWN]: And it's brilliant.
[UNKNOWN]: The reason it's brilliant is because it's so simple.
[UNKNOWN]: You saw the stuff on Instagram, I'm assuming.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it's just, they're very bold with the creative choice that they've made.
[UNKNOWN]: That it is so similar.
[UNKNOWN]: There's just two guys there in the kitchen.
[UNKNOWN]: There's one guy cooking on this one guy sort of behind the ceiling and serving.
[UNKNOWN]: So there's only two of them there.
[UNKNOWN]: And just elegant in its simplicity
[UNKNOWN]: restaurant and menu is just muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: The whole thing is muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: And you might think of that and think, oh, that's ridiculous, you know, there's only one thing on the menu, but honestly, that is it.
[UNKNOWN]: It's just muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: There's like a few different flavors of them.
[UNKNOWN]: There's like marignaire, with like, you know, kind of creamy white wine, shallot sauce.
[UNKNOWN]: There was a Arabiata, which I think is like, I'm sort of spicy tomato, and then there was one that was
[UNKNOWN]: And just absolutely fantastic, but best meal I've had for ages, and my children as well, be in a very intelligent and cultured to children that they are.
[UNKNOWN]: They love it too.
[UNKNOWN]: Mally love it.
[UNKNOWN]: And we appreciate it.
[UNKNOWN]: Having a concept that, on paper,
[UNKNOWN]: seems really simple, but with a lot of bravery and courage gone into presenting something that simple, but just executed with such flawless precision and creativity that it just worked.
[UNKNOWN]: And we had a wonderful time.
[UNKNOWN]: That was it, it was just muscles and bread.
[UNKNOWN]: That was it, just muscles, muscles, muscles, that's all we're eating the entire meal, which is muscles, muscles, muscles, muscles, muscles, muscles,
[UNKNOWN]: And there were some people who might be listening, and then people were sort of walking past just like peering and seeing just muscles, muscles, muscles, muscles and thinking, oh, that's boring, you know, that's too many muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: No, it's not.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not, no, you know, there'd be people thinking, why is it right there?
[UNKNOWN]: more.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, it agrees.
[UNKNOWN]: Why aren't there more things on the menu?
[UNKNOWN]: Why don't they have, like, some burgers or some chips or, you know, fry chicken or something then they, you know, more people would enjoy it, but it's like only muscles, like, you know, a few muscles at the start.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, sure.
[UNKNOWN]: We'll have it as a starter, but just muscles the whole way through the meal.
[UNKNOWN]: Some people, like the ignorant people, uncultured people, we think that's too many muscles, I'm gonna get bored of the muscles, but again, it was just done with such brilliance and just the freshness of the ingredients and the excellence of the cooking.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, like the cooking, there's nothing particularly fancy about it.
[UNKNOWN]: There's not any really elaborate cooking techniques or sequences used to make it.
[UNKNOWN]: It was just,
[UNKNOWN]: just very, very bold and flawlessly executed.
[UNKNOWN]: And in a lot of ways, a perfect meal.
[UNKNOWN]: And you know, some people looking at that meal, that's just muscles all the way through, maybe with a few bites of bread here in there, you know, you get you got the bread to sort of.
[UNKNOWN]: mop up some of the sauce and people just really sort of miss in the point and thinking, ah, you know, this is repetitive or all the, you know, the bread isn't perfect.
[UNKNOWN]: Why isn't the bread better than this?
[UNKNOWN]: Or why aren't there more things on the menu or sort of squinting at the ingredients thinking, you know, I'm not sure about, oh, but parsley, I don't like parsley or, oh, there's got to be a better finish to this meal.
[UNKNOWN]: I can't just finish this.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[UNKNOWN]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
[UNKNOWN]: And yeah, that's an actual, that some people they're thinking comparing it to some muscles that they might have had 30 years ago.
[UNKNOWN]: And so, well, when I had muscles for dinner 30 years ago, they would, I think,
[UNKNOWN]: So the best of my recollection better than the muscles that are in this restaurant and I said well you're missing the point really because these muscles are being cooked now like there are real chefs in the kitchen making those muscles that are available now you can enjoy these muscles right now why are you comparing to muscles that you had 30 years ago that's silly
[UNKNOWN]: and just people just not understanding the concept because there's two fucking stupid and I'm cultured that they cannot appreciate just a meal of muscles cut flawlessly and that was delicious dinner that I had Damon and that's that's the story that's the anecdote real true true story it is true I mean you you are exactly right you absolutely did see the pictures I did see the muscles
[UNKNOWN]: Uh, and I got to be honest with you, from afar, I was looking at those muscles with a salivating at those.
[UNKNOWN]: And, and yes, I'm with you.
[UNKNOWN]: I feel like there's not, like, like, when you go to like, um, uh, I'm trying to think of a chain that would be in here.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, uh, maybe a TGI Friday as you've been there before.
[UNKNOWN]: where the menu is extensive, but they don't do anything well, all right?
[UNKNOWN]: I kind of feel like I know where you're heading with that one now.
[UNKNOWN]: I kind of feel like you're talking about me.
[UNKNOWN]: No, I don't think we're talking about it.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, all right, but the muscles, yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: Let me let it be known.
[UNKNOWN]: I loved what I saw of the muscles and I couldn't imagine being there and enjoying those succulent muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: Absolutely.
[UNKNOWN]: So you want to talk about Suji and you know, now I've not watched it, Damon.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, no.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, I didn't shit.
[UNKNOWN]: Actually, it depends on you to speak to who said it was shit.
[UNKNOWN]: I want names.
[UNKNOWN]: I want fucking names.
[UNKNOWN]: You're going to get me a short way of David.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm not just that if they put out the opinion, then it's out there.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm just too lazy to go look for it to be honest with you.
[UNKNOWN]: So you could tell me who said that that match was, I'm gathering repetitive and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
[UNKNOWN]: It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a
[UNKNOWN]: who's asking if is there anything else on the menu because and their children just doesn't like proper good food and the chef was sort of like oh well it could make you some like pasta with butter and cheese on it or something.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm sort of barely containing my contempt and I'm telling a face at my life.
[UNKNOWN]: Look at this fucking guy.
[UNKNOWN]: And this child's face, like, lit up with joy at the thought of having some pasta with butter and cheese.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm like, oh, these fangs.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, me and my culture, intelligent family are sitting in the room and enjoying the perfect muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm not to say that, my...
[UNKNOWN]: children and my family are better, but you're, but we are, we are, that's it.
[UNKNOWN]: You took to go away and think about it, but we are, we are better.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I don't think there's any debate about that, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Well that's interesting next week.
[UNKNOWN]: That's very clever as well, very very clever.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, we are absolutely, we understand something that's conceptually and we're able to appreciate the
[UNKNOWN]: very, very well.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I like you.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm also enjoying the G1 climax, David.
[UNKNOWN]: But I think this is the best G1 to change the subject completely, but this is the best G1 since 2019.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm firmly in there.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know if I can give you a D, but yeah, 19 sounds like a good cut off.
[UNKNOWN]: Like this clears all of the post-COVID Ray wants to know.
[UNKNOWN]: I think so too.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm being truthful here, because we have no fucking stakes in this.
[UNKNOWN]: And there have been many years where we've just been like, oh, thank you so much.
[UNKNOWN]: Just muscles, just muscles, no stakes.
[UNKNOWN]: That's the name of this show, no stakes, just muscles.
[UNKNOWN]: That's the point, the point is, you're not supposed to have a stake, it's not a stake, restaurant, it's a muscle.
[UNKNOWN]: If you want a stake, it's the fucking stake restaurant, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I would agree.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, that's where you're gonna get a stick.
[UNKNOWN]: Go to the stick restaurant.
[UNKNOWN]: We just serve muscles here, Joe.
[UNKNOWN]: Joe, that's all we do.
[UNKNOWN]: We do it extremely well.
[UNKNOWN]: That's all we do.
[UNKNOWN]: I have enjoyed G1 thoroughly.
[UNKNOWN]: And as I said, when I opened this particular podcast, that the masses here, and if you listen to any of the,
[UNKNOWN]: Patreon audio, I think that both of us have done.
[UNKNOWN]: I feel like you can feel that in our tone and in our voices and in the fact that I can't wait to watch another, I think everyone has gone into this tournament with a chip on their shoulder and the people who we have thought.
[UNKNOWN]: They chips, it just muscles, they're just, my bad, my bad, my bad.
[UNKNOWN]: They've walked in with muscles on their shoulder.
[UNKNOWN]: Minus and out, because we can choke about this arm.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, that little boy, um, it's good, but the, uh, the, I've won so that we have enough stupid little Zencaster soundboard and I'll see what happens when I do that.
[UNKNOWN]: But again, I have it.
[UNKNOWN]: I get pissed about it because that means that means Dan has another track.
[UNKNOWN]: He's got to just put in that little snare a little rim shot And we're 15 minutes in and then I got to tell him you have about 15 minutes in.
[UNKNOWN]: There's a rim shot You're gonna put in and he's gonna be like fuck you dude.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to so you know what what go up until like power struggle Seriously, we're rest on kick them.
[UNKNOWN]: We'll release it
[UNKNOWN]: But I really haven't enjoyed it.
[UNKNOWN]: Everyone's got their work and boots on as much as they can, giving your first match your 10 minutes, maybe the second match a little bit longer, and then your semi and your mains, you know, they're getting the full course.
[UNKNOWN]: I think everybody's,
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know what people fucking want.
[UNKNOWN]: What do they want?
[UNKNOWN]: It's just good stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: And it's, it's, it's, I think people who have dug their feet in.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm guessing that I need stars to enjoy my pro and whatever the fuck that means, because truth we told you have stars, they're building stars, they're making stars.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know what people want because I think people want wrestlers being hit by 450 splashes and then just standing up immediately like nothing's happened and then just doing the next sequence of moves.
[UNKNOWN]: I think that's what people want.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe, maybe we are the outliers and we are the, and again, I don't want to sit here and fucking put us on a pedestal.
[UNKNOWN]: We could be a tag team.
[UNKNOWN]: The outliers.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: But you know what I mean, like I can see, but we're right.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it's true.
[UNKNOWN]: I would think so.
[UNKNOWN]: I really do like to me.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm so excited to talk to you about this today.
[UNKNOWN]: When I was, I'd be energized.
[UNKNOWN]: Right.
[UNKNOWN]: Usually, night eight of a G1 is.
[UNKNOWN]: We're dying.
[UNKNOWN]: Proaching.
[UNKNOWN]: It's a grind.
[UNKNOWN]: You're like, oh, God.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, great.
[UNKNOWN]: But I've honestly been looking for it.
[UNKNOWN]: As soon as I finished watching the show,
[UNKNOWN]: and it was great because I've had the kids in summer school so I was able to actually sit down and properly lock in and concentrate on it and understand what the rest is going for and be able to analyse it appropriately and have well informed opinions about where usually it's just like fucking may have children and wife riding around wanting my attention but I locked in, watched it and I was just like
[UNKNOWN]: his pumping at the end.
[UNKNOWN]: I was like, yes, come on, we're so packed.
[UNKNOWN]: She won climax, baby.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm so excited to talk to you about this.
[UNKNOWN]: And yeah, I think my all accounts, things are going well.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, I'm looking at the attendants here.
[UNKNOWN]: Did you see that they've sold out Rio Gocco for the G1 semis?
[UNKNOWN]: You know, for me, that's obviously down to the tens and retirement match being there doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but still that's really good news as well.
[UNKNOWN]: And the attendants is sort of if you do a venue
[UNKNOWN]: compared to last year, where obviously there was, you know, more star power and guys like town of Ashley evil, whatever.
[UNKNOWN]: It's, um, currently 400 higher than last year.
[UNKNOWN]: If we just think, then you're making comparisons, you know, obviously excluding the first night Chicago, because there's no direct comparison for that.
[UNKNOWN]: And,
[UNKNOWN]: The general feeling for people I've spoken to in the company is that a lot of that is down to Aaron Wolf actually, and we'll talk to him about Aaron Wolf later, but people are talking about the media that he's done, sort of trying to hype up interest in the tournament and that's
[UNKNOWN]: in quite good for tendencies, if you are some people, and you have to wonder, like, if Shota Umino had not been hurt, this would be comfortably clearing 2026, you know, losing out, for example, on that outer main event for the second one, they did it outer, where if they'd had Shota versus year or ever, as their main event, that would have, I think,
[UNKNOWN]: toward a really respectable number.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, yeah, and I think we'd be trending much higher than that.
[UNKNOWN]: So I mean, as it is, it's nothing, well, I was going to say there's nothing you can do about maybe that's not true.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe there is something to do.
[UNKNOWN]: Do you think maybe, and I'm sort of all over the place here, David, but do you think they've sort of shot themselves in the foot by not doing anything as a result of that show to injury because, you know, now perhaps
[UNKNOWN]: the audience or the potential ticket buyers might be thinking, you know what, I'm not going to buy a ticket, I'm going to wait until, you know, the day or the day before, in case, in case, you know, someone, I'm not going to buy my G1 ticket several weeks in advance from month for two in advance, because what if someone gets injured?
[UNKNOWN]: What if my favorite guy gets injured?
[UNKNOWN]: And then they're not replaced by anyone.
[UNKNOWN]: And I've got just four G1 matches, instead of five G1 matches.
[UNKNOWN]: So do you think they've sort of missed a trick in not replacing
[UNKNOWN]: show to with something like, you know, having met making the...
[UNKNOWN]: You know, the wrestler who then has a night off, who would have been wrestling show to to wrestle someone else.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, you know, maybe just a replacement for a tight chin there.
[UNKNOWN]: It doesn't have to be, you could just maybe directly put him in the G. One be like, okay, shows us out tight, she's in.
[UNKNOWN]: And you'd have to sort of change up the points, but you haven't to change the points anyway.
[UNKNOWN]: So why not put someone else in?
[UNKNOWN]: Or just have a bunch of special singles matches and make whoever's supposed to be wrestling show to wrestle someone else.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, do you think they're sort of hurting themselves for next year by not doing anything with this?
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, on the surface, yeah, but like also, they just don't, you know, they just don't do that.
[UNKNOWN]: And if a guy gets hurt during G1, and we've seen this with gay, we've seen this with Shinsuke.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I mean, this is not, again, you go back in time, and it was a never title if I'm not mistaken, and didn't like Togi Makabe have,
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: I want to say the flu or some fucking shit and he was stripped of the belt.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, it's just what they do.
[UNKNOWN]: And we get to there and and think, oh, it wouldn't be great if they did that.
[UNKNOWN]: And here's the thing too.
[UNKNOWN]: I think.
[UNKNOWN]: Like you won't walk up sales, obviously, but also I think the company values and I could be dead wrong, but I would think that they value more advanced ticket sales just so they have that money and they can kind of do what they can with that money already in their hands.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know if people, like I, it's a risky take, I got to be honest, it feels like it's a risky take, but I don't think people go into it thinking, ah, but what if my favorite drill a maloney, you know, spraying the ankle and these out?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, it just happens, it's, it's, it's a tough fucking tournament, it's, it's an
[UNKNOWN]: to watch in real time every single year and injuries are bound to happen, you don't want to do a guy that you have kind of penciled in to be the winner, that kind of changes things up a little bit, but yeah, I mean, look, they just don't, would it be better, arguably, probably, but they just, they just don't do it.
[UNKNOWN]: I want to get straight into the show then this is night eight in Osaka, the Yamato Arena.
[UNKNOWN]: Usually you add you an arena but I think that's been refurbished isn't it?
[UNKNOWN]: So the attendance for this show was 2025.
[UNKNOWN]: Now that is up.
[UNKNOWN]: almost 700 from last year.
[UNKNOWN]: So a lot of people got one, one, one, one, one, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two
[UNKNOWN]: those positives, and I try to temper those negatives, you know, when they other down 500 or whatever, like, you want to see trends.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, for what you're saying,
[UNKNOWN]: There is a bit of a trend in upward trend across multiple shows, right?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't, correct me if I'm wrong.
[UNKNOWN]: We haven't seen a comparison again year to year, same buildings, same venues.
[UNKNOWN]: We haven't seen a dip yet, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Um, that's a good question.
[UNKNOWN]: I delete.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, I'm going to make the tables come back.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[UNKNOWN]: So this year, we're down 20, 20, that's not about 100.
[UNKNOWN]: Down 100, okay, then we're down about 10.
[UNKNOWN]: Everything, 700, okay, down about another 700, and up 700, okay, all right, so there is no trend.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, sadly enough.
[UNKNOWN]: My hypothesis is shite, um, all right.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, I said, look, again, I'm not counting downtown.
[UNKNOWN]: Downtown could be fucking one car got a flat tire and have to people, you know, five people couldn't.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, it would be interesting.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, it would be interesting.
[UNKNOWN]: to track as the tournament progresses, do the attendances start to notice aably trend upwards.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, if we're at a self-mouthed spreading and they've put in the effort to give significant main events to this rising crop of young stars, you know, for example, now that people have watched
[UNKNOWN]: Utah is in a main event, they might think, oh, no, that was really good, or they've seen over in a main event, but that was really good, or you know, someone who's so full of that, now that these guys are starting to prove themselves, right, whether we might see a not ticking that, and I wonder if there's sort of a pattern here of the people that have been putting these main events, they seem to be kind of like spreading them out a bit, giving lots of different rest of the chance to be in a main event.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, yeah, because we've got an Aaron Wolf main event coming up, which I'm absolutely beside myself.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm giddy with excitement about that.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I think as the reputation spreads, you know, people might think, you know what, this is a really good G1 and these guys are proving themselves.
[UNKNOWN]: So I'm going to get myself a ticket.
[UNKNOWN]: It's probably shut up.
[UNKNOWN]: He's excited to.
[UNKNOWN]: We're all excited.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, that is something that I think people should keep an eye on.
[UNKNOWN]: Right from from
[UNKNOWN]: because the the foundation I feel like has been laid where everybody is hustling matches generally or at very least good and guys are kind of breaking out of shells and becoming better versions of who they were once they before they entered and
[UNKNOWN]: guys are overperforming that you had very low expectations on.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, if word of mouth gets out and people are watching at home and they're like, oh, fuck.
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: There's tickets available.
[UNKNOWN]: You know what?
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to drag my elize yes and put on pants to fuck over through the arena.
[UNKNOWN]: That's the goal, right?
[UNKNOWN]: That's the goal.
[UNKNOWN]: So, yes.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm on board with that.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's track that.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm gonna do that now, actually.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's have a look and see who's been in the main event.
[UNKNOWN]: So, night one, to Keshe and Suji, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Let's go, night two, we had goto and Suji.
[UNKNOWN]: Night three, was Uya and Zack.
[UNKNOWN]: So, you just been given a big event there.
[UNKNOWN]: Night four, why, why does he do this to me?
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, he has all of it.
[UNKNOWN]: So all I could have been given a main event there.
[UNKNOWN]: Then we've had, oh, I just clicked on that one.
[UNKNOWN]: There's bad audio.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, I can't remember.
[UNKNOWN]: I can't remember.
[UNKNOWN]: Can't remember.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, I've got a main event there in Negata and then in Ota, we had Yota and Shingo, which is a fairly conservative one there.
[UNKNOWN]: And then the second night of Ota was Zach and Gate Kid, so Gate Kid getting a main event there.
[UNKNOWN]: And then, yeah, this time, Utah I, so.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, that's spread it, spread it right a bit.
[UNKNOWN]: Why not, you know, give, give as many people, as many opportunities as, as you can, to see how they handle the, the spotlight.
[UNKNOWN]: That's what we're making here.
[UNKNOWN]: That's what we're doing here.
[UNKNOWN]: We're, we're seeing the fruits of the labor of, in many cases, three, four years.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, we're we're we're looking to harvest.
[UNKNOWN]: We are looking to pick from the tree.
[UNKNOWN]: So to speak.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's see what we got.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, absolutely.
[UNKNOWN]: The top coming ones as well.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, so we've got you an hour and wolf is a main event.
[UNKNOWN]: So an hour and wolf getting his first main event.
[UNKNOWN]: Then goto to catch that that's pretty established to establish names.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, Henari gay kid.
[UNKNOWN]: So Henari getting a main event.
[UNKNOWN]: I told you to circle that one.
[UNKNOWN]: Oleg against Suji so all I get in another main event so maybe you know pay attention to that not for nothing to main events for Mr. Bolton then Well, this is an interesting one.
[UNKNOWN]: We've got a main event of Callum Newman versus Oscar in Callum Newman Gower so Oscar get in a main event And then we've got Shingo against you to ISO another main event for you to ice you versus Gabe Kid
[UNKNOWN]: Shingo versus, oh, no, she did this one, this is no particular order.
[UNKNOWN]: They've not done the order yet.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, for this.
[UNKNOWN]: So that one too much, but yeah, I think point stands that they're giving lots of different guys a chance to be in the spotlight and worker.
[UNKNOWN]: But does that work saving?
[UNKNOWN]: Like to me, that's more exciting.
[UNKNOWN]: It's incredibly exciting.
[UNKNOWN]: What do we always say?
[UNKNOWN]: It's always great when we go into big time main events and we're like, I don't know who Fox on a window, you could go either way and that helps make it even more exciting.
[UNKNOWN]: And I find it to be a little bit boring, a little bit stale where you know.
[UNKNOWN]: And how many of those fucking post G1 title defenses, where it's like,
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, God versus evil.
[UNKNOWN]: And you're like, well, okay, evil is not one of this fucking title here, right?
[UNKNOWN]: They're not going to should not go do that.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, like, the idea of every one of the, like, give me a winner.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, all those main events, you could just be like, oh, that guy might win, but he might not.
[UNKNOWN]: And that guy might win, but he may not.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: And to me, that makes every fall important.
[UNKNOWN]: That makes, you know, every match obviously important.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, and once again, it is a little bit of okay, you're under our microscope.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's let's see how we do under the spotlight.
[UNKNOWN]: That's exciting to like, it's it's very, like there's nothing worse than scale and
[UNKNOWN]: You know, knowing or at least having a really good feeling of what's going to happen when I love the idea that one, it's it's treated as as much of a sport.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, we're not talking to this is fucking my E does UWF mind you.
[UNKNOWN]: But it does feel like this is a competitive thing, a sporting thing.
[UNKNOWN]: So I absolutely love that element.
[UNKNOWN]: And then, too, the uncertainty of, okay, it's a professional wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes, we, we pre-determined the finishes.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, what a shock.
[UNKNOWN]: But let's keep it interesting.
[UNKNOWN]: And let's keep it fresh.
[UNKNOWN]: Now again, people might look at that and be like, well, it's that 50, 50 booking and that powder or do you agree?
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, I got it.
[UNKNOWN]: I understand and everybody's going to be jumbled up at at six points in the middle of the pack.
[UNKNOWN]: And we're okay.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, is that a new Japan thing that they do?
[UNKNOWN]: Yes, of course.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: I find I found so far at least.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, let's put it this way.
[UNKNOWN]: They would really have to shit the bed moving forward for me to give this a thumbs down.
[UNKNOWN]: Sorry, I'm always not concerned with the points at this moment.
[UNKNOWN]: Right, it's like an afterthought, just because the matches and the stories have been so compelling and creative and interesting that, in a lot of ways, the person who wins them is kind of, it's not irrelevant, obviously it is important, but it's not the key thing that you take away from the match.
[UNKNOWN]: Great, I'm going to be honest with you.
[UNKNOWN]: Who's not enjoying themselves watching this?
[UNKNOWN]: Like who's giving this a thumbs down?
[UNKNOWN]: Are there people out there that are giving this a thumbs down that are not enjoying this ride?
[UNKNOWN]: I wouldn't say there are people that are like outright down on it and saying, oh, this is a bad G1, but just as you mentioned earlier, a lot of people really dragging their feet digging their heels in to the point at which I think they're kind of completely missing the point.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, it's a very typical thing with a lot of
[UNKNOWN]: the way a lot of people consume 2026, New Japan, which is just the grumpy Pingu meme, sitting there thinking, this isn't 2018, 2019, New Japan Pro Wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: So I don't like it.
[UNKNOWN]: I want it to be like it was before, with the people that I liked before.
[UNKNOWN]: And just being hyper critical,
[UNKNOWN]: of what is being presented now when that sort of scrutiny wasn't applied to it back in those glory days.
[UNKNOWN]: And just again, just completely missing the big picture and just the freshness and the excitement of having all these young and hungry guys coming up all with their slightly different
[UNKNOWN]: interpretation of what pro-resting should be and what a main event should look like and the way they're kind of meshing with each other and producing something a little bit different each night like I feel a lot of people kind of consuming it through gritted teeth and not really approaching it with an open mind and not understanding it.
[UNKNOWN]: Why would you put yourself through that?
[UNKNOWN]: Like, okay, because truth be told, if you're not, I don't know where these glory year New Japan Pro Wrestling fans, they have a very selective memory.
[UNKNOWN]: We're obviously there were great matches and great performances and great G1s during that time frame.
[UNKNOWN]: Don't get me wrong.
[UNKNOWN]: But let's not pretend that you had Yano matches and you had hang there and page matches and you had Fale matches and you know what I mean?
[UNKNOWN]: This wasn't all like top the bottom of Rainbow's and fucking unicorns.
[UNKNOWN]: were their great matches, of course there were.
[UNKNOWN]: Were there outstanding performances?
[UNKNOWN]: Absolutely.
[UNKNOWN]: We're talking the glory years.
[UNKNOWN]: We're talking, again, arguably the deepest roster and the most profitable and the clicking odd all cylinders era, you know, you could put that up against 91 92 all Japan.
[UNKNOWN]: You could put that up against, you know, the glory years of Jim Crocker promotions.
[UNKNOWN]: You could put that up against 90s news, whatever you want to do, like you could put that
[UNKNOWN]: like that's not where we are so now you're now you're not a fan now you're watching through gritted teeth like comparison with the fifth joy time and I don't know how many people need to hear that but it's true it is true and again it can you sit there and say okay yes there
[UNKNOWN]: I'm sorry, I find this to be a lot more interesting than the fucking, the slog of 2000, 2021.
[UNKNOWN]: Where it's like, okay, you know, you just show this rugged.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm sorry, I'll take this any fucking day the week.
[UNKNOWN]: I find this to be fresh and exciting and fun and dare I say good.
[UNKNOWN]: This has been good.
[UNKNOWN]: This has not been good.
[UNKNOWN]: This has been very good and quite frankly better than I expected.
[UNKNOWN]: And I would really love to hear from those people that
[UNKNOWN]: are down on this, like, why, how?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: This is a conversation where I've got or fair, Damon, okay.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll put you in the direction of some.
[UNKNOWN]: So send me a message.
[UNKNOWN]: Send me a message via the WhatsApp.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll turn it on right now.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll load that around.
[UNKNOWN]: Just send me a name.
[UNKNOWN]: I won't mention it.
[UNKNOWN]: I promise I won't.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, that's it.
[UNKNOWN]: and I see three dots, oh boy, that's disappointing, that's disappointing.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, because that's something my judge from we works there.
[UNKNOWN]: Why don't you throw the product for once?
[UNKNOWN]: Oh my god.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, keep it in a strong style.
[UNKNOWN]: That's the both judges.
[UNKNOWN]: Josh Josh is a daily audio on the stiff club brilliant.
[UNKNOWN]: Like there's a guy who really is dialed in appreciates, understands what they're trying to do.
[UNKNOWN]: doing it with a different format, not doing the daily order, doing a weekly show, which is also equally valid and has its merits.
[UNKNOWN]: So all of us, different people with different opinions, all enjoying the DLG1 climate.
[UNKNOWN]: So it's getting to it, Damon, the first match was Jake Young and Henry, defeating Tyson and Akara Toriano, five minutes, 26 seconds.
[UNKNOWN]: Jacob was the young, getting himself some more points in the C-block.
[UNKNOWN]: with his win over La Carre, brain rot, that's the name of the movie you see.
[UNKNOWN]: So six points for Jacob Boston Young and the B-Block.
[UNKNOWN]: So just trying to keep him prominent in people's minds them.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, they could have easily had Henareke and the win there, but they didn't.
[UNKNOWN]: They chose to go with Jacob Austin Young, scoring a pit and just to keep his credibility taken over.
[UNKNOWN]: Henarei obviously in this match he's not building up to a match because tomorrow he will not be resting anyone this is night off because of the show to Umano injury and he's had a very strong run so far Henarei he's four and one so he's getting hot run off the block some how you feeling about Henarei's output so far.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, I said it before like if you need a guy to go out there and open a show like I don't know how many main event spots will have in the future who knows.
[UNKNOWN]: And like I always feel bad.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't really feel bad, but like the idea that.
[UNKNOWN]: He has swam upstream his entire run in New Japan.
[UNKNOWN]: And right when you think he's finally fucking got to the lip of the river to hop over the rock, there's a bear standing there, where he's waiting for you.
[UNKNOWN]: It's,
[UNKNOWN]: I, I want him to open every fucking show because I, as silly as it makes sound, I feel like he sets a tone for how this show is going to go.
[UNKNOWN]: I love his just maniacal.
[UNKNOWN]: powder keg, you could hit me with a fucking chair and I'm gonna laugh you off and a brutal chair shot nonetheless, I'll just laugh it off and cause I'm steam rolling straight ahead.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, he does it very well.
[UNKNOWN]: I love that element to him.
[UNKNOWN]: So yeah, he's exciting, he's fun.
[UNKNOWN]: I think he's, I think, I think I'm better question.
[UNKNOWN]: and not to give you better questions, but better question.
[UNKNOWN]: Who's had a bad G1?
[UNKNOWN]: And, and already certainly have it.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, you know how to enter that now, we can get to go through the entire matches, but I think, I don't, I, I, a bad G1.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't, I don't know anyone, I don't know anybody who has.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll get on to someone who I think just comparatively,
[UNKNOWN]: It's having a worst, you won, significantly worse, you won than the other performers.
[UNKNOWN]: But even then, I think in the cold light of day, I don't, a lot of people are saying, it's great of course.
[UNKNOWN]: A lot of people are saying that he is bad and his matches have been bad.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think they've been bad, but they're just, they're not very good and the rest day.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm being shown up by comparison by all the other resters who are having very good to others.
[UNKNOWN]: But again, we'll talk about him later, but yeah, I do think, because I do have thoughts on our own.
[UNKNOWN]: And you're right.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, then so the next match after that, the second match was Tatty Matsumoto and Aaron Wolftoffing, Massa Toro, Yasada and you, when we're five minutes, five seconds, Aaron Wolftoff getting the win over Yasada's submission via Boston Crab.
[UNKNOWN]: So
[UNKNOWN]: was really interesting here that it felt like this whole tag match was built around Wolf.
[UNKNOWN]: It felt like he was in the ring for like the how basically being the entire thing.
[UNKNOWN]: Matt's a motor was barely in at all and thought he looked really good, you know, good stuff with yes and good stuff with you.
[UNKNOWN]: And that is a big assignment to Moro for him to have that main event with you at Wemmer.
[UNKNOWN]: And I absolutely sure that Wolf and
[UNKNOWN]: when they show and saw what was happening, car wrapped the car and watched that main event.
[UNKNOWN]: And they are going to be cooking up some madness tomorrow.
[UNKNOWN]: I can feel it.
[UNKNOWN]: My bones, they're going to be thinking, right off.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to, we'll fucking show them.
[UNKNOWN]: We're going to do some bloody good wrestling as well.
[UNKNOWN]: And we just got a little taste of it here.
[UNKNOWN]: Just like the, the you years sort of fluid,
[UNKNOWN]: sort of pure technical wrestling and mission with the Aaron Wolf judo stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: It was really just a little teaser, a little appetizer of what's going to come tomorrow.
[UNKNOWN]: And I liked what I've tasted so far.
[UNKNOWN]: And interestingly, both of them were four points.
[UNKNOWN]: Is that interesting?
[UNKNOWN]: That's not really interesting.
[UNKNOWN]: They're both four points.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, how have you thought about you, uh, and Aaron Wolf so far?
[UNKNOWN]: Um, okay.
[UNKNOWN]: So
[UNKNOWN]: I don't want to say strange situation, but you know that I would say the vast majority of people that are watching this tournament are watching him intently, like they're trying to either project this guy's going to headline Russell Kingdoms now and forever more or he's
[UNKNOWN]: I find that, like, from the jump is him getting the win and kind of being wet nurse through that match, and then the feud with House of Torture, and now we find, it's kind of like the clouds have parted, and like, okay, we went through the mock of all of that, and now we have these individual pocket matches where let's see what you can
[UNKNOWN]: Once again, let's remind people, six months, we're six months into this fucking experiment.
[UNKNOWN]: Seven months.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, if you want to talk about time in the dojo, if you want to talk about him rolling around the fucking mat with everybody that you would think you'd be rolling around in the mat on in the dojo and everything that we've seen, six man tags, all that stuff, all this stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: I am amazed at where we are, amazed.
[UNKNOWN]: Like he's in big time, spots on this card, important to matches and with all that pressure, is he lighting the world on fire with the things that he can do in the ring right now?
[UNKNOWN]: Is he the fucking second coming of Barry Wendell?
[UNKNOWN]: No.
[UNKNOWN]: Six months in, I think he's doing head and shoulders above where, and again, he's an athlete, like he's a professional fucking athlete, but there's a big difference between judo and pro wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: He has a star name, that's helpful.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, he's got a very mainstream name, helpful in making a connection with the crowd.
[UNKNOWN]: I've said it a thousand times.
[UNKNOWN]: He, the hardest thing is to have a connection with the crowd.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not the bump.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not the fucking moveset.
[UNKNOWN]: It's, it's the connection.
[UNKNOWN]: Like that's, that's vital because if you don't have that, then you know, I don't give a fuck.
[UNKNOWN]: What do you do?
[UNKNOWN]: He's, he's, he has that.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, is that cheating because he has that background and what he brings to the table already?
[UNKNOWN]: No, but it's a plus, like people in pro wrestling have used that for years.
[UNKNOWN]: Generations, like you can't fault the guy for that.
[UNKNOWN]: He's done exceptionally well.
[UNKNOWN]: And here's the thing, you, you.
[UNKNOWN]: To me feels like right now as a complete package that is waiting to become even more complete.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, I, I find him incredibly refreshing, um, the style, he's working, once again, he's working as the ultimate baby face.
[UNKNOWN]: He is modern day fucking a rookie steamboat working, now has he reached that level yet?
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over
[UNKNOWN]: But my point is is that being a baby face and a listening that sympathy that you need as a baby face and make no mistake about it, he's working as a fucking baby face and everyone in these matches, that is a very difficult thing to do.
[UNKNOWN]: And especially in a company where
[UNKNOWN]: for the most part, again, mind is your Gabe kids and what have you, like, and house a torture mind joke.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, like, there are very fuzzy lines in the sand.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, is, like, a zack of healer or a face?
[UNKNOWN]: Is lobby Eagles a face?
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, maybe is, I don't know, fucking,
[UNKNOWN]: is Drilla of the considerate of face now is chaos of energy is sugy of face like like there's there's shades of gray and he's working though baby face central and it's a hard fucking thing to them.
[UNKNOWN]: So right now I'll ask you this other concerns for you.
[UNKNOWN]: And I've mentioned this before on our Patreon audio.
[UNKNOWN]: There's nobody, like those two guys, don't have a world of experience in there.
[UNKNOWN]: And you're thinking, New Year's gonna be the guy that helped carry this match.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, I'm sure there are guys in the back that are like, all right, let's hit the spot, let's hit, you know, maybe working things out in the back.
[UNKNOWN]: Who knows?
[UNKNOWN]: That being said, are there any concerns?
[UNKNOWN]: I know you said that, you know, in your minds, they have wacky shit.
[UNKNOWN]: that they have planned, and then they're going to go balls of the wall, and he concerns that we don't have a ton of experience out there, and if things go tits up, as they would say, and things sort of unravel, or things could fall apart very quickly, or you confident in both those guys that that won't happen.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, very, very confident.
[UNKNOWN]: I hope, I'm sure they will, they're going to be bold, they're going to try some creative stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, you've got a very clear vision of what he thinks, pro-resting should be any, he sticks to that for a better offer worse.
[UNKNOWN]: And he's not exactly a rookie eater.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, how are these people?
[UNKNOWN]: wrestling for how long, if it's like nearly 10 years at this point, let's see when you made his debut a win, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Like, this is not some great kid, you know, just because of the glacial pace at which New Japan pro wrestling elevate their talent.
[UNKNOWN]: It can sometimes feel like that.
[UNKNOWN]: But, um, has it been 10 years for you yet?
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to say, um, less than 10.
[UNKNOWN]: 8 years.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, why don't we have that for a while?
[UNKNOWN]: Alright.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't hear it again eight years.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not a million, you know, we're not talking 42 years, but okay, obviously because 42 is but enough.
[UNKNOWN]: That's enough experience.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes.
[UNKNOWN]: I've, you know, reasonably expect the main event to not go off the rails.
[UNKNOWN]: You would think.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, okay.
[UNKNOWN]: It's an interesting choice to have.
[UNKNOWN]: I think this is our most first main event, certainly in a singles match it is, to have you, as his thoughts partner, you know, that's a show of faith isn't it, and maybe a deliberate one, I don't know, but reading to that what you will.
[UNKNOWN]: Practice makes perfect.
[UNKNOWN]: Eventually you're going to be that guy that's going to be counted on the dude shit like that, so yeah,
[UNKNOWN]: Third match, they've got a scrum, he'd make, I think he wants a pouche, I think he wants some food, so I'm going to set you up to talk about something and then I'm going to go feed him.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, not that he hasn't been fed already, but you know, I know that I do, okay.
[UNKNOWN]: Tervatch, get out and Oscar defeating Diken the guy and drill him alone, he five minutes twenty two seconds, Oscar getting a submission win.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it was a submission win over Diken the guy with the out-prout and I want to talk about Diken the guy for a little bit here because he's got some shine on this tour.
[UNKNOWN]: He's had some memorable spots on undercards, tag matches and also in run-ins when we
[UNKNOWN]: I forget what the match was that he was in a political unit in an empire.
[UNKNOWN]: Was any involved in that?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, yes, yes, that's what it was it.
[UNKNOWN]: Calum versus Drilla.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it was Calum versus Drilla.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, anyway.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I thought it was like having those just little nuggets of dyke in a guy doing something really cool.
[UNKNOWN]: A memorable.
[UNKNOWN]: I think works for him.
[UNKNOWN]: to be doing something small and bite size, rather than being under the full scrutiny of a best of the super genius, where he's having nine singles matches and losing all of them.
[UNKNOWN]: And then, often like the last thing taste or memory of that dyke in a guy thing is, oh, he lost again, like that deflated feeling, whereas he's getting all these cool little moments, so he had like, yeah, fuck yeah, dyke in a guy, he did a cool thing, which I think is good for him.
[UNKNOWN]: We've got Oscar,
[UNKNOWN]: he's on six points versus Drilla.
[UNKNOWN]: He's on eight points coming up.
[UNKNOWN]: So yeah, it's a good match here.
[UNKNOWN]: Oscar, man handle dyking the guy.
[UNKNOWN]: That's really good.
[UNKNOWN]: Scrubby.
[UNKNOWN]: What are you doing?
[UNKNOWN]: Don't go out the window.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, my days.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: So it thoughts, please, dyking the guy.
[UNKNOWN]: Oscar, Drilla Maloney, please.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to go feed the cat.
[UNKNOWN]: Go take care of that.
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: It's like salt.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, all over again.
[UNKNOWN]: The.
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's let's talk about
[UNKNOWN]: going into G1, I'll be the first to admit that not that he couldn't perform, don't get me wrong because I truly think he could.
[UNKNOWN]: Once again, I bring up the crowd connection thing and I feel like that would be a big hurdle.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, are people gonna give a fuck?
[UNKNOWN]: Really?
[UNKNOWN]: That was my biggest concern.
[UNKNOWN]: Jill Muloney walks in and that's still like manner and are people going to care.
[UNKNOWN]: And it feels like they do.
[UNKNOWN]: match performance wise.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm telling you that the the the pile his you know stuff reverse piles or whatever fuck he calls it is great like that is a quintessential finishing move like that looks great looks like it was it's gonna snap somebody in half
[UNKNOWN]: There's energy there and and not that we're using the old it came out of nowhere kind of thing, but it doesn't take a million years to set up like he's doing some nonsense from the top rope.
[UNKNOWN]: He's he's looking the part he's fitting in nicely in this G1 and again my biggest concern with him would be.
[UNKNOWN]: would he connect with the crowd and would people care?
[UNKNOWN]: And not only has it been match quality, but even like again, the way that they book this thing is getting wins over names and put in air quotes to help it make the most of what time we have, with Jill and Melon.
[UNKNOWN]: Who, if I'm not mistaken, has a little deal with produce out of North Jersey, I wanna say.
[UNKNOWN]: I thought I saw that somewhere, which I found on the little bit interesting, but okay, Oscar, on my daily Patreon G1 thing of Bob, I made mentioned that I find him to be interesting in the sense of as a big man.
[UNKNOWN]: And as a guy who's working, and again, once again, I put in
[UNKNOWN]: he does it feet like like he is every everything that you were promised in a monster for how many years again we can go through all of them if you want we can go back bullet club days if you want if you want to go in a way back machine and fucking hall Cody Hall and we were promised that we were promised Hickelayo we were promised
[UNKNOWN]: Fall, I, okay, he's not any of those.
[UNKNOWN]: He's not any of those.
[UNKNOWN]: He's a, he's a pretty amazing athlete.
[UNKNOWN]: He doesn't trip over his fucking feet.
[UNKNOWN]: He's not awkward.
[UNKNOWN]: And if we could just find a way with the facial expressions, which I will say in the last match, uh, singles match that he had.
[UNKNOWN]: It didn't feel as awkward.
[UNKNOWN]: He definitely, I don't know, toned down the line of bad guy face.
[UNKNOWN]: I think he's, he's doing the job in that slot.
[UNKNOWN]: Better than I think a lot of people expected.
[UNKNOWN]: And once again, we're taking off the shackles, so to speak, and protection of a tag team element.
[UNKNOWN]: I think he's done very well.
[UNKNOWN]: And,
[UNKNOWN]: Also, I will also say one of the biggest fears going in with Oscar was as Joel would so eloquently say the out team I need match We've got one of those we really haven't relied on that which again refreshing
[UNKNOWN]: And then we have, you know, young lion involvement, where I agree with you a thousand percent is, you know, we could have young lion singles matches and we can go back and forth with time limit withdrawals and Boston crabs and all that, and that has its place, they'll get me wrong.
[UNKNOWN]: Don't get me wrong.
[UNKNOWN]: That absolutely has a spot.
[UNKNOWN]: There's a purpose for that and a reason.
[UNKNOWN]: And we've seen it for years.
[UNKNOWN]: Why, why stray away from that?
[UNKNOWN]: Well, in this tournament,
[UNKNOWN]: why not have some of these guys have little moments to shine because all you're doing is you're setting the table in fans minds at least.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, this guy's got the balls to do with something like that.
[UNKNOWN]: This guy's got, uh, he's got a free.
[UNKNOWN]: He'll go in there with the best of them.
[UNKNOWN]: the biggest names and and set rights and make sure things are on the up and up.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, that.
[UNKNOWN]: So that's kind of cool.
[UNKNOWN]: That did that.
[UNKNOWN]: And also, and I don't know if it was the guy, who was it?
[UNKNOWN]: Was it the go-to match?
[UNKNOWN]: It could be wrong.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm kind of talking to myself at this point.
[UNKNOWN]: like there was that the chair shot right where he's protecting I I'm pretty sure was go tell my again I'm old like my very rock um you know he's the one that's protecting and and and taking the shots so to speak as to not have a legend
[UNKNOWN]: be a subject to it, the chair shots.
[UNKNOWN]: So I think a lot of the younger guys are getting that.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, we're getting them in the mix, the multi-band tags and so forth, just to keep the ring rust to a minimum as well.
[UNKNOWN]: Guys, I'm high on this G1 from a million different reasons.
[UNKNOWN]: I really am.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't feel like I'm on an island.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't feel like this is like some bit.
[UNKNOWN]: Cause if it were shit, I would honestly say, this is shit.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm not who we've never been afraid of that.
[UNKNOWN]: I've thoroughly enjoyed it thoroughly enjoyed it.
[UNKNOWN]: So there you go.
[UNKNOWN]: There's my take on Oscar And R.A. Danny, we got a good name.
[UNKNOWN]: Who else do you need to be so?
[UNKNOWN]: Who else do we need y'all?
[UNKNOWN]: That's all good.
[UNKNOWN]: Fantastic, excellent job there.
[UNKNOWN]: I've fed Scrampy and he's still meowing at me.
[UNKNOWN]: I love you.
[UNKNOWN]: But fourth match, Hartley Jackson's Exhibit Junior defeated Dictogo at Renarita.
[UNKNOWN]: Seven minutes and one second, Hartley Jackson get the pill over Dictogo from a death valley bomb.
[UNKNOWN]: So yeah, I've shot the window Scrampy.
[UNKNOWN]: That's it.
[UNKNOWN]: You can't threaten to jump out of the third floor onto the ground and you.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes, we could quite enough of that.
[UNKNOWN]: So you've got your jacks in now on 12 points in the seed block.
[UNKNOWN]: So these picked up six wins.
[UNKNOWN]: Here's just their absolute, they're like the final boss of the G1 Omicards.
[UNKNOWN]: Ren is on four points and he's going to be facing Zack Saber Jr on two points, which is a surprise.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think many people would have expected Zack to be on such a losing streak as this.
[UNKNOWN]: So it feels like it's a must win match for that coming up.
[UNKNOWN]: I think he's been excellent, and did you want so far as he usually is?
[UNKNOWN]: The game match quite controversial, I mean, I was spoken about that before, but I think it went longer than it was supposed to, and they struggled to fill up the time meaningfully in the middle part, and you know, talk about a game.
[UNKNOWN]: I was talking about a game now, I mean, he, I think,
[UNKNOWN]: went too hard on the stick in that match to the point that we actually became phasical and him just sort of stomping around the ring goes, suck your fucking mummets just and laugh forward and really create the kind of heel impacts that he would want from a guy in his position but I'm very interested to see Zach versus Ram because that was a very good match last year and I took that as a portant that Ren was gonna have a great G1.
[UNKNOWN]: He didn't have a great G1.
[UNKNOWN]: He just had a great match with Zach's overdue.
[UNKNOWN]: do have good chemistry and continue to have good chemistry.
[UNKNOWN]: I think Ren is doing fairly well in this tournament by, you know, admittedly low expectations, but obviously there is the house of torture, there's a little sprinkling in the house of torture shenanigans, but I don't think it's completely torpedoing.
[UNKNOWN]: The quality, my enjoyment of his matches, I still think he's doing some good stuff there.
[UNKNOWN]: So the fact that the House of Torture stuff is has been delivered in such a small dose in this G1 climax, means that I'm looking more favorably upon Rens output here in the tournament.
[UNKNOWN]: So yeah, if you have any strong thoughts about Rens or Zack or Gabe.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, with Zack, you would figure, you know, he's the typical
[UNKNOWN]: And again, bear quotes, star, that, and a big name shall I say that we'll struggle out of the gate and then I'll get when it's later on.
[UNKNOWN]: So I would I would wholeheartedly expect them to be in the mix.
[UNKNOWN]: Ren, you're right.
[UNKNOWN]: The house of towards your stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, while still present and still, you know, there have been times where.
[UNKNOWN]: there's been involvement, but I don't think I would put it under the category of overstayed welcome.
[UNKNOWN]: Like it's been there and it's side from like a side from the match with calum.
[UNKNOWN]: Was it match with calum, or which match was it?
[UNKNOWN]: There's like one match where there was like a lot of
[UNKNOWN]: interference.
[UNKNOWN]: And it was a match that if I'm not mistaken, I did the the audio on.
[UNKNOWN]: And in the beginning of the match, it was probably on its way to being one of the better renerita matches.
[UNKNOWN]: And then it kind of got bogged down a little bit with the a little bit of nonsense.
[UNKNOWN]: But again, it's not like we have it up and down the card.
[UNKNOWN]: In selective spots,
[UNKNOWN]: It our biggest gripe has been the placement and when and the frequency of it, but it has not been like this overbearing, oh my god, we have three fucking matches with House of Torture members and we're going to see nonsense in three of these matches like we haven't gotten that, which is, you know, okay and when Ren is in there, I feel like it's been used sparingly.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not been bad.
[UNKNOWN]: So there's Zach there's Ran and then who else do we need a little thought on Gabriel Kid?
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: In Ring, I feel like Gabe has been delivering and hustling and doing like right, like he's been on point.
[UNKNOWN]: It's it is a little bit like all right, a little much like here's what I would love I would love new Japan to be like, okay Well, can we ban Lord Pan can we not use middle fingers?
[UNKNOWN]: Let's just try to go through one fucking show without a middle finger or a go suck my dick or you know I mean, I get it your heel.
[UNKNOWN]: You're trying to be But like and I know you're the mad lad who lookin who you know take shit from now on in my fucking
[UNKNOWN]: Stone Island, badged jacket, you're your tough dude.
[UNKNOWN]: I can just, like, want to get my kids to watch this day.
[UNKNOWN]: That's what I'm going to watch it while gay kid has gone on his farm off rents like that.
[UNKNOWN]: It is terrible.
[UNKNOWN]: not a family-friendly environment to talk, um, was it him on the last show?
[UNKNOWN]: No, no, what was on the last show?
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe the, what show was it, where they were drawing in the crowd.
[UNKNOWN]: And there was this older lady who was sitting all by herself.
[UNKNOWN]: just sitting there wanting to watch a wrestling show and I believe it was him and he got all up in her face and Tyler had a move and I'm like this poor old lady just wants like she's sitting purposely alone like I'm just gonna sit here and watch this fucking wrestling show and nobody's gonna bother me and I just have some piece of quiet for my awful family you treat me like shit I just want to just read like and now she's got a game kid like throwing her
[UNKNOWN]: I know you're a heel, but come on, leave a poor fucking lady alone.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, but he's been actually, he's been very good.
[UNKNOWN]: I haven't had a problem with Gabe in ring.
[UNKNOWN]: It's more of, okay, all right, we get it.
[UNKNOWN]: You're with the, with the potty now.
[UNKNOWN]: OK, OK, let's move on to the G1 portion of the show.
[UNKNOWN]: In the A block, A block has been great, really, over delivering.
[UNKNOWN]: I had sort of B block, so I could as the one that I thought was going to be my favorite.
[UNKNOWN]: But actually, A block is comfortably ahead in talking, so I think the quality of that they're delivering.
[UNKNOWN]: So we started off with Oleg Bolton, defeating Jake Lee, 10 minutes, 18 seconds via Kamikaze.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, obviously, we've got the story beat here with Jake Lee, that since Takester gave him, got out the wet wipe and cleaned all the makeup off, and we're making his drop the face paint, he's not just not doing the face paint anymore.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, actually, before we get into Jake Lee, I think maybe,
[UNKNOWN]: you, you, don't help me, but you need to apologise for your bad oligbolting opinions.
[UNKNOWN]: I think we need, you committing Sepuku live, maybe we'll do that, we'll save that for the behind the paywall, we'll do that on the Patreon.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, what was it, Damon?
[UNKNOWN]: Let's have your official
[UNKNOWN]: You've got an anti-Kazak agenda, and you don't know all.
[UNKNOWN]: Satin was in retrograde.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's have a full and frank apology for Oleg Bolton.
[UNKNOWN]: I will say this.
[UNKNOWN]: He has, number one, I was not raw.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's be clear, not raw.
[UNKNOWN]: The thing is, is that in that time frame, the things that I found to be a little bit suspect,
[UNKNOWN]: and a little bit concerning, and a little red flagged for me, feels like they have dwindled the off into the, uh, into the, uh, air.
[UNKNOWN]: He's a listener.
[UNKNOWN]: He's listening to the show.
[UNKNOWN]: So you can say, you name it, but thank you.
[UNKNOWN]: He's had an outstanding pass couple of nights where he has taken the little lock.
[UNKNOWN]: He's gently pushed my lips to go and then locked and said, shut it, Damon, you fucking adult.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, he's heath, not that he's night and day, but something got into him, where, again, that awkwardness, that hesitation, that unsure of myselfness has dissipated, was I wrong?
[UNKNOWN]: No, because it was there, I'm just telling you what I saw, has it improved?
[UNKNOWN]: New Japan Pro Wrestling, it's factor that I was so leasing, I don't think he does, I'm going to give you a solid, he probably does, probably does, he has, and if I was wrong about anything, I was wrong about the fact that that could be corrected and apparently corrected
[UNKNOWN]: He's had a great couple matches, no doubt.
[UNKNOWN]: And those matches, are they going to completely have me not looking at it and being, okay?
[UNKNOWN]: Well, let's just keep an eye on it.
[UNKNOWN]: Much less, much less.
[UNKNOWN]: He may get a very strong case for himself.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's put it that way, Joel.
[UNKNOWN]: So once again, in closing,
[UNKNOWN]: wasn't wrong, but I stand corrected.
[UNKNOWN]: How about that?
[UNKNOWN]: He's he's corrected my train of thought.
[UNKNOWN]: How about that?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, he's I'm in a really outstanding tournament and this this match I've really enjoyed it as well.
[UNKNOWN]: There are a lot of chance for him, a lot of bolting chance and I think the G1 climax is the kind of environment where Olo bolting will shine.
[UNKNOWN]: Like I said, I think he has the potential
[UNKNOWN]: to fill the kind of role that was occupied by Tomahiro Ishiyi and maybe even more than that who knows, but certainly in terms of the style of wrestling and the sort of upper midcard spot where it's a simple character, you know, he's not going to be getting on the microphone,
[UNKNOWN]: Brilliant promos and character work, but he's going to gut there and give you some bell-to-bell fucking bangers and that's great, you know, that's definitely something worth aspiring to And this match, I think, kind of proved that and he's meshing well with lots of different stars I'm enjoying Jake Lee so far on this tournament.
[UNKNOWN]: I like
[UNKNOWN]: him in this lane.
[UNKNOWN]: He's found a jately lane and I think it's a good lane for him.
[UNKNOWN]: He's cut out the sillier aspects for now, like I hope they don't come back, but I think it's certainly working since he's done the drop in the make-up and resting a more serious style where he's building
[UNKNOWN]: his matches of rounds, his big attacks like the big knee to the gut using his size and his power and strong kicks, the penalty kicks and the high kicks and the front chance for you to finish people off is very simple but I think it's a simple but effective template.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean a lot of ways actually, I think stylistically he kind of reminds me of falling but in a good way, sort of you know he's not got that kind of frenetic monster energy
[UNKNOWN]: of like a large archer for example, but it's a more sort of methodical big man style with I suppose differentiated and having the odd moment of athleticism, like he busted out a runner in this match as a counter to a pile bomb, but to me that is a realist, it's a sustainable and effective style if he does need to dial things back a bit due to physical limitations,
[UNKNOWN]: enjoyable to watch, I think he worked quite well on top with his physicality rather than doing the gesture game here, and I thought he worked, or like, I'm really well in this match, I like the bit where he did he need, or like in the elbow rather than the gut, that was a cool moment.
[UNKNOWN]: And yeah, I think relative to expectations, Jay, it's been pretty good in this tournament.
[UNKNOWN]: Absolutely.
[UNKNOWN]: He has exceeded, I think, everyone's expectations going in.
[UNKNOWN]: I think a lot of people
[UNKNOWN]: question why would he even be in it?
[UNKNOWN]: Like, obviously he's coming off of an injury that put him on the shelf for weeks.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, stamina wise, you know, okay, he's in, but are we just going to see just non stop smoke and mirrors and there have been creative little things that that okay, I want to go so far to say they weren't there were nonsense, but you know, little, little, little tweaks to his character and his goofiness that he's incorporated.
[UNKNOWN]: in a serious tournament where he's he's admitted that okay um I know I'm wipe it off the clown make up and I'm taking these things seriously um he's he's outshot everyone's expectations.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think anybody can sit here with a straight face and think oh yeah this is this is where I think he would was going to land because I don't think anybody I don't think anybody did
[UNKNOWN]: worries and concerns.
[UNKNOWN]: He's been, once again, are we talking about fucking abushi, Nakamura level?
[UNKNOWN]: No, but what we are talking about is a guy who we had zero expectations and he's actually made this tournament more interesting.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to say he has outperform what the expectations were going in and what the fuck more could you ask for?
[UNKNOWN]: What could you ask for?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, you can't have every single person in the field of 20 being the main character and having Walter Wall work great bangers, but he's found something that works and I think meshes well with the other wrestlers and tells interesting stories and does
[UNKNOWN]: You know, present something stylistically a bit different.
[UNKNOWN]: And that's to be celebrated.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm really happy with his output so far.
[UNKNOWN]: When we went into the sixth match, which was, do you know, hey, oh, you were defeating Sanada in 11 minutes, 48 seconds via Big Lock.
[UNKNOWN]: Big Lock, my favorite movie is Big Lock.
[UNKNOWN]: Love a Big Lock.
[UNKNOWN]: Journal of Maloney, join on comments.
[UNKNOWN]: I thought it was very good.
[UNKNOWN]: Very funny.
[UNKNOWN]: Had some good moments there.
[UNKNOWN]: I just one thing I will just get out of the way.
[UNKNOWN]: I've probably said it before.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to say it again.
[UNKNOWN]: I was new interest theme is horrendous.
[UNKNOWN]: It just sounds like Suno, you know, AI generated.
[UNKNOWN]: It's just got that kind of hollow empty soulless feel of something that's been generated by a prompt rather than an actual human.
[UNKNOWN]: I really dislike it, but I'm putting that to one side.
[UNKNOWN]: I really love the story going into it.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, this is what I've been saying about each of the wrestlers, particularly the young wrestlers, having their own creative opinion and an idea of what a wrestling should be.
[UNKNOWN]: So, oh, we went into this with a very clear story that he wanted to win with a clean technical hold, because that's his belief on what pro wrestling is all about.
[UNKNOWN]: So, he worked a match, similar to I think a match that he did in
[UNKNOWN]: knower.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it was against Cytochemia where the whole match was just built around and doing side-headlocks.
[UNKNOWN]: So that's what you did in this, it was mostly side-headlocks crevats.
[UNKNOWN]: And you got to win that.
[UNKNOWN]: That's right.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, it's like the Bruce Eating, isn't it?
[UNKNOWN]: Don't fear the man who's practiced a thousand moves once, but fear the man who's practiced one hold a thousand times.
[UNKNOWN]: Just a case and point here.
[UNKNOWN]: It was very bold, but I just enjoyed the way
[UNKNOWN]: that the side had a lot kind of layered throughout the match.
[UNKNOWN]: It was used in different situations and different transitions that used to land it and how it changes the, what I call the match state, the game state to kind of a football phrase or in hearts is that game state.
[UNKNOWN]: I thought it just meshed really well with what Sonata is doing in this tour.
[UNKNOWN]: He's working extremely hard.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm, again, very much like Jake and I'm really quite thrilled with Sonata's out, but because it's almost, you know, he did that thing prior to the tour.
[UNKNOWN]: And I forget which shirt was where there were all the different iterations of the Sonata character and all the different sort of entrance gear that it would all lined up.
[UNKNOWN]: And it's almost like in his matches,
[UNKNOWN]: He's, okay, I'm going to really weird and now he's all right.
[UNKNOWN]: No one's getting funky, Stan, but there's a video game called Secret Monkey Island.
[UNKNOWN]: Point in the click eventually because our fantastic game, like very, very funny.
[UNKNOWN]: The antagonist in that was a ghost pirate called Lechak.
[UNKNOWN]: So in the first monkey island game, he was like a sort of blue translucent, you had a ghostly appearance.
[UNKNOWN]: He was a ghost pirate, management ghost pirate, that's Lechak.
[UNKNOWN]: So he was like a green sort of rotting shampeling zombie with all bodily fluids everywhere.
[UNKNOWN]: Then in the third game he was a demon pirate and had like a big flaming beard.
[UNKNOWN]: And then in the fourth game they couldn't decide on a new version of him.
[UNKNOWN]: So throughout the game he just sort of cycles between those three appearances.
[UNKNOWN]: So you know as he's on screen he goes from Ghost Pirates to Zombie Pirates to Demon Pirates to Ghost Pirates to Zombie Pirates to Zombie Pirates.
[UNKNOWN]: That, to me, it feels like what Sanada is doing in his matches, he's sort of like cycling through the different personas, kind of rolling back the years and sort of tapping in different generations or different areas of Sanada and borrowing moves, signature moves from all those different areas to, you know, try and get him the win in these matches and, you know, sometimes that means you get the house or torture Sanada where we'll do something a bit cheeky like
[UNKNOWN]: It's the story of him basically here trying to escape the headlock, but the drama of Boy, we're just immediately locking it back in.
[UNKNOWN]: That created a lot of really good baby face heat for Tanada, where he's last bit of strength to get that, it was a backdrop, you know, lifting it, you've stuck in the side headlock and then lifted it right right for the backdrop, but it was just so spent by it.
[UNKNOWN]: but lifting up, oh, who's a pretty big dude and obviously Slada has got very thin and well, one very thin and weak on.
[UNKNOWN]: And in K-Fi, you know, that's a big exerge of him.
[UNKNOWN]: So he didn't have the energy to actually escape or capitalize on that and turn the tide in the match.
[UNKNOWN]: He got the backdrop, but then, oh, he just immediately locked the the side headphone back on.
[UNKNOWN]: And that was such a great moment because
[UNKNOWN]: He's like lean again to his vulnerability of having one very thin, weak arm to elicit a lot of sympathy from the crowd and a lot of drama from his matches and just a really inspired brilliant finish to this match where it
[UNKNOWN]: He does that backdrop, but he can't escape these two tied.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, it locks it back in and then he tries to use his all.
[UNKNOWN]: Just every last out of the strength that he's got to try and lift him for one last backdrop, but it couldn't quite manage it because of his arm.
[UNKNOWN]: And he just gets out, muscle, and bullied by the younger, fitter, stronger, heavier.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, he's forced to tap out.
[UNKNOWN]: Brilliant psychology, really, really simple.
[UNKNOWN]: Just perfectly execute it.
[UNKNOWN]: And I was just so impressed by this.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, the courage to do something very, very simple, but do it really, really well.
[UNKNOWN]: Love to love this much.
[UNKNOWN]: Agreed, a thousand percent.
[UNKNOWN]: If I were to sit here and tell you, yep, this match ended in a hadlock submission.
[UNKNOWN]: Not a joke, it was big luck.
[UNKNOWN]: It's different, big luck, my bad, big luck, my bad, my bad.
[UNKNOWN]: Like again, and in hindsight, you're thinking, okay, you know, you got Sinani, doesn't have to do anything too risky and a big closing stretch.
[UNKNOWN]: They did just smart, dare I say this in the year 2026.
[UNKNOWN]: Pro Wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: Very well.
[UNKNOWN]: Once again, I believe we could fit your muscle analogy in this, your mollusks.
[UNKNOWN]: Like again, not everything has to be flash bang boom.
[UNKNOWN]: It can be as subtle as a
[UNKNOWN]: took a little bit to warm up to it, didn't it?
[UNKNOWN]: It wasn't like this instant arm when I put it in the sonata in a headlock and away we go, the crowd is on their feet.
[UNKNOWN]: No, it built and built and the struggle.
[UNKNOWN]: And it's, yes, love me fresh oyster, swear.
[UNKNOWN]: It's a required chase.
[UNKNOWN]: You try and oyster for the first time.
[UNKNOWN]: You're like, oh, I'm not sure about this, but then when you get a bit,
[UNKNOWN]: smarter and more refined palate.
[UNKNOWN]: This is brilliant.
[UNKNOWN]: It's again just elegant and it's implicit.
[UNKNOWN]: It tastes like emotion, but it's fresh and delicious and I don't like to go through some too.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, we say, you know, I said, you know, it was nothing too
[UNKNOWN]: Yet, every match he's coming off the fucking top rope with either a moon salt or a, you know, an imported moon salt where he lands on his feet.
[UNKNOWN]: He boards in the middle of flight.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, that's a lot to ask of him, I think.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't, I think I could have counted his moon salt on less than, if you could have four fingers, I'd still be safe in counting the amount of moon salt I thought he would be performing this G1.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, I love the fact that they tied it in to real life scenario of something that a lot of people are yeah can't miss it.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's put it that way and they leaned into it and said here's how you're going to lose big strong guy is going to squeeze your fucking melon and you're not going to be able to move and you're trying to get out of it is only going to make things worse.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, simple direct pro wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: how refreshing how refreshing and again you can sit there and be like oh fucking headlock in the year 2020 yep absolutely and I'm there for fuck yes.
[UNKNOWN]: The next match was I'm okay to catch that home town hero to think great account in 40 minutes 36 seconds
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, you used to, yeah, well, we touched on it before.
[UNKNOWN]: I think Greta Kahn is still guilty of the worst performer in the fields.
[UNKNOWN]: And it was just interesting to note, to catch the getting chance here.
[UNKNOWN]: And I know it's his hometown, but I don't, I can't recall him getting his name chanted before by a new Japan crowd because he's been, I would say like, wholeheartedly rejected, but it's been quite a tough self for them to try and present him as a baby face.
[UNKNOWN]: Toma Yuki Oka, the performance so despicable that motivated the crowd to embrace the AEW outside of here.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, think how bad that he has to be for the crowd to try and against a noggedojo graduate in the favor of the DDT AEW guy.
[UNKNOWN]: He's just getting a stick man like this.
[UNKNOWN]: There's, you know, low blows and cheating and all that.
[UNKNOWN]: He reminds me in many ways of 2018, Tamatonga.
[UNKNOWN]: You're ever in Tamatonga was like deliberately trying to sabotage the tournament.
[UNKNOWN]: And I understand the role that Greta Kahn is filling, but it's just,
[UNKNOWN]: It's not done with the energy or the charisma or the creativity to be fun to watch in any way.
[UNKNOWN]: Now I think the match was fine.
[UNKNOWN]: I think all of Greta Kant's matches have been fine.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think he's been deliberately lazy or tanking the matches or anything.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: I just think, I think this is what 20, 26 Greta Kant trying looks like.
[UNKNOWN]: He's not got the
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, that's it.
[UNKNOWN]: I just think it's fine, but it looks very bad compared to the effort and creativity and spark and energy that everyone else is putting in.
[UNKNOWN]: He, I get we're trying to get him over as this, and now this sleazy heel where he's bound to kick you in the balls.
[UNKNOWN]: He's bound to throw a chair at your fucking head and then we got claws and all that shit.
[UNKNOWN]: to Keshter.
[UNKNOWN]: You're in a big time spotlight match.
[UNKNOWN]: You would think, well, let me put it this way, Joe, because I'm the asshole who, a quarter of the way through this match had to double back, because I had something a little, added a little, little, little thought in my head.
[UNKNOWN]: We wound started from the beginning.
[UNKNOWN]: Match against a match against to Keshter.
[UNKNOWN]: where you're thinking, okay, we gotta put on some fucking work in boots.
[UNKNOWN]: Don't we, Joe?
[UNKNOWN]: Like, just, yeah, just for the last studio, it's like, oh, he's gonna be trying hard to get us to cash to surely.
[UNKNOWN]: You would take, sure.
[UNKNOWN]: Take, give me a number, because I counted.
[UNKNOWN]: How many backbumps do you think, O'Con, Chuck, during this.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[UNKNOWN]: the best talent.
[UNKNOWN]: Take a guess.
[UNKNOWN]: And you would think, okay, you know, he's going to have his working shoes on.
[UNKNOWN]: We're going to, you know, we're going to go back and forth.
[UNKNOWN]: We're going flat back bumps.
[UNKNOWN]: How many of these are doing this much?
[UNKNOWN]: So work
[UNKNOWN]: Anyway, earlier on the side of Conservatives, me, I said, seven, backbumps.
[UNKNOWN]: He, the entirety of the smash.
[UNKNOWN]: Each.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, so, my question is, no, no, no, far off.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, let's do the math on this.
[UNKNOWN]: eight back bumps in various levels of, hey, this is just a slam.
[UNKNOWN]: Hey, this is, I got punched and I'm taking a flat back bump.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm, whatever.
[UNKNOWN]: How long did this match go, Joe?
[UNKNOWN]: This was 14 minutes and 36 seconds.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, so let's just wrap it up for two minutes.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, thank you.
[UNKNOWN]: Thank you very much.
[UNKNOWN]: I've bump every two minutes in, and when I talk in like crazy bumps, when I talk in, gigantic backbody drops, when I talk in, we're just talking any bump.
[UNKNOWN]: Eat.
[UNKNOWN]: No, to be fair, David, he did take that really crazy bump in the crowd onto all the chair.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, no, wait, that was to catch that.
[UNKNOWN]: Hmm.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: This had led at the match, right?
[UNKNOWN]: All right, and then we'll go on the ring side.
[UNKNOWN]: And then I'll just throw you and you can take a big bump into all the chairs.
[UNKNOWN]: It's just like, yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, do like the mess.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, yeah, sure.
[UNKNOWN]: Now again, we're trying to establish a new level of sleazy heel.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, and I get it and we're and again, a back bump doesn't necessarily mean, uh, the difference between good and great match or solid match or shitty match or whatever, eight.
[UNKNOWN]: I found that to be mind blowing at the levels of, uh, you even trying, are you even trying?
[UNKNOWN]: Like if you're going to establish him as this sleazy heel, I don't know if necessarily we need to do that during this fucking match, this match.
[UNKNOWN]: Do that with fucking Ren or do that with, I don't know, who else?
[UNKNOWN]: Pick somebody.
[UNKNOWN]: Arguably, the best wrestler you have in this company, eight.
[UNKNOWN]: eight.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, at various degrees, I found that to be just, look, if that doesn't speak volumes, I don't know what what what what does, you know?
[UNKNOWN]: I think I could be violent skipping in the chat.
[UNKNOWN]: I think he is trying, he's a he's trying, but he's just bad.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, is he because to me that that that means he doesn't he's not trying.
[UNKNOWN]: He's not trying.
[UNKNOWN]: I can't, in the, for two minutes a bump, I, we can't, and I understand there's going to be moments where, you know, he's trying to get into the bump and they're going to pop more.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, they mean more.
[UNKNOWN]: I, I don't know, man.
[UNKNOWN]: I, I just,
[UNKNOWN]: Again, I don't want to sit here and fucking beat a dead horse and and again, I don't want everybody to think well damn and things that the amount of bumps you take equals great no, but it does.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, you're imagining little energy bars at the top of the screen, right, right.
[UNKNOWN]: I, I, I definitely.
[UNKNOWN]: do consider though the amount of effort you're putting into a match.
[UNKNOWN]: I think that there's a definite correlation between the amount of back bumps you take and the effort you're putting into a match.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm sorry, I do.
[UNKNOWN]: I do.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, now he just put people in the, they're going to go through the end.
[UNKNOWN]: Ironman, they're going to count everything.
[UNKNOWN]: I know.
[UNKNOWN]: I know, I think I just opened up a fucking can of worms.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, man.
[UNKNOWN]: He does nothing for me.
[UNKNOWN]: He is quickly becoming a member of the Fast Forward Club.
[UNKNOWN]: He really is.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, let's talk no more about Gregon, because he's not worth it.
[UNKNOWN]: And eighth match then was Shingo de Kagi, defeating Hiraki goto 16 minutes and 40 seconds fire last the dragon.
[UNKNOWN]: I did enjoy the commentary, Drilla put an over the the big narrative of this match being Shingo's now a wife guy and that's going to impact his effort in the match.
[UNKNOWN]: Look, this is, I don't know, I might be on an island with this one because I've not.
[UNKNOWN]: listened to to much other response to this, but this was like the most cookie cutter, new Japan style G1 match.
[UNKNOWN]: And like not necessarily in a bad way, like I can imagine a lot of people really enjoy this, but this was an extremely 2019 coded pro wrestling match, which
[UNKNOWN]: You know, I think was sort of objectively good.
[UNKNOWN]: They weren't really hard, but I also, I don't know, I might be sort of telling on myself it literally sent me to sleep.
[UNKNOWN]: I was watching this one and then I fell asleep about halfway through it and they kind of woke up towards you and like, oh, okay, it's over.
[UNKNOWN]: So, you know, that might just say more about my fuck attention span and broken brain than the match.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm not going to sit here and say that
[UNKNOWN]: You know, I'm too clever for this type of match and that people who love this match are dollars who are stuck in, like 2019 mode, even though that is secretly what I am thinking, I'm just not going to explicitly say that publicly on the podcast.
[UNKNOWN]: But yeah, I fell asleep in this match, but it was, they worked hard and literally they did it 2019 match.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, what are you thinking of it?
[UNKNOWN]: Now, I'm in the same boat, I definitely, I feel like I like the match more than you did.
[UNKNOWN]: But I, and I thought the match was very good, but you're right.
[UNKNOWN]: Like this, it felt to me like this was a match where two guys who have been there and done that and have their groove and have their lane went out and had a match with each other in their groove.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, that doesn't necessarily mean bad, and that doesn't necessarily mean that I didn't like it.
[UNKNOWN]: It was, but it was like, again, close your eyes, everyone, but if you're driving, please don't, but you get my point.
[UNKNOWN]: Just kind of let your mind wander a little bit a little bit.
[UNKNOWN]: And if I were to say,
[UNKNOWN]: That's what you got.
[UNKNOWN]: And that's fine, but it wasn't anything that definitely, I would say, stimulated my thought process and had me on the edge of my seat.
[UNKNOWN]: It was a good, the hierarchy go-to, she can go to Kagimachi, which, again, I'm sure everyone
[UNKNOWN]: But so that's what we got, and it's fine, it's good.
[UNKNOWN]: But yeah, no real elements of surprise or danger, or we're going to go off on a less traveled road.
[UNKNOWN]: This is a well-traveled road.
[UNKNOWN]: And it's fine, it's okay, because that's who they are.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, that's the greatest expression of the characters of Gotto and Shingo.
[UNKNOWN]: And if they started, you know, trying to have a post-modern deconstruction of what pro wrestling is, then you think, well, this is weird why they do it, that doesn't fit.
[UNKNOWN]: Right.
[UNKNOWN]: Characters, they're too, you know, very, sort of kind of throw back, I'll say throw back.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, in a way throw back pro wrestlers in terms of, you know, what New Japan is now, what it was seven, eight years ago.
[UNKNOWN]: And I would also say, smart in the sense of, you know, these guys hit very hard in very safe places.
[UNKNOWN]: We've heard that line before.
[UNKNOWN]: And you got that element, right?
[UNKNOWN]: These guys are, we 40, both of them, you know, maybe even older than that.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, let's put this way on the downward end of their careers.
[UNKNOWN]: Um, so I don't want to make it seem like I didn't like the match I did, but yeah, if you were looking for something, you know, new fresh a different take on things, you probably weren't going to get that here.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, and that's quite like I'm sort of thinking about something that Josh said, we were a staff where I don't know if this was like the exactly the point he was making, but the top guys of the previous era.
[UNKNOWN]: You guys, you know, you form a world champion's guy's like, so I had a shingo, goto, Zack Saber Jr.
[UNKNOWN]: They're now sticking around to be that kind of undercard and to also supplement that, to be in the main events, to be dance partners to help get the new guys over.
[UNKNOWN]: whereas prior to that, the likes of, or Cardo and I toe Iveshi Kenny, Osprey, J.
[UNKNOWN]: What they didn't stick around to do that.
[UNKNOWN]: So I think there is something that should be acknowledged and celebrated is the fact that we've got that tier of fairly recent formal world champions.
[UNKNOWN]: These are guys who were the top guys in the company at some point over the last few years, who,
[UNKNOWN]: You know, I've not got the ego to be like, well, fuck that, I'm, you know, I'm full well champion, I'm not putting over these kids who've stuck around and, you know, for the good of the company, pay it forward and help in, establish the next generation of stars.
[UNKNOWN]: It's so weird, like the names that you rattled off, I know people are muttering under their breath, none of
[UNKNOWN]: Um, but again, these are guys that held this fucking company together during a rough patch.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, again, we were going to talk about highlights of that era, shingo, and who, who rocky go to, all right, um, and again, because they were there and they, they were, they, they were in that mix.
[UNKNOWN]: And when allowed those people left, again, who are going to elevate, these are guys
[UNKNOWN]: All right, so then main event, minimum, main event.
[UNKNOWN]: The main event of this show in the A-block, you're to sue G to feed you to ice.
[UNKNOWN]: 26 minutes, eight seconds via KO.
[UNKNOWN]: My sauce.
[UNKNOWN]: My sauce, the my sauce.
[UNKNOWN]: That's all I'm going for now.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, David, because obviously I've got thoughts on this, do you want me to go first or would you like to go first?
[UNKNOWN]: I'll go first if you're not mind.
[UNKNOWN]: So,
[UNKNOWN]: Again, if I were to tell you, a good, five, eight, ten minutes was, was Yota Suji, turning
[UNKNOWN]: Hit me again.
[UNKNOWN]: You're not going to fucking stop me from pushing forward.
[UNKNOWN]: Once again, a perfect example of more guts than brains.
[UNKNOWN]: And when I say it went that long, it went that long, chop after chop after chop after chop after chop.
[UNKNOWN]: I love them.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm sorry.
[UNKNOWN]: I really did.
[UNKNOWN]: You sick.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, yep.
[UNKNOWN]: Yes.
[UNKNOWN]: Like I was howling at the idea of you to ice just saying fuck you dude.
[UNKNOWN]: Once again, we've talked about it many times.
[UNKNOWN]: He is a brawler.
[UNKNOWN]: And he was there to say, hey, by the way, World Champ, fuck you and the fucking horse you rode in on, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Even though you faced, looks like a horse, but that's a joke for another time.
[UNKNOWN]: You long faced fuck.
[UNKNOWN]: He took a beating and came back for more.
[UNKNOWN]: And then at that point, we went into the business end of this match.
[UNKNOWN]: And I thought it was, I thought it was great.
[UNKNOWN]: I turned off that show thinking, well, we've established this guy, for sure.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think people will have any doubts that he can go and this idea of protection and all that stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: He went through the battle that you would think a guy of his statue, the fire plugness of him would go through to try at the very least, to best, not even, like he wasn't even there to win the match.
[UNKNOWN]: He felt like he was there to win respect and honor and I can take an ass kicking and I can take your best ass kicking and I can take it for how long you ever you want to go.
[UNKNOWN]: We can do that.
[UNKNOWN]: And trust me, they did it in the ring and every section they grabbed the chair, he sat down and lock a new, we're going, we're going to town.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm curious as to why that wouldn't be enjoyable.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, I'm gathering the comparisons would be Sasake and Kentica Boschie at the dome is that the comparable that people are doing?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: And I can see that.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm gathering that that moment back 30 years ago is was not comparable to this in their eyes.
[UNKNOWN]: And here's where I would agree with that in the sense of you have two,
[UNKNOWN]: monster and had this entire run tag with Hiroshi Hase with Hawk and the Power Warriors and then a solo run where he was put in position of being the toughest son of a bitch in the fucking promotion.
[UNKNOWN]: And then, of course, you got Kentakabashi, who, you know, we all know is fucking history, whether it be Noah, whether it be Al-Japan, and the battles, and his will to fight and all that stuff.
[UNKNOWN]: So these are massive stars on a massive spotlight stage in a big show,
[UNKNOWN]: during the original act, should I speak?
[UNKNOWN]: And I guess people are feeling, this is a tribute band that we saw and it didn't live up to the original.
[UNKNOWN]: How could it?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, I don't know how like you can't compare the two, are you putting them in the same pedestal?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know, I don't know if I could do that.
[UNKNOWN]: That said, like you can't appreciate that.
[UNKNOWN]: It's, and it wasn't like that for 20 minutes mind you it was you know it we did that we did that part to establish the fact that You're to sue G Ken kicked a shit out of you and you to ice can take what you give out and then they went to town for the last five ten minutes I love the matchman.
[UNKNOWN]: I really did I'm I'm actually shocked that people kind of are thumbs down on it, but okay take it away Joe
[UNKNOWN]: It wasn't a tribute to Kabashi vs. Sasaki.
[UNKNOWN]: It was a tribute to a Simpson's episode called The Home of A Fall, where Homer's got this medical condition.
[UNKNOWN]: That means he's not able to be knocked unconscious.
[UNKNOWN]: So then Bartender Moe,
[UNKNOWN]: becomes a boxing promoter and Homer becomes a really successful boxer because all the people he faces they just like punch themselves out unloading everything that they've got against Homer's thick head and but they should not be able to knock him out and then they're all tired and then only just throws one punch and defeats and so that's what it was.
[UNKNOWN]: It was that.
[UNKNOWN]: It wasn't that other thing.
[UNKNOWN]: It wasn't for Bachelors' sake, it was a simple sentence.
[UNKNOWN]: Gosh, I see when I talk about
[UNKNOWN]: Like I'm taking the piss, it's going to sound like self-parody, but it's not, like please understand that everything I'm about to say is with absolute sincerity and conviction, like it.
[UNKNOWN]: It's going to sound so wanky day, but to me, it felt like a deconstruction of the art form of pro wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: It was like one of my favorite comedians, jointly, you'll do these sort of experimental bits that are very, very repetitive and it starts off.
[UNKNOWN]: being a bit funny.
[UNKNOWN]: And then it goes on longer and longer and longer.
[UNKNOWN]: And then you're like, this is weird.
[UNKNOWN]: Why is he still doing this?
[UNKNOWN]: And then it just goes on longer and longer and longer.
[UNKNOWN]: And he keeps doing it for a long enough.
[UNKNOWN]: So that way it just becomes sort of bizarre, but even more funny than it was.
[UNKNOWN]: And it kind of sort of circles background to being hilarious.
[UNKNOWN]: Like to me, it was just
[UNKNOWN]: an exploration of the logical parameters of a pro wrestling match that you know all the tropes and the structure that we usually expect and have been conditioned to you know the rising action and the climate and all that stuff and all different moves and things like that.
[UNKNOWN]: We're conditioned to expect that but this it felt like they just structuring and using chops throughout the whole thing
[UNKNOWN]: really fascinating ideas.
[UNKNOWN]: I think just focusing on the chops is missing the point entirely.
[UNKNOWN]: Just there.
[UNKNOWN]: The things that they were using the chops as a vehicle for like, you touch the crowd interaction and using the space outside of the ring and the
[UNKNOWN]: the dynamic subversions of the structure, where you're expecting a chop, but you've got something different, like when Suji, no, when a Utah is kicked, go to Suji in his arm, that'd be doing all the chops, there's arm was all tired and painful, and then Suji, Utah is kicked him in the arm, you're like, ah, he's attacking the arm that is injured from chopping him in the tips, like just those little
[UNKNOWN]: the way they kind of played off what they done up to that point, you know, despite the fact that Suji had been on offense for 95% of them actually weakened himself and left himself vulnerable and also the digging into the psychology of
[UNKNOWN]: the Utah ice character because this guy who we've talked about extensively, he has not primarily focused on winning pro wrestling matches.
[UNKNOWN]: He's addicted to chasing that pro wrestling high and what that pro wrestling high looks like is different in different wrestlers and that comes almost full circle here.
[UNKNOWN]: It leads
[UNKNOWN]: You told to be probably closer to winning the match than you originally perceived, or closer to winning the match and if you got out there and just wrestled a regular match and you're sort of thinking, you know, is this madness or is it genius?
[UNKNOWN]: You know, well, is this what you told us, he knew this was gonna happen all along and just the interactions between the characters as well.
[UNKNOWN]: That brilliant bit where,
[UNKNOWN]: Utah is like pulling Yota Suji's lips apart, saying, make smile, make smile, and just generating that connection with the audience, there's absolutely more to engaging with a crowd and having that investment than just landing all your cool moves in every match, doing the same moves in every match and winning the matches, which has just proved the point by what Utah is doing, not just in this match, but the whole G1 climax, so far.
[UNKNOWN]: The Yota Suji character, like his emotions and character to really interesting places.
[UNKNOWN]: He went on a real emotional roller coaster in this match Suji, because started off, big grin on his face, just the glee of being able to just put an absolute beaten on Utah ice.
[UNKNOWN]: But then just the brilliant emoting that he did as the match went on where there's that moment, sort of about 15 minutes in ways, just gets this look of horror and disgust on his face.
[UNKNOWN]: I can't hurt that guy.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, it's like, oh my god, what have I got myself in for here?
[UNKNOWN]: And then like begrudging respect when he kind of realises that he's being played and he's sort of down in the mud where you toe wanting him to be and he's like, fuck, you know, you toes, play me and this is exactly what he wanted.
[UNKNOWN]: And then
[UNKNOWN]: that the anger of not being able to put him down and wanting to put this punk in his place, but he's in too deep at this point, his ego won't allow him to deviate from that and use the rest of his arsenal of moves.
[UNKNOWN]: He's like, well, fucking, you know, you to start at this and he's hell bent on finishing it.
[UNKNOWN]: And just that beautiful twist you get in New Japan where these guys, like, let's be forget, they're in the same faction, right?
[UNKNOWN]: These are brothers from, right?
[UNKNOWN]: What's the cool thing again?
[UNKNOWN]: you don't get that shit in, like you're doing American wrestling.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, like, oh, I don't want to hurt my opponent in the wrestling match.
[UNKNOWN]: When in New Japan, if you're wrestling one of your mates, you are going on extra mile.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, because it's one thing losing to your enemies, but losing to your friends, that hurts in an entirely different way.
[UNKNOWN]: And we also got the only acceptable form of staring at your own hands in a wrestling match in a way.
[UNKNOWN]: He's got his hands, like Susie's got his hands next to each other.
[UNKNOWN]: One of the hands is like all massive and pink and swollen, ex-Kisnil Ward had.
[UNKNOWN]: That was actually incredibly great bit of camera work.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, even the exploration of the actual chops themselves like chops in the middle of the ring chops against the ropes, chops on the top for ropes, chops, rings side, chops among the crowd, chops sat down on a chair and you've even the chops later on in the match where Suji is like standing over Yuto just lying in the middle of the ring and Suji standing over him and he hits him with like the double hand chop, he's like, yeah, I have some of this, you fucker.
[UNKNOWN]: And like, in a lot of ways, this is like the ultimate answer of so many of these guys, this new generation, they've got these nicknames and catchphrases that are just empty, right?
[UNKNOWN]: They're just something that might have, you know, sounds cool in English, but when you really unpick it, it just, it doesn't have any meaning whatsoever.
[UNKNOWN]: But,
[UNKNOWN]: I think, you know, we know what let's get high means.
[UNKNOWN]: This is not an empty catchphrase.
[UNKNOWN]: This, let's get high.
[UNKNOWN]: That's a sincere expression of what pro wrestling means to you to ice, which is taking his opponent to a place of extreme,
[UNKNOWN]: emotion and passion.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, doesn't matter who you are, he's going to take you on that ride and find that high within you until he and you reach this kind of like elevated euphoric state of residence.
[UNKNOWN]: Exactly.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: It's like this magical mixture of like love and hate, not just like for each other, but just for this
[UNKNOWN]: You know, for pro wrestling itself, it's like weird and an idiosyncrate export where, you know, our viewer, as viewers are suspension of disbelief, often hangs by a threat, but it was sort of, I thought was transcendental here, this became like this metaphysical exploration of, you know, what on earth,
[UNKNOWN]: This pro wrestling thing is that we all love and just the I love the way that now sort of playing into the set up for your decision you finish of the five blaster where the guys kind of standing with his back, the kind of side on a bit and you toes doing that and you're thinking, okay, he's going to hit the five blast here, but then you toe.
[UNKNOWN]: was just kind of playing into it and got the need to the face.
[UNKNOWN]: That was fantastic.
[UNKNOWN]: And then they're finished with the, you know, teasing the double count out, but you know, sorry, Yota, not Yota.
[UNKNOWN]: Yota was able to get to his feet and Yuto's got nothing left and is not able to get to his feet.
[UNKNOWN]: Just just, just,
[UNKNOWN]: quite, quite brilliant.
[UNKNOWN]: It's my match to the tournament so far and they just achieved so much in this match where again, if you're just looking, oh it was only chops, you're an idiot, okay?
[UNKNOWN]: I'm sorry, you're a fool, you're a moron if that was your takeaway from this.
[UNKNOWN]: Not only that, I think they're doing a tremendous job protecting you to ice and on paper is a terrible start to the D1, you know, in terms of the points that he's accumulating, he's you know stacking up losses, but
[UNKNOWN]: That's not all we're walking away thinking about.
[UNKNOWN]: We're not thinking, oh well, you tow, you know, shut the bed again because he's lost the main event.
[UNKNOWN]: We're thinking about, you know, this wonderful emotional journey that the two of them have been on and this great story that they told.
[UNKNOWN]: Like just imagine watching this and getting hung up on, you know, the lack of variety or the consistency of implementing the countout rule.
[UNKNOWN]: Like what?
[UNKNOWN]: What a joyless, miserable interpretation of pro wrestling to watch that and that being nitpicking execution of finishes, it just makes me so sad, Damon, that people watched that and didn't go on the same, get the same pleasure out of it that I did.
[UNKNOWN]: And I genuinely mean that it's just a very, very special match.
[UNKNOWN]: So look, again, people enjoy different things for different reasons and there's always going to be, I mean, we're gonna throw a musical analogy.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, there were a band that I think that are incredibly special and give me fucking the shivers down my spine.
[UNKNOWN]: When I hear certain songs and even certain bits of songs where it's just like, oh, how can people, how can this not be the greatest song in this tree of music?
[UNKNOWN]: And then yet I have, you know, people who be like, no, no, no, I think for me, then do anything for me.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, look, I mean, to be fair, I'm going to a two shows back to back.
[UNKNOWN]: 80,000 people that are going to be having a great time dancing their fucking ass is off singing along and I'm going to be sitting there like, I don't know what the fuck this is.
[UNKNOWN]: So again, if that is how that connected with you, and it felt like that it missed, what am I going to say?
[UNKNOWN]: What can I say?
[UNKNOWN]: For me, I'm kind of in your camp, not kind of, I mean your camp.
[UNKNOWN]: There is something to be said about a match where you're once again, not necessarily the simplicity of it, but it really was a case of a guy who it really wasn't about winning the match per se.
[UNKNOWN]: And it isn't the entire time, like this entire run in this tournament, it's really hasn't been that.
[UNKNOWN]: And I know
[UNKNOWN]: Look, again, different strokes for different folks, and that's, and, and, and, and fine, I just don't, I would, I would, I would hard disagree, and I think that's fair.
[UNKNOWN]: You know what I mean?
[UNKNOWN]: Like, like, my best friend likes stuff that I don't like, and my best friend thinks the fucking pro wrestling stuff is nonsense, right?
[UNKNOWN]: And we're, yeah, we're still best friends.
[UNKNOWN]: I, I don't
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know what was missed.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: It just realized that a lack of understanding in the story that they were trying to tell.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, okay, it was a great insight from the chairs.
[UNKNOWN]: I've wanted skipping said,
[UNKNOWN]: He always knew that what Utah was doing but realized at that point that he'd won.
[UNKNOWN]: And so he had to die.
[UNKNOWN]: And the funky-dung UK said the best bit when you sous-gees looked his swollen aching hand exhausted, looked at Utah who was still asking for more and just looked distraught.
[UNKNOWN]: He considered switching to regular moves, but they hadn't realized he had to carry on with the slaps or he would lose the mental game.
[UNKNOWN]: And five minutes later, he had to admit to feet of finally destroy Utah.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, to me, like, yeah, okay, obviously our listeners know what's up, right?
[UNKNOWN]: They're paying attention, they understand what the stories are, but I just, I hate to make this a, a tribalistic thing, David, but, you know, American wrestling could never, could never do something like this.
[UNKNOWN]: They don't have the creativity, they don't have the guts, the confidence to do anything like this.
[UNKNOWN]: No, they don't have the guts in the confidence to know when the
[UNKNOWN]: because what they would do is, is they would take it to a level where it's just, again, they would be staring at their hands and thinking, what can I, what should I, how can I do this to my, they would orderbly like be, like, reciting what the subtext is.
[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
[UNKNOWN]: So, to in the middle of the ring and bear, oh, well, I have to defeat you with chops now, because if I do not, if I use my regular reason, that means I've lost them in, they would actually
[UNKNOWN]: Sorry about some people might not understand so which they haven't right people have not understood the story So it just goes to show what what we're dealing with it.
[UNKNOWN]: Doesn't it I guess, but also like there is something to be said about Look
[UNKNOWN]: If your job is to sit and to watch a show and give your honest take of a show, there's there's merit in that.
[UNKNOWN]: The problem is, you know, I can't even tell you that the problem is, like, you're not there for the whole ride.
[UNKNOWN]: Because I don't even think that was it.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: Look, some people, here's what I'll chalk it up to.
[UNKNOWN]: Some people love it, and some people hated it.
[UNKNOWN]: Obviously, we have to take a stand there, damn it.
[UNKNOWN]: Uh, and I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: Dude, can I issue this?
[UNKNOWN]: you have been on the U to ice train for the sense of beginning.
[UNKNOWN]: And here we go.
[UNKNOWN]: We have the victory lap there.
[UNKNOWN]: Go on.
[UNKNOWN]: And I mean, yes, I would say I would say take that fucking lap.
[UNKNOWN]: But do you think that because you have been there from the jump and there are plenty of people that haven't.
[UNKNOWN]: Let's be fair.
[UNKNOWN]: There are plenty of people that haven't been there from the jump.
[UNKNOWN]: And I'm one of them.
[UNKNOWN]: It's taken me, it took me a little bit to fucking warm up.
[UNKNOWN]: Do you think that plays any factor in it?
[UNKNOWN]: Do you think that just having whatever preconceived notions you have that played into the enjoyment of this match?
[UNKNOWN]: But, or maybe even enhanced it for you as opposed.
[UNKNOWN]: To me, it feels like there's gotta be some middle ground there,
[UNKNOWN]: I just think if you've come into this with an open mind, then it's not particularly subtle what the utilize story is, what the gimmick is, how the character works, and what the story of his matches are.
[UNKNOWN]: But you're looking for trouble here at Ishi, right?
[UNKNOWN]: I think that's what I feel like people are expecting and when they don't get that, are we sucks?
[UNKNOWN]: you perhaps, yeah, they could be, they're just coming in with their preconceived notions.
[UNKNOWN]: And also just kind of willfully ignoring the fact that he's relatively speaking, he's a rookie.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, this is his first G1 client Max.
[UNKNOWN]: He's barely just returned to the main roster.
[UNKNOWN]: When did he come back?
[UNKNOWN]: It was like, you know, September or something.
[UNKNOWN]: So he's not been on the main roster that long.
[UNKNOWN]: He's not been having high-profile singles.
[UNKNOWN]: Max, he's been primarily part of a tag team.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, people don't like
[UNKNOWN]: the character, they think it's goofy, cheesy and maybe don't like the style of attack matches, like okay fine, but to me to kind of be willfully ignorant of what the character is and the story of the matches and not acknowledge the way that he's connecting with the crowds and the
[UNKNOWN]: just the dynamism of these matches, like, I mean, he's having a fantastic, is this a debut G1 Dayman, this is his first ever G1 Climax, and I don't think there can be any doubts anymore to me, all the doubts that they're buried for this far as Utah ice-goes, and I think I need to talk about yoga suit as well.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, he,
[UNKNOWN]: It's a challenge.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, yeah, restaurant of the year for me.
[UNKNOWN]: It's not even close.
[UNKNOWN]: There's nobody near him.
[UNKNOWN]: Again, like people, anyone who's telling you is a weak champion, no, I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: People who's having the power, they're in the parents pool down here.
[UNKNOWN]: This is this G1 climate.
[UNKNOWN]: So it's like it's a brilliant and brutal expose of who knows ball.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, here's the thing too, and I'm commenting off of the match and your comments.
[UNKNOWN]: But I don't go out of my way to listen to much in the sense of, that's why I'm always in, what's the feedback?
[UNKNOWN]: What's the word, what are people talking about?
[UNKNOWN]: Because I intentionally don't.
[UNKNOWN]: Because one, I try not to let it cloud my judgment and be like, oh, and then that becomes my take.
[UNKNOWN]: Somebody else's thoughts.
[UNKNOWN]: So I'm commenting on without reading or listening or seeing other people's critiques of this match to be fair, right?
[UNKNOWN]: So I feel like I want to do that and I need to do that because, you know, I'm speaking on things that I didn't hear myself.
[UNKNOWN]: So I will go back and listen to others and you can send me the links or whatever you had to do.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe we shouldn't.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe you're right in just not.
[UNKNOWN]: Listen to that.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't maybe there's no value to me responding to what other people.
[UNKNOWN]: This might just be a waste of time.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know listeners like maybe you just would prefer to hear what me and Damon think about the matches and the product rather than having to have us retorting to
[UNKNOWN]: other people who, you know, don't really like the products and they're not assessing it in in in good faith, you know, maybe here's the thing that there are lots of people, I'm sure that there are people out there that I respect that might not like it, right?
[UNKNOWN]: And there are people that I wouldn't fucking piss on with their wrestling opinion if they were on fire.
[UNKNOWN]: But again, I try not to listen to people's takes on things.
[UNKNOWN]: Like, here's a perfect example.
[UNKNOWN]: I watched one G, the G one that you were covering last, right?
[UNKNOWN]: And I would watch the match, and then I would listen to your audio, right?
[UNKNOWN]: And while there were things that I agreed with, there were things that were like, oh, no, no, I forgot that, or there were things where it was like, like, here's a thing.
[UNKNOWN]: while I don't necessarily like to listen to other people's opinions on something that I have an obligation to talk about.
[UNKNOWN]: In the same breath, it doesn't necessarily like, I don't want to shy away from it.
[UNKNOWN]: In the sense of, I want to hear that.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe there are things that I didn't see or hear or like, and like, and this is not coming from a place of hate.
[UNKNOWN]: And this is not coming
[UNKNOWN]: It's coming from a place of, I didn't see that at all.
[UNKNOWN]: Where are you seeing that?
[UNKNOWN]: Why is that?
[UNKNOWN]: The takeaway that you got from this, when it's something that I enjoyed and you didn't.
[UNKNOWN]: So again, I feel to be fair, I'd like to find those people and the content that they created.
[UNKNOWN]: And, you know, I say that, knowing for well, I'm not going to fucking listen to anything.
[UNKNOWN]: But yeah, that's all I'm trying.
[UNKNOWN]: I think my good advice would be, and I need to follow my own advice
[UNKNOWN]: Think about a match before I record.
[UNKNOWN]: I think that's the best way to go.
[UNKNOWN]: Now again, that might mean that you're in a vacuum.
[UNKNOWN]: Right?
[UNKNOWN]: It could like again, I don't think there's anything wrong with differing opinions.
[UNKNOWN]: Joel, I don't.
[UNKNOWN]: And again, people might not like this and that's okay.
[UNKNOWN]: And now I gotta weigh, okay, where is this coming from?
[UNKNOWN]: And if it's a person that I respect, I want to hear what I'm missing.
[UNKNOWN]: After the fact,
[UNKNOWN]: After I do my audio and give my take, yeah, so when we finish recording it, we'll listen to and read everyone else's Critiques and then Especially episode especially
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: So in closing with the best and everyone else, very good.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, I just wanted to wrap up by saying like as a whole, big picture thoughts on this G1 is it's so energizing and thrilling to see this this crop of young and talented hungry guys using this massive opportunity to not just copy what came before them, but express their own
[UNKNOWN]: individual interpretation of what pro wrestling means to them and they're all very different from each other.
[UNKNOWN]: You've got, you know, Suji, his confidence and charisma weighs now to playing off his opponents and letting his opponents lead them at just stylistically.
[UNKNOWN]: You twice chasing the high, or he were his trust in the fundamentals.
[UNKNOWN]: New year in his technical fluidity, Oleg Bolton with his power and his heart, Oscar with his, you know, his classic monster style and Aaron Wolf with the judo influence and and and Kalam Newman with this sort of western.
[UNKNOWN]: oriented like work rate crowd pleases even like games ridiculous character work at least he believes in it right you know every night it just feels like these guys will just across all the veterans and former champions were talked about you know guys like Sanada and and Goto and Shingo and Zach and
[UNKNOWN]: even, Jake Lee, he's put me in a hurry.
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, Henry, like these guys, they're all just bouncing off each other and pushing each other and creating something that is just way, way more than the some of its parts.
[UNKNOWN]: So the point which, you know, I'm excited for every night and every match that doesn't involve the great O'Con.
[UNKNOWN]: You know what I'm going to do?
[UNKNOWN]: And I agree with that, we'll take O'Con part.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to arrange a point to counterpoint on Patreon.
[UNKNOWN]: You versus a mystery ex to talk about that match.
[UNKNOWN]: And point counterpoint.
[UNKNOWN]: Or would you be down for that?
[UNKNOWN]: No.
[UNKNOWN]: No, I wouldn't.
[UNKNOWN]: No, because I kind of taught myself out of it.
[UNKNOWN]: The more I've been talking about, I think, what's the point?
[UNKNOWN]: Why?
[UNKNOWN]: Why should like, why are the people's opinions about this important?
[UNKNOWN]: Like I shouldn't let that affect my enjoyment of what I think is a really great G1 climate.
[UNKNOWN]: Well, I'm going to ask you this.
[UNKNOWN]: Was this a question?
[UNKNOWN]: Why I think that?
[UNKNOWN]: Was this a opinion from somebody that you value?
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: I might cut out there, don't you?
[UNKNOWN]: I did it, okay.
[UNKNOWN]: Sorry.
[UNKNOWN]: We'll remember some technical.
[UNKNOWN]: It's a Chinese incident.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay.
[UNKNOWN]: Gotcha.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, and I think that's a fair thing.
[UNKNOWN]: I definitely think that's a fair thing.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't.
[UNKNOWN]: I subscribed to that, so yeah, I look again.
[UNKNOWN]: That's what I do.
[UNKNOWN]: Do what?
[UNKNOWN]: Do you?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, right here.
[UNKNOWN]: Why, what's wrong?
[UNKNOWN]: You sound, you sound the fuddle now.
[UNKNOWN]: You sound like you're, you're lost confidence in yourself.
[UNKNOWN]: What's going on?
[UNKNOWN]: I just think, I think I should focus on my own interpretation and appreciation and enjoyment of what I think is quite an exciting time in New Japan, Pro Wrestling, and not get bogged down by what other people think of it.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, fair enough.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it's a perfect, perfect way to be.
[UNKNOWN]: That's the way I am.
[UNKNOWN]: So, there you go.
[UNKNOWN]: Hey y'all, there you go.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh, oh, are we going to get kicked off the network?
[UNKNOWN]: Oh no, we're ruined.
[UNKNOWN]: Just won't respond to make some money.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh boy.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh yeah, the Super J cast executives are not happy with this one.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, now.
[UNKNOWN]: What do you have any predictions now for semis, final winner?
[UNKNOWN]: Because, you know, we said at the start, I don't, if you you're in agreement with me, that showed it was your most likely winner.
[UNKNOWN]: Now, he's obviously
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah, like who do you think's going to win, who do you think's going to be the final?
[UNKNOWN]: Because you know, G1 is typically used to cement a top guy rather than launch a top guy.
[UNKNOWN]: Like the launch usually, you know, you get them like a New Japan cut for example.
[UNKNOWN]: If it feels like ghetto doesn't use the G1 climax to introduce the idea of someone being a top guy.
[UNKNOWN]: It's like a G1 win feels more.
[UNKNOWN]: protected, then getting that first little cup of coffee IWGP rain.
[UNKNOWN]: So like I'm wondering if that logic sort of rules out, guys like, oil work or you, you're winning the G1.
[UNKNOWN]: And it kind of feels at this point, that Suji feels like the only guy who deserves it, like maybe just let him win it as the champion and cement him as the ace of the company, he's stacking up these wins over former champions.
[UNKNOWN]: So that's a parameter moment.
[UNKNOWN]: I think in Suji as as winning the tournament, I don't think, no, I think it's too prestigious for Calamese.
[UNKNOWN]: He's had his world title reign and I can just go back to him straight away, giving him another big accolade would not be prudent here, especially if you've got concerns about him being with the company long term.
[UNKNOWN]: So I am at the moment thinking Suji to win the whole thing and then
[UNKNOWN]: finalist for him to defeat.
[UNKNOWN]: Do you go back to Zack?
[UNKNOWN]: Do you have like a rematch of the 2024 final where Suji gets his win back or do you go for a new guy?
[UNKNOWN]: Do you have him beating someone like you know maybe or like bolt in or drill him alone he might you play deal the hot hand.
[UNKNOWN]: Those are two guys who are having really great tournaments so far and I've got a lot of
[UNKNOWN]: pass an energy behind them.
[UNKNOWN]: I maybe do go to Calam, like do the trilogy, like maybe do the match that they were gonna have at the minion before Calam got hurt.
[UNKNOWN]: I guess if it feels like it did not have uncertainty around the finish of this tournament, where are you at?
[UNKNOWN]: Well, not only that, like I think we were like, again, everybody kind of,
[UNKNOWN]: circle to show to it, right?
[UNKNOWN]: And now that's off the table, you know, it feels at least it feels, I mean, in their mind, I'm sure they have a clear path.
[UNKNOWN]: But the more I watch, the more I think we forget about Calam, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's overall the winner, or at least not find.
[UNKNOWN]: I think it's like there's a handful of guys.
[UNKNOWN]: I think that we can pick from to Keste, Suji, Calam,
[UNKNOWN]: Do you think they go completely bonkers and go Gabe kid?
[UNKNOWN]: No, God no, absolutely not.
[UNKNOWN]: Absolutely not.
[UNKNOWN]: No, they can't.
[UNKNOWN]: I hate that really.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think that's that far off dude.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think it's that crazy.
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, they could do it.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm not saying they will, but they could do that.
[UNKNOWN]: Name me a bigger name in those spots, again, in general pro wrestling terms, to Gabe, right?
[UNKNOWN]: Now, no, I don't, I did to me that would be sort of antithetical to what the ethos of this tournament is.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm with you.
[UNKNOWN]: How about you, yeah?
[UNKNOWN]: Would you go, you, yeah?
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, yeah, I'll be fine with that.
[UNKNOWN]: So to me, it's like, you, you, calum to catch the suji and as my absolute fucking omelan drugs, let's fucking party, give kid.
[UNKNOWN]: Who else?
[UNKNOWN]: Nobody else?
[UNKNOWN]: Zack's not winning it.
[UNKNOWN]: Zack's gonna be in the mix to fuck people's lives up.
[UNKNOWN]: And, you know, um, who else, like an artist, not fucking, is that an R, are you going to win it?
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think you really was winning it.
[UNKNOWN]: I, I come up, really.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't think so, but I explain why I don't think it's going to be him, but I just was curious if you thought he's building up any significant momentum there to be.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, he's building momentum in the sense of he's getting wins over mean guys, but you're not going to have a way not fucking cheat one.
[UNKNOWN]: And that's that's crazy talk, crazy talk.
[UNKNOWN]: How about drilling?
[UNKNOWN]: not to win.
[UNKNOWN]: I think losing finalists.
[UNKNOWN]: Perhaps losing semifinals.
[UNKNOWN]: You could do that.
[UNKNOWN]: Everybody else.
[UNKNOWN]: I mean, I mean, obviously jakely, no, obviously, so I don't know.
[UNKNOWN]: Obviously, I don't know if you.
[UNKNOWN]: Why am I so hesitant on Bolton?
[UNKNOWN]: I am.
[UNKNOWN]: I
[UNKNOWN]: You're not going to do Oscar, you're not going to do you to ice, although, you know, file I made it pretty deep a couple of years, right, and can't imagine that, and I can't imagine either of those, so I think it's between those guys, I think it's between those guys.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, I got audio tomorrow, right, on the Patreon $10 tier.
[UNKNOWN]: Give me your money.
[UNKNOWN]: Uh, always a good time and we'll do that and then Joel's got you Saturday and Sunday while I shake my booty to be TNS.
[UNKNOWN]: All right, we done?
[UNKNOWN]: Um, last question, Darryl says, would you trade anyone in this year's G1 for Chase Farley, Yano, Yudro, Tamma, lower, Hicculaeo, Archer.
[UNKNOWN]: Archer?
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe Archer.
[UNKNOWN]: That would be the only one.
[UNKNOWN]: And the quote honestly.
[UNKNOWN]: I haven't seen Lance Archer in quite a while.
[UNKNOWN]: I have no idea what he's looking like, how he's feeling.
[UNKNOWN]: What we got.
[UNKNOWN]: But of those names, that's probably the one guy I trust the most out of all.
[UNKNOWN]: But that's actually a pretty good question because we didn't go through the, you know, your top tier guys.
[UNKNOWN]: You know, you're filling out the tournament with these guys.
[UNKNOWN]: Of those guys, yeah, I would probably say Lance Archer.
[UNKNOWN]: How about you?
[UNKNOWN]: No, I don't, I wouldn't take any of those.
[UNKNOWN]: You want to get rid of great O'Conn?
[UNKNOWN]: No, I doubted it put the caveat, excluding Greta-Conn. Oh, did he?
[UNKNOWN]: I would even keep Greta-Conn again, just because he is a dojo graduate.
[UNKNOWN]: I think there is some back fun.
[UNKNOWN]: There is some residual fact there.
[UNKNOWN]: Good old eat.
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to call him eat from now on.
[UNKNOWN]: Eat O'Conn.
[UNKNOWN]: All right.
[UNKNOWN]: We're done.
[UNKNOWN]: It is good.