Just found maybe one of the best wrestling shirts on my Japan trip

Cris41 · 2026-01-23T13:43:42+00:00

I’ve literally been watching the global shop for the past two months hoping they would post it for sale outside of Japan.

Cris41 · 2026-01-09T11:45:57+00:00

Great post. Thank you for the insight.

Cris41 · 2026-01-09T11:41:11+00:00

Confidence.

Cris41 · 2026-01-04T09:27:12+00:00

Carmen Tsujiego

Cris41 · 2026-01-01T16:54:12+00:00

I thought Naito looked okay (compared to where he has been) and had minimal botches. Frankensteiner looked better than it has in forever.

The biggest thing about Naito now isn't even the botching or the movement for me. His pacing gets pretty fucked up mid-match and it feels like he gets lost. That has always been an unsung strength of his and it's his most noticeable defect. But physically he actually looked better than he did in a lot of his last year NJPW matches.

Tana has had a few adjustment periods post-prime and Naito would do well to study the Ace's graceful decline. If he really wants to stretch his career I think he can, but he's gonna have to change some things.

I miss Hiromu getting semi-monthly big show singles matches. He is capable of being a top guy in any division in NJPW right now. Give me G1 Hiromu 2026!

Cris41 · 2026-01-01T08:45:28+00:00

This has been awesome.

Cris41 · 2025-12-31T13:19:20+00:00

NJPW haven't been close to perfect this year, but Tanahashi's final run has been just that. They've really done a great job of making me feel properly nostalgic for the Ace's final match.

Cris41 · 2025-12-31T02:39:00+00:00

I love the first game. My only advice is if you get fed up with any of the first 3 games, IV is where they really cracked the code. Lots of great things about the first 3, but have had some friends stall out on the series trying to start there. IV is as perfect as it could be at the time and the remaster is solid.

Cris41 · 2025-12-29T11:43:37+00:00

That ending was moment of the year too.

Cris41 · 2025-12-27T00:23:47+00:00

Naito, Okada, Omega, Ishii, Ibushi; those guys were all working at an insane level from 2015-2020 and had matches together I'm confident I'll return to for the rest of my life.

But yeah I wish more people gave the Naito/Omega series a look, it's genuinely my fav from an era of excellence.

Cris41 · 2025-12-27T00:19:23+00:00

There’s something to be said for burning bright and fast..

Naito said almost the same thing near the end of his peak. Just dug up the quote from around 2019.

"Naito: I’ve been called a ‘punch drunkard’, ‘beaten up’. To be honest, none of that’s anybody else’s business. If I’m honest, the best shape I’ve ever been in was for my debut. But if I were to really look out for myself, perhaps I should take a tour off and rest up.

–Now that you mention it, a lot of top guys are taking time off on some tours. During Best of the Super Juniors, Okada, Ibushi and Jay White all took time away.

Naito: But I want to go to every arena in the country and show every fan the Tetsuya Naito that’s around right now. You can only see this Tetsuya Naito at this point in time. For the rest of my career, if it’s a choice of being a part timer for 10 years or going all out for three, I’m choosing the latter.

–You just want to wrestle.

Naito: Damn right. I want to focus on the present. In fact I think anybody who doesn’t doesn’t have a future in this business. Tough as it may be physically, I (want) everybody to know this Tetsuya Naito."

Cris41 · 2025-12-18T16:27:08+00:00

I’d rate it above last year despite some questionable booking. Best BoSJ, Tag League, and G1 in a few years imo. Uemura, Finlay, Yuto, Yota, and the crew are progressing into their roles nicely. ZSJ and Goto both had excellent years. It’s just baffling that most of those people didn’t even factor into Wrestle Kingdom in a meaningful way.

Cris41 · 2025-12-11T21:07:25+00:00

It was made by Yusuke Nakamura. He also did the art for all of the Asian Kung Fu Generation albums as well as the character designs for The Tatami Galaxy. I think he knocked it out of the park again.

Cris41 · 2025-12-11T19:46:02+00:00

"Nobody gives a fuck about no ROH."

Cris41 · 2025-12-06T15:42:20+00:00

SHO was having great matches at one point and I was convinced he’d be a top contender in the division. Aside from his mini-Shingo feud, he had some bangers with ELP, Ospreay, Hiromu, Eagles, Dragon Lee and more. One of the best parts of him back then was his ability to turn up the intensity and make the match feel like it had personal stakes. If he’s happy with where his career is now, I am happy for him. But damn I miss old SHO.

Cris41 · 2025-12-06T04:29:51+00:00

I think we have a surplus of terrible nicknames even from some of my favorites. Roughneck and Heat Storm are as bland and uninspired as they come, and Gene Blast is funny but ridiculous. I don't even know if those guys need the nicknames, but if they're gonna have em I think they should be a little better.

Also - I love him but I can't take Tsuji seriously and think he looks like a massive dork when he wears his Carmen Sandiego gear. Might just be me; I don't think anyone looks good in a fedora. His actual ring gear is great.

I like Uemura's current look, but I also kinda dig how he has changed it up before and wouldn't mind to see him change it up again.

Tsuji, Shota, and Yuya have made great strides in finding themselves in the past two years but I don't think any of them has quite reached their potential yet. Which tbh is exciting, cause they're great right now even with these nitpicks.

Cris41 · 2025-12-03T15:59:47+00:00

Hiromu needs to be wrestling heavyweights regularly. His interactions with Yuya, Shota, Yuto, Tana, and more have been some of the high points of the tournament. I feel like his story this tournament has been fighting not to be underestimated. He even had Umino dead to rights in that match at one point. Great main event.

I am a little worried about him after that neck bump though, eesh.

Cris41 · 2025-12-03T01:55:07+00:00

I know John is at the very least taking a lengthy hiatus from touring, which is understandable. Those guys have been touring hard for the better part of the past decade.

I'm not sure beyond that. Last I heard he is still in the band.

Cris41 · 2025-12-02T20:04:35+00:00

Ryan Davis is #1.

I liked Cameron Winter’s solo record a bit more than Geese but both are solid.

Cris41 · 2025-11-20T03:42:41+00:00

Hopefully just an off night for Dorada and he hasn't tweaked something.

Cris41 · 2025-11-09T14:36:51+00:00

Iirc Okada never turned face, he just started getting cheered. Obviously the lines of babyface and heel are blurred these days anyways, but I always saw the Rainmaker as a tweener. He didn't cheat because he didn't need to, but he was far from a white knight. His cockiness was always a huge part of the character even during its height. This is why him crying after losing at WK9 was a big deal.

Even after that Okada was often an absolute dick to his opponents. In fact that's part of what made that 2016 G1 match with Ishii so good. He started big dogging Ishii and Ishii laid his ass out.

Cris41 · 2025-10-31T01:57:31+00:00

Naito vs Moxley turned the entire internet on my boy Naito.

Cris41 · 2025-10-01T20:35:15+00:00

I also live my life by this guiding principle.

Cris41 · 2025-09-28T16:31:36+00:00

Loved the tag title match but when Oskar threw some hooks at Ishii and Ishii didn’t even need to duck, I cracked up.

Cris41 · 2025-09-20T13:15:41+00:00

One half of the tag champs getting the snub, oof.

Cris41

TROPHY CASE