Grit & Glitter

Don talks to "The Vaporwave Vixen" Juniper Gates about the power of unicorns, trans rights, wanting to be a role model, and ranking on the QWI.

 

Plus: from the archives, Harley chatted with "The Midnight Mermaid" Aspyn Rose in the summer of 2021 about momentum, winning over kids, PolyAm Cult parties, and anime.

Harley, Em, and Don dive into West Coast Pro and the first annual Queen Of Indies tournament.  They discuss the continued dominance of Masha Slamovich, the promise of Promise Braxton, an increased joshi presence on the American indies, too many streaming services, and the legend of Chigusa Nagayo.

Harley is joined by guest Jon Manning of Lost Sound Tapes to shine a spotlight on Vancouver promotion Nation Extreme Wrestling.

In less than two years, NEW has taken over Canadian west coast wrestling with a thriving women's division featuring names like Nicole Matthews, Cat Power, Liiza Hall, and Bambi Hall.  They dive into the origins of NEW, changes over time, and Jon's live perspective from attending numerous NEW shows.

 

Our watch list for this episode:

Nicole Matthews vs. Artemis Spencer in a quarter-final tournament match for the NEW Championship, NEW 3 (12/2/21)

 

KC Spinelli vs. Nicole Matthews vs. Chelsea Green in a TLC match for the NEW Women’s Championship, NEW 4 LIFE (6/24/22)

 

Nicole Matthews vs. Miyu Yamashita for the NEW Women’s Championship, NEW 12 (3/24/23)

 

Cat Power vs. Maki Itoh, NEW 12 (3/24/23)

 

Liiza Hall vs. Bambi Hall in a no DQ tables match, NEW 12 (3/24/23)

Harley and Em present the sixth installment in G&G series "Living Legends."  With this series, we strive to present a definitive look at the lives and careers of some of your favorite active independent wrestlers.  Where did they come from?  How did they get to where they are today?  And why are they so beloved?

This time: it’s Emi Sakura!  From debuting as a teenager in 1995 to holding gold in AJW, founding Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move, training future superstars like Riho and Hikaru Shida, conquering Pro Wrestling Eve, and working as a player-coach in AEW, this is the story of Tokyo Sports' 2009 Joshi Wrestler Of The Year.

 

Our playlist for this episode:

Emi Motokawa vs. Sumie Sakai for the AJW World Championship

IWA Japan Spring Breeze Tour ’98 (3/13/98)

 

 

Emi Sakura & Masa Takanashi vs. Riho & Kenny Omega

Ice Ribbon New Ribbon #81 (5/9/09)

 

Riho vs. Emi Sakura for the ICEx60 Championship

Ice Ribbon New Ribbon #180 (5/3/10)

 

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Emi Sakura in a hair vs. hair match for the JWP Openweight Championship

JWP Revolution 2010 (9/19/10)

 

Emi Sakura & Nanae Takahashi vs. Best Friends (Tsukasa Fujimoto & Arisa Nakajima)

Ice Ribbon New Ribbon #724 ~ 10th Anniversary Show (5/4/16)

 

Jamie Hayter vs. Emi Sakura in an AEW Women’s World Championship eliminator match

AEW Rampage (1/27/23)

It's the start of a new annual tradition.  It's the 2023 women's wrestling draft!

Harley and Em are joined by Kristen Ashly (Bell To Belles) and Brian Bell (LGBT In The Ring) to draft their own women's wrestling rosters, drawing talent from WWE, AEW,  ROH, Impact, NWA, the indies, and Japan with each of them trying to build the strongest all-around roster.

Who will be the overall #1 draft picks?  Which wrestlers will get stolen out from other people's grasps?  Which champions will go undrafted?  And what Stardom match result will Harley spoil for Kristen?

Harley, Em, and Mayyday discuss the Impact Rebellion PPV including Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace for the vacant Knockouts Championship, The Coven vs. Death Dollz for the tag titles, Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly in a predominantly-male hardcore war, and what's next for a division lacking in top heels.

In honor of Billie Starkz signing with AEW and Roxanne Perez holding gold in NXT, let's take a look back at a classic episode of Grit & Glitter from August 2020.

Harley, Em, Roxanne, and Billie discuss wrestling as teenagers, balancing their careers with attending high school, future aspirations, and what their teachers and classmates think of their celebrity.

Em and Don shake off their post-WrestleMania weekend wrestling binge haze to discuss, in the afterglow of GCW's Collective weekend, the state of women wrestlers in Game Changer Wrestling.

From a forgotten women's championship to growing their women's roster from a singular feline phenom, we talk Allie Katch, Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich, Sawyer Wreck, Dark Sheik, Billie Starkz, Maki Itoh, and Steph De Lander.

After a jam-packed WrestleMania weekend, Harley and Em are joined by Don, Lindsay, and the long-lost Emily Pratt to discuss a sampling of the great women's wrestling that took place at ROH Supercard Of Honor, NXT Stand & Deliver, Effy's Big Gay Brunch, TJPW Live In Los Angeles, and more.

Ahead of 2023 Collective weekend, it's a look back at a classic episode of Grit & Glitter.

From October 2020, it was the big gay brunchcast edition!  Em, Val Quartz, Meg Fair, Val Pancakes, Hannah Harkness, and Bridget Clark cover assorted women's action from various Collective shows as well as the very first Big Gay Brunch including Sonny Kiss vs. Cassandro El Exotico, Edith Surreal vs. Dark Sheik, Allie Kat vs. Jamie Senegal, and the twink gauntlet.