Puro Pourri Podcast

It’s here, folks. We’ve seen idols, rookies, minis, shootboxers, interpromotional political shenanigans and some all-time classic matches. And here we are, with our final three matches from Big Egg Wrestling Universe. Join David, George and Sarah to run through three very different matches which collectively achieve what we thought impossible: making Aja Kong look vulnerable.

Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-14-show-notes/

MATCHES

Match 20: Akira Hokuto vs. Combat Toyoda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2UF4vzy8dI)

Match 21: Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyWZUFuzQjk)

Match 23: Akira Hokuto vs. Aja Kong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDtJsn1H4Hk)

David and George welcome back special guest Zoë Boyd, who has been cursed by a malevolent transphobic god to come on this podcast once per year and talk about some of the worst MMA of all time. In this edition, we talk about a couple of occasions upon which combat athletes from the former USSR were brought in to face pro wrestlers in mixed martial arts contests which, typically for the 90s, may or may not be on the level. Can Shinobu Kandori's legendary ego propel her to victory against a 330lb judoka? Can Akira Maeda triumph over an amateur wrestling champion with a career record of 887-2? What do you think?

MATCHES:

Shinobu Kandori vs. Svetlana Goundarenko (LLPW, 18 July 1995)

Akira Maeda vs. Aleksandr Karelin (RINGS, 21 February 1999)

God made the Devil just for fun. When he wanted the real thing, he made Aja Kong the WWWA Champion for three years and put her in the V*TOP tournament. David, Sarah and George are rounding out the first round of the tournament with JWP’s Dynamite Kansai taking on homegrown Kyoko Inoue, and the small matter of Manami Toyota taking on Kong in one of the greatest matches of all time. No biggie. Sorry about the boys’ attempts at Hulk Hogan’s themes.

Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: https://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-13-show-notes/

MATCHES

Match 16: Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj_Bu01qvIg)

Match 17: Kyoko Inoue vs. Dynamite Kansai (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN_zEyAS13A)

You heard about the shootboxing, the minis, the rookies, the juniors. Now, after a lengthy hiatus, David, Sarah and George are back to dive into the main draw of Big Egg Wrestling Universe: the 8-woman V*TOP tournament. Featuring Yumiko Hotta’s ill-advised return to MMA against Gabi Garcia, the soothing properties of Eagle Sawai’s feathers, Combat Toyoda’s murderous aura, and a little-known talent called Akira Hokuto - wonder what happened to her?

Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: https://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-12-show-notes/

MATCHES

Match 14: Yumiko Hotta vs. Combat Toyoda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWglKXYhBOw)

Match 15: Akira Hokuto vs. Eagle Sawai (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcm2_6y4ZMM)

Tanahashi vs. Okada. Nakamura vs. Sakuraba. Inoki vs. Vader. Fuyuki vs. Anjo. These are just some of the classic contests that have graced January 4th, that most hallowed day in the puroresu calendar. Having decided to finally give up on the pretence that they might actually watch NJPW Wrestle Kingdom (don't worry, we're still reviewing the Rambo!), this year the boys are taking a look back at a carefully curated selection of half a dozen historic and momentous January 4th matches. We hope you enjoy.

It's December, and you know what that means! Warm your toes by the fire and luxuriate in the warm glow of the Christmas special critics are calling "reprehensible even by your standards". We'll answer our fans' questions (which are just as demented as ever), reflect upon the very normal year 2022 has been, and visit the beautiful progressive city of Shenzhen for some more of Terry Riley's Chinese wrestling. As well as that, Statto and Big Vince will struggle through not one but two fiendish quizzes of David's devising, and lay bare a complete lack of NJPW knowledge that would be worrying if you listened to this podcast for anything other than the IRA jokes and Scottish football references. Enjoy, friends.

0:00:00 – Intro

0:06:09 – Q&A

0:48:23 – Year in Review

1:42:24 – "Festive Content"

2:18:01 – Terry Riley’s Personal Collection Vol.5 – Uncle Money vs. Zombie Dragon (Devil’s Rules Match) (MKW, 15 December 2018)

Having dispensed with NJPW and UWFI's dealings with the now-former Soviet Union, the PPP crew turn their attention to the adventures of Eastern Bloc combat athletes in two other Japanese wrestling companies: FMW and RINGS. Marvel in wonder as David finally gets to wax lyrical about carny par excellence Atsushi Onita, a fascist gets kicked, one of the greatest matches of all time is dissected at length, and we discover why one-night 32-man MMA tournaments are not the best idea. We'll also look at what was going on in Russia in the mid-90s and how it precipitated today's awful imperialist mess.

MATCHES:

Atsushi Onita vs. Grigori Veritchev (FMW, 29 May 1991)

Akira Maeda vs. Andrei Kopylov (RINGS, 21 August 1992)

Tony Halme vs. Tariel Bitsadze (RINGS, 22 October 1994)

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 22 January 1997)

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Grom Zaza (RINGS, 22 July 1997)

Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Mikhail Ilyukhin (RINGS, 28 March 1998)

We couldn’t get through it without them, could we? In the cooldown spot just before we get into the main event that is the V*TOP tournament, we appropriately position the people that everyone has forgotten from Big Egg. No, not the shootboxers - the blokes. Why did men’s wrestling promotion Michinoku Pro get a showcase match at the biggest joshi show in history? Why did AJW have a minis division which consisted of three men? David, George and Sarah still don’t know, but they watched the matches anyway.

Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: https://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-11-show-notes/

MATCHES

Match 2: Silver X Tsunokake vs. Buta Genjin and Great Little Muta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdV2F7pFBrM)

Match 19: SATO, Shiryu and The Great Sasuke vs. Super Delfin, Gran Naniwa and Jinsei Shinzaki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR0c-jgbC2I)

We're back in the USSR! Fresh off the heels of their special on the Tokyo Dome show featuring Comrades Hashimikov, Zangiev, Berkovich et al., the boys now take a look at what the Red Bull Army did next. We kick off with NJPW's 1989 New Year's Eve extravaganza in Moscow (yes, really), before getting our teeth into what happened when those Soviet shooters wound up in UWFI. Taking in the fall of the Soviet Union and the definitely much better and not at all kleptocratic governments that took its place, Gary "A Genuine Menace" Albright, the ethical implications of fancying Gerry Adams and the welcome return to the podcast of PPP fave and punching bag extraordinaire Yoji Anjo, Episode 25 is the perfect way to get yourself in the mood for the inevitable withering away of the capitalist state.

MATCHES:

Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Salman Hashimikov (Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship) (UWFI, 18 July 1993)

Dan Severn and Gary Albright vs. Salman Hashimikov and Vladimir Berkovich (UWFI, 5 December 1993)

Yoji Anjo vs. Victor Zangiev (UWFI, 3 March 1994)

2022 is upon us, sure to be a year of magic and wonder like its predeccesors, and what better way to ring in the new year than with the PPP's takes on the traditional big January 4th wrestling show in the great city of Tokyo? Special guest Luke Healey (@oystersearrings) joins David and Statto for the second year in a row to run the rule over the pre-eminent event in the puro calendar.