The Innerneath Podcast

This episode is a review of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's annual January 4th (and now 5th) tradition - Wrestle Kingdom. The fifteenth edition is once again a two-night affair and is the biggest pro-wrestling (not sports entertainment) show of the year.The first night featured Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo, Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada, and the epic showdown between Kota Ibushi and IWGP Double Champion Tetsuya Naito in the main event.The Rantin Review PodcastVisit my website: http://www.webchannel24.com/rassslinTwitter: https://twitter.com/RassslinRantin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rassslin Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rassslinrantin 

Get Your FREE 30-Day Trial of Audible: https://amzn.to/3mSPsRG Get a FREE stock with Robinhood: https://tinyurl.com/yd498w4z Get two FREE stocks with Webull: https://tinyurl.com/y9pl8x3m

USA Network recently request more "adult" content from WWE. Many fans, and people in the business, will think this finally will start to revitalize the pro-wrestling audience.I beg to differ.Here's a sample of my thoughts on the issue and a theory as to what might help increase the audience again.To hear the entire audio, check out my Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/rassslinrantin

In this clip from my Patreon exclusive audio files, I discuss whether COVID-19 hit WWE the most of all the pro-wrestling companies.With AEW regaining (and exceeding some weeks) its audience from before the pandemic, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling regaining much of its audience, why is it that WWE has seen an increasing decrease in audience to the point they reached an all-time low for viewership on this past Monday's WWE RAW?

New Japan Pro-Wrestling's junior heavyweight division showed the world this past weekend why it's lightyears ahead of anywhere else. Hiromu Takahashi and El Phantasmo both won their respective tournaments (Best of the Super Juniors 27 and Super J Cup) which will now see both of them clashing at WrestleKingdom 15. The Guerillas of Destiny toppled FinnJuice to finally win their first World Tag League tournament which puts them against The Dangerous Tekkers at WrestleKingdom as well. We also saw new feuds develop heading into January 4th big event.Meanwhile in the WWE, Vince McMahon apparently has a meltdown over the work of his big men. Fortunately, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens continue their extremely well done feud on Smackdown LIVE, giving something of quality to the WWE's main roster.Kenny Omega shocked the world last week in how he won the AEW World Championship. This week, he and Don Callus continued their gloatfest on IMPACT Wrestling and AEW Dynamite, with the hint that Omega may be about to embark on his own "Thanos Quest" to obtain all the major championships in every organization sans WWE.This is the latest episode of the Rantin Review.

As a "lapsed fan", I don't watch WWE's weekly TV however this past week I did catch a full episode of Smackdown LIVE and have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how good the show was. From Roman's "Head of the Table" angle with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso to the new feud between Bayley and Bianca Belair there was plenty on the show to keep my interest.Meanwhile, Vince McMahon continues to underpay employees with reports going around that some NXT stars are paid $600 a week from the company. In addition, he's causing all kinds of problems behind the scenes on Smackdown and has banned the term "codebreaker" from the show.Speaking of Chris Jericho, he recently expressed concerns about AEW's booking in a rare case of All Elite Wrestling talent expressing frustration with the booking. He's also been talked about in New Japan circles as to whether he'll be at WrestleKingdom again this year.New Japan is currently concurrently running the World Tag League and Best of the Super Jrs tournaments and surprisingly enough, I'm actually enjoying WTL better. With a strong field of teams including The Dangerous Tekkers, Guerrillas of Destiny, FinnJuice, and yes Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI (I know!) there's been plenty to sink your teeth into.

Following last week's Full Gear show, AEW presents one of the strongest and most entertaining episodes of AEW Dynamite of the entire year. Can the hot streak last or will it fizzle out at year's end?

WWE is heading towards its own November pay per view special with the 30th anniversary of the Undertaker's debut at WWF Survivor Series coming up this weekend. They threw a big curveball at us with Drew McIntyre defeating Randy Orton to regain the WWE Championship, thus putting him into the champion vs champion match against Roman Reigns. Four years ago, I'd have yawned at this. Right now, with this NEW version of Drew and the NEW version of Roman, this has potential.Over in the Land of the Rising Sun, New Japan Pro-Wrestling kicked off the last two tournaments of the year as Best of the Super Jrs 27 and the 2020 World Tag League began. We already have some big highlights as Taiji Ishimori and Hirmou Takahashi clashed in BOSJ 27 while Finn Juice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) pulled the second upset win over The Guerillas of Destiny (and a smooth shaven Tama Tonga) to start both tournaments.Visit my website: http://www.webchannel24.com/rassslinTwitter: https://twitter.com/RassslinRantin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rassslin Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rassslinrantin

After the 2020 Presidential Election (almost) concluded, WWE may have some issues with certain Democratic politicians who have been vocal about the absurdity of the "independent contractor" status of its wrestlers. We'll speculate as to how much trouble Andrew Yang may cause for Vince McMahon and company.New Japan Pro-Wrestling held it's final big one-off show of the year, Power Struggle, which featured a major shock that no one saw coming. How will this change WrestleKingdom 15 next year?All Elite Wrestling's Full Gear 2020 pay per view exceeded expectations for many of its fans, featuring three fantastic matches including the long-awaited showdown between tag team superteams The Young Bucks and FTR. We talk about some of the highlights of the show in this edition of the podcast.Plus, I'll give my thoughts on something else in entertainment. This time it's the Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma" and how it might not be what many people think it is.

A segment of the WWE audience is outraged by the romance storyline between Buddy Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio, given the age difference between the two characters. We look at some of the even more outrageous relationship storylines in WWE's history as a comparison.AEW booking seems to be turning off some fans, as well as some of its own performers. What can we expected heading into Full Gear this weekend?New Japan Pro-Wrestling's new president has an important announcement for WrestleKingdom 15 on January 4th and 5th, and throws a little shade at former president Harold Meij. Also, Kylie Rae has once again left the pro-wrestling business, announcing her official retirement this past weekend.We also talk briefly about the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and the mood of the country in general.Visit my website: http://www.webchannel24.com/rassslinTwitter: https://twitter.com/RassslinRantin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rassslin Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rassslinrantin

WWE's annual October show "Hell In A Cell" took place on October 25, 2020 with a decent show featuring two great HIAC matches. Sasha Banks and Bayley continued to prove why the WWE Women's Division is one of the best in the world while Randy Orton achieved another milestone in his career during a stellar 2020 for him. On the down side, some of the undercard left a lot to be desired.In other news, Jana joins us to discuss in more depth the upcoming Power Struggle show from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. We look at the card and what it might mean for future matches in NJPW heading into WrestleKingdom 15.And finally, MJF and Chris Jericho had a rather entertaining showtunes skit on this past week's AEW Dynamite. Some fans loved it. Other fans hated it. The question is: has AEW finally "jumped the shark"?

Kota Ibushi and SANADA clashed in the finals of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax 30 tournament in a slightly underwhelming conclusion to an otherwise amazing four week tournament. We look at the outcome and what the future storylines seem to be for NJPW over the next few months until WrestleKingdom 15.Vince McMahon is supposedly determined to make WrestleMania 37 one with fans in attendance, and to add to this, he wants Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch to return in the main event. I have some thoughts on that, some good, some bad.And AEW is set for it's own tournament to determine the next challenger for the AEW World Championship. Is Omega vs. Page the obvious final match or might they throw a swerve ... and does it even matter?All this and more on this week's edition of the Rantin' Review.Visit my website: http://www.webchannel24.com/rassslinTwitter: https://twitter.com/RassslinRantin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rassslin Advertisement: Visit Courtney Bell's Yoga Current website and join her Patreon for more exclusive content.