This week on Wrestling Omakase we've got a packed episode on a ton of different topics! John is joined by returning guest and VOW's resident ROH expert Sean Sedor (https://twitter.com/SASedor2994) , and we open up the show with a long discussion on that very promotion. More specifically, we discuss ROH's ongoing attendance woes, including their 30% drop from last year so far in 2019, upcoming attendances that look like they'll be even worse, how they got to this point and what possible niche they could fill in a post-AEW world, where NJPW's ongoing US expansion fits into ROH's woes and their future position, what they can do to begin rebuilding, and more.

Once that's out of the way we move on to talking AEW's third show, Fight for the Fallen from Jacksonville. John's favorite match on this show may not be one you expect, and they talk at length about why someone they didn't enjoy in his previous promotion is now maybe even under-utilized here. John and Sean break down the entire show, which they agree was the weakest of the three AEW shows so far, and John breaks down some major issues they have with AEW's booking thus far. Then attention is turned to the G1 Climax 29, as we save the best for last and discuss Nights 2 & 3. We break down all ten G1 matches so far including a ton of stuff we absolutely loved, as the G1 is off to a strong start this year. Hear us talk Juice-Shingo, Taichi-Moxley, Okada-ZSJ, Tanahashi-KENTA and much more. Afterwards we preview all four of the upcoming G1 shows this week (Monday in Hokkaido and then three straight days in Korakuen) as John and Sean each pick a most anticipated match for each card. Finally we wrap things up with an ROH-focused mailbag!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase we're live from Dallas with a full review of the G1 Climax opener! John is joined by four guests who were all at the show: VOW contributors Jeremy (https://twitter.com/jeremysexton) , August (https://twitter.com/augustbaker12) and Jack (https://twitter.com/packerman120) plus Quinlan (https://twitter.com/IM_NOT_QUINLAN) . We break down the entire card from top to bottom including four awesome G1 matches (plus, uh, one more), the entire undercard, live thoughts on the crowd size and how they reacted plus talk about the breaking news of a new NJPW east coast tour and how it relates to ROH. We then wrap things up with a look ahead to next weekend's first three G1 shows in Japan. A fun show!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase we're proud to present our 2nd annual Mid-Year Awards! At the exact halfway point of 2019 (this episode was taped on 6/30/19 in fact) John is joined by five returning guests to pick the best and worst of the year so far: VOW contributors Gerard (https://twitter.com/GerardDiTrolio) , Lawson (https://twitter.com/LawsonComedy89) , Paul (https://twitter.com/Darth_Dragon) and Thomas (https://twitter.com/rasslinratings) , plus Skylar (https://twitter.com/Twwitterdotcom) . Here's the awards we covered in order of their appearance on the show:

-Worst Weekly TV Show

-Worst Major Show

-Worst Promotion

-Worst Feud

-Worst Match of the Year

-Best Weekly TV Show

-Best Major Show

-Most Outstanding Wrestler

-Best Promotion

-Best Feud

-Tag Team of the Year

-Match of the Year

-Wrestler of the Year

Agree or disagree with our picks so far? Feel free to tweet us @wrestleomakase (http://twitter.com/wrestleomakase) or check out the thread on the VOW Forums (https://voicesofwrestling.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=b22f5479c233a36ce2e2cf94d28a58eb) to give your feedback on our picks or just share your own picks with us!

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This is Part 2 of our episode on Japan, as we talk the second half of our most recent trip. Check out Part 1 first for lots of discussion on how to travel to Japan. Here we discuss the Dragon Gate 6/6 Korakuen, Tokyo Joshi & HARD HIT from Shin Kiba on 6/8, NJPW Dominion (including a long discussion of the Naito-Ibushi controversy), NOAH in Osaka, Michinoku Pro's Korakuen and DDT at Kyoto KBS Hall. Finally we wrap it up with a huge mailbag all about travel including questions on ALMOSTKASE, panties, where to find great ramen, how to acquire tickets to shows before you go (which we cover in detail), our favorite food and merch purchases from this trip, and more! Overall a packed edition covering everything you ever wanted to know about traveling to Japan!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk all about how to travel to Japan to watch pro wrestling and more! An episode so packed we had to split it in two! Fresh off their latest Japan trips John is joined by longtime returning guest Taylor (https://twitter.com/tamaimbo) as they break down everything you need to know before going yourself: how to find cheap flights (and what times of year are best for it), navigating the train system and what you need ahead of time, different accomodation options including hotels, AirBNBs, hostels and more, food and drink and what you can expect to spend on both, things to see from parks and gardens to arcades and anime stores, and more! After this is over come back for Part 2 where we discuss the actual wrestling shows we went to on our most recent trip (that weren't already covered in episode 100) and then answer a gigantic mailbag full of your questions on traveling to Japan!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase we're live from Japan for our one hundredth episode! John is joined by an all star panel including many past guests: Taylor (https://twitter.com/tamaimbo) , Quinlan (https://twitter.com/IM_NOT_QUINLAN) , Paul (https://twitter.com/Darth_Dragon) , Kelly (https://twitter.com/comicgeekelly) and Albert (https://twitter.com/heyhorseneck) ! Just minutes after attending the BOSJ Finals live at Sumo Hall we all gather to break down the entire show, including many thoughts on the live crowd reactions and other things the cameras may have missed. We also discuss the reaction to the somewhat controversial main event result, Moxley's debut, Jay White and Tanahashi and more. Plus we discuss all of the other shows we've attended so far this week: STARDOM, OZ Academy, J STAGE and Gatoh Move. A packed and fitting one hundredth episode of Omakase! Thank you for all your support!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase we talk the debut show of AEW and some great junior heavyweight action from New Japan! John is joined by longtime friend Bryan Quinlan (https://twitter.com/IM_NOT_QUINLAN) to first break down All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing, a mixed bag of a show featuring some really good wrestling, some very bad wrestling, a very weird main event, a decidedly WWE lite feel, and some major production gaffes. Overall a good show, but we definitely think there was room for improvement, and we detail how. Then we move on to the highlights from the past week of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors, as we talk our favorite and least favorite matches from three hot nights at Korakuen Hall and one less hot night in Chiba. We then give each of the twenty competitors a letter grade on their tournament so far. Finally we wrap things up with your questions, mostly on AEW and many of them on the joshi six-man tag, but one question on possible G1 participants as well.

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This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by returning guest Aaron Bentley (https://twitter.com/aaronlikethecar) from VOW podcast Everything Elite (https://twitter.com/EverythingAEW) to talk an eclectic mix of topics! We start things out with some general talk on AEW and how both NJPW and ROH have dealt with the aftermath of the Elite leaving before turning our attention to STARDOM's 5/16 Korakuen Hall show. As a gigantic Momo Watanabe fan there's no one better suited to help us eulogize her amazing Wonder of STARDOM title reign, so we talk both her latest match with Arisa Hoshiki as well as her reign in general. We also talk some of the undercard matches and promising young talent in STARDOM as well. Then we talk New Japan, namely the first six nights of the Best of the Super Juniors, with praise for some wrestlers and some vitiriol for others. Finally we wrap things up with AEW talking the future of the promotion in general and a quick preview of the Double or Nothing card, as well as thoughts on the big story from the past week, PAC-GATE. All this plus your mailbag questions on all of these topics and also Tokyo Joshi Pro and more, this week!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase John welcomes back longtime guest Jesse (https://twitter.com/K0jiii) for her first apperance of 2019! We catch up a little at the start including talking the big KO-D Openweight Title win of Tetsuya Endo from DDT's US show last month before turning our attention toward King of DDT. John and Jesse break down all seven first round matches, the special Loser Resurrection battle royale, and the four second round matches. Once we're down recapping the first two rounds we turn our attention to DDT's big upcoming schedule, including the semis and finals of King of DDT next week, a very unique Osaka card to celebrate Referee Matsui's 25th anniversary in wrestling, and finally the major matches from next month's Wrestle Matsuyamania show in Ehime. Then we turn our attention to Big Japan's major 5/5 show, Endless Survivor, breaking down all nine matches from the card. We discuss a lack of deathmatches on the card and some possible explanations, another new young lion and the recent influx of young talent in Japan in general, an awesome All Asia tag title match, a disappointing Okabayashi vs. Sekimoto strong title match, and a strong main event with Isami Kodaka's triumph. Finally we wrap things up with a brief mailbag including your questions on future BJW challengers and more. It's all things DDT and BJW, this week!

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This week on Wrestling Omakase John is joined by longtime returning guest Taylor Maimbourg (https://twitter.com/tamaimbo) to talk both men's and women's Japanese wrestling! First we talk New Japan's two Wrestling Dontaku shows (Friday 5/3 & Saturday 5/4) as we break them down match-by-match, talk some big debuts and future teases, and discuss where it looks like things are going for Best of the Super Juniors and Dominion. Then we turn our attention to joshi to talk a trio of shows, beginning with STARDOM's Cinderella Tournament from Korakuen Hall! This also includes a discussion of the recent Western fan controversy involving inappropriate fan behavior (at this show as well as some others). We then turn our attention to Sendai Girls' 4/16 Korakuen (that just made tape last week), an incredible show that includes a match both John and Taylor agree gets the full five stars! Our last review is of Tokyo Joshi Pro's 5/3 Korakuen, including a big title change, another great tag title match and more! Finally we wrap things up with a packed mailbag tackling your questions on whether the Jericho announcement means anything for NJPW's future US relationships, who the best theoritical carpenter on the NJPW roster is, John's choices for Taichi's possible G1 opponents, guesses on who might win BOSJ, best possible picks for Maki Itoh to face overseas, whether there's been too many debuts in NJPW lately and more! A packed show!

**Please note that John makes a comment during this episode implying Tanahashi's injury may have been less than legit because he seems to take time off around this time every year; this was before they say the picture of his giant surgery scar going around and they now feel very stupid.

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