The Miracle Apricot Podcast: Recent Episodes
Flupke
The Miracle Apricot Podcast: a quarterly podcast about pro wrestling, culture and social context
The High Speed Wrestling Podcast: a bite-sized weekly show dedicated to wrestling matches under 10 minutes in length
oystersearrings.substack.com
PLUM is a spin-off of the Miracle Apricot Podcast that Connor decided to do during the High Speed Podcast’s break. While the last MAP covered the history of women’s wrestling in Japan, PLUM is looking at a part of history in American women’s wrestling, Total Divas.
Flae Blazer, a long-time fan of Total Divas, is here to help Connor figure out just how depraved WWE is.
Music used in order (Music composed by the Joe Hisaishi Orchestra for the BROTHER soundtrack unless otherwise specified)
Drifter in Lax; Dead Dred - Dred Bass; Solitude; Tattoo; Death Spiral; Party ~ One Year Later; Blood Brother; Raging Men; CFO$ - Out Of My Mind; Wipe Out; Brother ~ Remix Version (Mixed with CFO$ - On Top of the World)
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
n.b. This recording was made a couple of weeks before the announcement that GAEA Japan’s 25th anniversary celebrations would once again be put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so take anything we say about that show here with that in mind. In addition, the all-female audience Tokyo Joshi Pro show we discuss here was made availabe for streaming a few days after recording, and can now be viewed over at Wrestle Universe
In 1976 a staff member from Fuji TV’s entertainment office issued an order to the higher-ups at All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling (AJW). Their order was to create a tag team which would emulate the Takarazuka Revue’s “top pair” formula, make a run at the pop charts, and turn around the promotion’s ailing TV ratings. AJW responded by putting Maki Ueda and Jackie Sato together as Beauty Pair, and the rest is history - AJW became a pop-cultural juggernaut through the late 70s to the early 90s, when it ran a 10-hour show at the Tokyo Dome, and finally the bubble burst.
A quarter-century on from that supernova moment, women’s pro wrestling in Japan seem to be on the up once more. In February 2021, World Wonder Ring Stardom ran their 10th anniversary show at Nippon Budokan, becoming the first women’s wrestling organisation to play at that storied venue since 1997. The series of exhibition cards organised under the masthead of “Women’s Wrestling Assemble” has shown that the appetite for collaboration is growing across the scene, and also drew Akira Hokuto out of retirement. Is joshi wrestling entering a new Cool Zone, and if we are, what might that look like?
In this roundtable, experts-in-the-field Alex Fraser (of the BeruBara Tag Boom podcast) and Sarah Parkin (of Big Egg Podcasting Universe) join Luke for a run-down of some of the key themes relating to joshi wrestling’s fluctuating fortunes since the boom period kicked off by the Beauty Pair. When did this wave peak, and when did it first come crashing down? What were the after-effects of this collapse, and how has the scene gone about recovering in the years since? Will we ever see a return to the glory days, and do we even want to see a second Big Egg anyway? Who can restore joshi wrestling’s wholesome reputation today like Mach Fumiake did for postwar Japan, and how crucial will Raku’s appeal to the train fan demographic prove in the long run? All this, and so much more in the inaugural Miracle Apricot Roundtable!
Intro: Kakemeguru Seishun by Beauty Pair / Arashi no Densetsu by Crush Gals / Oro de Ley by Luis Miguel / Marshmallow Cacao Station (ft. Raku) by Up Up Girls Kakko Puroresu
Outro: Dangerous Queen (4x4 mix) by DT Dream (releases 7th May on Profound Mystery)
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
Two matches. The first, a clash between a once-in-a-generation entertainer and one of the most underrated young Aces of the 21st century. The other, an explosive deathmatch in a rainy parking lot in Delaware, featuring a former Rhodes Scholar candidate who chose a life of self-abasement after a brush with sexual deviancy. What links them? That's for us to know and you to find out, in this grand season finale of the High Speed Wrestling Podcast!
Intro: Dan Gibson - Thunderstorm in the Wilderness; YAPOOS - Watashi no Nakano Tanin
Midpoint: Johnny Pate - Constant Wind; Foul Play - Being With You (Remix)
Outro: Korda - Move Your Body To The Sound (Alex Version); Masafumi Takada - Matchmaker (From “The 25th Ward: The Silver Case” Soundtrack)
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This episode is a special on retirements. Retirements — What’s with them!!! Listen to find out. Supplementary content discussed includes Salvation Ninja Ranmaru, the end of Pinano Pipipipi and the Rubber Man What Got Them Arms What Don’t Get Wrist Locked Too Good
Intro: Dan Gibson - Thunderstorm in the Wilderness; Sueño Latino - Sueño Latino (Paradise Mix); YAPOOS - Watashi no Nakano Tanin
Outro: Tetsuya Kawauchi - Theme of The House Of The Dead; Tito Beltrán - When a Child is Born (Soleado); The Deele - Shoot ‘Em Up Movies
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
Listen now (99 min) | For our first ever Christmas special, we decided to just watch BrothersofDestruction22 videos. It’s good to do. Nostalgia and wonder is in the air as Luke experiences Darkside Rules and also Sunday Night Heat. Your mouth has written a check that your ass can’t cash.
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This time we watched Stardom. We looked at the good old days of Kagetsu being around, the scandalous antics of Natsu, what happens when you activate Natsu’s beast mode, plus a celebration of just how cool Hana Kimura was. its manjigatame time
Intro: Dan Gibson - Thunderstorm in the Wilderness; The True Underground Sound of Rome - Sonic Crystals; YAPOOS - Watashi no Nakano TaninOutro: Wham - Everything She Wants; Glasgow Gangster Funk Tracs - Pirate Radio; Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
It's Big Mouth LOUD. It's two very silly men. It's Fujiwaraism at its finest.
Join Connor and Luke as they profile Don Arakawa's rise through parody wrestling and New Japan dark matches to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight scene, the Tokyo Dome, and small-batch hipster craft wrestling of the mid-00s. Find out why Luke is calling Don Arakawa "the wrestler Trainee White should aspire to be".
Match link: https://youtu.be/dxFkXT9meT4
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: A Better Way (Richie's Deep End Dub) by Circle Line
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
It's time to get to talking about the place that coined the podcast namesake: NEO! And their New Years presentation of: The Matsumoto Triple Threat!
Miyacoco, NWA titles, marriage angles, all and more talked about at length in here!
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN00ljRYOJU&feature=youtu.be&t=1470
REMP: http://rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
Hakkeyoi! This week the HSWP pays its first visit to Sumo, and to Tokushoryu's emotional victory against all the odds at the 2020 Hatsu Basho. Connor guides Luke through some basic questions about the sport (questions such as "why is Shōdai so boring?"), and Luke seizes the opportunity to wax lyrical about Zambia's 8-7 penalty shoot-out victory in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final. Yumitori-shiki de happi!!!
Match link:
[bout] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk6mzI7B9JI&feature=youtu.be
[interview] https://t.co/qEl6RqqxpZ?amp=1
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Knyte Rydah by Andre Nickatina & Equipto ft. Mike 2Xs
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
Now more than ever, Pro Wrestling WAVE is here for you. This week we have a double header featuring two matches both from the last ever show on the WAVE NETWORK.
Did Big E have Miyuki Takase in mind when he said he loved beef? We explore this and more!
Match links: https://youtu.be/YaizWfvr1Hg / https://youtu.be/jhChmbA2Jj0
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
In these unprecedented times, Connor and Luke descend to the basement for a furtive look at the Fu-Ten Promotion, Daisuke Ikeda's low down and dirty follow-up to Battlarts. On the slate this week: mapping the puroresu undercommons, how to match presentation style to crowd size, and why people are calling Daisuke Ikeda the "Céline Sciamma of shoot-style pro wrestling".
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB8fDbhdxvU&feature=youtu.be
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Wavin' Flag by K'NAAN
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Hana Kimura (1997-2020)
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week, we go into an era that is oft-passed over, the "dark ages" of josh parrosu, as we look at a match from AtoZ's first anniversary featuring a previously-looked at wrestler in Kana as well as the entire reason for this podcast existing in the future Natsuki Taiyo. Find out what they used to call GAMI back in the day right here
Match link: https://youtu.be/l9Brfiagur8?t=385
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Lowdown by Ronald Langestraat
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week Connor and Luke wave a fond farewell to the CubsFan archive, consider how to grow old gracefully in the wrestling business, and wax lyrical over the raw match-escalating ability of "fundamental dickhead" Rush........en Arena México!!
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiuumEWXwPs&feature=youtu.be
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: LaLaLa Koppepan by Lucky Star
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week, the camera at Takeover cuts to, oh my, Indie legends Connor and Luke in the crowd!! What could this mean for the NXT title scene??
This is a discussion of a good match as well as an opportunity to talk about just what role WWE plays in all of our fandoms. Including all those fancy stages they don't do anymore
Match link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4v5t2h
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: The Sun Rises by Rei Kondo
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
WELCOME! TO WRESTLEMANIA! In this extra-special bonus episode Luke and Connor saddle up for the Showcase of the Immortals, discussing highlights and lessons learned from the past few weeks of weird empty-arena wrestling, heaping praise on the Boneyard Match and eventually getting round to reviewing what is surely the only main event in Wrestlemania history to go under 5 minutes. Yee haw!
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week, Connor and Luke pay another visit to the weird and wonderful world of Shoot Style with a choice cut from FIGHTING DETECTIVES BATTLARTS. Discussed within: The value of character work in even the most "realistic" of presentations, the way in which the discursive value of a wrestler can end up obscuring their actual qualities, and just what Yuki Ishikawa has to say to these clods who think wrestling ain't real.
Match link: https://youtu.be/NneE0PzN1kE?t=4620
REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Theme One by Cozy Powell // Son by Juana Molina
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week sees a look at an unlikely candidate for this podcast: All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling! The legacy of this promotion, its changes in style, an examination of specifically Manami Toyota; Whether she is a good wrestler or a demon. All this and much more this week on At The Movies!
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3bU-oXPnFo&t=596s
Connor's other venture, REMP: rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: (You Gotta) Fight For Your right (To Party) by Beastie Boys // Rainbow Road by Kenta Nagata
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week sees our first trip to Mexico, and it's an occasion to reflect on the vexed subject of realism in pro wrestling. PLUS! We pay tribute to the art of crowd-work, learn a new slang term for "armchair socialist", and discuss why companies should be putting their top title on Yuki Miyazaki if they want to shoot for real mainstream appeal.
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CphJvKrLTtU&t=4558s
Connor's other venture, REMP: http://rotteneramemorypodcast.libsyn.com/
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Glossopharyngeal Speech/Frogsound by Harm A. Drost // The Sex Life of the Fern -Spores, fertilization and growth -Pine cones and the petrified forest by Edward Williams
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
REJOICE! SEASON 2 OF THE HIGH SPEED WRESTLING PODCAST IS HERE AT LAST!
For this first episode back, Connor and Luke take a trip to Ice Ribbon, where adulterous rumblings are afoot...What are the secrets behind the Tokyo Sports 2018 Joshi Puroresu Grand Prix Award winner's mysterious rendez-vous with a married panda? Can sheer animal power overcome the wrestling skills of a company Ace? And what does Dixie Carter's husband Serg have to do with any of this?
Match link: https://rutube.ru/video/20063841a96c13445c003bbafe4ec6c1/
Connor's VK: vk.com/videos458416377
Opening Credits Theme: Watashi no Nakano Tanin by YAPOOS
Closing Credits Theme: Mimichan to Pandakopanda by Ado Mizumori
Thanks to Johnny Landmine for translation help & to Matt Slade for design assistance
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
“The longevity of a lucha legend and the consistency of one too.” That’s how one of our guests once described Sakura Hirota, the comedy wrestler and stalwart of the post-AJW Japanese women’s wrestling scene, who debuted in GAEA Japan 23 years ago this summer.
In this episode, Luke, Connor and Tara dive into a cross-section of Hirota’s matches from GAEA and a range of other promotions, and discuss a range of topics thrown up by her work. Such topics include: comedy’s lowly status in the world of art and the joys and benefits that come with that; Hirota’s revolutionary grasp of timing and selling, and the value of novelty in pro wrestling’s crowded marketplace.
The GAEA and WAVE matches we discuss, plus many more besides, are available for viewing on this YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3LT4gJQbe_OYkJ6gjkb1FAnVcAA7wCQy
Please support the podcast on Patreon! Your pledge will be taken each time we put up new content and will go a long way towards ensuring a viable future for the show. LINK: https://patreon.com/apricotpod
damn son whered you find this
TWITTER:
Podcast -
@apricotpod
Luke -
@oystersearrings
Connor -
@isalrightnow
Tara -
@ae2501maeth
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High Speed Podcast comes to an end for now, with the examples of short matches, the different philosophies in those matches, and our own growth along the journey, all in our minds as we approach the thing which started all this: Gedo dot com.
This is as much an evaluation of our experiences with NJPW as it is about this match, a fitting wrap up of everything we've talked about up until this point. Whether you have been listening all this time, cherrypicking, or just stumbled onto this alone, we greatly appreciate your listening, and hope that you can continue listening as we move on to other projects, as well as SEASON 2 whenever the cards fall into place.
[chris dolman voice] balanschz boll, iz, nomber one!
Match link: https://rutube.ru/video/522551b7b11861d7ae554304cdc3fe29/
Connor's VK: vk.com/videos458416377
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
It's a bumper episode this week as we dig down deep into what we mean when we say "high speed", profile two modern-day wrestling geniuses in Natsuki☆Taiyo and Mio Momono, and discuss the long and winding path out of Meltzerism
Match link: https://rutube.ru/video/9791ad032ac0c1c15c8788975e168fff/
Connor's VK: vk.com/videos458416377
The end credits theme for this episode is "Scumbag (Link Up)" by Joe Germlin ft. Kiki Hitomi, selected for its resonance with Mio Momono's little goblin vibes. For more go to https://germlin.bandcamp.com/
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
After taking a look at Pro Wrestling NOAH in the midst of its prime a few weeks ago, this week we see what Misawa left behind as we visit 2002 All Japan.
Discussed: Sumo's relationship with fake s**t; Fuchi reading the newspaper; and of course, Wrestle & Romance
Match link: https://youtu.be/6ZOfYZ6DGmo
Connor's VK now with 50% more Ark: https://vk.com/videos458416377
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
HSWP returns to Pro Wrestling WAVE, a promotion at the dead centre of the current joshi puroresu ecosystem (if only they would let us watch it). Topics of conversation include:
❓Is it cool to get young kids into wrestling?
❓Why do Tsukushi's dropkicks look so good
❓What colour exactly is "orion blue"?
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWLpBBz83_c
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week, we talk about RINGS. RINGS talk means: Short history of pro wrestling; Raison d'etre of shoot style; Bati-bati cricket; Andrei Kopylov oppai.
UPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: www.indiegogo.com/projects/support…pricot-podcast#/
Match link: https://vk.com/video458416377_456240529
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This week on HSWP we make a pit-stop at 👀👀👀HYPER VISUAL FIGHTING ARSION👀👀👀, one of the earliest experimental attempts at breathing new life into joshi puroresu after the supernova of Big Egg Wrestling Universe, and a first business venture for one Hiroshi "Wee Rossy" Ogawa 🤠
SUPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: www.indiegogo.com/projects/support…pricot-podcast#/
Match link: https://vk.com/videos487517522?section=album_54&z=video487517522_456239303%2Fpl_487517522_54
Connor's other podcast: twitter.com/RottenEraPod
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
This week on HSWP we find Misawa and pals getting experimental on the King's Road and weigh up the Hauntological effects of early-'00s wrestling footage 👻👻👻
SUPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: www.indiegogo.com/projects/support…pricot-podcast#/
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSBS8aqs2g&feature=youtu.be
Connor's other podcast: twitter.com/RottenEraPod
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
🍎🔥🍎BURN RED LIKE AN APPLE🍎🔥🍎
The High Speed Wrestling Podcast returns with a rare look at a match from DAREJO, aka Daredemo Joshi Puroresu, aka Whomsoever Girls Pro Wrestling, aka the engine room of Gatoh Move's new era.
SUPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-the-miracle-apricot-podcast#/
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7mIYW0uqkQ
Connor's other podcast: twitter.com/RottenEraPod
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
As a promoter, a trainer, an in-ring worker and an all-round Pro Wrestling auteur, Emi Sakura has been a significant decision maker in the way that women's pro wrestling in Japan has shaped up since the collapse of AJW and GAEA in the mid-2000s.
Across two conversations, this episode attempts to get to grips with what the "Sakuraist" vision of pro wrestling looks like - what are the key tenets of her training regime, what is it that makes her matches tick, and why on earth is a repurposed dentist's waiting room the epicentre of it all?
Thank you to Akki, Darcy and Tara for their contributions to the episode, to Pumi for the timely uploads, and to Aina for the artwork
LINKS
Gatoh Move YouTube page: www.youtube.com/channel/UC2HtPsU4U7TNSv2mSbPkj0w
Indiegogo campaign - support the podcast by buying some beautiful stickers!: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-the-miracle-apricot-podcast/x/21890704#/
Derailments of Thought, a blog by Xyon McKell with reports & reviews of Gatoh Move / Darejyo / Ice Ribbon events: derailmentsofthought.com/
MUSIC
All music is taken from official Gatoh Move releases which are sold at shows - visit gatohmove.com/ for information on online sales
TWITTER:
Podcast - @apricotpod
Luke - @oystersearrings
Tara - @ae2501maeth
Akki - @baliyanxakki
Darcy - @darcystonepw
Pumi - @pumi_gtmv
Aina - @othergodiseven
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ∞-0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This week on the world's only pro wrestling podcast dedicated to matches under 10 minutes long, we review Goldberg v La Parka from the 1 June, 1998 episode of WCW Nitro, a 30 second match located at the crossroads of years of storytelling. We also chat about the undeniable appeal of the super rookie, and what people mean when they talk about "meme wrestlers"
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf_VIGKnRCs
Connor's other podcast: twitter.com/RottenEraPod
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
💨💨💨GOTTA GO FAST💨💨💨
Introducing a new sister podcast from the Miracle Apricot Podcast, dedicted exclusively to matches under 10 minutes long
For this first experimental episode, Luke is joined by Connor to discuss a landmark of high-speed joshi puroresu: Kaori Yoneyama and Yumi Ohka's 100-second match from Pro Wrestling WAVE's 2016 title tournament
HIGH SPEEDO! HIGH SPEEDO! HIGH SPEEDO!
Match link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBBCJ299dTs
Connor's other podcast: https://twitter.com/RottenEraPod
Get full access to Flupke’s Month in Wrestling at oystersearrings.substack.com/subscribe
In 2016 Maki Itoh made the jump from the idol group LinQ to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, an offshoot of the notoriously eccentric Japanese wrestling promotion DDT. Since then she's taught us more about the millennial condition than we ever imagined we'd learn from pro wrestling.
Join your hosts Luke and Tara as they chart Itoh's career progression from delusional egomaniac to more-or-less proper wrestler, and discuss a range of topics from the birth of the alt-Idol movement and mental health provision in Japanese high schools, to surviving 21st-century work culture and blocking running knee strikes with your head
Thank you to godiseven for the amazing artwork - check out more on twitter @ othergodiseven
Follow the show on twitter @ ApricotPod, and follow your hosts:
Luke - @ OystersEarrings
Tara -@ ae2501maeth
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