Puro Pourri Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Puro Pourri Podcast
Ever wanted to find out more about Japanese pro wrestling (puroresu) in all its variety and glory? Of course you have! Join Daniel, George and David for an irreverent look at the good, bad, ugly and bizarre of Japan's greatest cultural export.
A1:09:59 – David’s Puro Quiz1:41:38 – The 2025 Baby Boy Bono-chan Award1:59:09 – Year in Review2:41:02 – The Puro Pourri Podcast’s Hootenanny3:15:00 – Terry Riley’s Personal Collection Vol.8 – The Slam (c) vs. Ho Ho Lun (MKW Heavyweight Championship) (MKW Battle of the Decade, 25 May 2025)
In honour of this month's Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall, David and Statto are here to lift the lid on the fascinating world of the big lads, with the aid of sumo expert Sandy Williamson. In this one-off special, we explore the connections between sumo and pro wrestling - the spectacle, the kayfabe, the large men running into each other - talk about ex-sumo who excelled (or not) in the grappling game, and cover a few worked sumo bouts from WWE and WCW. If you're a wrestling fan who's ever been intrigued by sumo, consider this your friendly introduction!
After the false start of Episode 28, which is best summed up as a cruel and extended jape on our weary fanbase, the Puro Pourri Podcast boys are back to actually (genuinely, we promise this time) begin to dissect the storied careers of the Funks in Japan. We kick off by going back to the 1970s and comparing Dory and Terry's efforts in NWA title matches in that decade. Who will thrill us and who will bore us to tears? Gee, I fucking wonder.MATCHES:Jack Brisco (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr. (Two out of Three Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship) (AJPW New Year NWA Champion Series 1974, Day 5) (AJPW, 27 January 1974)Terry Funk (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (Two out of Three Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship) (AJPW New Year NWA Champion Series 1976, Day 17) (AJPW, 11 June 1976)
Ho ho ho, fuckers. Join Statto and David (and Daniel for a brief cameo recorded before he was detained by the authorities after someone actually listened to the 2022 Christmas Special and found out what he said about the Queen) to hoover up another line of festive cheer. This year we once again field the questions of our most deranged fans, review the best and worst of 2024 in the usual paltry detail, and Statto turns in his most shocking performance yet in the annual quiz. After that, we take another trip east to watch wrestlers from Japan and the Philippines fight for a Singaporean title in China, and decide once and for all who the ten defining wrestlers of the 1990s are (spoiler alert: there will be no Stone Cold or Goldberg, but there will be multiple wrestlers with negative star matches from the Observer to their name). Merry Christmas to our wonderful audience, and let's hope 2025 is less fucked.0:00:00 – Intro0:02:29 – Q&A1:24:27 – Year in Review2:05:51 – NJPW Christmas Quiz2:30:27 – Terry Riley’s Personal Collection Vol.7 – Yuki Kamifuku (c) vs. Crystal (SPW Queen of Asia Championship) (MKW, 14 September 2024)2:46:13 – The Baby Boy Bono-chan Awards, 1990-1999
It's 30 years since the monumental Big Egg Wrestling Universe show at the Tokyo Dome, so it's time for Statto, Sarah and David to do a little retrospective. In this special bonus episode, the trio look back at the show and their painstaking deep dive podcast about it, revisit the debate about whether a modern-day joshi show at the Dome is possible (short answer: yes, with an if; long answer: no, with a but), and talk about what they would like to see from a TV series about the event if it got the "Queen of Villains" treatment.
The crew have been off on their travels again, and that means it's time for another PPP Holiday Special! David and Statto are joined by returning guest Sarah Parkin for a rundown of their recent sojourns abroad. Find out what happened when David went to Las Vegas, risked it all (£80) with the high rollers and ate the worst fish and chips of his life, followed by Statto and Sarah recounting last month's trip to Japan, which included live shows from STARDOM, Marigold, Marvelous and Ice Ribbon, not to mention numerous other wrestling-related fun concerning such legends as Akira Hokuto, Riki Choshu, Minoru Suzuki and checks notes Bad Dude Tito.
After a hiatus that has been described as "extended even for us", the PPP is back! David and Statto are here to kick off a new multi-part series looking at the impact on the Japanese pro wrestling industry of possibly the greatest grappling dynasty of all time: the Funks!
It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid. At Christmas time, we let in the most demented wrestling audio of 2023. The PPP boys are here to bring you a solid hit of black tar festive cheer, as we answer your fan questions, look back on the last twelve months, pay tribute to one of the greats, once again lay bare our complete lack of contemporary puro knowledge in our Christmas quiz, see what Jolly Old Terry Riley has in his sack for us this year, and embark upon the mammoth task of trying to pick a defining wrestler for every year of the 21st century to date. Find out what happened when a bagpipe-bothering war criminal walked into Big Vince Baker's workplace, remember the general existence of Dan "I've seen some things" Moloney, and discover the answer to the question, "Just how racist is WWE nowadays?" Merry Christmas, one and all.0:00:00 – Intro0:05:56 – Q&A1:25:15 – Year in Review2:09:53 – Antonio Inoki: A Tribute2:20:11 – Christmas Puro Quiz2:42:15 – Terry Riley’s Personal Collection Vol.6 – Xia Li vs. Karen Q (WWE, 19 September 2018)2:58:38 – The Baby Boy Bono-chan Awards, 2000-2023
The long-awaited sequel to our most self-indulgent and mystifyingly well-liked episode ever is finally here! Statto and Sarah talk about their recent trip to Japan, where they took in live shows by Prominence, DIANA, Gatoh Move and TJPW. Hear how Sarah was so eager to meet one of her heroes that she spent £35 on a towel, Statto accidentally told Chie Koishikawa that he and Sarah were husband and wife, what happened when two of their friends who had never been to live wrestling before were exposed to a Suzu Suzuki vs. Jun Kasai deathmatch. As a special bonus, David tells of his time at the Granddaddy of Them All (the Eurovision Song Contest).
(NOTE: This episode was recorded in May so there are some dated references. Shocking, I know.)
The Big Egg has hatched. In the final episode of Big Egg Podcasting Universe David, Sarah and George reflect on the legacy and influence of the biggest women’s wrestling show ever and ask whether it could ever happen again. And because we had to make it weird, each host and some very committed listeners share their own dream match card for a Big Egg 2 (Big Egg Harder? Bigger Egg? Big Egger?) Never has a wrestling show seemed quite so unhinged, and think of the ground that covers.Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: https://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-15-show-notes
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/MATCHESMatch 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/MATCHESMatch 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/MATCHESMatch 14: Yumiko Hotta vs. Combat ToyodaMatch 15: Akira Hokuto vs. Eagle Sawai
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 – Intro0:06:09 – Q&A0:48:23 – Year in Review1:42:24 – Festive Content2:18:01 – 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: 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.
Ho ho ho and a bottle of eggnog, and welcome to the PPP's annual festive extravaganza! Warm your toes by the fire as the boys once again answer your questions, Statto and David give the Faroe Islands Tourist Board the most comprehensive free advertising they will ever get, some more gasoline is poured on the embers of BritWres, puro-themed Christmas crackers are designed in a task even Alan Sugar would deem too asinine, and our intrepid threesome take another trip to the Chinese wrestling scene and the fabulous wares of Mr. Terry Riley.
0:00:00 – Intro 0:03:43 – Q&A 0:44:38 – George and David’s Faroese Adventure 1:29:15 – Year in Review 2:29:23 – Christmas Crackers 2:39:33 – Terry Riley’s Personal Collection Vol.4 - Wong Tao vs. Steve the ESL Teacher (MKW, 21 July 2021)
Children are deadly creatures that should be avoided at all costs. This, we feel, is the key lesson from our latest episode, in which we look at the history of junior championships. Candy Okutsu and Rie Tamada lead Sarah, David and George to discussing their favourite violent joshi children, the endless potential of exciting rookies, and you’d better believe we shoehorned Lulu Pencil in there somewhere.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-10-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 3: Candy Okutsu (c) vs. Rie Tamada (AJW Junior Championship) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maaRHFvuQoQ)
здороваться, comrades! Those PPP boys are back with the first of a new multi-part series. In this episode we look at how a slew of Soviet amateur wrestlers ended up working New Japan's inaugural Tokyo Dome show in 1989: a group of men who paved the way for future grapplers from what would soon become the former USSR to make their mark in puro. Let David and Statto (Daniel being laid low with a severe case of being too damn hot - in every sense) introduce you to the oldest-looking 28-year-olds in human history, adventures in communist e-fedding, Antonio Inoki's wild political career, Statto's second-favourite Salman, and a whole heap of terrifying suplexes from terrifying men.
MATCHES: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vladimir Berkovich (NJPW, 24 April 1989) Buzz Sawyer vs. Victor Zangiev (NJPW, 24 April 1989) Shinya Hashimoto vs. Victor Zangiev (NJPW, 24 April 1989) Masa Saito vs. Wakha Eveloev (NJPW, 24 April 1989) Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Salman Hashimikov (NJPW, 24 April 1989) Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Shota Chochishvili (WWF World Martial Arts Championship) (NJPW, 24 April 1989)
Vincent Kennedy McMahon gets everywhere. Returning hero Bull Nakano and America’s sweetheart Alundra Blayze squared off for the WWF Women’s Championship in one of Big Egg Wrestling Universe’s more spectacular matches. David, Sarah and George take a look in the context of a broader feud that played out in multiple promotions on two continents for nearly two years, and unpack the longer history of working agreements between AJW and the big American promotions. Come for the in-depth discussions of talent development and lazy booking; stay for pissed Cyndi Lauper, protracted rants about serial division-killer The Not So Fabulous Moolah, the Battle of the Bikes and our newest character, Crinkle Netherlands.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-9-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 22: Alundra Blayze (c) vs. Bull Nakano (WWF Women’s Championship) (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50ut8a)
Zoë Boyd is back to help Sarah, George and David get to grips with the last two shoot fights from Big Egg Wrestling Universe. Listen for Japanese TV networks cancelling kickboxing for the sake of national pride, a desperate attempt to figure out what the hell is going on in shootboxing, and Anderson Silva’s “sock full of paté”.
We don’t really get the scoring system either, so check out links to the rules and other related fights in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-8-show-notes/
MATCHES Match 5: Kumiko Maekawa vs. Sugar Miyuki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlzKe2RZqwE) Match 8: Kaoru Ito vs. Fumiko Ishimoto (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EkJxouIhu4)
Sarah, David and George are back to pick up where we left off examining Big Egg Wrestling Universe, with special guest martial arts fan Zoë Boyd. While you might think the title of this episode describes our approach to podcasting in general, it’s actually a tribute to one of the odder aspects of the Big Egg card - showcasing amateur wrestling in all its grapply glory. Listen for the bonkers story of the Yamamoto family, how shoot fighting became so wrapped up with pro wrestling in Japan, and the immortal question: “Look, Zoë… is this good?”
Find out about the Yamamoto and Hamaguchi families and try to work out how the scoring works in the show notes: http://imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-7-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 6: Kyoko Hamaguchi vs. Doris Blind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM8856bIags) Match 7: Miyuu Yamamoto vs. Anna Gomis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMEVsSY4hkk) Exhibition Match: Meghna Singh vs. Nidhi Gurnani (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbzBB--LijQ)
David and George are joined by comrade Luke Healey to do the now traditional rundown of the big January 4th show we all know and love. It's the biggest day in the puro calendar, so sit back, relax as the guys give their views on a truly momentous event for everyone concerned.
Coming in too late for Christmas but just in time for Epiphany (that's what we get for sending it via Hermes), it's the belated 2020 PPP festive extravaganza! Join Daniel, David and a mojito-guzzling Statto as they answer fan questions, play some fun and now very much unseasonal Christmas games, take another trip to the wonderful world of Chinese wrestling, and try to inject some joy into our plague-infested world. Ho ho fucking ho.
CN: We do talk about some pretty heavy stuff in the year in review section (starting 1:14:00), as you can probably imagine, so do bear this in mind, and feel free to skip right past it if you like.
0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:00 - Update on the Nebraska Fanbase 0:11:03 - Q&A 1:14:00 - Why Wrestling's Been Hard to Watch This Year 2:01:10 - What's Made Us Happy in 2020 2:24:15 - Puro Christmas Films 2:41:28 - Terry Riley's Personal Collection Vol.3 – Hong Wan (c) vs. Big Sam (MKW World Championship) (MKW Shenzhen Showcase, 16 December 2017) 3:13:47 - Puro Christmas Songs
Welcome, one and all, to the Puro Pourri Podcast Black Friday Special - midnight opening, everything must go, and we have a limited time-only 3-for-2 deal on obscure Scottish football tangents. Join the lads for a look back at a 1995 show called Kendo Nagasaki's (no, not that one) Vale Tudo in Shotengai, in which the Big Japan roster do their bit for local businesses by wrecking several of their premises. Marvel as five bona fide MMA legends do battle using various produce including avocados, watermelons, multiple species of fish, and a liberal amount of Dr. K. Angle's finest bald cream, and click your teeth in bemusement as Statto makes the bold claim that having a Pepsi machine tipped on you wouldn't hurt that much. Because David Forrest is involved, there are, of course, copious Supermarket Sweep references. RIP Dale Winton, you were a real one.
MATCHES: Kendo Nagasaki vs. Bruiser Okamoto vs. Seiji Yamakawa vs. Yosuke Kobayashi vs. Yuichi Taniguchi (Grocery Store Deathmatch) (BJW, 1 July 1995)
If you’re calling yourself Cuty Suzuki, you’d better be adorable as hell. Fortunately, she was, and a star was born. Joshi wrestlers have been developing ‘idol’ personas to cultivate their following for decades, and pro wrestling uses all sorts of other pop culture to build mainstream appeal. Episode 6 sees David, George and Sarah try to figure out what went on with Blizzard Yuki - AJW’s attempt to break into anime crossovers - and filter out creepy commenters to get to grips with the designated ‘Idol Match’ at Big Egg. We’ve pulled together the details so you don’t have to trawl through the internet sleaze that we did. Enjoy.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-6-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 13: Mariko Yoshida vs. Blizzard Yuki (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO0R_olDvyo) Match 18: Hikari Fukuoka and Megumi Kudo vs. Cuty Suzuki and Takako Inoue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0NwBivWZb4)
In another edition of Match Microscope, the boys finally get to talking about the contest that is, in a roundabout way, responsible for the podcast's very existence (in that Statto and an extremely steaming Daniel bonded over it at a RevPro show back in 2015). Anti-Aging Hero Yuji Nagata takes on Akira Taue, "the ultimate mobile tree man" (copyright David Forrest), in a match where the honour of Pro Wrestling NOAH is on the line to an even greater extent, if such a thing is possible, than the Kevin Mask vs. Mr. Christmas bout we reviewed in our first Christmas Special. And as an added bonus, there's a treat for all you quiz fans as Daniel and David once again pit their wits against each other - with varying degrees of success - as Statto challenges them to name as many wrestlers as possible who featured on NOAH's first-ever show.
Matches: Yuji Nagata vs. Akira Taue (NOAH, 6 June 2003)
The Shoot. The Incident. The Split. If you love drama as much as we do, welcome to the episode where David, George and Sarah finally cover the messy history of Jackie Sato, Shinobu Kandori and the birth of LLPW from JWP. We also get to rave about some of the most violent matches on the card at Big Egg Wrestling Universe and compare Kandori’s hair with Pat Butcher.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-5-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 10: Shinobu Kandori and Mikiko Futagami vs. Toshiyo Yamada and Tomoko Watanabe (https://youtu.be/ykz-LeJ6ZGg) Match 11: Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda (c) vs. Yasha Kurenai and Michiko Nagashima (UWA Women's Tag Team Championship) (https://youtu.be/N0Or5Gb5aT4)
Episode IV: A New Hope
A long time ago in a wrestling promotion far, far away, Chigusa Nagayo had to retire. She did not approve, and a few months before Big Egg Wrestling Universe she announced a company of her own that would eventually become the next big player in joshi. Welcome to GAEA, whose first few signees are in the early matches that David, Sarah and George are tackling in this episode. Plus bonus Chaparita Asari, and who doesn’t love a Sky Twister Press?
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-4-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 1: Chaparita ASARI and Bomber Hikaru vs. Hiromi Sugo and Hiromi Yagi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsalpoe5CGY) Match 4: Suzuka Minami vs. KAORU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y20opLWbi80)
You’ve been waiting for two whole episodes now; finally, some wrestling. We start our deep dive into every match at Big Egg Wrestling Universe with some of the biggest drawing stars in Japanese history - Chigusa Nagayo, Lioness Asuka and Jaguar Yokota were some of the biggest names of the 1980s, and they all made a comeback in November 1994. Meanwhile, David falls in love with a Bison. Enjoy.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-3-show-notes/
MATCHES
Match 9: Chigusa Nagayo vs. Reggie Bennett (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV_bppVFqxs) Match 12: Lioness Asuka and Yumi Ogura vs. Jaguar Yokota and Bison Kimura (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ef9bKT2t-M)
A show like Big Egg Wrestling Universe takes a lot of build-up and demands some pomp and ceremony, so here we are, with David, George and Sarah bringing the pomp as we talk about the opening ceremony. Like London 2012, but with less Brunel and more Bull Nakano.
Find our sources, match recommendations and more in the show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe-episode-2-show-notes/
Look everyone, it’s another wrestling podcast! Sarah Parkin joins George and David for a special limited series focusing on Big Egg Wrestling Universe, the legendary all-day joshi extravaganza from November 1994. This first instalment whizzes through the story of Japanese women’s wrestling and traces the Road To Big Egg, where more than 30,000 people went to a 10-hour show at the Tokyo Dome years before Wrestle Kingdom felt that long.
We’ll be putting links to watch the show online and lots of other lovely sources and info (and links for our shameless plugs) in our show notes: http://www.imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com/big-egg-podcasting-universe:-episode-1-show-notes/
Come one, come all and step right up to try your hand at the Puro Pourri Podcast's Big Puro Quiz. Join your fiendish quizmaster George "Statman's World" Thompson as he puts David and Daniel through their paces over five wild and wacky rounds. Give the old grey matter a workout worthy of the AJW dojo by playing along at home, or simply just listen along while the PPP Brains Trust wildly flail around for a wisp of a correct answer as they cast their minds back through the entirety of humankind's history to try and determine the year of Terry Funk's first retirement match, attempt to avoid picking the *3/4 match in a sea of ** efforts, match pro wrestlers to their often hilariously crap MMA records, forage their way through the AJPW Triple Crown title lineage, and much more besides! Stay safe, wear a mask and fuck the Tories.
Round 1: Home or Away (3:40) Round 2: Meltzer Minesweeper (27:08) Round 3: Ticket to PRIDE (52:20) Round 4: Play Your Belts Right (1:16:24) Round 5: I Know You Can Read My Thoughts, Boy (2:01:31)
In the first of what will hopefully be a long-running series of interviews with luminaries of the grappling scene, mat maestro Daniel Makabe, in a chat recorded just before this year's Wrestlemania weekend, takes us through a hand-picked mixtape of his favourite puro matches, and tells us how they influenced his career and his thinking. With a diverse array of wrestling styles covered, it's a wide-ranging discussion that was an absolute blast to record, and the tangents on punk and football are very much in keeping with the PPP ethos. We learned a lot, and are sure you will too.
MATCHES: 4:29 - Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Kantaro Hoshino and Umanosuke Ueda vs. Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido and Kazuo Yamazaki (NJPW, 26 March 1986) - dailymotion.com/video/x60ilzd 27:53 - Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW, 2 April 1993) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrSQyoEfAvQ 44:03 - Atsushi Onita, Katsutoshi Niiyama and Mr. Gannosuke vs. Mr. Pogo, Hideki Hosaka and The Gladiator (FMW, 25 September 1994) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDvvTsuQufw 1:06:51 - Shinjiro Otani (c) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship) (NJPW, 17 June 1996) - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x760nmb 1:17:56 - Mitsuharau Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW, 6 December 1996) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1KJ102doqE 1:29:50 - Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS, 22 January 1997) - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wvyj0 1:46:11 - CIMA, Curry Man and Super Boy vs. Minoru Fujita, Jody Fleisch and Shiryu II (Michinoku Pro, 21 December 1999) - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe1n8b 2:17:31 - Minoru Tanaka (c) vs. Takehiro Murahama (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship) (NJPW, 20 April 2001) - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ozmrr 2:28:15 - Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Futen, 24 April 2005) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRLkhX_yMs
George, Daniel (at least for the first half before having to attend to his new cats) and David turn their keen yet jaundiced eyes to WWE's annual extravaganza of grappling, glitz and godawful booking in the Triple P's Wrestlemania 36 special. It's a dizzying spiral of boneyards and bollocks as the lads debate who did more to earn a tag title shot out of Austin Theory and the 10-year-old boy who teamed with Braun Strowman, discuss the suspicious resemblance of certain Megadeth songs to certain Metallica songs, and consider who or what a "Gronk" is. We realise this isn't the content you come to us for, but you're probably on lockdown - what else are you going to do with your time?
In these tough times, the good old Triple P is stepping up to the penalty spot, ready to ripple the back of your net with a Julian Dicks-style volley of content over the coming weeks. First up on the docket is an unreleased pilot from David’s in-stasis project Purotrash with Grand Exalted Viceroy of Channel Islands World Wrestling, Patrick W Reed (@Patrick_W_Reed). David and Patrick dive headfirst into the bizarre world of wrestling on Eurosport from the late 1980s and 1990s, taking in Croatia’s greatest export that’s not named Davor Suker or Cro Cop, distorted Dutch pornography, and the bizarre apartheid sympathising of one Orig Williams. Recorded on 5 April 2019, sit back, pop your earbuds in, lie back and transport yourself to a world where you can buy any type of rice you want, and have friends round to watch all those Collective shows you spunked an entire capital portfolio of ill-gotten FITE TV credits on. Stay safe, and uphold Inokiism.
Matches: Owen Hart vs. Colonel Brody Mile Zrno vs. Fit Finlay
Join your host David Forrest for some highbrow literary chat as he introduces his guest George Twigg (who is in no way related to George Thompson of this podcast) to discuss his novel "The Rise and Fall of Rikidozan". In this, interview recorded last year and released now in its entirety for the first time, the author gives some insight into his creative process and influences and answers Twitter questions such as "Why on earth did you do this?" and "Seriously, why did you do this?", drawing the listener into the dark and fascinating world of the birth of Japanese professional wrestling and its leading light, Rikidozan.
WARNING: Contains spoilers for "The Rise and Fall of Rikidozan", which can be bought at this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Fall-Rikidozan-Seventeen-Matches/dp/1072900645
Coming to you with spicy, topical takes hot off the griddle, David, Daniel and George navigate a course through the biggest event - or, in this case, two events - in the Japanese wrestling calendar, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14. In this special edition, recorded as soon as the shows finished and released, of course, within a matter of days, the hosts discuss their inexplicable popularity in the great state of Nebraska, whether there's a correlation between the quality of a Young Lion's dropkick and their hunkiness, and consider the fine line between genius and sheer boredom in relation to the exact same matches you'd assume. Featuring bonus discussion of Pro Wrestling EVE's Wrestle Queendom 3 and the cinematic spectacular "My Dad is a Heel Wrestler" (starring New Japan's very own Hiroshi Tanahashi!), this is all you could wish for in a rundown of one of late February's cultural landmarks.
NOTE: Daniel's sound is fairly fucked up for the first half of this. Still, at least he's audible.
After a Christmas hiatus and many group counselling sessions after the general election, the guys are back with the concluding part of their look at Japanese wrestlers in the UK. This episode moves from the World of Sport era into the 21st century, as David, Daniel and Statto rake over Mitsuharu Misawa's grand tour of Britain (Carluke and Coventry), agree that what seemed cutting-edge in 2015 might have lost its lustre in 2020 - Ed Miliband, for example - and try to wring a few drops more juice from the shaft of the "Is BritWres dead?" debate. Apologies for the length of time it's taken between Parts 1 and 2, Alex Shane paid the guy delivering our new mics not to show up.
Matches: Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa and Tiger Emperor vs. Doug Williams, 2 Cold Scorpio and James Tighe (TWC, 19 March 2005) Kyle O’Reilly vs. KUSHIDA (RevPro, 2 October 2015) Kay Lee Ray vs. Emi Sakura (Pro Wrestling EVE, 13 October 2018)
The podcast equivalent of a lump of coal in your stocking, the 2019 Puro Pourri Podcast Christmas Special is here. Join the lads for a thorough (and surprisingly sober, in inebriation if not in content) look at the past year's wrestling around the world, as well as a Q&A of wild and wonderful questions from our lovely fans and a discussion of which puro wrestlers most closely mirror the properties of notable festive foodstuffs, so if you've ever wanted to know why Captain New Japan is the cranberry sauce of wrestling, now's the time. It's done, it's massive (though still half the length of your average Lapsed Fan episode), and it's in your lives forever. As always, we are deeply sorry.
0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:15 - Q&A 1:30:52 - 2019 in Review (USA) 2:05:55 - 2019 in Review (UK) 2:16:27 - 2019 in Review (Japan) 3:20:55 - Christmas Dinner
In this special bonus episode, George and David discuss last month's respective trips to New York and Tokyo, and recount the many wrestling shows they took in while abroad. Join your guides on an open-top bus tour that takes in Statto's incredibly unwise decision to go from JFK Airport straight to a Smackdown taping, lucha libre at MSG, David's ventures into Dragon Gate, Gatoh Move and a weird indie show whose crowd seemed to be comprised mostly of Shinjuku pimps, also stopping at an experimental jazz club, two baseball stadiums, a hardcore gig in an office building, the Ribera Steakhouse, Toshiaki Kawada's ramen joint and something called the Godzilla Hotel. Roll out your beach towel, rub on some Factor 30 and bury yourself up to your neck in the warm, inviting sand that is the Puro Pourri Podcast.
Greetings grapple fans! In this episode, David and George (sans Daniel, who is off crowdfunding for his proposed 50-foot statue of Nicky Weaver) take a hiatus from the Match Microscope series to bring the first in a special two-part look at Japanese wrestlers in British wrestling. This edition covers three matches from the World of Sport era, in which future legends of puro, most of whom are billed as distant cousins of the very much not-Japanese Bruce Lee, tie it up with BritWres mainstays. Along the way we'll take in Giant Haystacks height truthers, debate the most prestigious shit trophy in wrestling, quote commentator Kent Walton several hundred times, and then Statto will reference Jonathan Swift for some reason. Prepare your respective souls to accept the gospel according to the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Sammy Lee (Satoru Sayama) vs. Sid Cooper (Joint Promotions, 11 October 1980) Kwik Kick Lee (Akira Maeda) vs. Giant Haystacks (Joint Promotions, 19 January 1983) Fuji Yamada (Jushin Liger) (c) vs. Mark Rocco (World Heavy-Middleweight Championship) (All-Star Wrestling, 13 June 1987)
Join David and Statto for a special episode commemorating the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time; the peerless pacing, the titanic strikes, the huge bumps, all of it. It's 06/03/94, what else can you say?
The boys are back for the first in a trio of Match Microscope episodes, our (relatively) quick and snappy deep dives into famous puro matches. First up, we discuss the legendary 1984 NWA title match between horse-faced hunk Kerry Von Erich and notorious country music mogul "Colonel" Jumbo Tsuruta, which sees Daniel, David and Statto cover a horrendously brutal dissection of a human hand, what makes a great 2 out of 3 falls match, and somehow mention NWA Presidents Bruce Tharpe and Billy Corgan but not Sam Muchnick. Please clap.
NOTE: Owing to an uncharacteristically efficient, and non-digressive recording process, we are unable to bring you the usual array of random shite following the closing theme. All we have instead is the discussion of fantasy literature that Statto and Daniel had while David was taking a slash. Enjoy!
Matches: Kerry Von Erich (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (NWA World Heavyweight Championship) (AJPW, 22 May 1984)
Join Superstar DJ Rex Haberdasher (definitely not Statto doing a bad 1950s American accent) for a rundown of ten of the best CD singles ever released by pro wrestlers working in Japan. From J-Pop on acid to an Elvis cover to an MMA star's dope flows to about half a dozen songs that sound like 70s cop show themes, and a weirdly high amount of synth xylophone, feast your ears as Finnish metal covers of joshi songs are proposed, Axl Rose is dunked on (the only man who arrives later than this podcast's episodes), the hosts literally talk bollocks, and much more besides. It's the Puro Pourri Podcast Pick of the Puro Pops, and that good ol' sextuple P is welcoming you in.
Songs: 10. The Beauty Pair - Kakemeguru Seishun 9. Jumbo Tsuruta - Don't Say Goodbye 8. Crush Gals - Shoshin Boy 7. Atsushi Onita - XYZ 6. Tiger Mask - Can't Help Falling In Love With You 5. Devil Masami - As Long As The Devil Lives 4. Jumping Bomb Angels - Stand In The Shadows 3. Terry Funk - We Hate School 2. Yuka Sakazaki - I Can Fly 1. Bob Sapp - Sapp Time
The tea is not so much cold as absolute zero, but you don't listen to this podcast for the timeliness of the things we cover, do you? And if you do, we really hope you at least got something out of that episode where we reviewed Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson. Join George, Daniel and David as they spit their vitriol and spurt their sweet balm of praise over NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13, in which David very nearly manages to produce an ASMR that consists entirely of exasperated sighs over Gedo's booking, KUSHIDA departs for the States and leaves us with the biggest dose of nightmare fuel since Hieronymus Bosch's last LSD trip, and Chris Jericho's transformation into yer da reaches what is hopefully its final form. Kick back, listen in, fuck Graham Linehan.
NOTE: At present this is a rough cut of the audio, a refined version will be going live within the next few days. Listen at your own risk! (Although we could say that about any of our episodes to be honest.)
It's the most wonderful time of the year, the ladgter is very much in the offing, and it's time once again for the Puro Pourri Podcast to celebrate Christmas is the only way they know how; by getting slightly fucked up and talking random shite. This year we bring you a Q&A with questions provided by our lovely fans, a medium dive into the wonderful world of Chinese wrestling (thanks go to friend of the podcast Terry Riley), and the age-old question is finally answered; which puro wrestlers would we have over for Christmas dinner, and who would cook it? So there it is, the second-ever Puro Pourri Podcast Christmas Special, the Lynx Africa gift set of podcast eps. You didn't want it, but you've got it.
When a Michinoku Pro match involving The Undertaker isn't even the weirdest thing covered in an episode, you know we're in for some fun. The hosts conclude their side-eyed look at Hulkamania-era WWF wrestlers in Japan with a vast smorgasbord of delights including Hacksaw Jim Duggan embarking upon the worst reading of an audience since Michael Richards in 2006, Hulk Hogan proving that he can wrestle but just chooses not to, which AJW wrestler does the best ASMR videos, and a friend of the podcast's one-person guerrilla campaign against racist old snooker-pocket-botherer Jim Davidson. And just to confirm, yes, we're as surprised we've pushed out two episodes within the space of a month as you are.
Matches: Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara and Ultimo Dragon vs. Jerry Estrada, Kamala and Hacksaw Jim Duggan (SWS, 16 June 1992) Hulk Hogan vs. The Great Muta (NJPW, 3 May 1993) Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Jushin Liger (NJPW, 17 July 1996) The Undertaker vs. Hakushi (Michinoku Pro, 10 October 1997)
It's about to come crashing down, and by gum I believe it's about to hurt inside. In the first of a two-parter, the hosts finally leave PRIDE behind and dive into an underappreciated but very interesting aspect of the Hulkamania era - what its biggest stars were getting up to in Japan. Just like his best friend's wife, you'll have to wait for the Hulkster to come, but in the meantime we've got four matches for your delectation, and along the way David, Daniel and George talk about the most hung man in European wrestling, call about a dozen things fash, and slaughter a particular sacred cow so thoroughly PETA's put a bounty on their heads. Tuck your chin, chill out, and listen in to that Good Ol' Triple P.
Matches: Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW, 23 September 1981) Jaguar Yokota (c) vs. Wendi Richter (WWWA Championship) (AJW, 5 October 1982) Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask II (WWF/AJPW/NJPW, 13 April 1990) The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Ted DiBiase (WWF Championship) (WWF/AJPW/NJPW, 13 April 1990)
The P to the P to the other P return with the third and final instalment of their PRIDE Fighting Championship retrospective! Daniel, George and David have for your delectation another tranche of fights that combines the equal parts classic brutality and shitty nonsense that characterised Japan's greatest ever MMA promotion. Along the way we discuss the relative merits of violent combat sports and Jools Holland's Hootenanny as New Year's entertainments, which Brazilian MMA fighters would combine to make the best football team (complete with tactical discussions!), savour the sweet return of Podcast Spirit Animal Yoji Anjo, and end with an ill-advised musical number which Statto has been bound by penalty of Burning Hammer never to repeat. Enjoy, and tune in next time, when we'll actually discuss wrestling, honest...
Matches: Wanderlei Silva (26-3-1) vs. Quinton Jackson (21-4) (PRIDE FC, 31 October 2004) Yoji Anjo (0-4-1) vs. Ryan Gracie (4-2) (PRIDE FC, 31 December 2004) Mauricio Rua (9-1) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (11-1) (PRIDE FC, 26 June 2005) Bob Sapp (4-3) vs. Akebono (0-0) (K-1, 31 December 2003)
The half-time oranges have been eaten and the surreptitious shots of ephedrine plugged into their arse cheeks, and the boys are back for the second part of #FootballIsProWrestling. Hepped up on a combination of extreme tiredness (George), inebriation (Daniel) and just being Scottish (David), podcasting's greatest back three run their VAR-enhanced eyes over the most rigged football matches of all time, as well as the greatest moments and angles from the sport that may be known as football officially, but is also very much pro wrestling. It certainly has a better claim to be wrestling than 2002 TNA.
Fresh off the heels of our warmly-received Robot Wars special, that good ol' P-to-the-P-to-the-other-P brings you #FootballIsProWrestling, an irreverent look at exactly why the greatest sport in the world can be explained in terms of the greatest simulated sport. In this, the first part of two, we cover footballers who turned their hand to pro wrestling, footballers we reckon would have excelled in the squared circle if they'd chosen to follow that path, and the greatest promos in the history of football (yes, we do talk about THAT Kevin Keegan interview). If somehow the modern world isn't giving you a sufficiently large fix of the beautiful game, why not listen in, and find out what happens when the hosts' natural inclination to talk fitba is given free rein...?
Dan has internet again, so we're back with the long-awaited (shut up) second part of our PRIDE FC retrospective. Join George, Daniel and David for another dive into the legitimate businessman-fuelled madness that was the boom period in Japanese MMA. We've got it all; the world's greatest pub car park fight, the most brutal German suplex outside of mid-90s AJPW, a succulent Chinese meal, and the most convoluted April Fool ever to involve a fake letter from Kensuke Sasaki's lawyers. Get this down you, and bask in the warm glow of that good ol' Triple P.
Matches: Don Frye (14-1) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (0-2) (PRIDE FC, 23 June 2002) Mirko Cro Cop (5-0-2) vs. Igor Vovchanchyn (51-7) (PRIDE FC, 10 August 2003) Fedor Emelianenko (18-1) vs. Kevin Randleman (15-7) (PRIDE FC, 25 April 2004) Giant Silva (1-1) vs. Naoya Ogawa (6-0) (PRIDE FC, 20 June 2004)
With Daniel still fighting the greatest match of his career (against the internet providers of Madrid), Sarah Parkin joins George and David for a special look back at the career of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, the legendary Aja Kong. Featuring a diverse selection of matches from across her career ahead of her UK debut for Pro Wrestling EVE on 5 May 2018, we take a trip through stiff kicks, muscle-shredding holds, blood-soaked cage matches and, most terrifyingly of all, 1995 WWF, pausing only to gush about how Meiko Satomura is as lovely out of the ring as she is fearsome within it, and to vent about the moral abyss that is Jerry "Allegedly" Lawler. Enjoy, and who knows, maybe next time we'll finally get around to finishing our PRIDE run!
Matches: Bull Nakano (c) vs. Aja Kong (WWWA Championship) (AJW, 11 November 1990) Aja Kong vs. Chaparita ASARI (WWF, 14 November 1995) Aja Kong (c) vs. Meiko Satomura (AAAW Championship) (GAEA, 15 September 1999) Aja Kong (c) vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls World Championship) (Sendai Girls, 14 April 2017)
With one third of the podcast currently between flats, please find submitted for your delectation by David and George, to fill the gaping Triple P-shaped hole in your rich and fulfilling lives, a light and breezy look at Japan's biggest wrestling show of 2018, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12! Discover the secrets of the law offices of BRUCE THARPE DES, which New Japan wrestler's name can be sung to the tune of "Ebeneezer Goode" (hint: not Jado), and whether Hirooki Goto will ever inherit GotoCorp. Watch us quip, watch us nae nae.
Welcome, one and all, to the first ever Puro Pourri Podcast Christmas Special! Join your intrepid hosts, two of whom are royally hungover and one of whom is getting steadily more wasted on cheap wine in a misguided attempt at solidarity with his stricken brethren, and see how quickly you can guess which is which. In this cornucopia of Christmas cheer, Daniel, David and George shoot the breeze about anything and everything in their inaugural Q&A, tackling such thorny issues as time travel, the ethical dilemma of fancying someone who tried to have foreign aid money diverted to an illegal occupation army, and the best kinds of crisps. Then it's time for a feast of festive frolics, with quizzes, challenges, Christmas wishes and gift-giving. At some point the lads even review a wrestling match. You'll find little puro discussion in this episode, but if you're after good Christmas vibes and a healthy smattering of slightly inebriated fun, then look no further. God bless us, every one!
0:00:00 - How We're Spending Christmas 0:19:00 - Q&A 1:16:50 - WWE Trivial Pursuit 1:39:17 - Mr. Christmas vs. Kevin Mask (NOAH, 24 December 2011) 1:56:32 - The Queen's Speech 2:07:29 - Stardom Streamer Collection Olympics 2:32:47 - Christmas Wishes for 2018 3:02:37 - Secret Santa
And now for something completely different as, following hot on the heels of their series on the humiliation and eventual collapse of the shoot style promotion UWFI, George, David and Daniel cover what Nobuhiko Takada and friends did next; the MMA phenomenon that was PRIDE FC. In this first episode, the boys dip into the formation of the promotion, and review a few fights that really sum up the madness that was the early years of the company; a match where one competitor weighed nearly four times the other, an obvious fix, and a NINETY-minute classic. Along the way your hosts get into a rock legend's questionable political views, the legendary VHS known as Dickie Bird's Greatest Cricketers, and much more besides. Discussing MMA rather than wrestling isn't going to stop the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Emmanuel Yarbrough (1-1) vs. Daiju Takase (0-0) (PRIDE FC, 24 June 1998) Nobuhiko Takada (1-2) vs. Mark Coleman (6-3) (PRIDE FC, 29 April 1999) Kazushi Sakuraba (8-1-1) vs. Royce Gracie (12-0-1) (PRIDE FC, 1 May 2000)
The Puro Pourri Podcast presents something a little bit different, in the first of a series called #EverythingIsProWrestling. George and David are joined by Rob E. Harmlessly and Benjy (also the Hitman) from ACTIVATE! The Robot Wars Podcast, to discuss the many ways in which the UK TV series Robot Wars is pro wrestling in another form. Along the way we'll discuss robot fighting as a live spectacle, which wrestling commentators would be good in Jonathan Pearce's shoes, the greatest faces and heels among both robots and roboteers, the most hilariously brutal squash matches in Robot Wars, and finally settle the age-old debate regarding who would have won in a fight between Razer and Hypno-Disc. And plenty more, on a very special edition of the Puro Pourri Podcast!
(NOTE: If you are a regular listener to ACTIVATE! this podcast is quite a bit swearier than their usual fare. You have been warned!)
Join the hosts and, returning to the podcast, the TWO TIME! TWO TIME! Puro Pourri Podcast guest Sarah Parkin, as they conclude their look at All Japan Women's Wrestling's Budokan Hall Show in 1985. In this episode the team are privileged enough to bring you analysis, chat and gags about two of the greatest pro wrestling matches of the 80s, but the deep wisdom offered doesn't stop at wrestling, oh no, much as Sarah tried to make it. You'll hear the long-running and never-settled debate over whether Kevin Keegan would have been a better King of the Ring than Billy Gunn, learn the identity of Soundcloud's mystery buyer, and prepare yourself for a post-episode Easter Egg so abstruse that even George didn't understand what it was referencing. As always, enjoy!
Matches:
Devil Masami (c) vs. Chigusa Nagayo (AJW All-Pacific Championship) (AJW, 22 August 1985) Jaguar Yokota (c) vs. Lioness Asuka (WWWA Championship) (AJW, 22 August 1985)
The good ol' Triple P makes a welcome return to the world of women's wrestling, with Daniel, George and David joined by imaintainthedoublefootstompissilly.com's resident AJW expert Sarah to discuss one of the greatest wrestling shows of all time regardless of gender, AJW's Budokan Hall show from August 1985. In this, the first of a two-parter, Sarah gives us an alternative history of women's wrestling to that presented by WWE (playing the Deborah Lipstadt to Vince's David Irving), the hosts wax lyrical over brick shithouse/violent maniac/pinup/diet guru/bar owner/professional golfer Bull Nakano, throw shade at WWE some more, and get into one of the most chaotic tag team matches in the history of everything, plus all the hearty repartee you've come to expect from the Puro Pourri Podcast.
Matches:
Yukari Omori vs. Monster Ripper (AJW, 22 August 1985) The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki) vs. The Atrocious Alliance (Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano) (Two out of Three Falls Match) (AJW, 22 August 1985)
Our dive into a trio of notable puro matches concludes with the last of our trilogy. But will it be more Return of the King than Return of the Jedi? (It's the former.) George, Daniel and David present an in-depth look at one of the greatest displays of pro wrestling acrobatics you'll ever see, and along the way take in the genesis of Dragon Gate, class war, male pattern baldness and its role in wrestling psychology, and Daniel and George pit their wits against each other in another thinly veiled parody of a 90s British quiz show.
Matches:
Shin M2K (Dragon Kid, Masaaki Mochizuki and Kenichiro Arai) (c) vs. Crazy MAX (CIMA, Don Fujii and SUWA) vs. Do FIXER (Genki Horiguchi, Magnum TOKYO and Susumu Yokosuka) vs. Italian Connection (Condotti Shuji, Milano Connection A.T. and YOSSINO) (Four-Way Elimination Trios Match for the UWA World Trios Championship) (Toryumon, 30 August 2003)
Strap yourselves down and force your eyelids apart with cocktail sticks, as the boys are back with their second in a trilogy of in-depth looks at classic Japanese pro wrestling matches a little off the beaten track. This time around Daniel, David and George are hurtling back into the dim and distant past (the 1980s) to run the rule over a clash between two of the greatest technical wrestlers the Western world has ever produced. Along the way we'll take in exactly how the UK's most terrifying geezers were produced, which Japanese women's wrestling legend has a burning desire to visit Wigan, and revisit Daniel's love of Last of the Summer Wine in what is alarmingly not a first on this show.
Matches: Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (AJPW, 11 December 1980)
Join George, Daniel and David for the first in a new series called Match Microscope, in which our intrepid hosts tackle a single puro match in detail and tie it in with what it meant to Japanese pro wrestling at the time. Then, in Part 2, the guys welcome Jamie from Dramatic DDT for an expert interview about the DDT promotion, and try to unpick the full story of this most offbeat of promotions. Featuring George making the case for the most underrated high-flyer of his generation, the time a pork cutlet won a pro wrestling belt, the flamboyant enigma that is Danshoku Dino, and all the good cheer you've come to expect from the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. YOSHIHIKO (c)(KO-D Heavyweight Championship and DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship) (DDT, 25 October 2009)
The NJPW vs. UWFI saga marches to its heady climax as David, George and Daniel look at the death rattle in UWFI's dessicated throat. Marvel as Riki Choshu continues his Burial Tour '95-'96, a fat Elvis impersonator shows why he was the most badass action hero of all time, and the guys laugh at Yoji Anjo some more. They also somehow manage to mention a storyline where a sumo wrestler hatches out of an egg not once, but twice. A typical two hours' work from the Puro Pourri Podcast.
Matches: Riki Choshu vs. Masahito Kakihara (NJPW, 4 January 1996) Keiji Muto (c) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (IWGP Heavyweight Championship) (NJPW, 4 January 1996) Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto (IWGP Heavyweight Championship) (29 April 1996)
After our brief diversion into the strange and terrifying world of modern-day WWE, the boys are back on familiar terrain, though no less strange and terrifying. 1995 is solidly behind us as we move into what 1996 meant for the New Japan-UWFI feud, mourn the sad death of Yoji Anjo one more time, gush over one of the greatest wrestlers of all time (and talk about Antonio Inoki as well), and reference Takeshi's Castle even more than usual.
Matches: Yuji Nagata, Shinjiro Otani and Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiromitsu Kanehara and Kenichi Yamamoto (NJPW, 4 January 1996) Yoji Anjo vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki (NJPW, 4 January 1996) Antonio Inoki vs. Vader (NJPW, 4 January 1996)
The hosts conclude their look at the best Wrestlemania for at least twelve months. Between Daniel's impassioned defence of Roman Reigns, George's unaccountable love for Triple H and David's interior decorating, they take in fake wedding proposals, Love Actually, Bob Marley's disappointing children and, of course, when Pitbull will finally be given his long-sought green light.
With scorching cold takes fresh from the barrel, the Puro Pourri Podcast boys are here with a slight deviation from the norm, as they look at Wrestlemania 33. Along the way we take in Daniel's visceral hatred of Mojo Rawley, David's small part in getting Impact cancelled in the UK, and the time George got his ass handed to him by a grandmaster (a chess grandmaster, not Brian Lawler). Give these three the green light, cos they're ready to go.
After a difficult gestation involving lost audio, a re-recording and one of the presenters' dogs shitting everywhere mid-episode, George, Daniel and David are back with another look at the famous NJPW vs. UWFI feud from 1995-1996. Continuing their look at the October 1995 Tokyo Dome show, the hosts bemoan booking, laugh themselves into a stupor at one of the most hilariously one-sided squash matches of all time, reveal which British supermarket has a better opinion on Wrestle Kingdom 11 than other leading brands, and fantasy book Jushin Liger against one of the UK's leading Brexiteers. All this and more on the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Riki Choshu vs. Yoji Anjo (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Kensuke Sasaki vs. Masahito Kakihara (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tatsuo Nakano (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Keiji Muto (c) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (IWGP Heavyweight Championship) (NJPW, 9 October 1995)
Episode 4 sees the hosts begin their first story arc, as they start to explore one of the most famous and most controversial feuds in the history of puroresu - New Japan vs. UWFI. Join George, Daniel and David as they give you the lowdown on the history of shoot style and New Japan's dalliances with martial artists, get into Street Fighter and Nuts TV, and discuss how long they think they'd have lasted in the ring with Rickson Gracie. All this, and more, on the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Yuji Nagata and Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Kazushi Sakuraba and Hiromitsu Kanehara (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Shinjiro Otani vs. Kenichi Yamamoto (NJPW, 9 October 1995) Takashi Iizuka vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (NJPW, 9 October 1995)
Episode 3 sees the hosts looking at Daniel's first Japanese wrestling match, as they review one of the hardest-hitting fights you're ever likely to see outside of Friday night in Newcastle. On this episode we explore the answers to life's mysteries, such as: What is Dan's holy book and why does it have so many star ratings in its pages? Does the fact that George went to a school with a house cricket competition and an army cadet force explain his accent? Will the boys ever go more than one episode without reviewing a Kawada match? All this and more on the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada (NJPW, 9 October 2000)
In Episode 2 the hosts take their first trip into Japanese women's wrestling, and into the gory world of the deathmatch! How does the nature of a wrestling match change when you replace the ropes with barbed wire and rig them with explosives? (Answer: a lot) Which current WWE superstar is hard enough to drink undiluted double concentrate orange squash? What on earth is an unvoiced plosive? All this and more on the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Combat Toyoda (c) vs. Megumi Kudo (Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Independent Women's Wrestling Championship and the WWA Women's Championship) (FMW, 5 May 1996)
It begins...
In these first three episodes, the hosts each take it in turns to tell the story of how they got into Japanese wrestling, how they reacted to the first match they watched, and how it feels to rewatch it now. In Episode 1 it's George's turn, as we take a look back at a match often cited as the best in-ring wrestling contest of all time. Does it deserve the label? Which participant in the match would David have as his best man? Is human blood an appropriate ingredient for pasta sauce? All this and more on the Puro Pourri Podcast!
Matches: Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW World Tag Team Championship) (AJPW, 9 June 1995)