u/redizzy

TV Asahi did a 30-minute feature on G1 Climax 36 winner, Ryohei Oiwa.

It starts w/ a brief intro about Oiwa, then it goes into breaking down Oiwa's "Big Rock" from Oiwa himself and also some scientific explanation of why it's an effective move.

General notes in chronological order😅
* Oiwa biceps are 46cm (1.5 times an average Japanese male).
* Fans: "I like that he's earnest." "Each of his classic moves are cool." "He doesn't show his youth, in a good way."
* Oiwa's childhood dream was to be a professional baseball player, until he discovered pro wrestling in 9th grade. First impressionable match was "IWGP heavy title match between Kojima Satoshi and Tanahashi Hiroshi" (1.4.2011)

Tana: Four months is unusually fast (to debut). First, trainees need to build their body. I remember thinking, he was huge. His back muscles, which are necessary in wrestling, were big, but his chest muscles caught my eye.

Oiwa: I was told a month before my debut. I remember thinking, this fast? I wasn't worried. I was just filled with happiness.

* Stuff about headlocks - it's basics 101. it's a move you start with. but Oiwa made it his finisher.

Tana: I wouldn't have thought to use a headlock to force a tap out. (Oiwa) is shining through. It's revolutionary.

Tana: Yes, I came up with the cool name "Big Rock." English translation for Oiwa's name is Big Rock. I wanted to keep the sound of headlock, but wanted to allude to his name.

Oiwa: At first, I thought "a pun!?" But as I kept using it, I like it more and more.
I think the move itself is old. But I'm adding in original move sets. It's old and new. I think that sums it up.

As he's torturing Matsumoto: (when the opponent is down) I lift my bottom to add my entire weight to the headlock.

If an opponent tries to escape:
lift arm - it's about strength, so I can beat them.
try to throw - grip harder mid-air.
throw against rope - usually you let go from the momentum, but I won't let go and add my weight again.

(to be continued... 15 min mark)

I have outside-the-match stuff I wanted to talk about, so thought I'll start a thread.

Day 1 10/6/26
Match 1 - 10 man tag Hontai vs HOT
Match 2 - Yoh/Matsumoto vs Robbie X/Ishimori
Match 3 - Shota/Yano/Wato vs Narita/SSW/Dick Togo
Match 4 - Cobb/Nagai vs Callum/ZJ
Match 5 - Wolf/Hechicero/Yasuda vs Fujita/ZSJ/Robbie Eagles
Match 6 - Tsuji/Takagi vs Oiwa/Jackson
Main - IWGP Tag Team Title Match - KOB vs Henare/GOK

Day 2 10/7/26
Match 1 - Nakahara vs Hatazawa
Match 2 - Uemura/Taichi/Despy/Yasuda vs Sanda/Yujiro/Douki/Sho
Match 3 - Shota/Yano/Oleg/Wato vs Narita/SSW/Kanemaru/Dick Togo
Match 4 - Cobb/Yuto/Oskar/Takagi vs Callum/Henare/GOK/ZJ
Match 5 - Tsuji/Ales vs Oiwa/ZSJ
Match 6 - Wolf/Hechicero/Matsumoto vs Fujita/Robbie Eagles/Jackson
Main - IWGP Jr Heavy Title Match - Yoh vs Robbie X

We can probably throw in the non-televised shows from Komatsu and Niigata too? I hope someone makes a thread for KOPW (or repost from the bigger sub).

GOK uploaded a video about headlock on his YouTube channel (9/26/26).
Ko-Khan (Little Khan) said his dream is to perform at the Tokyo Dome. Little banter about Ko-Khan having a comedy show at the Tokyo Dome... then GOK shows how the headlock works.

I don't think GOK has any new insight about headlocks that you all haven't seen. But I do like GOK's confidence and demeanor on his YouTube channel. I wish more of this personality is shown in actual NJPW shows 😓

Around the 8:00 mark, GOK and Ko-Khan start talking about how prowrestling matches are about shaving away at the opponent's HP and some flashy moves require you to shave your HP in order to take down your opponent with a risk that your opponent will have 0 damage. GOK talks about it like a video game and it's kinda cute.

GOK also talks about little bit about wristlocks too.

This was streamed live on 8/28 on NJPW World.
Milano AT reviews all the moves of the G1 36 finals with Yuya Uemura.

I don't have the time to translate right now, but an interesting thing in the end.
Milano asks, "It didn't look like you tapped here."
Uemura says, "I was trying not to tap out, but I quietly said 'give (up)' unconsciously."

I thought it was the camera angle that didn't show the tap out, but he didn't tap after all.

There's also a little segment of Kushida's interview at the end, which is another video whole interview that's been uploaded.

Milano AT Deep Dive is having a FREE live stream of the G1 36 finals with Ryohei Oiwa on 10/5. So excited to see that one as well, although Oiwa speaks really nasal-y and is occasionally hard to hear 😅

I hope to add bits of translation later.

The 3 match show + Talk Show didn't stream on NJPW World, but they have a highlight reel up for free!

Tanahashi Talk Show
* He gained 15kg after retiring, vowing to lose 20kg by WK

Match 1: Makabe, Yano, Shota, Yasuda vs Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Gedo, Nagai
It's still scary Yano. Scary Yano and Oskar scuffle out of ring and disappear.
>!Shota def Nagai with a lariat.!<

From the JP recap
Post-match, >!Makabe attacks Yuto-Ice in the seating area.!<
>!KOB vs MVP match up is tonight at YTR produced Muroran show.!<

Match 2: Wolf, Uemura, Taichi vs Fujita, Oiwa, Jackson
I'm surprised Fujita has top billing on the TMDK side, when Oiwa is the G1 winner. Or were they matching up Wolf and Fujita, Yuya and Oiwa on the card? But then again, the order on the Hontai side seems weird, other than Wolf being the title holder.
>!Yuya def Big Jag with Lion's Shiner.!<

From the JP recap
Post-match, >!Taichi, Yuya & Wolf pass along the microphone for promo.!<
>!Taichi talks about being named Ishikari ambassador & promoted his "School Prowrestling" show on Oct 17. Yuya does his 3-2-1, Ossha call. Wolf closes out with his humor.!<

Match 3: Goto, Yoh, Yoshihashi, Matsumoto vs Tsuji, Ishimori, Takagi, Robbie X
(oops, didn't bother to watch this segment!)
>!Tsuji def Matsumoto with Fire Blaster.!<

Post-match, >!Tsuji thanks the crowd for coming to watch prowrestling.!<

Oiwa:
I'm not really thinking about my best record. Yesterday, I just wanted to get through the semis for Tenzan-san. But today, I want to win for me.

(about Uemura) He's a wrestler that I can do my ideal type of wrestling with. His technique is great, and I'm confident in mine. Whoever wins tonight will be king of that style. That's why I need to win tonight. Yesterday's match was for Tenzan-san, but today is the day I achieve my dream. Please cheer for me.

Uemura:
My feelings right now? I just gotta win.

(Honest feelings?) I've never won a title before. I want to win the G1 Climax and win my first title.

(About Oiwa) I think this card... the fact that we are going up against each other in the finals. It's going to be a pivotal match. I want to establish the New Standard, and hype up pro wrestling. I want to win it all. So three, two, one... Ossha!

Quick translation of the Tenzan impromptu Q&A session!

In commemoration of Tenzan's retirement on August 15, we asked things we never got to ask before! An impromptu 15 Questions and Answers during a car ride in Sapporo.

T: I'll answer any questions thrown at me.
OK, c'mon!

Q: Tenzan is known for his unique hairstyle. Why did you go for this hairstyle?

T: I started to grew my hair during my excursion.
I wanted to grow the back long like Riki Choshu and Kensuke Sasaki.
There's a barber I went to since I was a young lion, and asked him for advice on a hairstyle that would be different and have an impact. He suggested I dye this part, do that... so I had him try it. The barber's name is Maki. He's the one who came up with this hairstyle. It ended up being unconventional.

A. Tenzan gave barber Maki artistic freedom and this is how it turned out.

Q: Does Maki still cut your hair?
A. For almost 30 years.

T: Yes. He's about four years older than me. He said he's retiring soon. I asked him who's gonna do my hair? I want to keep this hairstyle even after I retire. I might keep this until the day I die. If I don't dye my hair and cut the back, I'm just an old man with a buzz cut. I won't stand out.

Q. Your favorite move?

T: Mongolian chop. Tombstone. Anaconda Vise too. And Tenzan Press.
It's a moonsault. I lost the Moonsault Ban match against Keiji Muto. But I'm still using it. I just changed the name to Tenzan Press. I have a lot of feelings for each of my moves. So it's hard to pick a favorite.

A. He can't pick his favorite.

Q: Which do you think the fans picked for your favorite move?

T: Mongolian?

A. Mongolian Chop

T: Fans started calling out, shoo shoo.
When I started it, I was a heel. I thought the fans were mocking me. So when they called, shoo, shoo. I would yell at them to shut up. I hated it at the time. But now, I'm happy that the fans say it.

Q: Why is the call, shoo?

T: Abdullah the Butcher, who I watched as a kid, he would make karate moves and he would make shuu sound, kind of like a breathing technique. I thought it was cool, and so I made it a part of my move. It was a feint and give them damage.

A. Saying shoo, shoo was a feint movement

T: I used it when I was on my excursion. And I would make the sound effect. Then the fans started saying it too. I don't have to say it anymore because the fans said it. It's really a feint now.

T: What was number two and three?
Anaconda Vise, huh? Tetsunosuke Daigo (Tenzan's mentor) helped me come up with the move, and Daigo named it that. Like an anaconda tightening a vise. Vise means to squeeze out. To squeeze out a prey like a snake. He gave it a great name.

T: What was number three?

*Tenzan keeps pushing

T: Ah, TTD! Tenzan Tombstone Driver. I haven't used it in a while, but when I used it, I held on to make sure my opponent couldn't counter. When it works, I'm able to hold them tight. I would do the Tombstone then a headbutt. Or Anaconda Vise. It was a key move of mine.

Q: Any wrestler with a head harder than yours?

T: I had a hard head since I was a young lion. Shinya Hashimoto would make me break a brick. "Not your hands, use your head." It was for a TV show, so I did it. The brick broke, but I had blood pouring out. That wasn't the trigger, but I started using the headbutt as my weapon. The person who I thought had a hard head was Scott Norton.

T: He's big. He had a body like a fridge. His face was bigger than mine too. He had a completely different frame as a foreigner. I headbutt him and it reverberated back and I was hurt. He looked fine. I couldn't beat him with a headbutt.

Staff: There was a move that took you out for a while. Hirooki Goto's move was named "Ushi Goroshi" because of it.

T: I didn't die, but I was half dead.

Q: How do you feel when you see "Ushi Goroshi"?

T: When I'm on commentary, and he does the move in front of me. I wonder why he doesn't change the name...lol

T: Hirooki has a lot of moves. He comes up with a lot of original moves. But I think he needs to change Ushi Goroshi. Tell him for me.

Q: Something you think about when developing a move?

T: The damage caused when doing the move. How much damage will it give the opponent, without causing damage to me. Something easy, in a way.

A. Opponent's damage >>>>> Damage to self

T: Something that gives my opponent damage, but easy on me. Something easy to understand. A move that looks like it hurts.

Q: Most intense moment as a wrestler?

T: I became a fan of wrestling seeing the first Tiger Mask. I was inspired by Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami. When I fought against Choshu and I thought I would die from his lariat.

A. A lariat from his idol, Riki Choshu

T: Being in the ring with your heroes is a dream come true. But when I took that lariat, I was happy but in pain and sad. I might lean on the masochist side. I like to receive pain.

A. He realized he might be a masochist.

Q: Craziest happening as a wrestler?

T: A lot of things happened in the ring and in personal lives. I screwed up when Koji went to All Japan and I was in New Japan, and we had a triple crown match. I was dehydrated at the end.

A. February 2002. Tenzan lost with 15 seconds on the clock due to dehydration

T: I came to in the locker room. I woke up not knowing what happened. I saw the video later. That was my biggest screw up.

Q: How are you at home?

T: I'm unwanted.

A. His wife is always mad

T: I always get scolded. My wife's never complimented me. She told me to work until I had blood coming out of my eyes. Do other wives say that? Then one day, I had retinal detachment. I almost had blood coming out of my eyes.

Q: First impression of Satoshi Kojima?

T: I joined the dojo first. And he joined about a year later. He was kind of chubby then. He was over 100kg. He looked like a walrus.

A. He looked like a walrus

T: He came from Hamaguchi Gym. Koji is good at impersonations. He would always make me laugh. I'm retiring first, but I want him to keep going.

Q: Kojima's best impersonation?

T: Sanshi Katsura, the rakugo artist.

A. Bunshi Katsura's (at the time, Sanshi Katsura) "Irasshai"

T: Koji's from Tokyo, but he would impersonate Sanshi from Kansai.

Q: Any arguments between TenKoji?

T: I don't think so.

A. No, but...

T: Maybe when he went to All Japan

A. When Kojima went to All Japan

T: I was in shock. We had a belt as TenKoji. I felt betrayed.

Q: When Kojima said the infamous "We are 1+1 making 200. We're 10 times stronger." What did you think?

T: We're pretty pumped up during post match comments. We just blurt out what we're feeling. I'm not really paying attention to what others are saying.

A. He wasn't paying attention

T: Koji made a calculation error. He was trying to say together we're more than 1+1. It's exponential. So he didn't make a mistake!

A. That line is "Proof of our additional strength"

T: We were still in our late 20s. We were fearless. Even in nWo Japan, we had nothing to be scared of in the ring. We said things that we didn't know what it meant.

T: Thank you for supporting me all these years.
I will be retiring on August 15 at Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
But I ask that you support me to the very end and give me your strength.
OK, c'mon!

Just to start the discussion, here is the card and results from last night.

Match 1: Yasuda/Boltin vs Kanemaru/Sanada
Kanemaru def Yasuda (figure four leg lock)

Match 2: Matsumoto/Goto vs Yano/Takeshita
Yano def Matsumoto (single leg crab hold)

Match 3: Gedo/Yuto ICE/Shingo vs JAY/GOK/Jake Lee
JAY def Gedo (Bites the Dust)

Match 4: Nagai/Tsuji vs Big Jag/Oiwa
Big J def Nagai (Death Valley Bomb)

Match 5: B Block - Drilla vs Oskar
Oskar with ref stoppage

Match 6: B Block - Zack vs Narita
Narita with single leg crab

Match 7: B Block - Callum vs Gabe
Callum with small package

Match 8: Uemura vs Wolf
Uemura with Lion's Shiner

Just a list of matches for now.

Match 1: Kojima/Yuya vs Nakahara/Yano
Match 2: Matsumoto/Wolf vs Gedo/Oskar
Match 3: JAY/Henare vs Togo/Narita
Match 4: Nagai/Drilla vs Zane Jay/Callum

A Block: Goto vs O-Khan
A Block: Jake Lee vs Sanada
A Block: Takeshita vs Boltin
A Block: Yuto-Ice vs Oiwa
A Block: Tsuji vs Shingo

It's been several days and no one posted a thread. So starting this one, and hopefully Night 6 will be started soon? I can finally stay up and watch the show live!

The main event (ZSJ vs Callum) is available to watch for free on NJPW World until 7/31.

Matsumoto/Goto vs JAY/O-Khan
Didn't watch this. I saw the highlight reel and don't know what direction O-Khan is going.

Zayne Jay/Jake Lee vs Kanemaru/Sanada
Sanada came out in his futuristic costume for his home prefecture. I remember the pre-heel days when he used to main event in Niigata. Also, Zayne... there is no need to speak in broken English to Jake.

Yano/Takeshita vs Yasuda/Boltin
Saw it but it went too quick and it's a blur.

Gedo/Ice vs Big Jag/Oiwa
I'm enjoying the story behind Ice and Oiwa. Per interviews and JP commentary, Ice says pro-wrestling is professional fist fighting, and Oiwa has a more artistic approach. I always thought Yuya had a similar aura as Tanahashi, but now I'm seeing Oiwa looking more like Tana. Could be the hair.

Nagai/Tsuji vs Ishimori/Takagi
Sorry, I skipped this match.

B Block: Wolf vs Gabe
I still think Gabe is a little over the top as a heel. That might just be my fondness for him from the LA Dojo days.

B Block: Oskar vs Henare
I wish Henare would stop yelling in the backstage interviews.

B Block: Yuya vs Drilla
I will keep telling myself that Yuya needs to struggle to win the G1. He will win this year.

B Block: ZSJ vs Callum
Zack is a delight to watch! I think the main camera missed it, but Callum held Zack's shorts during the roll up? I think they showed it in the highlight reel later. The highlight of this show was when Zack flashed his booty a bit when complaining to the referee. Oh Zack! Not in front of my husband!!