Puro Pourri Podcast

Ho ho, and, might I add, ho. It's once again time for the PPP boys to bestow a festive gift upon you, our lovely listeners. We kick off this year's special by answering some of the most unhinged fan questions we've ever received (and that is saying something!) before Statto pits his wits against David's quiz about who the current NJPW champions are, which goes about as well as it usually does. The...

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...

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 wi...

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 det...

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, w...

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 mo...

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 wh...

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 w...

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...

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, mat...

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...

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...

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...

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 c...

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...

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 le...

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 w...

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...

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...

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 some...

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 sev...

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 w...

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 t...