Let Me Tell You Something!

It's the end of an era on LMTYS as Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) watch and review their final Joshi wrestling match, as Manami Toyota makes her eighth and last appearance, facing off against heated rival Akira Hokuto, an important figure in the history of women's wrestling, but making her sole appearance on this series. The hatred is palpable and the wrestling is fought at a high intensity. Will it be enough for a full five stars, and what does this era of women's wrestling tell us about the modern context. Lorcan and Simon also ponder why this was the last match involving women to gain the perfect score from Meltzer, and how long we would have to wait until another one achieves this "feat" in the future.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the penultimate Joshi match as the mainstay of these matches, Manami Toyota, teams up with the less experience Sakie Hasegawa to take on the agressive, bullying sister tandem of Kyoko & Takao Inoue. Will Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) help Simon (@simoncross) see the error of his ways and guide him out of his MRA forums and finally address the existence of the gender pay gap? Listen to find out!lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the final match on this list that featured Misawa and Kobashi on the same team. This time they partner up with Satoru Asako to take on the Holy Demon Army and their new partner Tamon Honda. Will these two new additions be a gain or loss to proceedings? Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) are here to decide...lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The WWE Network archives served up a real treat recently with their uploading of footage from the inaugural Crockett Cup event in 1986, and that means that for the first time in over thirty years, people have been able to watch the full match between The Fantastics and The Sheepherders (a/k/a The Bushwhackers) that Dave Meltzer gave the full five-star rating. Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) return to the early days of their podcast series and provide a re-appraisal of the previous highlights they'd worked from with the original episode.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's another gender swap of the old David vs. Goliath story as five-star mainstay Manami Toyota faces off once again with the monstrous Aja Kong. Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) are here again to give the long-awaited oft-sought after but rarely heard from opinion of the straight white male.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the final tag team encounter to only include the Four Pillars of Heaven. Did they save the best till last? Let's see what Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) think...lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This one's an epic! Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) watch another Joshi match, and yet another one involving Manami Toyota, as she defends her recently won 3WA Singles Championship against Kyoko Inoue (another five-star veteran) over a long, long, loooong period of time. The debate that started with the recent 60-minute match involving the Four Pillars of Heaven of AJPW is continued here.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ringo gets his solo track! It's the final of the Champion Carnival, and everyone's favourite fourth banana gets his time to shine, as Akira Taue steps out of his role as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time to have his one and only singles match to gain a perfect score from Dave Meltzer. Is it warranted? Does Misawa carry him to it? Does anyone survive a Dondon to the outside from the apron? Find out by listening here as Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) answer those questions whilst posing and answering many more!lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for another debrief as we reach our half century of episodes. Some big matches have happened between matches 40 and 50. Will the list be affected? What's the alternative five-star match? Does blood actually make a difference in the quality of a match? Listen in and find out what answers Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) provide to these questions.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long before he was providing Monday Night Raw viewers with the popular People Power movement, John Laurainaitas was better known by his wrestling name of Johnny Ace, and probably lists among the most unlikely wrestlers to be involved in multiple five-star matches. Is that entirely because of the good company he keeps? Or does he actually manage to hold his own alongside the gaijin great "Dr. Death" Steve Williams against the ace All Japan native pair of Misawa & Kobashi? Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) are here to find out!lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's another tag collision involving All Japan's Four Pillars of Heaven as Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi battle once more with the Holy Demon Army of Kawada & Taue. Whilst they try to find new angles and nuances to add to their latest encounter, see if Simon (@simoncross) and Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) can do the same with their analysis.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's back to AAA as the mid-90s craze for Mexican wrestling was taking California by storm and led to a full PPV co-produced with WCW. This 2 out of 3 Falls Luchas de Apuestas bout was the highest rated and most fondly remembered match from that card. The ultimate rudo foreign heels of Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr put their hair on the line against beloved technicos El Hijo del Santo and Octagon under 2 out of 3 falls rules. But there are way more than three falls in this match! Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) are here to guide you through as soon as they can figure out for themselves everything that's going on.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) return to the joshi world as AJW puts on the biggest card in the promotion's history at the Tokyo Dome, with top face Toyota tries to reclaim the WWWA Singles championship from the monster Aja Kong.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) wait ages for one WWE match to make it on this list, and so soon after the first one we have a second! Bret Hart defends his WWF Championship against his younger brother Owen in one of the most highly-rated steel cage matches of all time. It's a contest of scrambles to the door and tussles at the top of the structure.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) encounter another match oft-cited when the Greatest of All Time is being debated. This time it's Misawa defending his AJPW Triple Crown against childhood friend Kawada, with Dangerous K desperate to claim both his first Triple Crown and his first singles victory over Misawa.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's another short mini-sode, unfortunately, as Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) have only a short portion of this latest Four Pillars of Heaven tussle to get the perfect score from Dave Meltzer. If you can a link to where we can find the full match then please let us know and we'll re-do this episode in the future.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) have to cover a lot of ground with this one, not all of it the most comfortable to discuss. If there was one set text of becoming a "smart" fan in the 90s, it was watching a VHS copy of the Super J Cup 1994. Will Simon be as impressed as Lorcan and his peers were with an event infamous for its match quality, building up to the crescendo that was the final, and the first New Japan match that Dave Meltzer had given five stars to since two years earlier.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perhaps the most important match in modern wrestling, Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) finally get to discuss a five-star match to come from the biggest promotion in wrestling history. It is also the first Ladder match to gain a five-star rating, and its influence as to what consitutes a wrestling match and the physical demands on wrestlers (as well as the desire to "steal the show") going forward. The match that probably cemented Shawn Michaels as a main-eventer going forward, and perhaps the biggest match that rarely ever talks about the contributions of one of the two wrestlers involved. Does 'The Bad Guy' deserve more credit? Listen to see if you agree with our assessments.lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) again assess the lay of the land forty matches into their project. Lists are revised and combined and finalised. Their alternative five-star match is only a couple of hours before the next official match, so that must have been one hell of a card! Finally, Lorcan and Simon address another quandry about why every women's wrestling match to gain five stars were from Japan, and when and how a match from outside of the Joshi tradition can achieve that rating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) have grown to love the All Japan six-man tag team main event. Will they love it as much when the promotion's owner Shohei 'Giant' Baba gets involved. It's fair to say that Baba's best days are behind him, and his pace of wrestling would be generously described if you were using the word "plodding".lmtyspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.