The Miracle Apricot Podcast
by Flupke
The Miracle Apricot Podcast: a quarterly podcast about pro wrestling, culture and social contextThe High Speed Wrestling Podcast: a bite-sized weekly show dedicated to wrestling matches under 10 minutes in length oystersearrings.substack.com
Episodes
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PLUM Episode 1: Total Divas Season 1 (ft. Flae Blazer)
PLUM is a spin-off of the Miracle Apricot Podcast that Connor decided to do during the High Speed Podcast’s break. While the last MAP covered the history of women’s wrestling in Japan, PLUM is looking at a part of history in American women’s wrestling, Total Divas. Flae Blazer, a long-time fan of...
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The Miracle Apricot Roundtable: Are We Entering the "Joshi Cool Zone"?
n.b. This recording was made a couple of weeks before the announcement that GAEA Japan’s 25th anniversary celebrations would once again be put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so take anything we say about that show here with that in mind. In addition, the all-female audience Tokyo Joshi Pro...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 25: IKEMEN VS ASHINO; "SICK" NICK MONDO VS HOMELESS JIMMY
Two matches. The first, a clash between a once-in-a-generation entertainer and one of the most underrated young Aces of the 21st century. The other, an explosive deathmatch in a rainy parking lot in Delaware, featuring a former Rhodes Scholar candidate who chose a life of self-abasement after a...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 24: QUITTIN' TIME ~ Seina vs. Hikari Minami
This episode is a special on retirements. Retirements — What’s with them!!! Listen to find out. Supplementary content discussed includes Salvation Ninja Ranmaru, the end of Pinano Pipipipi and the Rubber Man What Got Them Arms What Don’t Get Wrist Locked Too Good Intro: Dan Gibson - Thunderstorm…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 23: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ~ BROTHERSOFDESTRUCTION22
For our first ever Christmas special, we decided to just watch BrothersofDestruction22 videos. It’s good to do. Nostalgia and wonder is in the air as Luke experiences Darkside Rules and also Sunday Night Heat. Your mouth has written a check that your ass can’t cash. PLAYLIST TO WATCH ALONG WITH:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 22: Hana Kimura vs. Sumire Natsu
This time we watched Stardom. We looked at the good old days of Kagetsu being around, the scandalous antics of Natsu, what happens when you activate Natsu’s beast mode, plus a celebration of just how cool Hana Kimura was. its manjigatame time Intro: Dan Gibson - Thunderstorm in the Wilderness…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 21: Don Arakawa vs. Munenori Sawa
It's Big Mouth LOUD. It's two very silly men. It's Fujiwaraism at its finest. Join Connor and Luke as they profile Don Arakawa's rise through parody wrestling and New Japan dark matches to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight scene, the Tokyo Dome, and small-batch hipster craft wrestling of the mid-00s....
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 20: Matsumoto vs. Matsumoto vs. Matsumoto
It's time to get to talking about the place that coined the podcast namesake: NEO! And their New Years presentation of: The Matsumoto Triple Threat! Miyacoco, NWA titles, marriage angles, all and more talked about at length in here! Match link:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 19: Takakeisho vs. Tokushoryu
Hakkeyoi! This week the HSWP pays its first visit to Sumo, and to Tokushoryu's emotional victory against all the odds at the 2020 Hatsu Basho. Connor guides Luke through some basic questions about the sport (questions such as "why is Shōdai so boring?"), and Luke seizes the opportunity to wax...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 18: Yamashita vs. Takase/Ohata vs. Tsukushi
Now more than ever, Pro Wrestling WAVE is here for you. This week we have a double header featuring two matches both from the last ever show on the WAVE NETWORK. Did Big E have Miyuki Takase in mind when he said he loved beef? We explore this and more! Match links: https://youtu.be/YaizWfvr1Hg /...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 17: Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono
In these unprecedented times, Connor and Luke descend to the basement for a furtive look at the Fu-Ten Promotion, Daisuke Ikeda's low down and dirty follow-up to Battlarts. On the slate this week: mapping the puroresu undercommons, how to match presentation style to crowd size, and why people are...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 16: Natsumi Mizushima vs. Kana
This week, we go into an era that is oft-passed over, the "dark ages" of josh parrosu, as we look at a match from AtoZ's first anniversary featuring a previously-looked at wrestler in Kana as well as the entire reason for this podcast existing in the future Natsuki Taiyo. Find out what they used…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 15: Rush vs. Negro Casas
This week Connor and Luke wave a fond farewell to the CubsFan archive, consider how to grow old gracefully in the wrestling business, and wax lyrical over the raw match-escalating ability of "fundamental dickhead" Rush........en Arena México!! Match link:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 14: Asuka vs. Nia Jax
This week, the camera at Takeover cuts to, oh my, Indie legends Connor and Luke in the crowd!! What could this mean for the NXT title scene?? This is a discussion of a good match as well as an opportunity to talk about just what role WWE plays in all of our fandoms. Including all those fancy…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast WRESTLEMANIA 36 SPECIAL: Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WELCOME! TO WRESTLEMANIA! In this extra-special bonus episode Luke and Connor saddle up for the Showcase of the Immortals, discussing highlights and lessons learned from the past few weeks of weird empty-arena wrestling, heaping praise on the Boneyard Match and eventually getting round to…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 13: Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami
This week, Connor and Luke pay another visit to the weird and wonderful world of Shoot Style with a choice cut from FIGHTING DETECTIVES BATTLARTS. Discussed within: The value of character work in even the most "realistic" of presentations, the way in which the discursive value of a wrestler can…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 12: Manami Toyota v Akira Hokuto
This week sees a look at an unlikely candidate for this podcast: All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling! The legacy of this promotion, its changes in style, an examination of specifically Manami Toyota; Whether she is a good wrestler or a demon. All this and much more this week on At The Movies! Match...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 11: Ricky Marvin v Arez
This week sees our first trip to Mexico, and it's an occasion to reflect on the vexed subject of realism in pro wrestling. PLUS! We pay tribute to the art of crowd-work, learn a new slang term for "armchair socialist", and discuss why companies should be putting their top title on Yuki Miyazaki…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 10: Tsukasa Fujimoto v Tin Tin
REJOICE! SEASON 2 OF THE HIGH SPEED WRESTLING PODCAST IS HERE AT LAST! For this first episode back, Connor and Luke take a trip to Ice Ribbon, where adulterous rumblings are afoot...What are the secrets behind the Tokyo Sports 2018 Joshi Puroresu Grand Prix Award winner's mysterious rendez-vous...
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Comedy Wrestling: The Kyuusei Chronicles
“The longevity of a lucha legend and the consistency of one too.” That’s how one of our guests once described Sakura Hirota, the comedy wrestler and stalwart of the post-AJW Japanese women’s wrestling scene, who debuted in GAEA Japan 23 years ago this summer. In this episode, Luke, Connor and…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 9 [SEASON FINALE]: Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA
High Speed Podcast comes to an end for now, with the examples of short matches, the different philosophies in those matches, and our own growth along the journey, all in our minds as we approach the thing which started all this: Gedo dot com. This is as much an evaluation of our experiences with...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 8: Mio Momono v Maruko Nagasaki
It's a bumper episode this week as we dig down deep into what we mean when we say "high speed", profile two modern-day wrestling geniuses in Natsuki☆Taiyo and Mio Momono, and discuss the long and winding path out of Meltzerism Match link: https://rutube.ru/video/9791ad032ac0c1c15c8788975e168fff/...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 7: Toshiaki Kawada v Arashi
After taking a look at Pro Wrestling NOAH in the midst of its prime a few weeks ago, this week we see what Misawa left behind as we visit 2002 All Japan. Discussed: Sumo's relationship with fake s**t; Fuchi reading the newspaper; and of course, Wrestle & Romance Match link:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 6: Tsukushi v Mika Iida
HSWP returns to Pro Wrestling WAVE, a promotion at the dead centre of the current joshi puroresu ecosystem (if only they would let us watch it). Topics of conversation include: ❓Is it cool to get young kids into wrestling? ❓Why do Tsukushi's dropkicks look so good ❓What colour exactly is "orion...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 5: Dick Vrij vs. Andrei Kopylov
This week, we talk about RINGS. RINGS talk means: Short history of pro wrestling; Raison d'etre of shoot style; Bati-bati cricket; Andrei Kopylov oppai. UPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: www.indiegogo.com/projects/support…pricot-podcast#/ Match link:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 4: Aja Kong v Reggie Bennett
This week on HSWP we make a pit-stop at 👀👀👀HYPER VISUAL FIGHTING ARSION👀👀👀, one of the earliest experimental attempts at breathing new life into joshi puroresu after the supernova of Big Egg Wrestling Universe, and a first business venture for one Hiroshi "Wee Rossy" Ogawa 🤠 SUPPORT THE...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 3: Misawa & Ogawa v Akiyama & Hashi
This week on HSWP we find Misawa and pals getting experimental on the King's Road and weigh up the Hauntological effects of early-'00s wrestling footage 👻👻👻 SUPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!: www.indiegogo.com/projects/support…pricot-podcast#/ Match link:...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 2: Mei Suruga v Haruka Umesaki
🍎🔥🍎BURN RED LIKE AN APPLE🍎🔥🍎 The High Speed Wrestling Podcast returns with a rare look at a match from DAREJO, aka Daredemo Joshi Puroresu, aka Whomsoever Girls Pro Wrestling, aka the engine room of Gatoh Move's new era. SUPPORT THE PODCASTS AND COP COOL STICKERS!!:...
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Notes Towards a Theory of Sakuraism
As a promoter, a trainer, an in-ring worker and an all-round Pro Wrestling auteur, Emi Sakura has been a significant decision maker in the way that women's pro wrestling in Japan has shaped up since the collapse of AJW and GAEA in the mid-2000s. Across two conversations, this episode attempts to...
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast Episode 1: Goldberg v La Parka
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ∞-0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This week on the world's only pro wrestling podcast dedicated to matches under 10 minutes long, we review Goldberg v La Parka from the 1 June, 1998 episode of WCW Nitro, a 30 second match located at the crossroads of years of storytelling. We also chat about the undeniable appeal…
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The High Speed Wrestling Podcast episode 0: Yumi Ohka v Kaori Yoneyama
💨💨💨GOTTA GO FAST💨💨💨 Introducing a new sister podcast from the Miracle Apricot Podcast, dedicted exclusively to matches under 10 minutes long For this first experimental episode, Luke is joined by Connor to discuss a landmark of high-speed joshi puroresu: Kaori Yoneyama and Yumi Ohka's...
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Hard Times, Hard Head; Or, Just What Is It That Makes Maki Itoh So Different, So Appealing?
In 2016 Maki Itoh made the jump from the idol group LinQ to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, an offshoot of the notoriously eccentric Japanese wrestling promotion DDT. Since then she's taught us more about the millennial condition than we ever imagined we'd learn from pro wrestling. Join your hosts…
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About this show
The Miracle Apricot Podcast: a quarterly podcast about pro wrestling, culture and social contextThe High Speed Wrestling Podcast: a bite-sized weekly show dedicated to wrestling matches under 10 minutes in length
oystersearrings.substack.com
Hosted by
Flupke