Episode 76: Venue: Yoyogi

May 19, 2026

Recently, the "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. 33" was held at the Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium (Second Gymnasium). I watched the matches from the press section, and both the semi-main event—Fujita vs. Kasai—and the main event—Despe vs. Robbie Eagles—turned out to be incredibly heated battles.

Man, that was fun! Every match was interesting, but what I felt most strongly was that "card placement really matters." As you move later into the show, expectations rise... but so does the pressure. I felt that again during the Yoyogi show, which had been buzzing since the very first match.

In an ideal world, you want the main event to be the peak of the excitement. However, sometimes you have a high-profile matchup like Fujita vs. Kasai positioned as the semi-main. As expected, this electrifying encounter brought the house down. The heat and volume of the "Kasai!" chants during his entrance were undoubtedly the loudest of the night.

But for Fujita, it was a battle he couldn't afford to lose. In the end, Kasai-san took the victory. He’s amazing—keep in mind, Kasai-san is two years older than me. His son, Hinata Kasai, who just debuted as a pro wrestler, is 22. It hit me: "Whoa, he's in the same generation as Fujita!" To be able to have such a fierce war with someone young enough to be his son... Kasai-san is just on another level.

Now, when a semi-main event gets that hot, the two people in the toughest spot are the ones waiting for the main event. Back when I was frequently entrusted with the main event (insert smug face here), if the matches before mine were fired up, I’d think, "What a great crowd." But if they were too fired up, I’d honestly think, "Whoa, whoa, wait a second!"

Back then, there were two wrestlers I had to keep a very close eye on if they were scheduled before me: Ishii-san and Shibata-san. Either one of them alone was dangerous enough, but if Ishii vs. Shibata was booked right before my match? That was it. Game over. I had to mentally prepare for the worst! (Sweat).

HOWEVER—I want the wrestlers competing in the main event to be keenly aware of that challenge. I’ll be keeping a close watch on the second half of the Junior series. It’s for that reason that I want all the active wrestlers to keep a strong mindset of "aiming for a higher spot on the card."

On a personal note, this Yoyogi venue is where I faced Muto-san in a singles match when I was young, and it’s also where I had a singles match with Fujinami-san last year. I hope the wrestlers continue to deliver matches that create these kinds of deep, sentimental connections to venues for all of you.