{"id":223856,"date":"2026-10-18T18:56:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T23:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=223856"},"modified":"2026-10-18T18:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T23:56:31","slug":"alan4ls-prowres-paradise-how-ajpw-is-thriving-against-the-grain-of-modern-japanese-wrestling-by-eschewing-heel-tropes-history-of-heel-units-more-118-min","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/alan4ls-prowres-paradise-how-ajpw-is-thriving-against-the-grain-of-modern-japanese-wrestling-by-eschewing-heel-tropes-history-of-heel-units-more-118-min\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan4L&#8217;s ProWres Paradise: How AJPW is thriving against the grain of modern Japanese wrestling by eschewing heel tropes, history of heel units, more (118 min.)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1430419859\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>SHOW SUMMARY: <\/strong>In our latest episode of Alan4L&#8217;s ProWres Paradise, PWTorch columnist Alan4L is joined by Paul V\u00f6lsch of The Emerald Flowshow podcast to talk about the success that All Japan has been having in 2026 by going against the grain and staying away from having heels on their roster. In the 2026 Japanese wrestling landscape, heel units are everywhere and the tropes are plentiful. Alan and Paul ruminate on the reasons why AJPW may have gone down a different path, the advantages it gives them, and the opportunities that it leads to. In addition, the lads discuss the history of the heel unit concept in Japan from All Japan Women to Hesei Ishingun and more. A really interesting two-hour discussion for fans of Japanese wrestling (and everyone, hopefully!).<\/p>\n<p><strong>DIRECT LINK: <\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/android\/legacyuploads\/wp-media\/2026\/10\/20261018A4L.mp3\">VIP AUDIO LINK<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOT VIP? 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aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Follow us on Blue Sky&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/pwtorch.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/pwtorch.bsky.social&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1751173881549000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0srWkoArAQ4Gwtief8lXhc\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/<wbr \/>pwtorch.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Emails&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:kellerwade@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kellerwade@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:pwtorch@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pwtorch@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3148776825\"><div id=\"pwtor-3986248903\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>SHOW SUMMARY: In our latest episode of Alan4L&#8217;s ProWres Paradise, PWTorch columnist Alan4L is joined by Paul V\u00f6lsch of The Emerald Flowshow podcast to talk about the success that All Japan has been having in <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast\/alan4ls-prowres-paradise-how-ajpw-is-thriving-against-the-grain-of-modern-japanese-wrestling-by-eschewing-heel-tropes-history-of-heel-units-more-118-min\/\" title=\"Alan4L&#8217;s ProWres Paradise: How AJPW is thriving against the grain of modern Japanese wrestling by eschewing heel tropes, history of heel units, more (118 min.)\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211802,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/podcast\/2026\/10\/20261018A4L.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"1:57:50","filesize":"54.49M","filesize_raw":"57132724","date_recorded":"2026-10-18 18:53:25","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"tags":[],"series":[5917,1037,1018,6929,1202,6938],"class_list":["post-223856","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-alan","series-all-vip-audio-shows","series-analysis","series-pwtorch-vip-audio","series-all","series-viptoday"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2026\/02\/Alan4LProWresParadise2026.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/PWTorchVIPAudio2015_1400.png","download_link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-download\/223856\/alan4ls-prowres-paradise-how-ajpw-is-thriving-against-the-grain-of-modern-japanese-wrestling-by-eschewing-heel-tropes-history-of-heel-units-more-118-min","player_link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/podcast-player\/223856\/alan4ls-prowres-paradise-how-ajpw-is-thriving-against-the-grain-of-modern-japanese-wrestling-by-eschewing-heel-tropes-history-of-heel-units-more-118-min","audio_player":"<a 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